Governor Dan McKee has nominated the state’s top cannabis administrator to chair the panel that oversees Rhode Island’s cannabis industry, which has not been without a leader for over seven months.

McKee on Tuesday nominated Michelle Reddish to the Cannabis Control Commission seat left vacant last October after then-Chairperson Kim Ahern resigned to pursue a run for state attorney general. Reddish has served as administrator of the Rhode Island Cannabis Office since her appointment by the governor in 2024.

“In just two years, Michelle has demonstrated a deep understanding of Rhode Island’s cannabis landscape and how we can continue to effectively and safely regulate it,” McKee said in a statement. “I’m confident her time leading the state’s Cannabis Office — combined with her significant expertise in regulatory compliance, development, and technological advancement — will serve her well in this new role.”

Reddish’s nomination for the $204,069-a-year post now heads to the Rhode Island Senate for consideration. She thanked the governor for her appointment.

“I’m proud to continue contributing to the growth and success of Rhode Island and its cannabis industry,” Reddish said in a statement.

McKee’s office credited Reddish with helping build Rhode Island’s cannabis regulatory framework, including developing rules surrounding retail pot and establishing the Cannabis Office as the operational arm of the Cannabis Control Commission.

The announcement from the governor’s office also highlighted Reddish’s administration of the initial application process for cannabis retail licenses. Applications are now in limbo after a federal judge in April ordered the process halted amid three lawsuits challenging Rhode Island’s requirement that cannabis license holders be majority-owned by state residents.

The state has since appealed the ruling, though the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston has not yet taken up the case. A hearing to establish a briefing schedule is set for June 23.

Before the halt, regulators were in the midst of reviewing 97 applications vying for one of 20 new retail licenses as soon as this month.

Still, Reddish said she’s ready for the work ahead if confirmed by the Senate.

“I remain committed to supporting safety, transparency, and equity, and I’m sincerely thankful for the trust placed in me,” she said.

Before coming to Rhode Island, Reddish was the chief operating officer for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority — a position she took on after serving more than a year as its chief regulatory officer.

From April 2021 to March 2022, Reddish was the director of compliance for C3 industries — a Michigan-based cannabis grower and retailer with facilities in Massachusetts and Missouri. She was also a regulatory compliance officer for Orlando-based Ravago Chemicals and SLB, a Houston-based global technology company.

Reddish holds two master’s degrees from Tulane University — one in occupational health and safety and the other in cell and molecular biology. Reddish has a third master’s degree from the University of New Orleans in health care management.

Christopher Shea covers politics, the criminal justice system and transportation for the Rhode Island Current.

Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

The session stretches on 

“We’ve got to get out of here,” said Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, the longest-serving member of the Vermont House and the chair of the House Corrections and Institutions Committee. 

She’s ready to adjourn for the year and tend to her garden. 

Emmons, who was first elected in 1982 and has been a committee chair for 20 years, said the longest legislative session she remembers ended in the middle of June, during the 1990s. 

“But to go until the end of May is, I hope that’s not going to be our norm,” Emmons said. 

As joint Senate and House committees continue to debate some of the year’s most significant bills — the state budget, education reform, property tax rates — the legislative session has dragged on longer than in years past. 

For Vermont’s part-time Legislature, adjourning late causes practical complications in people’s lives. Many legislators arrange for seasonal housing in Montpelier, like Emmons who said she rents an apartment and lives alongside two other representatives. Although Emmons no longer works full time outside the legislative session, other lawmakers have jobs they planned to return to and childcare arrangements that end soon. 

The Legislature has typically adjourned in the middle of May in recent years, so many lawmakers plan accordingly. 

Last year, the last day of the session was June 16, though most committees finished their work by the end of May.

John Bloomer, secretary of the Senate, said that he thinks of 2020 as one of the most memorable legislative sessions. That year the Legislature didn’t adjourn until September. And because government procedure was so disrupted by the pandemic, lawmakers had to pass multiple short-term budgets, Bloomer said. 

Other lengthy years include 1961, during which the legislature didn’t adjourn until Aug. 1, due to a budget stalemate between the governor and the leader of the Senate. 

Rep. Emilie Krasnow, D-South Burlington, said she collected signatures to run for reelection early this year, anticipating the legislative session might get drawn out. She’s heard from other House members that they have a harder time campaigning against opponents back home when the session draws on. Their opponents may be living closer to voters and have more time to campaign, she said. 

By having a session for only half the year, Vermont’s Legislature is made up of community members with occupations rather than professional politicians. That leaves plenty of room for legislators to have potential conflicts of interest in their area of expertise, or — on the flip side — lack thorough expertise in the committee work they are assigned. But Emmons said she thinks the pros outweigh the cons. 

When legislators have a gaggle of staffers doing work for them, they start to disengage, Emmons said. Whereas in Vermont, legislators are always talking to each other face to face. 

“You’ve got a problem with a piece of legislation that’s coming out of another committee? You go and talk to the members of that committee, you go and talk to the chair,” Emmons said.

In the know

A proposed change to Stowe’s charter that would allow the town to double its local option tax to 2% “will die on the wall” in the Senate Government Operations Committee, the committee’s chair, Rutland Republican Sen. Brian Collamore, said Tuesday.

The committee voted 1-4 against advancing the charter change, which passed the House last week. Only Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, voted for it. 

The proposal, H.954, faced opposition from the outset this year because some lawmakers were concerned that approving it would set off a wave of requests from other towns to boost their own local taxes on meals, rooms and other purchases. Debate over Stowe’s change was further complicated when the House Ways and Means Committee revised the language that town voters approved, altering where some of the newly proposed tax revenue would go. 

Under Ways and Means’ plan, which that committee drafted Friday, half of the newly added 1% in local tax would be deposited into a new, statewide fund for town highway projects. That fund, which would also get revenue from other sources, has been proposed in the Senate’s version of the budget bill, H.951.

Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, called the changes to Stowe’s charter “an appalling precedent” ahead of the vote in Senate Gov Ops on Tuesday.

“We are not raising transportation money on the backs of visitors to Stowe and Stowe residents,” she said.

— Shaun Robinson

The House last week passed a version of the law enforcement masking bill stripped of its provisions penned in the Senate that were supported by anti-ICE activists. Lawmakers Tuesday reviewed a copy of the changed bill, S.208, on the Senate floor. 

Rather than voting on the bill — as changed by the House — legislators agreed to send the bill to a conference committee, made up of lawmakers from both chambers, in an attempt to reach a consensus. 

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the House had not yet appointed lawmakers to the conference committee. If the House does not appoint members to the committee, or if the committee fails to reach a consensus, the bill will die. 

— Charlotte Oliver

On the move

The House on Tuesday passed S.71, a data privacy bill, after a landslide 129-3 vote. 

“This legislation limits what data can be collected, requires full transparency with consumers about how their data is used, increases protections for sensitive information, and bans manipulative data practices designed to exploit consumers,” House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, said in a statement. “Most importantly, it gives Vermonters real tools to fight back; the right to correct their data, opt out of collection, obtain a personal copy, and know exactly which third parties have received their data.”  

Two years ago, Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a more stringent data privacy bill, with supporters of the bill blaming tech industry lobbyists for spreading misinformation about it. 

Some of the House’s strongest data privacy proponents blamed a similar lobbying push for weakening this year’s bill. The amended bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration. 

— Ethan Weinstein

Dog days

What’s the end of a legislative session without some shenanigans?

As of Wednesday, there’s a new portrait up on the Statehouse walls — and it features not a historic leader but rather Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky’s dog, Laika. 

Vyhovsky brought her 13-year-old Samoyed to the Statehouse last Wednesday night, and captured the photo, which shows Laika seated dutifully at the Senate dais, to prove, should she ever be asked, how her dog “was acting lieutenant governor for about 10 minutes.”

What was supposed to be a clandestine transfer of power, however, turned out to be anything but. Laika left white hair all over the LG’s chair, Vyhovsky said — so much so that upon seeing it the next day, Vyhovsky explained, Lt. Gov. John Rodgers remarked that it looked as if “a sheep had died” there.

Investigation by Senate staff, including a review of security camera footage, soon exposed the two Vyhovskys as the culprits. Staff then had to lint-roll the chair and, apparently, shampoo it as well — two things Vyhosky said she never meant to happen.

“I have since apologized to the lieutenant governor for forgetting a lint roller,” she said. 

Vyhovsky said the LG was amused by the story, however, and asked for a framed version of her photo as penance for the hairy inconvenience. The photo was tacked up, in a well-appointed gold frame, in the Statehouse on Wednesday. Vyhovsky hopes the location will stay a secret, until The Powers That Be find out.

In exchange for this hot scoop, VTDigger agreed not to reveal its location and spoil the fun.

Here’s one hint, though: “I just have fun trolling John Bloomer,” Vyhovsky said.

— Shaun Robinson

Department of corrections

Yesterday’s newsletter misstated which chamber Tim Ashe led. He was, of course, the Senate pro tem. It’s been a long session …

BOSTON, MA — An iconic Massachusetts bakery is opening inside Boston Logan Airport later this year.

Mike’s Pastry, the longtime North End bakery known for its cannoli, cookies and other Italian desserts, will open a new location in Terminal C at Boston Logan International Airport later this year, according to MarketPlace Development and Massport.

The new shop will offer signature Mike’s Pastry items along with travel-ready selections, including filled-to-order cannoli in multiple flavors, cheesecake slices, lobster tails and a full espresso bar.

Mike’s Pastry was founded in Boston’s North End in 1946 and has grown into one of the city’s best-known bakeries, with several locations across Greater Boston. The new location is expected to be open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“We’re thrilled to bring iconic North End favorite Mike’s Pastry to Boston Logan, giving visitors even more variety of Boston flavors,” Massport CEO Rich Davey said in the announcement. “This addition reflects our continued commitment to elevating the passenger experience by bringing local culture to the terminals through live entertainment, classic culinary favorites and more.”

Mike’s Pastry owner Angelo Papa said the airport opening will give travelers a chance to pick up a familiar Boston staple before departure or after landing.

“Mike’s Pastry has always been about sharing a piece of Boston with everyone who walks through our doors,” Papa said. “Bringing that experience to Boston Logan is special for us.”

The Terminal C shop will pair Mike’s Pastry’s North End identity with a more modern airport design, featuring the bakery’s gold tones along with blue and white accents, solid-surface countertops and illuminated pastry display cases.

Latest Arrivals At Logan Airport

This is just one of several new food and beverage outlets expected to open at Boston Logan Airport this year.

Earlier this year, a modern-day fish shack with counter service and seating, Roger’s Fish Co. , officially opened in Terminal A at the airport.

Meanwhile, CAVA and Berkshire Farm to Flight were some othere new arrivals in the airport’s Terminal B.

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