Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

On the local front:

A year ago today:
East Providence is exploring whether a four-day work week for its employees will save taxpayers money. Officials will also look into having night hours at City Hall to better accommodate working residents. The suggestions were made by Mayor Isadore Ramos Jr. and Councilwoman Valerie Perry. Ramos said four days instead of Monday through Friday could save the city utility costs. He mentioned the use of air conditioners in the summer and heaters in the winter as examples as well as the rising cost of gas for East Providence's vehicles.

5 years ago today:
Legislation banning smoking in virtually every public place -- from restaurants to Little League fields -- unanimously passed the Senate today and now heads to Governor Carcieri's desk. Carcieri supports the measure and will allow it to become law, according to spokesman Jeff Neal. The act is billed as a move to protect workers from secondhand smoke and would prohibit smoking in bars, offices, malls, taxis, homes used for child care or adult daycare, and cars and trucks used by more than one person for work. The American Cancer Society called the vote "a key victory for all Ocean State residents who want our state to be a healthy place to live, work and visit."

25 years ago today:
Riders get a sneak preview of Rocky Point's innovative "loop corkscrew" roller coaster. Some liken it to getting tossed around in a clothes dryer, others to being strapped to a giant runaway roller skate or riding a simulated space capsule at NASA headquarters. "It's a smooth ride . . . a good ride for the money. In the back, you get a great sensation . . . like you're going to fall out of a car," said Roger Lauzon of Newport, a member of American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), who were the prime beneficiaries of the preview.

On the international front:

On this day In 1985, all 329 people aboard an Air India Boeing 747 were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland, after a bomb widely believed to have been planted by Sikh separatists exploded.

Read The Associated Press's Today in History.

Watch video highlights from Today in History.

 Tags  East Providence R.I. Rocky Point

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