By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Tuesday morning!
Rhode Island is one step closer to having a medical school at the University of Rhode Island after last week’s unanimous Senate vote. And lawmakers are considering legislation that will make home blood pressure cuffs accessible to all pregnant and postpartum women on Medicaid.
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High tide in Barrington-Warren is at 5:24 p.m. Low tide is at 10:09 a.m. and 11:19 p.m. Sunset is at 8:08 p.m.
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The State Properties Committee meets at 10 a.m.
The Council on Elementary and Secondary Education meets at 5:30 p.m. and is scheduled to vote on Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Angélica Infante-Green’s plan to return the Providence Public School Department to local control on June 30, 2026.
The Rhode Island Senate 4 p.m. session calendar includes votes on the six nominees for the state’s downsized Coastal Resources Management Council.
A laptop displays the digital sportsbook for Bally’s Corp., which was tentatively awarded a license from the Rhode Island Lottery to operate in the state. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
The Rhode Island Lottery on May 8 awarded Bally’s Corp. a tentative five-year deal to join the state’s small digital sportsbook, ending the single-operator sports betting market that has been in place since online wagers began in the state in 2019.
Lawmakers are seen in the Rhode Island Senate Chamber on April 7, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
The Rhode Island Senate last week voted 37-0 to approve legislation that would provide an initial appropriation of $5 million — the first part of a multi-year investment — to develop a medical school at the University of Rhode Island (URI). Supporters say it would ideally help alleviate the state’s physician shortage. Meanwhile, a companion bill is moving through the House.
Marjorie Leary, 17, of Little Compton, reads her award-winning essay during the state’s Memorial Day ceremony at the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter on Monday, May 25, 2026. (Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)
By Janine L. Weisman
Marjorie Leary, the Rhode Island state winner of the VFW Voice of Democracy competition, delivered the keynote speech for the Memorial Day ceremony at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter on Monday. The Little Compton teen is a junior at Portsmouth High School.
A man gets a checkup at the Saint Agnes Mobile Health Unit mobile clinic parked at the City Heritage Park in Parlier, Calif., on May 16, 2025. California is one of at least five states plus the District of Columbia that have scaled back state-funded healthcare coverage in response to federal Medicaid cuts and the expiration of Obamacare subsidies. (Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local)
By Shalina Chatlani
Budget constraints are forcing liberal-leaning states that spend their own money on healthcare for noncitizens to scale back that aid, as they grapple with federal Medicaid cuts and the expiration of federal subsidies that helped people buy Obamacare plans.
Self-monitoring with a home blood pressure cuff can improve outcomes for women who are pregnant and in the immediate postpartum period. (Getty image)
COMMENTARY
By Kayle Shapero MD, PhD and Jamil Halaby III, MSN, AGNP-C, AACC
Rhode Island lawmakers are now considering legislation that will make home blood pressure cuffs accessible to all pregnant and postpartum women on Medicaid. It's a good policy that will improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes, a cardiologist and cardiology nurse practitioner say.
ICYMI
Lawsuits challenging embryo disposal could hinder IVF | Sofia Resnick, Stateline
Automatic retirement plans spread as states, cities push workers to build nest eggs | Kevin Hardy, Stateline
Data center battles started in the states. Now it’s Congress under siege. | David Lightman, D.C. Bureau
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