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.  

A string of Memorial Day weekend shootings across the U.S have left at least 16 people dead and dozens injured. The gun violence happened at a variety of locations in least eight states. Shootings in and around Chicago accounted for more than eight deaths during the holiday weekend. In Arizona, a 20-year-old suspect was taken into custody in connection with multiple shootings that left four people dead. Elsewhere, three people were killed and five others were injured after a shooting at a motorcycle rally in New Mexico on Saturday night.       The impeachment trial for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is set to start no later than August 28th. Twelve House members delivered the articles of impeachment to the State Senate on Monday. Those who will prosecute the case are made up of seven Republicans and five Democrats. Paxton, a Republican, is temporarily suspended after the GOP-controlled Texas House voted overwhelmingly Saturday to impeach him on charges including abuse of office and obstruction of justice.        Proceedings are expected to get underway today in the Tree of Life capital murder trial of Robert Bowers after jury selection wrapped up last week. Bowers is charged with killing eleven worshippers at a Pittsburgh-area synagogue in 2018. It was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.        Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is expected to start serving her eleven-year sentence Tuesday. Holmes was found guilty in January of 2022 on four of the eleven fraud and conspiracy counts she was charged with.        The 2023 NBA Finals matchup is now set. The Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets will take on the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat for the NBA title. Miami cruised to a 103-84 win over the Boston Celtics Monday in Game Seven of the East Finals at TD Garden. Nikola Jokic [[ yo-kitch ]] and the Nuggets will host Jimmy Butler and the Heat for Game One of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at Denver's Ball Arena.        The LA Dodgers will host a "Christian Faith and Family Day'' this summer, in response to backlash over the team's Pride Night invite to a group of self-described "queer and trans nuns.'' The event was last held by the Dodgers in 2019, before the pandemic. The Dodgers came under fire following their decision to rescind an invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to attend the team's Pride Night on June 16th. Last week, the Dodgers reinstated the invitation and publicly apologized to the group.        

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