Rhode Island
‘Conjuring House’ owner arrested, charged with DUI – The Boston Globe
“I am not a criminal. I have never been arrested,” she wrote in a text message.
According to Police Chief Stephen Lynch, officers received calls on Monday night reporting an erratic driver.
Police found the Lexus SUV after 9 p.m. stopped on Hill Road, and as officers approached the car, allegedly driven by Nuñez, the vehicle took off, according to a police report.
Nuñez allegedly drove 51 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone, failed to stop for a stop sign, swerved into the opposite lane, and nearly drove off the road at different times during the pursuit, authorities said.
Eventually, Nuñez came to a stop on Wallum Lake Road, and officers approached the car with their guns drawn, the report states.
Body camera video footage shows Nuñez mumbling, “What’s wrong,” as officers approach her. Officers wrote they “detected the overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her breath.”According to the police report and footage from police body-worn cameras released Thursday, she repeatedly told the officers that she owns The Conjuring House, and argued with them about why she did not pull over immediately.
Officers attempted to perform field sobriety tests, but the video shows Nuñez not following directions and laughing at officers. At one point she told police, “You’re boring me,” and accused them of trying to “save face” by administering the tests, the report states.
Police said she later refused a Breathalyzer test, but told officers she drank three cocktails that night. She was later shackled to a bed at the police station after she refused to stop “aggressively banging on the cell door and yelling,” police wrote.
In a series of text messages sent to the Globe, Nuñez claimed she passed a sobriety test and that police did not ask her to take a Breathalyzer.
She claimed police and others are “trying to drive me out of business.”
“I am terrified of this PD. I did drive past a stop sign and then pulled over on the shoulder when they approached,” she wrote. “I remember being panicked and terrified and sped up and then pulled over. I knew I was going to be harassed and possibly taken somewhere to be killed.”
Lynch said Burrillville officers are sometimes called to The Conjuring House, where Nuñez also lives, over traffic caused by curious onlookers. On Saturday night, Lynch said, Nuñez called police to report seeing former employees near the woods. Police responded but did not find anyone there, Lynch said.
During the summer, officers also went to The Conjuring House twice with a health care provider to check on Nuñez, who was brought to a hospital on one of those occasions, he said.
Last month, Nuñez told The Providence Journal the hospital stay was orchestrated by former employees in an attempt to take control of the house.
In a series of texts with the Globe, Nuñez referred to several medical facilities but declined to provide details. “Being thrown into facilities because I am complaining about crimes against me and my legitimate business does not mean that I have psychiatric issues,” Nuñez wrote.
The DUI charges follow other Conjuring House-related controversies in recent months. The 18th-century farmhouse was the inspiration for the 2013 movie “The Conjuring,” about hauntings that plagued the Perron family there in the 1970s. Visitors come from around the world to tour the property, and some even spend the night.
Former employees have said Nuñez owes them money, including one who said he was fired after Nuńez accused him of stealing money from the business – an accusation she said was based on a tip by the ghost of a former owner.
Guests have also complained about being asked to leave based on information she seemed to indicate was from spirits. Scott Kitlarz told the Globe he and his wife paid $1,089 to stay overnight at the house on Oct. 21. The Iowa couple left within a few hours after Nuñez asked if they were content creators and accused them of not having “good intentions,” adding, “I can feel your energy,” according to an audio recording Kitlarz provided to the Globe. He told the Globe she seemed to indicate that spirits had informed her about the Kitlarzs.
He said they brought cameras and microphones to try to capture anything otherworldly, but they are not content creators. The Conjuring House’s website states that guests may bring “ghost hunting equipment” but content creators must inform staff before they arrive. Kitlarz asked for a refund, which Nunez agreed to, but he said that as of Wednesday he had not received any part of the $1,089 he and his wife had paid.
When asked about Kitlarz’s experience, Nuñez texted that she “was alerted quickly to their intentions so I acted quickly.”
“No one with intent to hurt me or my business will get a refund,” she said.“I will not reveal my sources that look to protect me and TCH.”
Jason Hawes, the Rhode Island-based star of SyFy’s “Ghost Hunters” television show, has also accused Nuñez of harassing him and has said he is concerned about the safety of guests who stay there.
Amidst the controversies, “The Conjuring House” has remained open to visitors, though last week, Lynch opted not to immediately approve the entertainment license for the property, citing “inappropriate” attachments with its application. Nuñez can still resubmit her application though, before her current license expires in November, Lynch said.
When asked about the license, Nuñez said she will “pursue every option to run my legitimate business.”
“Burrillville will need a compelling reason to decline it,” she said in a text message.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
Rhode Island
RI Foundation plan would overhaul school funding, shift costs to state
McKee to launch ‘affordability’ agenda in reelection bid.
Facing a tough reelection fight, McKee will propose policies to help Rhode Islanders with the cost of living, starting with a tax cut for retirees.
A proposed overhaul of Rhode Island education funding unveiled by a panel of experts and the Rhode Island Foundation on Monday, Jan. 5 would simplify the way public education is paid for and shift spending from municipalities to the state.
A 33-page report from the Blue Ribbon Commission describes the state’s current funding formula as “complex,” “opaque,” and “unpredictable,” the product of years of emergency tweaks and political compromises.
“We are constantly confronted with the limitations of the current funding formula. We hear about it all the time, both as a funder and as a partner in the public education sector,” David Cicilline, Rhode Island Foundation president and former congressman, told reporters at a briefing on the plan, whose release was delayed as a result of a shooting at Brown University.
The commission recommends that the state share the cost of some things now borne entirely by local governments, such as transportation, building maintenance and vocational schooling. And it wants the state to take on some costs entirely − including retired teacher pensions, high-cost special education and out-of-district transportation − that are now shared with municipalities.
The current system places “an outsized fiscal burden on districts,” the report’s executive summary says.
But the price tag for taking that burden from cities and towns is large, and in a time of economic uncertainty might give Rhode Island State House leaders sticker shock.
At the same time that the commission shifts costs to the state, it is also proposing a roughly $300 million net increase in education spending to better reflect what its experts believe is necessary to guarantee.
The commission’s preferred scenario, in which the state covers 58% of school costs, would increase the state education budget by $590 million. Under this plan cities and towns would save $278 million.
Cicilline notes that state leaders could choose to phase the new spending in over two or three years to soften the budget impact.
Recent years have seen significant annual increases in education spending under the existing funding formula. The current state budget saw a $59 million increase in education spending from the previous year.
Cicilline also noted that the state’s unfunded pension obligation is projected to fall dramatically in 2036, at which point the cost of covering those payments for cities would fall.
The state currently pays 40% of teacher pension costs. Picking up the full cost of retiree pensions would push the state cost from a little over $100 million to more than $270 million, according to projections from the commission.
Who participated in the Blue Ribbon Commission?
The commission, hosted by the Rhode Island Foundation and Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, included representatives of nonprofits, municipal government, teachers unions, research academics and public schools, both traditional and charter.
The panel did not include any elected officials or state policymakers, such as members of the Rhode Island Department of Education or members of the General Assembly. However, Gov. Dan McKee, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson were briefed on the recommendations.
How did state officials react to the recommendations?
All reserved judgment on the plan, although many of the ideas in it align with priorities that Lawson, president of the National Education Association Rhode Island, expressed in an interview at the start of the month.
Shekarchi thanked the foundation and said the House will be “carefully reviewing” the recommendations. “A strong educational system is essential in making sure our students are well prepared for the rapidly-changing 21st century economy and is a critical component of our state’s future prosperity,” he said in an email.
The report “reflects a strong commitment to strengthening public education and expanding opportunity for every Rhode Island student – goals my administration has been working towards diligently,” McKee said in an email.
Senate spokesman Greg Pare said the Rhode Island Foundation is slated to give the chamber a presentation on the report Jan. 15.
“The Blue Ribbon Commission’s work raises important issues that we will be exploring, including state support relative to areas such as high-cost special needs and transportation,” Pare wrote.
Municipal winners and losers under new funding plan
Although most cities and towns come out big winners with the Blue Ribbon plan, some do better than others, and a few communities are projected to see a net loss.
In place of the current “quadratic mean” formula, which includes bonuses for communities with expensive real estate but a large number of low-income students, the commission proposes basing municipalities’ aid level entirely on real estate value. (The higher the assessed value of property in a city, the less aid it would receive.)
Newport would lose $7.8 million in state aid, the Chariho school district would lose $7.7 million, Westerly $1.3 million and Middletown $400,000, according to commission projections.
But all other communities would gain.
Providence would see see state aid increase by $186 million and its own projected costs fall from $118 million to $90 million.
East Providence would see state aid rise by $33 million and its own projected costs fall from $65 million to $44 million.
And Warwick would see state aid rise by $35 million while its own projected costs fall from $127 million to $92 million.
Rhode Island
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Rhode Island
Rhode Island GOP chairman Joe Powers to step down Jan. 15
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Rhode Island Republican Party chairman Joe Powers will resign effective Jan. 15, the party announced on Saturday, Jan. 3.
“Chairman Powers is stepping down due to the increased demands of his professional workload and an extensive travel schedule that no longer allow him to give the Chairmanship the full attention the position requires,” the party said in a news release. “The role of Chairman demands constant focus, and daily engagement especially moving into an election year, neither of which Chairman Powers can provide at this time.”
Powers a, real estate agent and unsuccessful 2022 candidate for a Cranston Senate seat, was elected to lead the state’s Republican Party in March 2023. He was reelected to a second two-year term in March.
During his tenure, Powers “oversaw meaningful organizational progress, including the successful update of the Party’s ByLaws and the full staffing of Party committees for the first time in over 20 years, establishing a strong and durable foundation heading into the next election cycle,” the GOP news release said.
Powers will remain on the GOP’s state Central Committee as chairman emeritus and will “continue to support Rhode Island Republicans in a smaller capacity,” the release said, thanking him “for his leadership and service.”
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