
By Alexander Castro | Reporter
It’s Monday again.
And welcome to the 222nd day of the year. The numerologically inclined say 222 can be a good omen. Or maybe a portent. Your oracular mileage may vary, depending on which crystal ball crunches the numbers.
One thing is certain, however: 222 is strobogrammatic, meaning it looks the same on a calculator even when turned upside down. In other words, if your kismet has been lacking lately, today’s the day to reverse course.
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High tide in Jamestown is at 6:19 a.m. Low tide is at 11:50 a.m. Sunset is at 7:52 p.m.
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State offices are closed today in observance of Victory Day — the Rhode Island-only holiday commemorating the end of World War II. RIPTA buses will run on a Sunday schedule, and some trash pickup will be delayed. The mail, however, will continue — that’s federal.

Democrats Amy Santiago (left) and Providence City Councilor Jo-Ann Ryan are running for the open House District 7 seat formerly held by Rep. David Morales. (Courtesy photos)
By Nancy Lavin
A mayoral veto has at least temporarily killed the Providence City Council’s signature rent stabilization initiative, but the philosophical clash over rent control lives on through the House District 7 Democratic primary.

The Hope Highlands Middle School polling site in Cranston, Rhode Island, seen on primary election day in September 2024. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Rhode Island Current staff
Rhode Island’s Sept. 9 primary is a month away. Our 2026 voter guide has candidate bios and answers on the issues from contenders for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, U.S. Senate and House, and mayor of Providence.

Greenhead horseflies are so named for their vivid, green eyes. The flies also have blade-like mouth parts that they use to slice into the skin of their targets. (Photo courtesy Dragon Mosquito Control, Inc.)
By Molly Rains | New Hampshire Bulletin
A unique kind of beast emerges from the marshlands of the East Coast each July. New England beachgoers know them well: With bulging, Kelly green eyes, and mouthparts that slice into their targets’ skin like scissors, greenhead horseflies can’t be ignored. But with enough data, they can, perhaps, be avoided — at least, that’s what web developer turned volunteer insect data collector Greggory Hogan hopes.

Preschool children line up to go outside at the Ralph Hawley Head Start Center in Emeryville, Calif., in December. (Photo by Florence Middleton for CalMatters)
By Carolyn Jones | CalMatters
The Trump administration appears poised to gut the central policies that shape Head Start, a popular and long-established early childhood education program that serves the country’s neediest children.

Elise Torello captured a photo of a bobcat on her trail camera. Over 1,000 sightings have now been reported to the Rhode Island Bobcat Project from all over the state.
COMMENTARY
By Jessica Minker
Here are two examples of how volunteers are helping scientists answer big environmental questions in Rhode Island, from tracking water quality in local ponds and streams to uncovering the secret lives of bobcats.
ICYMI
Rhode Island candidates look to TV ads to sell themselves to voters | Christopher Shea
Blanche nomination for AG in doubt after Alaska’s Murkowski says she’s opposed | Jacob Fischler, D.C. bureau
Take two on RI cannabis licenses: Regulators restart application process | Christopher Shea
US Senate confirms FEMA administrator alongside dozens of nominees | Jennifer Shutt, D.C. bureau
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