Woonsocket Radio News Room

Sen. Cano to Lead Education Committee

 

STATE HOUSE – Sen. Sandra Cano (D-Dist. 8, Pawtucket) will be appointed chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education for the 2021-2022 session, Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio announced at a Senate Democratic Caucus last week.

Senator Cano will become the first Latina committee chairperson in the Senate’s history with the appointment, which would be made after the Senate convenes in January for its new session.

“To be named as the chairwoman for the Senate Education Committee is a true honor and I thank President Ruggerio and my colleagues for their support and confidence in me to lead this important committee.  It is no secret that our educational system in Rhode Island is in need of reform, and when combined with the devastating effects of COVID-19, there is much work to be done in order to guarantee our children the proper education that they rightfully deserve,” said Senator Cano.

During her tenure in the legislature, Senator Cano has focused extensively on educational issues, such as her sponsorship of legislation mandating financial literacy be taught to students and her membership on the Senate Education Funding Formula task force.

Senator Cano, an assistant vice president at Navigant Credit Union, was first elected to the Rhode Island Senate on April 3, 2018 in a special election.  She is a former at-large councilwoman for the City of Pawtucket and a former member of the Pawtucket School Committee.

The Democratic-controlled Senate is quickly dismissing the impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Senate voted to rule both impeachment articles unconstitutional because they did not rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors." Senate Republicans raised several motions to try and kick off a lengthy trial but they all failed along party lines.        Arizona's near-total abortion ban is still law. The Civil War-era law outlaws the procedure except to save the life of the woman and threatens providers with prison sentences between two and five years. The state's House did not repeal law on Wednesday following Democratic lawmakers attempt to do so.        House Speaker Mike Johnson is unveiling his plan to provide military assistance to critical U.S. allies. Johnson released four bills to provide aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan today. The speaker plans to vote on the legislation Saturday evening.        Whistleblowers are accusing airplane manufacturer Boeing of covering up major safety and quality failures. Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour testified during a Senate hearing today, and warned Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is unsafe to fly due to assembly flaws. He told lawmakers he raised the issue with leadership for more than three years and was ignored.        Performers at California's Disneyland park are filing a petition to unionize. On Wednesday, Disney performers announced they're ready to hold a vote on union representation. That vote will likely happen in May or June.        Martin Scorsese is eyeing his next several projects. The Oscar-winning director is in talks to shoot Frank Sinatra and Jesus biopics. Variety reports the film on Sinatra would see Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," play the singer with Jennifer Lawrence portraying his second wife.        

Old News Archives