🌱 Truman Drive Or Canal District? + Housing Authority Waiting

Hello, neighbors; today is Anosmia Awareness Day! Sylvia here with today's Woonsocket Daily.

What will downtown Woonsocket look like when it’s all said and done? Also, the Housing Authority is waiting for investigation results. Finally, the Mount Saint Charles Academy plans an Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony.

First, today's weather:

Increasingly windy. High: 41 Low: 14.

Here are the top five stories in Woonsocket today:

1. Woonsocket’s City Planner focuses on stormwater management. When he saw a “conceptual design to rework Truman Drive into the Truman Green Drive Infrastructure Parkway,” he figured it was an open and shut case. Somehow, the item made it on the City Council’s special agenda. “It caught us by surprise,” he said. “Any time information is shared with the council, it’s a good thing,” the City Council President explained. However, this step now means waiting until April, it was reported Thursday, when the Heritage Canal District Committee will present a concept “of an idealized canal district that would bring businesses, residents, and entertainment to downtown.” (The Valley Breeze)
2. There is an ongoing investigation involving the Woonsocket Housing Authority, we learned Thursday. Already, three administrators have been placed on leave. The issues noted were “security contract procurement (bid-rigging), an improper procedure for employment contraction, and unauthorized payroll changes.” At this time, the WHA anticipates the completion of an independent investigation “within the next few weeks.” (The Valley Breeze)
3. The Mount Saint Charles Academy announced its Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony on May 14. On that day, the school will celebrate “individuals who best exemplify the spirit of Mount Saint Charles Academy through their contributions to and achievements in athletics.” This year’s inductees include Br. Roy Pinette, S.C. with the Spirit of Sport Award, the 202 Athletic Hall of Fame Class David Celona 1987, Rita Donohoe 2013, and Frank Fede 1993. There will also be honors for the Lawrence Sisters and more! (Mount Saint Charles)
4. James Langevin is the representative for the 2nd congressional district in RI. Coming from Warwick, he represents communities including Burrillville, Cranston, Foster, and more. We learned Thursday that he’s retiring, and Sarah Morgenthau is vying for his seat. Morgenthau is currently President Biden’s “deputy assistant secretary for travel and tourism at the Commerce Department” and “worked for the Department of Homeland Security and the Peace Corps” during President Obama’s tenure. “She acknowledged that she has spent much of her career living outside of Rhode Island, but said the family has maintained a home in the Saunderstown section of North Kingstown.” (The Milford Mirror)
5. Do you remember Gerald Tillinghast? He spent 30 years in prison for “killing mob loan shark George Basmajian in 1978” and was paroled in 2007. He was said to have been a mob enforcer for “the Patriarca crime family in the 1960s and 1970s.” Tillinghast died Monday at the age of 75. (U.S. News)

Today in Woonsocket:

• Our Pad Bar And Grill serves Breakfast (9 AM)
• St. Anthony’s Catholic Church celebrates Mass (5 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Woonsocket Animal Control Shelter found a dog in the area of Cold Spring Park. Is it yours?

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— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.