Brown University encampment claims win disbands ahead of deadline
Protesters at Brown University pack up the Gaza Solidarity encampment on the Main Green Tuesday afternoon well ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline.
Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of April 28, supported by your subscriptions.
Last April, when an 81-year-old hospice patient was found dead in his room at a Warren nursing home, suffocated by pillow stuffing, police charged his 76-year-old roommate, who had become agitated, combative and delusional. In the wake of that death, The Providence Journal reviewed hundreds of pages of records from police departments and the Rhode Island Department of Health to get a better understanding of how often resident-on-resident violence occurs in nursing homes. Reporters also compiled three years’ worth of data in a database that will allow the public to look up incidents at specific nursing homes. Antonia Noori Farzan looks at what provokes these episodes, and what needs to be done to prevent another tragedy.
Thirty-seven police chiefs command the officers who work in Rhode Island’s cities and towns, and 21 of those chiefs took their oaths less than five years ago (15 of them less than three years ago). While they’re not newcomers to law enforcement, being first-in-command presents a special set of challenges. What’s driving the high level of turnover, and how does it affect public safety? The Journal’s Mark Reynolds explains.
Rhode Island chefs, restaurateurs and beverage experts are teaming up with AAA to offer curated food tours, starting in August. Food editor Gail Ciampa has the details on how you can join them, as well as a report on a new maritime-inspired blue gin from Providence distiller ISCO Spirits.
For the latest college andhigh school sports, go to providencejournal.com/sports.
Here are the week’s top reads on providencejournal.com:
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PROVIDENCE – Brown University’s pro-Palestine encampment agreed to clear out Tuesday in exchange for the Brown Corporation voting on a divestment measure in October.
Dozens of students who’d camped out on the campus green for a week had called on the university to stop investing in an array of weapons manufacturers amid the Israel-Hamas War.
Until now, the administration had resisted offering them more than a presentation of a proposal. But in a few months, that presentation will be followed by a formal vote on whether to divest – a development hailed as “an unprecedented win” by the Brown Divest Coalition.
After the deal was reached, student protesters peacefully broke up their encampment, in stark contrast to escalating tensions at Columbia University and other campuses around the country.
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Politics: Brown University protesters agree to clear encampment. In exchange, Brown will vote on divestment.
What do pot-bellied pigs, propane, a new hotel and a crematorium have in common? They are all cases in Rhode Island’s new expedited “Land Use Calendar,” ordered into existence by the state legislature last year to reduce delays in Rhode Island’s development permitting process.
In a little more than three months, a single Rhode Island judge – Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear – became the arbiter of more than 135 land-use disputes, including some high-pitched battles by frustrated homeowners, developers and the owner of the 19-million-gallon propane storage tank at the Port of Providence.
Lanphear’s name may ring some bells in connection with one of Rhode Island’s longest and most controversial property disputes, a proposed expansion of Champlin’s Marina on Block Island. In 2003, he ruled in favor of the developers, but the mediated deal he approved was later struck down by the state Supreme Court.
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Political Scene looks at some of the cases resolved so far by the Land Use Calendar, and noteworthy cases still pending.
Political Scene: From pot-bellied pigs to crematoriums: All RI’s land-use cases end up in front of this judge
Kim English said the quiet part out loud.
The fiery social media post late Tuesday night by Providence College’s men’s basketball coach felt like a fitting end to this latest round of transfer portal intrigue, which slammed shut on Wednesday, with no more players eligible to enter before the 2024-25 season.
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English made some not-so-veiled references to alleged tampering with members of his expected roster for next year. The Friars did their work early in this current cycle, securing four commitments. It appears there might have been some late attempts to lure at least one of their players into further gauging his value on the open market.
“Just call me and [let me know] if you want to recruit our players,” English said. “Leave them and their families alone. Call me. I’ll see if they want to play for your programs.”
Journal sportswriter Bill Koch looks at English’s warning in the context of an NCAA recruiting process that he says is “flawed” and “begging for meaningful reform.”
College sports: Providence basketball coach Kim English has message for teams trying to lure his players away
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Providence has four new, tiny, feathered residents living high above downtown.
Four peregrine falcons have hatched in their nest box atop the Superman Building, according to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.
The Audubon Society has a webcam that enables people to watch the eyas, or hatchlings, and their parents.
Peregrine falcons are “regarded by falconers and biologists alike as one of the noblest and most spectacular of all birds of prey,” according to the Audubon Society’s Guide to North American Birds.
Animals: Four peregrine falcons hatch atop Superman Building; Audubon camera lets you see them
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When it comes to dining, Rhode Island’s Olivia Culpo is known to have taste.
Since 2017, the reality star’s family has opened five restaurants in the state – The Back 40, Union + Main, Lake Taco, Evie’s and Black Oak Kitchen & Drink – that she has a hand in. And she’s always made it known on social media that she loves Rhode Island food.
So it’s little surprise that when she did an Ask Me Anything on her Instagram stories, someone asked for her Rhode Island restaurant recommendations, and she delivered.
Check out her list.
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Dining: Olivia Culpo shared a list of 13 restaurants she loves in Rhode Island. Check it out.
To read the full stories, go to providencejournal.com.Find out how to subscribe here.
The union representing the state prison system’s correctional officers expressed outrage Friday over Gov. Dan McKee’s nomination of Wayne Salisbury, Jr. to continue leading the Rhode Island Department of Corrections on a permanent basis.
“I believe strongly this is the wrong guy — we should have done a national search for the best candidate,” Richard Ferruccio, president of Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, said in an interview Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Ferruccio sent a letter to McKee expressing officers’ concerns that RIDOC “has ceded its stature as one of the nation’s best correctional departments” because of acting leadership.
McKee announced that he had picked Salisbury to lead the department Friday morning, drawing praise from one prison reform advocacy group
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“Wayne’s experience in the Department of Corrections is extensive, and he has played an important role in day-to-day operations and long-term, strategic planning for the department,” McKee said in a statement Friday. “I look forward to continuing to work with Director Salisbury to maintain high professional standards at the DOC and ensure a safe environment across all correctional facilities in Rhode Island.” Gov. Dan McKee announced on Friday, May 17, 2024, that interim Rhode Island Department of Corrections Director Wayne Salisbury, Jr. is his nominee for the permanent post. (Courtesy of Office of the Governor))
Salisbury, whose annual base salary is $174,593, has served as acting director of the department since January 2023 following the departure of Patricia Coyne-Fague, who stepped down to lead the city of Providence’s Department of Public Works. He was hired at RIDOC in 2016 as deputy warden and was named deputy director in November 2020, according to his resume. He served as acting warden from March 2017 to February 2018.
Salisbury was also the warden at the privately-run Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls from 2004 to 2010.
Under Salisbury’s leadership, Ferruccio claimed assaults on officers and fights among inmates have “nearly doubled.” His letter also cited concerns about an alleged increase in drug trafficking and inmates having “uncontrolled access to technology” supposedly used to coordinate gang fights.
“The Brotherhood has raised these safety concerns repeatedly with the acting leadership and have been repeatedly met with silence,” Ferruccio wrote.
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DOC Spokesperson J.R. Ventura on Friday declined to comment on the claims made in Ferruccio’s letter. He only said that inmates use tablets “for educational purposes” at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI).
“They are secure, they are closed circuit, and they are monitored,” he said.
Salisbury thanked McKee for nominating him in a statement.
“I’m honored to have led the Rhode Island Department of Corrections over the last sixteen months, as we have faced operational challenges in areas such as staffing, recruitment, restrictive housing, and recidivism reduction to name a few,” Salisbury said. “ I am grateful for the governor’s nomination and pledge my continuous commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for all while offering rehabilitative and vocational opportunities for those returning to our communities.”
Different versions of events
Ferruccio told Rhode Island Current Friday afternoon the letter was drafted after a trio of incidents at the various prison facilities Wednesday. Ferruccio claimed there was a “six-man gang fight” at the medium-security facility that led to a lockdown, a cache of about 11 weapons were discovered at the maximum security building, and a different fight happened at the intake center.
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Ventura confirmed that incidents did occur Wednesday, but were not as Ferruccio alleged. The fight at the medium-security prison was initially between two inmates and briefly joined by four others, but Ventura said it was quickly stopped by correctional officers.
As for the cache of weapons, Ventura said it was just a crate of razors dropped by an inmate cell. Those were confiscated and that person was punished. At the intake center, he said that two people shoved each other following an argument. An officer intervened and the two were restrained.
“A lot of this stuff is blown out of proportion,” Ventura said. “This was literally nothing that can be considered out of the ordinary here.”
Nomination draws praise from advocacy group
Stop Torture R.I. Coalition campaign manager Brandon Robinson, a former ACI inmate who had been placed in restrictive housing, said Salisbury’s nomination was “actually good news to hear.”
‘He’s not afraid to bring much-needed change to the DOC,” Robinson said in an interview.
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The biggest positive, he said, was the department’s decision last year to limit disciplinary confinement to a maximum of 30 days. The move came as part of arbitration in the case of Richard Lee Paiva v. Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which was originally filed on Feb. 24, 2017.
Prior to the policy change, prisoners could be held in restrictive housing —the term RIDOC uses for solitary confinement — for 31 days to a year on a single offense.
“Even though it was through a federal court order, it took guts to keep up those policies — especially with the resistance of correctional staff,” Robinson said.
He’s not afraid to bring much-needed change to the DOC.
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– Brandon Robinson, Stop Torture R.I. Coalition campaign manager, on nomination of Wayne Salisbury, Jr. as director of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections
Ferruccio blamed the policy change for creating the unsafe conditions alleged in his letter to McKee.
The discipline process has become a total joke to the inmates,” he told Rhode Island Current.
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Though the use of restrictive housing has been limited, Robinson said he still would like to see the policy codified by the state. Robinson added RIDOC also needs to reduce the number of inmate deaths and continue to introduce programs that can set people up for life after prison.
“The focus needs to be on rehabilitation,” he said.
Salisbury’s nomination now heads to the Rhode Island Senate for consideration. No hearing has been scheduled as of late Friday afternoon.
Tension is brewing at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and it’s not because of the inmates at the ACI.
The union that represents the state’s correctional officers fired off a letter to Governor Dan McKee this week urging him to “appoint a permanent director of corrections and seek qualified candidates for the position from communities across the country.”
The interim director, Wayne T. Salisbury Jr., has been in place since Patricia Coyne-Fague stepped down in January 2023 for a job overseeing public works with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley.
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In the letter, union president Richard Ferruccio wrote that officers and inmates are less safe under Salisbury’s leadership, pointing to an increase in assaults on officers and fights among inmates, a spike in drug use by inmates, and uncontrolled technology use by inmates that he claims allows them to coordinate gang violence.”
The Brotherhood has raised these safety concerns repeatedly with the acting leadership and have been repeatedly met with silence,” Ferruccio wrote. He wrote that there’s currently a shortage of 93 correctional officers.McKee’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The bigger picture: It’s unclear if McKee is seeking to remove the interim tag from Salisbury’s title, but that appointment would require Senate confirmation. The union is signaling that it will oppose such an appointment.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
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Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
