Author

Nancy Lavin

Nancy Lavin

Nancy Lavin is senior reporter covering state politics, energy and environmental issues for the Rhode Island Current.

NOAA research base completion now slated for 2027

By: - December 6, 2023

Plans to relocate a federal marine operations and research base to Newport are taking shape, although the project will take longer than first anticipated. The U.S. Navy, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced on Tuesday it awarded a $146.8 million contract to a New York company to design and build […]

Did AG cross the line in his social media post? Who will be the judge of that?

By: - December 5, 2023

Lawyers, court observers and fans of Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s unconventional social media approach are counting down until Friday, Dec. 8. That’s when the state’s top prosecutor is slated to appear before a Rhode Island Superior Court judge to discuss his social media posts.  It’s not exactly clear what Rhode Island Superior Court […]

Breeze Airways, Rhode Island FC score multi-year partnership deal

By: - December 4, 2023

Rhode Island’s newest airline and professional men’s soccer club have teamed up under a sponsorship deal announced Monday at a press conference with Gov. Dan McKee at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. The multi-year partnership between Rhode Island F.C. and Breeze Airways makes the budget airline the exclusive airline partner for the United Soccer […]

R.I. GOP defends Trump’s right to appear on 2024 ballot in Colorado

By: - December 4, 2023

The Rhode Island GOP has joined with Republican parties in 12 other states defending former President Donald Trump’s constitutional right to appear on the 2024 ballot in Colorado. The brief filed Nov. 30 in Colorado Supreme Court comes as the state’s highest court prepares to hear oral arguments this week on the disputed outcome of […]

Is pension reform a ‘lose-lose’ proposition? State panel is going to find that out

By: - December 4, 2023

Twelve years is a long time to harbor resentment. Ask the 28,000 retirees in the state pension system, who are struggling to keep up with daily expenses without the guaranteed annual pension adjustments they were promised. Or the 60,000 active workers within the pension system, working demanding jobs for more time than they originally planned […]

ProvPort inks deal to develop, fund East Providence marine terminal

By: - November 30, 2023

The organization that operates Providence’s deepwater port is bringing its expertise – and dollars – across the river to an East Providence marine terminal that has struggled to get off the ground. The long-term lease agreement announced by ProvPort on Wednesday authorizes the quasi-public owner of the capital city’s signature port to oversee development and […]

Life Science Hub board slowly taking shape

By: - November 30, 2023

Rhode Island’s new life science agency is coming into focus, with three of the 15 board members publicly named. Gov. Dan McKee on Tuesday announced two more picks for the Rhode Island Life Science Hub board: Ernie Almonte, executive director for the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, and Armand Sabitoni, who retired as […]

Protecting Newport’s Gilded Age mansions takes a new turn: Suing the feds.

By: - November 29, 2023

Trudy Coxe relentlessly pursued funding to preserve Newport’s acclaimed mansions. She helped bring the city’s “Gilded Age” icons before a national TV audience through the HBO series by the same name. Now, she’s turning that single-minded focus to protecting Newport’s cultural and historic identity, including its iconic landmarks, against the perceived threat of offshore wind. […]

Federal judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to keep Trump off R.I.’s 2024 ballot

By: - November 28, 2023

Rhode Island is the latest state where a federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that would have prevented former president Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 presidential ballot. U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. on Monday dismissed the complaint from John Anthony Castro, a write-in Republican presidential candidate from Texas. […]

Rhode Island’s new housing secretary turns to Commerce playbook to stimulate housing production

By: - November 27, 2023

Stefan Pryor built a name for himself in Rhode Island by negotiating major deals with private developers, lured in by public subsidies. So it’s no surprise that Pryor’s second act as state housing secretary features a reprise of many of the corporate incentive programs he led as former head of Rhode Island Commerce Corp.  Nowhere […]

No rest for R.I.’s new congressman. He’s thankful just the same.

By: - November 22, 2023

Congressman Gabe Amo’s Thanksgiving Day plans can be summed up in one word. “Rest,” he said, without hesitation in an interview Tuesday. Where he’s going for dinner? What he’s having? Who will join him? He doesn’t know yet. The only sure thing was that Rhode Island’s newest congressional representative wanted a low-key day. “I am […]

Newly unsealed court filing details debt at two hospitals in state

By: - November 17, 2023

Numbers don’t lie, and in the case of the private equity firm that operates two Rhode Island hospitals, the numbers don’t look good. A newly unsealed court document paints a bleak financial picture for the LA-based Prospect Medical Holdings, including $24 million in past-due payments to vendors at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger […]