Yes, Virginia, there are fewer than **five months** until RI’s 2022 primary election. Your tips and comments are welcome. You can follow me through the week on the twitters. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here *** STORY OF THE WEEK: Exactly nine years to the […]
Ian Donnis
One of the state’s top political reporters, Ian Donnis joined The Public’s Radio in 2009. Ian has reported on Rhode Island politics since 1999, arriving in the state just two weeks before the FBI raided City Hall and Buddy Cianci’s East Side home. Ian covers breaking news, develops in-depth features and investigative reports, and welcomes a range of newsmakers to “Political Roundtable” each week. He also writes our Friday political newsletter and maintains a strong social media presence.
For many years, Ian was a panelist on WPRI-TV’s Sunday morning public affairs show, Newsmakers, and he’s a regular guest on A Lively Experiment on Rhode Island PBS. His previous experience includes serving as news editor of The Providence Phoenix and as a reporter for the Associated Press and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. He has a BS in journalism from Boston University.
Outside of work, Ian enjoys baseball, cooking, and exploring Rhode Island.
Posted inEpisode, Political Roundtable
Political Roundtable: Neronha on ILO Group probe, guns, marijuana, how to reduce the incidence of assaults on chldren & more
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is the guest this week on Political Roundtable. The topics include: — The timeline for concluding an investigation into a controversial contract awarded by the McKee administration; — How cases involving allegations of school officials preying on students hint at the frequency of sexual assaults on children; — The […]
Posted inArticle, Politics
Facing big fundraising gap, de la Cruz ends her GOP run in CD2
State Sen. Jessica de la Cruz (R-North Smithfield) — who lagged dramatically behind former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung in fundraising on the Republican side of the Second Congressional District race — announced Wednesday that she is ending her campaign and will instead seek re-election to the State Senate. “While I was encouraged by the strong grassroots […]
Posted inArticle, Politics
How a wildly uneven spread of campaign money is affecting Democratic candidates in RI’s CD2 race
As a large field of candidates competes for a rare open seat in Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District, sharp disparities in fundraising make for a lopsided playing field. Underfunded candidates face a big challenge — regardless of their merits
Posted inArticle, Politics
‘Superman Building’ to be revitalized with 285 apartments
After squatting like a beautiful but bereft vestige from the Jazz Age for almost a decade, the Industrial Trust Building in Providence — better known as the “Superman Building” — will be revitalized with 285 residential apartments, state and city officials announced Tuesday. The announcement during a Statehouse news conference came exactly nine years after […]
Posted inEpisode, TGIF
TGIF: Ian Donnis' Rhode Island politics roundup for April 8, 2022
Maybe the proposed designs for the new RI license plate should go on the November ballot as a way of boosting interest from voters (hat tip to Bob Walsh, who made a similar point). Your tips and comments are welcome. You can follow me through the week on the twitters. *** Want to get my […]
Posted inEpisode, Political Roundtable
Political Roundtable: de la Cruz on her CD2 campaign, the ‘Big Lie,’ the economy & more
State Sen. Jessica de la Cruz (R-North Smithfield), one of three Republicans seeking an open seat in Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District, is my guest this week on Political Roundtable. The topics include:
Posted inArticle, Education
Montañez named permanent school superintendent in Providence
The acting school superintendent in Providence, Javier Montañez, has been named as the permanent superintendent. “Dr. Montañez has risen to the occasion as acting superintendent, and we’re grateful he has taken on this new role,” state Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said in a statement. Infante-Green continued: “Dr. Montañez has provided the stability Providence needs and […]
Posted inArticle, Politics
RI candidates tout their Q1 fundraising, as Election ’22 heats up
In a show of force, some Rhode Island political candidates are drawing attention to their fundraising, as the 2022 election season shifts into a more active gear. General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, one of seven Democrats running in the Second Congressional District, reported raising more than $1.4 million in the first three months of the year. […]
Posted inArticle, Politics
Ruggiero joins RI race for lieutenant governor
A third Democrat — state Rep. Deb Ruggiero of Jamestown — has joined the race for lieutenant governor. Ruggiero, first elected in 2008, announced her campaign via an online video. She joins the incumbent, Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, the former president of the Providence City Council, who was picked as LG last year by Gov. […]
