Happy Saturday! Here’s another edition of my weekend column for WPRI.com — as always, send your takes, tips and trial balloons to tnesi@wpri.com and follow me on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook.
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Nesi's Notes
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1. The westbound Washington Bridge has been closed for 22 months, and the political fallout appears nowhere near over. On Tuesday, a Providence Journal story by Jim Hummel revealed a key finding by engineers — that the bridge’s broken rods had likely been corroding for at least 15 years — was left out of the forensic audit that leaked last month. Two days later, General Assembly leaders showed how much more seriously they are taking next month’s third oversight hearing on the bridge versus the first two: they’ve hired former U.S. Attorney Zach Cunha, at $600 an hour, to help them prep and even ask some of the questions, which will be answered under oath. It’s hard to miss the political subtext; this is happening at the same time that Speaker Shekarchi’s allies are trying to nudge Governor McKee out of next year’s gubernatorial race. For McKee, who currently has the lowest job approval rating of any governor in the country, just about any bridge news cycle is damaging. Yet the administration’s own efforts to spin the situation can backfire, too, as Ed Fitzpatrick showed in a Globe story about criticism of the new signage around the bridge. A green RhodeWorks sign now suggests the project is “on time” and “on budget” — despite the completion timeline slipping from August 2026 to November 2028 and the price tag soaring from $368 million to $572 million. RIDOT’s defense rests on a technicality: the earlier estimates were for the failed initial procurement process, which drew no bids, not the current one. The green sign also shows a price tag of only $427.9 million — RIDOT tells me they aren’t putting up signs disclosing the $98 million budget to demolish the old bridge or the $46 million budget for emergency costs.
2. The housing crisis is shaping up to be another key issue in the gubernatorial primary. As mentioned in this column last week, the new HousingWorks RI Fact Book shows no municipality in Rhode Island is currently affordable for the typical renter or homebuyer, despite a 15% increase in building permits last year. Governor McKee was out front on the issue this week, announcing plans to start spending the first tranche of the $120 million housing bond that voters approved last November. At a news conference, he cited signs of progress. “This is happening all around the state right now,” McKee said. “We’re going to ribbon-cuttings, we’re going to groundbreakings.” But appearing on Wednesday’s 12 News at 4, his Democratic primary rival Helena Foulkes questioned why it had taken nearly a year to announce plans for the bond money. “We need a much more nimble government,” she said. “I think if this were your own family member and your family member was looking for a house, you wouldn’t be waiting a year to figure out what to do. You’d be moving fast.” Foulkes’s criticism doubles as a critique of her other potential opponent, Speaker Shekarchi, who is even more closely associated with the housing issue than McKee. Joining McKee at the news conference, Shekarchi looked for a middle ground. “This is a very small victory lap,” he said. “There’s a lot more work to do, and we’re committed to getting it done.”
3. With Peter Neronha term-limited, the attorney general’s race was always going to be a marquee contest as Rhode Island’s only open statewide seat in 2026. But it’s become an even more interesting contest with state Rep. Bob Craven out of the mix so soon. Kim Ahern became the Democratic primary’s newest entrant this week, stepping down as Cannabis Control Commission chair to launch her campaign. “Our fundamental rights are under attack, and we need an attorney general who will fight back,” she said in a statement. Two Democrats are already campaigning: newcomer Keith Hoffmann, who is backed by Neronha, and state Rep. Jason Knight. Another likely Democratic candidate is state Rep. Joe Solomon Jr. of Warwick, who told me Thursday he thinks the AG’s office “needs a leader who understands that Rhode Islanders value pragmatic, bipartisan leadership.” And the Republicans’ 2022 nominee for AG, West Greenwich Town Councilor Chas Calenda, just reactivated his Board of Elections account so he can start fundraising. “I don’t feel the need to rush the decision,” Calenda told me Friday. “I’ve been encouraged by the donations and pledges to help the campaign thus far so I would say right now I’m definitely leaning towards jumping in.” The emerging field has a striking age dynamic: Hoffmann (38), Ahern (41), Solomon (42) and Calenda (44) are all young enough to be Rhode Island’s first Millennial AG — though Calenda might count as an Xennial — while Knight (57) represents the Gen X generation. With the 69-year-old Craven’s exit, there is no Baby Boomer in the race for now.
4. The federal government shutdown now looks certain to extend into a fourth week, with precious few signs a deal is on the horizon. Top Republicans won’t budge on extending Obamacare subsidies — Democrats’ stated price for reopening — and Democrats seem equally dug in. That includes Rhode Island’s congressional delegation, which continues reinforcing the party message through news conferences and social media. Senator Reed and Senator Whitehouse, like most of their caucus colleagues, have voted repeatedly to block Republican bills that would reopen the government (but in favor of Democratic alternatives). Congressman Amo and Congressman Magaziner have had nothing to vote on, since the House has been out for over a month now. (The four announced this week they will forego their paychecks for the duration of the shutdown, as other lawmakers are also doing.) The shutdown is poised to become a much bigger crisis if SNAP benefits don’t get paid on Nov. 1 as scheduled, though Reed and Whitehouse signed a letter Friday arguing the USDA still has $6 billion in contingency funds available to cover payments. “You’re talking 143,000 people who’ll be struggling to put food on their table as soon as next Saturday,” R.I. Community Food Bank CEO Melissa Cherney said on Friday’s 12 News at 4. “And then on top of all of this,” she added, “you have the federal workers who as of next Friday will be going for one month without a paycheck.”
5. Eye on Congress … Senator Reed and Senator Whitehouse are seeking applications by Nov. 3 as they look for someone to recommend as Rhode Island’s next U.S. attorney … Whitehouse made news for his warnings about permitting reform and the highway bill … Congressman Magaziner clashed with the NRCC over his vote against the defense policy bill … Congressman Amo was spotted giving Capitol tours as the shutdown paused regular ones … Congressman Auchincloss continued his media blitz, taping interviews with podcasters Derek Thompson and Ruy Teixeira … Amo and Auchincloss both received the Rising Star Award at Monday’s New England Council centennial gala in Boston (alongside New Hampshire Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander) … Congressman Keating led a bipartisan resolution that targets Russia for allegedly abducting over 19,000 Ukrainian children.
6. Bank of America is now trying to salvage the Roger Williams/Fatima hospitals deal.
7. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is all settled in at her new home in Dartmouth, making her the first statewide official in modern history to reside in Bristol County. How long has it been since that happened? The most recent example anyone could offer came from WBSM’s Chris McCarthy: Taunton’s Marcus Morton, who served as governor before the Civil War. (Yes, Morton Hospital is named for him.) Campbell and I sat down in New Bedford this week to discuss what she’s learned from her relocation, why she’s running for reelection — and whether she might someday seek the seat currently held by Congressman Keating. (Spoiler: she didn’t say no.) My story about Campbell is here, and you can watch our full interview on this weekend’s Newsmakers.
8. More Massachusetts: Congressman Seth Moulton made his first campaign swing through Bristol County on Friday as he ramps up his Democratic primary challenge against Senator Markey. I interviewed Moulton in Fall River, where he reiterated that while he thinks Markey is “a genuinely nice man,” the state needs a senator who isn’t about to mark his 80th birthday and a half-century in Congress. One issue for Moulton — will he be able to get his name on next September’s primary ballot? Massachusetts candidates have to run a gauntlet to do that, by electing enough supporters at hundreds of caucus meetings to ensure they get at least 15% support at the state convention. “Look, he’s probably going to try to stop us,” Moulton told me. “There’s nothing that’s more undemocratic than just keeping people off the ballot. And we’ve already heard that he’s going to try to do that. I think we ought to have a much more open system in Massachusetts that doesn’t require jumping through all these hoops just to give voters a choice in the primary.” You can see more from the interview on 12 News this Monday and an upcoming edition of Newsmakers.
9. People in the news … thinking of former Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan and his family as he recovers from Monday’s shocking stabbing … Governor McKee is in California for an economic development trip, which incldues meetings with executives from Angem and Anduril … local “No Kings” organizers said more than 30,000 people attended last Saturday’s State House rally; GOP Chair Joe Powers labeled the events “a distraction” … Gina Raimondo gave some newsy remarks at Harvard … an influential group whose members include Jim Langevin warned about federal cuts to cybersecurity … Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos’s reelection bid got an early endorsement from the Latino Victory Fund … Democrat Amy Joseph Santiago, an outreach worker at Better Lives Rhode Island, will run for state Rep. David Morales’s District 7 seat now that he is running for mayor … Democrat Michael English announced a run for Providence mayor … Rhode Island AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley and Secretary-Treasurer Karen Hazard were unanimously reelected … Matt Corridoni is the new communications director for Majority Democrats, a center-left group led by Jake Auchincloss, Corridoni’s former boss … veteran construction exec Bo Koloski has been named to lead O&G Industries’ Rhode Island office … Bishop Lewandowski will celebrate 205 milestone wedding anniversaries at the Cathedral on Sunday, including a Rhode Island couple married 74 years.
10. Believe it or not, one week from today November will be upon us. So make it a point to hop in the car tonight and check out some of the best local Halloween light displays, as compiled here by Kim Kalunian.
11. Weekend reads … Ellen Liberman on the “sluggish” progress addressing Rhode Island’s housing crisis … Kathy Gregg on Rhode Island’s new state-sponsored retirement plan … Alexander Castro on documentarian Ken Burns’ visit to Rhode Island … Michael Cavna on “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” as a visual masterpiece.
12. Fire up 12+ on your smart TV or set your DVRs: This week on Newsmakers — AG Campbell. Watch Sunday at 5:30 a.m. on WPRI 12 and 10 a.m. on Fox Providence, or listen on the radio Sunday at 6 p.m. on WPRO. You can also subscribe to Newsmakers as a podcast via Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you back here next Saturday morning.
Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi’s Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook.
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