Connect with us

Rhode Island

It’s election season in Rhode Island once again. These are the storylines to watch.

Published

on

It’s election season in Rhode Island once again. These are the storylines to watch.


PROVIDENCE – Comeback bids. Family feuds. At least two cops, past and present, on the hunt for legislative seats, including a major in the Cranston police department with a colorful history. And a re-run of the election-year political drama Cioe V. Ruggerio.

With a deadline of 4 p.m. Wednesday to declare candidacy, it appeared that as many as 20 seats in the 38-member Senate might go uncontested, and as many as many as 45 in the 75-member House. As of mid-day, the GOP had only mustered 35 candidates for the 113 legislative seats up for grabs this year.

Next step: the candidates need to gather enough signatures on nominating papers to qualify for the ballot.

Races to watch:

Cioe V. Ruggerio: Lenny Cioe came within 341 votes the first time he challenged Senate President Dominick Ruggerio for his seat, representing Senate District 4 on the Providence-North Providence line, and he actually beat him in some precincts.

Advertisement

A registered nurse, Cioe was the progressive running under the banner of the Rhode Island Political Cooperative against an old school conservative-Democrat in his 70’s.

In 2022, Ruggerio took his challenge more seriously, knocking on doors in his home district in 90-degree heat with a reminder he’d welcome every vote.

Ruggerio acknowledged he won’t be knocking on doors this year as he undergoes treatment for cancer. His health issues left him unable to attend Senate sessions for over a month late in the season.

Shekarchi v. Traversie: House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is facing Dana Traversie, the same Republican challenger he beat 60%-40% two years ago.

Advertisement

Other rematches to watch for:

Several defeated former lawmakers want their seats back.

They include former Rep. Justin Price, the Richmond Republican who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Price acknowledged on social media that he marched to the Capitol, but said he didn’t enter the building and blamed those affiliated with “Antifa” and “Black Lives Matter” for the violence.

Price is challenging Rep. Megan Cotter, the Democrat who beat him two years ago in House District 39 overlapping Exeter, Hopkinton, and Richmond.

Former Rep. Jean Philippe Barros is seeking to recapture the House District 59 seat, representing Pawtucket, that he lost to Rep. Jennifer Stewart.

Advertisement

Former Rep. James McLaughlin of Cumberland initially declared his candidacy for both a Senate seat and House and the House District 57 seat, representing Cumberland and Central Falls, that he lost to Rep. Brendan Voas – a cousin of Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson – two years ago. He filed but then withdrew his candidacy for Pearson’s Senate District 19 seat.

McLaughlin – who cannot run for both seats and will ultimately have to make a choice – was one of the most conservative Democrats in the House and is best remembered for carrying a painting of Jesus with him to House sessions to signal his views on abortion. He filed to run for both seats as an independent.

Former Rep. Bernard Hawkins, a pro-gun Democrat who voted against three major gun safety bills in 2022, is seeking to regain the Glocester-Smithfield House District 53 seat he lost two years ago to Republican Brian Rea, who is not seeking reelection.

After some teasing, Former Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt put out a statement Wednesday afternoon saying she is not running to recapture her old House seat.

Family Affairs:

Get ready for a re-run of the Family Feud: The Johnston battle between Rep. Edward T. Cardillo Jr. who won by 83 votes last time out, and his nephew, Dennis Cardillo Jr. is back on.

Advertisement

The two Cardillos will face each other a second time in the Democratic primary for House District 42, which covers a large swath of Johnston and a small piece of Cranston. A third, more progressive Democrat, Kelsey Coletta – the daughter of House Majority Floor Manager Rep. Jay Edwards, has also filed to run again.

Among the highlights from the 2022 race: Rep. Edward Cardillo said he hired a private investigator to conduct surveillance on his nephew to prove he was lying about living in the district, which his nephew denied Dennis Cardillo accusing his uncle of “stalking.”

The backstory: Rep. Cardillo and his brother, Dennis Cardillo, were mired for years in a bitter, highly litigious dispute over the former Cardillo Bros. scrapyard.

Open seats:

House District 15: With Republican Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung running for Cranston mayor against incumbent Ken Hopkins, Democrat Maria Bucci, who ran and lost to Hopkins four years ago, is seeking Fenton-Fung’s House District 15 seat. Republican Christopher Paplauskas, a Cranston councilman who is a close ally of Hopkins, is also running.

Senate District 26: Cranston Police Major Todd Patalano is one of the three candidates vying for the seat held by Sen. Frank Lombardi, who is not seeking reelection. Patalano is running as a Democrat; Jennifer Caputi as a Republican.

Advertisement

Patalano was placed on paid leave for two years and then promoted in the wake of a scandal – during then-Mayor Allan Fung’s tenure – involving the issuing of parking tickets in two wards, allegedly in retaliation for votes against a proposed police labor contract by the councilmen who represent those wards.

House District 21: With Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson bowing out, current Democratic Warwick City Councilman James McElroy is running. (His daughter, Kelly McElroy, is the chief judge of the Warwick Municipal Court.)

House District 26: With Republican Rep. Patricia Morgan seeking the GOP nod to run for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Earl Read, a retired Warwick police officer and current public school teacher; Republican Jeffrey Fisher; and Vin Marzullo, running as an Independent, are vying for the seat.

House District 64: With Rep. Brianna Henries not seeking reelection, two other Democrats have filed to run for her seat: current East Providence School Committee Chairwoman Jenni Furtado and Ashley Pereira.

Pereira agreed earlier this year to pay a $1,500 fine by July for breaches of campaign finance rules when she last ran for the seat in 2022, including use of campaign dollars for personal expenses; failures to report other expenses; and file three quarterly reports, according to a consent agreement with the Board of Elections.

Advertisement



Source link

Rhode Island

Advocacy group says RI schools’ transgender policy puts federal funding at risk

Published

on

Advocacy group says RI schools’ transgender policy puts federal funding at risk


play

  • The R.I. Center for Freedom & Prosperity is demanding the Rhode Island Department of Education rescind its policy protecting transgender students from discrimination.
  • The center argues that the policy, based on the recognition of gender identity, contradicts a Trump-era executive order asserting the existence of only two sexes.
  • They claim this discrepancy puts schools at risk of civil rights violations, federal funding loss and lawsuits.

PROVIDENCE – An advocacy group is demanding the Rhode Island Department of Education rescind its long-standing policy on the protection of transgender students from discrimination in light of President Donald Trump’s executive order stating there are only two sexes.

The letter from the R.I. Center for Freedom & Prosperity asserts that “the RI Department of Education [RIDE] has placed itself and every member school district in this State at risk of civil rights violations, which are likely [to] lead to investigations by the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, loss of federal funding, and/or discrimination lawsuits from aggrieved individuals.”

Advertisement

Bottom line: RIDE’s lawyers reject the arguments that lawyer Gregory Piccirilli made in his letter to state Education Commissioner Angélica Infante Green on behalf of the advocacy group, which views the state’s stance on transgender rights as a large issue.

What are the complaints against the policy?

“This is an issue of grave concern for … thousands of parents across our state,” the center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse, said Thursday. The fact the most, if not all have “adopted RIDE’s recommended guidelines … puts RIDE and every one of those school districts at serious legal and financial risk.”

The group is chaired by Stephen Skoly. the Cranston dentist who defied Rhode Island’s COVID vaccine mandate during the pandemic and ultimately sued for the right to see patients again. Former state GOP Chair Giovanni Ciccione is also on the board.

What is RIDE’s policy on transgender rights?

Stepping back, RIDE’s long-standing policy was designed to protect students “from discrimination and harassment based on their gender identity and expression. The policy also ensures that students have access to safe and supportive learning environments.”

Advertisement

Titled “Protection for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students,” it says, in part:

“Programs and activities operated by Rhode Island public educational agencies shall be free from discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. By July 1, 2018, each local education agency shall adopt a policy addressing the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming students to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory school environment.”

Piccirilli, in his letter, contends there is no basis in state law for the regulation.

Beyond that, he cited the executive order Trump signed on his first day in office under the heading: “DefendingWomen from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”

Advertisement

Summarizing, Piccirill said Trump ordered all agencies within the executive branch to enforce all laws that “promote [the] reality” that there are “two sexes, male and female,” and that “[t]hese sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”

Two weeks later, he said, the U.S. Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to K-12 schools and institutions of higher education advising them that the “Office for Civil Rights” intends to enforce a Trump administration interpretation of Title IX that bans “recipients of federal funds to issue policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “gender identity.”

The response from R.I. Department of Education spokesman Victor Morente: The regulations the center is challenging “have been adopted by the R.I. Council on Elementary and Secondary Education as well as by every school district in Rhode Island.” They are “supported by both state and federal law and will be enforced until the Rhode Island General Assembly and/or the U.S. Congress changes the applicable law.”He said every R.I. school district has a policy and most, if not all, are posted.

The state’s policy has gone through several iterations, but it began with this statement of principle: “All students need a safe and supportive school environment to progress academically and developmentally. … The purpose of this guidance is to foster an educational environment that is safe and free from discrimination for allstudents, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Rhode Island

Judge says sale of RI hospitals can move forward – TPR: The Public's Radio

Published

on

Judge says sale of RI hospitals can move forward – TPR: The Public's Radio


Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence have been losing money for years. According to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, that’s because the California hedge fund that owns them has prioritized investor returns over patient care.

California-based Prospect Medical is now trying to sell these two Rhode Island hospitals to an Atlanta-based nonprofit called the Centurion Foundation.

But Prospect, a national hospital chain based in Los Angeles, ended up filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month before it could complete the sale. The company recorded debts up to $10 billion.

The bankruptcy filing meant a judge needed to approve the sale, and time was of the essence, because the company could not afford to keep running the hospitals.

Advertisement

Even so, various stakeholders opposed the sale for different reasons.

Rhode Island’s attorney general attached a list of 85 conditions that must be met before a new owner can take charge.

Federal regulators from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services attached a laundry list of conditions too, as did the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP), the union representing 1,200 employees at the two hospitals.

At a hearing in Dallas Wednesday, Chief Judge Stacey G.C. Jernigan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Texas heard from state and federal officials, lawyers, bankers, and others before giving the green light.

“The court believes that all objections have been resolved, withdrawn, or overruled,” she determined. “So with that the court will approve the transaction.”

Advertisement

That means the sale can now go ahead, with a closing date set for 30-to-60 days time.  

Centurion has not yet come up with financing for the deal, but Anne Wallace, an attorney for Sidley Austin LLC representing the hospital’s current owners, indicated that Centurion’s financing was contingent on a closing date.

Neronha said in a statement, “The bankruptcy court’s approval of this sale provides reason for cautious optimism.” 

While Nehrona applauded the idea that the hospitals will no longer be owned by a private equity firm, he emphasized there is still work to be done to meet the conditions set out by the state.

“These safety-net hospitals are absolutely critical for maintaining delivery of safe, affordable and accessible health care services in Rhode Island. Roger Williams and Fatima provide services to largely underserved and underinsured communities, and we must maintain their viability. And in order for us to give these hospitals a fighting chance, our conditions must be met. If all parties meet our conditions as they say they intend to, today brings us one step closer to the finish line.”

Advertisement

Dr. Jerry Larkin, Director of Health for the Rhode Island Department of Health, issued a statement saying he was pleased by the court’s decision to allow the sale to go forward.

“While some steps in this transaction are still outstanding, we are committed to the two facilities having new ownership,” he said.  “Rhode Island needs a stable network of hospitals that supports the health and wellness of every community in the state.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Rhode Island

RI Lottery Mega Millions, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Feb. 11, 2025

Published

on


The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Feb. 11, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Feb. 11 drawing

07-30-39-41-70, Mega Ball: 13, Megaplier: 3

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Feb. 11 drawing

08-25-28-41-46, Lucky Ball: 05

Advertisement

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from Feb. 11 drawing

Midday: 2-5-5-1

Evening: 5-1-0-9

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from Feb. 11 drawing

11-15-16-17-28, Extra: 33

Advertisement

Check Wild Money 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 Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 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.
  • 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.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending