By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief

Good Monday morning!

Bloom day for the corpse flower at the University of Rhode Island’s Horridge Conservatory is coming soon.

A post on the @uri.plantsciences Instagram account estimates the rare Titan arum will unfurl and release its fresh rotting flesh scent (to attract pollinators) between today and Wednesday. When it does, the bloom will last for only a day or two. Check out its progress on this YouTube livestream.

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High tide in Portsmouth is at 8:39 a.m. and 9:04 p.m. Low tide is at 1:45 p.m. Sunset is at 8:21 p.m.

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Gov. Dan McKee attends a 9:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony on a new community learning center at Cross Mills Public Library in Charlestown, the latest of 21 community learning center sites to complete construction.

Members of the Rhode Island congressional delegation join state and local leaders and community advocates to cut the ribbon on the newest section of the Woonasquatucket Greenway at 10 a.m. at Farm Fresh Rhode Island, 50 Sims Ave., Providence. 

Marchers make their way on High Street in Bristol during the town's Fourth of July parade in 2025. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

By Christopher Shea

Citing financial and staffing limitations, Rhode Island will not participate in the 16-day Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., starting on June 25. The RI250 Commission is prioritizing local events for the state's semiquincentennial commemoration.

The Federal Aviation Administration has restricted the use of drones over parts of Providence and Bryant University in Smithfield, where the Ghanaian national team will practice, until after the World Cup ends in mid July. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

By Christopher Shea

Temporary flight restrictions for drones announced last week by the Federal Aviation Administration during the World Cup cover a 1-nautical mile radius over Providence’s downtown, Federal Hill, hospital district and East Side and over Bryant University in Smithfield, where the Ghanaian national team will practice.

Providence City Council President Rachel Miller introduced a rent stabilization ordinance alongside fellow councilors and advocates at January 2026 press conference. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

By Alexander Castro

Providence City Council President Rachel Miller’s eight-year tenure on the capital city’s ruling body will come to an end. She announced Thursday, June 11, that she will not seek reelection to her Ward 13 seat.

The Carl G. Lauro School in Providence closed in 2023. The City Council last summer rejected a proposal to lease the vacant building to charter school Excel Academy. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

COMMENTARY

By Julia Steiny

The turnaround plans for Providence schools from city officials and the Rhode Island Department of Education included all sorts of aspirational metrics that would signal success for students. Seven years after state control of the schools ended, virtually none were met, by either side.

An outdoor recreation and gathering space at the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia, Mo. Sleep disruption is common in U.S. prisons and jails, according to a new report from the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. (Photo by Amanda Watford/Stateline)

By Amanda Watford | Stateline

Bright lights, loud noise, overnight head counts, early morning meals and other routine features of prison and jail operations can make getting a full night’s sleep nearly impossible, according to a new report from researchers at the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.

ICYMI

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