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It’s time to end the predatory trap of unregulated payday lending | Opinion

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It’s time to end the predatory trap of unregulated payday lending | Opinion


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  • Payday lenders in Rhode Island exploit a legal loophole to charge exorbitant interest rates, trapping borrowers in a cycle of debt.
  • These loans, often used for basic necessities, carry triple-digit APRs, leading to devastating financial consequences for vulnerable families.
  • While other states have banned or regulated payday lending, Rhode Island has yet to take action.

As Rhode Islanders struggle to make ends meet in an increasingly uncertain economy, one threat continues to fly under the radar while quietly wreaking havoc on our communities ‒ payday lending. These predatory loan shops, with their bright signage and promises of fast cash, lure in the most vulnerable among us with what looks like a lifeline, but is in truth a trap. It’s time for our state to close this loophole once and for all.

Payday lenders advertise themselves as providers of quick financial help, especially for those with low incomes or bad credit, but the reality is far more sinister. These loans come with triple-digit annual percentage rates, sometimes over 260%, that trap borrowers in a vicious cycle of debt. In Rhode Island, unlike in many other states, these practices are still legal because of a carve-out in our state’s usury laws. That means payday lenders can charge exorbitant interest rates that would be illegal for any other lender.

The consequences are devastating. Borrowers often take out a loan to cover basic needs ‒ rent, groceries, medical bills ‒ only to find that when the loan comes due, they can’t pay it back, so they take out another loan. And then another. What started as a $300 loan can spiral into thousands of dollars of debt, causing long-term financial harm. For families already living paycheck to paycheck, this cycle can lead to eviction, bankruptcy, or worse.

Make no mistake, the storefronts you see in our neighborhoods are just the beginning. The payday lending industry has expanded online, using apps and digital platforms to reach deeper into communities and continue exploiting those who are struggling. In an economy where inflation remains high and wages stagnant for many, people are more desperate than ever, and the lenders know it.

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We cannot allow this to continue. Rhode Island has the opportunity and the moral obligation to step up and protect its residents. More than a dozen states, from New York to Colorado, have already banned or tightly regulated payday lending. These reforms work. After these protections went into place, research shows that borrowers saved hundreds of millions of dollars, with no decrease in access to credit ‒ just an end to exploitative lending.

There is no justifiable reason for us to delay any longer. We need legislation like the bill (H5042) that I introduced that ends the payday loan loophole and caps interest rates at a reasonable level, just like we do for other lenders. We must also invest in safer, community-based financial alternatives ‒ credit unions, small-dollar loan programs and emergency assistance ‒ so that people facing tough times aren’t forced into debt traps to begin with.

Let’s be clear, this is about economic justice. It’s about saying that Rhode Island values people over profit. We must close the payday lending loophole and protect our communities from financial predators. The time for action is now.

Rep. Karen Alzate, a Democrat, represents District 60 in Pawtucket and Central Falls.

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Rhode Island

SNAP to run out of money two weeks, affecting 144,000 Rhode Islanders | ABC6

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SNAP to run out of money two weeks, affecting 144,000 Rhode Islanders | ABC6


PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — 42 million Americans facing food insecurity could lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the coming weeks as the government shutdown drags on.

This includes 144,200 Rhode Island residents who utilized the program in the 2024 federal fiscal year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

1,113,700 Massachusetts residents utilized the program in that time.

According to US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, the SNAP program, also known as food stamps, will run out of money in two weeks.

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“So you’re talking about millions and millions of vulnerable families, of hungry families that are not going to have access to these programs because of this shutdown,” said Rollins, accusing Congressional Democrats in the shutdown.

Democrats are still holding out for a deal that extends expiring enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies.

One out of eight Americans utilize the SNAP program for assistance with their groceries.

SNAP has a contingency fund of approximately $6 billion, but total November benefits are expected to be about $8 billion.





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The Galileo Project

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The Galileo Project


Works by Doug Bosch and Richard Whitten, Book Design by Nancy Bockbrader, Essays by Victoria Gao and Natasha Seaman. Exhibition on view November 6-December 5, 2025.

In The Galileo Project, Nancy Bockbrader, Doug Bosch, and Richard Whitten have created a dialogue across media, time, and imagination—one that links contemporary art to centuries-old scientific inquiry. Drawing from the history and the visual language of the scientific instruments housed in the Museo Galileo, each artist interprets and reimagines these objects through the lens of their own practice. Bosch’s sculptures, tactile and purposefully imperfect, suggest objects suspended between function and fiction. Whitten’s intricate paintings create a catalogue of invented devices, each that inhabits a specific if unidentifiable place. Bockbrader’s hand-bound catalogue, with essays by curator Dr. Victoria Gao and Dr. Natasha Seaman, provides a satisfyingly unique companion for the exhibition. Together, their works blur the boundaries between art, science, and history.



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Bye offers no relief for UAlbany football, blown out again by URI

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Bye offers no relief for UAlbany football, blown out again by URI


UAlbany running back Griffin Woodell looks for running room against Rhode Island on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Casey Stadium in Albany, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)

Jim Franco/Times Union

ALBANY — The University at Albany football team is no match for first-place Rhode Island, and having a bye last week couldn’t solve that problem.

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With extra rest and preparation following their worst loss in the Stony Brook rivalry on Oct. 4, the Great Danes stumbled to a 58-17 loss to URI on Saturday, their most lopsided defeat in a Coastal Athletic Association game.

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UAlbany committed four turnovers on two interceptions and two fumbles while falling to 1-6 overall, 0-3 in the CAA.

“I figured we would (play a cleaner game),” UAlbany interim coach Jared Ambrose said. “We made too many mental errors in the game for a team that’s this good. And when you’re playing teams that have this amount of talent, you don’t have that luxury. You have to be ice cold, locked in and no errors. They (URI) saw the benefits of that.”

The margin of defeat surpassed UAlbany’s 37-0 home defeat against CAA rival Villanova in 2015. The Great Danes entered the league in 2013.

UAlbany has lost its three CAA games this season by a combined score of 129-35, including the 47-12 setback to SUNY rival Stony Brook two weeks ago.

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“We’ve got five football games left,” UAlbany redshirt junior running back Griffin Woodell said. “That’s five games we’re trying to win.”

Woodell, a Glens Falls native, rushed for a team-high 62 yards and took a short pass from Jack Shields for a 46-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

UAlbany trailed URI 38-3 before Woodell scored and backup quarterback Aidan Semo added a 2-yard touchdown run to get within 38-17 with 2:42 left in the third.

“They showed fight and they will continue to fight,” Ambrose said. “No doubt it. I don’t question my team’s effort at all and I do not think that 41-point differential is an accurate depiction of who this football team is.”

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After stopping UAlbany on downs to start the fourth quarter, URI (6-2, 4-0) poured on three straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The final indignity came when freshman running back Keon Kenner fumbled on his fourth career carry and URI’s Leisaan Hibbert ran it back 47 yards for a score with 51 seconds left.

Even though UAlbany struggled last season, the Great Danes nearly upset URI on the road. They jumped out to a 17-0 lead before the Rams pulled out a 20-17 lead.

Saturday’s rematch was never really in doubt.

“I think it’s a lapse in focus,” Woodell said. “I think we’re struggling focusing on what our assignments are and what we need to do.”

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UAlbany senior safety Denzel Patrick, who had a team-high 11 tackles, blamed the blowout on a lack of discipline.

“No matter how many points are on the board, I feel a loss is a loss,” Patrick said. “We’ve just got to be able to look at film tomorrow and keep pushing.”

URI receivers broke wide open against UAlbany’s coverage. Greg Gaines, who had no receiving touchdowns entering the game, grabbed scoring passes of 32 and 42 yards in the second quarter.

Rams quarterback Devin Farrell finished 19-of-20 passing for 333 yards and four touchdowns.

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“When you battle a quarterback like him, as veteran as he is, you’ve got to throw stuff at him that’s going to give him a hard time,” Ambrose said. “We busted a couple of coverages. I think (defensive coordinator) Bill (Nesselt’s) plan was a solid one. We’ve just got to execute it.”

Shields, in his first game back from a knee injury, was 12-of-26 for 192 yards with a touchdown. His two interceptions both came on deflected passes.

“Not going to excuse our performance because I have to own everything this program does,” Ambrose said. “But those guys (URI) are as as you’re going to find in this conference.”

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UAlbany returns to action at Villanova next Saturday.



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