🌱 A Tree Falls In Brookline + Adoptable Pets + Mail Fraud

Hello again, Pawtucket! Important update: You all, as readers, have made the Pawtucket Daily so successful that it is my honor to announce the next stage of the newsletter. Patch is looking for a local writer and entrepreneur to take the helm of the Pawtucket Daily. Although I have loved getting to know this community, we want to pass the torch to someone truly local to write about Pawtucket long term. So if you’re interested in earning extra income while making this newsletter a more valuable resource for your neighbors, learn more and apply here.

First, today's weather:

A snow shower in the p.m. High: 38 Low: 19.

Here are the top three stories in Pawtucket today:

1. "A Tree Falls in Brookline," presented by The Community Players, opened on Friday. The play was written by Rhode Island playwright David Christner and tells the story of a largely unproduced and unrecognized playwright whose work is beginning to get some recognition abroad when a tree falls in Brookline, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury and only a shadowy recollection of his past. See the play now through Feb. 27 at Jenks Auditorium on Division Street in Pawtucket, across from McCoy Stadium. (The Sun Chronicle)
2. A Rhode Island auto body business secretary has been sentenced to federal prison for mail fraud. 48-year-old Idalee Johnston, of Pawtucket, plead guilty on Oct. 13, 2021, to mail fraud after she devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain the proceeds of nearly 200 checks provided to customers by their insurance companies to pay for vehicle repairs. Johnston has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison to be followed by two years of federal supervised release, plus she must pay restitution totaling $220,083 to the owners of the auto body business that she defrauded. (GoLocalProv)
3. If you're looking to adopt an animal, look no further! There are lots of cats, dogs, rabbits, and even guinea pigs in the Pawtucket area looking for forever homes. Meet animals like Zappa, a small and curious six-month-old kitten, at Ten Lives Cat Rescue in Pawtucket and other local area shelters. (Patch)

Today in Pawtucket:

• Cupid Scavenger Hunt, At Pawtucket Public Library (All Day)

From my notebook:

• There are less than two weeks until Camp Ramsbottom registration at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket opens. (Facebook)
• Congratulations to La Esquina Colombiana Bar and Grill on the opening of their business! (Twitter)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Saturday! See you all tomorrow for your next update.

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a staff writer for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island, where she earned a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.