Rhode Island
Here’s how Providence is spending its reparations money – The Boston Globe
A chunk of the money is being distributed by the United Way of Rhode Island, which on Wednesday announced 15 nonprofits that will receive a combined $1.5 million from the funds. A whopping 122 organizations had applied for the grants, according to Larry Warner, the chief impact and equity officer at the United Way.
Hover over the interactive chart below to see where the city has directed reparations funds thus far.
While the reparations funds are targeted toward helping Providence residents of African and Indigenous heritage, former Mayor Jorge Elorza’s administration determined they would face legal challenges if they limited the money to any particular race or ethnicity.
Instead, the qualifications to receive funding include those two ethnic groups plus any Providence resident living in poverty, and anyone of any income living in a specific list of neighborhoods and qualified census tracts.
Mayor Brett Smiley, who took office before the money had been spent, opted to continue with the Elorza-era program rather than seek to reallocate the money elsewhere.

“We know that this is but a scratch in the surface of multiple generations of harm,” Smiley said Wednesday. “But nevertheless, you have to start somewhere.”
So far, the city has spent more than $4.5 million out of the $10 million, according to a breakdown provided by Smiley’s office. “Spent” means the money has been sent by the city to a vendor or organization, not necessarily that the vendor has expended all the funds in the community.
The nearly $5.5 million in unspent funds have to be at least obligated by the end of this year, under federal rules for the American Rescue Plan dollars. They must be fully spent by the end of 2026. A spokesperson for the city said solicitations will be going out soon to get contracts in place before the deadline in December.
Smiley said “everyone has acknowledged” that $10 million is not enough, but he hopes it will be a “source of inspiration” for private philanthropy, state and federal leaders to find ways to make up for generations of racial harm. He said there are not current efforts by the city to raise more money for reparations.
“We hope that others will feel both an obligation or the pressure to step up and do their part,” he said.
Some of the money spent so far has gone to home-based daycare providers, neighborhood providers such as barbershops, and an “earn & learn” program aimed at training Providence residents for jobs while paying them a stipend.
The largest tranche, $3.35 million, has gone to the United Way, which is administering the COVID-19 Equities Fund aimed at communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. That was the focus of Wednesday’s announcement at Building Futures, an organization that trains workers in the construction trades and is receiving some of the money. (City Council President Rachel Miller works at Building Futures as her day job.)
The 15 nonprofits that received grants Wednesday will receive $50,000 per year for two years, other than the Center for Indigenous Rights, which requested $29,300. The recipients and their planned use for the money is listed below:
- Building Futures: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Workforce Development
- Center for Indigenous Peoples Rights: Advancing Culturally Congruent Education/Advocacy
- Center for Women & Enterprise: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Economic Empowerment
- College Unbound: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Education
- DARE: Addressing the Negative Effects of Urban Renewal/Advocacy
- Justice Assistance: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Economic Empowerment
- Manton Avenue Project: Advancing Culturally Congruent Education/Arts
- Mini Entrepreneurs of Rhode Island: Advancing Culturally Congruent Education/Education
- Olneyville Neighborhood Association: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Workforce Development
- Providence Promise: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Economic Empowerment
- Providence Revolving Fund: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Economic Empowerment
- Rhode Island Black Business Association: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap/Economic Empowerment
- Rhode Island Black Heritage Society: Advancing Culturally Congruent Education/Education
- Sojourner House: Addressing the Negative Effects of Urban Renewal/Housing
- Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council: Addressing the Negative Effects of Urban Renewal/Advocacy
Warner said the United Way has spent $815,602 of its $3.35 million thus far, mainly on the first year of the grants announced Wednesday. (Roughly $74,000 has been spent on administering the program, and about $8,000 on marketing and promotion.)
Rodney Davis, who chaired the Municipal Reparations Commission that wrapped up its work in 2022, said the group wanted to ensure the relatively small amount of reparations money reached the widest number of people. He supported the plan to allow people outside of the Black and Indigenous communities to access the funds.
“The Civil Rights movement didn’t just affect Black people, it affected the community surrounding it,” Davis said. “If we’re going to raise the river, other things are going to be raised up with it. And I’m not upset about that.”
The commission issued a report in August 2022 that served as the basis for the $10 million program.
“It wasn’t a lot of money,” Davis said, adding that other major institutions such as Brown University should join the reparations effort. He was pleased that Smiley said this money just scratches the surface.
“Without their support, this is just going to be something that we’re going to look back and say: ‘this was nice.’”
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.
Rhode Island
Bodycam footage shows moments police respond to Pawtucket shooting
Police bodycam footage shows the moments officers arrived to the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The shooting on Feb. 16 at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena killed Rhonda Dorgan and Aidan Dorgan, the ex-wife and son of the shooter, who died by suicide.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Gerald Dorgan, Rhonda’s father, died from his injuries this week. His wife, Linda Dorgan, and family friend Thomas Geruso remain hospitalized.
Around five minutes after the first officer arrives, he beings helping paramedics with a man who identifies himself as Aidan. Twelve minutes in, Aidan Dorgan is transported to the hospital, where he would later die from his injuries.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
For the last 10 minutes of the footage, the officer then begins helping paramedics transport the other three gunshot victims.
The video ends with police prepping witness interviews.
The shooting rocked the Pawtucket community. Chris Librizzi, head coach of the Blackstone Valley Schools hockey team impacted by the shooting, said the players and coaching staff “are devastated over the events that took place at Lynch Arena on Monday and intimately affected one of our teammates.”
As authorities continue investigating the shooting in Pawtucket, three patients remain in critical condition.
“We will lean on each other and support one another, as we have always done as a team,” he added.
Pawtucket police said two handguns were found at the scene after the shooting, a Sig Sauer P226 and Glock. Other weapons have been seized at the suspect’s storage unit in Maine.
Investigators continue reviewing all video evidence from before, during and after the shooting, including surveillance footage from the Dennis M. Lynch Arena, police body-worn camera footage and other records — a high school sports livestream captured the shooting from a distance — police said.
Rhode Island
Man killed in RI shooting; suspect involved in Mass. car crash that killed 2 others
A man has died after a shooting in Cranston, Rhode Island, and investigators say a suspect was later involved in a car crash in Swansea, Massachusetts, that killed two other people.
The shooting victim was found Thursday on Legion Way, shot multiple times in the chest, Cranston police told NBC affiliate WJAR-TV. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died. His name has not been released.
The suspect initially fled on foot, setting off a shelter-in-place order while investigators searched the area.
Police said Friday that investigators identified a suspect vehicle, which was later spotted by Massachusetts State Police. A trooper followed the car down Route 6 and Interstate 195, but stopped when it crossed back into Rhode Island. The car was later involved in a crash on Route 136 in Swansea, Mass.
Swansea police say that crash on Route 136 (James Reynolds Road) resulted in the deaths of two other people.
According to the Swansea Police Department, two officers saw a white Infinity G37 speed past them around 12:18 a.m. Friday on Route 6, otherwise known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. Moments later, officers observed that the vehicle had crashed into the side of a blue Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136.
Both vehicles sustained catastrophic damage, police said.
The vehicle that was struck was fully engulfed in flames. First responders and bystanders tried to extinguish the fire, but both occupants — a man and a woman — were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Their names have not been released.
The 28-year-old Infinity driver, who struck the victims’ Subaru, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries and later into custody by Cranston Police. They have not been publicly identified at this time.
Swansea police said they are aware that the Infinity was the subject of a police pursuit, and know the driver was wanted in connection to the Rhode Island homicide investigation. While Swansea police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect’s vehicle, however, they say they were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the deadly crash.
The crash in Swansea is under investigation by Massachusetts authorities, including state police and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. Meanwhile, Cranston police said they would give an update on their investigation around 1 p.m.
Rhode Island
RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know
House Speaker Shekarchi unveils 2026 RI housing legislative package
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s nine-bill package for 2026 seeks to cut red tape and relax rules on parking, dividing lots and staircases.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is once again taking aim at the regulations he says are stifling new homebuilding.
The Warwick Democrat unveiled his sixth annual suite of housing legislation on Thursday, Feb. 26, a few weeks after announcing he would not be running for governor this year.
“We are still trying to play catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts,” Shekarchi said. “While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in.”
The legislative text of the nine-bill housing package, and with it the specifics of how it would work, were not available for Thursday’s news conference.
But highlights of the package, according to summaries, include:
- Infill housing. Allow property owners to divide lots in single-family zoning districts, creating multiple dwellings instead of one, provided they have water and sewer service.
- Parking maximums. Put new limits on how much off-street parking communities require for new apartment buildings.
- Homeless Bill of Rights. Expand the state’s Homeless Bill of Rights to require 15-day notice to the occupants of encampments before local authorities clear them.
- Emergency shelters. Let communities build temporary shelters, such as the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence, during a state of emergency.
- Stairs. Legalize the construction of four-story apartment buildings with a single staircase.
- Affordable housing taxes. Overhaul the tax system for income-restricted housing covered by the state’s “8 Law.”
Is land-use reform working?
Since Shekarchi was elected speaker in 2021, the General Assembly has passed dozens of bills he backed that tweaked state land-use statutes or streamlined the process for building.
How successful this approach has been is subject to debate.
Many local elected officials wary of development in their communities continue to rail against efforts to erode their power over construction.
Others in the growing Yes In My Back Yard movement see Rhode Island’s piecemeal approach as inadequate in comparison with the scale of the affordability problem and what other states are doing.
As evidence that his changes are making a difference, Shekarchi said Rhode Island saw a 70% increase in building permits in 2023 and a more modest increase in 2024. (Statistics for last year were not immediately available.)
Gov. Dan McKee’s 2030 plan calls for 15,000 new housing units built by that year.
Democratic primary challenger Helena Foulkes is slated to roll out her housing plan on Monday.
It is expected to include a millionaires tax to fund affordable housing, a revolving fund and target of 20,000 new homes.
What would the new laws do?
Letting property owners put multiple homes on a plot of land is one of the most direct ways that lawmakers can encourage the construction of more homes, but it is also one of the most controversial.
That’s especially true in areas zoned for large lots and single-family homes.
How far the new bill allowing lots to be subdivided in single-family zones goes is unclear. It is sponsored by Rep. Stephen Casey, D-Woonsocket.
Legislation setting maximum parking requirements for new developments, introduced by Rep. Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, would apply to areas accessible by public transit.
Critics of off-street parking requirements say they make it harder to build new apartments and make the units that are built more expensive.
Shekarchi proposed the emergency shelter bill last year. It passed the House and died in the Senate.
It was the result of how long it took state officials to navigate Rhode Island’s building code and open the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence.
The staircase bill, sponsored by Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat and chair of the House’s home affordability study commission, follows a wave of cities and states relaxing rules on how many exits are required in new construction.
Currently, the state building code requires two stairways in buildings with more than three stories, and fire officials have opposed all efforts to change that.
Speakman’s bill would allow four-story buildings with a maximum of 16 units with a single staircase.
Supporters of single-stair buildings say they allow development of small sites that would otherwise sit vacant and allow family-sized units with more light and better ventilation.
A previous Rhode Island single-stair bill would have allowed six stories, but it died in committee.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order in mid-February to study the idea.
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