Woonsocket Radio News Room

 


WEEKLY MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

 

Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz : It's time to vote on pay raises
When Governor Dan McKee requested pay raises for his cabinet directors for the second time in barely a 6-month span, Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz and Senate Minority Whip Gordon Rogers were quick to respond by calling for an up or down vote by the General Assembly.  Read the full press release here.

WEEKLY  LEGISLATIVE  HIGHLIGHTS

Morgan bill would limit who can mail voters’ mail ballots.
Senator Elaine Morgan (R-Dist. 34, Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond, West Greenwich) introduced the legislation (S-0395), ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS – MAIL BALLOTS. The bill Requires that only the mail ballot voter or their spouse/court appointed guardian/cohabitant/or adult person related to the voter by blood or marriage, be allowed to physically mail the voted mail ballot. The bill was referred to Senate Judiciary.  On March 7, the committee recommended the measure be held for further study.

Paolino bill would increase aggregate limit for tax credits.
Senator Thomas Paolino (R-Dist. 17, Lincoln, North Providence, North Smithfield) introduced the legislation (S-0267), ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAX CREDITS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOLARSHIP ORGANIZATIONS.  The legislation would increase the aggregate amount of tax credits for contributions to scholarship organizations to $5,000,000 for 2024.  The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.

SESSION  HIGHLIGHTS

The Senate Minority Caucus was excited to welcome Leader Emeritus Dennis L. Algiere back to the Senate chamber on Thursday, March 16, as the General Assembly honored Irish and Italian cultures with their traditional celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day.  The Senate session included an Irish heritage address delivered by former Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey and an Italian heritage address delivered by former Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere. 

Read the Senate Resolution honoring Senator Dennis L. Algiere for his service to the people of the state of Rhode Island here. 

SENATE MINORITY NEWS

The Senate Minority Office extends proud congratulations to Senate Minority Whip Gordon Rogers on his appointment to the Rhode Island Emergency Management Advisory Council. Read full release here.
 

COMMUNITY  ENGAGEMENTS

Senator Anthony DeLuca welcomed students from Tollgate High School in Warwick to visit the Senate Minority Office during their tour of the State House March 16th.  

The Supreme Court is hearing a pair of cases involving transgender athlete bans on Tuesday. The cases out of Idaho and West Virginia are challenging whether states can ban transgender girls from participating in girls' and women's sports. The decisions on those cases will impact similar bans already enacted in about half of the U.S.        President Trump will be in Detroit today to tout how his administration is "making America affordable again." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump will kick-off his visit with a stop at a Ford factory that's producing more F-150 trucks because of tariffs. After that, he's scheduled to address the Detroit Economic Club, highlighting economic successes, including lower mortgage rates and falling gas prices.        At least half of the country is set to deal with winter weather conditions this week. Storms are on the way, bringing snow showers as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee while lake-effect snowbelts in the Midwest and interior Northeast will be in the bull's eye for highest accumulations. A large clipper system will likely bring a surge of warm air that will turn most of the precipitation into rain which will then move over the East Coast by Wednesday.        Former President Clinton could be staring down a contempt of Congress charge. He failed to show up for a GOP-led House committee hearing today in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, and now, Congressman James Comer says they will move to hold the former President in contempt. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear tomorrow, but in a joint statement, the Clintons said they will not appear.        President Trump announced he's canceled all meetings with Iranian officials as anti-government demonstrations continue. In a Truth Social post this morning, Trump told Iranians "help is on its way" and to "keep protesting." The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported at least two-thousand people have died in the protests.        There is a new team sitting atop the latest men's college basketball coaches poll. Arizona climbed one spot in the rankings and is now leading the nation at number one. The Wildcats are followed by Iowa State, Michigan, UConn and Purdue to round out the top five. Florida is number 20, Clemson is 21st, and Utah State is number 24 after not being included in last week's poll.       

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