Here are some of the more significant stories of the year.

Alexis Meyer Named New Superintendent

The date on this story says a lot: Feb. 25. A mere two weeks later, Gov. Raimondo closed schools and sent school districts scrambling to make distance learning (a brand new phrase in our vocabulary) a reality. Meyer hasn’t stopped since. If she has regret about accepting the job, or sometimes feels sorry for herself, we haven’t seen it. 

Dining – Outdoors! – Returns to EG at Handful of Restaurants

This was a welcome sign of things starting to ease after two months (two months!) of closures. 

COVID-19 Hits Scalabrini Nursing Home Hard

The coronavirus has poised a huge challenge to nursing homes in particular. Scalabrini Villa was the hardest hit locally, with 13 deaths by late April. 

EG Doctor Becomes National Face for PPE

EG’s Megan Ranney, M.D., has become a frequent contributor on CNN and beyond during this pandemic, arguing first for more PPE then talking about everything COVID. She’s also up to more than 80K followers on Twitter, where she dispenses information and bats down misinformation. 

EG Protesters Say Black Lives Matter

A protest by just two people in support of Black Lives Matter and against the killing of George Floyd during the middle of the week bloomed into a much larger protest the following Sunday, where around 250 people gathered to show solidarity. 

End of an Era: After 38 Years, Hartmans Sell Back to Basics

The story of Bob and Maryanne Hartman and their natural foods store, Back to Basics, is really the quintessential small business, small town story. Through lots of trial and error and hours, they made it work. Happily, the store under new ownership remains open and familiar. 

Rodney Bailey with grandson Matthew. Photo credit: Ruben Perez

Rodney Bailey Makes One Last Trip to the Barn

It’s hard to call a story about someone who has died a “favorite” but still, writing about Rodney Bailey was an honor. It was such a pleasure to hear stories from his children and grandchildren. May we all have such an impact. 

Downtown Construction Roundup: The ‘Lido’ & Goodbye Green Monster  

Sometimes as a reporter you collect a lot of small stories that suddenly fit perfectly into a larger story. This was one of those stories – and the feedback was very positive. Turns out, a lot of us are curious about what goes on in our town. 

Beginning & End of EG’s Black Enclave

Writer Catherine Streich dug into the history of Scalloptown, in two parts.

No GOP Candidates for Council? 

For the first time in decades – probably ever – no Republican candidates filed to run for Town Council in East Greenwich. The one Republican who signed up to run for School Committee dropped out before the election. The town’s three Democratic state legislators run reelection.  Whether this is a blip on the screen or a long-term trend, EG today is a Democratic stronghold. 

Trump Isn’t Only One Aggrieved by Mail Ballots

A breakdown of the vote-counting process and why it led some candidates to believe they had won before the majority of votes had been counted.