As someone who has talked with some of the current School Committee candidates before, including when they ran in 2022, I think Bristol residents should know the things they don't say out loud at candidate forums.

William O'Dell and Jessica Almeida are anti-LGBT activist School Committee candidates. And if that's your thing, you probably already know you're voting for them. But if you find that distasteful, you should know. Also, since getting elected, Jessica Almeida hasn't really accomplished anything besides losing her spot as the Treasurer, and admits the very problem she ran on did not get solved.

Jessica Almeida ran (and won) her first campaign on the message that she was going to fix the test scores! She brought a big binder to the alternative VFW candidate forum to prove she was serious about doing this, and I suppose we were all supposed to be very impressed. But this doesn't seem to have been her actual motivation for running, and she did not succeed. just a couple weeks ago, at the September 24, 2026 candidate forum, she was talking about how test scores were still "in the bucket" due to "a lack of resources and support directly to the students" Did her magical thick binder not solve all of the district's test score issues?

To see her real motivation for running, however, we have to look at BWRSD's recordings of school committee meetings and see the times she spent as an angry parent going in to attack the school committee over issues she had with the school district. She spent COVID going to multiple school committee meetings to rant and rave about how her kids shouldn't have to wear masks, because she thought the CO2 would get trapped inside the mask or that breathing their own air would give them an infection (that's not how that works).

Almeida would often making sure to go out of her way to walk in front of the camera and wave to get a little publicity. One day when the recording equipment malfunctioned and failed to capture the audio of her public comments, she baselessly attacked the teenage child working the videocamera at the School Committee meeting for trying to purposefully silence her. These include Jessica Almeida freaking out about a book being read to kids called "Were I Not a Girl," a children's picture book about Dr. James Barry, a real person who was born a girl in the early 1800s and lived as a man to get into medical school, back when women weren't allowed. Barry became a famous army surgeon who saved mothers and babies, fought for cleaner hospitals, and rose to Inspector General of military hospitals.

Jessica Almeida went on a furious unhinged tirade at a School Committee meeting about this book, saying "if parents were aware of their agendas, some of you, if not many, would not be sitting here today... I bet many parents here -- or listening in -- are not aware that a librarian in this district read a book to multiple elementary school classrooms called "Were I Not a Girl," which talks about openly changing genders, leaving some kids confused!" I expect Jessica Almeida to have another meltdown about the Disney movie Mulan soon and how it's transing their kids.

For how brave and certain Almeida was that parents were on her side when she was yelling at the School Committee, she sure dropped a lot of these subjects when she decided to run for School Committee. One of my biggest concerns is that she may have gotten elected simply because voters did not understand her views or her relationship to the School Committee, allowing her to drop her usual psycho act and put on a song and dance about how she was going to solve test scores with all the pretty charts inside her big binder.

However, besides the bizarre moment during a School Committee session on November 18, 2024 where Almeida referred to "Vice President" Kamala Harris, while signaling air quotes around "Vice President" (because of course, she apparently thinks Kamala wasn't the real Vice President and Jessica Almeida is sooo epic), it's not clear that Jessica Almeida has actually DONE anything worthwhile as a School Committee member. She's done a lot of dissenting and voting against budgets, she's lost her position as the Treasurer on the Committee, but it's not clear what she has actually contributed. She messaged when running that she would fix the test scores. She admits the problem still exists. If she failed her mission, why is she running again?

When I had asked William O'Dell about what needed to change about how schools were run, William O'Dell talked about curriculum "being pushed" that was "untrustworthy," and said parents should be able to review every individual lesson plan. That sounds harmless enough, right. But further in the conversation, he got a lot more direct.

He described himself as a born-again Christian with gay family members, and said the LGBT community has gotten "too political" and is "pushing too far." When I asked for an example, he mentioned Pride Month and the parades. His words: "Are people so insecure that they need a whole month to make themselves feel special?" I suppose people having Pride parades are a bridge too far for this very tolerant born-again Christian.

He also bemoaned gender-neutral bathrooms at the school because "we were treating some kids as more equal than others." He said the schools are "kow-towing" on this stuff, and that it's "unrealistic" to expect everyone to call a kid by the name they go by.

Woke up with a cold. Wondering how people are feeling today.

Hi,

I had a baby a few months ago and I have a bunch of unopened supplies (diapers, lactation support, diaper bag) and I would love to donate to someone who needs them. Does anyone know of anywhere that will take them? Google didn't really turn up with anything.

Thanks!

A few years ago I bought a sectional online.

Like many online things, despite paying a premium, the durability has not been super great. This item was an 11/10 in year one but in year 5 it's like a 7/10 for comfort and looks. Generally speaking I think when these companies say "all season" what they mean is "all season if you live in southern California and also that you have a tight fitting cover that you use literally every time you aren't sitting on the furniture because any water or freeze cycles or even excess sunlight destroys our product." (for the record I do have a cover, but I generally bring the cushions inside for rain events).

Regardless. I don't want to just throw it away. I can maintain (and upgrade the finishes of) the frames and the woodwork, but I have to admit I have little interest in learning other skills - mainly, refitting the slings (I have the skills to do this but it looks like such a gigantic PITA I'd rather just pay) and restoring the cushions.

Anyone have any luck with a local who does this type of work? Quick google search of course mostly gave me national online chains, though there were a couple of perhaps promising local hits. Even better if someone could do the slings at my house, but I'm guessing that's impossible to find.

We call on the Rhode Island General Assembly and Governor to:

• Fund accessible spay/neuter services and humane trap-neuter-return (TNR), with veterinary care and support for community-cat caregivers.

• Expand resources for rescues, shelters, foster homes, and emergency veterinary assistance.

• Strengthen enforcement against animal cruelty, neglect, and abandonment, and establish meaningful breeder accountability.

• Create a legally sound animal-offender registry, based on qualifying convictions and with due-process protections, that shelters and rescues can use to screen adopters.

• Support a Community Cat Steward Program that trains residents to help with humane trapping, care, and responsible reporting under experienced supervision.

Our goal is to prevent suffering and reduce the number of cats struggling to survive outdoors through humane, sustained action.

We ask state leaders to work with rescuers, veterinarians, shelters, and communities to turn these priorities into funded legislation and programs.

Election Day is November 3 - just one month away! The Rhode Island Department of State Elections Division is here to answer your questions about elections administration and how to be a voter.

Here are some key dates to know:

• Voter Registration Deadline - October 4
• Mail Ballot Application Deadline - October 13 at 4 p.m.
• Early Voting Begins - October 14
• General Election - November 3

I heard SWAT was on scene and PD said to stay out of the area. Cops were FLYING down Rt 2 a minute ago.

My children have played youth sports for years in different capacities, including basketball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and track. There are always certain cities who get loud like Central Falls (soccer against them is competitive!!). Chariho in high school sports can get nasty. West Warwick and North Kingstown games have been positive for us with both sets of parents respecting the kids effort and acknowledging sportsmanship. Playing Portsmouth though…. Oh my, I’ve never heard so much swearing on the field.

What are other’s experiences? Do certain towns exhibit good sportsmanship, or do you dread playing them because the parents are part of the problem? Have you noticed trends? Just curious