Rhode Island

Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri today announced that a joint hurricane response planning exercise is underway between federal, state and local officials. In this exercise, a mock Category 3 hurricane modeled on the Hurricane of 1938 will bear down on Rhode Island. The exercise will last through May 6.    » read more »

Asks for Bells to Be Rung at Noon on Friday, April 20th

Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri today called for bells across Rhode Island to be rung at 12:00 noon on Friday, April 20th to honor the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

As part of a Day of Mourning in Virginia, bells will be rung throughout the Commonwealth at noon. Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine has asked the Governors of other states to have bells rung at the same time in solidarity.    » read more »

Governor Announces Plans to Create Community Stakeholder Group

The results of a wind power siting study, which was commissioned by Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri, demonstrate that Rhode Island enjoys sufficient wind capacity to meet the goal of achieving 15 percent of the state’s electricity generation from wind power. The Governor today announced plans to create a community stakeholder group to determine where wind power facilities could be located.    » read more »

Measure Will Save $9.6 Million In The Current Fiscal Year

Faced with a severe budget deficit, Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri today issued an Executive Order creating four furlough days for state employees for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2007. The mandatory furloughs will save $9.6 million, including $6 million in general revenues, in all funds for the fiscal year.

Under the Executive Order, the Director of the Department of Administration has directed as furlough days Friday, March 30; Friday, April 6; Friday, May 25; and Friday, June 8. The Executive Order issued today only covers the crisis in the current budget year.

Three additional furlough days for Fiscal Year 2008 are being planned for Friday, November 23; Monday, December 24; and Friday, May 23, 2008. Those furlough days will save a total of $7.7 million, including $4.8 million in general revenues.    » read more »

Feb. 21, 2007, Warwick: If you plan to go to college during the 2007-08 academic year, now is the time to apply for a Rhode Island State Grant to help pay for your college expenses. To apply, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA must be received at the application processing center by March 1, 2007.    » read more »

Feb, 21, 2007 -- Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri today named Major Steven G. O’Donnell as the Acting Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police following the retirement of Col. Steven M. Pare. O’Donnell will remain in the interim role until Governor Carcieri names a new Superintendent. Col. Pare officially retires Feb. 24, but he is taking vacation days after today.

Since 2004, Major O’Donnell has held the position of Field Operations Officer for the State Police, serving as second-in-command and as the Officer in Charge in Col. Pare’s absence. O’Donnell is a 20-year veteran of the State Police who currently oversees the operations of the Uniform Division and the Detective Bureau as well as the Airport Police Department. He serves as the Public Information Officer and oversees the State Police Intelligence and Fusion Center, which investigates organized crime and terrorism.    » read more »

Feb. 21, 2007 -- Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri today issued the following statement regarding the sentencing of former state Senator John Celona in Superior Court on charges relating to corruption in office.    » read more »

Rhode Island Department of Administration Director Beverly Najarian today announced that the state has agreed to extend its employee health care contract with UnitedHealthcare for two additional years. The contract extension will save Rhode Island taxpayers $5.5 million over and above the savings projected under the original three-year term of the contract.

The original three year contract, which became effective on May 1, 2005, included two one-year extension options. The state recently agreed to those options after negotiating $5.5 million in additional rebates with United. This will extend the contract from its original termination date of June 30, 2008, to its new termination date of June 30, 2010.    » read more »

Final Bulb Installed in State House Hallway

As part of Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri’s plan to increase the energy efficiency of state buildings, the final energy-efficient light bulb was installed in the State House hallway today. The Governor’s Chief Energy Advisor, Andrew Dzykewicz, installed the final bulb – one of more than 350 compact fluorescent bulbs that have been installed throughout the State House in recent months.

The inefficient incandescent light bulbs in the State House hallways, entryways, stairways, Rotunda, and Senate and House lounges have been replaced by either permanently hardwired premium efficient compact fluorescents or screw-in compact fluorescents. The new lights have increased light levels by an average of more than 70 percent, while reducing overall consumption by approximately two-thirds.    » read more »

Speakers to Include National Leaders in Education Policy

Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices will host on December 11 a conference, “A New Dialogue: Collective Bargaining in Public Education,” to bring together policymakers and teacher organizations from around the country to examine how collective bargaining impacts education.

Among the speakers are Alan Bersin, the California Secretary of Education; Randi Weingarten, the president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City; Marcia Reback, the president of the RI Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals; Richard Stutman, the president of the Boston Teachers Union; and Brad Jupp, the Senior Academic Policy Advisor for the Denver Public Schools. There will be a series of panel discussions throughout the day that are open to the media.    » read more »

Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri today announced his decision to nominate William E. Carnes, Jr. of Pawtucket to the Rhode Island Superior Court. If confirmed by the Rhode Island Senate, Carnes would fill the seat vacated by Superior Court Associate Justice William A. Dimitri, Jr.

“I’m pleased to nominate Bill Carnes to the Rhode Island Superior Court,” Carcieri said. “His long career as a police officer and an attorney in the public and private sectors will give him the background necessary to make an important contribution to the state’s judiciary. In particular, his service as a police officer will provide him with a unique perspective on our criminal justice system.”

“I would like to thank Governor Carcieri and the Judicial Nominating Commission for their confidence in me,” Carnes said. “I am honored and humbled to have been selected from among the many exceptional candidates for the Superior Court. While I know the senators well, I also know that they will be performing their due diligence during the advice and consent process, and I look forward to talking with them about my experience in criminal justice and as an attorney, and my goals as a member of the Superior Court.”    » read more »

2007-02-09 -- Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch today announced that his office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has recovered $357,384.74 in a settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturer Schering-Plough Corporation, in a case involving Medicaid fraud. The settlement funds have been forwarded to the State's Department of Human Services (DHS), which administers Medicaid, the joint state-federal health insurance program for low-income Americans.

The $357,384.74 represents Rhode Island's share of a $255 million global settlement with Schering-Plough, spurred by the pharmaceutical company's illegal sales and marketing activities that defrauded the Rhode Island Medicaid program and the federal program.    » read more »

Annual Recognition, Which Pays Tribute To Station Fire Victims And Survivors, Will Be Presented February 15 In A State House Ceremony

Four employees of the Cranston Association of Retarded Citizens who saved a drowning man during a heavy rainstorm and the program director of Friends Way, a local support group that continues to help the children of those who died in the Station Night Club fire, are the recipients of the 2007 Rhode Island’s Hope Award. They will be honored at a State House ceremony on Thursday, February 15, at 5 p.m.

This award ceremony coincides with the fourth anniversary of the Station Night Club fire. The award was conceived last year as an annual remembrance for those who were affected by the Station fire. Each year, two awards are presented to individuals who exhibit selfless acts and performed above and beyond the call of duty during a tragedy or emergency. Nominations were submitted by the public.    » read more »

January 31, 2007 -- "Good afternoon.

Today, I am submitting to the General Assembly my budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2008, as well as revisions to the Fiscal Year 2007 revenue and spending plan.

In my inaugural address and again in my State of the State, I promised to make education – and education reform – the focus of my second term as Governor. I firmly believe that providing Rhode Island communities with the resources they need to adequately instruct our children is one of the keys to the state’s current and future prosperity.

That’s why I’m pleased to announce that the budget I am proposing today supports my goal of making Rhode Island the education state.    » read more »

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In what state purchasing officials are describing as an historic victory for taxpayers, Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein today upheld the state’s awarding of a multi-year automobile emissions-testing program, which is projected to save Rhode Island automobile owners some $15 million over the next five years.

“Today’s decision is a victory for Rhode Island taxpayers,” Governor Donald L. Carcieri said. “This decision recognized that the Department of Administration worked diligently – and in a fair and open process – to get the very best deal for the state. I want to thank Brian Stern and his team at the Department of Administration for their hard work on behalf of the people of Rhode Island.”

“We never doubted the outcome, because we never doubted our process” said Brian P. Stern, the state’s purchasing chief. “The ultimate question all along was, ‘does the state have the right to seek the very best deal for taxpayers?’ We absolutely believe so, and Judge Silverstein has come to the same conclusion.”    » read more »