PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s Democratic governor and top officials urged the state legislature Tuesday to pass a bill banning assault weapons. Gov. Dan McKee, Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Attorney General Peter Neronha and General Treasurer James Diossa say they want to ban the sale of assault-style weapons in […]
Jennifer McDermott | Associated Press
Posted inCity & Government
Rhode Island governor releases proposed $13.75B state budget
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s governor submitted a $13.75 billion state budget plan to the General Assembly on Thursday that seeks to invest in schools, provide tax relief to residents and repair roads and bridges. Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said in the budget documents that he wants to demonstrate a commitment to education at […]
Posted inCity & Government
Democrat Dan McKee sworn in as Rhode Island’s governor
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Democrat Dan McKee was sworn in for his first full term as Rhode Island’s governor Tuesday, saying he has never believed more strongly in the state’s future. “Rhode Island, this is our time, our moment to shine, our turn to raise everyone up,” he said in his remarks. “Now let’s get […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rhode Island’s new legislative session set to begin
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Improving Rhode Island’s educational system is a top priority for the governor and state legislative leaders as the General Assembly’s new session begins Tuesday. Leaders of both parties said in interviews in the days leading up to the session’s opening that they’re concerned about educational outcomes, the state of school buildings […]
Posted inCity & Government
HSBC updates climate policy to stop funding new oil and gas
HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, announced Wednesday it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields as part of its updated climate strategy. Climate campaigners welcomed the moved saying HSBC provided a new baseline for other major banks but urged the bank to go further. The bank said it would still provide financing to existing […]
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After his win, Gov. McKee plans for Rhode Island’s future
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Now that Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has won his first full term in office, the Democrat is developing a vision for the state for the next decade. McKee and Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, a fellow Democrat, released a working draft of their “RI 2030” plan last month, based on community […]
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Democrat Seth Magaziner wins US House seat in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — State Treasurer Seth Magaziner has won the congressional seat in Rhode Island being vacated by longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, keeping it in Democratic control. Magaziner defeated Republican Allan Fung, a former Cranston mayor, in the general election Tuesday. National Republican leaders had hoped to flip the state’s 2nd Congressional District to GOP […]
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Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee wins 1st full term in office
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Dan McKee has defeated Republican challenger Ashley Kalus to win his first full term in office. McKee is a former lieutenant governor who became the state’s chief executive in March 2021 when two-term Gov. Gina Raimondo was tapped as U.S. commerce secretary. He was the heavy favorite in […]
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RI Gov. McKee faces GOP challenger in bid for 1st full term
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island voters are deciding Tuesday whether Democratic Gov. Dan McKee will get to serve his first full term in office or if they want a change in leadership. Republican challenger Ashley Kalus often says it’s time to change direction, while McKee says he helped the state’s economy recover from COVID-19 […]
Posted inCity & Government
Liberal Rhode Island could send Republican to US House
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – In liberal Rhode Island, Republican Allan Fung stands a chance of flipping a U.S. House seat and possibly helping his party gain control of the chamber. There is just one Republican in New England’s congressional delegation, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Fung saw an opportunity to break the Democratic Party’s […]
Posted inCity & Government
Advanced recycling: Plastic crisis solution or distraction?
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The plastics industry says there is a way to help solve the crisis of plastic waste plaguing the planet’s oceans, beaches and lands- recycle it, chemically. Chemical recycling typically uses heat or chemical solvents to break down plastics into liquid and gas to produce an oil-like mixture or basic chemicals. Industry […]
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1st lease sale to be held for offshore wind on West Coast
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The Biden administration will hold the first-ever lease sale for offshore wind energy on the West Coast, officials said Tuesday. The Dec. 6 sale will target areas in the Pacific Ocean off central and northern California— the first U.S. auction for commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development. The administration hailed the […]
Posted inCity & Government
Biden plans floating platforms to expand offshore wind power
By MATTHEW DALY and JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday announced plans to develop floating platforms in the deep ocean for wind towers that could power millions of homes and vastly expand offshore wind in the United States. The plan would target sites in the Pacific Ocean off the […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rhode Island Gov. McKee narrowly wins Democratic primary
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee eked out a victory in his Democratic primary on Tuesday, beating back strong challenges from a pair of opponents as he seeks his first full term in office. McKee, the former lieutenant governor who became the state’s chief executive a year and a half ago when two-term […]
Posted inCity & Government
Ashley Kalus wins Republican nomination for governor in Rhode Island primary election
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Ashley Kalus, a businessperson seeking office for the first time, won the Republican primary for Rhode Island governor on Tuesday, defeating a rival who has served time in state prison. Kalus, who owns a COVID-19 testing company that’s in a dispute with the state over a canceled contract, moved to Rhode […]
Posted inBusiness
Now hiring: US offshore wind ramps up, workers taught safety
At a 131-year-old maritime academy along Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts, people who will build the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm are learning the skills to stay safe while working around turbines at sea. Some take to the tasks fairly easily since they’re veterans of marine fields or construction. For others, it’s totally new to […]
Posted inNews
Northeastern farmers face new challenges with severe drought
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Vermont farmer Brian Kemp is used to seeing the pastures at Mountain Meadows Farm grow slower in the hot, late summer, but this year the grass is at a standstill. That’s “very nerve-wracking” when you’re grazing 600 to 700 cattle, said Kemp, who manages an organic beef farm in Sudbury. He […]
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States move to protect abortion from prosecutions elsewhere
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Democratic governors in states where abortion will remain legal are looking for ways to protect any patients who travel there for the procedure — along with the providers who help them — from being prosecuted by their home states. The Democratic governors of Colorado and North Carolina on Wednesday issued executive […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rhode Island sets ambitious target for 100% renewable energy
Rhode Island’s governor signed legislation Wednesday setting the most ambitious target in the nation to require the state to be powered completely by renewable energy. The legislation accelerates plans for the electric grid to operate with 100% renewable energy, so the goal is achieved in 2033. It’s the most ambitious timeline in the country — […]
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Rhode Island to improve civics education to resolve lawsuit
Rhode Island will improve the way students are taught to participate in the political process in order to resolve a federal lawsuit over whether public school students have a constitutional right to a civics education, the state’s education department announced Friday. The department said both sides in the suit have come to an agreement on […]
Posted inCity & Government, News
3 gun reform bills clear a key committee in Rhode Island
Three gun reform bills that gained momentum after mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, cleared a key committee in the Rhode Island House on Thursday. Days after 19 students and two teachers were fatally shot at an elementary school in Uvalde, top leaders in Rhode Island’s Democratic-controlled General Assembly promised “meaningful gun […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rhode Island casino workers urge lawmakers to ban smoking
Smoking was prohibited inside Rhode Island’s two casinos for most of the pandemic, and now casino workers want state lawmakers to make the ban permanent. A bill is pending in the legislature to repeal the exemption granted to casinos in the state law that prohibits smoking in public places. Casino workers from Bally’s Twin River […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Surfer helps families honor loved ones with ‘one last wave’
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Surfing is no longer a solitary pursuit for Dan Fischer. When he catches a wave along the shores of Rhode Island, he looks down at a surfboard covered with the names of people who have died, but who shared his love of the ocean. His father’s name is the guiding light […]
Posted inNews
Energy secretary visits Connecticut nuclear plant to discuss waste issue
WATERFORD, Conn. (AP) — It is critical to find a solution for storing the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Friday during a visit to a nuclear power plant in Connecticut. Granholm was invited to tour Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford by Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, the local congressional […]
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Rhode Islanders may have been too excited to fill out census
Rhode Island’s efforts to encourage people to fill out the 2020 census may have worked too well, with the U.S. Census Bureau releasing a survey Thursday showing an overcount that saved a congressional seat. The bureau said residents in eight states were overcounted during the once-a-decade head count that is used to allocate political power and […]