Rhode Island becomes the first state to file a lawsuit against Meta for the alleged scam ads

Attorney General Neronha sues Meta for fraudulent advertisements

SteveAhlquist.news 

Let's get Facebook to pay us more

From a Rhode Island Attorney General press release

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha today filed a lawsuit against Meta for allegedly failing to curb advertisements for fraudulent products and financial scams on its platforms, despite telling the public it uses sophisticated efforts to prevent such ads. Rhode Island is the first state to sue Meta over this alleged behavior, following a similar lawsuit by Santa Clara County in California.

The Complaint, filed in Providence County Superior Court, alleges that Meta continues these practices because they generate substantial revenue, despite knowing that scam ads cause significant financial harm to vulnerable consumers. Meta’s alleged conduct violates Rhode Island’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), and the Complaint seeks penalties and injunctive relief under that statute.

“For a company that engages so many Rhode Islanders and Americans, maintaining high standards for consumer safety should be of the utmost importance,” said Attorney General Neronha. “As alleged, Meta knowingly exposed vulnerable users to fraud and scams, and made enormous profits in doing so. When companies, big or small, take advantage of Rhode Island consumers, this Office will do everything within our authority to hold them to account.”

As alleged in the Complaint, Meta has helped create, refine, and distribute advertisements that promoted fraudulent schemes, deceptive offers, impersonation scams, fake investment opportunities, false Medicare and Social Security benefit offers, ineffective or dangerous health supplements or treatments, and other unlawful or deceptive conduct directed at consumers, including consumers in Rhode Island. 

WEDNESDAY is Primary Day

Your vote is important

By Will Collette

Primaries in Rhode Island during non-Presidential years are often seen as inconsequential, especially in Charlestown. It’s been 20 years since Charlestown’s last primary, 2006, when Donna Walsh defeated incumbent DINO Rep. Matt McHugh.

This year, House District 36 is once again going to be decided in the Democratic primary where progressive incumbent Rep. Tina Spears is being challenged by DINO self-proclaimed sex crimes defense lawyer Leah Boisclair.

Boisclair is a product of the insidious MAGA-inspired political action galaxy of 40 PACs under the umbrella of the League of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB). LORIB is also backing the primary challenge of DINO Mark Mesrobian against Narragansett state Sen. Alana DiMario as well as several other LORIB challengers in several other primary races.

LORIB is also backing candidates in the general election, including challengers to Charlestown’s Sen. Victoria Gu, as well as Rep. Megan Cotter, Rep. Kathy Fogarty and Rep. Carol McEntee.

The differences between Tina Spears and her DINO challenger are so stark that there can be little doubt who will do better to serve Charlestown voters. Tina has deep roots in the community and a proven track record in the General Assembly. Boisclair does not. She has chosen to make her living by advertising to and representing accused pedos and baby rapers. I’m not making this up: check her own website.

Boisclair is also going to serve LORIB’s agenda of cutting taxes for the rich, rolling back sensible gun control measures and curbing environmental protection.

Please, for Charlestown’s sake, support the re-election of our outstanding state Representative Tina Spears.

Besides when will Boisclair have time to represent House District 36 when she's busy representing guys accused of these crimes:

I’ve already voted by mail (eat it, Donald Trump) in this and the rest of the Democratic ballot.

I voted for Helena Foulkes over our hapless incumbent Governor. This one was easy. Even though I have no illusions about Foulkes being a classic corporate Democrat of the Gina Raimondo-type, she’s bound to be better than McKee. McKee has shown himself to have no fixed principles, no talent for picking and managing qualified people and a tin ear for ethics and corruption.

I voted for Keith Hoffman for Attorney General. He is in a close race with former co-worker Kim Ahern, when both worked for term-limited incumbent Peter Neronha. Neronha picked Hoffman as his choice and I like and trust Neronha’s judgement. But I will shed no tears if Kim Ahern wins.

I would however, be pretty upset if LORIB-adjacent attorney general candidate Joe Solomon wins. If you look around Charlestown, nearly every Leah Boisclair sign has a Joe Solomon sign next to it. Solomon has adopted LORIB’s strategy of encouraging Republicans to change their party registration so they can vote for him in this Primary. No real Democrat does that.

The other hotly contested race is for Lieutenant Governor, currently held by ineffectual incumbent Sabrina Matos. She faces several challengers in the Democratic primary and may make it through with the vote split about the crowded field. I voted for “Jay” - Xay Khamsyvoravong – former mayor of Newport based on his effective leadership there.

There is either no challenger or only token opposition to the re-election of General Treasurer James Diossa, Secretary of State Greg Amore, Senator Jack Reed and Rep. Seth Magaziner.

Facing public criticism, Rep. Julie Casimiro resigns

Necessary but overdue

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Rep. Julie Casimiro is ending her final term in office early, confirming in a Monday afternoon email to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office that she is resigning at the close of the day.

The three-paragraph email, obtained by Rhode Island Current, comes amid mounting pressure for Casimiro to give up her seat — and legislative salary — because she no longer lives in Rhode Island. Casimiro, formerly of North Kingstown, moved to Hardeeville, South Carolina, as of July 1, as first reported by the Boston Globe. The 64-year-old Democratic lawmaker had already announced she would not seek reelection to the District 31 seat representing North Kingstown and Exeter after 10 years in office.

But she intended to serve out her fifth and final term to its completion, refusing to cave to calls to resign, including from House Speaker Christopher Blazejewski. Although state lawmakers only meet for the first six months of the year, their taxpayer-funded salary is spread across the entire calendar year. Casimiro was earning $800 every two weeks, plus health insurance, under the $20,922 annual salary for rank-and-file lawmakers.

“I would have preferred to quietly exit Rhode Island politics, but it seems as though that didn’t happen,” Casimiro wrote in the email.

Critics, including Neronha, cited the state constitutional qualifications for elected officeholders, which include state residency, as reason why Casimiro could no longer keep her seat. A separate section of state law also defines residency as a “fixed and established domicile,” determined by a “factual physical presence in the voting district on a regular basis incorporating an intention to reside for an indefinite period.” 

Neronha cited both sections of state law in an email to Casimiro Friday. He did not call on her to resign, but asked for a written explanation of how she met the state legal requirements to remain in office while living in South Carolina. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Charlestown had a similar situation in 2022 when Charlestown Citizens Alliance Town Council member Cody Clarkin moved to Westerly but maintained the fiction that he still lived in Charlestown. Scout's Honor! CCA leader and Charlestown Planning Commissar needed Clarkin to continue on the Council to conserve the CCA's 3-2 majority. The CCA ended up losing that majority anyway due to their mishandling of Charlestown taxpayers' money when the Charlestown Residents United (CRU) walloped them at the polls.  - Will Collette

Buckle up! The energy bill roller coaster is about to begin.

New rates kick in today

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

The seasonal swings in energy bills will be a lot bumpier this year under a series of extra charges and discounts authorized by state utility regulators.

The upshot: Rhode Island Energy customers will have to start paying more in fees beginning Sept. 1 under a $138 million revenue plan authorized by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.  

Distribution rate increases were finalized under a series of unanimous votes by utility regulators on Aug. 21, though final bill impacts were not publicly available until Monday. 

The calculations mark the culmination of a nine-month review spanning thousands of pages of analysis and meetings among company consultants, state regulators and ratepayer advocates.

“It was quite an undertaking,” Commission Chairman Ron Gerwatowski said at a public meeting Monday. “It was a lot of schedules.”

Acknowledging the public interest in the long, complicated and confusing regulatory review process — namely, what it will mean for customers’ bills — Gerwatowski read aloud from a staff-prepared analysis on the expected bill impacts during the 15-minute meeting. 

Rhode Island Energy initially proposed a $230 million, two-year set of fee hikes, insisting that extra charges on the distribution side of the bill — separate from usage rates — were necessary to recoup the rising cost of  supplies, labor and new investments. The company also wanted to increase the maximum rate of return, or profit margin, from the existing 9.3% cap to 10.8%.

If approved as requested in November 2025, the company’s revenue generation plan would have raised average residential monthly electric bills by $7.78 and average annual gas bills by $343.53 in the first year. 

Ratepayer advocates, including the administrative arm of the state utility agency, the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, argued against the new margin cap, which would have been higher than the 9.7% national average, and exceed caps for other utilities in New England. They also warned about the burden for Rhode Island ratepayers, who are struggling to keep up with existing bills amid the broader affordability crunch.

Rhode Island joins lawsuit to stop Trump's Postal Service from messing with mail-in voting

Attorney General coalition sues USPS over unlawful attempt to interfere with states’ vote-by-mail procedures

From a Rhode Island Attorney General press release

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha joined a coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service (USPS) challenging its new rule that purports to grant USPS the authority to regulate mail voting in elections. 

Tens of millions of voters across the country rely on mail-in ballots, and the coalition argues USPS’s rule will prevent states from effectively administering their mail voting programs, putting voters at risk of being disenfranchised.

“For a President who incessantly talks about combating election interference, he sure does love to interfere in our elections,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Time and time again, President Trump has lied to the American people about the legitimacy of our election system. Here, he is taking aim at voting by mail to sow seeds of distrust and inject chaos into our elections, with the ultimate goal of retaining and expanding his power. This is yet another example of this Administration’s unlawful overreach and is in direct violation of the Constitution, which makes clear that states have the primary authority to administer elections. Voting by mail is a tried-and-true method of exercising our most fundamental right as American citizens. Indeed, it’s the preferred voting method of the President himself. I am confident that we will succeed here, as we have many times before, thereby protecting the right of American citizens, Donald Trump included, to vote without interference.”

Neronha urges state regulators to reject proposed health insurance premium hikes

The cost of health insurance is too damn high

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is urging state regulators to reject two insurers’ proposed increases to premiums for individual health plans in 2027.

After a July administrative hearing by the state’s Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC), Neronha’s office formally submitted a brief objecting to Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island’s (NHP) request for a rate increase of 22.4%.

Premium increase requests are submitted annually by insurers, and this year they were submitted to the commissioner’s office on May 18. The agency then reviews the submissions and can accept, modify or reject them, with the final approved rates expected to arrive in September. Rate hike requests trigger a formal, public, administrative hearing if they exceed 10%.

So the health insurance commissioner’s office held a hearing for Neighborhood Health Plan but not for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, which requested a 9.8% increase. The AG instead submitted public comments encouraging the office to reject Blue Cross Blue Shield’s proposed rates.

Collectively, the two insurers cover more than 50,000 Rhode Islanders who purchase their individual plans through the state’s health insurance marketplace.

Who are the winners in this culture war?

The defense of transgender student rights shifts, once again, to the Westerly School Committee

Steve Ahlquist

Dozens of people attended the August 19 meeting of the Westerly School Committee to advocate against agenda item 12d, “Request of Counsel to seek written opinion from Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office regarding SCOTUS Decision as to transgender athletes.” The decision is West Virginia v. B.P.J., in which the United States Supreme Court upheld state laws, such as West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act,” that banned or restricted transgender women athletes from participating in women’s school sports teams on a 6-3 vote.

You can watch the relevant parts of the School Committee meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltJLTv1o0g8

“You folks who came to the mic tonight wondering who put this item on the agenda,” said Westerly School Committee member Peter Nero. “It was me. The reason I put it on the agenda is that I want final clarity on where Rhode Island law stands, and I want the Attorney General to put that in writing, because I don’t want to have any more of these long nights… Bottom line: I wanted clarity on this so we don’t have more meetings like this, and we put an end to this now. That’s why it’s on the agenda.”

The long nights Committee member Nero is referring to are likely the meetings where the school committee takes up potential changes to their Transgender, Gender Nonconforming & Transitioning Students Protocol and a large number of people fill the room to advocate for transgender student rights.

Committee member Timothy Killam seemed exasperated. He wanted to talk about what he considered the positive things happening in Westerly, like the opening of a new school in a couple of weeks. “Why are we going around in circles about this instead of talking about some forward progress? In my opinion, we have a protocol in place. We don’t have a problem right now. Why are we taking the time about this?”

Committee member Killam sought to assure the people in the room that they had misunderstood the agenda and that nothing would be decided during the meeting. “I want you all to understand: if you read the agenda, we’re not voting on anything today,” said Committee member Killam. “That was never on the agenda. And if you interpreted it that way, you are incorrect. No vote is being taken tonight. Period. There is not. It was simply a statement to ask for something in writing.”

Seventeen minutes later, the School Committee voted 4 to 3 against seeking an opinion from the Attorney General. Later in the meeting, Committee member Angela Goethels apologized for her yes vote, saying that upon further reflection she was against it.

Ahead of the vote, when asked about seeking a written opinion from the R.I. Attorney General’s Office about the status of the State Law regarding transgender students, Attorney William Nardone said, “I’m not sure what you want me to ask the Attorney General. If you want me to ask him for ‘his opinion on a decision,’ frankly, I would be embarrassed to send that letter to the Attorney General…”

The “clarity” desired by Committee member Nero doesn’t exist, opined Attorney Jennifer Wood, who has decades of legal expertise in the education space.

“I wasn’t going to comment tonight because I saw that you didn’t have an agenda item that you were voting on this evening - although it ended up being voted on - and I didn’t want to attenuate further what has been a painful and difficult conversation for your committee over several evenings,” said Attorney Wood. “And I definitely never wanted to discourage anyone from seeking an opinion from the Attorney General. I would never be so arrogant as to suggest that that should not be done.

“I appreciate the desire for clarity and finality on this issue that this committee and that a lot of others in the community are yearning for. I am here to share the bad news that it is not yet available. [In the] West Virginia v. BPJ case, the Supreme Court ruled narrowly on one aspect of the issue that relates to transgender athletes’ participation in sports. But on page three of the decision, in footnote number one, it’s quite straightforward: Brett Kavanaugh, writing the majority opinion says, [paraphrasing] ‘We’re not deciding most of this issue in this decision. All we’re saying is that the 27 states who have state law that permits the exclusion of transgender women in women’s sports, they can do that. And the 23 states that do not have state law, and among them, Rhode Island, states that permit the participation of students in sports teams that are aligned to their gender identity can also do that. We’re not opining on that today. We weren’t asked to; it’s not in the case, and we’re not doing that.’ Then they, in the footnote, the court further excludes: We’re not talking about trans men participating in men’s sports.

“So the clarity and finality that I think everyone wants isn’t there.”

Public Testimony

Public testimony lasted over an hour. Every person who spoke was there in defense of transgender students. Here are some excerpts, edited for clarity:

Three weeks out, McKee is still 20 points behind Foulkes in governor’s race

Dan's in trouble

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

McKee needs almost all the undecideds to go his way

Three weeks and a day out from the primary, Gov. Dan McKee has failed to narrow a 20-point gap with his Democratic gubernatorial challenger, Helena Buonanno Foulkes, a survey published Tuesday by The Pell Center at Salve Regina University finds. 

The poll of 857 likely primary voters echoes surveys by other organizations, which also showed Foulkes with a 20-point or higher lead over McKee. 

“There’s no strong surprises there,” said Katie Sonder, Pell Center associate director and fellow. “Helena Foulkes has been leading McKee over the last few months.”

The new survey is the Pell Center’s first 2026 election-specific poll, conducted Aug. 3 to 11 by Embold Research. The margin of error is 3.6%, with a 4.2% error margin for Democratic primary-specific questions.

Survey results were shared with Rhode Island Current in advance. 

More than 1 in 5 voters were still undecided at the time of the survey, which ended one day before the first televised gubernatorial debates. 

“With those undecideds, we could see it swing in either candidate’s direction,” Sonder said.

And the governor is “running strong,” said Sophie Mestas, a spokesperson for McKee’s campaign.

RI judge tosses Trump’s latest attempt to reconfigure federal homelessness programs

Rhode Island beats Trump in court again over program to house the homeless

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

A Rhode Island federal judge has again blocked the Trump administration from siphoning federal funds from no-strings-attached housing for formerly homeless individuals.

In a pair of identical, 10-page orders issued Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy wrote that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act by attempting to divert $4 billion in federal fiscal 2026 grants from “Housing First” programs. 

As the name suggests, the model prioritizes providing a stable living environment for people who have lived on the streets or experienced mental illness before addressing their health, education and social services needs.

Twice in the last seven months, federal housing officials have sought to reallocate federal grant funds, shifting money away from permanent supportive housing programs to transitional housing and other short-term programs. The original, November 2025 federal memo prompted a pair of lawsuits by community advocates and state officials, also heard separately before McElroy who determined the Trump administration overstepped its authority and struck down the proposed funding restrictions.

RI attorney general candidates find common ground before policy clashes emerge late in debate

Who will replace term-limited Peter Neronha?

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

Rhode Island’s four Democratic candidates seeking to succeed term-limited Attorney General Peter Neronha found common ground on most issues during a two-hour debate Thursday evening, though the cordial tone turned more contentious toward the end.

Kim Ahern, Keith Hoffmann, Rep. Jason Knight, and Rep. Joe Solomon sat before over 100 people inside the community room at Southside Cultural Center in Providence for a “justice and policy debate” hosted by OpenDoors. The discussion was moderated by Nick Horton, co-executive director of the nonprofit that helps formerly incarcerated people, those struggling with addiction and other unhoused people. 

Questions from Horton and other community advocates focused on police accountability, bail reform and automating the expungement of criminal records — issues candidates each supported to varying degrees.

On police accountability, Knight and Hoffmann both backed creating a process to revoke the certification of officers found to have committed serious misconduct. Solomon said the attorney general should enforce the law “against any individual who commits any offense,” while Ahern pledged to reopen field offices in overpoliced communities so residents could more easily share their experiences with prosecutors.

“Those closest to the problem are closest to the solution,” Ahern, a former state prosecutor and previous chairperson of the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission, said.

All four candidates rejected blanket policies to hold probation violators without bail and instead endorsed individualized assessments. 

Differences began to show when a community advocate asked whether the four supported closing the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls amid its close partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A closer look at Foulkes’ record on opioids

What she did and didn't do - are the attacks fair?

By Philip Eil, Rhode Island Current

In 2022, when Dan McKee and Helena Buonanno Foulkes first squared off for the democratic gubernatorial nomination, opioids didn’t get a lot of airtime. 

Aside from a few high-profile moments — a jab in a debate by candidate Luis Daniel Munoz, a controversial TV ad where the McKee campaign claimed Foulkes had made money “pumping opioids into our homes” — you could have easily missed discussion of the issue. McKee ultimately won that primary over Foulkes by three percentage points.

This time has been different.

On the day the former CVS executive announced her run again for governor last fall, McKee debuted a website and attack ads tying her to the opioid crisis. And he hasn’t let up, continuing to link her to the crisis via campaign statements, interviews, TV ads, and social media posts. His ongoing criticism of CVS recently prompted a rebuke from some state business leaders. 

Foulkes — who polls show leading McKee by a significant margin — defended her opioids record in her first TV ad of the campaign. To date, CVS — the Woonsocket-based juggernaut with a market capitalization exceeding $125 billion — has been sued by thousands of cities, counties, states, and tribal governments for its role in the crisis. In 2022, the company paid $5 billion to settle those lawsuits, though it stated that the deal was “not an admission of any liability or wrongdoing.” 

CVS has also paid more than $70 million in fines after Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations into opioid-related conduct — involving improper dispensing, filling prescriptions for unauthorized prescribers, record-keeping violations, and more — across 11 states, including Rhode Island and its neighbors, Connecticut and Massachusetts. 

Foulkes was president of CVS’s Pharmacy division from January 2014 to February 2018. During that time she was, as a company-produced bio noted, responsible for all aspects of the company’s retail business, including pharmacy operations. 

In her answers to reporters’ questions and in stump speeches, Foulkes has returned to a few points: the company’s record of cutting off pill mill doctors, its role in passing legislation that lowered the number of pills allowed in initial opioid prescriptions, the sweeping drug-takeback initiatives on her watch, and a steep overall drop in opioids dispensed during her tenure. 

Here’s a closer look at her claims:

Attorney General Neronha: Don't trust Rhode Island Energy

We are wholly the captive of one fossil fuel company

Steve Ahlquist

“Donald Trump is, without question, the greatest threat to clean energy,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha during a press conference in Providence. “I agree with my federal colleagues that an affinity and affiliation with fossil fuel companies drives this. There’s no question about that. There’s only one way to deal with Donald Trump when he breaks the law and harms Rhode Islanders and Americans, and that’s to take him to court. 

"It’s the only forum where we can get immediate results, as we consistently have, including on clean energy, and we’re going to continue to do that. The Attorney General’s office in Rhode Island has never been more important. 

"Donald Trump is a threat to us in so many ways, from our elections to clean energy, that fighting on all these fronts is critically important. But the fight isn’t just with Donald Trump. We can’t forget how important it is to make and keep good energy policy here at home. We can’t blame Donald Trump for everything that goes sideways with our energy policy.”

Here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjflShvYusk

Attorney General Neronha has twice successfully sued the Trump Administration over illegal work stoppages issued against Revolution Wind. On Thursday, his office announced, with five other state Attorneys General, its intention to sue the Administration over its unprecedented use of the Treasury Department’s Judgment Fund to make $2.7 billion in payouts to companies to vacate their offshore wind leases, in exchange for fossil fuel development. 

On Thursday, AG Neronha joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in moving to intervene in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for unlawfully freezing routine reviews of land-based wind energy projects across the country.

We're back in court against Trump, this time over housing for the homeless

Attorney General Neronha sues Trump Administration for upending long-term housing support for homeless Americans

The long-term solution for homelessness is housing

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is co-leading a coalition of 21 attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for unlawfully attempting to cap funding for permanent housing projects. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, argues that the move would result in tens of thousands of people losing their homes.

[From a Rhode Island Attorney General press release]

“The Trump Administration consistently and constantly targets our most vulnerable Americans, and this case is no different,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Those experiencing homelessness are in dire need of support, and these unlawful conditions on funding for permanent housing will cause tens of thousands of people to lose their homes. While this Administration will almost certainly continue trying to make life harder for Rhode Islanders and Americans everywhere, we will continue to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.”

Just last month, a coalition of states won a separate case against HUD in federal court in Rhode Island regarding the agency’s decision last year to impose illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which supports housing and other services for people experiencing housing instability or homelessness. Congress has prioritized stability in how funds are allocated, and the vast majority of CoC funds have traditionally supported permanent housing and similarly successful projects.

25 Democratic-led states sue Trump administration over Medicaid work requirements

We're suing Trump again

By Anna Claire Vollers, Rhode Island Current

Twenty-five Democratic-led states plus the District of Columbia have sued the Trump administration over its new work requirements for people who get their health insurance through Medicaid.

At issue is a “medically frail” designation that the states say is too narrow and will make it too difficult for ill and disabled people to remain on Medicaid.

They’re challenging the administration’s guidance on who can be exempt from the work requirements included in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the broad tax and spending measure President Donald Trump signed a year ago.

Medicaid is the publicly-funded health insurance for people with low incomes. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility to more adults under the Affordable Care Act — 40 states plus the District of Columbia — must require those adults to prove they’re working, going to school or serving their communities for at least 80 hours a month to receive Medicaid. Georgia, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, which have used federal waivers to expand their Medicaid programs, are also subject to the new work rules.

The new lawsuit specifically targets new federal guidance that narrows the definition of who can qualify as “medically frail,” a key exemption used to excuse Medicaid recipients from work requirements if they have serious disabilities or illnesses. The guidance came in the form of an interim final rule published this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Rhode Island beats Trump in court in suit over offshore wind farms

Stop the war on Green Energy

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and a coalition of 18 attorneys general announced the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s dismissal of the Trump Administration’s appeal of the states’ victory in their lawsuit challenging the federal government’s unlawful order to freeze all federal permitting for wind energy projects.  

“Wind energy creates jobs and helps stabilize energy prices, neither of which this Administration seems to know how to do,” said Attorney General Neronha. 

“Today’s win once again demonstrates that this federal government is not immune from consequences, and our coalition is proving that with each legal victory we achieve. Rhode Islanders and Americans everywhere continue to pay the price, quite literally, for a collective hesitancy in embracing clean energy infrastructure. Wind energy is crucial to bringing energy costs down and keeping them down, and we will continue fighting to ensure a clean energy future for generations to come.”

On January 20, 2025, Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum which indefinitely froze all federal approvals needed for the development of wind energy projects pending federal review. Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies stopped all permitting and approval activities. In May 2025, the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the freeze and in December, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts them to be arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law. The federal government appealed that ruling but subsequently decided to drop their appeal. Today, the Court entered a judgement dismissing the appeal and cementing the states’ victory.

McKee unveils 6 picks for revamped CRMC.

Critics are underwhelmed.

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Three lawyers, two former state lawmakers and an entrepreneur whose business ventures include a word game app and organic salad dressings are Gov. Dan McKee’s picks for the reshaped Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.

The six nominees, all men, are slated for initial confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture Wednesday — nearly three months after the March 1 deadline for new appointees to join the volunteer council. 

McKee’s office did not respond to requests for comment Monday on the delay or on his choices of candidates. Copies of their resumes or applications were also not immediately available, nor was the total number of applications received.

McKee’s recommendation letters, submitted to the Rhode Island Senate on May 14, do not offer any details about the candidates besides their names, and, when applicable, their professional qualifications.

Requiring the volunteer panel members to have relevant work experience was a central part of the reform effort approved by state lawmakers on the final day of the 2025 legislative session. The law reduced the size of the council from 10 to seven people to fix the problem of recurring vacancies that force meetings to be canceled due to lack of quorum. 

Neronha sues country club that refuses to obey CRMC order

RI AG sues Quidnessett over rock wall built without permission

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

A man fishes along the shoreline immediately north of the rock wall built without permission by the Quidnessett Country Club in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The attorney general’s office sued the country club over the wall on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Save the Bay)

The state’s top prosecutor is stepping in to try to force Quidnessett Country Club to remove a rock wall built without permission along its shoreline more than three years ago.

The complaint filed Tuesday by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office comes after years of unsuccessful efforts by state coastal regulators to negotiate with the country club owners and later, pursue legal action against them for the rock wall built in defiance of state coastal regulations.

The 600-foot stone wall was built along the shoreline of the North Kingstown country club in early 2023 — though not flagged by regulators until that summer — to protect the 14th hole of its signature golf course from coastal erosion. But state coastal regulations restrict development along sensitive and species-rich waters like the section of waterfront in question, a violation the Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) has sought to have corrected.

Yet the wall remains, each day worsening the delicate ecosystem that surrounds it and inhibiting the state’s constitutionally enshrined public access to the shore, the AG’s complaint states. The 28-page complaint filed in Providence County Superior Court asks a state judge to issue a preliminary injunction forcing the club owners to remove the seawall and restore the shoreline, including vegetation, to its natural state awaiting a jury trial.

Rhode Island House approves Rep. McEntee’s clergy sex abuse bills

Expanding accountability for clerical sex predators

The House approved Chairwoman Carol Hagan McEntee’s five-bill legislative package that delivers accountability for victims of childhood sexual abuse.  Three of the bills were recently recommended within the Attorney General’s report on clergy sex abuse.

“This report is a long time coming and it should be clear to anyone reading it that the systematic coverup of this pervasive and appalling behavior is just as bad as the actual assaults of countless helpless children.  Like the Epstein files, this report shows the lengths to which vile predators were shielded and protected from accountability by powerful institutions, and it should make us all angry and disgusted.  Revealing the truth about this immoral corruption is the first step to delivering real justice for so many victims, and I will continue to support our victims’ rights and quest for justice through this legislation that will hold both the abusers and the institutions that protected these predators accountable in the courts,” said House Judiciary Chairwoman McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett).

Attorney General Neronha, coalition sue Trump Administration for rolling back limits on toxic air pollutants

Fighting to stop Trump's attack on public health

SteveAhlquist.news

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha joined a coalition of 21 states and local governments in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s repeal of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule and return to outdated standards that harm the environment and public health.

The MATS Rule implements nationwide standards that limit emissions of toxic air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants, including mercury, arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals, as well as acid gases such as hydrogen chloride and formaldehyde. 

In 2024, following significant developments in technologies for controlling pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated the standards for emissions of these hazardous air pollutants from power plants. Last month, the Trump administration rolled back the updated standard, allowing for more of these dangerous emissions to be released into the air.

“Public health and safety should be the top priority of any government,” said Attorney General Neronha.

Rhode Island is suing Trump again, this time over fair housing

Attorney General coalition challenges the Trump Administration’s attack on fair housing laws

Steve Ahlquist

In 1973, Trump and his father Fred were busted by HUD for racial
discrimination in housing under the FHA. Gutting the FHA is
another example of Trump's vengeance over past grievances

From a press release:

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general filing a lawsuit challenging unlawful actions by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including threats to withhold funding from state and local fair housing enforcement agencies for abiding by state laws and threats to impose illegal conditions on HUD funding. 

These actions threaten to weaken America’s fair housing enforcement system and undermine states’ ability to ensure equal access to housing.