Daily Briefing: Rhode Island's year in sports is one to celebrate

ALSO: 💰 Lower interest rates are coming. What does that mean for my money? Advertisement [eNewspaper]( | [Crosswords]( | [Horoscopes]( [Read in browser]( The Daily Briefing YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP Mon Dec 18 2023 Will Richmond | Managing Editor Communities & R.I. [@Will_Richmond]( Good morning, I'm Will Richmond at The Providence Journal and this is the Daily Briefing. For a small state, Rhode Island never lacks in stories. Political reporters will spin tales of the playground that is the State House and we've all seen the stories of corrupt politicians that have come from the halls on Smith Hill. Not every story coming out of the state is bad. Take for instance the run the kids from Smithfield Little League made to the Little League World Series this year. For about a week in August the state would almost grind to a halt to watch a bunch of 12-year-olds compete for the title. Sure they came up short, but it was a lot of fun for us to watch, never mind the experience the kids got to enjoy. The Smithfield run is just one of 10 sports stories the staff here at The Providence Journal have picked as the top stories from 2023. [Castellone & Curties, Smithfield Little League] Smithfield pitchers from left, Brayden Castellone congratulates Connor Curtis in the sixth inning during their game versus Mountain Regional champ Nevada at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. Marc Vasconcellos/The Enterprise There's a lot to celebrate in this list. From teenagers seeing their big league dreams come true to the Providence College Friars making back to the NCAA Tournament only to watch their hometown hero coach bolt for another job, the sporting world was captivating. Fortunately, our team was there to capture it all and we'll be back again in 2024 to do it all over again. Check out [our top 10 sports stories from 2023]( and [the most inspirational stories in the Rhode Island sports scene](. From January to December The Providence Journal has you covered. [Check out our latest offer and subscribe today.]( WORTH A READ 💰 Lower interest rates are coming. [What does that mean for my money?]( ⛵ Boston Tea Party 250th anniversary: [How this New Bedford ship was involved]( 📰 'It’s a miracle':[Uncle of Brown student shot in Vermont talks about rehab, resilience]( [Today's Weather]( 🌧️ Windy and warm with rain, heavy at times; heavy rain and strong winds can cause flash flooding and power outages. Highs in the low 60s. TOP STORIES [Political Scene: Which lawmakers collect state pensions?]( [While EngageRI rallies in the State House rotunda, the House and Senate finance committees hear public testimony on pension reform legislation at joint hearings in October 2011.]( Fourteen current state lawmakers collect a state pension. Will they vote to reinstate COLAs for themselves? [READ MORE]( Advertisement [Maycomb Capital managing director Shelby Kohn speaks at a Friday news conference on the "pay for success" program her group is funding to provide permanent supportive housing to the state's homeless population.]( [Housing program for the homeless has fiscal incentives for investors]( Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness is starting a "pay for success" program for supportive housing that rewards investors if residents do well. [READ MORE]( [Sally Rock Point includes a series of rocks that stretch from the beach into Greenwich Bay from the northeast corner of Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick.]( [Warwick is split by East Greenwich. Why was the map drawn that way?]( Warwick's Potowomut peninsula is basically the Rhode Island equivalent of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Here's how that came to be. [READ MORE]( [Queen Elizabeth II is welcomed aboard the USS Constitution in Boston by U.S. Navy Secretary John Middendorf, center, and Cmdr. Tyrone Martin on July 11, 1976. Prince Philip is in the background.]( [Veterans Voice: Navy's keel ceremony honors RI's J. William Middendorf]( J. William Middendorf II honored: Navy innovator, artist, composer. USS J. William Middendorf keel ceremony marks his legacy. [READ MORE]( [Taylor Swift, center left, reacts with Brittany Mahomes, center right, during the first half of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)]( [Taylor Swift returns to Gillette for Patriots-Chiefs game. What to know.]( Taylor Swift told Time magazine that she and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are "showing up for each other" as part of their public relationship. 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