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What to know about Providence: Big Blue Bug, State House dome, Benefit Street
Fun fact: There are more donut and coffee shops per capita in Providence than anywhere else in the U.S.
Commercial insurer FM is buying the downtown Providence office building that’s home to Brightstar, the lottery company formerly known as IGT.
The 10-story office building at the intersection of Memorial Boulevard and Francis Street “will serve as a strategic addition to its growing business and global office footprint,” FM said in a news release announcing the purchase Thursday, Feb. 19.
FM paid $68.5 million for the 202,000 square-foot building, the company said.
The previous owner was an affiliate of Boston-based Tritower Financial Group, which bought the building for $51.5 million in 2012, according to Providence Assessors Records.
FM said it “intends to occupy a portion” of the building. It did not mention how many FM employees will work there and when.
Brightstar, which changed its name from International Game Technology last year, is not leaving the building.
“We are pleased to welcome FM to downtown Providence as the new owner of 10 Memorial Boulevard, which is the home of our global lottery headquarters,” Brightstar spokesman Mike DeAngelis wrote in an email.
Rhode Island awarded IGT a 20-year contract to run the state’s lottery business and provide slot machines to its casinos in 2021.
The deal included strict local employment requirements.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Senate President Valarie Lawson and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi celebrated the sale in the news release.
FM, formerly known as FM Global, is based in Johnston and is one of the state’s largest employers.
“This investment reflects FM’s confidence in Rhode Island and our commitment to creating spaces that attract world-class talent and strengthen client relationships,” Randy Hodge, chief operating officer of FM, said in the release. “FM has been proud to call Rhode Island home for nearly 200 years, and this expansion in the state’s capital is a natural choice for our next chapter of growth.”
This story has been updated with new information.
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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