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GoLocalProv | News | Can Providence Clean Up This Storm?

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GoLocalProv | News | Can Providence Clean Up This Storm?


Saturday, February 21, 2026

 

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Providence Mayor Brett Smiley PHOTO: GoLocal,

The snowstorm that hit Rhode Island on January 25-26 dropped about 16 inches on Providence.

Some of it is still blocking some corners, nearly a month later.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s administration has been widely criticized by residents, small business owners, and members of the City Council for the poor response.

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Many, if not all, Providence streets were poorly plowed. Adding insult to injury, some business owners and homeowners failed to properly clear their sidewalks. While residents were fuming about the failed cleanup, Smiley left the City to attend a conference in Washington, D.C.

The city ordinance requires sidewalks to be cleared 36 inches so those with disabilities can pass. The city cites few for failure to clear sidewalks, issuing fewer than 80 citations.

 

Three Weeks Later

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This week, the Rhode Island State Police escorted a person in a wheelchair who decided to use Route 6, because Providence streets and sidewalks were impassable three weeks after the storm.

“We received calls [about a wheelchair rider] on the highway. We basically gave them an escort off the highway and spoke with them about the dangers of being on the highway,” said Lt. Col. John Allen. 

Police also spoke with the rider.

“They said they were concerned about being on the city streets with no place to go,” said Allen. “But again, we shared our concerns about them being on the highway, and that they should not do it again.”

 

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The Smiley administration was also criticized for dumping snow in South Providence on the site of the former Urban League.

 

This Coming Storm

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The National Weather Service forecasts that Providence will receive 12-20 inches from late Sunday afternoon into Monday.

Rhode Island Energy warns that winds could gust to 60 MPH

With snow accumulation expected to begin Sundayevening, the City announced that a parking ban will go into effect at 3 PM on Sunday, February 22, until further notice. 

The parking ban will prohibit parking on all snow routes and city streets to allow snowplows to clear roadways effectively. The ban will remain in effect until further notice, and violators may be subject to ticketing and towing. During a parking ban, residents, including those with an overnight parking permit, are not allowed to park on city streets. Parking in Providence Public School parking lots is prohibited during a parking ban. 

 

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Rhode Island

2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick

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2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick


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.

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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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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information

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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information


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.

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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.

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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.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than $500K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than 0K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe


As the two-year anniversary of his wife’s death approaches, widowed single father Scott Naso is sounding an alarm to fellow parents across the country — and especially in Rhode Island, where he lives with his now 4-year-old daughter, Laila.



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