‘Adaptable people’: Ethan Hartley talks trolls, budgets and bridges in East Providence

Ethan Hartley, editor of The East Providence Post, recently covered the city budget process where Mayor Bob DaSilva signed the latest tax-and-spending plan Wednesday.Hartley said no services were cut, but he underscored that the city still raised the overall tax levy to the state-capped limit of 4% for the next fiscal year.“Municipal budgets today are very tight,” Hartley said. “Just to get the basic services and take care of your contractual increases takes up a lot of what you have room for. And so mostly, they said it’s not a great budget, it’s not perfect, but it’s the best we can do. And they passed it.”Hartley also talked about the giant troll that was recently erected in town, and discussed the lasting effects of the closed westbound Washington Bridge, which connects East Providence to Providence.“Rhode Islanders are very adaptable people,” Hartley said. “We kind of assume that things are going to be bad. And so I think at this point, almost two years in, we just know what to expect and that the bridge is going to be miserable and traffic’s going to take an extra half hour to get where you want to go.” Later in the show, Kim and Eli talked about the “Stories We Wish We Wrote.” They include:Kim’s picksWhich Dunkin’ is the most Dunkin’ of all? An investigation. by Beth Teitell, The Boston GlobeRhode Island considers ending Medicaid coverage of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss by Alexandro Castro, Rhode Island CurrentEli’s picksHOSPITAL MAKEOVERS: Health systems look for shot in the arm from multimillion dollar projects by Katie Castellani, Providence Business NewsNew tour biz offers tastes of SouthCoast aboard a double-decker bus by Ashley Schuler, The Fall River Herald NewsEveryone’s coverage of the Dartmouth plane crash on I-195Watch “Behind the Story” Thursdays at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the WPRI 12+ TV app.How to download the free WPRI 12+ smart TV appIt airs on TV (Sundays at 8 a.m. on FOX Providence and 11 a.m. on The CW Providence), and will be available on demand through the WPRI 12+ app and right here on WPRI.com.“Behind the Story” is hosted by Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian of 12 News, along with Dan McGowan of the Boston Globe.