There’s no truth to the rumor that the tax on paparazzi for Taylor Swift’s wedding will go to wipe out a budget deficit in Rhode Island. Welcome back to my Friday column. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go.
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1. STORY OF THE WEEK: Controversy marked the evolution of Rhode Island’s wind industry from the start. The state’s last GOP governor, Don Carcieri, pointed to a plentiful natural resource off the Atlantic Coast — “the Saudi Arabia of wind” — as a way to cash in, create jobs and lower energy prices with a forward-looking sector. But in 2010, critics groused that the regulatory process was sped through the General Assembly, some questioned a possible link to 38 Studios, and odd bedfellows (Tea Party activists and then-AG Patrick Lynch, a Democrat) opposed the public subsidy for Deepwater Wind. Fifteen years later, it’s easy to see how Deepwater’s initial Block Island wind farm sparked a new industry, although sharp debate about the wind sector continues. Anyone who has driven around the state has seen anti-wind power signs with the message “keep it wild” — reflecting the view of a mix of libertarians, shorefront property owners, and people who work in the seafood industry. Now, the Trump administration has ordered work to stop on Revolution Wind, even though the project expected to provide electricity for more than 300,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut is 80% complete. During a long-form interview this week, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told me he doesn’t think a president can lawfully stop a project for which permits have already been issued, with planned use as part of the energy grid. Given the stakes for Orsted, the Danish company behind Revolution Wind, he thinks it is likely that the company will file its own suit. Regarding a case by Rhode Island and Connecticut, Neronha said, “I believe there is a significant interest at stake here for Rhode Islanders and given our power we should have a strong claim in court. The question is going to be where to file it …. I really want to fight that case here in Rhode Island.”
2. LOCAL MOTION: The Trump administration’s order on Revolution Wind is another reminder of how the White House is having a tangible effect even in a state, such as Rhode Island, that hasn’t preferred a GOP presidential candidate since 1984. President Trump and his deputies have affected daily life in the Ocean State in countless ways, including immigration, higher education, media, and the availability of vaccinations. Democratic AGs can sue if they detect a violation of law. AG Neronha has joined with his counterparts in filing more than 30 cases against the administration; this week, they succeeded in unlocking almost $7 billion in frozen federal education funds, including $29 million in Rhode Island. Regardless, when it comes to questionable hires at the U.S. Department of Justice and the remaking of federal agencies, Neronha, formerly the state’s top federal prosecutor, conceded there’s little recourse beyond upcoming elections.
3. IN TRANSIT: RIPTA’s board approved big service cuts on Thursday. The plan put forward by Gov. Dan McKee and RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand will reduce bus service on 46 of 58 routes, as my colleague Jeremy Bernfeld reports. The cuts likely would have been worse, without vocal opposition from transit advocates, but they were still disappointed. “In order to grow ridership and build the robust, convenient, and comfortable transit system Rhode Islanders deserve, we must be expanding RIPTA, not shrinking it,” the Providence Streets Coalition said in a statement. McKee offered a more upbeat take while unveiling the plan earlier in the week, saying in a statement, “This joint proposal charts a responsible path forward — beginning to stabilize RIPTA’s finances while protecting core service for students and working families who count on transit every day. These reforms address the multi-year budget deficit at RIPTA without relying on future wide-ranging tax increases for Rhode Islanders.”
4. BIOTECH BLUES: Back in 2022, House Speaker Joe Shekarchi unveiled an effort to promote biotech and life sciences in Rhode Island. The thinking was that if the Ocean State could develop some of the activity taking place in our neighbor to the north it would be an economic win. Various efforts are moving forward, including the new state lab in the I-195 District and a “Biotech Boot Camp” organized by the Pharmaceutical Development Institute at URI’s College of Pharmacy. That’s why it caught our notice when Axios Boston reported that Massachusetts’ vaunted biotech industry is shrinking amid headwinds and Trump administration cuts. Time will tell whether Rhode Island’s attempt to nurture a new sector will yield long-term benefits. For now, MassBio president Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, as Axios reported, tried to remain upbeat in a new report: “I have full faith that when the dust settles, it is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that will lead the way back. We’ve done it before. We’re trying like hell to do it again.”
5. JUDGE CAPRIO’S LEGACY: An array of Rhode Islanders came to the Rhode Island Convention Center to pay their respects to Judge Frank Caprio and his family. There were judges, lots of people from politics and law enforcement, and everyday people — a testament to Caprio’s impact and the esteem in which he was held. “He was a man who had compassion, that had love, and that cared about his community,” community activist Joe “Joe Buck” Buchanan, told my colleague David Wright. “He didn’t whimper and didn’t waver. He didn’t care what people thought. He just did what he thought was right.”
6. GOODBYE, COLUMBUS: It’s hard to believe that Curt Columbus is on the cusp of 20 years as the artistic director at Trinity Rep. In an interview with my colleague Luis Hernandez, Columbus points to that as to why next year is the right time for him to step away: “For about a decade I’ve been telling people that 20 years is as long as any artistic director should stay in the position. I feel like any artistic project needs renewal. And while I could stay at Trinity Rep forever — I mean, I love the community; I love the theater; I love the community of artists, and the staff, and the board — it wouldn’t be good for the organization. And you know, a big hallmark of my tenure has been doing things that are good for the organization, good for the institution, and for its continuance.” You’ve got to love the start of Columbus’ answer to why Rhode Island has such a robust theatre scene: “ ‘Little Rhode Island’ has always been a place that attracted weirdos, and weirdos always are attracted to the theater.”
7. THE DC DELEGATION: U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo led a discussion this week with Blue Economy manufacturers about the current political climate …. U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner recognized Labor Day by reintroducing legislation to make wage theft a felony nationally …. U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and other members of the delegation scorned the visit to Cranston this week by Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, coming on the heels of the Trump administration’s order to stop work on Revolution Wind. In a joint statement, they said, “The Trump administration’s reckless decision to halt work on the nearly finished Revolution Wind project is a betrayal of the Ocean State trades workers who have prepared for lifelong careers in offshore wind …. Instead of having her staff make a giant banner of the President to hang at the Labor Department, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer would be wise to listen to and learn from the hardworking Rhode Islanders that the Trump administration put out of work this Labor Day weekend in their corrupt quest to crush clean energy.”
8. MEDIA: The decline of print newspapers continues apace, with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (first published in 1868) becoming the latest metro daily with plans to go digital-only. It’s easy to be wistful about the bygone heyday of dead-tree newspapers — take a walk or drive by the Providence Journal Building and contemplate how the ProJo had hundreds of employees 20 years ago. Print newspapers had sizeable profit margins in the pre-internet era, but as Justin Katz notes at Anchor Rising, that was for a relatively short span in U.S. history. News-gathering “has immense value and power,” he writes, “but gathering it is more costly than the price consumers will generally pay.” Katz frames the issue in pondering the outlook for public media in Rhode Island. But there’s a bit of irony in his post, since he links to a story from the Rhode Island Current, a welcome addition in the local news landscape. The Current is part of States Newsroom, which bills itself as “The nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital.” In fact, hundreds of news outlets have adopted the nonprofit model pioneered by public media over the last 15 years, underscoring how different approaches remain viable for delivering journalism.
9. NEWS AROUND TOWN: Cranston City Council President Jessica Marino resigned, as did the council’s lawyer, following criticism over their reputed romantic relationship (via WPRI) …. Nancy Lavin reports that the $175 million purchase of two Massachusetts hospitals has dragged down the bottom line for Brown University Health … Is the McKee administration playing fast and loose with Stefan Pryor starting on his new-old job ahead of Senate confirmation. Ted with the story …. State prosecutor Devon Flanagan gets a six-month unpaid suspension after being caught on bodycam video behaving badly.
10. KUDOS & CONGRATS TO: Brown alum Neil Mehta, a mentee of yours truly (through NEFAC’s mentorship program), who is incoming news associate at The Wall Street Journal … State Rep. Jackie Baginski (D-Cranston) on her recent wedding in Newport to Jonathan Francis … Monika Zuluaga of Pawtucket on her being named the next president/CEO of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.
11. KICKER: With Labor Day weekend here, we’re closing the column with an archival photo from 2010, when I reported on a memorial service involving the 1934 Saylesville massacre in Central Falls. To this day, the bullet holes in a tombstone bear silent witness to how four workers were killed during a clash with the state Guard.
