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McKee names new RI housing secretary. What we know.

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McKee names new RI housing secretary. What we know.


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PROVIDENCE – Gov. Dan McKee has named a new housing secretary: Deborah J. Goddard.

Who is she? Goddard, the former managing director for policy and program development at MassHousing, currently leads the Massachusetts-based DJ Goddard Consulting, which has done consulting work for the Rhode Island Department of Housing among other public, quasi-public and nonprofit agencies, according to a press release from the McKee administration.

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Prior to this role, Goddard served at the executive vice president for capital projects at the New York City Housing Authority from 2016 to 2019, where she oversaw $3 billion of construction builds and helped advance the agency’s energy and sustainability programs, the press release said.

She is scheduled to start her new $238,597 job on Dec. 2. In the interim, her name has been submitted to the Rhode Island Senate, which is in recess, for advice and consent after the legislature convenes in January.

“Deborah Goddard is a deeply committed and accomplished housing professional whose work has benefitted people from all backgrounds,” said McKee. “Housing affordability and availability in Rhode Island have never been more important than they are right now. I am confident Deborah’s knowledge and experience will guide the department to achieving our housing goals.”

Senate President Dominick Ruggerio said he “look[s] forward to the Senate’s thorough review of Ms. Goddard’s appointment through the advice and consent process.”

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said he met with Goddard for the first time a day earlier “and she was very impressive.”

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In her own turn, Goddard said her career has been “dedicated to creating and preserving housing opportunities … for the unhoused, for renters and homeowners, alike, with attention to equity.” As such, she said, “I am very aware of the persistent headwinds that we face in this arena, but they are not unique to Rhode Island nor are they new.”

The Rhode Island Department of Housing has been run by an interim chief – former Senate Majority Leader Daniel Connors – since Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor’s last day in July in one of the state’s most critical jobs.

A former Senate majority leader, Connors – who quit a job as a top aide in the Raimondo administration after his arrest for driving under the influence – had most recently been chief of staff in the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services, making $184,000 annually.

On the day of his interim appointment, the governor’s office said: “He is not being considered for the permanent position and will return to his role at EOHHS at the end of this process.”

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Pryor is now a partner in Palm Venture Studios, which “works to rescue and build companies that positively impact human and planetary health,” according to his LinkedIn profile..

How did we get here?

Spokesman Andrea Palagi told The Journal at that time that McKee’s office would interview local candidates for the permanent position over the coming weeks, and a national search would only be initiated if a qualified candidate could not be found. As it turned out, there was no national search.

Pryor announced that he was leaving in late June after close to a decade leading Rhode Island’s economic development efforts as its first commerce secretary and, for a year-and-a-half as head of its Department of Housing,

The hunt for his replacement stretched out over several months, amid significant jockeying between the many arms of Rhode Island’s housing community for advantage − and appointment.

The Department of Housing is responsible for managing hundreds of millions of previously dedicated state dollars and the newly approved $120-million housing bond.

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But the picture that has emerged in the wake of Pryor’s departure was of an agency beset by employee infighting, leaks about end-runs in the award of contracts, and complaints to the governor’s office about the management styles of both Pryor and Assistant Secretary Hannah Moore, whom Pryor brought into the department with him.

More recently, Rhode Island’s deputy housing secretary, Deborah Flannery, resigned to take a job with the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. Her last day is imminent.

The Department of Housing was unable to pinpoint the amount Goddard and her firm have been paid as a consultant or promised. As for her role, spokeswoman Emily Marshall listed non-specific duties, such as: “drafting regulations for internal review, and co-authoring  multiple grant applications, among other responsibilities.”



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Bodycam footage shows moments police respond to Pawtucket shooting

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.



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Man killed in RI shooting; suspect involved in Mass. car crash that killed 2 others

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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.

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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.

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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.



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RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know

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RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know


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  • Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has introduced a new package of housing legislation.
  • Highlights include allowing property owners to divide single-family lots and legalizing single-staircase, four-story apartment buildings.
  • The package also seeks to expand the Homeless Bill of Rights and streamline the creation of emergency shelters.

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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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