By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Friday morning!
It’s not every day a supportive Trump administration official comes to Rhode Island. But U.S. Federal Highway Administrator Sean McMaster was a rather pleasant fellow during the hour he spent at an East Greenwich construction site on a hot and humid August Thursday.
McMaster told reporters during his tour of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s “Missing Move” project site that the president is “happy to support” the $144 million initiative to directly connect Route 4 and Interstate 95 in all directions, adding that the “amount of investment is justified.”
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High tide in Providence is at 3:32 p.m. Low tide is at 8:04 a.m. and 9:13 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:00 a.m. Sunset is at 7:37 p.m.
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We’re on Day 2 of early voting for the Sept. 9 primary. And starting today, mail ballot certification for the Sept. 9 Primary Election begins at 2 p.m. at the Board of Elections in Cranston.
Providence Place sits empty on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, after the end of the 50-minute ceremony to announce new owners had closed on the mall. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Exactly 27 years after Providence Place opened, its new owners closed on a $133 million purchase of the mall, promising security, parking upgrades, new tenants and a revival of the downtown shopping center. The purchase by Paolino Properties and New York management firm Pyramid Management Group marks a poetic full-circle moment for both sets of new owners whose local ties and retail experience won over the court-appointed receivers. The mall had been under court-appointed receivership since November 2024.
U.S. Federal Highway Administrator Sean McMaster, center, and Rhode Island Department of Transportation Interim Director Robert Rocchio, right, tour construction on the $144 million ‘Missing Move’ project in East Greenwich on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
After more than 60 years, the "Missing Move" project promises to directly connect Interstate 95 and Route 4 in all directions. The national's top highway official was in Rhode Island Thursday to join Gov. Dan McKee and members of the state’s congressional delegation for a firsthand look at one portion of the two-part project.
By Christopher Shea
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority has finally settled on a site for its new Providence transit center: 4.4 acres lot just west of the city’s Amtrak station. The agency’s board of voted Thursday to move ahead with bid specifications and cost estimates for a proposed bus hub, which carries a preliminary $70 million price tag.
Connor Burbridge, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jack Reed, approaches a house in Providence’s Smith Hill neighborhood on May 2, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
COMMENTARY
By Gene Emery
Campaign signs and platitudes aren't enough. A Rhode Island voter and retired Providence Journal reporter calls on candidates to clearly explain their positions on the issues that matter to voters.
A veteran waves from a housing unit built exclusively for veterans by a Utah-based nonprofit. Despite national veteran homelessness reaching a record-low in 2025, half the states recorded increases during the January 2025 point-in-time count. (Photo Courtesy of USA Project Valor)
By Robbie Sequeira | Stateline
Veteran homelessness dipped slightly from 2024 to 2025, according to the latest results from the January 2025 point-in-time count. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development counted 32,495 veterans experiencing homelessness, 387, or 1.2%, fewer than the previous year.
ICYMI
DNA evidence leads to arrest of suspect two decades after sexual assaults | Janine L. Weisman
White House to press forward with FDA nominee despite US Senate chairman’s concerns | Jennifer Shutt, D.C. Bureau
2026 Primary Voter Guide | Rhode Island Current Staff
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