How Rhode Island is this? Campaigning at Atwood Grill, Democrat
@JoyFoxRI
runs into Republican
@AllanFungRI
- who might be her opponent for the 2nd District seat (he says he has nothing to announce yet on his plans)
New: Went through years of contracts, inspections, structural analyses, bids, change orders and emails to try to figure out what went wrong on the Washington Bridge.
Here's what I found:
A report warned the state about the Washington Bridge in 2015.
With
@GovDanMcKee
announcing a new shelter in Pawtucket,
@Cynthia_Mendes_
and
#SleepOutRI
protestors are declaring victory and ending their encampment outside the State House tonight
I looked into the Connecticut study of extending Shore Line East trains to RI and whether RIDOT nixed going beyond Westerly
CT lawmakers in 2021 ordered a study of SLE to "Rhode Island" and RIDOT concluded that meant Westerly
ht
@the_transit_guy
One notable similarity between the RIPTA bus hub plan and the Pawtucket soccer stadium: committing public funds to a project before knowing how much it will ultimately cost, what it will look like and what the central purpose is
.
@RIDemParty
director says the party needs to woo back Trump Democrats.
RI District 3 in PVD is an interesting place to woo them. It broke 82% for Clinton in 2016
For those curious, I did ask Fung at the end of today's endorsement event what he thought about
@RonDeSantisFL
flying migrants from Texas to New England.
He didn't answer
You could spend $34M to move state agencies into this single-story 1979 office building surrounded by parking lots.
Or you could extend the street grid and build a whole new neighborhood near transit, utilities, stores, PVD, multi-million $ homes
The Department of Justice has given Rhode Island until March 18 to produce Washington Bridge records requested in False Claims Act probe.
1st deadline was yesterday
.
@GovRaimondo
calls Narragansett Town Council's proposed resolution asking police not to enforce Covid closures "reckless."
"It is so selfish to all the people of RI who have worked for so long putting their lives on hold"
Another win for
@PeterNeronha
The General Assembly just passed 57-11 his bill to create a statewide rental apartment registry.
Will
@GovDanMcKee
sign it?
Programming note: I am on furlough this week.
This account will be restricted to tweets about the Belarusian Premier League and ethics in pandemic surfing
Big win for Pawtucket progressives.
The McKee administration is opposing the mayor's plan to turn Morley Field into a distribution center truck parking lot on environmental justice grounds
DEM Announces Decision on City of Pawtucket's Application to Convert the use of Protected Recreational Sites, seeks Guidance from National Park Service on Morley Field.
State Sen. and RI LG candidate
@Cynthia_Mendes_
has pitched a tent in front of the State House and plans to stay until
@GovDanMcKee
or General Assembly provide shelter for homeless
Sure sounds like the Washington Bridge is going have to be torn down and replaced.
This is the FHWA administrator, who later clarified no course of action has been officially decided, but still
.
@GovDanMcKee
has been in office for more than a year and a half and still often doesn't take well to probing questions, like these (perfectly reasonable ones) from
@FitzProv
. Some brutal moments. Fitz unflappable.
RI infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities are being made to wait for services as all Early Intervention providers in the state have stopped taking referrals.
Business success is part of
@AshleyKalus
' pitch to voters in her bid for governor. It is also paying for her largely self-funded campaign.
But one former business partner in Illinois says Kalus cheated her.
"Company is broke. End of story"
Pawtucket today closed on a $54M bond to help finance the
@RhodeIslandFC
soccer stadium. The developer will get $27M of that, with the rest going into reserves.
Interest rate is 7.5%. State is expected to pay $132M in debt service by 2053
New:
@SecRaimondo
made a surprise appearance at RI State House Wednesday to film a 60 Minutes interview.
She did not take questions (or acknowledge) the RI press lurking behind a security cordon
.
@GovDanMcKee
just came out with this short video for the
@NatlGovsAssoc
"Disagree Better" initiative, in which he stresses the importance of allowing for different perspectives in politics
Superman Building redeveloper shopping for more public money, including federal financing for projects "close to transit hubs." 🤔
Think this is the same USDOT program eyed to pay for moving
@RIPTA_RI
hub *away* from the Superman Building
The bathrooms in Kennedy Plaza will reopen tomorrow for the first time since the start of COVID,
@GovDanMcKee
says. Advocates had pushed for reopening for weeks
Turns out the
#RI01
Democrats don't agree on everything
-Student debt cancellation
-CHIPS Act
-Carbon tax
-China
-NEPA reform
-Housing
-Immigration
-Gun violence
Where do congressional candidates stand on key issues? A complete guide
.
@GovDanMcKee
wants to spend $250M on new housing, but where will it go?
RI's second largest city hasn't built new long-term affordable homes in more than a decade and just rezoned a site on Cranston St. for an Auto Zone, gas station and fast food
RI's Commerce Secretary is heading to Denmark tomorrow to meet "potential partners regarding Rhode Island’s off-shore wind sector" - per spox.
And separately with
@Orsted
No idea if it brings change anytime soon, but
@RIDOTNews
now agrees that running slow, polluting, unreliable diesel locomotives on the electrified PVD Line doesn't make sense.
Has applied for a federal grant with
@MBTA_CR
to study how to electrify
So honored to be endorsed by Providence City Council President Rachel Miller
@RachelRI
and to be surrounded by so many RI leaders as we fight to build a fair economy and a government that works for everyone!