Ethan Shorey, Author at The Local Insider News

Pawtucket adding days to make up for lost learning time

PAWTUCKET – Officials are making several changes to school days and tacking days onto the end of the school year for elementary students after it was discovered that the school day has been five minutes too short for those students. Supt.…

May 21, 2026

North Smithfield residents urge changes to Rankin Estates plan

NORTH SMITHFIELD – A project going back 21 years and with more debate than any other in the town’s history is still drawing crowds to the podium. On May 14, representatives were back before the Planning Board for preliminary plan…

May 21, 2026

Cindi Noble, second from right, gathers with friends, family, staff members, and volunteers at the new serenity garden created in her honor.

Noble Serenity Garden officially christened in North Smithfield (video)

NORTH SMITHFIELD – At a surprise retirement party for Cindi Noble last Saturday, she got a conceptual look at a new stone that would be placed in her honor at the new Noble Serenity Garden at Hotchkiss Cemetery. It was…

May 20, 2026

Denise Howard speaks at Tuesday's meeting

Smithfield bus drivers, monitors irate over merge with Lincoln

Note: This story has been updated with comments from Richard Iannitelli. SMITHFIELD – School bus drivers and monitors in town, many of whom have been working their routes for decades, say they’re about to be discarded in favor of drivers…

May 20, 2026

Residents upset as Lincoln Police Department’s scanner communications go dark

LINCOLN – An unknown number of town residents have traditionally loved tracking the Lincoln Police Department’s scanner, listening in as calls come in about various incidents. Now, say those residents, they’re no longer able to do it after communications went…

May 20, 2026

Gendron announces he’s running for Woonsocket mayor

WOONSOCKET – City Council President Daniel Gendron has announced that, “after overwhelming encouragement from residents across the city and conversations with constituents throughout Woonsocket,” he will officially run for mayor this year. Gendron said the decision comes after months of…

May 19, 2026

At Amy Godek's May 14 recognition are, from left, Supt. Phil Thornton, Cumberland Preschool Center Principal Rachel Powell, Godek, and School Committee Chairperson Amy Vogel. (Insider photo by Ethan Shorey)

Godek celebrated as Cumberland’s teacher of the year

CUMBERLAND – School officials say it is with great pleasure that they announce Amy Godek as 2026 District Teacher of the Year. Godek has been an educator for 25 years, including the last six years teaching in the SMILES classroom at…

May 19, 2026

Al Menard holds the Bible with its new binding.

North Smithfield’s 1761 Bible restored for America’s 250th

NORTH SMITHFIELD – One of the North Smithfield Heritage Association’s oldest artifacts, a 1761 royal-authorized Thomas Baskett Bible, has now been meticulously restored by a local preservation expert, say members of the NSHA. Al Menard, archivist for the preservation group headquartered…

May 19, 2026

With no free lunches at Woonsocket splash pad, organizations looking to bridge gap

WOONSOCKET – The Woonsocket Education Department won’t be providing meals at the World War II Veterans Memorial Park splash pad this summer, school officials confirm, but they will still be served at three schools. Supt. Patrick McGee told The Local Insider…

May 18, 2026

Gena Felix running for Senate District 8

PAWTUCKET – Running “with integrity and a commitment to the families who built our community,” Gena Felix has announced a challenge to Sen. Lori Urso in Senate District 8. State Rep. Leonela Felix announced that Gena, her twin sister, will be…

May 18, 2026