City & Government

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced today that daily parking fees at Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly have changed.   The new rates are as follows: • The new daily parking rate for non-residents is now $20 on weekdays and $30 on weekends & holidays. • The daily parking rate for RI residents […]

Due to a persistently dreary forecast, the City of Newport says that it has made the difficult decision to postpone its annual Fourth of July Fireworks Display over Newport Harbor to Monday, July 5th. The roughly 20-minute display will begin at approximately 9:15 p.m. with the best viewing found anywhere along Newport Harbor with a […]

The former 25-acre jai alai property, now owned by Carpionato Corp., sits vacant on a rise overlooking the Pell Bridge. It was the center of redevelopment talk once Twin River decided to move its Newport casino to Tiverton, selling the property to Carpionato. The corporation had produced an aggressive mixed-use plan for the former casino […]

The General Assembly today approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Lauren H. Carson and Sen. Dawn Euer to require every short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting platform that conducts business in Rhode Island to be registered with the Department of Business Regulation. The legislation (2021-H 5505A, 2021-S 0501B), which now goes […]

The Rhode Island General Assembly today approved legislation sponsored by Representative Susan Donovan and Senator Susan Sosnowski to protect the environment and wildlife by prohibiting the intentional release of large groups of balloons. The legislation, which now goes to the governor, would ban intentional, simultaneous releases of 10 or more balloons into the air. “All […]

 The Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District (ERICD) has announced it recently received a legislative grant to support its agricultural education project, Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm. The grant of $1,000 will support the purchase of a tractor for the farm. The grant was awarded on behalf of Rhode Island House Representatives Michelle McGaw of District 71 (representing […]

Due to staffing shortages, the City of Newport on Tuesday announced that visitors to Easton’s Beach will likely be seeing single red flags flying over certain sections of sand this summer. Denoting that a hazard exists, these single red flags signify that the immediate vicinity is an unguarded lifeguard area. With staffing shortages foreseen through […]

Update – June 25, 2021 The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) recommends reopening Mackerel Cove Beach in Jamestown for swimming because bacteria counts have returned to safe levels. RIDOH will continue to monitor and review beach water quality regularly to ensure safe bathing throughout the summer season. The status of a beach may change […]

With a vote in the House today, the General Assembly approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Terri Cortvriend and Sen. James A. Seveney to require all public school districts to adopt suicide prevention policies and train all personnel in suicide awareness and prevention annually. The Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act (2021-H 5353, 2021-S 0031), which now […]

Legislation sponsored by Sen. Meghan E. Kallman and Rep. June S. Speakman to establish a Rhode Island’s first permanent funding stream for affordable housing is moving forward today, both as part of the state budget that is before the House and as a separate bill passed by the Senate today. The bill will make an […]

Rep. John G. Edwards and Rep. Deborah Ruggiero this evening announced in a press release that they are very pleased that the state budget bill approved by the House of Representatives today includes funding to renovate and reopen the State Police barracks in Portsmouth. The state budget bill (2021-H 6122Aaa), which passed the House today […]

 Under the state budget bill (2021-H 6122A) that will come before the House today, Rhode Island will launch a five-year pilot program to create permanent supportive housing for 125 chronically homeless Rhode Islanders.  The “Pay for Success” pilot program aims to proactively support participants to improve the services they receive, prevent crises, reduce the use of emergency […]

In an effort to identify ways to stem the tide of conflicts over the public’s access to the shore, the House of Representatives will study the issue of lateral shoreline access under a resolution introduced by Rep. Terri Cortvriend and approved by the House today. The resolution (2021-H 5469A) creates a 12-member special legislative commission […]

The Office of General Treasurer Seth Magaziner will begin disbursing federal stimulus funds to cities and towns by the end of this month. The funds are part of the federally passed American Rescue Plan Act, which aims to help states and municipalities recover from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.   “With these stimulus funds, Rhode Island has an opportunity to spur a broad-based economic recovery for all Rhode Islanders,” said General Treasurer Seth Magaziner in a statement. […]

The Senate today approved legislation sponsored by Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Dawn Euer to require the Division of Statewide Planning to designate population-based environmental justice focus areas throughout the state that would have extra protection from new proposals that would create additional adverse environmental impacts. The purpose of the bill is to protect […]

The Senate today approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Dawn Euer to require every short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting platform that conducts business in Rhode Island to be registered with the Department of Business Regulation. The legislation (2021-S 0501A) would create a statewide registry of basic information about […]