By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Friday morning!
Happy Juneteenth! The federal holiday celebrating the end of slavery is also a state holiday in Rhode Island and more than half of U.S. states. New Hampshire is the only New England state where state workers do not receive a paid day off on Juneteenth.
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High tide in Narragansett is at 11:59 a.m. Low tide was at 5:57 a.m. and happens again at 5:47 p.m. Sunset is at 8:22 p.m.
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The Newport Historical Society holds a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting for the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, 17 Broadway, Newport. U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo and Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore are among those scheduled to participate.
Don't miss Rhode Island Current Senior Reporter Nancy Lavin on Ocean State Media's "Lively," airing at 7 p.m. and again Sunday at noon. It’s also available online. Lavin and Providence Journal reporter Patrick Anderson recap the fireworks-free end of the 2026 legislative session and Gov. Dan McKee's latest campaign setback with host Jim Hummel.
Gov. Dan McKee reviews a document outside the Providence County Courthouse before speaking to reporters on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
Gov. Dan McKee signed into law Thursday a three-year moratorium on new charter schools in the Ocean State, embracing a pause on the local growth of an educational model with which he has long been associated. Just last week, at an unrelated news conference on the Washington Bridge, McKee suggested he was on the fence, questioning the need to lower the statewide cap on charter schools from 35 to 28.
The Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History opens Friday, June 19, 2026, at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House at 17 Broadway, Newport. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
By Janine L. Weisman
After completing a nearly $5 million capital campaign, the Newport Historical Society celebrates the opening of its Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House throughout Juneteenth weekend. A major part of the exhibitions inside is a spirit bundle hidden away for centuries inside the house built on Broadway in 1697.
The corpse flower blooms inside the University of Rhode Island’s Horridge Conservatory on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Known formally as Amorphophallus titanum (or Titan Arum) the corpse flower is not endangered, just very rare. (Photo by Catherine Scott)
COMMENTARY
By Anna Gray
A corpse flower smells like decay and lives for a few hours when it blooms. Yet when one bloomed at the University of Rhode Island this week, it got thousands of people talking about it with the same affection they would have for a beloved sports team, a hometown hero, or a family pet.
ICYMI
Vineyard Offshore owes $1 million in rent, landlord says in suit | Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light
60-day clock starts for negotiations with Iran over strait, nuclear future | Ashley Murray, D.C. Bureau
Nationwide survey shows ongoing struggles for pregnant patients on Medicaid | Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Stateline
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