Rhode Island
Johnston, R.I., follows through on seizure of land by eminent domain, halting 250-unit affordable housing project – The Boston Globe
According to Polisena, the now-previous owners of the property can still fight to have the title returned.
And officials are already facing a legal challenge.
Owners SCLS Realty LLC and Sixty Three Johnston LLC – or family-owned homebuilding firms whose members are Lucille Santoro, Salvatore Compagnone, and Ralph Santoro – filed a lawsuit against the town in US District Court in Providence on March 10.
They argue their constitutional and civil rights have been “threatened by an outrageous abuse of government powers.” The lawsuit describes the seizure of their property as a “sham taking.”
“The town claims it needs to use eminent domain to build a new municipal campus. But this is false,” the court filing states. “The real reason the town is forcibly depriving the Santoro family of its land is to stop the building of over 250 desperately needed affordable homes.”
Despite the lawsuit, Polisena said he will move forward with plans to build new public facilities on the site and noted officials already put out a request for qualifications.
“I’m very confident in our legal argument,” he said in an interview.
Developers initially proposed plans for the 252-unit, low-and-moderate-income housing complex late last year.
Polisena quickly vowed to “use all the power of government that I have to stop it,” and in January, moved to take the property by eminent domain. The mayor said the site would become home to a new Town Hall and a public safety complex, as the town’s police and fire stations are in disrepair.
To fund the new projects, Johnston will also scrap plans to construct a new high school, and will instead return to its original plans to renovate the existing buildling, he said.
In their lawsuit, the Santoro family, through its attorneys, challenges the notion the town took their land for the purpose of constructing the new buildings, arguing that under the law, the town is prohibited from “concealing or colluding to hide its real reasons for taking the Santoro property.”
“Eminent domain cannot be employed to stop property owners from using their land in legal ways, under the guise of a public use or purpose,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants are abusing the eminent domain power to block affordable housing for low-to-moderate-income families, simply because they don’t want that kind of thing in their town.”
Kelley Morris Salvatore, an attorney representing the family, did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday.
Polisena pushed back on the allegations that officials are hiding their true intent. He said he had been looking for a solution for the town’s ailing public safety facilities since after he took office in early 2023, when he succeeded his father, Joseph Polisena Sr., who served as mayor for 16 years.
In January, Polisena said he approached other developers about buying land from them to no avail and only became aware that the property now in question was as large as 31 acres after the developers approached the town with their housing plans in December.
“If I just came up with this municipal complex idea off the top of my head to stop the project, why do I have written correspondence in my email about multiple sites?” Polisena said recently, referring to emails he had from March 2023.
The town even paid to do engineering work on another site, but that property didn’t pan out, he said.
“We said, ‘Let’s put this on the back burner, but we’ll keep it in the back of our mind,’ and then, once this got proposed, like I said, I just put two and two together and said, ‘This could be the spot that we’re looking for,’” he said.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
(WJAR) — Rhode Island and Massachusetts governors said residents’ EBT cards will remain active amid new directive on SNAP benefits.
The Trump administration’s new guidance follows a Supreme Court stay.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said pending any new direction from the Food and Nutrition Service, states should not issue full November benefits and should only load the partial 35% of the money.
A store displays a poster indicating it accepts SNAP benefits. (WJAR)
This comes after states such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts filled SNAP recipients’ EBT cards with the entire months’ worth of SNAP benefits on Saturday, following a previous court order and USDA’s issuance.
USDA now said states that have sent full SNAP payments need to “immediately undo any steps.”
“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” the new USDA directive said. “Failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the Federal share of State administrative costs and holding States liable for any overissuances that result from the noncompliance.”
On Sunday, Gov. Dan McKee said Rhode Island recipients’ EBT cards will remain active, and that his team has reached out to the Food and Nutrition Service related to the latest update.
“I am disgusted by the chaos and hardship that President Trump and his Administration continue to create across the country. While states have been forced to navigate a series of conflicting and erratic directives around SNAP benefits, Rhode Islanders, and all Americans, have been anxious, confused—and hungry,” McKee said in a statement.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said residents should continue to spend funds on their EBT cards.
“If President Trump wants to penalize states for preventing Americans from going hungry, we will see him in court,” she said. “These funds were processed in accordance with guidance we received from the Trump Administration and a lower court order, and they were processed before the Supreme Court order on Friday night. We will continue to work with Attorney General Campbell to make sure everyone gets the full benefits they are owed.”
McKee said on Saturday that so far, 79,000 in-state recipients have received their benefits and contingency plans are in place if future funds aren’t released.
Meanwhile, 100% of Massachusetts beneficiaries have received their November allotment.
RIFC opens Centreville Bank Stadium, May 3, 2025
RIFC opens Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket on May 3, 2025. Rhode Island and San Antonio FC played to a 0-0 final.
Rhode Island FC is moving on in the USL Championship playoffs.
Albert Dikwa found the net twice late in Saturday’s match at North Carolina FC to lift the Ocean State club to a 2-0 victory at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The victory means, for the second straight season, RIFC will be playing in the Eastern Conference Final with a chance to play for the league title.
North Carolina has had RIFC’s number in the previous two meetings at First Horizon Soccer Stadium, earning shutout wins in both matches. That changed on Friday night, thanks to Dikwa’s goals.
The first score, in the 81st minute, came on a header from the left side of the six-yard box that found the bottom left corner. Noah Fuson got the assist. The second score came in the 90th minute when Dikwa’s right-footed blast from more than 35 yards out found the bottom right corner of the net, following a fast break.
With the win, Rhode Island will advance to the conference final set for next week (Date/time TBD), against the winner of Saturday’s semifinal matchup between Detroit FC and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
Earlier this week, news broke that North Carolina FC will not field a team in the UFL Championship next season. First reported by The Athletic, North Carolina’s players were informed of the news as the club prepared for their playoff game against Rhode Island. All players under contract will be released after the season and can sign elsewhere. Those with guaranteed deals will receive about two months’ salary, per the report.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — High school football playoffs have returned to Rhode Island, and ABC6 has a full slate of action from all four divisions in the Ocean State.
Scores from featured games are listed below:
- DI — (No. 4) Cranston West 14 / (No. 5) Portsmouth 7
- DI — (No. 3) Hendricken 23 / (No. 6) St. Raphael 0
- DII — (No. 2) South Kingstown 42 / (No. 7) Lincoln 12
- DII — (No. 4) West Warwick 35 / (No. 5) Woonsocket 13
- DII — (No. 3) East Providence 48 / (No. 6) Pawtucket 9
- DIII — (No. 4) Johnston 28 / (No. 5) North Providence 14
- DIV — (No. 3) Davies 28 / (No. 6) Juanita Sanchez 0
- DIV — (No. 1) Narragansett / (No. 8) Hope 6
Jeffrey Epstein lost an address book. One man’s quest brought it to rural Vermont. – VTDigger
Southern West Virginia communities gear up to honor those who served with Veteran’s Day celebrations – WOAY-TV
Ark Invest Cuts Bitcoin Target as Stablecoins Rewrite the Crypto Playbook
EU weighs using Russian assets or borrowing to finance Kyiv
Calisthenics are making a comeback. Is body weight enough to get a good workout?
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
How Each Senator Voted on a Deal to Advance Toward Ending the Shutdown
Democratic lawmakers reel after Senate votes to reopen government: ‘Republican-made health care crisis’
Fact check: Has Marine Le Pen’s appeal been denied?
BBC resignations are result of internal ‘coup’, says former Sun editor
Small Earthquakes Strike San Francisco Bay Area
-
Austin, TX4 days agoHalf-naked woman was allegedly tortured and chained in Texas backyard for months by five ‘friends’ who didn’t ‘like her anymore’
-
Southwest3 days agoTexas launches effort to install TPUSA in every high school and college
-
Seattle, WA1 week agoESPN scoop adds another intriguing name to Seahawks chatter before NFL trade deadline
-
World5 days agoIsrael’s focus on political drama rather than Palestinian rape victim
-
Southwest6 days agoArmy veteran-turned-MAGA rising star jumps into fiery GOP Senate primary as polls tighten
-
Seattle, WA1 day agoSoundgarden Enlist Jim Carrey and Seattle All-Stars for Rock Hall 2025 Ceremony
-
Louisiana2 days agoLouisiana high school football final scores, results — November 7, 2025
-
Lifestyle1 week agoDuane Roberts, Inventor of the Frozen Burrito, Dead at 88