From the Newsroom: The Providence Journal

Formally known by the more unwieldy title of " The Providence Journal March and Two-Step ," the composition followed a national trend at the intersection of music and newspapering. The music was composed by John Fitzpatrick. While still a boy, he got a job playing piano at Shepard's Department Store. While still a boy, he got a job playing piano at Shepard's Department Store. Fitzpatrick, John J,...

Drivers killed three pedestrians on North Main Street over the past year. Now, members of a new city task force are trying to figure out why the thoroughfare is so hazardous, and what can be done to make it safer. Journal staff writer Amy Russo reports.

His father, a farmer, lost 200 acres to the reservoir project in the 1960s, and when Breene wanted to buy his own dairy farm later, he ended up having to buy land outside the management area. “I’d rather be down on Big River.”  “I always felt bad, because some people had some beautiful places and figured they had to get right out because the reservoir was supposed to be built in the early '70s. So...

Jo-Ann Lemaire talks about her husband Frank outside the old gray house. The summer wind swirls her hair as she remembers his feelings about the reservoir project 

Nellie Gaye, who was homeless and hungry as a child in her native Liberia, discusses establishing the One Less Worry program, which provides free food to people in need. The program is based at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Providence. @GWayneMiller #podcast for @projo. Story, photos and video at providencejournal.com

Imagine there was a way to prevent potential pandemics by accurately predicting how they might unfold, which would enable policymakers and medical and public health officials to act to stop them long before reaching crisis stage. Brown University School of Public Health epidemiologist Mark Lurie describes a major new initiative that he heads that aims to make this possible. @gwaynemiller #podcast...

The more than 3,000 Rhode Islanders lost to COVID were memorialized Saturday with a display of thousands of white flags on the State House lawn and a ceremony that opened a week during which the flags will remain in place. The display was created by artist Suzanne Firstenberg, who explains its purpose here. NOTE: This was recorded outside, so there are background sounds. @gwaynemiller #podcast for...

Interim state Health Department director Dr. James McDonald is resigning. In this interview, he explains his reasons.   @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejounal.com

Speaking at a forum during Brown University’s commencement weekend, former state Health Department director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott discussed health equity, the COVID-19 pandemic, her admiration for former Gov. Gina Raimondo and her staff, and the leadership qualities she says are needed to head public-health agencies. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physici...

 Mary Marran, president and COO of Butler Hospital, discusses the crisis in the state’s behavioral health care and disabilities systems and a path toward reform. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo Story at The Providence Journal

PASCOAG -- Jim Whiteside lives about as far into the woods of northwestern Rhode Island as you can get without being in another state.  Which would not be remarkable until you learn of the multiple health challenges that limit his vision, hearing and mobility.  But thanks to a community health center that makes house calls and provides transportation to office appointments, Whiteside, a...

Dr. Dean Roye, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Rhode Island Hospital; Dr. Kenneth Wood, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Lifespan; Dr. Mitchell Levy, Director of Critical Care Medicine for Lifespan; and Dr. Jeremiah Schuur, Physician-in-Chief of Emergency Medicine for Lifespan, discuss Lifespan leaders discuss the fourth surge and staff...

Brown University School of Public health epidemiologist Mark Lurie discusses the omicron variant threat. “In times of uncertainty, it’s better to be overly cautious than under-prepared,” he says.   @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo -- story and video at The Providence Journal

Brown University's School of Public Health is embarking on a study designed to assess the broad impact of Long COVID, the post-acute coronavirus disease syndrome that affects millions in America alone. Dean Dr. Ashish Jha discusses the methodology and uses for the research, which is supported in part by a grant from Hassenfeld Family Initiatives, headed by former Hasbro CEO and chairman Alan G. Ha...

Simple. Inexpensive. Effective. These are among the virtues of an ingenious do-it-yourself air-filtration system designed to protect against COVID-19 and other viruses that Brown University students were assembling Friday afternoon in Alumnae Hall under the watchful eye of Brown School of Public Health dean Dr. Ashish Jha. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com

The COVID pandemic has affected the mental health of untold millions of Americans and residents of other countries. And in this continuing public-health crisis, which is linked to rising suicide rates the world over, it has never been more critical to talk openly and seek professional help when warranted. “Pay importance to your own mental health and with the people around you, look for earl...

Neil Steinberg and Jane Hayward discuss the Rhode Island Foundation report on the proposed merger of Care New England and Lifespan, to be affiliated with Brown University. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com  

Martha L. Wofford, president and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, discuss the 2021 Rhode Island Life Index.  @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com  

Christa Thomas-Sowers, community outreach coordinator for Community Care Alliance, discusses Rhode Island's statewide behavioral-healthcare and mental-health workforce crisis - and what it means for needy people who are forced to go without vital services. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com https://bit.ly/3FDAWYT

Exeter's Dawn Dove, a Narragansett/Niantic elder, talks about the steps including vaccinations that she and her family have taken to stay safe during the pandemic -- and the amazing gift given her and her young grandson as the seasons changed from fall to winter and then spring, when nature came alive. @Gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo. Dawn's story and the stories of how a scientist, a nurse, a p...

When the Rev. Chris Abhulime discusses his job as Gov. Dan McKee’s deputy chief of staff, equity is the dominant topic. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story and video at providencejournal.com

At a time when white supremacists deny that the Holocaust occurred and stickers of former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler have been posted in Bristol, scholar Wendy Lower’s appearance this week on “Story in the Public Square” could not be more timely. This week on "Story in the Public Square." Story at providencejournal.com

Leading Alzheimer's scientists Drs. Stephen P. Salloway, Butler Hospital, & Chuang-Kuo Wu, Rhode Island Hospital, discuss FDA approval of new drug aducanumab. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo -- story and video at providencejournal.com

Dr. Saul N. Weingart, the new president of Lifespan's Rhode Island and Hasbro Children’s Hospitals, discusses challenges, successes and the future. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story and video at providencejornal.com

Nationally renowned addiction specialist Dr. Josiah D. “Jody” Rich, of Miriam Hospital and Brown University’s Alpert Medical School, discusses medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and the four components of successful recovery: health, home, community and purpose. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com