Rhode Island
How renters and landlords on the Providence City Council are grappling with the rent control plan – The Boston Globe
The two are among 15 city councilors who will have to decide whether to implement rent stabilization in Providence this year. An ordinance introduced last month would cap rent increases at 4 percent a year across the city, with many exceptions, including for newly constructed homes. More than half of the council’s members are either renters or landlords in the city. And their own experiences, and those of their neighbors, have helped shape their opinions.
Sanchez is in favor, and Vargas is opposed.
Nationwide, renters are underrepresented in government, according to a 2022 study by Boston University and the University of Georgia, which found the share of renters in local, state, and federal elected office ranges from 2 to 7 percent. The Providence City Council bucks the trend; 26 percent of its members are renters, including the council president. It’s still far below the estimated 60 percent of Providence residents who rent.
In January 2025, a Redfin report named Providence the least affordable city for renters, when comparing the median salary to average rents. Lawmakers across the country, from local officials to President Trump, have been grappling with the best way to making housing more affordable.
“I really have a hard time wrapping my head around how people are surviving out there right now,” said Sanchez, 27. Average salaries in Providence have not increased as much as rents. He said he makes around $50,000 a year, not nearly enough to afford the roughly $2,000 average monthly cost of a one-bedroom.
“We hear over and over about families that have called Providence home for decades being displaced,” he said. He blames large corporations that “look at our housing as just a profit margin.”
But the way Vargas sees it: “When government comes into your home, it’s a problem.” It’s expensive to manage a property, he said, and rent control would decimate what he sees as a path to prosperity in his community.
“We have an American dream — buy a house,” Vargas said. “We are shutting off this dream.”
Vargas, 55, may not be subject to rent control limits under the proposal, which would exempt owner-occupied properties of three units or less, and let those landlords exempt a second small home. But “what if I decide to buy another property?” he asked. “What if I decide to move? That house I live in now is going to fall into rent control.”
Hundreds of municipalities have rent control in the United States, though they are concentrated in relatively few states. Thirty states, including Massachusetts, ban the practice. Advocates in Massachusetts are seeking to put a question on November’s ballot to overturn the ban, which Governor Maura Healey opposes.
Over the next several months, a fierce debate will consume Providence City Hall over whether to pass the ordinance. Testimony from the public will be taken at a hearing on Feb. 18. A slim majority of eight councilors have said they support it so far, but leadership needs 10 to override an almost-certain veto from Mayor Brett Smiley. Of the other seven councilors, three are opposed and four have not yet taken a position.
There are four renters on the council — including Council President Rachel Miller, who spearheaded the proposal — and four landlords. The rest own single-family homes.
Smiley is also a landlord, in a three-family home on Hope Street where he lives in one unit with his husband, real estate agent Jim DeRentis, and rents out two units.
Smiley’s home would be exempt from rent control limits under the proposal. He argues the solution to bringing rents down is to build more housing, and has said he would veto the ordinance as it is written.
But not every landlord in City Hall is opposed. Councilors Juan Pichardo and Althea Graves each own two properties in the city, and are both sponsors of the ordinance.
“I am voting for this because I don’t want to lose another neighbor,” Graves said.
The carveouts written into the ordinance likely spare every landlord on the council from rent control except for Councilor Pedro Espinal, who owns five properties, too many to be exempt.
He told the Globe he charges very low rents to his longtime tenants — under $1,000 for two-bedroom units — based on their ability to pay. He said he hasn’t raised rents in years.
“But if this were going to be enacted, I would have to rethink that, because my base rents would be very low,” Espinal said. The proposal keeps the 4 percent limit in place even when the unit is vacated.
Espinal was the vice chair of the Housing Crisis Task Force, which last year recommended the city explore the possibility of rent stabilization. But he said he has “very serious concerns” about the legislation that was ultimately crafted.
“This really does not reduce rents,” Espinal said. “In my view, it guarantees that you will have a rent increase every year at 4 percent.”
Councilor Mary Kay Harris, who chaired that task force and is a longtime renter, said she supports the ordinance because something has to be done.
“Rent’s too damn high,” said Harris, who lives in South Providence. “It’s high for everybody. Everybody’s being priced out.”
Councilor John Goncalves, a renter in the Fox Point neighborhood, has not decided where he stands on rent control. He said he is studying how it works in other cities.
Councilors Jo-Ann Ryan, Shelley Peterson, and Ana Vargas, all homeowners, are also undecided.
Councilor James Taylor, another homeowner, is among those who oppose the ordinance.
Advocates on the council argue the carveouts in the ordinance address many of the opponents’ concerns. Newly constructed apartments would be exempt from rent control for 15 years, potentially addressing fears that housing production would slow down. Many small landlords who live in their properties will avoid rent control altogether. Plus, landlords would have an opportunity to ask a newly-created rent board for permission to raise rent above the cap, if they can prove that they need to do so to make a “fair return” on their property.
The sponsors said the goal is to target larger landlords most likely to hike rents.
“Providence used to be a city where everybody had a chance to thrive,” Graves said. “Now all we got to do is walk down any street and see that it’s no longer that.”
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.
A new era for State Troopers in southern RI
Closing the State Police barracks facilities in Wyoming and Wickford marks the end of an era in community policing
Republican candidate for lieutenant governor John Loughlin wants the office to become the Rhode Island inspector general his party has been seeking in vain for years.
Loughlin, a former state representative, said on May 11 that, if elected, he would staff the underutilized office with people who would help him expose “fraud, waste, abuse, and government corruption.”
“Rhode Islanders are sick and tired of watching their tax dollars disappear into a black hole of inefficiency, cronyism, and outright corruption while the General Assembly talks a big game but delivers nothing − year after year after year,” Loughlin said in a news release. “For more than two decades, the legislature has failed to create a true Inspector General with real investigative power. Enough is enough. If they won’t do it, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office will − starting on day one.”
Why turn the lieutenant governor into an inspector general?
The Rhode Island Constitution gives the lieutenant governor little to no authority beyond being available in case the governor is unable to finish their term. That’s prompted some to call it a “do nothing” office and others to propose abolishing it.
“Frankly, the current workload of the office leaves ample time and resources to do far more for taxpayers than ceremonial appearances and ribbon-cuttings,” Loughlin said in his news release. “Rhode Islanders deserve a Lieutenant Governor’s Office that works every day to protect their money and hold government accountable.”
The lieutenant governor’s office has a budget of $1.4 million, which Loughlin said is enough to staff and run an effective investigative team made up of “certified auditors, investigators, and compliance professionals” to review state agency spending and contracts.
He acknowledged that the lieutenant governor does not have subpoena power, but believes that investigations can be completed utilizing public records requests and gathering publicly-available data.
Loughlin, who ended his talk radio show earlier this year when he announced his campaign for governor, said he would communicate his findings through “RI Report” publications, news briefings and podcasts.
He said he would also make the office’s resources available to city and town leaders.
Republicans have been fighting for an inspector general
Rhode Island Republicans have for years promised to lower state spending by rooting out government waste, fraud and abuse. The last GOP Rhode Island governor, Donald Carcieri, launched a “Fiscal Fitness” program that aimed to save money and find efficiencies.
Democrats criticized Carcieri’s tenure for featuring exorbitant privatization and outsourcing.
Since Carcieri, the idea of creating an independent inspector general similar to those in other states has become a holy grail for Rhode Island Republicans, but the Democratic General Assembly has had little interest in it.
“If our office saves just 1% from Rhode Island’s bloated state budget, the savings would return more than ten times the entire cost of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to taxpayers – and that’s only the beginning,” Loughlin said in the news release.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Numbers numbers from May 10 drawing
Midday: 9-9-9-0
Evening: 5-5-0-9
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from May 10 drawing
01-13-14-16-32, Extra: 02
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 10 drawing
01-03-20-35-46, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Watch: Khano Smith speaks with media after RIFC drew Tampa Bay
Watch as Khano Smith speaks with media after RIFC drew Tampa Bay
PAWTUCKET — JJ Williams finally had his space and rose to the opportunity.
The Rhode Island FC striker, deep in the attacking zone, came back to a cross and headed Nick Scardina’s service to the near post to salvage the night for Rhode Island. Williams’ goal landed in the 86th minute to draw Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1-1, in rain-soaked Pawtucket.
It’s the third draw in USL Championship play for Rhode Island at Centreville Bank Stadium this season. RIFC was turning in a familiar performance before snagging the tie against the league-leading Rowdies as Williams supplied his third regular-season goal of the year. The draw is the first time RIFC has earned a result after the opposition opened the scoring since its 1-1 tie vs. Birmingham Legion FC on July 5, 2025.
Rhode Island now travels to USL League One side Portland Hearts of Pine for its second game of the 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage on Saturday, May 16 at 4 p.m. The club returns to Pawtucket on May 23 against Brooklyn FC.
“All night they made it tough because they were doubling,” Williams said of Tampa Bay. “And wherever I went to, they were going contact first, especially in this league with no [Video Assistant Referee] … but on that one, the ball was so good that they spun around, and then I was able to make good contact.”
Rhode Island had a string of missed chances in the first 15 minutes that fed into a goal for Tampa Bay and then a triple substitution in the second half that provided little spark. Max Schneider’s cross from right of the box found Pedro Dolabella at the far post for a clinical header in the 29th minute in front of an announced attendance of 6,790.
The game’s first score came just 10 minutes after attempts from Hugo Bacharach and Jojea Kwizera were saved and Williams sailed an open shot past the bar.
“We tried to correct some of those things that we struggled with last week,” Williams said. “Getting to the ball, making tackles, making a stick, I think that we weren’t as clean in possession as we would have been, especially as we won the ball and played forward. We had a lot of turnovers in the first half where we could have seen more chances, but we did well to weather the storm early and create some. But for me, I [have] to bury that first one.”
Rhode Island creates plenty of chances — it is tied for fourth with 112 attempts — but has just 12 goals this season. If it had finished one of the early chances against Tampa Bay, it would’ve shifted the tenor of the match and forced the visitors to play outside of its form. But the final scoring sequence is still missing with the summer months coming soon.
“Happy with the spirit, happy with the effort, happy with the fight,” RIFC coach Khano Smith said. “You’ve seen that a lot with our team. They just fought to the end, never gave up, kept pushing. Ultimately, it’s two more points dropped at home, and we need to find a way to stop doing that. We need to be ruthless – just ruthless in front of the goal.”
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