August 1 fundraiser in Narragansett for Gabe Amo

RI Dems convention split leaves no endorsements for governor, LG and AG

Bad news for McKee and Matos

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Neither Gov. Dan McKee nor challenger Helena Foulkes will get the top spot and asterisk signaling the party endorsement on the September primary ballot after the Rhode Island Democratic Party declined to endorse either at its state committee convention Saturday.

The outcome marks yet another setback for McKee, who will be the first sitting governor in at least recent history not to win the backing of his party, said Joe Fleming, a WPRI 12 political analyst.

“I don’t recall an incumbent governor ever not winning the endorsement, and I’ve been around a long time,” Fleming said in an interview Monday. “This is not a good sign for the governor.”

McKee received 81 votes to Foulkes’ 75, while 11 voting committee members opted not to endorse, according to vote totals shared by the Rhode Island Democratic Party. To secure party backing, candidates need to get 50% of all votes cast plus one — or 84 of the 167 committee members who cast ballots at the Teamsters Local 251 union hall in East Providence Saturday.

Rhode Island nurses cancel vigil to honor Alex Pretti after threats of violence

"We believe the threats are credible and pose too great a risk to proceed”

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

A Pawtucket vigil planned Thursday night by Rhode Island nurses to honor the Minneapolis nurse shot and killed by federal agents last month was canceled three hours before it was supposed to start after organizers received threatening comments on social media.

A joint statement from the Rhode Island Nurses Association and SEIU 1199 New England issued at 3 p.m. claimed a Middletown resident allegedly posted threats raising the possibility of weapons being present at the vigil planned for 6 p.m.

“Our mission is to protect and advocate for nurses across the state, and with guidance from the Pawtucket and Middletown Police Departments, we believe the threats are credible and pose too great a risk to proceed,” the Rhode Island Nurses Association and SEIU 1199 New England said in a joint statement.

Chris Hunter, a spokesperson for the city of Pawtucket, confirmed the online threats. He said police in Middletown conducted a wellness check and found the man had weapons at his residence.

RI windfarm again blocked by Trump - back to court?

The reason for the stoppage - national security

By Bonnie Phillips / ecoRI News staff

Maybe Trump would approve the project if we add
lasers, cannons, lots of gold leaf and name it after him.

The Trump administration on Monday ordered a halt to construction on five East Coast offshore wind projects, including Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind.

The Interior Department said it is pausing all leases for large-scale offshore wind projects that are currently under construction, affecting the Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1 projects.

U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Monday, “At a time when working people in Rhode Island are struggling with high costs on everything, Trump should not be canceling energy projects that are nearly ready to deliver reliable power to the grid at below-market rates and help lower costs.”

The Revolution Wind project, located 15 miles off Rhode Island’s shore and 85% complete, was expected to deliver enough electricity to the New England grid to power 350,000 homes, or 2.5% of the region’s electricity supply, beginning in 2026. Revolution Wind was projected to save Connecticut and Rhode Island ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years.

Christian Roselund, co-leader of Climate Action Rhode Island’s Yes to Wind campaign, said Monday, “Donald Trump is getting desperate. The Trump administration’s new attempt to freeze offshore wind projects under construction – after courts quickly threw out the last stop work order on Revolution Wind – shows again that he doesn’t understand what it means to be a U.S. president and that he wants instead to be a dictator.”

Work on the project was initially halted Aug. 22 when the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a stop-work order for what it said were national security concerns. It didn’t specify those concerns, but Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNN that he worries offshore wind turbines distort radar detection systems and therefore could allow a “drone attack through a wind farm.” 

Burgum again Monday claimed his department’s decision is aimed at protecting the American people.

“Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our East Coast population centers,” he said in a statement.

MIDNIGHT UPDATE on the Brown shooting

Deadly Brown Shooting Spurs Calls for Action on Guns

Jessica Corbett for Common Dreams

With at least two people dead, several others in critical but stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital, and a suspect at large after a Saturday shooting at Brown University in Providence, gun violence prevention advocates and some US lawmakers renewed calls for swift action to take on what the nonprofit Brady called “a uniquely American problem” that “is completely preventable.”

A suspect ("person of interest") was arrested just before 5 AM at a hotel in Coventry. Shelter in place orders were lifted at 7 AM. Tonight, he was identified as Benjamin Erickson, 24, from Wisconsin. Police say they found two handguns in his hotel room. NEW: Just after 11 PM, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and police officials held a unscheduled briefing to say that Erickson was being released, noting that it was unfortunate his name was released. That means there is NO suspect in custody and the killer is still on the loose.

“Our hearts are with the victims, survivors, their families, and the entire community of Brown University and the surrounding Providence area in this horrific time,” said Brady president Kris Brown in a statement. “As students prepare for finals and then head home to loved ones for the holidays, our all-too-American gun violence crisis has shattered their safety.”

“Guns are the leading cause of death for youth in this nation. Only in America do we live in fear of being shot and killed in our schools, places of worship, and grocery stores,” she continued. “Now, as students, faculty, and staff hide and barricade themselves in immense fear, we once again call on lawmakers in Congress and around the country to take action against this uniquely American public health crisis. We cannot continue to allow politics and special interests to take priority over our lives and safety.”

THIS is the misinformation posted by Trump just two
hours after the shooting. Local and university officials
scrambled to correct this malicious interference. At 6 PM, 
he posted a retraction that blamed Brown University 
police for having "reversed their previous statement."
There was no such previous statement.

Despite some early misinformation ➡, no suspects are in custody, and authorities were searching for a man in dark clothing. 

The law enforcement response is ongoing and Brown remains in lockdown, according to a 9:29 pm Eastern update on the university’s website. Everyone is urged to shelter in place, which “means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus.”

The Ivy League university’s president, Christina H. Paxson, said in a public message that “this is a deeply tragic day for Brown, our families, and our local community. There are truly no words that can express the deep sorrow we are feeling for the victims of the shooting that took place today at the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building.”

US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said on social media that he was “praying for the victims and their families,” and thanked the first responders who “put themselves in harm’s way to protect all of us.” He also echoed the city’s mayor, Brett Smiley, “in urging Rhode Islanders to heed only official updates from Brown University and the Providence Police.”

In a statement, US Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) also acknowledged everyone impacted by “this horrific, active, and unfolding tragedy,” and stressed the importance of everyone listening to law enforcement “as they continue working to ensure the entire campus and surrounding community is safe, and the threat is neutralized.”

The state’s two Democratic congressmen, Brown alumnus Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, released similar statements. Amo also said that “the scourge of mass shootings is a horrific stain on our nation. We must seek policies to ensure that these tragedies do not strike yet another community and no more lives are needlessly taken from us.”

Elected officials at various levels of government across the country sent their condolences to the Brown community. Some also used the 389th US mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds—according to Brady’s president—to argue that, as US House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) put it, “it’s past time for us to act and stop senseless gun violence from happening again.”

New York City’s democratic socialist mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, noted that this shooting occurred just before the anniversary of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:

This senseless violence—once considered unfathomable—has become nauseatingly normal to all of us across our nation. Tonight, on the eve of the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, we find ourselves in mourning once again.

The epidemic of gun violence stretches across America. We reckon with it when we step into our houses of worship and out onto our streets, when we drop our children off at kindergarten and when we fear if those children, now grown, will be safe on campus. But unlike so many other epidemics, we possess the cure. We have the power to eradicate this suffering from our lives if we so choose.

I send my deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Brown and Providence communities, who are wrestling with a grief that will feel familiar to far too many others. May we never allow ourselves to grow numb to this pain, and let us rededicate ourselves to the enduring work of ending the scourge of gun violence in our nation.

Fred Guttenberg has been advocating against gun violence since his 14-year-old daughter was among those murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida nearly eight years ago. He said on social media that he knows two current students at Brown and asserted that “IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE THIS WAY!!!”

Students Demand Action similarly declared: “Make no mistake: We DO NOT have to live and die like this. Our lawmakers fail us every day that they refuse to take action on gun violence.”

Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona who became an activist after surviving a 2011 assassination attempt, said that “my heart breaks for Brown University. Students should only have to worry about studying for finals right now, not hiding from gunfire. Guns are the leading cause of death for young people in America—this is a five-alarm fire and our leaders in Washington have ignored it for too long. Americans are tired of waiting around for Congress to decide that protecting kids matters.”

John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, warned that “we either take action, or we bury more of our kids.”

The Associated Press noted that “Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the US. Last spring the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed an assault weapon ban that will prohibit the sale and manufacturing of certain high-powered firearms, but not their possession, starting next July.”

Gun violence prevention advocates often argue for federal restrictions, given that, as Everytown’s latest analysis of state-level policies points out, “even the strongest system can’t protect a state from its neighbors’ weak laws.”

Trump plans to rename Pell Grants as "Trump Grants"

This is actually happening.

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Democratic U.S. Reps. Gabe Amo and Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island pressed the House Committee on Appropriations Tuesday to reject a provision in one of its fiscal year 2026 budget proposals that would rename the new Workforce Pell Grants to “Trump Grants.”

Workforce Pell Grants are a new category of Pell Grant, the federal government’s need-based financial aid program for college undergraduates. After years of bipartisan efforts to institute the grants for short-term training that prepares students for specific, high skill industries, the Workforce Pell grants were signed into law via President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) in July. 

A provision in the house appropriations bill introduced on Sept. 11 — one that covers the upcoming fiscal year’s budgets for the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education — would see the new grants renamed before they go into effect on July 1, 2026. 

The provision would not affect traditional Pell Grants, and the U.S. Senate’s equivalent of the House Appropriations bill lacks the “Trump Grants” provision. 

In a letter to Appropriations leadership, Amo and Magaziner argued the new nickname would erase the legacy of the late U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell, a Rhode Island Democrat and the namesake of the broader federal Pell Grant program which is often credited with scaffolding modern financial aid.  

“Preserving Senator Pell’s name on the program is not just about honoring the past, it is about protecting a future where every student, regardless of background, has the chance to dream big and achieve more,” the congressmen wrote. “To attempt to erase Senator Pell’s name from a program that has uplifted generations and replace it with a President whose record on education is defined by cuts and dismantlement is a profound insult to that legacy.”

U.S. labor secretary gives thanks to Cranston firefighters but takes no questions from press

Why the secret Labor Day visit?

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

The US Dept. of Labor marked Labor Day by hanging a
giant Big Brother banner from its DC headquarters

The first official visit to Rhode Island by a member of Donald Trump’s cabinet turned out to be a largely private affair. 

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer met with Cranston firefighters at their Pontiac Avenue headquarters Thursday afternoon as part of her “America at Work” listening tour. 

The secretary’s staff and security detail drove directly into the fire department’s bay-windowed garage shortly before 1 p.m., closed the doors, then opened them once she was inside. Reporters were kept at a distance, and the secretary was kept out of sight. Firefighters then ran through demonstrations in baggy, fluorescent-colored hazmat suits as the secretary toured the station inside.

A few hours before the event, Hunter Lovell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor, said via email that Thursday’s visit builds on Chavez-DeRemer’s celebration earlier this year of National Apprenticeship Day, when she hosted the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) for a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on new apprenticeship standards for first responders. 

"This is bullshit."

Labor & political leaders oppose Trump's Revolution Wind stop-work order

Steve Ahlquist

“We are here for what I call a reckless move by the current administration that will have a detrimental impact not only on Rhode Island, but on our renewable energy quest up and down the East Coast,” said Michael Sabitoni, General Secretary-Treasurer of LiUNA and President of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council. [It will halt] “the momentum that started here almost 20 years ago with the vision and the courage to address Rhode Island’s energy needs and all the hard work that went into building an offshore wind industry from scratch, with both Republican and Democratic administrations over the last 20 years...”

Sabitoni was speaking at a press conference held in Quonset, home to Ørsted’s Regional Offshore Wind Logistics and Operations Hub and several Rhode Island-built crew transfer vessels supporting the project.

“We’ve got a massive energy project offshore that is 80% complete, employing hundreds of tradesmen and women, that we are counting on to deliver almost 700 megawatts of much-needed power to our grid,” continued Sabitoni. “This is bullshit.”

The press conference, which included political and labor leaders, as well as construction workers, was held to condemn Donald Trump’s reckless stop-work order halting construction on Revolution Wind - a multibillion dollar offshore wind development that is 80% complete (with 506 megawatts installed of the 704 megawatt system) and critical to the region’s economy and energy future. The Trump administration’s effort to abruptly halt the project threatens thousands of local jobs, jeopardizes hundreds of millions of dollars in economic investment, and would increase electricity prices and impact grid reliability across New England.

“Hardworking men and women have dedicated time, effort, and training in a very difficult environment to build this complex offshore wind project,” continued Sabitoni. “The biggest little state in the union has a saying, ‘We are small, but extremely sophisticated.’ Rhode Island is the birthplace of the offshore wind industry, and it’s going to be Rhode Island that sends a message that this is our energy future. We need to continue to provide reliable, cost-effective energy for the citizens of Rhode Island and the New England region.”

Also speaking were Governor Daniel McKee, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, Patrick Crowley, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and Co-chair of Climate Jobs RI, and Rachel Miller, Chief External Relations Officer at Building Futures. Dozens of union workers and climate advocates were also in attendance.

Here’s the video: "This is bullsh*t." Labor and political leaders oppose Trump's Revolution Wind stop-work order - YouTube

Over $370K Grants Awarded to Local Food System Businesses

Funding may be the last from USDA program killed by Trump

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) have announced over $370K in Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grants to seven local food businesses and organizations. Funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), these equipment grants support supply chain resilience and food system sustainability.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This program is one of dozens wiped out by the Trump Regime. These may be the last grants we will see for the foreseeable future. For a complete list of USDA food programs axed by trump, CLICK HERE.  – Will Collette

“I'm glad the state is distributing these federal RFSI funds that were made available under the Biden Administration to local projects that will strengthen the resilience in Rhode Island’s food system and create new revenue streams for small and mid-sized farmers and producers,” said Senator Jack Reed. “This federal investment will benefit food producers statewide and help get more fresh, Rhode Island-grown food and products to tables, grocery stores, and restaurants across the region and beyond.”

“Families across the Ocean State deserve access to affordable, healthy food,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “This latest round of funding will support six small businesses as they connect more Rhode Islanders with fresh products from local farmers and fishermen.”

“This funding for Rhode Island’s food infrastructure is a win for local farmers and consumers. By strengthening our state’s food supply chain, we’re not only supporting small businesses but also ensuring that more locally grown food reaches Rhode Islanders,” said Representative Seth Magaziner. “I’m glad to see these federal dollars at work, and I’ll always fight to bring more of our tax dollars home to strengthen Rhode Island’s food supply and lower food costs.”

“At a time of rising prices — from eggs to produce and other grocery staples — it’s important that we bolster Rhode Island’s food supply chains and infrastructure,” said Representative Gabe Amo. “This funding will help support farmers in our state who rely on local markets to sell their products while also delivering fair wages for laborers and fair prices for consumers. I look forward to continuing to work as a delegation to bring these federal resources home to help bring down prices and put healthy on the table for families.”

These grants will help expand the production and distribution of RI Grown products by improving local capacity for processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, and selling products like specialty crops, dairy, grains, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry. The grant awardees are:

New Pell Center poll shows little overlap between RI Republicans and Democrats on the health of U.S. democracy, the economy, and immigration policy.

Dan McKee's approval rating continues to tank

Pell Center, Salve Regina University 

Download full report here. 

Well over half of registered voters in Rhode Island believe the United States democracy is not healthy, though the level of concern varies by political party, according to a new survey from Salve Regina University’s Pell Center. 

The survey was directed by Pell Center Associate Director and Fellow Katie Sonder and fielded by Embold Research between June 16-22, 2025.  It gathered responses from 804 registered voters in Rhode Island, with a modeled margin of error of 3.6 percent. 

Survey respondents are those registered to vote in Rhode Island who voted in the 2024 presidential election. The survey results show large divides between the major political parties, highlighting two very different lived realties between Democrats and Republicans.

Over half of registered Democrats agree that the United States is operating as a democracy, but 80% say it is not healthy and 94% believe we are facing a constitutional crisis. Democrats perceive a decline in the strength of the checks and balance system, which likely bolsters their sense of democratic backsliding. Only one-third (32%) agree the system is strong while 64% agree that country has fallen into dictatorship. 

Republicans, on the other hand, are seven times more likely to agree that our democracy is healthy than they were in the June 2024 Voices of Value survey. Well over three-quarters of Republicans (83%) say policies from the Trump administration have helped them personally and the percent who agree that polarization has increased dropped by 15 percentage points between June 2024 (86%) and June 2025 (71%).

While all respondents tapped disinformation and fake news as a leading contributor to political polarization, just as they did in the June 2024 survey, the percent who believe political leaders add to the schism has increased. 

R.I. leaders are planning their next move after feds withhold $30M in K-12 funding

Where's our money?

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

State leaders are considering their next steps as they face the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education funding halted by the Trump administration — a cut that could devastate afterschool programs, multilingual learning, and adult education in Rhode Island.

The funding is part of the roughly $6.8 billion for K–12 school districts nationwide halted abruptly by the U.S. Department of Education last week, despite being earmarked by Congress for programs supporting migrant students and English learners, as well as educator training, school technology, and afterschool programs in high-poverty schools.

“This will impact every single school district in Rhode Island — everyone is going to feel this,” state Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said at a press conference inside the Providence Career & Technical Academy’s library. “No one saw this coming, and we have been left in the dark.”

Funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1. 

But just as the work day was wrapping up on June 30, Infante-Green said she received an 83-word email from the U.S. Department of Education. It stated the Trump administration would review federally-funded education programs in order to ensure “taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the president’s priorities.” 

The email did not provide any timeline on how long that review would take, and Infante-Green said she still has yet to hear anything back from the Trump administration.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said in an interview with Rhode Island Current. “Historically, we would have gotten projections and gotten the money on July 1.”

Rhode Island Democratic Leaders blast Trump’s Big, Beautiful Boondoggle

Trump and His Mean-Spirited Republican Congress Destroy Sixty Years of Progress

Statement from U.S. Senator Jack Reed

“Republicans knew this bill is a bad deal for their constituents and passed it anyway.  This bill goes against the self-interest of average Americans in favor of the ultra-wealthy and corporations.  It slashes the safety net out from under hardworking families – taking away health care from millions -- in order to give special interests bigger tax benefits.  Republicans structured the bill so the ultra-wealthy can cash out right away while the little guy and average taxpayers will get stuck paying the bill for years to come.

“During this unprecedented time of chaos and dysfunction, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and miss the latest developments. But the negative impacts of this bill must cut through the noise. Americans must be informed about the consequences of this legislation and they deserve to hear plainly from their elected representatives about how this bill is going to impact their families.

“Republicans are shifting a heavier financial burden onto families, communities, hospitals, and states.  Taking away people’s health coverage doesn’t mean they stop getting sick or can’t see a doctor.  Health costs for everyone will rise.  And it takes away over one trillion dollars in federal funding that states and localities rely on to provide vital services like schools, transit, nutrition assistance and aid to families in crisis.

“This fiscally irresponsible giveaway to the wealthy and well-connected is a debt-busting disaster.  It will cost U.S. taxpayers trillions of dollars in interest payments and Republicans unilaterally approved a record-breaking $5 trillion dollar debt limit increase.  But that’s just debt already incurred – this bill will add trillions of dollars in future debt when it’s all said and done, with little to no long-term benefit for middle- and working-class families. 

“Whatever short-term economic benefits this bill may offer, it will do lasting destructive damage to U.S. finances and young Americans will be forced to pay for it long after Donald Trump is gone.”

Statement from U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

“Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Bill is one massively destructive piece of legislation.  Cooked in back rooms, dropped at midnight, and fraudulently scored, it increases costs for everyone by walloping the health care system, making families go hungry, and sending utility bills through the roof.  It saddles our children and grandchildren with trillions and trillions of dollars in debt – all to serve giant corporations, fossil fuel polluters, and billionaire Republican megadonors who are already among the richest people on the planet.”

Statement from Congressman Seth Magaziner

“Republicans in Congress have jammed through a bill that guts programs working people rely on to hand out tax breaks to the wealthiest people on the planet.

“The final version will cause millions of people to lose their health insurance, and will increase costs for millions more by slashing Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. It also cuts over $100 billion from SNAP, which helps 40 million Americans put food on the table, and will eliminate good-paying clean energy jobs in Rhode Island and across the country.

“This bill represents the largest transfer of wealth from working people to the ultra-wealthy in U.S. history, and is a shameful betrayal of the basic promise that the government should work for everyone, not just those at the top.

“Today, I voted ‘no’ and I will keep fighting back against cruel attacks on working Rhode Islanders. Despite today’s setback, our fight to lower costs and improve quality of life for working people will continue.”

RI Delegation Demands Reinstatement of National Endowment for the Humanities Grants for Ocean State Organizations

Termination of active grants and decision to not award grants will cause harm

Among the many projects Trump cancelled

U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, demanded the Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Michael McDonald, reinstate active grants in Rhode Island. 

Combined with the cancellation of upcoming awards for Fiscal Year 2025, the congressional delegation outlined the harms of cancellation, including the devastating effects on the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and the Providence Clemente Veterans Initiative.  

“Rhode Island organizations will be devastated by NEH grant cancellations. 

The NEH’s cancellation of the $530,000 Rhode Island Council for the Humanities General Operating Support grant may force the organization to pause programs that provide civic education programs for young people, serve veterans, and support historical sites,” wrote the lawmakers. 

“We urge you to promptly reinstate all NEH grants to Rhode Island organizations and reverse the decision to end grants for Fiscal Year 2025. 

FULL TEXT OF LETTER:

Rhode Island's members of Congress work anti-hunger programs from Musk/Trump attacks

Standing united 

As the Trump Administration arbitrarily cuts and freezes critical assistance for food pantries, schools, and local farmers, Rhode Island food banks and school nutrition advocates are preparing for the fallout: increased childhood hunger, more struggling families, and a shift in burdens from the federal government to local schools, governments, and non-profits. 

All four members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation joined the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Economic Progress Institute (EPI) for a virtual town hall to discuss the evolving situation and help food pantries and soup kitchens strategically plan for the future. 

During the public forum, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo discussed how the Trump Administration is putting food assistance on the chopping block and outlined their opposition to proposed Republican cuts to essential programs that Rhode Islanders rely on like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as Medicaid, and other core government services. 

They noted that this week, the Trump administration moved to cut another $1 billion for food aid by cancelling the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Cooperative Agreement Program which provided funding for states to purchase food from local farmers and fishers for hunger relief distribution and the Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement Program which provided funding for the purchase of local foods to be used in school meals. 

Farm Fresh RI operated these programs in Rhode Island and the Trump Administration cancellation means Rhode Island schools and food pantries will lose roughly $3 million in nutrition assistance funding. 

UPDATED:: ver $1M in Grants Awarded to Support RI's Local Food System

This could be the last time the USDA funds these grants

UPDATE: The Providence Journal reports that federal funds for food and farming programs have been frozen or cancelled by President Musk. This has led to Farm Fresh Rhode Island to have to lay off 8 of its 48 staff with more cuts likely to happen. Rep. Seth Magaziner calls these cuts illegal. The Trump regime calls these programs "non-essential." These among many other issues will be adjudicated in the federal courts.   - Will Collette

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is announcing over $1M in Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grant awards to four local food businesses and organizations. 

These projects support the development of RI Grown products and will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, grains for consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry. 

DEM’s RFSI Grant Program is funded through American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide grants that directly support middle of the supply chain activities in RI’s local food system. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Virtually all programs like this are targets of cuts by President Musk and King Donald.  On Wednesday, I sent DEM this message:

First, has DEM actually received the funding from the USDA to support the current grant award? It looks like just the kind of funding that President Musk seeks to impound. 

If the funding has been held up, is restoration of funding part of AG Neronha's litigation against the Trump administration?

Has DEM been given any indication whether the RFSI grant program will continue?  

I did not get a response

- Will Collette

Thousands gathered at Rhode Island State House to protest Trump, Musk and "lawless billionaires"

Protests grow around the country against President Musk and King Donald

Steve Ahlquist

Hey Charlestown. Is this guy not a dead-ringer
for ex-CCA leader Tom Gentz? It's not, of course,
but the resemblance is uncanny. - Will Collette.
Steve Ahlquist photo.

On Saturday, Thousands gathered on the south side of the Rhode Island State House to “fight back against the lawless billionaires that are defying the Constitution and ignoring a United States District Court ruling in Rhode Island.” I covered the words of United States Representatives Seth Magaziner (Democrat, District 1, Rhode Island) and Gabe Amo ((Democrat, District 2, Rhode Island) here.

To help Rhode Islanders in need, the rally raised a large amount of food and additional monetary donations for the Rhode Island Food Bank, which faces State and federal cuts. Six SUVs and trucks were filled with food.

Indivisible RI organized the event in partnership with Climate Action RI, RI Working Families Party, Black Lives Matter RI PAC, and Reclaim RI.

Here’s the video: Fight Back & Give Back: RI Protects Our Own from Lawless Billionaires

The transcript has been edited for clarity:

RI officials push back against illegal Trump actions

Rhode Island officials on guard as Trump tries to impose federal funding freeze

By Christopher Shea and Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

UPDATE: The Trump regime withdrew the funding freeze order after massive nationwide backlash. Unknown: what Trump will do next and the status of the lawsuits by Rhode Island and other states to block this illegal action.  - W. Collette

A Trump administration order to pause federal spending on Tuesday led to bureaucratic bedlam in Rhode Island and across the country as state government officials tried to assess the local impact of suddenly turning off federal spigots.

The maneuver also sabotaged a resolution introduced Tuesday afternoon by Rhode Island Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz, a North Smithfield Republican, congratulating Donald Trump on his “historic and extraordinary victory in the 2024 presidential election” and wishing him a successful presidency. 

It’s a tradition in the Rhode Island Senate to send congratulations to the new commander in chief. If de la Cruz’s resolution had passed, it would have directed the secretary of state to send a certified copy to the president. Alas, it failed in a 21-14 vote. Ten Democrats joined the four Republican senators who voted yes. 

In a statement issued late Tuesday night, de la Cruz said it had been her “sincere hope” that her colleagues would uphold the chamber’s tradition. “Despite being critical of policies of past Presidents, I have always wished them success — because I want America to succeed —  to become strong, safe, healthy, prosperous, and great again,” she said.

A Senate resolution congratulating Joe Biden passed in 2021. And the House version sponsored by House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, a Foster Republican, passed Tuesday, as it did in 2017 after Trump’s first inauguration. There was no vote breakdown for the House resolution as the chamber approves all resolutions at the end of each session with a single voice vote, House spokesperson Larry Berman explained in an email.

The reason the Senate held a roll call vote for its resolution was because a senator objected to the voice vote, said Senate spokesperson Greg Paré.

Give us our money!

Port of Galilee & State Marine Facilities Awarded over $15M to Strengthen Climate Resilience

Vital infrastructure investment 

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA), and the Congressional Delegation announces that Rhode Island has received a $15.5M Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program award – the largest grant ever received by the state through the program – matched with state funds,to improve resilience to the increasing impacts of climate change. These funds will be used for a $17.2M project to elevate structures at the Port of Galilee in Narragansett and Wickford Dock. Additionally, a total of eight docks will be replaced at three DEM marine facilities – Galilee, DEM’s Division of Marine Fisheries’ Jerusalem facility, and DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement’s Wickford Marine Base. 

Climate change is causing extreme weather, inland and coastal flooding, and sea level rise, with scientific modeling predicting that these impacts will accelerate. Galilee is one of the largest ports on the East Coast, the 13th highest value fishing port in the country according to NOAA, and the 4th highest value fishing port on the East Coast. The grant will fund design strategies and marine construction projects to reduce hazards and improve operations at these facilities vital for public safety, commercial fishing, emergency response, and marine resource monitoring.  

The people want bread and circuses. They will definitely get a circus

It's hard to accentuate the positive, but I will try

By Will Collette

The Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) got whipped again by Charlestown Residents United (CRU). All five CCA Council candidates were rejected. All five CRU candidates were elected.

The CRU picked up another Planning Commission seat.

The CCA's consolation prize, for what it's worth, was getting voters to reject most of the Charter revision questions the CCA opposed.

I am unspeakably shaken by Trump's win and the apparent loss of Congress to the MAGA mob, but there's nothing I can do about that except urge you all to get vaccinated and make whatever energy-saving improvements you need in your house before Bobbie Kennedy Jr. abolished the national vaccine program and the MAGA's wipe out green energy programs.

Over the coming weeks, we'll have time to ponder what else we must do, but for now, let's review the state and local results where for the most part, the good guys won.

Charlestown Town Council

Rippy Serra (CRU) edged out Deb Carney to win the right to the Town Council President's chair. Unless he declines, Deb would move to the VP slot. Voters re-elected 3rd-place finisher Steve Stokes, elected new Councilor Craig Marr of Breachway fame and gave Peter Slom his first full term.

The best CCA finisher, is Sarah Fletcher who ran as a Democrat and had the good fortune to appear first on the ballot. She finishes in 6th place and out of the money.

Planning Commission

CCA leader Ruth Platner and her dog's body Bonnita Van Slyke were soundly rejected by Charlestown voters, with Platner finishing 9th and Van Slyke in last place. Platner seems likely to stay on in her role as Planning Commissar where she can continue to terrorize small businesses and homebuilders. Maybe she'll let Van Slyke take notes for her.

Platner tried to make dark skies the town's marquee issue, but it clearly bombed with the voters.

 

For Planning Commission, the top vote getter was CRU candidate Glenn Babcock. Here are the Planning Commission results:

Charlestown Charter Revision Proposals

Charlestown voters voted on 11 proposed amendments to the Town Charter. Charlestown ballot questions. The CCA opposed five of those questions and had reservations about Question 8 which would prevent Council majorities from blocking the Council minority from putting items on Council meeting agendas. 

The CCA got their wish on four of the five questions they opposed. 

Voters rejected Question 7 and Question 15. Together, those questions would have equalized the terms of office for the Town Council and Planning Commission at four years, staggered. Voters also rejected Question 10 which would have made the use of a Search Committee to fill Town Administrator vacancies optional. 

In a victory for the Westerly Sun, voters turned down Question 9 which would have made it optional for the town to post notices in a print newspaper. Yeah ok, the Sun needs the revenue.

Voters ignored CCA opposition to Question 14 by approving it by almost 20 points. This vote means that emergency rescue services will now be included in the Town Charter as a basic municipal service. Why the CCA opposed this question is beyond me.

Instead the CCA devoted so much of its energy to trying to make Charlestown's dark sky this year's imaginary political crisis. They tried to convince voters that only they, the CCA, can protect our wonderful dark skies by blocking all development and buying more open space, even though more than 60% of Charlestown's land area is already protected open space. 

They also put a lot of energy into pushing their point of view on the Charter revision questions, perhaps at the expense of actually getting their people elected. Maybe this will work out for them in the long-run, but short-term, the voters inflicted a crushing blow to CCA power.

State Results 

As expected, Rhode Island voters have re-elected Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo by comfortable margins which is very good news. Their work in the new MAGA Congress will be a key part of any strategy to defend democracy, our basic rights and the environment against the attacks to come.

Controversial state Question 1 to convene a state Constitutional Convention lost big, as hoped. The other four state ballot questions, all for good job-creating programs, were approved by comfortable margins.

In local General Assembly races, all of South Kingstown's Democratic women won either by default or by wide margins. 

In the rematch for Senate District 38 between incumbent Sen. Victoria Gu and MAGA dude Westin Price, Victoria won by a handy 15 points. This district includes the southern half of Charlestown.

Charlestown's state Rep. Tina Spears was unopposed and thus automatically re-elected.

In Senate District 34 which includes the northern half of Charlestown, MAGA state Senator Elaine Morgan (R) beat Democrat Steve Moffitt. Last night, her margin seemed insurmountable at over 20 points, but by morning, that lead was trimmed to 8 points. Still, that doesn't count so she wins and will continue to grace the State House with her toxic personality for another term.

In neighboring House District 39, there was another rematch. Hardworking state Rep. Megan Cotter (D) faced MAGA insurrectionist Justin Price. Pundits predicted this race would be very close since Megan only won by 22 votes in 2022 and the district is one of the most conservative in the state.

They were wrong. This time, Price was sent home to watch The Price Is Right by a margin of 8 points and 654 votes.

What's next?

On the national level, I really don't know except to know that it's going to be bad.

I just turned 75. After a lifetime as an activist, it's hard to face this kind of loss though I am happy at what's happened here at home. Almost 15 years ago, Tom Ferrio and I started Progressive Charlestown as a counterweight to the Charlestown Citizens Alliance.

We did a lot of other stuff - lots of national politics, environmental news, weather reports and public service announcements, cartoons, science and astronomy. Basically whatever interested us and might interest you. A total of almost 30,000 separate posts.

Over 15 million people clicked on our posts, 2 million in the past year alone and almost 42,000 just yesterday. We never considered "monetizing" the site and just did it as a combination public service and source of entertainment for us as well as for you.

We accomplished the main thing we wanted to do when we started this thing: to bust the CCA. Now that this has been done, I am trying to decide if I want to continue and, if so, how much I am willing to put into it. I'm talking to family and friends but would also like to hear from you. 

I would really like to see others step up to keep the site going. 

Please e-mail us at Progressive Charlestown with your thoughts about its future direction. On