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.
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Today marks forty-eight years since the historical storm and the iconic shirt’s first appearance.
Photograph courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society
On the morning of Monday, Feb. 6, 1978, snow began falling in Rhode Island and didn’t stop until the following night. Residents woke up on Wednesday to find as many as thirty-eight inches had fallen, by official counts (though some residents reported more than four feet in the northern areas of the state). Cars were abandoned, hospital waiting rooms became shelters, and on Providence’s College Hill, Angell Street was turned into a ski jump. At the State House, Governor J. Joseph Garrahy hunkered down with his staff at the Civil Defense headquarters, eschewing the traditional suit and tie in favor of a red flannel shirt. For several days, he appeared on television broadcasts wearing the red button-down, urging residents to stay home and check on their neighbors — forever cementing his image as the flannel-wearing governor of the people. After the storm, aides mounted the shirt together with “blizzard supplies,” and the Rhode Island Press Club formally presented it to Garrahy during a “Governor’s Night” event later that year. In 2000, he donated it to the Rhode Island Historical Society, where it remains in storage at the John Brown House Museum. Richard Ring, senior director of library and museum collections, says the society also maintains a copy of the diary of William Geffner, former assistant controller at Rhode Island Hospital, who detailed the events of the blizzard at the institution. “We’re always interested in firsthand accounts of historical things,” he says. Ring lived through the storm as a child growing up in Ohio, where the drifts supplied easy building blocks for massive snow forts. This month marks forty-eight years since the Blizzard of ’78.
Flames could be seen shooting from the roof of the iconic Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, late Thursday night.
The president and CEO of the Newport Restaurant Group, Mick Lamond, confirmed in a statement posted to Facebook that there was a fire at Castle Hill Inn, and first responders were on property actively working to put the fire out.
All guests and staff were evacuated safely, he added. There was no word on any injuries.
The Newport Fire Department tells NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR that firefighters responded around 9:33 p.m. for the fire, with flames and smoke visible on arrival. Video obtained by WJAR shows that the smoke could be seen from the Newport Bridge.
It’s unclear what caused the fire at 590 Ocean Drive, or how much damage has been caused to the seaside resort.
Castle Hill bills itself as one of the premier luxury inns in Newport that offers oceanfront suites, beach cottages, fine dining and unmatched coastal elegance. It had just reopened for dining and lodging at noon last Friday, following their annual winter hiatus from Jan. 4 through Jan. 30.
Rhode Island
R.I. Senate confirms former majority leader McCaffrey as state judge – The Boston Globe
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Mathew L. LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat, spoke in support of McCaffrey’s nomination.
“Mr. McCaffrey possesses the experience, the temperament, and the devotion to public service that we seek in our judges,” LaMountain said. “Over the course of his time in the General Assembly, I believe he did more to advance criminal justice reform in the state of Rhode Island than any other single individual who has ever served in these halls.”
Senator Jake Bissaillon, a Providence Democrat and former Senate chief of staff, seconded McCaffrey’s nomination, emphasizing that he spent the bulk of his career as an attorney practicing in District Court. “Despite rumors and innuendo, Michael’s experience most directly aligns with the needs of our justice system in Rhode Island’s District Court,” he said.
Bissaillon said that when McCaffrey chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, he played a key role in creating a veterans treatment court, which connects veterans facing criminal charges with counseling and treatment. And as majority leader, McCaffrey was instrumental in establishing and funding the District Court’s mental health calendar, he said.
“ In between 2011 and 2022, Michael’s work on criminal justice reform was second to none in his chamber,” Bissaillon said.
Senator Dawn Euer, a Newport Democrat, voted against McCaffrey’s nomination, saying his appointment was “a return to politics as usual, where connections matter more than merit and transparency.”
“Unfortunately, his appointment underscores a hard truth: historic efforts to create a merit-based judicial selection system are failing,” she said.
Euer emphasized that state courts wield immense power over daily life, deciding who stays housed through eviction calendars, who is protected through restraining orders, and who can vote.
“The integrity and independence of those courts cannot be treated as a political afterthought, and appointments should not be treated as a political bargaining chip,” she said. “As we face attacks on rule of law, democracy, and civil rights at the federal level, our state courts will be the frontlines protecting Rhode Islanders.”
Senator Samuel W. Bell, a Providence Democrat, voted for McCaffrey’s nomination although he had voted against McCaffrey as a Senate leader in the past because of his conservative views on abortion, LGBTQ rights, and guns.
Bell suggested that McCaffrey’s views on those issues have evolved over time, and he said, “There are two areas where he has always had solid progressive views, even when the rest of his views were much more conservative, and those just happen to be criminal justice and civil law.”
Bell said many of his constituents are concerned McCaffrey could some day become a Rhode Island Supreme Court justice. “It was very important to my constituents that when we get a Supreme Court nominee, they not only be willing to express support for LGBTQ rights and abortion rights, but actually be willing to demonstrate (that support).”
Besides Euer, those voting against McCaffrey were Democratic Senators Jonathon Acosta of Central Falls, Meghan E. Kallman of Pawtucket, Tiara T. Mack of Providence, Linda L. Ujifusa of Portsmouth, Bridget Valverde of North Kingstown, Lammis J. Vargas of Cranston, and Samuel D. Zurier of Providence.
Senator Walter S. Felag Jr., a Warren Democrat, recused himself from the vote because McCaffrey has represented him as an attorney. Senators Ryan W. Pearson, a Cumberland Democrat, and Senator Victoria Gu, a Westerly Democrat, were not present for the vote.
On Jan. 28, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13 to 1 to recommend McCaffrey’s confirmation, with Euer casting the lone “no” vote.
In 2022, McCaffrey announced he would not seek reelection after 28 years in the Senate. At the time, he was seen as a potential successor to then-Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, who died in April.
McCaffrey served as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman before becoming Senate majority leader. He has been a practicing lawyer since 1989 and is now a partner in the McCaffrey & McCaffrey law firm in Warwick.
By a vote of 35 to 1, the Senate also confirmed Shannon G. Signore for the state Superior Court seat left vacant by the retirement of Judge Daniel A. Procaccini. Senator Tiara Mack, a Providence Democrat, cast the lone “no” vote.
Signore has worked in the state attorney general’s office since 2002, and is now an assistant attorney general in the Special Victims Unit. She was a 2016 Beau Biden Foundation Fellow, and was recognized with the Crime Victim Service Award in 2019.
By a vote of 36 to 0, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Family Court Magistrate Alberto Aponte Cardona Sr. for the Family Court judgeship left vacant by the retirement of Judge Patricia K. Asquith.
Cardona was the first Latino appointed to the Family Court bench in 2019, and previously served as commissioner of the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights. He was an associate justice in the Central Falls Municipal Court.
By a vote of 35 to 1, the Senate also confirmed the nomination of Family Court Magistrate Andrea Iannazzi for the Family Court judgeship left vacant by the retirement of Judge Debra E. DiSegna. Senator Samuel W. Bell, a Providence Democrat, cast the lone “no” vote.
Iannazzi has been presiding over domestic, child welfare, juvenile justice, and child support cases. She previously worked as a staff lawyer and mediator in the Rhode Island Family Court system, and served on the Cranston School Committee for a decade. She was deputy executive counsel to former governor Gina M. Raimondo.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
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