4/20/2021
At old train depot, fires and overdoses are cause for alarm
The old train station at the Pawtucket/Central Falls line remains a source of concern for officials, who are looking to secure it as they figure out its future. Recent graffiti on the site shows a needle and the words “needle city.” (Breeze photo by Ethan Shorey)
PAWTUCKET – The opening of a new Pawtucket-Central Falls Commuter Rail Station remains on target for next summer, but just up the tracks, the old hulking brick train station that was once pegged to be rehabbed into a modern train facility remains looming as an albatross over the live tracks.
Councilors Tim Rudd and Meghan Kallman voted against the agreement.
Councilors said that though this may not be the most popular decision among Fairlawn residents, they must look out for the entire city and the costs of throwing away trash into the future. They said they expect improvement on past operation of the facility, with built-in protections included.
The city’s property subcommittee forwarded the agreement to the council for approval. Waste Connections will be required to foot the bill for the new transfer station and the city will then pay back the money over a decade of lease payments.
12/29/2020
COVID-19 impacted everything in Pawtucket in 2020
Nia Dacruz proudly showed off her diploma jacket after officially graduating from Tolman High School in June. She said she was happy to be able to walk across a stage for her graduation. Like at so many other schools, the students at Tolman were deprived of a normal high school graduation ceremony. The school recorded the graduates walking across the stage at McCoy Stadium as well as speeches to compile a full graduation video that aired on Capitol TV. (Breeze file photo by Charles Lawrence)
PAWTUCKET – There was no aspect of life in Pawtucket this year that hasn’t been touched in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic, from the lives lost or turned upside down by health scares to the financial impacts for residents and business owners.
12/29/2020
John Barry III, left, Councilors Albert Vitali Jr. and Meghan Kallman
PAWTUCKET – The City Council last week said farewell to three members with a combination of nearly 50 years in local government, giving a resolution-filled sendoff to its longest-serving member, John Barry III, as well as Councilors Albert Vitali Jr. and Meghan Kallman.
Councilors were particularly effusive in their praise of Barry, saying he is the epitome of what a district councilman should be. They said Barry has been relied on for honesty and sound advice for 33 years as councilman.
Attorney Jon Anderson spoke of when his parents, Mabel and George, first recruited Barry to run in District 4, and how Barry has served with distinction since, showing a never-ending care for the “forgotten people” of Pawtucket who struggle to get by.
12/15/2020
Committee moves forward on new trash transfer station
The city is nearing a 10-year agreement with the operations of the Grotto Avenue transfer station. Waste Connections would build a new facility to replace the existing one.
PAWTUCKET – After a failed bid by City Councilor Tim Rudd to get another legal opinion on a new 10-year lease agreement for the city’s waste transfer station, the City Council’s property subcommittee last week gave an initial go-ahead to the agreement.
The deal, which goes to the full council Dec. 21, calls for existing operator Waste Connections Inc., which was the only bidder in a request for proposals process, to build a new transfer station at the existing Grotto Avenue site, paying the up-front costs with the understanding that the city would pay back the more than $2 million cost over 10 years and then own the facility.
PAWTUCKET – City leaders and some residents are in sharp disagreement over whether Police Chief Tina Goncalves should be required to give an annual in-person update on the state of policing in Pawtucket.
Eleven residents, at least some upset by a letter from Mayor Donald Grebien asking the City Council to consider eliminating language in local law requiring the chief to make a report to the council at the first meeting in September each year, testified at the Dec. 9 meeting. Grebien holds that the language should reflect the practices in place since 2011, which do not include that visit.
Grebien noted that the city’s investment in technology has allowed the Police Department to share all sorts of information with residents through its website, pawtucketpolice.com, and residents are able to look up the annual report or other documents at any time.