Monday, May 18, 2026 | Edition #35
GOOD MORNING, WARWICK. The weather gods have finally delivered. We're talking 70s and 80s all week, not much rain in sight, the kind of May that reminds you why you live here and not in Cleveland.
Start swapping out hoodies for swim trunks, locating your sunscreen, and figuring out if those lawn chairs are still structurally sound. As some of you know, I've been in shorts since March. But sure, act like this was your idea.
Let’s have ourselves a week.
TODAY’S SNAPSHOT
⏱️ Sunset Time: 8:02PM
🌒moon Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
⛽ Avg. Gas Price: $4.48 (click here to find the cheapest gas near you)
💧 Chance of Rain: 10%
WHAT’S GOIN’ AHN
🦞Rocky Point’s Face Lift
Rocky Point State Park is getting a front door worthy of its legend. Warwick city leaders announced a $4.4 million federal earmark, secured by U.S. Senator Jack Reed, for the Rocky Point Park Gateways Improvement Project. The funds will go toward upgrading the entryways at the intersections of Rocky Point Avenue and Palmer Avenue, plus improvements to drainage, walkways, and pedestrian safety.
For context: the park has been a beloved Warwick institution since the 1850s. It ran as one of Rhode Island's most iconic amusement parks for over a century until bankruptcy shut it down in 1995. After sitting abandoned for years, the city and state purchased the land in stages between 2008 and 2013, and it reopened as a passive-use state park in 2014. For a long time, the entrance was basically a sign at an intersection.
The gateway renovations are still in the planning phase, but the money is there. A nearby housing development proposal on Palmer Avenue is complicating things slightly, with residents raising concerns ahead of a June 10 Planning Board hearing.
The clam cakes and the roller coasters might be gone, but the face lift is coming.
👊🏼 The Legal Way to Bump a Car in Apponaug is Here
Have you ever completely lost your mind driving through the Apponaug rotaries? Someone stops in the middle. Someone else honks at you for correctly yielding. A third person just kind of exists in the intersection like they own it. It would be nice if there were somewhere you could take out that aggression in a legal, productive way. Now there is.
Rink Bumper Cars are open for business this Wednesday, May 20 at City Hall Plaza, giving Warwick and the surrounding area a brand new reason to act like a 10-year-old on a Wednesday afternoon. Online reservations are preferred but walk-ups are welcome.
Just in time for the nice weather. Go crash into your friends guilt-free.
🚸 Warwick Schools and the Learning Gap
A new Stanford Educational Opportunity Project map made waves this week showing Rhode Island students performing below the national average, sitting 0.42 grade levels behind peers across the country. Research involving teams from Harvard and Dartmouth found that U.S. students broadly remain nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading levels.
Zoom in to Warwick specifically and the picture is worth knowing. According to the most recently available public data, Warwick public schools post an average math proficiency of 26% versus the state average of 29%, and reading proficiency of 31% versus the state average of 33%. The district spends $25,246 per student, above the state median of $21,467. Updated district-level numbers from RIDE are expected this fall.
The data is worth paying attention to. But test scores only tell part of the story. All I know is the Pilgrim High School Class of 2017 put up some big numbers. Pre-TikTok. Just saying.
☀️ Summer Employment Opportunities
Deadlines are approaching for summer jobs and paid internship programs, and there are options right here in Warwick worth knowing about.
The City of Warwick is hiring for several summer positions including Beach Fee Collectors (deadline May 22), Beach Litter Crew (deadline May 28), Lifeguards, and Laborers. If your kid wants to spend the summer outside and get paid for it, this is a solid place to start. Learn more here.
The state's “Real Skills for Youth” program places teens ages 14-24 in paid summer internships running June through September, with tracks in construction, healthcare, tech, and education. Free, structured, and actually looks good on a resume. Learn more here.
If your son or daughter has played one too many rounds of Fortnite or just won't stop talking, sign 'em up. Deadlines are moving fast.
WEATHAH THIS WEEK
Enjoy this while it lasts.
QUICK HITTERS
🛣️Narragansett Parkway is officially dressed for the occasion. The red, white, and blue stripe is down, which means Gaspee Days is right around the corner. The parkway gets this treatment every year ahead of the parade and festival weekend, and honestly it never gets old. Pawtuxet Village is ready. Are you?
😺 Looking for a Few Felines ? | Link | Twenty cats rescued from an overcrowded home are now ready for adoption at the RISPCA's Warwick facility, after going through quarantine and a socialization process that included a shelter redesign giving them room to finally come out of their shells. The cats are spayed, neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped (yes, that’s what they’re doing now), and the RISPCA is running a two-for-one adoption special. Two cats for the price of one. Your couch has room. You know it does.
🚩 Oakland Beach Elementary Earns Special Olympics Banner | Link | Oakland Beach Elementary is the first Warwick elementary school to receive the Special Olympics National Banner, honoring schools that excel in unified sports, inclusive leadership, and whole-school engagement. The school celebrated with performances from the theatre club and pep squad, capping off a ceremony their principal called a promise to keep building a school where every kid feels seen. Good things happening at Oakland Beach. Shoutout to the Sea Stars.
🏢 Providence Rent Control Is Dead, For Now | Link | The Providence City Council fell one vote short of overriding Mayor Brett Smiley's veto of a rent stabilization ordinance that would have capped annual rent increases at 4%, with five councilors who opposed the measure simply not showing up to Friday night's vote. Smiley has held firm that rent control doesn't lower rents, while Council President Rachel Miller says the fight is far from over heading into the fall election season. Five councilors ghosted a meeting about housing affordability. Bold strategy.
⚠️ Reminder: Route 4 Daytime Closures Through June 5 | Link | Just a heads up that RIDOT is still closing Route 4 South in Warwick and East Greenwich daily between 10AM and 11AM through June 5 as part of the "Missing Move" project. Backups may extend onto I-95 South at the Cowesett Road overpass. Two more weeks. You've made it this far.
EVENTS THIS WEEK
Monday & Tuesday, May 18-19: 🪙City Budget Hearings | Info Link | The city is holding public budget hearings both days starting at 4PM at Warwick City Hall. If you have thoughts on how the city spends your money, now's your chance.
Friday, May 22: 🥋 Free Women's Self Defense Workshop | Link | 7PM at Legacy Martial Arts Warwick. Free and open to all women.
Saturday, May 23 - Monday, May 25 | 🛣️ Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival | Info Link | 10AM-5PM | Over 100 artisans, live music, food, and kids amusements along Narragansett Parkway in Pawtuxet Village. Free admission. 60,000 people are expected over the weekend. Rob Davis Band Saturday, Kidd Katy Sunday, The Senders Monday. If you've never been, that's on you.
LOOKING AHEAD
Beginning Saturday, June 6: 🥬Conimicut Village Community Market | Info Link | 9AM-12PM. Free admission. Doesn’t get more local than this.
Saturday, June 13: 🏃🏼➡️Gaspee Days 5K | Sign Up Here | The best 5k event in the state is less than one month away. The streets will be decked out in red, white, and blue. My friends will be trying to keep up with my dad. It’s always fun. I better see you there.
BRAIN FOOD
🧠 Where in Warwick?
Where was this photo taken? Answer shown at the end.
📖 The Warwick Word of the Day
Petrichor (PEH-trih-kor) noun | That distinct, earthy smell in the air right after rain hits dry ground.
Scientists say it comes from oils released by plants and soil bacteria. Poets say it's nature hitting reset. Warwick residents say it smells exactly like the parking lot behind Crowne Plaza during a Tuesday afternoon shower.
Whatever you call it, it's one of those things everyone recognizes and almost nobody had a word for. Now you do. And it’s all thanks to Rachel H. 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!
ONE LAST SIP
✅ Where in Warwick Answer: Ponaug Marina, tucked into Apponaug Cove off Greenwich Bay.
That railroad trestle cutting across the top of the frame isn't just a cool photo detail. It's a reminder of how long this corner of Warwick has been a working waterfront. The name Apponaug comes from a Narragansett word meaning "place of oysters," and the cove was one of the richest shellfish beds in the country, home to the Narragansett people for centuries before European settlers arrived. By the 18th century, Apponaug had grown into a port and shipbuilding center, and boats have been calling this cove home ever since.
Today, Ponaug Marina is a family-owned operation offering 150 slips and easy access to Greenwich Bay, Newport, and Block Island. It's the kind of place where the same families have kept their boats for generations. Low-key, no-frills, and exactly what Warwick waterfront is supposed to look like.
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That's it for today. If you need me, I’ll be outside working on de-vampiring my pale complexion. Enjoy the nice weathah this week.
Thanks for reading. Keep smiling!
