(WJAR) — Multiple bears wandering on yards were caught on camera in Rhode Island.

A Coventry man caught this black bear roaming his front yard Thursday night.

“It was definitely a surprise to see a bear on our front porch,” Josh Dominikoski said.

An unlikely guest was spotted on Dominikoski’s front porch.

“We kind of opened the door a little bit and he ran off,” he said.

A black bear was caught on camera simply minding his own business.

“He triggered our side camera and that kind of spooked him,” Dominikoski said.

The bear slowly creeped around the Coventry home.

At one point, the bear even made direct eye contact with the camera, looking seemingly unfazed.

Dominikoski said after 20 years living at this home, he’s never seen anything like this.

“It was interesting to be able to see it in person up close like that – once in a lifetime experience,” Dominikoski said.

Another bear was sighted in Charlestown on a woman’s backyard overnight.

Robin Cichy in Charlestown shared video with NBC 10 of another bear sighting, this time in her backyard.

“I thought it was very close to the house and it looked like a pretty good size,” Cichy said.

She shared photos of a possible print left behind, and her bird feeder crushed.

Likely left the bear on the prowl for a late-night snack

“We walk our dog out in the yard so it’s a little concerning. When we do go out, we make a lot of noise because we don’t want to surprise him,” Cichy said.

This type of behavior is normal for bears, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

The agency encourages homeowners to secure all food or trash, and remove bird feeders when bears are active.

If you see one, back away slowly. Make yourself big and loud if things get grizzly.

“It’s pretty frightening, you don’t expect that to happen so close to your home,” Cichy said.

Since his first weeks on the job, Gov. Ned Lamont has urged his fellow Democrats to embrace a “debt diet” and curb borrowing where possible.

But the administration wouldn’t say this week whether it would back legislative leaders’ plans to borrow to effectively cover operating expenses in the next budget — creating a significant hole to be tackled one year from now.

“Gov. Lamont is committed to an honestly balanced budget in [fiscal year] ’25. Any adjustments that impact any level of funding must ensure the budget remains balanced,” Chris Collibee, the governor’s budget spokesman, told The Connecticut Mirror this week.

At first glance, this answer appears to close off options for Democratic legislators, who want to add $300 million to $400 million to a preliminary $26 billion budget for the next fiscal year that already exceeds the state’s spending cap by $30 million.

But borrowing happens outside of the budget. The same applies to spending federal pandemic relief grants. The majority Democrats’ latest plan to bolster the next state budget beyond what the spending cap allows centers on those two areas. It goes like this:

• Step 1: Identify projects and programs currently paid for with the last vestiges of Connecticut’s $2.8 billion American Rescue Plan Act allocation from Congress.

• Step 2: Replace those ARPA dollars with borrowed funds.

• Step 3: Reassign ARPA dollars to higher education, social services and other core programs.

Emergency federal relief can be spent outside of the spending cap, which tries to keep most expenditure growth in line with changes in household income and inflation.

This approach effectively would circumvent the spending cap and other fiscal principles that Lamont frequently espouses.

But borrowing for ongoing expenses adds an interest cost normally reserved for capital projects.

The administration repeatedly chastised public colleges and university systems this past winter for using ARPA dollars for operating costs rather than for one-time purposes such as paying down debt. Yet this latest Democratic strategy would pump more temporary dollars into ongoing programs.

Lamont recently upgraded his estimate of ARPA dollars available for use next fiscal year from $56 million to $200 million — much closer to the $300 million minimum sought by Democratic legislators.

This week, House Speaker Matt Ritter told the CT Mirror that legislators hoped to replace $75 million in ARPA funds earmarked for municipal school HVAC-system upgrades with $75 million in borrowing.

Does Lamont’s upgraded $200 million ARPA tally reflect this proposed supplanting of pandemic grants with borrowing? Could available ARPA be expanded to $300 million or more by identifying more ARPA-funded projects and instead paying for them by borrowing the money?

“The administration will not comment on what is or is not included [in the ARPA tally] until we have had further conversations with the General Assembly,” Collibee said.

Democrats couldn’t pull off such a swap without the governor’s cooperation, given that any bonding bill would go to Lamont’s desk for a signature.

“I think [Lamont] will be fine,” with Democrats’ plans for the upcoming fiscal year, the speaker said earlier this week. “He may not agree with how we spend it, but I think he’ll agree [with] how we get it.”

When asked if Lamont would sign such a maneuver into law, Collibee wouldn’t say, though he acknowledged it would increase the problems state officials would have to solve next year.

“Minimizing structural holes is always a goal,” Collibee added. “Whatever is agreed to may have to be accounted for in future budgets.”

Lamont has been a vocal advocate for the spending cap and other budget controls that he and other supporters have dubbed the state’s “fiscal guardrails.” These controls have helped state government amass a record-setting $3.3 billion rainy day fund and use an extra $7.7 billion in surpluses to pay down pension debt.

But critics say these controls are forcing the state to save excessively and are dangerously shortchanging core programs.

The University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system both have ordered significant tuition and fee hikes for the next academic year and are planning cutbacks to close deficits. Nonprofit agencies that deliver the bulk of state-sponsored social services say they lose $480 million annually because state payments haven’t kept pace with inflation, leaving them unable to meet demand.

When the CT Mirror published a series in late January demonstrating the impact of huge new state savings policies on core programs, Lamont insisted the guardrails were working fine and that legislators had to make tough-but-necessary spending choices.

Leaders of the Republican minorities in the House and Senate said Thursday that Lamont can’t have it both ways. He can’t be the public champion of the guardrails while facilitating a legislative end-run around the system.

Republicans already are frustrated that Democrats have said they won’t address hundreds of millions of dollars in projected holes in the next state budget, involving eroding sales tax receipts, cost overruns in Medicaid and other programs, and insufficient appropriations to cover required pension fund contributions.

If Lamont helps Democrats borrow for operating expenses, even as they ignore budget holes, the GOP said, it’s a big financial mistake.

“Right now, the governor is a bit of a deer in the headlights, and I think they’re trying to cover up that [ARPA] money,” said House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora of North Branford, who predicted state finances will be struggling 12 months from now when ARPA funds have been exhausted. “I don’t foresee a soft landing.”

“It’s bad fiscal policy, and it’s counter to what this governor ran for reelection on two years ago,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield.

Staff writer Mark Pazniokas contributed to this story.

Connecticut Mirror is a content partner of States Newsroom. Read the original version here.

The RI Department of Environmental Management filed new regulations for the 2024 fishing season with the Secretary of State’s office. Anglers should take note that we have a striped bass filet law in place now that applies to all. Here are the highlights of the new regulations.

Black sea bass

Private anglers, 16.5 inch minimum size, two fish/person/day May 21 through Aug. 26 and three fish/person/day Aug. 27 to Dec. 31. Party and charter boats would have a 16 inch minimum size with a season that starts later, June 18 to Aug. 31 with two fish/person/day and from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 a six fish/person/day limit.

Scup

There’s an 11 inch minimum for boats and a 9.5 inch minimum size from shore. Private anglers, from May 1 to Dec. 31 have a 30 fish/person/day limit. The party/charter season would run May 1 to Aug. 31 with a 30 fish/person/day limit and a bonus season from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 with a 40 fish/person/ day, and from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 the limit goes back to 30 fish/person /day.

More: Ready for spring fishing? Here are 6 great early-season spots in Rhode Island to check out

More: Dropping a line in freshwater is a good way to fish in a comfort zone

Bluefish

Status quo — three fish/person/day for private anglers, and five fish/angler/day for party and charter boats. No minimum sizes, allows for a snapper blue fishery, however, it is still three fish per angler.

Tautog

Maximum of 10 fish/vessel/day (does not apply to charter boats). Minimum size 16 inches, April 1 to May 31, three fish/person/day; June 1 to July 31, closed season during spawning in RI; Aug. 1 to Oct. 14, three fish/person/day; Oct. 15 to Dec. 31, five fish/person/day. Only one fish may be above 21 inches.

Striped bass

A slot of one fish/person/day between 28 inches to less than 31 inches. Additional provisions recommended include the use of circle hooks when fishing recreationally with bait, striped bass caught on any unapproved method must be returned to the water immediately without unnecessary injury, and gaffs are prohibited when fishing for striped bass recreationally.

New this year is a striped bass recreational filleting law: Racks must be retained and must be kept whole, meaning the head, tail, and body remain intact; No striped bass shall be mutilated in a manner that prevents the accurate measurement of the fish; No more than two fillets taken from legal striped bass representing the equivalent of one fish per angler; and no possession of racks or fillets while actively fishing with lines in the water. Racks must be kept until vessels are secure to dock or removed from the water and fillets have been offloaded. See regulations for details.

Summer Flounder (fluke) are experiencing overfishing so a 28 percent reduction in harvest is required so to meet this reduction RI has opted to increase the minimum size to 19” for 2024 (from 18”) with a season from April 1 to Dec. 31, and the possession limit is six fish per person per day.

There are Special Shore Angling Sites for summer flounder where anglers are allowed to take two 17-inch fish. The minimum size for the remaining four fish shall be 19 inches. See website for a list of special shore angling locations.

For more for details on the new regulations, visit the RI Secretary of State’s website.

Revolution Wind project presentation is April 25

The Better Bay Alliance and Ørsted Maine Affairs will hold a presentation and panel discussion on construction of the Revolution Wind farm on Thursday, April 25, 5 to 6 p.m. at Innovate Newport, 513 Broadway, Newport. The event will include discussions on the construction of the nearshore power cable as it enters the Bay from the windfarm. To register for the event visit Narragansett Bay Community Series: Revolution Wind Construction and Mariner Tickets, on Eventbrite.com

Industry professionals, environmental advocates, mariners or those simply curious about the future of offshore wind energy are invited to attend. The event will provide an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge and participate in discussions shaping the future of our oceans and energy landscape.

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater. Anglers are encouraged to get out and fish in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as waterways have been stocked with trout. I fished Beach Pond, which straddles Exeter, RI and Voluntown, Conn. this week and hooked up with brown trout 16-18 inches. The strategy that worked was allowing my Kastmaster lure to flutter down before retrieving. Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “Trout waterways still producing for customers include Carbuncle Pond, Coventry and Olney Pond, Lincoln Woods.”

Saltwater. East End Eddie Doherty, Cape Cod Canal fishing expert and author, said, “School bass are coming into the Canal from Buzzards Bay and some small tautog have been landed.”

“Migrating striped bass with lice on them are in Narragansett Bay. The herring came into the Bay, followed by Atlantic menhaden and then the striped bass were right behind them this week. Anglers are catching them in the Providence River, at Haines Park in East Providence and at the breachways along our southern coastal shore. The tautog bite is starting to pick up for customers too,” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackel, Charlestown said about spring bass migrating, “I usually search for structures that are located according to our predominate SW wind. These structures tend to hold bait and make great feeding grounds for migratory fish. Some of these sites include the West Wall, the western sides of the Breachway, and the area in front of Ocean Mist.”

Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verison.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com.