From the Newsroom: The Providence Journal

Drivers killed three pedestrians on North Main Street over the past year. Now, members of a new city task force are trying to figure out why the thoroughfare is so hazardous, and what can be done to make it safer. Journal staff writer Amy Russo reports.

His father, a farmer, lost 200 acres to the reservoir project in the 1960s, and when Breene wanted to buy his own dairy farm later, he ended up having to buy land outside the management area. “I’d rather be down on Big River.” “I always felt bad, because some people had some beautiful places and figured they had to get right out because the reservoir was supposed to be built in the early '70s. Some of the people who were older could have just stayed there, the way it all turned out, and finished out their lives where they were happy.”

Jo-Ann Lemaire talks about her husband Frank outside the old gray house. The summer wind swirls her hair as she remembers his feelings about the reservoir project

Nellie Gaye, who was homeless and hungry as a child in her native Liberia, discusses establishing the One Less Worry program, which provides free food to people in need. The program is based at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Providence. @GWayneMiller #podcast for @projo. Story, photos and video at providencejournal.com

Imagine there was a way to prevent potential pandemics by accurately predicting how they might unfold, which would enable policymakers and medical and public health officials to act to stop them long before reaching crisis stage. Brown University School of Public Health epidemiologist Mark Lurie describes a major new initiative that he heads that aims to make this possible. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo -- story and images at providencejournal.com

The more than 3,000 Rhode Islanders lost to COVID were memorialized Saturday with a display of thousands of white flags on the State House lawn and a ceremony that opened a week during which the flags will remain in place. The display was created by artist Suzanne Firstenberg, who explains its purpose here. NOTE: This was recorded outside, so there are background sounds. @gwaynemiller #podcast for The Providence Journal; read the story and see photographs here.

Interim state Health Department director Dr. James McDonald is resigning. In this interview, he explains his reasons. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejounal.com

Speaking at a forum during Brown University’s commencement weekend, former state Health Department director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott discussed health equity, the COVID-19 pandemic, her admiration for former Gov. Gina Raimondo and her staff, and the leadership qualities she says are needed to head public-health agencies. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician and academic dean of Brown's School of Public Health. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo, story at providencejournal.com

Mary Marran, president and COO of Butler Hospital, discusses the crisis in the state’s behavioral health care and disabilities systems and a path toward reform. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo Story at The Providence Journal

PASCOAG -- Jim Whiteside lives about as far into the woods of northwestern Rhode Island as you can get without being in another state. Which would not be remarkable until you learn of the multiple health challenges that limit his vision, hearing and mobility. But thanks to a community health center that makes house calls and provides transportation to office appointments, Whiteside, a retired social worker, remains independent in his home of many years on pristine Wakefield Pond, near Buck Hill. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo. Story and video at providencejournal.com

Dr. Dean Roye, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Rhode Island Hospital; Dr. Kenneth Wood, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Lifespan; Dr. Mitchell Levy, Director of Critical Care Medicine for Lifespan; and Dr. Jeremiah Schuur, Physician-in-Chief of Emergency Medicine for Lifespan, discuss Lifespan leaders discuss the fourth surge and staffing shortages. From a virtual press conference held on December 9, 2021. Stories at providencejournal.com

Brown University School of Public health epidemiologist Mark Lurie discusses the omicron variant threat. “In times of uncertainty, it’s better to be overly cautious than under-prepared,” he says. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo -- story and video at The Providence Journal

Brown University's School of Public Health is embarking on a study designed to assess the broad impact of Long COVID, the post-acute coronavirus disease syndrome that affects millions in America alone. Dean Dr. Ashish Jha discusses the methodology and uses for the research, which is supported in part by a grant from Hassenfeld Family Initiatives, headed by former Hasbro CEO and chairman Alan G. Hassenfeld. @gwaynemiller #pocast for @projo -- video and story at providencejurnal.com

Simple. Inexpensive. Effective. These are among the virtues of an ingenious do-it-yourself air-filtration system designed to protect against COVID-19 and other viruses that Brown University students were assembling Friday afternoon in Alumnae Hall under the watchful eye of Brown School of Public Health dean Dr. Ashish Jha. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com

The COVID pandemic has affected the mental health of untold millions of Americans and residents of other countries. And in this continuing public-health crisis, which is linked to rising suicide rates the world over, it has never been more critical to talk openly and seek professional help when warranted. “Pay importance to your own mental health and with the people around you, look for early signs [of difficulties], talk to them and refer them for care if needed,” advises Dr. Shekhar Saxena, professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and former head of the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Saxena is this week's guest on "Story in the Public Square," the national public-TV and SiriusXM show that is a partnership of The Providence Journal/USA TODAY network and Salve Regina University’s Pell Center. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - providencejournal.com

Neil Steinberg and Jane Hayward discuss the Rhode Island Foundation report on the proposed merger of Care New England and Lifespan, to be affiliated with Brown University. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com

Martha L. Wofford, president and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, discuss the 2021 Rhode Island Life Index. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com

Christa Thomas-Sowers, community outreach coordinator for Community Care Alliance, discusses Rhode Island's statewide behavioral-healthcare and mental-health workforce crisis - and what it means for needy people who are forced to go without vital services. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story at providencejournal.com https://bit.ly/3FDAWYT

Exeter's Dawn Dove, a Narragansett/Niantic elder, talks about the steps including vaccinations that she and her family have taken to stay safe during the pandemic -- and the amazing gift given her and her young grandson as the seasons changed from fall to winter and then spring, when nature came alive. @Gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo. Dawn's story and the stories of how a scientist, a nurse, a pastor, a mother and daughter, and a restaurant owner have fared since March 2020 at providencejournal.com

When the Rev. Chris Abhulime discusses his job as Gov. Dan McKee’s deputy chief of staff, equity is the dominant topic. @gwaynemiller #podcast for @projo - story and video at providencejournal.com