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LEADING OFF
Happy Thursday and welcome to Rhode Map, your daily guide to everything happening in the Ocean State. I’m Dan McGowan and I’m kind of starting to enjoy these new speed bumps in Providence. It’s like a roller coaster ride. Follow me on Twitter @DanMcGowan or send tips to Dan.McGowan@globe.com.
ICYMI: Rhode Island was up to 147,601 confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, after adding 304 new cases. The most-recent overall daily test-positive rate was 1.5 percent, and the first-time positive rate was 16.9 percent. The state announced four new deaths, bringing the total to 2,668. There were 148 people in the hospital, and 366,525 residents were fully vaccinated.
Sign up now: We’re hosting a free virtual event at 10 a.m. on May 4 looking at how small businesses can save Rhode Island’s post-pandemic economy, featuring Governor Dan McKee. You can register here.
Rhode Island isn’t exactly a high school football hub, but a kid from Providence is going to making history tonight: Kwity Paye is all but guaranteed to be the first Rhode Islander selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since 1939.
Paye grew up in Providence and graduated from Bishop Hendricken before having a standout career as a defensive lineman at Michigan. He’s also pretty good in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors three times.
Oh, and his family story will make you root for him – even if you went to LaSalle.
He was born in Guinea after his mother, Agnes, fled Liberia during the country’s civil war. The family moved to Rhode Island in 1999. When Paye was making a decision about high school, he promised his mom that if she could pay Hendricken, she wouldn’t have to pay for college.
If you want to have a good cry this morning, check out this NFL Network feature on the Paye family below, and make sure you read this story from The Providence Journal’s Eric Rueb.
The outlook is pretty high for Paye. ESPN projects him to be picked at No. 21 by the Indianapolis Colts.
THE GLOBE IN RHODE ISLAND
⚓ My latest column: Meet the unusual duo who helped Rhode Island save one of its two US House seats by leading the state’s Census count efforts. Read more.
⚓ Alexa Gagosz reports that personnel from at least 16 different federal agencies - including ICE - have helped administer vaccines and fulfill support staff roles at the state’s two mass vaccination sites supported by FEMA. Read more.
⚓ US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has a fascinating op-ed in the Globe about how President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw US military forces from Afghanistan should bring back memories and lessons from previous withdrawals of American troops, and their aftermaths. Read more.
⚓ Manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and other industries are struggling to fill jobs, a problem that could turn a post-pandemic economic boom into a bust, Brian Amaral reports. Read more.
⚓ Hilary Levey Friedman’s announcement this week that she is considering a run for General Assembly drew attention in part because she did not specify whether she is running for the state House or Senate, and because she lives in a part of Providence’s East Side now represented by two of the state’s most well-known progressive female legislators – Representative Edith H. Ajello and Senator Gayle L. Goldin. Read more.
⚓ With just under a half-acre of land, the only house on a small island in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay has hit the market for an asking price of $399,900. But you better have cash. Read more.
MORE ON BOSTONGLOBE.COM
⚓ Politics: My colleague James Pindell breaks down President Biden’s first formal address to Congress. Read more.
⚓ Health: Less than two weeks after 16- and 17-year-olds became widely eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, the debate over the wisdom of getting the shot is growing complicated in households across Massachusetts. Read more.
⚓ Crime: A federal investigation has recovered more than $3.8 million in back wages for 1,100 employees of a oilfield pipeline inspection company operating in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 38 other states, officials said Wednesday. Read more.
⚓ Sports: A group of former Brown University football players have a horse in the Kentucky Derby this weekend. Read more.
WHAT’S ON TAP TODAY
Each day, Rhode Map offers a cheat sheet breaking down what’s happening in Rhode Island. Have an idea? E-mail us at RInews@globe.com.
⚓ BIRTHDAYS: Rhode Map readers, if you want a friend or family member to be recognized on Friday, send me an e-mail with their first and last name, and their age. If you want a shout out on the new Globe Rhode Island Facebook page, send along their Facebook handle as well.
⚓ Governor McKee will host his weekly COVID-19 press conference at 1 p.m.
⚓ The House Oversight Committee meets at 4 p.m. to discuss MTM, the state’s medical transport vendor.
⚓ The Providence City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. to receive the mayor’s budget proposal.
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Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.