Rhode Island
A way forward as new federal law slashes aid to Rhode Islanders – The Boston Globe
Congress has passed disastrous legislation that extends the worst Trump-era tax policies: tax breaks for the wealthy, paid for by increasing the national deficit and gutting critical resources for millions of people, such as health care and food assistance. This new law also targets immigrants, including those who are lawfully present, refugees, asylees, and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
The core of this Big Horrendous Bill is a series of devastating cuts: nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, over $300 billion from education, $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and more. More than 300,000 Rhode Island residents rely on Medicaid. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), 67,000 Rhode Islanders who gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act expansion are at risk of losing it. Congress also allowed enhanced premium tax credits to expire, which means that approximately 40,000 low- and middle-income Rhode Islanders who get coverage through HealthSource RI will lose subsidies and see their premiums increase by an average of 85 percent.
Food insecurity will also worsen. More than 144,000 Rhode Islanders rely on SNAP and about 22,000 of them may lose some of their benefits. Congress has also shifted more of the burden of funding Medicaid and SNAP to states. For the first time, our state will be expected to shoulder 15 percent of SNAP benefits, at a cost of $51.8 million per year, plus an additional $15.8 million annually in administrative costs previously covered by federal dollars.
However, all is not lost. There is a Rhode Forward, if we are willing to act boldly.
Information is power: We must urgently understand what is in this law and how its provisions will impact health care, food security, education, and our state budget. We need clear, timely analysis and a coordinated statewide response to prepare for the timeline of these cuts.
Build a Rhode Island solution together: We need collective, strategic action that includes community leaders, policy experts, philanthropists, state agencies, and lawmakers. We must protect essential services while building an economy that sustains us all.
Advance tax justice: The new federal law exposes the injustice in our tax system. While essential services are being cut, tax breaks for the wealthy that began in 2017 have been extended and will continue immediately in 2026. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Rhode Island’s top 1 percent will receive $354 million in total tax cuts, an average of $58,840 per filer. That is far more than they would have paid under the proposed Rhode Island 3 percent surtax on high earners.
Rhode Island’s tax policy must counter this by finally creating a fair tax structure. Most Rhode Islanders agree that the wealthy must do their part and pay their fair share. As we approach the 2026 elections, it is important to note that in a recent Pell Center poll, 70 percent of Rhode Island voters supported higher taxes on top earners. More than 1,000 residents and 90 organizations signed the Revenue for Rhode Islanders petition calling for a tax on the top 1 percent of R.I. earners, which was delivered to the General Assembly in June before the recess of the legislative session. Wealthy Rhode Islanders need to stand together with the rest of us and do more to protect our state.
Call a special fall legislative session: Thanks to the foresight of the Senate and House leadership, the 2025 legislative session remains in recess, which allows for the opportunity of a special fall session. We urge leadership to reconvene to fully review and proactively plan against the harms of the reconciliation law and pass the Top 1 percent bill, which would raise $190 million annually, with $95 million available in FY 2026.
We propose allocating this revenue to:
- Add funds to the Supplemental Rainy Day Fund, moving us closer to 10% or more of General Revenue, like most New England states.
- Fully fund RIPTA, strengthening our economy and reducing barriers to employment.
- Provide a cost-of-living increase for Rhode Island Works, the state’s cash assistance and workforce development program for the poorest Rhode Islanders.
- Fund enhanced premium tax credits or alternatively, use contributions from all commercial insurance, including large employer plans.
While some of these cuts won’t go into effect immediately, we cannot afford to wait until benefits are lost or our state budget is facing worse deficits. Lawmakers must act now. We need to be ahead of the crisis. We must treat this moment with the urgency it deserves and prepare today for what is coming our way.
Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies, Esq., is the executive director of the Economic Progress Institute.
Rhode Island
Mott & Chace Sotheby’s Announces Listing of Narragansett Landmark “Broadmoor” After Extraordinary Relocation and Luxury Transformation – Newport Buzz
150 Boston Neck Road | Narragansett, RI | 6 Beds, 5 Full Baths, 3 Half Baths | 5,785 Sq Ft | 0.97 Acres | Offered by Janet Kermes of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty for $5,995,000.
At 150 Boston Neck Road, Broadmoor offers one of the most compelling preservation stories on the Rhode Island coast. Originally built circa 1896, the iconic shingle-style estate was carefully relocated in 2022, lifted onto steel beams and moved nearly 1,000 feet down the road in a remarkable effort to save it from demolition.
What followed was a full-scale transformation. Now set on a new foundation with entirely updated systems, the nearly 6,000-square-foot home blends historic character with the ease of modern construction. State-of-the-art HVAC, a high-efficiency furnace, and five-zone heating and cooling bring a level of comfort rarely found in a home of this era.
Inside, original wood floors and a grand central staircase anchor three light-filled levels. The residence includes six bedrooms, five full baths, and three half baths, with four ensuite bedrooms designed for hosting. A dramatic chef’s kitchen features a six-burner double-oven range, dual Sub-Zero refrigerators, three sinks, two dishwashers, and an oversized island, complemented by multiple living and entertaining spaces throughout.
Ocean views from nearly every room on the upper floors, along with a screened-in patio, second-floor deck, and bluestone fire pit patio, create a seamless connection to the coastal setting. Located directly across from the Dunes Club and just steps to Narragansett Town Beach, Broadmoor captures the best of the Pier lifestyle.
A rare offering that honors the past while living entirely in the present.
LEARN MORE, SEE MORE PHOTOS, AND SCHEDULE A SHOWING
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Rhode Island
Obituary: Kathleen Mary Mosher (1962-2026) – Newport Buzz
Kathleen Mary Mosher (née Martin), age 63, passed away on January 22, 2026, in Valdosta, Georgia, after a courageous nearly two-year battle with cancer that she fought with remarkable strength and determination.
Kathleen was born on November 6, 1962, at the Newport Naval Base to Mary Del Chapels Martin and Herbert Arden Martin, both of whom preceded her in death. She grew up in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from Rogers High School in 1981.
Kathleen shared a lifelong love story with her husband, Richard Harvey Mosher, who also preceded her in death. The two were truly inseparable, rarely seen apart and always hand in hand. Kathleen had admired the boy next door for years, and when she turned eighteen she finally told him there were no more excuses and that he was hers. They were married on January 16, 1982, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Newport, beginning a marriage built on devotion, love, and partnership.
Kathleen spent much of her life caring for others. She was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, and friend who always put family first. While raising her children, she was a devoted stay-at-home mother until her youngest began school. She later worked as a teacher’s aide and eventually took over her own children’s Newport Daily News paper routes, continuing to deliver newspapers until the paper discontinued home carriers.
She was also a proud and active member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Newport, where she served and helped in many ways over the years. Her faith and dedication to her church community were an important part of her life.
Kathleen is survived by her loving children, Heather Johnson, Marydel Hall, and Richard Mosher II, as well as Tina Couture, whom she loved and treated as a third daughter. She also leaves behind her cherished grandchildren, Joshua, Gracelynn, Isabella, and bonus grandson Zavyair.
She is also survived by her siblings Sheila Robertson, Michael Martin, Terralinda Winchenbach, Sara Iafrate, and Butch Martin, along with many extended family members and friends who will miss her dearly.
Kathleen will be remembered for her strength, devotion to family, and the countless ways she cared for others throughout her life. She spent much of her time looking after the people she loved, and the kindness and love she shared will continue to live on through those whose lives she touched.
A memorial service will be held on March 22 at 3:00 PM at
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
12 Marlborough Street
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
Family and friends are invited to gather following the service to celebrate Kathleen’s life and share memories.
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Rhode Island
A battle is underway over recreational cannabis stores in Rhode Island – The Boston Globe
“It’s the last thing I want to happen in the Rhode Island market,” said Edward Dow, chief executive of Solar Therapeutics, which has three dispensaries in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island. “Don’t do what Massachusetts and every other state has done.”
Business owners who applied for Rhode Island’s 24 retail licenses last year are outraged by the potential about-face, arguing that should have been raised before they shelled out tens of thousands of dollars each to secure premises, hire lawyers, and pay nonrefundable application fees to the state.
“Massachusetts is light-years ahead of us,” said Karen Ballou, who has applied to open a store on Main Street in Richmond. She noted Massachusetts, which has hundreds of stores open, is now considering social consumption lounges. “They’re going to be rolling that out, and we still don’t have retail stores.”
Ballou said she’s been paying $6,000 a month in rent on the Richmond property since September, and estimated she’s spent at least $50,000 on legal, architectural, and other costs. The state required potential cannabis retailers to have a fully executed lease and zoning certificate before applying for a lottery for one of the 24 licenses. The deadline to apply was Dec. 29.
“We knew that it was a gamble,” Ballou said. But nearly four years since legalization, she asked: “Why isn’t the process moving faster?”
Michelle Reddish, the administrator of Rhode Island’s cannabis office, declined repeated requests for an interview about the upcoming lottery. Spokesperson Charon Rose said the state is aiming to hold it in June, but first has to finish reviewing applications and contend with other factors, including three federal lawsuits challenging a requirement stores be owned by Rhode Island residents.
Rose said no decision has been made on how many licenses will be issued at the lottery.
The Cannabis Control Commission is considering a phased-in approach, prompting alarm among those who already applied under the assumption that all 24 retail licenses are in play.
“You can regret the rules that you set, you can wish that you made them different, you can change them for the next round, but you can’t move the goal posts after the game is over,” said David Rozen, who applied to open a dispensary in an old Pizza Hut on Reservoir Avenue in Cranston.
The new stores could reshape Rhode Island’s cannabis market. The original medical dispensaries were large facilities relegated mostly to industrial zones, far from the foot traffic of neighborhoods or busy commercial hubs.
Now, under more permissive zoning and changing attitudes toward cannabis, smaller stores could open on busy commercial strips such as Thames Street in Newport or in downtown Providence. They could squeeze in next to a bakery or yoga studio, becoming part of the fabric of everyday life.
There are eight dispensaries currently selling recreational cannabis in Rhode Island after lawmakers in 2022 allowed existing medical marijuana centers to get a hybrid license to sell recreational pot as a transitional measure until the Cannabis Control Commission could get up and running. They sold a combined $120 million worth of cannabis last year.
But new retailers were always the plan. They include special “social equity” licenses set aside for applicants who were disproportionately affected by marijuana prohibition, as well as for worker cooperatives. The law also set a cap of four stores in each of six geographic zones. (Just 6 of 33 Rhode Island municipalities ban cannabis stores.)
Ambrose Dwyer told the Globe he “got arrested for a joint” in 1982, and again in 1991, felony convictions that ultimately destroyed his life, he said. He wants to open in a former dry cleaning business on Chalkstone Avenue in Providence under the social equity license.
“They’re scared of competition,” Dwyer said of the existing eight dispensaries. “They’ve got a monopoly, and they’ve got their prices through the roof.”
With far fewer stores per capita, Rhode Island prices are higher than Massachusetts, at $5.67 per gram compared to $4.17 per gram in Massachusetts, according to the cannabis commission.
As prices drop, some stores in Massachusetts have been closing.
“They should not allow dispensaries on top of dispensaries on top of dispensaries,” said Joe Pakuris, who owns the Mother Earth Wellness dispensary in Pawtucket, which is about 2.5 miles from the only one in Providence, the Slater Center, which opened in 2013.
Pakuris said rather than 24 licenses, the state should issue six to eight, and focus on areas that don’t have any stores, such as southern Rhode Island and the northwest corner of the state.
But a majority of applicants are concentrated around Providence and Newport, according to a Globe review of the submissions. In the northwest zone, where four licenses are available, only two applied.
The list of 97 applicants will likely be whittled down before the lottery. Around a dozen did not get zoning approvals by a March 2 deadline, and others could fail to meet requirements.
At most, the commission will issue 20 licenses, because not every license type received an application in each of the six geographic zones.
The state’s 57 cultivators who grow cannabis are also desperate for more stores. They cannot sell directly to consumers or to stores in other states, and many of the current dispensaries in Rhode Island also grow their own product.
“We can’t wait,” said Allan Fung, a former Cranston mayor and lawyer who is representing multiple retail applicants and cultivators. “We’re asking to have the CCC conduct the lottery as soon as possible, granting all of the licenses at the same time, and not having a phased-in approach.”
The commission, meanwhile, is down to two members after chair Kim Ahern left in October to run for attorney general. Governor Dan McKee has not nominated a replacement, and his office did not have an update this past week.
Robert Jacquard, one of the two remaining members, said he does not yet know how he will vote on the number of retail licenses.
“I’m keeping an open mind,” Jacquard said.
The other commissioner, Layi Oduyingbo, did not respond to requests for comment.
Marc Gertsacov, who wants to open a store on the first floor of the Merchants Bank building in Providence, said he, too, was “frustrated” by the delays and deliberation.
“I think that the state should let the market decide how much is too much,” Gertsacov said.
If selected, Gertsacov said he could open in a month or two. He picked the location because it could benefit from the foot traffic of tourists, college students, and workers in the city’s financial district who — for the first time in downtown Providence — could stop by after their 9-to-5.
“It’s a different version of a happy hour,” he said.
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.
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