According to Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, a lawsuit alleging he took a car without paying for it is baseless, while rival Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung is calling for State Police and the attorney general’s office to review the matter. The Superior Court lawsuit, filed by Davide Broccoli, emerged last week. It charges that Hopkins wrongfully […]
Local
Posted inHousing, Local
As state lawmakers look to boost housing, zoning remains a pitched political battle in Rhode Island
Standing on Broad Street in Cumberland, Jennifer Hawkins looks up at the former St. Patrick’s Church. Hawkins leads the nonprofit developer ONE Neighborhood Builders, which is renovating the vacant church building and turning it into housing. ONE Neighborhood Builders originally planned to build 44 low- and moderate-income apartments, but that number has increased thanks to […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, TGIF
TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for Aug. 30, 2024
You love it when Peter Farrelly sneaks in a Rhode Island reference. You can follow me through the week on threads and what we used to call the twitters. Here we go. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here. *** STORY OF THE WEEK: Running for […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk
State to keep control of Providence schools for up to three more years
On Thursday night the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education approved a plan from the state commissioner of education to keep the Providence Public School District under state control for up to three additional years. Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said during the council meeting that the schools should be “proud,” of the progress they’ve […]
Posted inLocal, Shoreline Access, South County Bureau
CRMC approves incomplete yacht club dredging application over public protest
On Tuesday, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council unanimously approved an incomplete dredging application for Watch Hill Cove, despite public opposition from shoreline access advocates who faulted the proposal for failing to disclose a town-designated right-of-way that will be obstructed while the work is being done. State regulations say dredging applications must disclose all […]
Posted inHealth, Local
Lifespan finalizes deal to buy two Massachusetts hospitals
Rhode Island’s largest hospital system, Lifespan, on Thursday said that it reached a deal to buy two Massachusetts hospitals from the distressed Steward Health Care for $175 million. The price for Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Mass. and Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass., includes the land, building and improvements to the property as well […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
Remembering the wreck of New Bedford’s last great whaleship
Contrary to the motto on its municipal seal, New Bedford was no longer the city that lit the world by the 1920s. America’s lamps mostly ran on electricity and kerosene. Whale byproducts still had some commercial uses: the oil served as a base for various face creams and machine lubricants, ambergris was a fixative in […]
Posted inHousing, Local, South Coast Bureau
With cold weather coming and beds in short supply, advocates want New Bedford to build a city-run homeless camp
TRANSCRIPT: This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Luis Hernandez: The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a ban on sleeping or camping in public places, a decision that’s left many people experiencing homelessness with no place to go. Advocates in New Bedford have responded by encouraging the city to build its own city-run […]
Posted inHousing, Local
A Massachusetts law requires some towns to add more multi-family housing. Will it work?
As Rhode Island continues to search for ways to increase its housing stock, a new law in Massachusetts is requiring cities and towns across the state to change their zoning regulations to allow more multi-family housing. The MBTA Communities Act, which was signed into law in 2021 but goes into effect this year, requires communities […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk, Politics
Cranston Republican mayoral candidates trade accusations of corruption during debate
The two candidates vying for the Republican nomination in the Sept. 10 mayoral primary traded allegations of corruption and debated the finer points of education, homelessness, and the fate of Cranston’s storied recreational pool. Nearly a hundred people turned up for the event in the contentious primary race. Budlong Pool Hopkins defended his decision to […]