6:00 AM Tue, Jun 30, 2009 | Permalink
Thomas J. Morgan  Email
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On the local front:
A year ago today:
The Division Street Bridge in Pawtucket is being reopened to two-way traffic, seven months after it became one-way in the elaborate set of detours put in place when a weight limit was imposed on part of Route 95. The bridge, now one-way eastbound, is expected to become two ways eastbound and westbound following a ribbon-cutting ceremony tentatively scheduled tomorrow for 10 a.m. The bridge has been one-way between George and Prospect streets since Nov. 28, when the state transportation department imposed a 22-ton weight limit - later lowered to 18 tons - on the bridges that carry Route 95 over the Pawtucket River.
5 years ago today:
With the shimmering river at Pawtucket's Slater Mill as his backdrop and more than 200 cheering supporters as his audience, U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy launches his bid for a sixth term in Congress. It was a sunny scene for the veteran Democrat, who cruised to an easy victory in the last election and is poised for a repeat performance in November. Kennedy has amassed a formidable campaign account, while his Republican opponent struggles to catch up. Kennedy surrounded himself yesterday with the base of supporters who have kept him in Congress for nearly a decade. There were Teamsters, city mayors, World War II veterans and children from Head Start, who sat cross-legged on the grass, sipping apple juice from paper cups.
25 years ago today:
Thousands of 20-year-old Rhode Islanders lose their right to drink. The new minimum age is 21 as of today. The state joined a national movement aimed at curbing drunken driving. Twenty-three other states have set the 21 age limit. And in Washington this week, President Reagan is expected to sign a bill requiring states to raise their drinking age to 21 within two years or lose a portion of their federal highway funds. The measure also would increase highway funds for states that enact mandatory penalties for drunken driving.
On the international front:
On this day in 1934, Adolf Hitler carried out his "blood purge" of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as "The Night of the Long Knives."
Read The Associated Press's Today in History.
Watch video highlights from Today in History.
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25 yrs ago... ahh yes, I was 20 back in 1984 I remember this well lol
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