R.I. lawmakers would welcome public testimony at the State House, but ...

R.I. Vietnam veteran recalls harrowing rescue mission ... DAILY NEWSLETTER [Providence Journal]( 6 Jul, 2020 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [SUBSCRIBE FOR ALL ACCESS]( Today's Top Stories: [Political Scene: Assembly would welcome public testimony at State House, but …]( In normal times, Rhode Island lawmakers and post-Independence Day legislating go together about as well as socks and flip-flops or tomatoes and clam chowder. In these abnormal times, however, the General Assembly will be holding sessions and hearings starting next week and likely stretching into August. What's also unusual: the general public will probably not be allowed to join them when they take up policy issues ranging from the annual state budget to removing Providence Plantations from the state's official name. [Veterans Voice: Wakefield vet recalls harrowing rescue mission in Vietnam]( At age 26, Capt. Rick Wilson was seven months into his mission in Vietnam. He got a call that a reconnaissance team had found an enemy base camp and had been discovered. They were greatly outnumbered, and a firefight had ensued. There were many injuries, and one man had been shot in the head. "An extraction was requested, and I was closest to the action," he recalls. The recon team was about five miles away, on a ridgeline outside of Da Nang. "A couple of helicopters had tried to go in, and they had got shot out," remembers Wilson. "So I took off and went back out there with my wingman. And I figured out that I had to get to a certain spot to make a landing, because I wasn't going to be able to hover and hoist them up. You'd just get nailed." [Environmental groups: R.I. needs bold carbon-price plan]( They say a consultant's presentation in May lacked any discussion of climate change, and they're worried the state will settle for what's politically palatable and miss the opportunity to implement what could be a very effective tool in cutting the use of fossil fuels and their climate-wrecking emissions. [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [T.F. Green Airport seeks operator for two restaurants]( Two of the airport's largest restaurant spaces, each larger than 2,300 square feet, will be made available for a one-year lease with an option for extension and will add a projected 20 concessions jobs in total. In its request for proposals, the airport corporation, a state agency, says it will favor respondents that agree to hire qualified workers previously employed by HMSHost, including many who have been without jobs since the coronavirus pandemic flattened the travel industry in March. [New Wayfinder Hotel opens with Newport flair and fare]( The reconstruction of the former Mainstay Hotel, which included new walls, floor and ceilings, was a $16-million investment. [Subscribe to The Providence Journal]( [Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez talks Summer Camp, new routines, universal DH, coronavirus and more]( BOSTON - J.D. Martinez spent most of his spring on the coastal waters near his Florida home. The Red Sox slugger is an avid fisherman. [It’ll be a whole new ballgame for the Celtics]( They will be boarding a plane this week to take a trip unlike any other in sports history. And Finally... [Tom Hanks talks about viruses and victories at sea]( It takes a while to go through the filmography of Tom Hanks, and the roles he's chosen are as varied as imaginable: The lovelorn fruit man in "Splash," the boy in a man's body in "Big," the cranky team manager in "A League of Their Own," the fellow known as Forrest Gump, Woody in "Toy Story," and most recently, Mister Rogers. [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( You are receiving this communication as a member of the Providence Journal. Providence Journal values your online privacy. For more information, view our [privacy policy]( now. Please do not reply to this message. [Manage Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( Providence Journal 75 Fountain Street Providence, RI 02902 © 2020 Providence Journal. All rights reserved.