This Just In: Wishes for Christmas Eve, and cute alpaca pictures

The pizza pictures are pretty good too [providencejournal.com]( This Just In Monday, December 28 [none]( [This Just In: Wishes for Christmas Eve]( The pizza pictures are pretty good too Happy Christmas Eve, and welcome to This Just In. I'm Mike McDermott, managing editor of The Providence Journal. Normally at this time on Dec. 24 I'd be getting ready to host a big family party, and I'm sad about all the people I won't be seeing. But I'm going to make the most out of this Christmas with my beautiful wife and children. Unless [the power goes out]( in which case I'll really lose my mind. My Christmas wish is that the vaccines that are already being deployed, and those that are still working their way toward approval, will allow us to spend time doing what we enjoy doing, with the people we love — even the ones we just like. That's why I enjoyed [this Christmas Eve poem]( from EMT Mandy Syers. State leaders have been talking up the possibility of a banner summer if the population is more or less fully vaccinated by late spring, and organizers of some of Rhode Island's signature summer events [are thinking the same way]( When Crystal and Darryl Dutch, of Greenville, [celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary early next month]( they'll have an extra reason to be thankful: both of them survived harrowing cases of the COVID-19. Unfortunately, too many other Rhode Islanders have not been able to say the same. According to The New York Times, [Rhode Island has had more coronavirus-related deaths over the last seven days than any other state]( as a percentage of its population. The good news is that the state's new cases, which led the nation less than two weeks ago, are going down. The not-so-good news: the virus is so widespread that [every one of the state's 39 cities and towns has a high rate of infection]( And two experts modeling the spread of the virus, including one who used to work for the Rhode Island Department of Health, [estimate that the state has only caught about half of the actual infections]( despite robust testing. In a year when Rhode Islanders faced enormous financial stress, government action kept bankruptcies and evictions down. [So what happens in 2021?]( Charles Calenda, the lawyer who represented Maxx Fitness Clubzz in its fight to stay open in defiance of Gov. Gina Raimondo's "pause," [says he is running for attorney general]( in 2022. I once heard a wise man say that it is impossible to take a bad picture of an alpaca. So it's no surprise that when Katie Mulvaney and David DelPoio visited Hope Alpaca Farm in Little Compton on a recent, frigid morning (at least for those who aren't covered in wool), [they got great photos and a fun story]( I've been eating snacks all day, and [the picture on Gail Ciampa's story about the new Pizza Marvin still makes me hungry]( Sorry Friars fans: [You're not going undefeated in the Big East this year]( But [that Celtics game last night]( was amazing. Have a wonderful holiday if you're celebrating. And if you're looking for a late Christmas gift, [invite someone to subscribe to This Just In](. It's free, but they don't have to know that. [Discover more with our newsletters: Get the latest headlines, things to do and more in your inbox. Sign up here.]( [click here]( Problem viewing email? [View in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( • [Manage Newsletters]( • [Terms of Service]( • [Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights]( • [Privacy Notice]( • [Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy]( • [Feedback]( © 2020 75 Fountain St. , Providence, RI 02902