Providence, Central Falls sue Jeff Sessions and Justice Department
The cities of Providence and Central Falls—and in a separate suit, the state of Rhode Island—are taking the Department of Justice and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to court over its manipulation of federal grant funds to support the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agenda. The grant in dispute is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice […]
Flanders announces in Central Falls, Dems say he profited off the struggling city
Bob Flanders announced his campaign for a US Senate seat today in Central Falls, where he was once the court-appointed receiver as the city went through bankruptcy. The Rhode Island Democratic Party responded by pointing out how much money Flanders made in that role. “There’s no question that the million dollars Robert Flanders and his deputies collected […]
Pawtucket ends lunch shaming, moves toward free food for all students
Pawtucket is employing a two-part strategy to changing its approach to school lunch. The first part was to stop lunch shaming. In April, RI Future flagged the Pawtucket School District as one of several in Rhode Island that serves cold cheese sandwiches to students if their parents don’t pay their food bill on time – […]
Bob Flanders, Sue Cienki stage a coup d’etat in East Greenwich
As Republican Bob Flanders mulls running for US Senate, East Greenwich, where he lives, is getting an up close and personal look at how the former Central Falls receiver and state Supreme Court justice approaches municipal government. Earlier this week, in his first interview since announcing his congressional curiosity, Flanders told me he’s been talking […]
Lunch shaming in RI, part 2: Urban schools and cheese sandwiches
The suburbs aren’t the only place lunch shaming happens in Rhode Island. Some urban school districts have also experimented with the so-called cheese sandwich policy – when public school cafeterias serve students a cold cheese sandwich in lieu of a hot lunch because their parents are delinquent on the bill. Pawtucket: cheese or sunbutter sandwich […]
Annual Kids Count Factbook on child poverty, in 19 tweets
The annual Kids Count Factbook on child well-being in Rhode Island, now in its 23rd year, is a local rite of spring – but it’s nothing like the first tulips or tufted titmouse. Instead it’s an annual reminder of just how segregated – economically and otherwise – the Ocean State is. The massive 194-page report […]
Rep Maldonado introduces legislation to prevent RI police from collaborating with ICE
The legislation would clarify that no Rhode Island law enforcement officer may arrest or detain a person solely on the basis of an immigration detainer…
North Smithfield and Lincoln Town Councils come out against Burrillville power plant
On Tuesday night the North Smithfield Town Council voted unanimously to oppose Invenergy’s $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant, and on Wednesday evening a second unanimous vote opposing the power plant happened in Lincoln.
First Neighborhood Health Station breaks ground in Central Falls
Think of it as the “Deepwater Wind” of health care: Innovation, starting in Rhode Island, that could be a model for the world. That’s how revolutionary the concept of the Neighborhood Health Station could be, and the first one is being rolled out in Central Falls.
Diossa to Obama: Central Falls will take in Syrian refugees
Central Falls Mayor James Diossa co-signed a letter with 18 mayors from around the United States telling President Obama their cities are willing to take in Syrian refugees. “We will welcome the Syrian families to make homes and new lives in our cities,” reads the letter, a copy of which was sent to RI Future […]
Rainbow flag in CF: This never would’ve happened if Chuck Moreau was still mayor
Well, it’s hard to say for sure since we can neither read nor change the past. The disgraced former Mayor of Central Falls, who plead guilty to corruption charges in 2012, and one of the key factors in Central Falls declaring bankruptcy in 2011, might be in favor of having the rainbow flag fly over […]
Another $815 million for the Narragansett Bay Commission?
Besides the $120 million taxpayer ballpark subsidy and the $100 million streetcar to hardly anywhere, another elephant in the room is the Narragansett Bay Commission’s (NBC) $815 million Phase 3 stormwater project. This is not paid for by the entire state, but largely by the 118,000 households in the NBC district – Providence, Pawtucket, Central […]
Ed Fitzpatrick, Center for Freedom & Prosperity, RI Future agree on library funding
RI Future, the Center for Freedom and Prosperity and now the Providence Journal’s Ed Fitzpatrick all agree on this one: Rhode Island’s library funding formula is way too regressive. This odd trio represents a fairly decent cross-section of the local punditry, and another great reason why the General Assembly should pass Rep. Shelby Maldonado’s and […]
Legislation would boost state aid to urban libraries
Two Central Falls lawmakers authored a bill that would direct more state funding to libraries in the seven distressed urban cities in Rhode Island. The legislation, which will be heard by a Senate committee today, follows an RI Future investigation last year that showed affluent suburban libraries receive more state library aid per resident than […]
RI Foundation helps expand innovation in urban classrooms
Nearly 160 teachers in five urban school districts are getting more resources for classroom innovation thanks to $148,000 in grants from the Rhode Island Foundation. Full-time third-grade teachers in any public or charter school in Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket were eligible to for Spark Grants of up to $1,000 to fund programs […]
New website opens door to city-owned properties
Four municipalities have launched an on-line database of government-owned properties that will enable them to better manage their real estate portfolios, promote transparency by giving the public easy access to the data and jumpstart community redevelopment by making it easier to find properties that need reinvestment. OpportunitySpace RI includes maps, info about taxes and zoning, […]
State library funding rewards Barrington, punishes Central Falls
There are several differences between the public library in Barrington and the one in Central Falls. The Barrington library has more than 129,000 print items on its shelves and lent out 384,257 materials last year. The Central Falls library has about 34,000 print items on the shelves and lent out 14,994 materials last year. Barrington’s […]
Four years later: Student achivement and Central Falls’ transformation
As we approach the four year anniversary of the tumultuous firing of the the teachers at Central Falls High School (CFHS), regarded nationally as a watershed event in the Obama administration’s school reform efforts, we must once again consider the success or failure of what followed (and preceded). Progressives and ed reform skeptics are somewhat […]
Celebrate Dr. King’s birthday in Central Falls tomorrow night
Central Falls Mayor James Diossa has invited you to celebrate what would be Dr. Martin Luther King’s 85th birthday tomorrow night with him, Jim Vincent of the Providence NAACP and others tomorrow night starting at 5pm. “Dr. King inspired us all with his words, his deeds and his committment to non-violence and social justice,” Diossa […]
Gist On Public Education Disparity In Rhode Island
I went to an East Greenwich school this morning to interview state Education Commissioner Deborah Gist about the education disparity between the affluent suburbs in Rhode Island and the poorer inner cities. While I was waiting for her a 7th grade student came into the office to report finding a diamond. This pretty much sums […]
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