This Just In: Alan Shawn Feinstein still celebrates children's 'good deeds'

Good afternoon and welcome to This Just In. I'm Mike McDermott, managing editor of The Providence Journal. This will be the last newsletter for a few days; I'm off until Wednesday. If you're celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful and safe Christmas weekend.

For 30 years, Alan Shawn Feinstein has been encouraging children in Rhode Island and Massachusetts schools to practice "good deeds" as part of the Feinstein Jr. Scholars program. Now 90 years old, Feinstein remains at the head of his foundation, which provided $1.5 million in grants this past year. Today, limited by arthritis, he no longer visits schools to meet the children who benefit from and participate in his programs. But several educators interviewed by The Journal – as well as Feinstein Jr. Scholars themselves – say that he continues to make an important impact, in obvious and not so obvious ways.

Mark Patinkin's most memorable Christmas Eve was 35 years ago, in the Sahara Desert. He reflects on that unforgettable night in his latest column.

Rhode Island has set a new record for coronavirus cases in a single day, according to revised data from the Department of Health. The Health Department today reported 1,714 additional cases of COVID-19 – 1,379 who tested positive yesterday and the rest added to prior days' totals. The state now says 1,619 tested positive on Tuesday, which breaks the prior record of 1,607 from Dec. 3, 2020. Increased testing appears to be a factor: on Tuesday, there were more than 22,000 negative tests and the positivity rate was 6.8%; on Dec. 3, 2020, there were fewer than 15,000 negative tests and the positivity rate was 9.9%

The state also reported three COVID-related deaths, to bring the cumulative total to 3,018. There have been 80 deaths recorded this month so far. That will likely make this the deadliest month since February, when there were 188 COVID deaths. Last December, before vaccines became widely available, there were a staggering 515 coronavirus-related deaths.

There were 273 COVID-positive hospital patients at last count, down from 276 reported yesterday, with 40 in intensive care. The state has recorded an average of 1,162 new cases a day over the last seven days, up 5% from a week ago and up 26% from two weeks ago.

State Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green this week urged school districts to send school laptops home with students for the holiday break, in case a transition to distance learning is deemed necessary in the new year.

Researchers at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital have developed a device called "the Bubbler" that they say can detect coronavirus in a person's breath.

Agencies that assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Rhode Island say they are facing increasingly difficult decisions as a result of federal funding cuts.

A security breach involving the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority health-care plan may have affected more than 5,000 people, a federal agency says.

One of our great additions of the past year has been John Kostrzewa's Walking RI column. He's given readers a lot of wisdom about the great places to explore in our little state, and today he shares some wisdom he's received in return.

Another great addition has been Amy Russo, who joined our staff from New York and has been documenting her experiences in her new home state every weekend in the New to RI column. This week's edition of that column is about Belgium – and no, that's not a village in Coventry that you haven't heard of yet.

Earlier this week, we reported that PC got a forfeit win when its Wednesday game was canceled due to COVID problems with the Georgetown team. Now, due to a Big East policy change, that win has been erased.

And finally, as the Patriots get set to take on the Bills for the second time in three weeks, our Patriots reporter Mark Daniels writes why Bill Belichick and tight end Hunter Henry are proving to be a perfect match.

Once again, have a great weekend. If you know of anyone who would enjoy this newsletter, sign 'em up as a gift – you don't even have to tell them it's free.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Alan Shawn Feinstein still celebrates children's 'good deeds'