Dear Reader,
As I greeted students walking across the commencement stage to receive their diplomas in May, I felt a great sense of pride as well as relief. It’s good to be back, I thought to myself.
Of course, there was still evidence of the pandemic that forced us to empty campus in the first place. The students were socially distanced on the track field, with only two guests allowed. We all remained masked. And instead of handshakes, I congratulated our Class of 2021 with elbow bumps.
Rhode Islanders approve $400 million in bond questions Published Wed Mar 03 2021 22:54:16 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rhode Islanders approved $400 million in bond measures in Tuesday’s special election to fund projects ranging from affordable housing to facilities upgrades for higher education. by Julia Moro
The bond questions asked Rhode Islanders to borrow millions of dollars for various projects.
Michael DiBiase, CEO of Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council says the state will benefit in the long-term by investing in infrastructure, childcare, the environment and more.
“It’s common and responsible for states to borrow money for capital infrastructure; these are long-term investments,” said DiBiase. “You could always talk about, would it be more conservative to not borrow, but I don’t think that’s a wise approach because then you wouldn’t have the benefits of these assets over time.”
Rhode Island voters on Tuesday approved seven proposals that call for the financing of public projects with borrowed money.
The most popular proposal to win approval in Tuesday s referendum calls for borrowing $74 million for environmental and recreation projects. It drew 78% of the vote.
The borrowing package finances a wide range of spending from $33 million for upgrades at state beaches and parks to $6 million for dredging the Providence River.
The $7 million for municipal resiliency initiatives to help cities and towns deal with rising seas and climate change was dear to Jeffrey R. Diehl, one of the many ballot proponents who was quite pleased with the mid-winter decisions of referendum voters.
Rhode Island Voters Approve All 7 Questions In Special Election - Cranston, RI - The seven budget questions were pushed to a special election due to coronavirus-related delays in the state budget.