Forty-five tiny cabins assembled off Route 146 in Providence in February 2024 to temporarily shelter people experiencing homelessness will be ready for occupancy by the end of February 2025, Rhode Island’s acting housing secretary told a panel of senators Tuesday.

“I’ve not given a date in the past because we’ve disappointed so many people,” Secretary Debroah Goddard told the joint gathering of the Senate Oversight Committee and Committee on Housing & Municipal Government. “But I would say probably within four weeks we will be open.”

It’s been an agonizingly slow process to open ECHO Village, which will be managed by House of Hope, a Warwick community development corporation.

The one-room cabins off Victor Street were supposed to have opened by the end of March 2024. Then the project was pushed to the end of spring, then the fall, and then to some time this winter.

Part of the blame has been placed on the state’s fire and building codes. The state’s fire marshal told a legislative committee in December that his office found it difficult to determine which section of the state fire code applied to the pallet shelters. Staff decided to go with the one used for hotels or dorms — which the state also used in its initial application submitted last January.

Fire permits were ultimately approved in April. A building permit was issued last June.

“It’s seven months that this project has been under active construction,” House of Hope Executive Director Laura Jaworski told senators Tuesday. “That’s still incredibly aggressive and [a] remarkable time period to have done what we have done on that site.”

All that remains is hooking up each of the cabins to a Rhode Island Energy transformer — something the state initially requested last July, Housing Department Spokesperson Emily Marshall told Rhode Island Current in an email.

“At that time, the site still had significant work to do before it could be electrified, but the request was made early in the process knowing that, given supply chain issues, it could take many months for RI Energy to acquire a transformer,” Marshall wrote.

Goddard called the delays “inhumane.”

“We need to have a collective mind and a collective will across government, across communities, across actors to address this,” she said. “I want to keep looking forward.”

Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz, a North Smithfield Republican, still had doubts about the state’s new timeline.

“By the time the end of February comes, we’re looking at spring,” she said.

Tuesday’s meeting was called by Senate leadership in order to review the state’s plan to address homelessness, which has faced scrutiny over a lack of emergency shelters amid recent cold snaps. 

It also served more as an informal confirmation hearing for a housing secretary who has yet to undergo the chamber’s formal vetting process.

“This is the first time I’m meeting most of you,” Goddard told the joint panel. “I hope I have the chance to show you that my manner is generally very straightforward — sometimes too straightforward.”

When it comes to starting a business, location is everything. Some states roll out the red carpet for entrepreneurs, while others practically shut the door in their faces. In 2025, the divide is starker than ever, with sunny Florida reigning supreme and struggling Rhode Island scraping the bottom of the barrel, according to a recent WalletHub study.

Florida: The Land of Opportunity

It’s no surprise that Florida has claimed the top spot for starting a business this year. With an overall score of 59.66, the Sunshine State shines bright thanks to its business-friendly environment, lack of personal income tax, and booming industries like tourism, tech, and healthcare.

Florida ranks #1 in Business Environment, offering:

• Explosive Growth: From bustling beaches to growing cities like Miami and Orlando, markets are as diverse as its population.
• Ease of Doing Business: Forget about complicated regulations—Florida keeps it simple.
• Skilled Workforce: Whether it’s hospitality, tech, or healthcare, there’s plenty of talent to go around.

But it’s not all smooth sailing—Florida’s Business Costs Rank (28th) reminds entrepreneurs to keep an eye on their budgets.

Rhode Island: Dead Last

And then there’s Rhode Island. With a dismal overall score of 33.51, the Ocean State ranks dead last, making it the worst place to launch a business in 2025.

Here’s why Rhode Island flops:

• A Stale Business Environment (#50): Rhode Island’s small size isn’t just geographical—it’s economic, too. Scaling businesses here face limited market opportunities and sluggish innovation.
• Weak Resources (#40): Good luck finding funding or skilled workers. Entrepreneurs often hit a wall when it comes to accessing the tools they need to succeed.
• Sky-High Costs (#40): Taxes, rent, utilities—you name it, Rhode Island makes it expensive. For cash-strapped startups, these costs can be deal-breakers.

Rhode Island’s (Missed) Potential

Rhode Island isn’t all bad—on paper, at least. Its strategic location near Boston and New York could be a game-changer, offering access to major markets. The state is also seeing pockets of growth in renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. But until policy changes address the sky-high costs and lack of resources, don’t expect a business boom anytime soon.

Other States to Watch

• Georgia (#2): Affordable costs and a booming economy make it a top contender.
• Utah (#3): Silicon Slopes continue to rise, though higher costs (29th) raise eyebrows.
• Mississippi (#14): If you’re looking to cut costs, this is your spot. Mississippi boasts the lowest business costs in the nation.

Bottom Line

Florida is the clear winner for 2025, offering entrepreneurs a golden ticket to success. Meanwhile, Rhode Island’s low ranking should be a wake-up call for policymakers. Until the state tackles its high costs and lack of support for small businesses, it’ll remain a tough sell for startups.

So, whether you’re chasing your dreams or crunching numbers, choose your state wisely—your success might just depend on it.

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While the First Amendment protects free speech rights, courts have ruled that the government can place reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner of expression.

“The question is whether, in this particular instance, it was a pretext for denying the free speech rights of this group,” Brown said. It’s significant, he said, that “the rotunda was not, in fact, used in any meaningful way during that whole period of time,” during which McKee delivered his speech in the House chamber.

People used to be prohibited from using the rotunda for rallies or protests, Brown said. But in 1973, a group working on poverty issues, including the Sisters of Mercy and Sister Mary Reilly, went to the State House to pray, chant and sing in protest of then-Governor Philip Noel’s proposed budget cuts to programs that served the poor. Noel’s administration had them removed, claiming the prayer services were too loud and disruptive.

So the ACLU filed a lawsuit. And in a 1974 decision, then-US District Court Judge Raymond J. Pettine ruled for Sister Reilly, stating, “I find that the State House rotunda is a public forum appropriate for the exercise of these First Amendment rights.”

On Jan. 14, protesters came to the State House to call for McKee, a Democrat, to declare a public health emergency to help homeless people during the cold weather — a step he has rejected, saying it would not unlock any additional funding. The protesters also were calling for raising taxes on the richest 1 percent of Rhode Islanders.

Tuttle said that after he got to the State House, Capitol Police eventually told him he was banned from the rotunda, by name, per orders of the governor. The rotunda was roped off with a sign that read, “This space has been reserved for the State of the State through the Department of Administration” from 4:30 to 10 p.m. And State Police and Capitol Police blocked each rotunda entrance.

Tuttle said police told protesters to use the first-floor Bell Room, and they would not allow speakers to use a microphone. Protesters eventually began to march around the first floor, chanting “Whose house? Our house!” But Tuttle said the police told the protesters they could not continue to march, and police later escorted him from the second floor, threatening him with arrest.

“I believe that the governor of Rhode Island exercised his power to restrict Rhode Islanders from providing an alternative view as to what the state of the state actually is,” Tuttle said. “We talk about Rhode Islanders living paycheck to paycheck, how buying a home is completely out of the question for a majority of Rhode Islanders.”

The McKee administration also blocked TV news cameras from the House chamber during the State of the State speech, meaning the only broadcast camera was from the state-controlled Capitol TV. A McKee spokesperson later said there was “miscommunication resulting from a transition in staff” and TV cameras would be allowed in the chamber again next year.

But Brown said, “It was really a double whammy for the First Amendment that night. It was really troubling to see both of those things happen at the same time.”

Brown said the message for McKee regarding future protests should be clear: “Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of any democracy, including here at the state level,” he said. “Governors and all public officials should do their best to respect the rights of individuals to exercise that right to free speech, to criticize government actions, as has happened here. The State House is just too important a symbolic place to try to stifle the exercise of free speech.”

To get the latest episode each week, follow Rhode Island Report podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms, or listen in the player above.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.