Rhode Island
6 takeaways from RI Gov. Dan McKee’s State of the State address Tuesday night
RI Gov. Dan McKee delivers State of the State address
The governor laid out an aspirational slate of priorities, heavy on education and housing.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee gave his third State of the State speech Tuesday. It clocked in at around 45 minutes. Here are the top six things we noticed:
No fiscal storm clouds on the horizon, unlike Massachusetts
While General Assembly leaders, spending watchdogs and leaders in other states warn of budget belt-tightening ahead, McKee painted a sunny picture of Rhode Island’s finances Tuesday and highlighted all the areas he wants to invest in.
From new spending on housing and health care to a tax cut for retirees and a push to build a new state archives building, McKee’s speech didn’t include any talk of pulling back, even in areas like pandemic-era aid for school districts that have lost students or payments to health care providers.
His message was a world apart from the outlook across the border in Massachusetts, where Gov. Maura Healey recently identified a $1-billion revenue gap and said budget cuts would be “the new normal.”
In fact, McKee appeared to lob a gentle dig at Rhode Island’s richer neighbor to the north, noting that “we won’t be forced to revise our budget like other states are and make midyear cuts.”
You had to focus on what wasn’t mentioned to see some of the tough choices ahead.
There was no mention of his signature proposal from last year to cut the state sales tax.
No mention of funding to replace the Garrahy Judicial Center in Providence
No mention of what to do with the vacant Cranston Street Armory.
No mention of the cash-strapped Rhode Island Public Transit Authority.
Biggest applause lines
Who says you can’t be famous just for showing up.
The loudest cheers of the night were directed at three Rhode Island students recognized by McKee for turning around poor attendance records: Alejandro Uz, a second-grader at Webster Elementary School in Providence, Bella Vasquez, a junior at Nowell Academy and Alondra Santos Godinez, a senior at Central Falls High School. Combatting chronic school absenteeism is one of McKee’s top priorities.)
The second loudest applause in the chamber probably went to a group of workers who helped take down the Independent Man statue for repairs.
As far as issues are concerned, the crowd dominated by Democratic General Assembly members was enthusiastic, although not uniformly so, about McKee’s call for an assault-weapons ban.
Not clear – yet – what will drive plan for more personal wealth
McKee on Tuesday promised to do for Rhode Islanders’ paychecks what he vowed to do for student test scores last year: raise them.
Specifically, McKee promised to raise per capita income in Rhode Island by $20,000 by 2030. (That would be his last year in office if he wins reelection in 2026.)
Rhode Island’s per capita personal income was $63,557 in 2022 compared to $84,561 in Massachusetts and $82,938 in Connecticut.
Details on how McKee intends to raise incomes will come within 100 days, he said; there were only hints in the speech.
McKee clearly sees the new biotech hub being established in Providence as a driver of income growth, and building a new life sciences school at the University of Rhode Island, plus a cybersecurity center at Rhode Island College helping that effort.
Whether there is more to McKee’s plan is unknown.
A lack of specificity around how he planned to improve Rhode Island schools was the loudest criticism of his education plan, which in many ways remains aspirational.
Rhode Islanders will be watching to see if his income-raising plan is similar.
Get ready for more housing money
A big chunk of the $321 million budgeted for housing programs over the last two years has yet to be spent, but McKee is calling for more to help solve the state’s ongoing affordability crisis.
McKee had already said he intends to ask voters to approve more borrowing for housing programs in November, but on Tuesday he confirmed that he wants to make it the largest housing bond ever at $100 million.
$100 million was the amount state Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor recommended based on what fiscal analysts estimated could fit within the state’s borrowing capacity.
If it passes, expect the bond to include funding for first-time homebuyer down-payment assistance, more money to help finance privately owned low-income housing and, maybe, seed money for a publicly owned state housing developer.
The speaker’s view
Keeping with the basketball theme he laid out by comparing Rhode Island to an underdog youth team he once coached, McKee gave House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi a copy of the late UCLA coach John Wooden’s biography as left the rostrum.
Does Shekarchi, who has warned of a more difficult budget picture, think the state can afford everything in McKee’s speech?
“I think it is certainly within an affordable range,” he told reporters after the speech. “Look, that’s his job is to be optimistic. That’s what a governor does in a State of the State. You highlight all the achievements that we’ve had in the past and you look forward. It’s a very forward, forward-looking statement.”
“Do the work” does a lot of work
McKee’s basketball background makes it no surprise when his speeches grab the spirit of a good locker room pep talk.
But the themes of elevating the downcast and uplifting the underappreciated in McKee’s speech went beyond the sports analogies.
He used some variation on the phrase “do the work,” a phrase that has become associated with self help and therapy, nine times in the speech, according to prepared remarks.
Among those credited with doing the work: all 39 cities and towns, the state’s education bureaucracy, a still-to-be-formed health care working group, the Department of Transportation, offshore wind workers, State Film Office chief Steve Feinberg, state facilities managers who worked on the Independent Man and “people across Rhode Island.”
A few years ago, the phrase “do the work” carried social-justice overtones, but has more recently been described as “therapy-speak” exported from the psychologist’s couch into popular culture.
Rhode Island
R.I. Democratic Committee issues no endorsement for governor or lieutenant governor – The Boston Globe
PROVIDENCE – In an unusual move, the Rhode Island Democratic State Committee issued no endorsement for the incumbent governor and lieutenant governor on Saturday.
Incumbent Governor Daniel J. McKee received 82 votes, while his challenger, former CVS executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes, received 73 votes. There were 11 votes for no endorsement, including from the party chair, Liz Beretta-Perik.
To secure an endorsement, a candidate needs 50 percent of the votes cast plus one vote. McKee needed 84 votes to secure the endorsement, so he came up two votes short.
Party officials said they could not recall the last time the committee did not endorse an incumbent Democratic governor. Beretta-Perik later said she voted for no endorsement because she needed to stay neutral.
McKee left the Teamsters Local 251 union hall in East Providence soon after the vote, without talking to reporters. In a statement sent soon after, however, he declared the outcome “a victory for our campaign” and noted he received “the largest margin in today’s endorsement vote.”
“We will win again in September,” he said in the statement. “Rhode Islanders have a clear choice: a governor who has spent every day fighting for working families, or a corporate executive who has spent her career fighting for corporate profits in the boardroom. I know which side I’m on — and today, Rhode Island Democrats made clear they do too.”
Part of the reason McKee came up two votes short of an endorsement is that his former special adviser, Eva-Marie Mancuso, voted for Foulkes.
As she walked into the Teamsters hall, Mancuso said, “I think we need new leadership. I’m ready.”
Mancuso — a former Rhode Island Board of Education chairwoman who left the McKee administration in 2023 to take a job with Bryant University — said a big part of her decision had to do with the decision by McKee, a long-time charter school advocate, to sign a bill that places a three-year moratorium on new charter schools and permanently lowers the cap on the total number.
“That was a big, big deal,” she said. “I mean, that just shows that he’s really lost focus of what the state needs.”
When McKee beat Foulkes in the 2022 Democratic primary, McKee was filmed telling Mancuso to hang up on Foulkes as he was prepared to deliver his victory speech. On Saturday, Mancuso said, “I took her call.”
The Democratic committee also did not endorse a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Out of 162 votes, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos received just 55 votes, while former Newport mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong received 71. Providence City Council member Sue AnderBois received 15 votes, and former state senator Cynthia Coyne got 13. Eight people voted for no endorsement.
The committee did not endorse anyone in the race to replace term-limited Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.
State Representative Joseph J. Solomon Jr. received 73 votes, former state Cannabis Control Commission chairwoman Kim Ahern received 42 votes, former attorney general policy chief Keith Hoffman received 22 votes, and state Representative Jason Knight received 12 votes, while 10 voted for no endorsement.
A total of 159 committee members voted, so 80 votes were needed to secure the endorsement.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
(WJAR) — Rhode Island will begin phasing out the sale of certain rat poisons after Gov. Dan McKee signed new legislation into law Thursday, making the Ocean State the second in the nation to adopt restrictions on the products.
The law targets first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, commonly used to control rats and mice.
Supporters say the poisons are harming wildlife, while critics argue they are among the most effective tools available to manage rodent populations.
Under the law, the sale of first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides will be prohibited beginning March 1, 2027.
Restrictions on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides will take effect Jan. 1, 2028. A statewide prohibition on both types is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2029.
Licensed commercial applicators and certain public health, agricultural and municipal uses are exempt from the restrictions.
Supporters said birds of prey such as hawks, owls and eagles are particularly vulnerable because they consume poisoned rodents. (WJAR file photo)
The legislation was backed by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, which says the poisons can move through the food chain and kill predators that feed on rodents.
“Across the country, and again, with Rhode Island making this move, the second only to California, we’ve seen just too many cases of off-species targets either being sickened or worse with these rodenticides,” said Maxwell McFarland, director of advocacy for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.
McFarland said birds of prey such as hawks, owls and eagles are particularly vulnerable because they consume poisoned rodents.
“What we’re seeing is these are accumulating in the natural predators meant to manage these rodent populations,” McFarland said. “So primarily our hawks, owls and eagles.”
According to McFarland, wildlife rehabilitators in Rhode Island have documented widespread exposure to the poisons among injured birds brought into their care.
“They’ve had hundreds of raptors admitted into their care over the past couple of years, and every single one has shown signs of anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning,” he said.
Supporters of the law say reducing the use of rodenticides will encourage communities to adopt alternative pest-control methods, including improved sanitation, securing trash and sealing buildings to prevent rodent access.
The law also creates a voluntary municipal Integrated Pest Management pilot program aimed at helping communities transition away from anticoagulant rodenticides.
Not everyone supports the change.
Tony DeJesus, former vice president of Big Blue Bug Solutions, said the restrictions will make it more difficult for homeowners and businesses to control rats and mice. (WJAR)
Tony DeJesus, former vice president of Big Blue Bug Solutions, said the restrictions will make it more difficult for homeowners and businesses to control rats and mice.
“It’s gonna have a major impact on our business. And not only that, but on the homeowners,” DeJesus said.
DeJesus said over-the-counter rodent control products commonly used by homeowners will no longer be available once the law takes effect.
“Homeowners will not be able to go out anymore and buy things like Decon and some of the other over-the-counter baits once this goes into effect,” he said.
He also expressed concern about the impact on restaurants and public health.
“The main thing is that when we start talking about how this is gonna affect it, rats carry disease,” DeJesus said. “Food poisoning is associated with both rats and mice in restaurants and things.”
DeJesus pointed to California, which enacted similar restrictions, as a cautionary example.
“The proof in the pudding is the state of California that did the same thing three years ago,” he said. “And now Los Angeles has been voted the rattiest city in the United States.”
McFarland said the legislation provides communities and pest-control companies with time to adapt before the restrictions fully take effect.
“We believe that it’s a fair timeline where communities, municipalities and pest management companies can learn, unlearn rather, the status quo of how they’re applying these rodenticides,” he said.
The Audubon Society said Rhode Island’s law follows similar action taken in California and comes as other New England states consider comparable legislation.
State officials say the first restrictions under the new law will take effect in March 2027.
WARWICK, R.I. (WJAR) — The local community hosted a send-off celebration for Special Olympics Rhode Island athletes on Friday.
Twenty-four athletes, along with partners, coaches, and medical personnel, are traveling to Minneapolis for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games.
The local community hosted a send-off celebration for Special Olympics Rhode Island athletes on Friday. (WJAR)
Textron hosted the team in a private jet for travel to the games, officials said.
“The USA Games represent months of dedication, hard work, and perseverance for our athletes,” President and CEO of Special Olympics Rhode Island Ed Pacheco said. “Our athletes, Unified partners, and coaches carry with them the hopes and aspirations of achieving gold while representing the very fabric of our great state. This journey would not be possible without Textron, and we are incredibly grateful for their support in creating a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Team Rhode Island as they travel to compete on the national stage.”
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Officials said the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games will be held from Saturday through next Friday.
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