Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi’s Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Threads and Facebook.
Rhode Island
Poll: McKee job approval at 29% as most Rhode Islanders say state is on wrong track
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Gov. Dan McKee continues to receive poor marks from Rhode Islanders, who feel gloomy about the future of the state, according to a new survey.
The University of New Hampshire Survey Center “Ocean State Poll” of 598 Rhode Island registered voters found only 29% approve of the job McKee is doing as governor, while 65% disapprove. Both numbers were the same in May.
McKee’s job approval in the UNH poll is slightly lower than it was in a survey of likely voters released late last month by Salve Regina University’s Pell Center, which had the governor at 36% approval.
12 News political analyst Joe Fleming said the survey results should be a warning to McKee and his inner circle as they look ahead to his reelection campaign in 2026. Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes — who nearly defeated McKee in the 2022 primary — has already been raising money to challenge him for a second time.
“This is two polls now we’ve seen with the governor’s numbers low,” Fleming said. “He has to start doing something to turn that around, because we’re starting to see a track record in these numbers.”
UNH said McKee is underwater with all political groups: he has a 42% job approval rating among Democrats, 21% approval among independents and 9% approval with Republicans.
Fleming said the biggest worry for McKee should be his low approval rating in his own party.
“That’s a very concerning number, since Democrats do very well in Rhode Island, which says to me if I’m a Democrat looking to run for governor I could think about challenging him in a primary,” he said.
In a separate UNH poll of likely Massachusetts voters, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s job approval rating fell from 52% in May to 45% in July, while her disapproval rating inched up from 38% to 46%.
The survey of 598 Rhode Island voters was conducted online from July 11 to July 15, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The Massachusetts poll surveyed 509 voters online over the same dates, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
Researchers at UNH’s States of Opinion Project, which conducted the surveys, described Rhode Islanders as “deeply pessimistic about where the state is heading.” Only 27% of voters say Rhode Island is headed in the right direction, while 60% say the state is on the wrong track. Democrats narrowly say the state is on the right track, by a margin of 43% to 40%.
“That number has been on the negative side for the longest time,” said Fleming, who has been conducting polls in Rhode Island for decades. “Sometimes it gets up to even, but not better than that.”
Asked to name the most important problem facing Rhode Island, housing came first (cited by 16% in the poll), followed by infrastructure (15%), jobs and the economy (13%) and corrupt or incompetent government (11%).
“Nearly half of Democrats mention housing or infrastructure as the most important problem facing the state, independents are more likely to mention the state budget or cost of living, and Republicans are more likely to cite immigration as the most important problem,” according to UNH.
Massachusetts voters were far more likely to say their state is headed in the right direction, with 49% saying so, according to UNH. They described housing and immigration as the Bay State’s biggest current policy challenges.
In Rhode Island, UNH also asked residents about the Washington Bridge crisis and this November’s ballot question about whether Rhode Island should hold a state constitutional convention.
On the Washington Bridge, 56% of Rhode Islanders said they used the bridge at least a few times a month before last December’s closure of the westbound side; 71% said they have used the bridge since the closure; and 46% said they have used detour routes to avoid the bridge since the closure.
Nearly half of those surveyed — 48% — said their trips are typically 10 to 29 minutes longer due to the bridge closure, while 29% said the delays are even higher than that and 8% said the delays are less than 10 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, the survey showed little public awareness about the constitutional convention question, which is required to be put on the ballot in Rhode Island every 10 years. Just over half of those surveyed — 53% — said they had heard “nothing at all” about it so far. And only 36% said they feel like they understand the topic.
Rhode Island
R.I. Senate passes pair of DiPalma bills on dementia services and pension revocation for sex crimes – What’s Up Newp
The Rhode Island Senate passed two bills sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Louis P. DiPalma, D-Middletown, on Thursday — one creating a state dementia services coordinator and another allowing the state to revoke pension benefits from public employees convicted of job-related felony sex crimes.
The first bill (2026-S 2874) would create a dementia services coordinator within the Rhode Island Department of Health to oversee the state’s approach to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. According to DiPalma’s office, the coordinator’s duties would include overseeing implementation and updates of the Rhode Island Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorder State Plan, analyzing dementia-related data collected by the state and recommending strategies to improve coordination of services provided by public and private entities.
“Unfortunately, most of us have been touched in some way by Alzheimer’s and dementia,” DiPalma said in a statement. “Whether it’s caring for a loved one or seeing a friend suffering from these devastating diseases, the toll they take is significant. That’s why it’s important to have a central authority in the state whose job it is to support all those afflicted by these diseases.”
The second bill (2026-S 3296) would authorize the State Retirement Board to revoke or reduce a person’s pension benefits if the individual is convicted, or pleads guilty or no contest to, a felony sex crime related to their public office or public employment.
“Any state worker who commits a sex crime in relation to their official duties does not in any way deserve the continued financial support of the state through pension benefits,” DiPalma said. “This is a common-sense measure that will hold sex offenders accountable for their despicable actions.”
DiPalma represents District 12, which includes Middletown, Little Compton, Newport and Tiverton. Both bills now head to the House for consideration. Rep. Julie A. Casimiro, D-North Kingstown, has introduced companion legislation on the dementia services coordinator (2026-H 7542), and House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Carol Hagan McEntee, D-South Kingstown, has introduced companion legislation on the pension revocation (2026-H 7656).
(WJAR) — The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families disclosed the fatality of an 18-year-old who was previously the subject of a near fatality notification on June 2.
According to the department, the 18-year-old died on Thursday and was involved with DCYF.
The Office of the Child Advocate was notified about the incident.
DCYF did not disclose additional information due to confidentiality laws.
The original incident that required the prior notification occurred on May 27, officials said.
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According to DCYF, Rhode Islanders are required by law to report known or suspected cases of child abuse or neglect within 24 hours of becoming aware of such cases and can do so by calling 1-800-742-4453.
Rhode Island
He grew up in the kitchen. Then he rewrote the menu, and the future of his parents’ restaurant – The Boston Globe
He became obsessed with driving around, searching for any local farm or fisherman on a dock and bugging them to see if they, too, wanted to help him with his vision.
His menu now, which reflects a reinvention, leans into a new way to present New England seafood for an old suburban fishing town, serving snacks like a smoked Rhode Island bluefish paté, raw New Bedford sea scallops with sesame and crispy shallots, chowder with quahogs and fermented hot sauce. He also makes his own pasta with milled local grains.
Today, Dion has largely taken over the business, although his mom can still be found in the kitchen.
“If you’ve had a piece of swordfish at S.S. Dion in the past 43 years, she’s grilled it. And she doesn’t want that to end,” said Dion. “She loves it, and wants to work forever.”
His father visits every day for an hour to keep track of “all of my numbers.”
“I do it all on a computer, and he’s got every, every penny of it on paper,” said Dion.
The reimagined version has had a lot of success, growing 300 percent over the last five years.
What to eat: Try any of the snacks to start with, but be sure to get at least one of their house-made pastas for the table to share: a black spaghetti puttanesca with fried squid, anchovies, Calabrian chilies, and braised tomato. A bowl of gemelli with house-made fish sausage, rapini, pangrattato, and aglio e olio. A roasted mushroom campanelle with sautéed leeks, Brussel sprouts, tarragon, and tender pea tendrils. A perfect bolognese. There are also comforting staples from S.S. Dion’s past life: “The chicken parmesan will be on that menu for my whole life,” said Dion. “But there’s a fermented hot sauce martini on there as well.”
“I want to have that spectrum of people who have always come into S.S. and ordered what they love and remember,” said Dion. “But also there might be something exciting for someone else in their party who is more adventurous.”
You can get three courses for just $40 per person if you order from their prix fixe menu. Your options include local crudos; a funky caesar with smoked Rhode Island bluefish and sourdough croutons, calamari from Point Judith, all sorts of scratch-made pastas, and plenty of desserts.
Dion said his fries take three days to prepare, and he makes every part of their burger from scratch (an “everything” milk bun, house bacon, crispy onions, a 21-day dry-aged burger bun from Blackbird Farm slathered in a special sauce) other than the cheddar cheese it is topped with.
“The world just seems to get more and more artificial, and there’s a really blurry line between what is human and what is manufactured,” he said. “It just feels good to be authentic to my place.”
What to drink: Start off with a bang and get the “Low Tide Hot N’ Dirty,” which uses a nori-infused Lime Rock gin, fermented green chili, yuzu, and topped with a spicy seaweed chip. Or their bacon fat-washed maple old fashioned. The beer list has a ton of local brews from around New England, while the wine list has some interesting choices for the area: a Primitivo from Puglia, an Austrian riesling, and a chenin blanc-viognier from Napa.
Don’t forget dessert: The bananas foster bread pudding is baked in a cast iron pan drizzled with rum caramel and topped with pecans and vanilla ice cream. The chocolate pot de creme uses miso caramel, beetroot meringue, salted cashew crumble, and fennel. Or you can order a basque cheesecake topped with flaky sea salt and orange zest, or a traditional affogato that’s drowned in a double shot of espresso from Borealis Coffee Company, a small-batch local specialty roaster.
Final say: S.S. Dion is one of those legacy restaurants that found further success after reinventing itself when the second generation took over. Dion has dreams of opening his own restaurant with a different concept and to potentially do it in Providence. He’s looking for locations, but isn’t ready to sign a lease yet.
“I’m really happy with where S.S. is now,” said Dion. “But what chef doesn’t have dreams of opening a dozen more restaurants?
“I’d say that’s what’s next,” he added. “I’d like to start something else soon.”
S.S. Dion, 520 Thames St., Bristol, R.I., 401-253-2884, ssdion.com. Raw bar $3.5-$165; salads $13-$18; snacks $9-$25; scratch pasta $14-$38; entrées $25-market price; Sides and sauces $1-$7.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
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