Government
Public services and government action
Community groups ask Governor Raimondo to not scatter Kennedy Plaza
"A well-designed bus hub should be placed for easy foot traffic at a central downtown location where streets converge, which is where Kennedy Plaza is now," said Patricia Raub, coordinator of the Rhode Island Transit Riders. "The student...
Department of Corrections agrees to release inmate being held at the ACI despite being paroled
"We are encouraged that the DOC has recognized and appropriately begun to address the adverse impact of its policy change and look forward to working, hopefully collaboratively with DOC, to fix the issue as to all impacted," said ACLU of...
Tentative agreement reached between Teamsters Local 251 and STA/Ocean State State Transit
A tentative agreement was reached last night between Teamsters Local 251 and Ocean State Transit, a subsidiary of Student Transportation of America (STA). A strike vote had been taken last week. “Our coworkers will be very happy with thi...
On the anniversary of Roe, legislation introduced to expand medical coverage for abortion
"The ban on Medicaid programs and state employees’ insurance policies covering abortion is just one more vestige of the time when legislatures used every tool they had to deny people their right to choose," said Representative Liana Cass...
Rhode Island pension fund divesting from assault weapons and private prisons
"In the for-profit prison context, growing your revenue means locking more people up. Which… runs counter to this notion of criminal justice reform and not locking people up for minor and non-violent offenses," said Rhode Island General...
ACLU takes legal action over unlawful arrest of 13-year-old honors student
"When I see officers now, I just try my best to avoid them cause I feel like, what if I do something wrong?" said Tre'sur Johnson, a 13-year old who was arrested after a minor altercation with another student in her school. "Schools shou...
Woonsocket City Council rejects two good government bills, vows to fight Attorney General on OMA violations
"To take a view that maybe all the former Attorney Generals were lax in their duties and now finally we have an aggressive, overzealous Attorney General, thank God, somebody's really watching over us now, I don't want to live in that cou...
Faith Leaders rally at the RI State House for gun violence prevention policies
“Just as we have speed limits to reduce the risk and severity of car accidents, we must have a ban on high capacity magazines to reduce the number and severity of mass shootings. We join together, as clergy, on behalf of public safety,"...
Speaker Mattiello and Senate President Ruggerio answer questions at Boston Globe event
Speaker Mattiello and Senate President Ruggerio spent an hour answering questions about legislative priorities, the budget, marijuana, affordable housing, the Democratic Women's Caucus, the General Assembly as a boy's club, using campaig...
Providence City Council committee hears legislation to stop source of income discrimination in housing
"I wouldn’t be able to afford housing without my Housing Choice Voucher," said Wendy Thomas. "Passing source of income discrimination protections would mean that searching for a new place to live is not a cause for panic and fear that I’...