Rhode Island
‘Never looked better’: 2018 Alviti tribute praised his work to improve RI’s roads and bridges
 
																								
												
												
											 
PROVIDENCE – Few Washington Bridge commuters are likely to hail the state’s transportation director, Peter Alviti, as Rhode Island’s man-of-the-year. The frustrations since the Dec. 11 bridge shutdown run too deep.
But that was, in essence, what the DaVinci Center for Community Progress did in 2018 in a nine-minute video hailing Alviti as its “Community Humanitarian of the Year.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, while there is still much work to be done, Rhode Island’s roads and bridges have never looked better,” says the unseen narrator, former NBC10-sportscaster Joe Rocco.
“It’s no coincidence,” finishes Rocco, whose voice segues into an on-camera cameo by Armand Sabitoni, then General Secretary-Treasurer & New England Regional Manager for the Laborers International Union.
“He gets an A plus,” says Sabitoni.
“Before Peter got there, there was a different culture in the Department of Transportation. Things just weren’t getting done. It was his idea for RhodeWorks ,and then obviously the governor embraced it and they both ran with it,” says Sabitoni of the 10 year, $5.7 billion transportation improvement plan adopted in 2016 that relied in part on the truck tolls.
The truck tolls have since been ruled unconstitutional. And Rhode Island clearly still has work to do, aside from the undetermined next steps in addressing the Washington Bridge emergency.
Of the 782 bridges in the state, 120, or 15.3%, are classified as structurally deficient, according to the latest state-by-state rundown by the Federal Highway Administration. A recent analysis of that database by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association found Rhode Island had the fourth-highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the nation.
Video traces Alviti’s rise to head of RIDOT
Filmed in what now feels like another era, when Gina Raimondo was still governor, the video was produced by One Cut Productions, in collaboration with Rocco’s own RocJo Productions and is packed with tributes to Alviti – a son of Silver Lake and an “engineer in public service.”
It traces Alviti’s beginnings, from “the rich culture of Italian immigrant families in Silver Lake” – where being an Eagle Scout “created in Peter a deep sense of civic duty, morality, leadership, charity, and religious values.”
Then there’s his career milestones: Cranston Public Works Director; Program director for an arm of the Laborers Union; the $182,664-a-year director of RIDOT, the agency at the center of the current firestorm of unanswered questions about the state of the Washington Bridge, including how long potentially “catastrophic” failings went undetected.
In the video, Alviti’s wife, Kathy Lanni, says she initially opposed his move to RIDOT. But, she explained, he “kind of sat me down and said, ‘I want this to be the capstone of my career. I want to end my career in public service, which meant giving up a lot’.” (Cue: Images of Alviti boating. )
As the unseen Rocco explains: “Peter Alviti wanted to end his long and impressive career as an engineer in public service. It was 2015, and despite some pushback at home, sacrifice of free time and a lower salary, he took the governor’s offer to be the Rhode Island Director of Transportation.”
“Typical Peter, thinking less about himself than the impact he could make for the greater good,” Rocco told The Journal on Wednesday.
More: Peter Alviti: RIDOT director faces bridge repairs, possible RIPTA showdown
Who paid for the video?
A question posed by The Journal: Who paid for the video produced for the DaVinci Center, which last year alone got $67,085 from the elderly-affairs division of the state’s Department of Human Services and a $10,000 legislative grant?
Rocco said his company filmed and edited the video, and Kurt Bertozzi’s company, One Cut Productions scripted it at the reduced price they charge non-profits, which he did not recall exactly but said was probably under $5,000. He said the DaVinci Center paid.
Rocco said the bridge closure has probably added about 15 minutes to his and his wife’s own trips from Rehoboth to Cranston and Providence.
“It’s too bad it happened,” but “it could be worse,” he said.
 
																	
																															Rhode Island
Rhode Island public school charges mother $117K for records request about teacher who called Charlie Kirk ‘garbage’
 
														 
A Rhode Island public school district reportedly charged a mother roughly $117,000 for records pertaining to a high school teacher who was placed on paid leave after calling slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk a “piece of garbage.”
Benjamin Fillo, a social studies teacher at Barrington High School, was ousted in September shortly after posting a rant on TikTok branding Kirk a “piece of garbage” who “hated” the LGBTQ community, women’s rights, and democracy. 
One irate mother submitted a public records request for information related to Fillo’s school email and course materials — but the district pushed back with a steep fee, according to a letter from the law firm representing Barrington Public Schools.
Nicole Solas sought to obtain any emails Fillo sent from Sept. 1 2024 onward referencing “Trump” and a secondary request for more email correspondences sent since Jan 1. 2016 also flagging “Trump.”
Solas additionally asked for all of Fillo’s “curriculum materials” he used “to teach the young and impressionable minds of other people’s children who are entitled to an education free from indoctrination,” according to the letter. 
The law firm wrote that Solas clarified she was looking for all material Fillo used since he started teaching at the school in 2010, which came out to thousands of documents from 157 courses stored in three different learning management systems, according to the letter.
The records request flagged a staggering 789 emails Fillo sent containing the word “Trump” since Sept. 1 2024, according to the letter.
Solas’ request, though, wasn’t cheap.
If she wanted to obtain all the requested materials, she would have to fork over $117,130.50 — with the 15-year curriculum alone costing roughly $116,000, according to the letter.
“This estimate that we received is exorbitant, completely unreasonable, just to get the curriculum materials,” Solas told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.
Solas told the outlet that she insisted on reviewing the curriculum materials in full because that is “the only way that you can see what kids are [doing] in public schools.”
Solas noted that she does not live in the Barrington School District and sent her children to private school.
She’s now pushing the school to release the materials free of charge.
“I just don’t see how this can stand if we file a lawsuit on it,” Solas said.
Shortly after Fillo was placed on leave, a group of outraged students and parents stormed into a school board meeting to push for Fillo’s permanent removal.
“No matter what anyone says to me, I will never stand for violence, especially of a man who was publicly murdered in front of his wife, one of his children and thousands of students and other bystanders,” Jakari, one of Fillo’s students, said during the meeting.
Kirk was assassinated during a stop on his Turning Point USA American Comeback tour at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. His alleged gunman, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice.
Rhode Island
RI Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Oct. 29, 2025
 
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Oct. 29, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Oct. 29 drawing
04-24-49-60-65, Powerball: 01, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Oct. 29 drawing
03-04-33-36-43, Lucky Ball: 02
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from Oct. 29 drawing
Midday: 3-2-7-5
Evening: 4-7-2-4
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from Oct. 29 drawing
09-10-14-20-25, Extra: 08
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.
Rhode Island
ACLU of RI sues McKee alleging denial of access to regularly used State House rally area | ABC6
 
														 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorneys for the ACLU of Rhode Island have filed a lawsuit against RI Governor Dan McKee, alleging the governor’s office explicitly told state and capitol police to bar protesters from accessing the State House rotunda and upper floors.
The rally was planned to take place in the rotunda an hour before McKee’s January 2025 State of the State address.
The event was to be attended by local groups including Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and by activist Harrison Tuttle.
Tuttle was the President of the now dissolved Rhode Island Black Lives Matter PAC at the time.
The suit claims that Tuttle and fellow protesters arrived to be told that McKee’s office instructed police from letting them enter.
Tuttle was told by police that he in particular was not allowed to enter the areas, according to the suit.
The suit also claims that other people were allowed to access those areas of the State House.
The suit states that the rotunda is commonly used by protesters, and that its entrance was blocked off by capitol and state police.
A sign accompanied the officers that said the rotunda was reserved from 4:30-10 p.m., and the governor’s office didn’t reserve the area until 4:39 p.m., according to records cited by the ACLU of RI.
The protesters were directed by police to the “Bell Room” for their event, which is a less visible area in the back of the State House’s first floor, according to the suit.
The ACLU of RI statement reads in part:
In any event, despite being ‘reserved,’ the rotunda was not used for any purpose during that timeframe. The lawsuit argues that the Governor’s reservation of the space and the Capitol and State Police’s actions were undertaken to stifle the protesters’ exercise of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
Executive director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project Eric Hirsch, a participant in the suit stated:
I’ve been advocating for an end to homelessness in Rhode Island for a long time. I was shocked to see the Rotunda at the Statehouse roped off when I arrived for the People’s State of the State rally. I had attended dozens of rallies there over the years. To make matters worse, we were also prevented from getting anywhere near the Governor’s address. We were confined to a lower floor of the Statehouse. This is unacceptable. We have a right to express our view of the Governor’s policies toward people experiencing homelessness.
ABC6 has reached out to the office of Governor Dan McKee for comment in this matter but has not yet heard back.
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