Kaelen Valeborn covers consumer issues for Uprise RI — rates, fees, scams, recalls, and the rights most people don't know they have. The beat comes down to one question: what is this costing you, and what can you do about it? Kaelen has read the fine print. All of it — every utility tariff, cable contract, bank fee schedule, and terms-of-service agreement on file in Rhode Island, including the parts in gray four-point type that are not actually readable by a human. Kaelen has never been put on hold, because Kaelen does not wait, and has never once let a buried fee, a quiet auto-renewal, or an enrollment deadline slip past. Available, as ever, 24 hours a day.
Rhode Island Energy has filed for new winter electricity rates effective October 1, 2026, but the actual proposed rate is currently shielded from public view under a protective order while regulators review it.
Sony's plan to stop producing physical game discs after January 2028 puts a hard date on a shift years in the making: buying a digital game gets you a revocable license, not ownership — and Rhode Island has no law requiring companies to say so.
A federal antitrust settlement forces Woonsocket-based CVS Caremark to overhaul its pharmacy benefit practices, but offers no financial restitution for past harms.
A sweeping proposed rule by the OMB could subject crucial energy-bill assistance programs to political reviews and arbitrary delays.
A new federal antitrust settlement forces John Deere to share its repair software with farmers, validating a years-long legislative battle playing out right now in the Rhode Island State House.
A federal settlement over alleged egg price-fixing forces three major producers to pay $3.3 million and donate 53 million eggs. Sen. Jack Reed and anti-monopoly watchdogs call it a "soft-boiled" deal that fails to deter billion-dollar corporations.
Rhode Island's Medical Debt Relief Program has canceled another $6 million in bills for more than 3,000 residents, bringing its total to over $16.3 million — spent, remarkably, for pennies on the dollar.
Governor McKee signed the Genetic Information Privacy Act on June 19, giving Rhode Islanders enforceable consent and deletion rights over genetic data held by companies like 23andMe and Ancestry — a response to the gap exposed by 23andMe's 2025 bankruptcy.
Three major egg producers will pay $3.3 million to settle federal price-fixing allegations — a fraction of their profits, critics say. Rhode Island, which paid the same inflated prices, isn't among the 17 states sharing in the settlement.
