By Christopher Shea | Reporter
Hiya,
Pseudo summer was nice while it lasted. Now we return to the gray skies and rainy weekends more typical of mid-April in southern New England. Saturday’s Providence forecast calls for patchy fog in the morning, then mostly cloudy with a high of 57. Showers are in store for Sunday with a high of 58.
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The U.S. Postal Service will release its first birthday-themed stamp since 2021 on Saturday, designed for invitations, cards, letters and packages. An official launch event is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Track 15 in Providence.
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Here’s your look at the week that was:
Rhode Island U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy, a Trump appointee, tossed the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit to obtain Rhode Islanders’ sensitive voter data on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
Rhode Island is now the fifth state to reel in what a federal judge in Providence on Friday morning called a “fishing expedition” by President Donald Trump administration’s to obtain sensitive voter rolls.
Rep. Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat, sponsored a resolution setting up a 20-member legislative commission to address the shortage of state sewage treatment options. (Screenshot)
By Nancy Lavin
The Rhode Island House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution Thursday setting up a 20-member panel to study sewage treatment in Rhode Island. The measure comes as Woonsocket looks to close its regional sludge incinerator, and a separate sludge pyrolysis project in Quonset ignites community backlash.
A camera flash illuminates cables running through a residential server rack. Commercial data centers can range from a handful of server racks to facilities with major electricity and cooling appetites needed to satisfy their heavy computational needs. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
Rhode Island lawmakers are weighing competing data center bills just as Smithfield town officials are considering a local ban that would head off a potential data center tied to a business park developers are looking to build near the historic Hanton City area.
Rhode Island’s federal court will allow out-of-state attorneys to represent immigration detainees pro bono without joining its bar following a request by legal groups amid a surge in habeas corpus petitions. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
Rhode Island’s federal court will allow out-of-state attorneys to represent immigration detainees pro bono without joining its bar following a request by legal groups amid a surge in habeas corpus petitions. Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. on Monday temporarily suspended a rule requiring local counsel for cases brought by lawyers not admitted to the federal bar challenging federal immigration detentions.
A student from Alfred Lima Elementary School in Providence examines a display of books and other library offerings in the Rhode Island State Library on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
Students from Alfred Lima Elementary School in Providence students came to the State House to champion legislation that would mandate a dedicated library and certified school librarian in every public school in Rhode Island. But their passionate statements supporting the measure must confront budget concerns in the real world. “In an ideal world, we would prioritize this,” one Rhode Island Department of Education official told lawmakers.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi speaks during the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce 2026 Legislative Leadership Luncheon on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the Rhode Island Convention Center. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
The proposed millionaire's tax took center stage during the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce legislative luncheon on Wednesday, as Laurie White, chamber president, unsuccessfully pushed Democratic lawmakers to commit to pause review of the controversial tax proposal.
ICYMI
Vineyard Wind sues GE Renewables to block it from abandoning project | Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light
COMMENTARY: Right-sizing RIPTA is the wrong move | Daria Phoebe Brashear
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