Rhode Island
Rhode Island Senate passes LEOBOR reforms amid criticism | ABC6
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Senate passed the Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability and Transparency Act, a reform to the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.
The passage did not come without criticism, as both the Rhode Island Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander Caucus as well as the Rhode Island Black Lives Matter PAC said the legislation was not extensive enough.
The legislation establishes a five-member hearing committee consisting of three qualified and randomly selected law enforcement officers, a retired judge, and an attorney, a two-tier suspension structure ranging from a five to 14-day summary suspension, and requires the status of all hearings to be published online.
An amendment passed to the bill also includes the requirement that body camera footage be made available via public records request.
“While there will be some who say this bill goes too far and others who say it doesn’t go far enough, I think the bill strikes a responsible balance that brings necessary and appropriate reforms to LEOBOR,” Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, who introduced the legislation, said. “Throughout this process, we who worked on it in the Senate sought to both recognize the unique and dangerous work of the dedicated law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe and to improve the tools available so that those who violate the public trust can be held accountable.”
Both Sens. Jonathon Acosta and Tiara Mack, on behalf of the RIBLIA caucus, released statements on the passage.
Acosta took issue with the exclusion of the “George Floyd Litmus Test,” which would put a “carve out” in the law to allow the immediate firing of an officer:
The RIBLIA Caucus was clear in what we needed to see within the LEOBOR reform bill in order to garner our support. Unfortunately, we feel that a key piece of reform is still missing within the legislation that passed and I was unable to support the bill that was before the Senate today. The floor amendment that I offered would have alleviated these concerns, but regrettably it was voted down. The simple fact of the matter is that if the George Floyd murder were to have happened in Rhode Island, unlike in Minneapolis where the offending officer was promptly fired the next day, the officer would still be employed and receiving benefits until the lengthy amount of time it would have taken for a criminal trial to conclude. This is unacceptable to us and why I voted against the bill.
Mack, meanwhile, said the vote against the bill was due to it still allowing officers to keep their jobs despite using deadly force “in violation of their departments’ policy:”
I voted against the Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability and Transparency Act today due to the fact that it would still allow law enforcement officers that have used deadly force, in violation of their departments’ policy, to remain employed until they were convicted of a crime. Police officers should be held to a higher standard than us all and any officer that takes a life in violation of department rules and regulations should not be allowed to serve in our communities or be paid with our tax dollars. I wish I could have voted in favor of this legislation, but without the provision offered by Senator Acosta, I could not in good conscience support the legislation.
The BLM PAC also called for the inclusion of the litmus test, and President Harrison Tuttle released the following statement:
The Rhode Island General Assembly must confront the challenge of overcoming the overwhelming influence of police unions so that Black and Brown people can be protected from police violence and communities are safer for everyone. It is only then that we commit to centering police accountability to make that positive vision a reality.
The bill now goes to the governor’s office for consideration.
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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