By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Thursday morning!
Three more raccoons in the state tested positive for rabies this week. The Rhode Island Department of Health said Wednesday that one was in the area of Black Plain Road in North Smithfield and two more were in close proximity to each other on Wilcox and Blaisdell avenues in Pawtucket. The two raccoons in Pawtucket were found within one mile of a rabid raccoon on Hope Street in Providence that was the subject of an alert last week.
There were no known human exposures to the raccoons in Pawtucket. But two people, along with a dog, are being treated for potential exposure to the North Smithfield raccoon.
To date in 2026, 46 rabid animals — 25 raccoons, 14 bats, four skunks 1 cat, 1 coyote and 1 woodchuck — have been identified in Rhode Island. This exceeds the annual average of 25 rabid animals reported between 2021 and 2025. A full list of specimen collection dates and locations may be found on the Rabies Data Dashboard under “Animal Rabies Mapping.”
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High tide in Providence is at 10:59 a.m. and 11:33 p.m. Low tide is at 4:33 p.m. Sunrise is at 7:14 a.m. Sunset is at 5:44 p.m.
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At 10 a.m., Gov. Dan McKee and Secretary of Housing Deborah Goddard are at the future site of Aquidneck Green, 36 three-bedroom affordable modular homes at 351 East Main Road in Middletown. They will announce $12.7 million in awards through the second round of the bond-funded $20 million Housing 2030 Entry-Level Homeownership Program.
Reporter Christopher Shea appeared on NBC 10’s “Community Closeup” with Patrice Wood and Brian Crandall Wednesday to discuss housing affordability and the new lawsuit Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office filed against Meta over its role in allegedly profiting from scam ads.
Republican Aaron Guckian is shown on stage during the last gubernatorial debate before the Nov. 3 general election on Tuesday night, Oct. 20, 2026, at Rhode Island College. (Photo by Corey Welch/WPRI 12)
Campaign finance reports detail Guckian’s cash flow woes; ad war between Block and Foulkes escalates
By Nancy Lavin
Nearly one month after Republican Aaron Guckian boarded a private plane to Florida in search of donors for his dwindling campaign account, he still hasn’t submitted the requisite paperwork showing his travel expenses. Guckian has less than $3,000 cash on hand, a fraction of what Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes and independent Ken Block have.
Providence City Councilman Miguel Sanchez, shown speaking at a City Council Meeting on Oct. 5, 2023, prevailed in a free speech lawsuit against Gov. Dan McKee’s administration. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Fresh off a Democratic primary victory and poised to become the next president of the Providence City Council, Miguel Sanchez has prevailed in a federal free speech lawsuit against Gov. Dan McKee’s staff. Rhode Island District Court Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. affirmed that McKee’s advisors violated Sanchez’s constitutional speech protections when they fired him from his government job because of pro-Palestine statements Sanchez posted on his personal social media account.
The 2026 Rhode Island Student Survey found declines in several risky behaviors and improvements in students’ reports of mental health and wellbeing. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)
By Alexander Castro
Rhode Island’s middle and high school students reported they’re drinking, smoking, getting bullied and considering suicide less often than they did two years ago, according to the latest edition of a statewide student survey released Wednesday.
Question 1 on the November ballot seeks a total of $275 million for projects at Rhode Island’s three public higher education institutions, including $50 million to renovate the Adams Library at Rhode Island College and expand career readiness programs there. (Photos courtesy of Rhode Island College and by Rhode Island Current staff)
COMMENTARY
By Kevin F. San
A Rhode Island College alumnus and business professor makes the case for voters to approve Question 1 on the Nov. 3 ballot. The higher education bond question includes $50 million to finance the modernization of the Adams Library at Rhode Island College and expand resources to prepare students with skills and connect them to employers and a network.
A clock stands in front of the former train depot in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, on March 6, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
By David Lightman | D.C. Bureau
Expect a push for year-round daylight saving time when U.S. senators return to Washington after a lengthy recess on Nov. 9. But it faces strong opposition from lawmakers in rural areas and those who represent states where children would be walking to school in darkness for most of the winter.
ICYMI
McKee names interim health and human services secretary | Nancy Lavin
Voters with felony convictions face new rules in several states | Amanda Watford, Stateline
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