Michael Bilow

Saturday 3am-7pm rain then possible snow: Little accumulation

At Providence, rain Saturday with temperatures in the 40s until 4pm, with decreasing temperatures possibly causing a change to snow for a short time before ending 7pm. Flash freezing as temperatures drop to the low 20s overnight could cause slippery road conditions from wet surfaces. Median accumulation forecast is a fraction of an inch, with […]

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Retail Gasoline Price Increases: The crude truth

As retail gasoline prices rise above $4.00 per gallon, a lot of misinformation and even disinformation is circulating purporting to explain this. Let’s try to get to the real reasons. The historical peak for retail gasoline was in 2008 when the consumer price reached what would be $5.20 per gallon today, adjusted for inflation, and […]

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Wednesday 10am-9pm snow: 1-3 inches accumulation

At Providence, snow is likely Wed 10am-9pm. Although the precipitation will fall as snow, in the metropolitan area temperatures several degrees above freezing are likely to reduce ground accumulation, and temperatures are not expected to fall below freezing until very late overnight shortly before Thu sunrise, rising to an afternoon high of 50F. Median accumulation […]

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RI COVID-19 Test Standing Order: Allows direct billing insurance at pharmacies

Under a new standing order, every person in RI with either Medicaid or private health insurance should be able to pick up COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits from any pharmacy without having to pay up-front. Despite a federal government mandate that health insurers must cover up to eight kits per month for every covered […]

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Neo-Nazi Protesters at Red Ink: Disrupt community library reading

Neo-Nazi protesters waving flags emblazoned with a swastika, “SS” runes, and a “Totenkopf” (death’s head) disrupted an event at Red Ink Community Library on Cypress Street near Billy Taylor Park in Providence. The reading at 6pm on Monday, Feb 21, was intended to commemorate the 174th anniversary of The Communist Manifesto as part of international […]

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Opinion — A Musical Take on Putin’s Rape Taunt: “Like it or don’t like it, [lie back and] endure it, pretty girl.”

English speakers are at a disadvantage trying to understand the Russia-Ukraine conflict as news media make an effort to clean up the vulgar language used by the parties. CNN published among the least sanitized versions of remarks to the press by Russian President Vladimir Putin (“Putin’s use of crude language reveals a lot about his […]

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News Analysis – Failure on COVID-19 rapid testing availability: Insurers game the system

A federal mandate issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires health insurers to either directly cover or indirectly reimburse each insured individual for up to eight at-home over-the-counter COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits per month, up to $12 per test. Families on the same insurance plan are eligible for RAT […]

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