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.

 

 

 

The criminal indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey have been dismissed by a federal judge. Both claimed the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as the US attorney for the Eastern District was unlawful. Comey was indicted for allegedly lying to Congress about the Trump-Russia investigation.        America's roads, skies and rails will be busy this Thanksgiving. In fact, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he expects the busiest Thanksgiving on record, with 73-million Americans on the road, 31-million in the skies, and one-point-two-million riding the rail. Duffy said the busiest times on the road will be in the afternoons on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday.        President Trump has accepted an invitation to visit China. In a post on Truth Social, Trump says he had a "very good" call with Chinese President Xi this morning. The President said he and Xi discussed many topics including Russia-Ukraine, fentanyl and farm products, and he'll be meeting Xi in April.        Health officials are raising concerns as the flu is spreading earlier than usual in some parts of the country. Some infectious disease specialists have already noted a sharp increase in flu cases over the past few weeks as a form of the virus, called H3N2 subclade K, has set off massive outbreaks in Canada and the U.K. According to the CDC, the majority of flu circulating so far this season in the U.S. is the H3N2 strain, which can cause more hospitalizations and deaths in older adults.        Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups has pleaded not guilty in his federal case involving rigged poker games. He's accused of using his well known name to lure players into rigged poker game tables and then cheat those players by using x-ray machines and tampered shuffling machines. The games were allegedly paid for by the mafia.        The United States Postal Service is announcing plans to raise its shipping prices in the new year. USPS filed a notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission for the adjustment and now customers can expect a six-point-six-percent increase for Priority Mail, five-point-one-percent for Priority Mail Express, seven-point-eight-percent for USPS Ground Advantage and six-percent for Parcel Select. The adjustments have been approved by the board of governors and will take effect on January 18th.       

Old News Archives