Rhode Island Current

01/07/2025

Now that federal Food and Drug Administration-approved GLP-1 drugs for obesity treatment are in high demand, state Medicaid programs are grappling with whether to cover them both for reasons of equity and to save on future health expenditures. But some researchers question whether the drugs can help save money in the long run. By Stateline

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2025/01/07/as-demand-for-weight-loss-drugs-rises-states-grapple-with-medicaid-coverage/

01/07/2025

Sen. Valarie Lawson, poised to become Rhode Island Senate majority leader when the 2025 legislative session begins Tuesday afternoon, is preparing for healing personal divisions and tackling the state health care crisis with a tough state budget season ahead.

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2025/01/07/lawson-has-her-lesson-plan-ready-for-the-r-i-senate/

01/07/2025

Trump on Biden drilling ban: "I'll unban it immediately. I will unban it. I have the right to unban it immediately.”

The Rhode Island context From Rhode Island Current U.S. Sen. Jack Reed strongly supports President Joe Biden’s move to permanently protect the East Coast, West Coast, and eastern Gulf of Mexico, and certain areas off the coast of Alaska from offshore oil and gas drilling. Reed issued a statement M...

01/07/2025

Parking in downtown Providence could get more expensive as Mayor Brett Smiley seeks revenue to pay school funding settlement.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley on Monday called for ending state control of city schools by July and proposed legislative reforms to address housing and education challenges in the upcoming General Assembly session.

01/06/2025

On the to-do list of Dr. Marius Tarau, Rhode Island's first permanent chief medical examiner in eight years: timely autopsy reports and toxicology test results

Dr. Marius Tarau is the first permanent chief in over eight years to lead the Rhode Island Office of State Medical Examiners. On his to-do list: reducing the time it takes to complete autopsy reports and toxicology testing.

01/06/2025

Statement from U.S. Sen. Jack Reed:
"Unfortunately, President Trump has signaled a willingness to drill off our coast at the behest of wealthy special interests, even if it risks pollution that could threaten our coastal communities and marine resources," Reed said. "President Biden’s action will make it harder for the incoming administration to sell out coastal communities and I will use every legislative tool available to protect the people of Rhode Island.”

The Rhode Island context From Rhode Island Current U.S. Sen. Jack Reed strongly supports President Joe Biden’s move to permanently protect the East Coast, West Coast, and eastern Gulf of Mexico, and certain areas off the coast of Alaska from offshore oil and gas drilling. Reed issued a statement M...

01/06/2025

COMMENTARY: “Hey, can you help me unChatGPT this essay?”
Brown University student Connor Swenson has been asked this question more times than he can count.

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2025/01/06/ai-can-be-a-useful-tool-in-the-classroom-it-can-also-be-a-threat-to-critical-thinking/

01/06/2025

The mix of stimulants such as co***ne and methamphetamines with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 50 times as powerful as he**in — is driving what experts call the opioid epidemic’s “fourth wave.” Here's why it's especially risky for people who are occasional drug users who don’t know they are at risk of ingesting opioids. From KFF Health News and Rhode Island PBS

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2025/01/06/stimulant-users-are-caught-in-fatal-fourth-wave-of-opioid-epidemic/

01/04/2025

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01/04/2025

Entering its third year as a cabinet-level agency, Rhode Island’s Department of Housing plans to reinvent itself, and it all starts with a new name: the Executive Office of Housing.

Rhode Island’s Department of Housing wants to rebrand as the Executive Office of Housing, with a plan to consolidate power and streamline operations under a single, state-led structure to better address the state's ongoing housing crisis.

01/03/2025

President-elect is scheduled to be sentenced in New York on 34 felony convictions on Jan. 10, just days ahead of his presidential inauguration, according to an order issued by New York Justice Juan Merchan.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York on 34 felony convictions on Jan. 10, just days ahead of his presidential inauguration, according to an order issued Friday by New York Justice Juan Merchan. Merchan wrote he won’t seek incarceration for Trump but ...

01/03/2025

Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital will pay $1.9 million in back wages and damages to 853 health care workers under a settlement announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital will pay $1.9 million in back wages and damages to 853 health care workers under a settlement announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

01/03/2025

The hiring of a chief public affairs officer dominated the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission's first meeting in over two months.

The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission met Thursday afternoon for the first time since Oct. 15, 2024, spending most of its first meting of 2025 behind closed doors where the three-member panel decided to hire a chief public affairs officer.

01/03/2025

COMMENTARY: No wonder voters are so angry in the Massachusetts Gateway City with the most severe housing shortage, writes housing attorney Judith Liben of Access to Justice Fellow at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. Via CommonWealth Beacon

Frustrated by the challenges of keeping up with the cost of living, residents in Fall River, Massachusetts, need more affordable rental housing and protection from rising rents, evictions, and displacement.

01/03/2025

America250 planning has state leaders re-examining old historical markers, signs, and plaques. Via Stateline

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2025/01/03/americas-250th-birthday-prompts-rethinking-of-historical-markers/

01/03/2025

The Washington Bridge is a perfect emblem for Rhode Island’s overarching narrative in 2024, a year that ends with the state’s human benefits enrollment system — known as RIBridges — taken offline. Here are our picks for the top 10 stories of 2024:

The Washington Bridge is a perfect emblem for Rhode Island’s overarching narrative in 2024, a year that ends with the state’s human benefits enrollment system — known as RIBridges — taken offline.

01/02/2025

Search committee forms to hire a permanent president to lead CCRI.

A nine-member committee will lead the search for the next permanent president of the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), with plans to install the new leader by the end of the spring semester, the Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education announced Tuesday.

01/02/2025

A $330 million deficit in the latest forecasts and revenue reports from Rhode Island budget-crunchers looms large as the start of the 2025 legislative session approaches, weighing heavily on the House Speaker who controls the 2026 budget.

A $330 million budget deficit tops the list of priorities for lawmakers ahead of the 2025 legislative session. Also in play: an assault weapons ban, a state medical school, and more oversight hearings on the Washington Bridge.