The Cranston Police were wrong to seize guns without a warrant from a possibly suicidal man’s home after he had already been transported to a hospital for psychological evaluation, the United States Supreme Court ruled this morning, unanimously, in a 9-0 vote. The case is Caniglia v. Strom (20-157). On August 20, 2015, Edward Caniglia […]
As has been widely reported, the worst mass shooting in Providence history occurred last night in the Washington Park neighborhood. At a press conference this morning on Allens Avenue near the scene of the shooting, Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare provided the details on what he described as an “active criminal investigation.” “What we do […]
RI will keep both of its two seats in the US House of Representatives based upon the results of the 2020 Census released today. Defying expectations in the last two decennial censuses ( “We’re Gonna Lose It! RI likely to lose one of two US House seats after 2020”, by Michael Bilow, Apr 3, 2019), […]
Use of the Janssen (also known as Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine should resume next week after a “pause” begun on April 13. At the end of a six-hour meeting today, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted, 10-4-1, to recommend resumption of the […]
In “pausing” use of the Janssen vaccine, one of only three COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for use in the US, RI is following national guidance from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the RI Department of Health (DoH) said in an early morning statement on Tuesday, […]
At the weekly COVID-19 press conference on Thursday, April 8, Gov. Daniel McKee and RI Department of Health (DoH) Director Nicole Alexander-Scott made clear that economic reopening plans were conditioned upon a goal of vaccinating 70% of everyone in the state to approach herd immunity. While a laudable aspirational goal, it is in my opinion […]
Providence and Cranston seem to regard themselves as cities under siege from two-wheeled minibikes and four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) on their streets. “The use of dirt bikes and ATVs on our streets is illegal and is a serious danger,” said Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza in a statement on the city’s official website. But why […]
Bail bonds require posting money by or on behalf of someone charged with a crime in exchange for their release before trial. In theory, the money backs a promise by the accused to appear in court as scheduled and to be of good behavior. If the accused violates the terms of release, by fleeing the […]
Motif previously reported (“Unemployment insurance runs out for hundreds in RI”, by Michael Bilow, Mar 1, 2021) that 213 beneficiaries had exhausted their available Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), but further information emerged on Wednesday, March 3, from the RI Department of Labor and Training (DLT), which administers the program, that many more were notified in […]
UPDATE: Important information in follow-up “Their Bad: Thousands notified in error of end of RI Unemployment Insurance eligibility”, by Michael Bilow, Mar 3, 2021. As the latest pandemic relief bill crawls through Congress with a provision that would extend the program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits have ended for many individual recipients. According to spokeswoman […]