Government
Public services and government action
Business Climate or Real Climate? In New White Paper, Greg Gerritt Asks Which is More Important for Rhode Island’s Future Economy
"...the data is pretty clear that having a good business climate and low tax rates does not increase a state’s economic growth rate," said Greg Gerritt from Prosperity for Rhode Island. ProsperityForRI.com, a think tank focused on the ec...
Senate Takes up the Education Funding Formula: All the Video and Slides
The first meeting of a special legislative committee to review the Rhode Island schools funding formula was held last Wednesday. Senator Ryan Pearson (Democrat, District 19, Cumberland) is leading the effort, with the backing of Senate P...
Governor Raimondo Supports Banning Private Prisons After Meeting with Protesters at State House
"This is an important first step toward ending ICE’s attacks on our immigrant neighbors here in Rhode Island," said Never Again Action organizer Aaron Regunberg. "A ban on private prisons would prevent the sale of the Wyatt to a for-prof...
Mayor Elorza meets with community groups to discuss state takeover of Providence Schools
"To do something this big and this challenging, you need everyone pulling in the same direction. You need the community to embrace it. You need everyone to play a part. That just hasn't been the case in other places," said Providence May...
Rhode Island Police don’t just make arrests. Some also act as prosecutors.
The state is one of eight that allows cops to arraign people on misdemeanor charges. Advocates and academics say the practice is unjust. This story first appeared on The Appeal, a nonprofit criminal justice news site. On a recent Friday...
New report: Nearly half of renter households in Providence are 'cost-burdened'
"21.7 percent of renter households in Providence are severely cost-burdened, while 25.1 percent are moderately burdened..." In spite of a low unemployment rate and increasing wages, virtually half of American renter households struggle w...
George Wiley Center once again convinces PUC to adopt emergency rules for utility restoration
Emergency rules will make it easier for those facing utility shutoffs to restore service this winter... The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) today approved emergency rules for utility restoration at the request of the Georg...
Results from Rhode Island Food Bank's 2019 Hunger Survey paint a picture of desperate families and hungry children
"The results of the survey provide a portrait of the people served by the Food Bank," said Rhode Island Community Food Bank CEO Andrew Schiff. "They're children, seniors, and the working poor. They live in poverty, face hardships, and ma...
Eroding first amendment rights: Rhode Island town councils consider 'decorum ordinances'
"...what this is going to do is create a climate that will be a civil climate so that people can come up who maybe speak and offer a different opinion," said Narragansett Town Council President Pro-Tem Jill Lawler. "It's been very diffic...
Senator Reed announces record grant for lead reduction
"Lead poisoning remains a real problem that affects too many kids, and it's taken a great deal of effort to create and fund these kinds of grants," said Reed. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded mo...