☕ 150 Million Hot Dogs

Monday, June 29, 2026 | Edition #44

GOOD MORNING, WARWICK. Happy almost Fourth of July. In a few days we will lose our collective minds in the name of freedom, and the stats behind the party are genuinely unhinged.

Start here. Americans will eat around 150 million hot dogs on the Fourth, a number that stops being food and becomes a logistics problem. We will set fire to nearly $3 billion worth of fireworks, send more than 10,000 people to the emergency room doing it, and spend roughly $4 billion on beer and wine to make all of that feel like a great idea. We even import close to $4 million in American flags every year, because nothing says homegrown pride like patriotism that clears customs.

And this is the big one, the country's 250th birthday. So fire up the grill, ice the cooler, and try to keep all ten fingers.

Here's what's goin' ahn.

⏱️ Sunset Time: 8:23PM

🌔 Moon Phase: Full Moon

⛽ Avg. Gas Price: $3.82 (click here to find the cheapest gas near you)

💧 Chance of Rain: 5%

Picture a Warwick teenager surviving a full school day without checking their phone. Take a moment. Breathe through it. Starting August 1, that nightmare becomes state law.

Warwick Public Schools sent home a letter this week explaining Rhode Island General Law 16-21-43, the statewide phone ban lawmakers passed last year, which forces every district to lock down student devices during the school day. Phones, smartwatches, earbuds, anything that buzzes must stay silenced and stored. Not in class, not in the hallway, and no hiding in the bathroom to dodge algebra. Exceptions exist for medical needs, IEPs, 504 plans, and actual emergencies.

The penalties escalate fast. First two offenses, your phone enjoys a quiet vacation in the main office until dismissal. Third strike, a parent has to come retrieve it after a conference, a punishment expertly designed to humiliate the whole family at once. Of course, this all assumes staff can pry the phones loose in the first place. Taking a phone from a teenager is like trying to rip a chicken bone out of your Rottweiler's mouth. Someone is losing a finger, and it’s not the one holding the bone.

Parents needing to reach their kid will do what every Warwick parent did in 1987 and call the main office. The students, meanwhile, are about to rediscover the ancient art of staring out a window and being profoundly bored. Research says less scrolling means sharper focus. The kids say this is a war crime. Both can be true.

Read the full story here

Rhode Island has a housing problem, and it is not a secret. Not enough homes, climbing rents, and Warwick is no exception, with one-bedroom apartments now averaging around $1,800 a month. That pressure has developers busy, and lately it feels like a new project lands every week. Here is a quick look at what's in the works.

1880 Post Road. The Planning Board gave preliminary approval to 177 affordable units in two buildings behind the airport, the biggest project on the list and one members actually praised.

3033 Post Road. River Farm LLC won approval for a 16-unit building beside the Apponaug Rotary. Future residents will master that merge out of pure survival.

1187 Post Road. RI Custom Builders LLC is clearing an old commercial building near Norwood Avenue to make room for eleven new units.

Posnegansett Avenue. Seaview Realty wants 14 duplex units near the pond. Neighbors are petitioning over narrow streets and stormwater runoff.

Wickes Way. 40 Wickes Way LLC is finishing 39 single-family homes on the old John Wickes School site, a shuttered school reborn as a subdivision.

And those are only a few of the many developments on the rise across the city.

Not everyone is celebrating. Many neighbors are pushing back, citing crowded streets, strained infrastructure, and the worry that the Warwick they know is filling up faster than the St. Kevin's parking lot on Eastah Sunday. Both sides have a point. The state genuinely needs housing, and the people already here need their neighborhoods to keep working. Where Warwick lands between those two is the conversation worth having.

Read more here

There are few things more Rhode Island than a cold drink, live music, and a patio on the water. There are also few things more Rhode Island than all of that turning into a dispute. Captain's Resto-Bar on Greenwich Bay has closed, and the owners say a fight with their marina is the reason.

In a social media post, the restaurant said it shut down after what management described as actions by the general manager of Greenwich Bay Safe Harbor, the marina where it sits. The owners claim the marina would no longer allow live music or guests out on the patio, which for a waterfront bar is roughly the entire point.

The city tells it a little differently. According to the mayor's chief of staff, the restaurant holds a live entertainment license, but one that permits music only during certain hours. Staff found live music playing outdoors outside those terms, a warning went out, and no violation was filed. The city frames the real friction as one between the marina, the neighbors next door, and the folks across the cove.

So a Warwick summer staple goes dark over the most Warwick thing imaginable, a disagreement about noise drifting across the water. Both sides have their version. The patio, for now, sits quiet.

Read the full story here

You know the drill by now. Every week the doorstep produces a new mystery and I report what I find. This week's item I can totally get behind, which almost never happens, so hold the moment with me.

👉 See what showed up here.

👇 Where was the above photo taken? Click the location you think is correct below. No cheating! Answer revealed at the end.

Surreptitious (adjective) | sur-uhp-TISH-us | done quietly and in secret, kept hidden so nobody notices until it's too late.

Warwick's speed cameras have mastered the surreptitious arts. They stand on their little poles doing their best impression of a lamppost, a utility box, a perfectly innocent piece of street furniture that absolutely is not watching you. You cruise past at a totally reasonable eleven over, you wave to nobody, you forget the whole thing ever happened. Then three weeks later a surreptitious little envelope slides into your mailbox carrying a photo of your own back bumper and a number you do not want to see. The camera says nothing, asks nothing, and waits patiently for the mail to do its dirty work.

Thanks to Ryan F. for submitting today’s word of the day! You can submit a word of the day yourself, here. I’ll be sure to include it in the next edition!

Looking for fireworks this 4th of July? I’ve laid out all the best spots in every corner of the state below:

Warwick 📅 Friday, July 3, dusk (around 9 PM)
Launched from Oakland Beach, best viewed from the seawall or Warwick City Park on Asylum Road. About 30 minutes over the bay. Rain date July 5.

Around Rhode Island:

📅 Wed, July 1 | Block Island
Around 9 PM, fired from a barge in Block Island Sound and visible from anywhere on the island.

📅 Fri, July 3 | East Providence
Pierce Memorial Field, festivities at 6 PM, fireworks at dusk. No pets, coolers, or backpacks. Rain date July 6.

📅 Fri, July 3 | North Providence
Governor Notte Park, park events from 3 PM, fireworks around dusk.

📅 Fri, July 3 | Narragansett
Narragansett Town Beach, live music at 6 PM, fireworks at dusk over the Atlantic. Rain date July 12.

📅 Fri, July 3 | Bristol
Over Bristol Harbor at 9:30 PM, the warm-up to America's oldest continuous Fourth of July parade on Saturday at 10:30 AM.

📅 Sat, July 4 | Pawtucket
Centreville Bank Stadium, after the Rhode Island FC match (kickoff 7:30 PM), fireworks around 9 PM over Tidewater Landing.

📅 Sat, July 4 | Newport
Newport Harbor, around 9:15 PM. Rain date July 5.

📅 Sun, July 5 | Providence
India Point Park, festivities at 7 PM, fireworks from 8:30 to 9 PM.

⚽ PVD FanZone | Station Park, Providence, daily through July 19. Free. Every World Cup match on a 40-foot screen, plus food trucks and a beer garden. Info

🥬 Conimicut Village Community Market | Saturdays, 9 AM-12 PM through Sept 26. Free. Local vendors and a waterfront village to wander on a Saturday morning. Info

🌽 Goddard Park Farmers Market | Fridays, 9 AM-1 PM through October. Fresh local produce in a waterfront park. A solid excuse to be outside before noon. Info

📚 Warwick Public Library | Ongoing events each and every day of the week across all locations. Tell your kids to put the Fortnite down. Time for a story and a Capri Sun. Info

🏛️ City Council Meetings | Select Mondays, 6:30 PM, City Hall Chambers. Ordinances, budgets, and the occasional spicy public hearing. Check the calendar first. Calendar

✅ Where in Warwick Answer: The Walter C. Santos Scenic Overlook, sitting pretty at the very end of Beach Avenue in Conimicut.

A little history. The overlook is named for Walter C. Santos, who served as Ward 4 councilman for a full decade and lived right near the spot, which makes the tribute feel about as local as it gets. The deck was dedicated in 2011 after more than two years of planning, his daughter Cindy Solomon cut the ribbon, and the Conimicut Village Association rallied alongside the city's DPW.

And it is a gem. A handsome multi-level wooden deck, sweeping views of the upper bay, the lighthouse out there earning its keep. Here's my advice. It makes a perfect turnaround point if you're out for a run along the shore, a place to stop, soak in the view, and feel like you've accomplished something. The catch is the staircase down to the seawall. Going down is a treat. Climbing back up on legs that already logged a couple of miles is where the overlook quietly reminds you who's in charge. Take the photo at the top. Your quads will thank you.

That's it for today. Enjoy your Fourth of July, Warwick. Grill something, hug somebody, and remember that a sparkler is a tiny handheld house fire we hand to children and call it tradition. Thanks for reading.

Keep smiling!