On Dec. 20, 2010, after weeks of going door-to-door creating business listings for the directory, introducing myself to local officials, handing out business cards and trying to explain to people what Coventry Patch was all about, I ran through a final checklist with my boss and was then given the green light to officially launch the site.  Today, Dec. 20, 2012, I can honestly say that I cannot believe it's been two years already. As the saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun." It's been a busy year here in Coventry, considering all that has gone on in this town of ours. Whether it…

  The Coventry Patch website is growing rapidly and inevitably, with growth comes obstacles. I would like to take a moment to address some of the questions and concerns I've received recently and share with you some tips as to how you can help to improve this website and make it a true resource for the community. The Comments While we welcome commentary on this site, I would like to ask everyone to please, keep it civil. This means try to avoid personal attacks on others, do not curse and please at least try to contribute something positive to the conversation. I moderate the comments but …

  Coventry Patch is more than just police logs, stories about town council squabbles and a substantially active comment stream: we're also a great asset to local businesses.  So what is Patch? We're the leader in neighborhood content, conversations and commerce with more than 860 sites across the country. On Patch you’ll find the neighborhood news and information you must know, the best things to do, ways to buy, sell and save money, and a platform to connect and share with your neighbors – all curated locally.  For businesses, Patch is your concierge to the Web in local communities. We offer…

  Dear Readers, Patch is a great place to not only get the local news that you need, but also react to it in the form of comments. But we want everyone to feel comfortable on Patch so please keep the following in mind: Keep comments on topic. Be kind. Treat others as you want to be treated. Don't swear. This is a family website. Here's is the detailed Terms of Use for Patch: coventry.patch.com/terms. Thanks for reading Patch. Please reach out to me with any story ideas, questions or comments. Have a great day! Best,Lauren

  Around this time last year, I was attending the annual Christmas tree lighting at the Coventry Community Center as one of my first coverage responsibilities of my new job."Hi, my name is Lauren Costa and I was wondering if you'd like to have your picture taken for Coventry Patch," I said enthusiastically to several parents who had brought their children to the event."Coventry what? Patch? No thank you, I've never heard of it," said one mother as she took her child's hand and walked away.This was the reaction I had quickly become accustomed to hearing at the beginning, and to be honest, I …

As the mercury pushes 100º today, we here at Coventry Patch thought we'd have some fun with the absurdly high temperatures. And by fun, we really mean we want you to make us laugh. So how hot is it? Leave us with your funniest response, quip, analogy, photo, YouTube video, etc. Funniest or cleverest response wins a $15 Dunkin gift card. Is it so hot that even lava has turned on the A/C? Or is it so hot that milk was a bad choice? Tell us your submission in the comments section below. Note: Please keep all submissions to a PG rating

Beginning today on Coventry Patch, we've added some new features to bring local voices together on our site. You'll find these new additions by scrolling down on the front page — go ahead and do it now, if you haven't yet. You'll notice a new section called Local Voices. It's a place where you'll find news about Coventry published by other sources, like blogs in our area. Our goal with Local Voices is to make Coventry Patch your one-stop location for information and news about Coventry, wherever it's published. We've also been recruiting a group of local bloggers who will be posting their …

Happy Monday everyone! Here we are, on the last day of January (can you believe it?) and we here at Patch are looking forward to February for all of the new and exciting things that the month will bring to us and to you, our loyal readers. (Hopefully not snow.) We have a ton of new features and content we will be implementing on Coventry Patch this week. First will be the Daily PatchCast. Every weekday from noon until 3 p.m. the site will feature a short video, re-capping the top stories from around northern Rhode Island, and will be hosted by our own South Kingstown Patch editor, Carl Critz…

Today is Friday, Jan 28. Here are five things you need to know: CHS Boys Varsity Basketball Game: Come out at 8 p.m. and show your team spirit as the Coventry High School Boys' Varsity Basketball team takes on Portsmouth High School at home. CHS Boys Varsity Hockey Game: Make your way to the Prout School to watch the Oakers take on the Crusaders at 7:30 p.m. Natick Flea Market: Need some new furniture or knick-knacks? Check out this flea market from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  (Open from 8-4 tomorrow too!) Located at 560 Providence St., West Warwick. Sign up for life-saving training: The American Heart…

Know a child who goes above and beyond to help those in need? How about a student who's constantly setting the bar higher day by day? Or maybe a youngster who's endured an amazing journey already in life? Coventry Patch is looking for parents, schools and organizations to nominate a valedictorian, athlete, school club member, and any other outstanding youngster. We want to stress that this is not a competition. We will be featuring a Coventry Whiz Kid each week on Wednesdays, so the more the merrier! Nominations should be submitted in the comment box right here an or by e-mailing editor …

Want headlines from Coventry Patch delivered directly to your blog or Web site? Now, you can stream all the Coventry news — or just certain categories — directly there for you and your visitors. It was one several changes made to the Coventry Patch site this past week that also includes free classified ads and a news feed from nearby Patch sites. With a new widget feature, you can create a box that's easily insertable into blogs and Web pages. It's also customizable by topic, so if you just want sports, you can limit to sports or if you just want police and fire news, you get police and fire …