By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Friday morning!
A new report released Thursday by the United Way of Rhode Island calls attention to the plight of workers who are making ends meet, but just barely. They are struggling to pay bills and have little left at the end of the month to save for the future.
They are “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed” — or ALICE.
And they are not hiding. They are everywhere, including just maybe up the street from your house directing traffic around a road construction site.
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High tide in Portsmouth is at 2:02 p.m. Low tide is at 6:12 a.m. and 7:41 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:28 a.m. Sunset is at 6:49 p.m.
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The Cannabis Control Commission meets at 1 p.m.
PVDFest officially opens at 5 p.m. with performances and activities across downtown Providence. International salsa orchestra La Excelencia performs from 9 to 10 p.m. on the Plaza Stage at Exchange Street.
Ashlynn Jorge, 26, a union laborer with CCS of Johnston and mother of two, handles traffic control while her coworkers rebuild a sidewalk on Kay Street in Newport on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. She has little or no money left over at the end of the month after paying her bills. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
By Janine L. Weisman
The gap between earnings and the cost of basic living is the focus of a new report released by the United Way of Rhode Island Thursday morning. Nearly one in three Rhode Island households are led by workers who earn enough to stay out of poverty but struggle to afford adequate food, housing and health care, unable to save money for the future. They occupy an economic space known as “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.”
The Airport Fire Department on Cedar Swamp Road in Warwick. Local 2873 of RI Council 94 President Steven Parent was ordered reinstated after an arbitrator found he was fired without just cause by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation October in 2024. (Photo by Christopher Shea)
By Christopher Shea
An arbitrator found Rhode Island Airport Corporation officials failed to prove its misconduct allegations against firefighter Steven Parent and had effectively terminated him in 2024 before giving him a chance to respond at a hearing. Parent, president of Local 2873 of RI Council 94 for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, estimates back pay and lost benefits owed him could be as much as $350,000.
An illustration of the waterfront development plans at the Davol Street Corridor in Fall River, Massachusetts. (Photo courtesy of Stantec)
By Hallie Claflin | CommonWealth Beacon
In Fall River, Massachusetts, plans for up to 1,500 new waterfront homes have renewed questions about what kind of housing the city needs. The city has indicated all the units in the massive mixed-use development with parks and commercial space should be market rate. But the city’s median household income is $57,000 compared to $104,000 statewide.
Voters at Deering High School in Portland cast their ballot in Maine’s June 9, 2026 primary election. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)
By Jacob Fischler | D.C. Bureau
Common Cause, the nonpartisan pro-democracy organization, announced a “voter protection” campaign Thursday that would place thousands of volunteers at polling sites in 25 states. The initiative comes as voting rights groups and Democratic officials look to defend against what they see as possible election interference from the Trump administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, now that they’ve won a major battle over mail ballots.
ICYMI
Former RI Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner takes interim VP role at CCRI | Alexander Castro
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