PROVIDENCE Are some of the big-name players at the State House shadow lobbying Rhode Island lawmakers at posh out-of-state resorts?
Does a $15,000 donation to a fund that pays for the mayor s inauguration and travels square with the state s $1,000 political-contributon limit or the Ethics Commission s $25 gift cap?
When, if ever, do Rhode Island s politicos and the people and companies seeking their favor cross a line? You decide.
Here s our annual look at who went where last year and who paid for those trips:
In early January 2020, before the world shut down, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and fellow Sen. Hanna Gallo flew to Scottsdale, Arizona, on an expense-paid trip financed by the Senate Presidents Forum, a group that counts IGT among its corporate sponsors.
Providence Schools Superintendent Harrison Peters.
The Rhode Island Department of Education says that Commissioner Angélica Infante Green was “not aware” of now-former Providence schools official Olayinka Alege’s controversial past in Florida prior to his hiring in Rhode Island.
Alege who was arrested this week for “forcibly rubbing a stranger’s foot” and subsequently resigned was known in Florida for “toe-popping” students as a form of punishment.
Peters had faced serious criticism for his handling of a separate sex incident in Florida, as GoLocal reported.
Alege s Behavior
“Five boys told deputies that King High assistant principal Olayinka Alege asked them on numerous occasions to take off a shoe and sock behind closed doors, and allow him to pop their toes. They said it didn t hurt, but they didn t like it, either,” reported the Florida Sun-Sentinel in July 2009.
After a monthslong battle by parents and students to save their teachers from layoffs, Rhode Island College s Sherlock Center on Disabilities will remain fully funded with no program interruptions for the next two years.
On Monday, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio pledged that the funding would be made available through the state budget, and that the layoff notices issued to more than a dozen teachers in March would be rescinded.
That month, the state s Department of Education announced that the teachers five-year contract was set to expire in June, and that the department was obligated to put the work out to bid.