Government
Public services and government action
Joint Legislative COVID-19 Emergency Spending Task Force created
“While the Finance Committees will be doing the comprehensive work of putting the budget together in the coming weeks, this group will be narrowly focused on the details of the spending decisions that have been made during this emergency...
Wyatt inmate tests positive for COVID-19, prison on lockdown
"On the morning of April 21, 2020, the Facility learned that one of its United States Marshals Service detainees tested positive for COVID-19." In its daily report to United States District Court Judge John McConnell Jr, the Wyatt Detent...
Black people in Rhode Island 3.3 times more likely to be arrested for pot possession
"The disparate arrest rates between Blacks and whites, particularly in those areas of the state with small African-American populations, remain shocking and indefensible. Worse, this is happening even as the state gives serious considera...
Three Wyatt detainees allege unhygienic conditions, petition for release
Petition offers a glimpse into the depressing and unsanitary conditions within the Wyatt... Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the National ACLU filed a petition Friday evening on behalf of three detain...
Advocates press Governor Raimondo to release more inmates from prison in response to pandemic
"It's a public health crisis and we know it's a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. We want her to start with the most vulnerable inside and continue until we get our loved ones." In response to Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo relea...
PVD Councilor Espinal seeks Executive Order to prevent ICE enforcement at COVID-19 testing sites
“There are many residents in Providence and around the State that are afraid to go get tested for COVID-19 due to their immigration status.” Providence City Councilmember Pedro Espinal (Ward 10) will introduce a resolution at Thursday ev...
Governor Raimondo will continue to deem gun stores "essential" businesses
"There has been a spike in gun sales and that is exactly why I've signed an executive order to extend the amount of time that public safety officers can have to complete the background check." Thoughts Prayer Action, a gun safety youth g...
Student organizers ask Governor Raimondo to close gun stores amid COVID-19 crisis
"We are asking that the Governor use her emergency powers to temporarily close gun stores, which must be deemed 'non-essential' during this crisis." Student organizers from Thoughts Prayers Action — a student-led organization that seeks...
Contact tracing phone apps will be opt in, will not violate privacy, says Raimondo
"In this crisis, public trust in government fosters the necessary voluntary compliance with orders and recommendations. Tracking all Rhode Islanders like they are parolees cuts against the very fabric of individual privacy in our free so...
Governor Raimondo to "look into" allowing the restoration of utilities without down payments
"Having access to running water, hot water, heat, electricity, and sewer are necessities of a habitable home, now more than ever..." The George Wiley Center is demanding that National Grid, the Narragansett Bay Commission and the other r...