Nancy Lavin
@nancyklavin.bsky.social
Rhode Island born and bred, but convinced I don't have the accent (don't tell me otherwise). Covering state politics, environment and business for Rhode Island Current.
Old frustrations bring a new challenger in Pawtucket’s Senate District 8 rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/08/05/o...
Old frustrations bring a new challenger in Pawtucket’s Senate District 8 • Rhode Island Current
Gena Felix, a registered nurse backed by the Rhode Island Working Families Party, is challenging Sen. Lori Urso in the Democratic primary for Pawtucket's Senate District 8. Urso was first elected in 2...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Two Warwick millennials campaign on affordability and quality-of-life in House District 22 Democratic primary. But one is a vocal charter school champion, while the other says he would have approved the 3-year moratorium passed by the legislature this year. rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/08/04/c...
Candidates for open seat in Warwick split on charter school moratorium • Rhode Island Current
Millennial Warwick Democrats Janie Segui and Zak Pereira have centered their campaigns for the open House District 22 seat on affordability and quality-of-life issues. But Segui, a charter school advo...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
After years of sparring over press releases, media interviews and TV commercials, Gov. Dan McKee and Helena Buonanno Foulkes finally confronted each other face-to-face in the first gubernatorial debate of the 2026 election cycle rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/08/03/m...
McKee and Foulkes clash on CVS, Washington Bridge and Pawtucket soccer stadium in WPRO debate • Rhode Island Current
Gov. Dan McKee and Democratic gubernatorial challenger Helena Foulkes squared off in their first debate in four years, sparring over CVS, the Washington Bridge, and recent revelations that Kawhi Leona...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Part 1 of a 6-part series of RI legislative primaries to watch: Sen. @alanadimario.bsky.social and LORIB-backed challenger @Mark Mesrobian live on the same street in Narragansett. But their policy positions are worlds apart. rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/08/03/t...
Two Narragansett neighbors live separate lives on policy • Rhode Island Current
Sen. Alana DiMario, a Narragansett Democrat, faces primary challenger Mark Mesrobian in a District 36 race defined by ideological differences and contrasting views on the appropriate size and role of ...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
NEW: Providence voters will be asked to make a decision this fall about divesting city assets from countries committing atrocities, a move aimed at Israel. It appears to be the first ever citizen-led question to get enough signatures to make the ballot. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/30/m...
Ballot question aimed at Israel will ask Providence voters to divest city funds - The Boston Globe
If approved by voters in November, the citizen-led effort aims to divest city assets from countries committing human rights violations and companies that are "complicit".
bostonglobe.com
New wrinkle in Shekarchi judgeship debate: More than half the JNC members who voted for him donated to his campaign at some point www.providencejournal.com/story/news/p...
JNC members donated to Shekarchi, raising new questions on court bid
Four of the seven members of the Judicial Nominating Commission who voted in favor of Shekarchi have given to his campaign in the past.
providencejournal.com
De La Comunidad Bilingual Public Charter School board chair: “This law was aimed at one school: ours. Families chose us. Our community fought for us. And when lawmakers tried to shut the door before we even opened it, we had a responsibility to fight back.” rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/27/p...
Providence charter school singled out by moratorium sues McKee, General Assembly leaders • Rhode Island Current
A planned Providence dual-language charter school is suing Gov. Dan McKee and legislative leaders, alleging the state's new moratorium on charter approvals is unconstitutional and targeted.
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Five weeks after Gov. Dan McKee signed into law a controversial bill temporarily banning new charter schools — departing from his own past support for charter schools — the payoff has come through for his reelection campaign. By @nancyklavin.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/27/m...
McKee backed a charter school moratorium. Now a major teachers union has endorsed him. • Rhode Island Current
The Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals has thrown the weight of its 12,000 members behind Gov. Dan McKee's reelection campaign, citing McKee's support for a controversial cha...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Quonset Business Park 140-unit workforce housing project is the first residential component since the North Kingstown U.S. Naval Air Station was decommissioned and shut down in the mid-1970s. By @nancyklavin.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/24/q...
Quonset Business Park’s latest tenant: renters who already work there • Rhode Island Current
For the first time in more than 50 years, a former U.S. Navy base turned industrial park in North Kingstown will feature housing under a newly inked lease agreement between Quonset Development Corpora...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
A closer look at Foulkes’ record on opioids via @phileil.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/27/a...
A closer look at Foulkes’ record on opioids • Rhode Island Current
A review of Rhode Island Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Buonanno Foulkes' record leading CVS Pharmacy examines campaign claims about opioid prescribing, pill mill doctors and drug takeback ...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Quonset Business Park’s latest tenant: renters who already work there rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/24/q...
Quonset Business Park’s latest tenant: renters who already work there • Rhode Island Current
For the first time in more than 50 years, a former U.S. Navy base turned industrial park in North Kingstown will feature housing under a newly inked lease agreement between Quonset Development Corpora...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
By @nancyklavin.bsky.social -- Rhode Island energy costs are soaring. So are political tensions. @govdanmckee.bsky.social directs $28M to offset winter electric rate hikes while taking aim at lawmakers, environmentalists who opposed his broader relief package www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/24/m...
Rhode Island energy costs are soaring. So are political tensions. - The Boston Globe
Governor Dan McKee directs $28M to offset winter electric rate hikes while taking aim at lawmakers, environmentalists who opposed his broader relief package.
bostonglobe.com
Federal judge poised to dissolve injunction that halted RI’s cannabis retail licenses rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/23/f...
Federal judge poised to dissolve injunction that halted RI’s cannabis retail licenses • Rhode Island Current
U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose on Wednesday ruled she is prepared to lift the injunction blocking Rhode Island cannabis regulators from issuing retail licenses after lawmakers repealed a req...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
In declaring a state of emergency over rising energy prices, Gov. McKee simultaneously declared war on the environmental groups, lawmakers and state regulators who he alleges are standing in the way of relief for struggling families. rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/23/r...
Rhode Island energy costs are soaring. So are political tensions. • Rhode Island Current
In declaring a state of emergency over rising energy prices, Gov. Dan McKee simultaneously declared war on the environmental groups, lawmakers and state regulators who he alleged are standing in the w...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
ACLU report finds remote access to public meetings has improved in some RI communities since 2023, while other local councils and school committees continue to offer limited options. By @ohnocastro.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/22/r...
Remote meeting access improves in some RI communities, slips backwards in others, ACLU report finds • Rhode Island Current
A new ACLU of Rhode Island report finds 29 of 34 school committees and 34 of 39 councils livestream meetings. But many of these public bodies still lack an option for members of the public to particip...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
A 1991 state law mandates that non-incumbent general office holders have state-funded space available during the transitional period before officially being sworn in. By @nolanpage.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/22/t...
Temporary office space search for newly elected general officers OK’d • Rhode Island Current
State law requires Rhode Island's newly elected general officers to have available state-funded space for their transitional staff in the two months before they are officially sworn in. The State Prop...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
About 100 people rallied to try to stop federal immigration officials from detaining a Cambodian refugee. They were too late. By @krish-eh.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/22/i...
ICE detains Providence man facing deportation to country he has never known • Rhode Island Current
Chansareth Hong, a Cambodian refugee, has been detained by ICE and moved to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility. His detention comes despite widespread calls from state and local leaders to halt hi...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Independent gubernatorial candidate Ken Block tried unsuccessfully to get the Rhode Island Board of Elections to eliminate Jay Gotra from the Nov. 3 ballot because the nomination papers turned in by Gotra’s campaign. By @nancyklavin.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/22/s...
Sign here. And here and here too? Nomination form protocol challenge sparks debate. • Rhode Island Current
The Rhode Island Board of Elections rejected an attempt by Rhode Island independent gubernatorial candidate Ken Block to oust one of his competitors, Jay Gotra, from the November ballot. Yet the quest...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Update: “The consensus was, we could not get to a consensus,” AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley said Wednesday night. “We’re taking the position to stay neutral in the governor’s race.” @nancyklavin.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/15/t...
Influential AFL-CIO opts not to endorse in RI Democratic gubernatorial race • Rhode Island Current
The Rhode Island AFL-CIO's influential endorsement in the Democratic gubernatorial primary is seen as a make-or-break moment for Gov. Dan McKee's downtrodden reelection campaign.
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Familiar tensions between public and private property interests central to CRMC review of Newport Cliff Walk repair project rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/14/r...
RI coastal regulators reluctant to shore up entire Newport Cliff Walk • Rhode Island Current
Coastal experts with the Rhode Island CRMC have recommended against proposed repairs and stabilization of the Newport Cliff Walk because a small section of the project covers private property rather t...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
The Rhode Island Blood Center issued an emergency declaration at 6 a.m. Monday, calling for donors to help restore supplies to ‘healthy levels.’ By @nancyklavin.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/briefs/rhode...
Rhode Island Blood Center declares emergency shortage, issues call for donations • Rhode Island Current
The Rhode Island Blood Center issued an emergency declaration at 6 a.m. Monday calling for donors to help restore supplies to “healthy levels.” The blood center has just a thousand 1-pint units left, ...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
Wyatt Detention Facility operator has no plans to close, nor end its relationship with ICE, according to Friday's filing in Rhode Island federal bankruptcy court. By @phileil.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/13/w...
Wyatt operator files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection • Rhode Island Current
The Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, proposing to restructure more than $100 million in debt while continuing operations, preserving ICE contracts and restoring ...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
The Rhode Island Blood Center has declared a blood emergency as the state's supply has dropped below a two-day inventory. https://www.wpri.com/health/rhode-island-blood-supply-drops-to-critical-levels/
The odds are against independents running for office in RI. 21 candidates filed to run anyway. rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/13/t...
The odds are against independents running for office in RI. 21 candidates filed to run anyway. • Rhode Island Current
Twenty one independent candidates have filed to run for state legislative and general office seats this election cycle, hoping voters' frustrations with the status quo will provide an opening for a th...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
And then there were five: Initial data show McKee, Foulkes, Block, Guckian and Pelino all poised for ballot placement after signature deadline passes at 4 p.m. By @nancyklavin.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/10/s...
Signature collection deadline trims governor’s race down to five candidates, initial data shows • Rhode Island Current
A field of 19 gubernatorial candidates has been whittled down to, potentially, just five — including Gov. Dan McKee — based on initial signatures totals on candidates’ nomination papers, which were du...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
My latest.
Rhode Island Current@rhodeislandcurrent.com · 4w agoThe volunteer chairperson of the governing board for Rhode Island’s only privately-operated detention facility has resigned after six years, citing his new senior role in state government. By @phileil.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/08/w...
Independent gubernatorial candidate Bobby Carr of Little Compton stood in front of the Dunkin’ on East Main Road in Portsmouth on Monday afternoon. In 90 minutes, he collected 12 voter signatures. He needs to clear 1,000 by Friday. By @nolanpage.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/08/i...
Independents running for governor in ‘do-or-die’ race to collect signatures • Rhode Island Current
Nine independents are trying to clear the 1,000-signature hurdle to qualify for the ballot in Rhode Island's Sept. 9 general election.
rhodeislandcurrent.com
The United Way of Rhode Island extends energy assistance grant program to meet spike in demand. By @nancyklavin.bsky.social rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/07/06/a...
As temperatures soar, so do calls for help paying utility bills • Rhode Island Current
Demand for help with energy bills has spiked in Rhode Island after the seasonal expiration of protections against utility shutoffs. The United Way has extended the deadline to apply for energy assista...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
NEW: The "Taylor Swift tax" went into effect today. Here's how many properties it could impact... including what the pop star my have to pay come September. www.wpri.com/target-12/ta...
‘Taylor Swift tax’ goes into effect in Rhode Island. Here’s how many could pay
The owners of more than 8,000 properties were notified they may be subject to a new tax on certain second homes.
wpri.com