By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Tuesday morning!
After years of stalling at the committee level, the Rhode Island Senate is poised to take up legislation Wednesday to revive previously expired civil claims of sexual abuse against institutions such as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.
* * *
High tide in Warwick is at 10:08 a.m. and 10:21 p.m. Low tide is at 3:16 p.m. Sunset is at 8:14 p.m.
* * *
The Ethics Commission meets at 9 a.m. The panel’s executive session includes a review of an ethics complaint arguing former House Speaker K. Joseph Shekachi’s candidacy for an open seat on the Rhode Island Supreme Court violates the state’s “revolving door” rule barring sitting legislators from seeking or accepting employment with another government agency until they’re out of office for a year.
Gov. Dan McKee joins Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos for a Pride Month proclamation signing in the Governor’s State Room at 3 p.m.
The House Committee on Finance meets at around 5 p.m. to hear testimony on a variety of bills, including one that exempts someone in foster or adoptive homes from the fee associated with drivers education classes at the Community College of Rhode Island.
The Senate Committee on Finance meets at 5:30 p.m. Among the bills under consideration is one that would set up a scholarship fund for doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants who stay and work in Rhode Island for twice the number of years they receive educational scholarship funds.
Dr. Herbert 'Hub' Brennan, a survivor of childhood abuse who has advocated for the passage of the legislation that would revive previously time-barred civil claims arising from childhood sexual abuse, speaks at the State House Monday. To his right is Senate President Valarie Lawson. Left is Senate Judiciary Chairman Matthew LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
The Rhode Island Senate Committee on Judiciary on Wednesday will take up an amended version of a bill to revive previously expired civil claims of sexual abuse against institutions such as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. If the bill makes it out of committee, it will be voted on by the full chamber Wednesday as well, Senate leaders told reporters Monday.
Fewer Rhode Islanders reported have a personal doctor or healthcare provider over the last decade, a dip mirrored nationwide, a new state report notes. (Photo by Jose Luis Pelaez/Getty image)
By Nancy Lavin
A new annual report on the state’s primary care landscape released Monday by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner noted fewer Rhode Islanders have a personal doctor they can turn to for non-urgent health concerns compared with a decade earlier. The report, which relies on 2024 insurance claims data, marks the first in what will serve as a yearly checkup on the policy and funding ailments plaguing Rhode Island’s primary care system.
Westbound traffic is bumper to bumper stretching across the entire length of the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge and onto Conanicut Island at 9:40 a.m. on May 6, 2026. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
Road work on the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge shifted to overnight hours Sunday in an effort to ease traffic congestion during peak travel times in response to complaints about long traffic delays. Construction would now take place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority announced.
The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C., home of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom)
By Ashley Murray | D.C. Bureau
Transgender military members won a temporary victory against the Trump administration in federal appeals court Monday when two judges ruled a policy banning them from service violated their constitutional right to equal protection under the law. The decision is a preliminary injunction, meaning the case will continue to play out in court.
A volunteer records details about a person experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake City on Jan. 30, 2026. There was a slight year-over-year decline in homelessness between 2024 and 2025, according to new federal data. (Photo by Aline Walker for the Utah News Dispatch)
By Robbie Sequeira | Stateline
There was a slight year-over-year decline in homelessness between 2024 and 2025, according to new federal data. But homelessness increased in 28 states, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress.
ICYMI
COMMENTARY: You’ve been trying to get around Amazon – but it’s not that easy | Yuanyuan (Gina) Cui and Patrick van Esch
The feds have embraced medical marijuana. Now what? | Amanda Watford, Stateline
Racial wealth gap widens as many workers of color lack retirement savings | Kevin Hardy, Stateline
Thanks for reading Swell. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.