Jewelry District garage gets public funding for private parking spaces
Construction is underway on a new parking garage in downtown Providence, Providence Business News reports, and while the project is publicly-funded most of the parking spaces will be for private use. 900 of the structure’s proposed 1250 spaces will be dedicated to tenants at Wexford Science & Technology’s innovation center under construction in the neighborhood. […]
Candidates for Ward 1 and Ward 12 square off
In one of the first opportunities for both city council incumbents and their challengers to be grilled by the public this campaign season, candidates from Ward 1 and Ward 12 (encompassing Downtown, Smith Hill, and Fox Point, among other neighborhoods) met at the Pavilion at Grace Episcopal Church in Providence this Tuesday during a Q&A […]
Progressive activists seek Providence City Council seats
The uproar in Rhode Island’s Democratic Party might also be seen in Providence City Council campaigns this summer as several new, progressive candidates are running races far to the left of longtime incumbents—often with the claim that the establishment has been largely absent from their constituents’ neighborhoods. Kat Kerwin Few are more pointed with this […]
Justice Gaines announces her run for Providence City Council
At one of the coziest campaign kickoffs in recent memory, Justice Ameer Gaines announced her bid for Providence City Council for Ward 1, encompassing the Fox Point, Wayland, and Downtown neighborhoods. A well-regarded local activist, Gaines promises to be one of the most progressive candidates running for a municipal seat in the city. She has […]
AG to NK: you must go to court before selling former Wickford library
Though North Kingstown voters overwhelmingly approved at an April special election selling the Old Library/Town Hall Annex building on Brown Street in Wickford, and the Town Council has signed off on the sale, for $100,000, to be developed into a restaurant/event center, residents still might be stuck with the property Caleb Chadsey donated to the […]
Henrietta White-Holder, Linda Finn Receive Red Bandana Awards
The Red Bandana Fund is pleased to announce two local advocates, Henrietta White-Holder and Linda Finn, as the 2018 recipients of the Red Bandana Award! The Award, the sixth annual, honors individuals and groups whose work embodies the spirit and work of Richard Walton, a longtime Rhode Island activist who died in 2012. The awards […]
Two cheers for speed cameras, but not three
There has been a well publicized backlash against Providence speed cameras placed in school zones ticketing those going at least 11 mph over the speed limit. But the anger is not because there is so much speeding in school zones, it is because their were so many tickets! The apparent sense of entitlement that some motorists feel to speed […]
Giarrusso missed vote on bump stock bill
When East Greenwich legislator Anthony Giarrusso was asked about a ban on assault weapons, he talked about a bill banning bump stocks. But when it came time to vote for the bill that bans bump stocks, Giarrusso wasn’t there. “This is my sixth session and the first time any major bill was considered on the […]
Caleb Chadsey bequeathed a library, NK Town Council wants a restaurant
When Caleb Chadsey died, in 1894, he left $10,000 and a parcel of property in the heart of Wickford to the town of North Kingstown for the purposes of creating a community library. And there, at 55 Brown St., is where the local library stood until 1975, when a bigger one was built a few […]
Giarrusso, Caldwell hold impromptu debate over gun legislation via email
The first debate of the campaign to represent East Greenwich in the state House of Representatives happened via email. It was between Republican Anthony Giarrusso, the current occupant of the District 30 seat, and Democratic challenger Justine Caldwell. It largely concerned gun legislation at the State House, but also touched on the so-called War on […]
Island legislators tackle issues at forum
Six local legislators fielded questions from the public during a two-hour forum at the CCRI Newport auditorium Thursday morning. Hosted by executive director John Shea of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, the event featured questions submitted beforehand as well as a robust Q&A period. Senators Lou DiPalma (D-12), Jim Seveney (D-11), and Dawn Euer (D-13), […]
Sam Bell declares for Paul Jabour’s Senate seat
Sam Bell is running for state Senate. The occasional RI Future contributor (and supporter) filed papers to run for the seat currently held by Sen Paul Jabour. The Providence Journal reports there could be a three-way Democratic primary for the seat. “We need to take on the fight to resist the Trump agenda right here […]
Lawyers are winning EG’s war against its public sector
Time will tell how the East Greenwich Town Council’s cost-cutting crusade will affect future budgets. The full financial picture won’t be clear until the mounting pile of lawsuits are sorted out years from now, and homeowners learn if an antagonistic campaign to shrink local government in an upscale suburb known for good schools and nice […]
Corrigan’s EG tenure benefits Bob Flanders’ law firm
Whether or not Gayle Corrigan’s tenure as East Greenwich town manager is benefiting Bob Flanders’ community, it’s definitely benefiting his law firm. The town paid Whelan, Corrente, Flanders, Kinder & Siket $104,518 for services through November. Flanders, an East Greenwich Republican who is currently running for the US Senate seat held by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, […]
Gayle Corrigan says Town Charter indemnifies her against ethics complaint
One of the first things Gayle Corrigan did when she took over as town manager of East Greenwich was replace the finance director with her friend and colleague Linda Dykeman. That isn’t a violation of the state Code of Ethics, she insisted in an interview on Friday, because the Town Council had final say over […]
Two more OMA violations for EG, a total of seven so far
Add two more Open Meetings Act violations to the East Greenwich Town Council effort to restructure local government led by controversial and court-prone Town Manager Gayle Corrigan. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin’s Open Government Unit announced the additional violations Friday afternoon, less than three months after a Superior Court found the Town Council violated the state […]
Corrigan recommended EG hire her business partner, says Council VP
Gayle Corrigan, East Greenwich’s controversial and court-prone town manager who is being investigated by the state Ethics Commission for helping her friend and colleague Linda Dykeman become the town’s finance director, recommended Dykeman for that position at her first Town Council meeting as town manager. That’s what Town Council Vice President Sean Todd said on the […]
Ethics Commission is investigating Gayle Corrigan
The Rhode Island Ethics Commissions is investigating a complaint against East Greenwich Town Manager Gayle Corrigan that alleges she recommended the Town Council hire Linda Dykeman, her friend and business partner. Dykeman worked for Corrigan’s consulting firm that was initially contracted by the Town Council to audit the budget. She was named joint finance director […]
Marcela Betancur keeps busy for Rhode Island
Marcela Betancur is director of the RI New Leaders Council, vice-president of the RI Latino Political Action Committee and a policy associate with the ACLU. She was raised in Colombia and moved to Rhode Island when she was 12. She graduated from Rhode Island College with a BA degree in political science and public administration […]
East Greenwich rehires Gayle Corrigan
Disappointing hundreds of residents who came to advocate against Gayle Corrigan, the East Greenwich Town Council reappointed the controversial rookie town manager on Monday night in a three to two vote. “Is she an unpopular character? Sure,” said Republican Town Council President Sue Cienki in defending her decision to stick with Corrigan after a Superior […]
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