Rhode Island

RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know

Published

1 month ago

February 27, 2026

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RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know

Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has introduced a new package of housing legislation.
Highlights include allowing property owners to divide single-family lots and legalizing single-staircase, four-story apartment buildings.
The package also seeks to expand the Homeless Bill of Rights and streamline the creation of emergency shelters.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is once again taking aim at the regulations he says are stifling new homebuilding.

The Warwick Democrat unveiled his sixth annual suite of housing legislation on Thursday, Feb. 26, a few weeks after announcing he would not be running for governor this year.

“We are still trying to play catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts,” Shekarchi said. “While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in.”

The legislative text of the nine-bill housing package, and with it the specifics of how it would work, were not available for Thursday’s news conference.

But highlights of the package, according to summaries, include:

Infill housing. Allow property owners to divide lots in single-family zoning districts, creating multiple dwellings instead of one, provided they have water and sewer service.
Parking maximums. Put new limits on how much off-street parking communities require for new apartment buildings.
Homeless Bill of Rights. Expand the state’s Homeless Bill of Rights to require 15-day notice to the occupants of encampments before local authorities clear them.
Emergency shelters. Let communities build temporary shelters, such as the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence, during a state of emergency.
Stairs. Legalize the construction of four-story apartment buildings with a single staircase.
Affordable housing taxes. Overhaul the tax system for income-restricted housing covered by the state’s “8 Law.”

Is land-use reform working?

Since Shekarchi was elected speaker in 2021, the General Assembly has passed dozens of bills he backed that tweaked state land-use statutes or streamlined the process for building.

How successful this approach has been is subject to debate.

Many local elected officials wary of development in their communities continue to rail against efforts to erode their power over construction.

Others in the growing Yes In My Back Yard movement see Rhode Island’s piecemeal approach as inadequate in comparison with the scale of the affordability problem and what other states are doing.

As evidence that his changes are making a difference, Shekarchi said Rhode Island saw a 70% increase in building permits in 2023 and a more modest increase in 2024. (Statistics for last year were not immediately available.)

Gov. Dan McKee’s 2030 plan calls for 15,000 new housing units built by that year.

Democratic primary challenger Helena Foulkes is slated to roll out her housing plan on Monday.

It is expected to include a millionaires tax to fund affordable housing, a revolving fund and target of 20,000 new homes.

What would the new laws do?

Letting property owners put multiple homes on a plot of land is one of the most direct ways that lawmakers can encourage the construction of more homes, but it is also one of the most controversial.

That’s especially true in areas zoned for large lots and single-family homes.

How far the new bill allowing lots to be subdivided in single-family zones goes is unclear. It is sponsored by Rep. Stephen Casey, D-Woonsocket.

Legislation setting maximum parking requirements for new developments, introduced by Rep. Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, would apply to areas accessible by public transit.

Critics of off-street parking requirements say they make it harder to build new apartments and make the units that are built more expensive.

Shekarchi proposed the emergency shelter bill last year. It passed the House and died in the Senate.

It was the result of how long it took state officials to navigate Rhode Island’s building code and open the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence.

The staircase bill, sponsored by Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat and chair of the House’s home affordability study commission, follows a wave of cities and states relaxing rules on how many exits are required in new construction.

Currently, the state building code requires two stairways in buildings with more than three stories, and fire officials have opposed all efforts to change that.

Speakman’s bill would allow four-story buildings with a maximum of 16 units with a single staircase.

Supporters of single-stair buildings say they allow development of small sites that would otherwise sit vacant and allow family-sized units with more light and better ventilation.

A previous Rhode Island single-stair bill would have allowed six stories, but it died in committee.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order in mid-February to study the idea.

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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Mega Millions, Numbers Midday winning numbers for April 10, 2026

Published

3 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from April 10 drawing

03-18-36-42-49, Mega Ball: 06

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from April 10 drawing

Midday: 4-2-5-2

Evening: 3-1-6-5

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from April 10 drawing

01-06-20-30-35, Extra: 03

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 10 drawing

13-20-26-32-54, Bonus: 01

Check Millionaire for Life 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 Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 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.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 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.

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s indie bookstore passport program returns, sending readers on a statewide literary road trip – What’s Up Newp

Published

15 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island’s indie bookstore passport program returns, sending readers on a statewide literary road trip – What’s Up Newp

Three Rhode Island independent bookstores are relaunching a statewide program that challenges readers to visit every indie bookshop in the state — and rewards those who pull it off.

The Rhode Island Independent Bookstore Passport Adventure, first launched in 2019, returns April 18 and runs through April 26. Passports are free and will be distributed starting April 18 at three anchor locations: Charter Books in Newport, Books on the Square in Providence, and Wakefield Books in Wakefield. Participants then have nine days to visit all 20 stores on the list and collect a stamp at each one. No purchase is required for a stamp.

Completed passports must be returned to one of the three anchor locations by April 26. Everyone who finishes will receive a sheet of twenty 20% off coupons, one valid at each participating store. One grand prize winner will receive twenty $25 gift certificates — one per store — for a total value of $500.

“The RI Independent Bookstore Passport Adventure is an opportunity to celebrate our local indie bookstore scene and encourage our customers to explore the many unique bookshops this state has to offer,” said Jennifer Kandarian, manager at Books on the Square.

The program also coincides with Independent Bookstore Day on April 25, a national celebration organized by the American Booksellers Association. Eleven of the twenty participating stores are ABA members and will offer special events, freebies and discounts that day.

The 20 participating stores span the state, from Westerly to Tiverton:

arc{hive} book + snackery, Warren; Barrington Books, Barrington; Binds and Blooms, Coventry; Book Around, Pawtucket; Books on the Square, Providence; Brown University Bookstore, Providence; Charter Books, Newport; Forget Me Not Fables, North Providence; Heartleaf Books, Providence; Ink Fish Books, Warren; Island Books, Middletown; Little Bubblegum Bookshop, Providence; Martin House Books, Westerly; Map Center, Pawtucket; Paper Nautilus Books, Providence; Riffraff, Providence; Stillwater Books, West Warwick; Symposium Books, Providence; Wakefield Books, Wakefield; Yellow House, Tiverton.

More information is available at booksq.com/passport. Questions can be directed to ribookstorepassport@gmail.com.

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Rhode Island

High-capacity magazine cases rising in RI. What AG’s gun report shows

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

High-capacity magazine cases rising in RI. What AG’s gun report shows

A report from Rhode Island’s Attorney General shows an increase in charges for possessing illegal high-capacity magazines.
Prosecutors charged 384 cases involving magazines holding more than 10 rounds in 2025, up from 304 in 2024.
Overall gun crime cases charged by prosecutors also rose from 415 in 2024 to 498 in 2025.
The report highlights that illegal magazines were found at the scenes of the recent mass at Brown University and Pawtucket’s Lynch Arena.

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s annual “gun crimes” report shows that authorities have increased their enforcement of a new law that makes it illegal to carry a magazine holding more than 10 rounds.

Working with police, prosecutors charged 384 of the magazine cases in 2025 compared with 304 in 2024, says the report, which many regard as a kind of barometer on gun control in the state.

A 2022 law limits higher-capacity magazines. Illegal magazines were recovered at the scenes of two recent mass shootings, one at Brown University in December and the other at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket in February.

Neronha references both shootings prominently and with sadness in his opening to the report, which he compiles each year in accordance with state law.

“Whether gun crimes have trended up or down in 2025 (they have trended up a bit) is almost a moot point when a community as tight-knit as Rhode Island is still mourning in the aftermath of such tragedies,” Neronha writes. “And yet, our Office continues to work tirelessly to address gun violence.”

The report shows that prosecutors:

Both charged and disposed of 787 cases in 2025 compared with 751 in 2024
Charged 498 new cases statewide compared with 415 in 2024
Charged 81 cases involving ghost guns in 2025 compared with 81 in 2024.

Ghost guns and bans on ‘large capacity feeding devices’

The report notes that on Oct. 31, 2025, a judge gave a life prison sentence to 28-year-old Jovon Depina for murdering Jovani Velez with a ghost gun.

A total of 418 of the 498 new cases were charged in Providence County.

On Oct. 23, 2025, 53-year-old Luis Sepulveda was found guilty of murder and of possessing a large-capacity feeding device.

Coalition Against Gun Violence says numbers in gun crimes report are telling

Ariana Wohl, board chair for the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said the volume of magazine cases shows the significance of the new law.

“That’s hundreds of potential acts of violence that were interrupted,” Wohl said.

“Prevention is sometimes hard to recognize,” Wohl said, “because the violence isn’t happening, but these kind of cases help us show that … having the laws on the books matters.”

She acknowledged that the public cannot assume that anyone possessing an illegal magazine will commit an act of violence.

“But it only takes one angry person with a high-capacity lethal weapon to create a real tragedy,” she said. “The point of prevention is not to allow for even one.”

Para Bellum Provisions is analyzing Neronha’s report

Dan Kesler, vice president of Para Bellum Provisions, said he expected an even larger number of magazine cases in 2025.

“So the numbers went up this year for the magazine capacity limit, and I would have expected it would have gone up more than it actually did, because everyone is getting more accustomed to charging those crimes now.”

Kesler’s organization supports the gun-rights community and also provides firearms safety classes.

He also said that actual convictions are a stronger reflection of enforcement activity than arrests and charges.

He said that Para Bellum is working on an analysis of the attorney general’s gun report that will be posted on its website, ParaBellumProvisions.org.

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