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Rhode Island volunteers to campaign for Harris-Walz in New Hampshire on Sunday
Ahead of Election Day, Rhode Island Democrats plan to knock on as many doors they can to garner support of the Harris-Walz ticket — just in New Hampshire. “Our friends in New Hampshire need our help to turn New Hampshire BLUE,” stated an email the Rhode Island Democratic Party sent out Wednesday afternoon. “New Hampshire […]
Ethics probe could be next chapter in ILO saga
It took three years for state investigators to untangle the intricate web surrounding a multimillion-dollar state education contract Gov. Dan McKee’s administration awarded in 2021. But there could still be some threads left to pick apart — just not by the Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office. The trove of documents — hundreds of […]
End of MCAS graduation requirement is not the way R.I. should want to close achievement gap
Massachusetts, long the darling of American education, is about to shut down a major engine of its success. Ballot Question 2 asks voters to end the requirement that students pass a fairly low bar on the state’s 10th grade test to receive a diploma. Sadly, Question 2 will probably pass. Its advocates stoke fears about […]
Overdose deaths are rising among Black and Indigenous Americans
The recent decline in overdose deaths hides a tremendous disparity by race: Deaths have fallen only among white people while continuing to rise among people of color, according to a new Stateline analysis of federal data. Health experts in nonwhite communities say they’re finding strategies that work in their areas, but that they still struggle for […]
Common Cause seeking volunteers for Election Day
With a week to go to Election Day, Common Cause Rhode Island is seeking volunteers to assist voters if they need help at the polls. The nonpartisan voting rights group will train “election protection volunteers” who will submit reports from each voting precinct they visit, documenting voter experience including wait times, tech problems, language and […]
With millions now casting ballots, democracy watchdogs stress voter protection
WASHINGTON —As the United States continues to see election-related violence and lawsuits challenging voters’ eligibility, a democracy watchdog group is aiming to make sure voters are protected when casting their ballots. A week ahead of the presidential election, in which Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are vying for the Oval Office, […]
Investigation finds insufficient evidence to prosecute McKee for influencing award of ILO contract
The awarding of a multimillion-dollar state education contract in 2021 flouted state procurement laws, but there’s not enough evidence to press criminal charges against Gov. Dan McKee and his advisers. So concluded the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General and the Rhode Island State Police in a report issued Tuesday, marking the end to […]
New program launches to help eligible Rhode Islanders escape cycle of medical debt
Troy Peck’s eyes welled as he recounted his daughter Aspen’s two-and-a-half-year battle with a rare form of leukemia. After months in the hospital, dozens of surgeries and an investigational drug, Aspen, now 4, is in remission. Another relief for the Cranston family: a Medicaid waiver which helped cover the staggering cost of Aspen’s care — […]
Rhetoric versus reality: Addressing common misconceptions about the economy
The economy is key to many voters in their pick for president, but that fervor also makes it an attractive subject for distortions, misinformation, and oversimplification. Nearly eight in 10 U.S. voters say that the economy is one of the most important issues to them in this upcoming presidential election, according to an AP-NORC poll […]
Self-driving cars aren’t here yet, but states are getting the rules ready
Early one morning last year, as state Rep. Josh Bray left his small town of Mount Vernon in southeastern Kentucky to make his way to the Capitol in Frankfort, he decided to count how many drivers he saw texting or distracted by something else. He quit counting after 24 when he saw a truck driver […]
T.F. Green officials move to terminate airport fire department union leader accused of misconduct
The head of the union representing workers at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport may lose his job following claims he discouraged people from applying for jobs at the airport and benefited from overtime pay caused by ongoing vacancies. The Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) announced Monday it began the process to fire Steven Parent, […]
Tough choices ahead for R.I. lawmakers staring down $400M FY26 budget deficit
The dark financial clouds forecast for Rhode Island are no longer on the horizon. They’re here. The state is staring down a nearly $400 million shortfall for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2025, according to an Oct. 24 memo by the Rhode Island Office of Management and Budget. The projected $398.2 million fiscal […]
Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner sues to stop Elon Musk $1 million voter sweepstakes
Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day sweepstakes offer to swing state voters who back his pro-Trump super PAC is an illegal lottery under Pennsylvania law, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday. Krasner, a Democrat, filed the civil suit on behalf of the commonwealth in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas alleging that the […]
Speakers at six-hour Trump rally in NYC insult Puerto Ricans, mock Harris’ race
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump promised “America’s new golden age” of closed borders and world peace as he rallied a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden in his home city in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential contest against Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump headlined the over six-hour rally that featured nearly […]
Why we love Halloween
Samhain, my Wiccan friends told me years ago, was the time of year when the veil that sits between the worlds is thinnest. During this time, we can reach out to the other side, speak to the dead and divine the future. It is also the time when the old gods, or other spirits, might […]
RIPTA is considering putting bus hub near Providence train station. Again.
A final recommendation for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s (RIPTA) new state-of-the-art transit facility will be ready as early as late November, the agency’s interim leader told its governing board last week. But we already know where it’s not going to be. RIPTA Interim CEO Christopher Durand announced Oct. 21 that the agency was […]
New Hampshire gubernatorial candidates face balancing act: more housing vs. local control
In the final days of their campaigns for New Hampshire governor, both Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig have promised action to address the state’s housing crisis. But the candidates have also been careful to pledge their devotion to another New Hampshire political priority: local control. The two goals – building new housing and […]
Trump again says U.S. is a ‘garbage can for the rest of the world’ in anti-immigrant tirade
Former President Donald Trump in Austin, Texas, on Friday attacked Vice President Kamala Harris over her approach to immigration and border security, while echoing several false claims. The respective GOP and Democratic presidential candidates spent one of the final days leading up to the election in the heavily red Lone Star State — not regarded […]
Cranston mayoral candidates spar over Knightsville improvements on and off screen
“Beautiful room,” said Cranston City Councilor Robert Ferri as he glanced around the television studio at WPRI-12 in East Providence. The Democrat stood at a podium Friday morning, ready for his last debate with sitting Republican Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins — the denouement in a long mayoral race that has captivated even non-Cranston voters this […]
With Hasbro layoffs on horizon, R.I. leaders pitch I-195 land for toymaker’s new home
To those waiting for answers on the fate of Hasbro Inc.’s Pawtucket headquarters: Keep waiting. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks in an email Wednesday to employees promised an update on the Rhode Island-based toy and game company’s “location strategy” in the first three months of 2025, per reporting by toybook.com. The update (or lack of update) […]
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