By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Wednesday morning!
The University of Rhode Island is halfway through a massive software overhaul of its administrative and payroll systems. Before planning began, URI officials inquired with state Department of Administration officials to see if the university should assume payroll processing duties for its full-time employees. The answer was no.
But no might mean maybe now.
As Alexander Castro reports, URI officials say the state revived the possibility of URI handling payroll “based on some of the challenges on their end,” as in the problem-plagued rollout of the state’s Workday system launched late last year.
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High tide in East Greenwich is at 11:09 a.m. and 11:45 p.m. Low tide is at 4:43 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:41 a.m. Sunset is at 6:29 p.m.
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All seats are reserved for the 2026 Gubernatorial Forum with independent Ken Block, Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes and Republican Aaron Guckian at 5:30 p.m. at Roger Williams University School of Law. But you can listen to the forum — sponsored by the Women's Fund Rhode Island and the League of Women Voters — live on Ocean State Media.
The University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees meets in the Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center on Upper College Road on the Kingston campus. (URI photo)
By Alexander Castro
A colossal software overhaul of the University of Rhode Island’s administrative and payroll systems on track to launch next fall may need to change course after the state Department of Administration asked university officials to possibly take over a big responsibility it previously told them not to pursue: payroll processing duties for the university’s full-time employees.
A fifth floor exam room in Rhode Island Hospital’s Ambulatory Patient Center. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
One third of Rhode Islanders will see their monthly health insurance costs rise in 2027 under premiums approved by the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner on Tuesday. The largest hike, 15.8%, is for the 34,555 state health exchange participants who purchase plans from Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.
The exterior of U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island at 1 Exchange Terrace, Providence. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose on Tuesday struck down the Trump administration’s attempts to restrict federal grants for organizations serving victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Her summary judgment order resolves a lawsuit brought by the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence and other organizations challenging conditions imposed on grants administered through Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and Office of Justice Programs.
President Donald Trump appears in a taxpayer-funded public service announcement that critics say is indistinguishable from a 2024 campaign ad. (Screenshot from video posted to Truth Social)
By Jonathan Shorman | D.C. Bureau
President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call propaganda come under bipartisan attack.
ICYMI
URI trustees seek $20.3 million boost in fiscal 2028 budget request | Alexander Castro
GOP senator bungles accusation against former special counsel Jack Smith in heated hearing | Ashley Murray, D.C. Bureau
News orgs banned from White House accuse Trump of First Amendment violation | Jennifer Shutt, D.C. Bureau
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