By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Monday morning!
A water main break Sunday morning underneath West Main Road in Middletown at The Home Depot shopping plaza prompted a boil water advisory from the Rhode Island Department of Health for approximately 2,000 customers of the city of Newport’s Water Division public water system.
Repair work will likely impact this morning’s commute.
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High tide in Westerly is at 2:48 p.m. Low tide is at 9:08 a.m. and 9:59 p.m. Sunset is at 8:16 p.m.
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Oral arguments in former House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s petition for a ruling that his application to fill a vacancy on the Rhode Island Supreme Court does not violate the state’s Code of Ethics begin at 1 p.m. in Kent County Superior Court.
The Board of Elections meets at 4 p.m.
Evidence marked by year awaits testing at the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory in this spring 2023 photo. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
More than $1.1 million is headed to Rhode Island to help the state’s public safety agency modernize its criminal history record systems — the largest award the state has received through a federal crime statistics grant program in at least eight years.
Director of Elections Kathy Placencia, shows off numbered balls 1, assigned to the Democratic party, and 2 assigned to the Republican party, before putting them into the lottery machine. Number 2 won so Republican candidates will be listed before Democrats on the Nov. 3 ballot. (Rhode Island Department of State Livestream Screenshot)
By Nolan Page
Gov. Dan McKee won the top spot on the Sept. 9 Democratic primary ballot in a lottery conducted at the Rhode Island Department of State’s Elections Division in Providence Friday, a welcome stroke of luck for a reelection campaign that has weathered some setbacks.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Eagle sails through Block Island Sound on July 30, 2020. (Image courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard Academy Flickr account)
By Nolan Page
Rhode Island may not have received a visit from the U.S. Coast Guard's tall ship Eagle for the nation's 250th birthday. But the 295-foot barque will dock in Newport from Friday, July 31, to Monday, Aug. 3. It will offer free, unticketed tours.
An aerial view of the rebuilt Washington Bridge connecting East Providence and Providence over the Seekonk River by computer generated graphics from modeling software. (RIDOT website)
COMMENTARY
By David Lieberman
Rhode Island can reduce construction delays, improve oversight and ease traffic headaches by embracing digital infrastructure tools, under proposed federal legislation to expand funding for modern project management technology.
Graham Platner, then the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maine, unveils an anti-corruption policy plan outside the Portland office of incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Collins on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
By David Lightman | D.C. Bureau
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision makes it easier for political parties to put their stamp on the most important campaigns, just as the struggle heats up for control of Congress in the midterm elections
ICYMI
A Democratic party divide sharpens into focus in Providence mayoral debate | Alexander Castro
Citizens Bank is parting ways with two ICE contractors | Christopher Shea
Immigrants, DHS agents and traffic stops: Violent outcomes repeat across the US | Ariana Figueroa, D.C. Bureau
DHS boss Mullin warns of possible prosecution for election officials over voter roll access | Sam Gauntt, D.C. Bureau
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