North Kingstown Patch's comment stream isn't the only way to make your voice heard here. For those who are truly passionate about politics, food, family, schools, social issues, exercise, business, fashion and everything in between, we invite you to blog on Patch. No qualifications necessary: you just need to be able to form words into sentences. Are you passionate about North Kingstown's core issues? Are you an expert craftsman or hobbyist who can share do-it-yourself tips? Do you have strong opinions about local government? Can you just make us all laugh? Can you write compellingly? Then, …
It's that time of year again when this little editor goes on her (much-anticipated) staycation. From Wednesday, Dec. 5 through Monday, Dec. 10, I will be on vacation. If you try to contact me during this time and don't hear back from me promptly, that is because I will be acting like there's a giant void between South Kingstown and East Greewich. Don't fret: you will still be receiving your NK news during this time, though it will be handled by other Patch editors. If you have any pressing business that needs to be on the site this week or have questions, you have a few options: Send an …
I've put off writing this running blog entry because, to put it simply, I was trying to stay optimistic. Why? Let's just say my training for the NK5K hasn't necessarily gone according to plan. Every Saturday morning, I woke up and went to my Couch to 5K training class at the West Bay Family YMCA. Our running group is awesome, incredibly supportive and led by two amazing ladies (Teri and Julie) who have helped each one of us with our form, breathing and even gave advice on shoes and attire. Each Saturday morning, I left with a little homework to do – a running regiment that, with each passing …
I had an epiphany last week. I don't really hate running. In anticipation of my first day of training for the NK5K, I decided to hit the treadmill and see what a 5K (3.1 miles) felt like. It could’ve been that I was just “in the zone” or that the John Williams Pandora station on my phone was picking great songs – you try not to be amped up while listening to the Star Wars theme followed by the Jurassic Park theme – but I ended up doing it in 33 minutes. It may sound like a pathetic attempt at exercise to the more seasoned runners out there, but just remember that I consider shopping to be a …
I made two New Year’s resolutions this year. The first was to stop buying Nutella every time it went on sale at Dave’s Marketplace. Since I already broke that resolution, I have to uphold the second – to run the NK5K. And I mean actually run it – not do my goofy hybrid of a skip/jog and hop it on Jitters when I got tired or bored. For the hundreds who run this race every year, it seems like a piece of cake. Not for this editor. I go to the gym regularly, but pretty much exclusively use the arc trainer and bike for my cardio needs. (I have bad knees, so I view the treadmill and all running in …
There were cookies. There were fresh blueberries. There was artisan coffee. There was even mango salsa – and yes, I bought a tub of it. On Thursday, Wickford Village held its inaugural farmers market. Vendors ranged from Great Harvest Bread to Updike's Newtowne Coffee to New England Grass Fed and even Schartner Farms. Next week, the corps will grow to include Bravo Wood Fire Pizza and Wildwood Catering. Missed it this week? Fear not: the Wickford Farmers Market is happening every Thursday this summer until September, 3 to 7 p.m.
Living only a few miles from Quonset Point for most of my life, I've grown accustomed to seeing Blackhawk helicopters in the skies above my house. I've probably seen hundreds in my life – and craned my neck to watch each one t fly over my head. (For some reason, it never gets old for me.) For years I wondered, what would it be like to look down from one of those rather than look up? Well, Friday afternoon I finally got my chance to do that after the fine folks at the Rhode Island National Guard allowed my colleague (Coventry Patch Editor Lauren Costa) and me take a ride on one. My conclusion…
Many are up in arms over the social media schism that is the Facebook timeline. Whether you like it or hate it, Facebook's changing over to this new layout...including North Kingstown Patch's page, starting March 30. Instead of throwing a tantrum and starting a Facebook page to petition this, we've decided to use one of timeline's features to highlight North Kingstown's artistic talent. How, you ask? From now until March 29, we'll be accepting North Kingstown's submissions for a cover photo for us to use on NK Patch's Facebook page. Whether its a photo of Wickford Village at sunset, a …
North Kingstown Patch is more than just police logs, stories about school committee squabbles and a substantially active comment stream: we're also a great asset to local businesses. So what is Patch? We're the leader in neighborhood content, conversations and commerce with more than 860 sites across the country. On Patch you’ll find the neighborhood news and information you must know, the best things to do, ways to buy, sell and save money, and a platform to connect and share with your neighbors – all curated locally. For businesses, Patch is your concierge to the Web in local communities…
Call it a thoroughly modern dilemma. You can get any style of shoe delivered right to your door in 24 hours via the Internet, but must sort through five pages of random Google results just to find the right number for the pizza joint down the street. Oh and P.S. the hours on that robo-generated listing are completely wrong. Patch would hate to see anyone pizza-less and hungry (or without those killer boots) so that's why we launched North Kingstown Patch in October 2010 with the area's most comprehensive and detailed business directory, called "Places." In Patch Places, you can find …
Passionate about reshaping North Kingstown's business community? Want to influence the community you love? Have innovative ideas on how to boost North Kingstown's business climate? The North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce is requesting nominations for new board members as several board members' terms are coming to a close. The Chamber is undergoing an innovative restructuring of its administrative function and looks to establish "dynamic economic development initiatives." Additionally, the Chamber says it hopes to recreate the North Kingstown community's business support structure and …
It's been frosty lately, but snowmen have been largely absent from the yards and playgrounds of North Kingstown. That is, except for one house on Shermantown Road. You may have seen it in your travels: a three-foot-tall snowman on a stone ledge, complete with winter hat, scarf and goggles with a part of a fan belt for a mouth. So where did this crystalline concoction come from? According to homeowner Cindy Hoogasian of 730 Shermantown Road, this little guy hails from the treacherous north that is Maine (i.e. where Mother Nature has realized it is actually winter and bestowed snow upon the …
With clear skies tonight, the first meteor shower of the 2012 looks to give stargazers across the North Hemisphere quite a show, according to the Huffington Post. Peaking at 2:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 4, the Quadrantid meteor shower may produce as many as 100 shooting stars per hour, according to NASA. With the moon setting at roughly 3 a.m. EST, those in North America will be treated to a "brief, beautiful show" tonight. Space.com cautions that the Quantrantids are known for their unpredictability, but that this meteor shower "may end up being one of the best of 2012," due in large …
What town was home to one of the largest drug busts in state history and a loose cow on the Jamestown Bridge? North Kingstown, of course. It's been a busy, wacky and interesting year in North Kingstown. As 2011 comes to a close, we'll take a look back at the biggest stories of the year. Happy New Year, North Kingstown! Stay safe.
From teenagers hiding marijuana in peculiar places to nurses attempting to threaten officers to an interesting maneuver to get on Santa's "nice" list, we've compiled some of the strangest North Kingstown police stories from this past year. Though these are in no particular order, we invite you to vote for which of these stories is your favorite in our poll below. 1. Trying to Get on Santa’s ‘Nice’ List One North Kingstown woman had a unique way of trying to get on Santa’s “nice” list this year. South Kingstown police responded to the Wakefield Mall and arrested the 52-year-old woman …
Lists have been drafted, lettesr have been sent and endless pestering has led to this moment for children across the world – the day when they find what is under the Christmas tree. We went around and asked a handful of North Kingstown elementary school students what they hope to find under the tree this year...and what they don't want to find. As expected, these kids did not disappoint with their responses. Happy Holidays, North Kingstown!
According to the Huffington Post, there are two types of annoying songs in the world: those that are annoying through some inherent fault (i.e. crazy auto-tuning, etc.) or those that are just annoying through repitition. Combine the two and you have the monstrosity that is the annoying Christmas song. By now, you've probably heard your fair share considering that the assault of Christmas songs began before the last bite of turkey was properly digested on Thanksgiving Day. We've compiled some Christmas songs that we, frankly, are sick of hearing. Don't agree with some of our submissions? Tell …
Have a Healthy Halloween Halloween is a great time for spooky fun for both kids and adults. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island recommends you follow three steps to ensure that your family stays safe and healthy this Halloween 1. Make sure that your children’s costumes are safe. Check the tags of any cloth items to make sure that they are made of flame-resistant material. Have your kids try on any masks before purchasing to make sure they can breathe comfortably and see well. Find costumes that will keep your kids visible to drivers. 2. Keep an eye on things. If your kids go trick-or-…
Do you remember the scarecrow from 'The Wizard of Oz'? Yeah, these scarecrows aren't like that one. At all. Wickford Village kicked off this year's Wicked Week, its weeklong Halloween celebration, with the annual scarecrow contest. Wickford merchants battled to craft the scariest, funniest, most creative and/or most perplexing scarecrows to put on display outside their stores...and this year surely did not disappoint. Voila won for the funniest scarecrow with its "Bicyclist Going Over a Cliff." Second place went to Beauty & the Bath with the "Wicked Witch" scarecrow. For scariest scarecrow, …
Do you love seeing 5 Things every weekday morning? Want to see it on the weekends, too? Right now, we run "5 Things" Monday through Friday, but we're curious to see if North Kingstown Patch's readers also want it on the weekends. 5 Things? 3 Things? No things? Let us know in the poll below or even in the comments.
