Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Reapportionment Commission to begin work on Sept. 9

 

STATE HOUSE – The Special Commission on Reapportionment will hold its first meeting on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 4 p.m. in Room 313 of the State House.

It will be an organizational meeting that will include the election of the co-chairs, one from the House and one from the Senate. A presentation will be made by Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Service Inc., a consulting firm from Virginia that will assist the commission.  Public comment will also be taken.

The state constitution calls for the General Assembly to reapportion its districts as well as the two congressional districts after each 10-year federal census.

The 2020 census data was made public on August 12, 2021, which is several months later than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the late release, the commission is organizing earlier than in the past – the first meeting 10 years ago was October 4, 2012. 

The 18-member commission will use the results of the census to redraw district lines to reflect population shifts. It must make its recommendations to the General Assembly by January 15, 2022. According to the legislation (2021-S 0852A, 2021-H 6222A) signed into law by the Governor, the commission is comprised of six House and six Senate members, requiring each chamber to have four members from the majority party and two from the minority party. Three members of the public are appointed by each chamber as well.

Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has appointed Representatives Arthur J. Corvese (D-Dist. 55, North Providence), Grace Diaz (D-Dist. 11, Providence), Katherine S. Kazarian (D-Dist. 63, East Providence), Brian C. Newberry (R-Dist. 48, North Smithfield, Burrillville), Robert D. Phillips (D-Dist. 51, Woonsocket, Cumberland) and David J. Place (R-Dist. 47, Burrillville, Glocester). From the general public, he has appointed Antonio Lopes, the CEO and founder of TILT Communications; Kaprece Ransaw, a real estate agent; and former State Rep. Stephen Ucci, who co-chaired the reapportionment commission 10 years ago.

President Dominick J. Ruggerio has appointed Senators Stephen R. Archambault (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, North Providence, Johnston), Walter S. Felag, Jr. (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton), Ana B. Quezada (D-Dist. 2, Providence), V. Susan Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, South Kingstown, New Shoreham), Jessica de la Cruz (R-Dist. 23, Burrillville, Glocester, North Smithfield) and Gordon E. Rogers (R-Dist. 21, Foster, Coventry, Scituate, West Greenwich). From the general public, he has appointed Maria Bucci, a former Cranston City Council member; Alvin Reyes, an organizer with IBEW Local 99; and Harold M. Metts, a former state senator, retired school administrator, and community leader.

All meetings will be live streamed at http://rilegislature.gov/CapTV/Pages/default.aspx and televised on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox Channels 15 and 61, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers.

 

 

 

Millions getting a blast of severe winter weather to end the year. Around 67-million are under some sort of wind alert in the Northeast and New England region. Those downwind of Lakes Ontario and Erie are also under winter alerts as lake effect snow may lead to an addition one to feet of accumulation.        A U.S. drone strike in Venezuela was reportedly carried out by the CIA. Both the New York Times and CNN reported Monday that a CIA drone hit a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast earlier this month. The network cited sources saying the U.S. believed the facility was being used by the Tren de Aragua [[ tren day uh-RAW-gwuh ]] gang as part of its operation to store and ship drugs.        President Trump is warning Iran not to attempt rebuilding its nuclear program. Speaking Monday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the U.S. will go after Iran if that happens. He added it would be much smarter if Iran decides to negotiate and said he would support Israeli military strikes on Iran.        The US Department of Health and Human Services says it is freezing all child care payments to the state of Minnesota amid reports of fraud. Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill said in a post on X that all child care payments to the state are now frozen, with steps taken Tuesday against what he called the "blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country." The post went on to say that all ACF payments across America will require a justification and a receipt or photo evidence before being sent, and that O'Neill has demanded an audit of the centers in Minnesota by Governor Walz.        A body has been found in the search for a missing 19-year-old in Texas. Camila Olmos has been missing since last Wednesday morning. The Bexar County Sheriff's Office in south Texas says a body was found by search crews a few hundred yards away from her home, in an area of tall grass.        Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic [[ yo-kitch ]] has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. He also reportedly is dealing with a bone bruise in the knee. The three-time MVP was injured late in the first half of the team's loss to the Miami Heat on Monday.        Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is dead at the age of 71. Whitlock is best known for his portrayal of corrupt state senator Clay Davis on the HBO series The Wire, as well as George Maddox in another HBO series, Veep. He frequently collaborated with director Spike Lee as well, appearing in films such as Red Hook Summer, Da 5 Bloods, She Hate Me, and 25th Hour.       

Old News Archives