Reply
By Sandra Cano and Ana B. Quezada
Providing access to a quality public education is a primary responsibility of policymakers and elected officials. All children are entitled to a quality education no matter their race, socioeconomic status, or zip code.
The moratorium on charter school expansion recently approved by the Rhode Island Senate is neither anti-education nor anti-charter school. Rather, it is about saving traditional public schools, thereby ensuring every child in our state has a fighting chance at a quality education before it s too late.
Subscribe
Recently, the Board of Education granted preliminary approval of 5,835 more charter school seats. Any increase to the number of seats at charter schools inherently draws financial resources from traditional public schools, and the estimated fiscal impact of this expansion exceeds $90 million. The new and expanded charter schools would be funded through $25.4 million charged to the sending districts directly. Those se
PROVIDENCE A tally to date of the federal rental assistance that went out the door during the COVID pandemic in Rhode Island shows that 75% went to female-led households, a figure that advocates say reflects the disproportionate job losses and childcare obligations borne by women during the crisis.
And it’s a trend that has played out not just in Rhode Island, but nationally and worldwide, that highlights disparities that existed long before COVID-19.
“It is not surprising that a large percentage of women received rental assistance funds. As you know, women have been impacted more negatively by the economic downturn caused by COVID-19,” said Brenda Clement, director of HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University.
Delia Rodriguez-Masjoan (right) announced she plans to run in RI Senate District 5 the seat currently held by Sam Bell (left).
Community activist and outspoken supporter of public charter schools Delia Rodriguez-Masjoan has declared her intent to run for the Rhode Island Senate in 2022.
On Thursday, Rodriguez-Masjoan confirmed to GoLocal that she plans to run in District 5 in Providence the seat currently held by progressive and proclaimed Democratic Socialist Sam Bell, an opponent of public charter schools.
Rodriguez-Masjoan, who has been a commissioner on the city’s board of licenses and worked at ONE Neighborhood Builders, was irate this week at the Senate’s decision to rescind an expansion of public charter school seats that had been approved by the State Board of Education. GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Lawmakers want to clamp down on takeout delivery fees
A group of Rhode Island lawmakers and the restaurant industry want to take a bite out of food delivery app fees.
Legislation introduced by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero and Sen. Sandra Cano would stop apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub from taking a commission of more than 15% during the COVID-19 pandemic. That s around half of what some apps charge.
When COVID-19 hobbled many restaurants, food delivery apps rushed in to meet the demand for socially distanced meals and for work by many restaurant employees made jobless by the coronavirus.
But many restaurateurs, including some whose establishments use the apps, say the hefty fees involved prevent them from making any money.
It is the beginning of a long two years.
Providence City Council President Sabina Matos currently has the biggest war chest for the 2022 race for mayor of Providence, according to state finance reports.
She loaned her campaign $100,000 in the last quarter, a clear signal she is looking to make a concerted run for Mayor in 2022.
However, it was former 2014 Mayoral hopeful Brett Smiley who went on to work for Mayor Jorge Elorza and then Governor Gina Raimondo who notched the biggest fundraising haul of the fourth quarter
Smiley, who started the quarter with no cash on hand, raised over $167,000 from individuals and $3,000 from PACs.