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A plan by city officials in Warwick to get local representation on the board of the quasi government agency overseeing Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport has hit some turbulence with Gov. Dan McKee’s office.
Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi said when he last met with McKee in December, the governor was all in on a bill sponsored by Rep. Joseph McNamara, a Warwick Democrat, to let the mayor have one appointment to the Rhode Island Airport Corporation’s (RIAC) Board of Directors.
Proposal to resolve dispute between Warwick and T.F. Green officials is now grounded
But as the House Corporations Committee heard testimony on the bill March 26, the governor’s legal team submitted a letter of opposition to the legislation.
“I feel that the Governor’s argument DID kill the legislation and was meant to,” Picozzi said in an emailed statement Monday. “That is why they presented it to the House committee in the 11th hour without informing me, so that I didn’t have an opportunity to challenge it.”
Under McNamara’s bill, the Warwick designee would replace one of the current directors up for reappointment this year. Three board members have terms set to expire in June: Jonathan Roberts and Jeffrey Bogosian, both of whom were appointed in 2020, and Board Secretary Christopher Little, who was appointed in 2015.
The board does have one member from the City of Warwick, John Justo, who was appointed in 2023.
“But he wasn’t appointed by the mayor, he was appointed by the governor,” McNamara said in an interview Monday morning.
Companion legislation is sponsored in the Senate by Warwick Democrats Mark McKenney and Matthew LaMountain.
At issue for the governor’s office is the constitutionality of McNamara’s proposal. McKee’s executive counsel, Claire Richards, wrote to the House Corporations Committee March 26 that only the governor has the power to appoint members to any board, commission, or quasi-public entity of the state that exercises executive power.
McKee spokesperson Laura Hart said Monday the governor still supports the concept that Warwick should have a voice on the airport corporation’s Board of Directors. The office just doesn’t support McNamara’s legislation.
“As always, our office is willing to continue the discussion with the Legislature and the city to ensure a constitutional path forward for having municipal representation on the board,” Hart said in an email Monday afternoon.
The airport corporation also opposes McNamara’s legislation.
McNamara disagrees with the administration’s assessment. He argues the 2004 amendment was meant to prevent legislative appointments to boards with executive power.
Should his legislation pass, McNamara said appointment power would still lie with the executive branch — just with one pick at the local level.
“This is not a separation of powers issue — it’s not even close,“ McNamara said. “The fact of the matter is, when the Airport Corporation was formed, it did have a representative appointed by the mayor of Warwick.”
Indeed, Warwick’s mayor had the power to make appointments to the airport’s board of directors as recently as 2011. But the state that year passed legislation designating all board members were to be nominated by the governor.
And the airport board would not be alone in allowing local appointments. Along with six members chosen by the governor, the statute creating the Quonset Development Corporation (QDC) gives North Kingstown two board members, as well as one each from Jamestown and East Greenwich.
Legislation forming the Quonset Development Corporation board was passed in 2004, the same year as the constitutional change.
“It is a highly dubious argument that the General Assembly would pass a statute creating a QDC board that violates the current language — in the very same legislative session it was proposing that constitutional language to the voters,” Warwick City Solicitor Michael Ursillo wrote in a memo to Picozzi April 1.
Even with officials at odds, McNamara said he’s hopeful there’s room for compromise. One idea, he said, is to make the appointment a collaboration between the governor and Warwick mayor.
“I think that can be worked out,” McNamara said. “The fact that the airport has such a tremendous impact on this city, it is important you have a board that reflects that.”
McNamara’s bill is co-sponsored by all six of Warwick’s State House representatives, including Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi. In an emailed statement Monday evening, Shekarchi said he plans to find middle ground with the governor.
“My goal is to pass House legislation that will satisfy the concerns of all parties because it is important that Warwick’s mayor has an appointment to the RIAC board,” Shekarchi said.
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A Rhode Island husband and wife in their 50s were identified as the two people killed in a Swansea car crash Friday night.
Carlolyn Carcasi, 54, and James Carcasi, 53, of Bristol, Rhode Island, were killed in the Feb. 27 crash, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release Monday.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 6 in Swansea, Quinn’s office said.
Police in Cranston, Rhode Island identified the driver who allegedly hit the couple as Demitri Sousa, 28. Sousa allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island nearly four hours before the crash, Cranston police said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said previously.
The couple was driving southbound on Route 136 when the Sousa crashed into the side of a Subaru Ascent. Both cars had “catastrophic damage,” and the Subaru was engulfed in flames, Swansea fire and police officials said.
Both occupants of the Subaru were declared dead at the scene, Swansea officials said.
Sousa was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries. He is expected to live and will be held in Cranston police custody until he is medically cleared, police said Sunday.
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CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday.
The event was held at the Cranston Public Library at 9 a.m.
Reed and other leaders of WFRI hosted a panel discussion with women leaders in environmental and agricultural advocacy, education, community resilience, housing, finance, workforce development, and more, officials said.
Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday. (WJAR)
“Women have played a critical role in this process, most often without any recognition,” Reed said. “Today’s panel brings together an extraordinary group of women who are addressing the challenged of sustainability from various angles and I want to thank you all for your great efforts.”
The panelists highlighted their experiences, shared insights and tips on lifting up women’s voices, provided strategies for sparking change and more.
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According to officials, some of the panelists included Executive Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council Nessa Richman, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Rhode Island College Kim Bright, Newport Housing Authority Executive Director Rhonda Mitchell and more.
Local News
A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.
Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.
The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.
That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.
When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.
First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.
The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.
Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.
Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.
Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.
The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.
“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.
Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.
Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.
“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.
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