Rhode Island

Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain is carefully monitoring what’s happening to the Department of Education this week. President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, signed on Thursday, instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take steps to close the Department and shift authority over education back to states and […]

Newport City Council will hold its next Regular Meeting on Wednesday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Newport City Hall. Here’s a look at what’s on the agenda/docket. mar26_25dkDownload

Rogers High School briefly went into “Shelter In Place” mode Wednesday morning after reports of gunshots in the school parking lot. Around 11:10 a.m., Newport Police received a call about gunfire at the school. This triggered a large law enforcement response and a lockdown of the building. As police investigated, they quickly suspected the weapon […]

Newport’s annual budget process is poised to get underway in April with the City Council kickin off a series of departmental budget workshops.  The sessions, which will be broadcast on the City’s website, are scheduled to be held in the 2nd Floor Council Chamber beginning at 5:30 p.m. and are open for all to attend.  The […]

Today, Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging (OHA) joined staff and older Rhode Islanders at Federal Hill House in Providence to highlight the need for a $200,000 increase in funding for senior support services as included in the Governor’s FY26 budget proposal. According to a press release from Governor McKee’s […]

The Senate Education Committee will hear testimony on a bill from Senator Dawn Euer to improve the critical thinking skills of students by adding media literacy to the standards of civic education taught in Rhode Island schools. “The ability to distinguish the trustworthiness of a story, post, video or other piece of media is an […]

Sen. Linda L. Ujifusa and Rep. Michelle McGaw have introduced legislation to update Rhode Island’s 16-year-old broadband policy. The new bill (2025-S 0377, 2025-H 5817) aims to improve transparency and accountability among internet service providers (ISPs) in the state, according to the legislators. “Both Representative McGaw and I have received numerous complaints from residents and business […]

Police Chief Patrick Jones, who has been serving as Tiverton’s acting town administrator for the last three months, will be offered the permanent job, according to Town Council President John G. Edwards, V. Jones, who had applied and withdrew his candidacy, had reapplied. “He waited to the end and threw his name back in,” Edwards said. Edwards said the council, at a special meeting tonight(Tuesday), authorized […]

The Middletown Center Citizens Advisory Committee (MCCAC) is back to work. At a meeting Monday night in Town Hall, the Town Council recharged the volunteer board with coming up with an exciting, inclusive design for close to five acres of open space in the northern section of the proposed mixed use development at 600-740 West […]

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) will detour Routes 60, 63 and 67 in Newport on Saturday, March 15, 2025, to accommodate the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  The following detours will be in effect on Saturday, March 15, 2025:  Route 60 (Newport/Providence): Trips into the Newport Transportation Center between 8:30 am and noon will travel along […]

Get ready for Newport’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade this Saturday, March 15, 2025. The festivities start at 11 a.m., with the parade kicking off from Newport City Hall. The parade will make its way through the city, starting on Broadway and winding through Washington Square, Thames Street, and America’s Cup Avenue. It wraps up […]

Gasoline prices have remained relatively flat compared to this time last month, but the cost to fill up the tank has declined by more than 25 cents per gallon since last year. The national average fuel price is about $3.11, with Mississippi seeing the cheapest state-level prices at $2.65 and California with the most expensive […]

The Middletown Town Council has targeted key road projects for state funding. At a public hearing Monday night in Town Hall, the council set streetscape upgrades to the lower Aquidneck Avenue area, including new sidewalks, street lighting, drainage and other enhancements as its top priority project for the State Transportation Improvement Plan. Town Planner Ronald […]

The Newport City Council is gearing up to discuss 24-hour resident-sticker parking on Bridge and Marsh Streets at its upcoming March 12 meeting. Council members D. Carlin, S. Smyth, and E. Pinnock have proposed a resolution asking the city to establish resident-only parking on Bridge Street from Washington Street to America’s Cup Avenue and the […]

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A second federal judge on Thursday extended a block barring the Trump administration from freezing grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars. U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction in the lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states after a Trump […]

Governor Dan McKee will showcase a proposed $2.3 million investment in Real Jobs RI as part of his FY26 budget at an event on Wednesday, March 12 in Middletown. This additional funding aims to train 500 more Rhode Islanders through the program, which has already proven successful in the defense industry sector. McKee will be […]

Middletown’s Beach Commission is gearing up for a crucial report from Coastal Systems Research, which will be presented at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, at Town Hall. This study could shape how the town protects Second Beach in the future. Will Cronin, who manages Facilities & Operations for Middletown, highlights the report’s significance, “This […]

Sen. Victoria Gu and Rep. Lauren H. Carson are sponsoring legislation to ensure that victims of accidental harm caused by artificial intelligence systems have legal recourse. “This bill narrowly focuses on accidental harms from AI: when an AI system misbehaves and does something harmful that the user never intended, who is responsible?” said Senator Gu […]

The Middletown Town Council made several important decisions at their Monday night meeting, including approving a new tax incentive for long-term housing rentals and setting a date to discuss affordable housing proposals. The council unanimously backed a tax break for residential landlords offering long-term rentals, a plan put forward by Council President Paul Rodrigues and […]