PROVIDENCE Attorney General Peter Neronha has opened the door to the release of long-withheld information about the $16.9 million-plus in taxpayer dollars spent in 2019 on staffing events at the Rhode Island Convention Center, the Dunkin Donuts Center and affiliated properties.
The ruling came Wednesday in response to a complaint filed by The Journal against the heavily taxpayer-subsidized Rhode Island Convention Center Authority a year ago, before COVID-19 turned the venues into a makeshift hospital and then a vaccination site. We find that the authority itself did not violate the APRA . by not producing records it does not maintain, Special Assistant Attorney General Kayla O Rourke wrote on behalf of the office.
Battle over the proposed marina expansion has gone on for nearly two decades
For nearly two decades, sides have battled over plans by Champlin’s Marina to expand on Block Island, and on Thursday, the legal wrangling took yet another major turn.
In a 40-page filing with the Rhode Island Supreme Court, the Rhode Island Attorney General s office argued, At every phase over the past seventeen years, all of the parties with an interest in the Champlin’s application have had opportunities to seek appellate review of the CRMC’s [Coastal Resources Management Council] decisions with respect to this application – until now. The CRMC and Champlin’s mediated resolution circumvented this open and required process where any aggrieved party could be heard.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) has released a statement, saying “Today I announce that I will not seek a seventh term in the United State Senate in 2022. For everything, there is a season.”
Although I plan to retire, I am not leaving today. I have two good years remaining to continue my work in Washington. I have the vision and the energy to give it my all. I look forward to what is to come for our great state and our great nation. https://t.co/UXNJyc3OPC
His statement goes on to say:
“I am grateful to the people of Alabama who have put their trust in me for more than forty years. I have been fortunate to serve in the U.S. Senate longer than any other Alabamian. During my time in the Senate, I have been given great opportunity, having chaired four committees: Appropriations, Rules, Banking, and Intelligence. In these positions of leadership, I have strived to influence legislation that will have a lasting impact – creating the conditions for growth and opportunity.