Rhode Island

From Minnesota, @short_pants weighs in on Tim Walz – The Boston Globe

Published

1 year ago

August 7, 2024

From Minnesota, @short_pants weighs in on Tim Walz – The Boston Globe

So Driscoll, who was on jury duty Tuesday, agreed to provide a scouting report on Harris’s vice presidential pick.

”He’s your Midwestern uncle,” Driscoll said of Walz. “There is plainspokenness to him, but dedication. He has been the real deal for a long time.”Harris clearly saw Walz as an effective communicator, he said, noting Walz went viral after describing former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, as “weird.”

He said Harris must have been impressed with Walz’s “working family agenda,” which has included signing legislation to provide free school breakfasts and lunches to all students regardless of income, and legislation providing paid family and medical leave for Minnesotans.

Also, he said Harris must have seen Walz as a governing partner who has executive experience and is now chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

Republicans have criticized Walz’s handling of the 2020 protests following the police killing of George Floyd. But Driscoll said, “The governor was operating under extraordinary conditions between the pandemic and civil unrest, and he provided calm and steady leadership.”

Some had expected Harris to choose a vice president from a swing state, such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. But Driscoll noted Obama picked Joe Biden although he represented Delaware, which is far from a swing state.

While Republicans are casting Walz as far left, Driscoll said the “authentic” and “avuncular” governor will help win over Midwestern voters while combatting attempts to paint the ticket as too liberal. He said Walz never seems more at home than when he’s taking part in the opening of the fishing and hunting seasons in Minnesota.

But Driscoll joked that Walz gives off a “different vibe” than former Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun, who made headlines for shooting three racoons on his waterfront estate in Newport in 1993. “He is not going to be shooting raccoons on the front lawn of the governor’s mansion,” he said of Walz.

And that brings us back to the story of why Driscoll still uses the handle @short_pants on X (formerly Twitter).

In 2008, Driscoll was a field organizer for Obama’s Rhode Island campaign when an elderly man stopped by campaign headquarters as Driscoll was charging a woman $3 for an Obama bumper sticker. A man stepped forward, saying, “Do you know who I am?” Driscoll said, “Sorry, sir, I don’t.” “I’m Bruce Sundlun!” the man boomed. Driscoll jumped out of his seat. “Do you know why I’m here?” Sundlun asked. Driscoll said, “No, sir.” Sundlun told him, “I’m here to kick your (butt)!” Sundlun, who lived in Jamestown, said he’d counted 18 John McCain signs on Aquidneck Island and not a single Obama sign. Raymond J. Sullivan Jr., then the Obama campaign’s state director, said they didn’t have signs yet but he gave him Obama T-shirts and bumper stickers. “Are they free?” Sundlun asked. Sullivan said, “Of course, governor.””Well, (expletive) short pants here is hustling bumper stickers at $3 a pop,” Sundlun said, pointing at Driscoll, who was wearing shorts.

This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.

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Rhode Island

Brown University shooting: Who is RI Attorney General Peter Neronha?

Published

16 minutes ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Brown University shooting: Who is RI Attorney General Peter Neronha?

Neronha is Rhode Island’s 74th attorney general. He was sworn in on Nov. 6, 2018.
During President Donald Trump’s second term, Neronha has sued the president and his administration over 30 times.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, along with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and others, announced Dec. 14 that they were releasing the person of interest originally detained for the mass shooting at Brown University.

Neronha said that tips “led to us detaining a person of interest,” but that the evidence “now points in a different direction.”

“We have a murderer out there, frankly,” Neronha said.

As attorney general, Neronha and his office will play a large role in the investigation over the shooting. Here’s what to know about the top legal official in Rhode Island.

Who is Peter Neronha?

Neronha is Rhode Island’s 74th attorney general. He was sworn in on Nov. 6, 2018.

As attorney general, Neronha leads an office that “prosecutes criminal cases; represents state agencies, departments and commissions in litigation; initiates legal action when necessary to protect the interests of Rhode Islanders; and oversees the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation,” according to his office.

Previously, Neronha was the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 2009 to 2017. He was appointed by former President Barack Obama.

He began his career in public service as a Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General in 1996. He was later appointed Assisted Attorney General, and then joined United States Attorney’s Office as an Assistant United States Attorney in 2002.

Neronha is a fourth generation native of Jamestown, Rhode Island. He has undergraduate and law degrees from Boston College.

Neronha’s relationship to Trump

During President Donald Trump’s second term, Neronha has sued the president and his administration over 40 times.

Some of the lawsuits that he has co-led include ones over withheld education funds and the dismantling of federal agencies like Health and Human Services and those that support public libraries and museums.

Neronha often criticizes the president in his lawsuits. In a press release announcing a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration Nov. 25 for reducing grant funds for projects that could help people experiencing homelessness, Neronha said that the administration continues to “punch down” on vulnerable Americans.

“The President and his Administration don’t care about making life easier or better for Americans; they only care about political capitulation, consolidating power, and further enriching the wealthy,” he said.

In a press conference earlier this year, Neronha said that he sues the Trump administration when the president has broken the law, when Americans have been harmed and when they have the legal standing to bring an action against the administration.

While it’s unclear if Trump has ever commented on Neronha specifically, he has often attacked judges who have tried to block his policies.

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island Blood Center asks for donations after deadly shooting at Brown University

Published

12 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Rhode Island Blood Center asks for donations after deadly shooting at Brown University

The Rhode Island Blood Center is asking for donations after the fatal shooting at Brown University on Saturday.

Several donor centers have extended hours available as they respond to the emergency.

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Anyone interested can sign up for an appointment on the organization’s website.

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Rhode Island

R.I. blood supply was low before Brown mass shooting – The Boston Globe

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

R.I. blood supply was low before Brown mass shooting – The Boston Globe

PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Blood Center’s blood supply was low before Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University, and it is immediately stepping up blood drives to meet the need, an official said Sunday.

“We were definitely dealing with some issues with inventory going into the incident,” Executive Director of Blood Operations Nicole Pineault said.

The supply was especially low for Type 0 positive and negative, which are often needed for mass casualty incidents, she said. Type 0 negative is considered the “universal” red blood donor, because it can be safely given to patients of any blood type.

Pineault attributed the low supply to weather, illness, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. With more people working from home, blood drives at office buildings are smaller, and young people — including college students — are not donating blood at the same rate as they did in the past, she said.

“There are a lot challenges,” she said.

But people can help by donating blood this week, Pineault said, suggesting they go to ribc.org or contact the Rhode Island Blood Center at (401) 453-8383 or (800) 283-8385.

The donor room at 405 Promenade St. in Providence is open seven days a week, Pineault said. Blood drives were already scheduled for this week at South Street Landing in Providence and at Brown Physicians, and the blood center is looking to add more blood drives in the Providence area this week, she said.

“It breaks my heart,” Pineault said of the shooting. “It’s a terrible tragedy. We run blood dives regularly on the Brown campus. Our heart goes out to all of the victims and the staff. We want to work with them to get the victims what they need.”

She said she cannot recall a similar mass shooting in Rhode Island.

“In moments of tragedy, it’s a reminder to the community how important the blood supply really is,” Pineault said. “It’s an easy way to give back, to help your neighbors, and be ready in unfortunate situations like this.”

The Rhode Island Blood Center has donor centers in Providence, Warwick, Middletown, Narragansett, and Woonsocket, and it has mobile blood drives, she noted.

On Sunday, the center’s website said “Donors urgently needed. Hours extended at some donor centers, 12/14.”

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.

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