Monday, August 3, 2026 | Edition #49
GOOD MORNING, WARWICK. Welcome to August. August 3rd is a special day. 49 years ago today, a special goat was born in the suburbs of San Mateo, California. A goat that would go on to change the course of history. Cultivated over years of labor within the fields, challenged by many hurdles, and aging like a fine Napa Valley wine. Now retired from his duties but still extremely capable. 49 years ago today, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. was born. 23 seasons, 7 Super Bowls, 5 Super Bowl MVPs, 3 regular season MVPs, 2 baby mommas, and 1 city changed forever. Happy birthday, Tommy.
In today's newsletter, we'll look at:
Rep. Joe Shekarchi's clearance to proceed towards RI Supreme Court seat
A Pawtuxet Village glow up
The Flock Cam debate, how some neighboring towns are terminating their services
TODAY’S SNAPSHOT
⏱️ Sunset Time: 8:02 PM
🌊 Daytime High Tide: 11:50 AM
⛽ Avg. Gas Price: $4.09 (click here to find the cheapest gas near you)
☀️ UV Index: 3.0
☔ Chance of Rain: 90%
🗓️On This Day: August 3, 1968. Something even more important than TB12's birthday, today marks my grandparents' 58th wedding anniversary. Without them, you wouldn't be reading this right now. I hope and pray that my wife and I make it to 58 years of marriage, and I hope that everyone can find the type of love that they have shared all of these years. Wishing them a happy anniversary and many more years of love, laughter, and the type of energy that keeps you smiling.
WEATHAH THIS WEEK
WHAT’S GOIN’ AHN
📢 The Top 5:
#1 Shekarchi clears legal hurdle, advances toward RI Supreme Court
Big week for Joe Shekarchi's legal team, small week for anyone hoping the "revolving door" law would slow him down. On Monday, Superior Court Judge Richard Licht ruled that Shekarchi's bid for the RI Supreme Court doesn't violate the law that normally bars lawmakers from hopping into state jobs within a year of leaving office, deciding a Supreme Court seat counts as a constitutional office and gets a pass. The timing was almost suspiciously perfect, the ruling dropped one day before his scheduled interview with the Judicial Nominating Commission. Sure enough, Tuesday night the commission voted to advance him as one of five finalists to Gov. McKee, though two of nine members weren't buying it. Whether the Ethics Commission appeals is TBD. Say what you want about the guy, but his sense of timing rivals a Rhode Island driver merging onto 95 with zero blinker and zero fear.
#2 The Flock cams are no longer flocking in RI
If you live in Warwick, by now you probably know all about the surveillance that takes place on our streets. The statewide trend to ramp up safety measures has brought with it some privacy concerns lately.
South Kingstown's Town Council voted 5-0 this week to terminate its contract with Flock Safety and rip out the town's automated license plate readers, after hundreds of residents wrote in with privacy concerns and the ACLU of Rhode Island sent a formal letter opposing the program.
Warwick's been down this road before. Back in 2022, the City Council approved a plan to install 10 Flock cameras of its own, joining a growing statewide network. Mayor Frank Picozzi compared it at the time to police checking a homeowner's Ring doorbell footage. So if you've been driving around Warwick lately assuming nobody's watching, there's a decent chance a camera has quietly logged your plate, your car color, and your questionable taste in music.
It's part of a bigger statewide tug of war. Portsmouth and Warren already rejected State Police requests to install Flock cameras, while Rhode Island State Police just moved forward on a $597,000 contract to install 39 more readers statewide. It will be interesting to see how municipalities approach this moving forward, with or without Flock.
#3 Pawtuxet Park could be getting a serious glow-up
Pawtuxet Park, the gazebo everyone's grandma got married in front of and the boathouse that's been standing since presumably the invention of standing, is about to get a full renovation arc. Full disclosure, my wife and I took our own wedding photos in front of that gazebo. It was a winter wedding, so it was freezing out on the parkway, and my skin ended up roughly the same shade of white as the gazebo's trim. Honestly, it's been time for either a tan or a fresh coat of paint, maybe both. The city's Planning Department is hosting a community forum to gather input on proposed upgrades, and the wish list reads like a park's version of a midlife crisis: a brand new amphitheater for concerts, an updated playground, a kayak launch, and a rebuilt boathouse deck. There are also two new entrances planned, one at Emmons and Narragansett Parkway, and a path linking the boat ramp to Remington Street, because apparently getting into this park currently requires the navigational instincts of a sea captain.
All of it builds off a 2025 concept plan aimed at fixing accessibility and coastal resilience. Translation: a brand new amphitheater, easier ways to actually get into the park, and hopefully a gazebo sturdy enough to survive the next couple who make their photographer freeze for the perfect shot.
#4 The road to Williamsport - Lincoln takes state title
Lincoln Little League is Rhode Island's newest state champion. The 12U all-stars edged Barrington 2-1 on Saturday in a tense one, Hugo Fiero drove in the winning run in the fifth to send Milo Sheridan home for the difference. It's Lincoln's first state title in over a decade, and the team now heads to Bristol, Connecticut to compete for a shot at the Little League World Series in Williamsport. The first matchup will be RI vs. NY next Saturday.
Rhode Island fans know exactly what that road can lead to. Back in 2014, Cumberland American pulled off a run nobody saw coming, riding a wave of late-tournament magic all the way to Williamsport, punctuated by bench player Trey Thibeault coming off the pine and delivering big hit after big hit in what his coach started calling "Thibeault Time." It's the kind of story that reminds you why this tournament captures a whole state's attention every August. Lincoln's got a long way to go to match it, but the road starts in Bristol.
#5 The ticks are taking o-vah
Bad news out of Warwick City Park this week. At a press conference at Buttonwoods Beach, URI's nationally known tick researcher Tom Mather delivered the verdict plainly: the ticks are winning. He was joined by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, who's pushing for more federal funding to fight tick-borne illness in Rhode Island, including Lyme disease and the newer, stranger threat, alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy triggered by lone star tick bites.
URI's data shows a 1,300% increase in lone star tick encounters reported by Rhode Islanders over the past decade. Mather's advice: learn to tell your ticks apart, since a black-legged tick and a lone star tick can mean very different outcomes. Next time you go for a walk through the bike path or at Rocky point, tuck your pants into your socks like a way-too-cool high school sophomore, stick to the middle of trails, and toss your clothes in the dryer before washing when you get home. And if you find one attached, snap a photo and upload it to URI's TickEncounter site, they'll ID it for you within 24 hours. Somewhere out there, a tick is reading this newsletter too, and honestly, it's feeling pretty good about itself right now.
RETAIL
The fact that I've made it 49 editions without featuring Styles in this segment is wild. As some of you might know, my cousin-in-law, Emily, is quite stylish, hence the nickname. Lately, she has been influencing the familial masses with a new fashion accessory so universally loved that it has finally made its way to the pinnacle of consumer review segments. If you're like me and you need to step up your fashion game, step into Styles' office.
BRAIN FOOD
🧠 Where in Warwick
I’ve gotta say, you guys really stepped it up last time around. 80% of you guessed the “Where in Warwick” photo correctly. We’ll see if you can keep the momentum going this week. In honor of the LLWS as well as the Red Sox and their continued success, we’re sticking with the baseball theme. Here’s an image of a local ball field.
🧐 Where was the above photo taken? Click the location you think is correct below. No cheating! Answer revealed at the end.
📸 Have a photo you want featured in next week's edition? Reply to this email with the image attached!
EVENTS THIS WEEK
🎉 National Night Out at Rocky Point | Tue Aug 4, 3 PM (festivities kick off 5 PM, fireworks around 8:30 PM). The Warwick Police Department's annual community bash returns to Rocky Point State Park with food trucks, a live DJ, K-9 and SWAT demos, touch-a-truck, and fireworks over the water to close it out. Free and open to the public. Info
🍻 National IPA Day at Apponaug Brewing | Thu Aug 6. Grab a beer with the Apponaug Brewing crew to celebrate the hoppiest day of the year. Info
🍽️ Providence Restaurant Weeks (20th Anniversary) | Runs through Aug 8. Prix fixe deals across the city and beyond, worth a trip in if you haven't gotten out yet this summer. Info
RECURRING EVENTS
🥬 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
ONE LAST SIP
✅ Where in Warwick Answer: The ball field at Winslow Park
Winslow Park's current fields, off Airport Road near Wells Avenue, aren't actually the original. The old fields sat off Main Avenue, well within T.F. Green's glide path, close enough that fly balls and landing jets were sharing the same airspace for years. When the FAA and Rhode Island Airport Corporation moved to extend the main runway to 8,700 feet, the old fields had to go. RIAC agreed to fund and build a brand new complex to replace them, a deal that cost about $7.5 million, and the city officially took control of the new site around 2015.
So the "new" Winslow Park you're looking at today is the park's second home, built to replace fields that got squeezed out by runway expansion, a reminder of how much this city has had to rearrange itself around that airport over the years.
That's it for today. Have a story suggestion, a tip, or just want to have a healthy debate about whether to use a straw in your Del’s Lemonade or not (absolutely not)? I'm here for it. Just hit reply. Thanks for reading!
Keep smiling!
