By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Monday morning!
Time flies. Today is the last day of August. Not the technical last day of summer, it feels like the emotional end to me.
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High tide in Narragansett is at 10:19 a.m. and 10:42 p.m. Low tide is at 4:24 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:11 a.m. Sunset is at 7:20 p.m.
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Fall classes begin today at Rhode Island College, which is welcoming more than 2,000 first-year and transfer students, its largest new enrollment since 2020.
Gov. Dan McKee speaks at SENEDIA’s 12th annual Defense Innovation Days at 5 p.m. at the Newport Marriott.
Providence Republican mayoral candidate Dave Talan speaks with a woman outside Bell Street Chapel on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, before a mayoral forum. Talan, a board member of the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel, joined the group’s rally against Question 7, a divestment proposal on the November ballot. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
Question 7, a November ballot measure that would limit the city of Providence’s investments in countries committing severe human rights violations, names no countries. But supporters and opponents say it targets Israel. The question that came about through a petition drive by the Providence for Palestine coalition that collected over 6,000 signatures from eligible voters is “expertly written,” a Pennsylvania State University business and international law professor who studies public pension divestment mandates said.
Crime scene tape surrounds Brown University’s Engineering Research Center on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, a day after a gunman killed two students and wounded nine others in a classroom inside. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
An external review of what happened on the Brown University campus after a gunman killed two students and wounded nine others in an engineering building last December found it was “highly unlikely” the mass shooting could have been prevented. The report by the global consultancy Teneo Risk, which was commissioned by Brown, found a “need for more robust emergency management staffing and capability.”
About 700 Democrats rallied for Iowa party candidates Saturday at the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry Aug. 29, 2026 in Des Moines. (Photo by Joanna Schroeder for Iowa Capital Dispatch)
By Joanna Schroeder | Iowa Capital Star
Rhode Island’s U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse was one of two Democratic headliners who endorsed Josh Turek in the race for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat on Saturday at the 2026 Polk County Steak Fry in Des Moines. Whitehouse, who was joined by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin from Maryland, used the opportunity to call for term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices and lawmakers.
A sign points the way for early voters outside Providence City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
More than three times as many Rhode Island voters cast ballots at in-person polling places in the first eight days of early voting, compared to the same time frame in the 2024 primary. Observers say the surge in early voting could signal higher turnout in the election overall, or might just be a change in how and when ballots are cast.
By Rhode Island Current staff
Wednesday, Sept. 9, is the day voters will decide who should win the competitive Democratic primaries for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general and the Republican races for governor and the 2nd Congressional District. We had questions for the candidates. Here’s what they said.
The nearly 300 Flock Safety cameras installed across Rhode Island remain mostly unregulated. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
COMMENTARY
By Joseph Broadmeadow
Flock license plate readers are valuable investigative tools, a former Rhode Island police officer argues, but the absence of state laws to governing privacy, data retention and access is a big problem.
ICYMI
GOP path to retaining US House majority narrowing as midterms near | Shauneen Miranda, D.C. Bureau
Judge reinstates pause on Trump order limiting mail ballots | Jacob Fischler, D.C. Bureau
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