🌱 Washington Bridge Construction + School Giveaway Events

Good day, neighbors! It's me again, Miranda Fraraccio, your host of the Providence Daily.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 45 Low: 32.

Here are the top 3 stories in Providence today:

1. The R.I. Department of Transportation is warning drivers to expect delays on I-195 due to construction on the Washington Bridge. Starting at the Broadway interchange in East Providence, all four lanes have been narrowed and shifted to the right, while the Taunton Avenue, Veterans Memorial Parkway, and Warren Avenue on-ramps are reduced to a single lane. RIDOT predicts that when the project is done in 2026, the morning commute from the state line to the I-95 split will be reduced from 16 minutes to under ten. (WPRI.com)
2. Seven Providence public schools will be hosting giveaway events on the first day of school vacation, Dec. 23. Four of the events will also be hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics for anyone over the age of five, and will be raffling off big screen TV’s. During the event, children, or an adult with the student ID number, will be provided seven days worth of lunch kits and snacks, coats will be given out to each child, and rapid tests will be given to each family member while supplies last. (WLNE-TV (ABC6))
3. A five-year-old girl was hit by a car in Providence and is being treated for leg pain at Hasbro Children's Hospital. On Monday morning, two sisters were walking by Bucklin Street and Greenwich Street off of Elmwood Avenue, when they were hit by a car. The driver, a female, stopped -- and then drove the sisters to the hospital herself. (GoLocalProv)

Today's Providence Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Providence!

Today in Providence:

• Family Story Time & Craft, At Providence Community Library (11:30 AM)
• Homeschool Story Time, At Providence Community Library (1:00 PM)
• Trivia Nights, At Providence Community Library (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Take a peek at the tremendous goodness and love that has come through our doors on behalf of the children, teens and families we serve! Our hearts are touched by so many acts of love from across RI and beyond at a time of such need. (Facebook)
• Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's Division of Agriculture and the Center for Mediation & Collaboration Rhode Island are partnering to launch a mental health and wellness program for farmers, commercial fishers, and workers in forestry-related industries. (Facebook)
• Rhode Island Hospital offers tips to help you cope with the stress during another holiday season amid an ongoing pandemic. (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• Feast & Fettle — (Visit website)
• Add your business here

Events:

• Brighten The First Day Of Winter With 15 Percent Off FTD’s Sunniest Blooms (December 21)
• Add your event

Loving the Providence Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
• Get your local business listed in front of readers

That's it for today. I'll see you around!

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a freelance copywriter for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and as an assistant producer for a live-lit storytelling show in Chicago. She holds a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies from The University of Rhode Island. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.