It’s never too soon to start crafting your #HealthcarePolicyValentines (or to get moving on a dinner reservation for Feb. 14) You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here. *** 1. STORY OF […]
Politics
Posted inPolitical Roundtable, Politics
Sen. Linda Ujifusa on Trump, RI Senate leadership, and making progress on healthcare
Linda Ujifusa, a Portsmouth Democrat, first won election to the Rhode Island Senate in 2022. As a progressive woman, she exemplifies how the General Assembly has changed over the last 10 years. Ujifusa is a California native and Harvard-educated lawyer. She was among the senators who pushed unsuccessfully during a November caucus for different leadership in the chamber. The concern was that Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, now 76, was dealing with too many health issues to effectively lead the Senate. But Ruggerio maintained the presidency, and some of those who opposed him fell out of favor with his leadership. So can the Senate make progress now on key issues facing Rhode Island? Is there a role for state lawmakers in responding to the Trump administration? And what is the way forward on such issues as healthcare and the environment?
Posted inEconomy, Local, Politics
If Trump tariff plan goes through, RI businesses and residents will foot the bill
Following his election, President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on most U.S. imports, including a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico. If the administration makes good on that threat, it would upend decades of North American Free Trade. Morning host Luis Hernandez spoke about the implications of Trump’s plan with Nina […]
Posted inHealth, Local, Politics
Trump Administration actions cause ‘widespread panic’ among some RI scientists
Concern washed over the scientific research community in Rhode Island after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services paused all external communications on Jan. 22. When researchers from across the country began sharing news about sudden cancellations of so-called “study sections,” grant review panels coordinated through the National Institutes of Health, the worry only […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford mayor still optimistic about offshore wind in state of city speech
In his annual state of the city speech, New Bedford’s longtime mayor Jon Mitchell expressed a strictly positive outlook for the city’s economy, despite the president’s plans to obstruct the offshore wind industry and deport an unprecedented number of undocumented immigrants. New Bedford’s waterfront includes a pier where offshore wind turbines are assembled and a […]
Posted inLocal, Politics
Magaziner says Trump is trying to remake the federal government
The Trump administration’s freeze on trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans — which was rescinded Wednesday after a broad backlash — shows how the White House is intent on remaking the federal government, according to U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner. During a late-morning news conference in his Warwick office, Magaziner spoke before the federal […]
Posted inEconomy, Local, Politics
R.I., Mass. sue Trump administration over freeze in federal funding
Editor’s note: On Wednesday, President Trump issued a memo rescinding the funding freeze. Attorneys General Peter Neronha of Rhode Island and Andrea Campbell of Massachusetts have joined a coalition of other AGs in suing the Trump Administration over its sudden freeze in federal spending via grants, loans, and other avenues. “What a ham-handed way to […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, Politics
ACLU of RI urges municipalities to enact stronger immigrant protections
Haga clic aquí para leer en español. The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island on Monday urged city and town councils to adopt an ordinance to protect immigrant communities from what they called “constitutionally dubious federal actions and pronouncements.” In a letter to the state’s 39 municipalities, the organization emphasized that “local officials have […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, Transportation
RI officials object to Trump administration block on transportation aid
State officials say the Trump administration is blocking billions of dollars in previously awarded federal transportation aid, including hundreds of millions planned for the Washington Bridge and other needs in Rhode Island. “We don’t know the answer to the likelihood of getting it or not getting it,” House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said in an interview […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, TGIF
Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for Jan. 24, 2025
It’s always coldest before the approach to spring training. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here. *** 1. STORY OF THE WEEK: President Trump’s use of an executive order to try […]
