TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for March 6, 2026

We’re getting more daylight this weekend and if that doesn’t put, er, a spring in your step, you may need counseling. Thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go.

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“In war, truth is the first casualty,” as the saying goes, speaking to the fog that comes with the continuation of politics by other, more violent means. For now, it’s impossible to know whether the Trump administration’s attack on Iran will achieve the president’s shifting goals or result in something more like the morass following previous U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For now, the conflict continues to widen, gas prices in southern New England are spiking, and reaction is generally breaking along partisan lines. In a statement, RI GOP Chairman Allyn Meyers expressed optimism: “Thanks to President Trump and our nation’s greatest and most steadfast ally, Israel, the patriots of Iran have the single-greatest chance to take back their country and help the United States restore peace throughout the Middle East and the world.” Democratic U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said he saluted the bravery of U.S. service members and prayed for their safety. “But bravery does not constitute a strategy,” he added. “Wars are unpredictable, and this administration has left the American people in the dark about the true costs, risks, and duration of this conflict. President Trump has chosen the path of war while diplomacy was still within reach. That is a decision with consequences that will outlast this presidency.”

As my colleague David Wright reported this week, Attorney General Peter Neronha said that while many of the individual stories laid out in his investigation into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence were previously known, the report lays out the abuse crisis more comprehensively and in more detail than ever before. “The public deserves to know the whole story,” Neronha said. “The whole story from 1950 to 2026. To see it all, in its raw emotion and horror and impact.” The report reflected familiar details in historic cases of sexual abuse, and it hits especially hard in a state where about 40% of residents are Catholics: “The hard truth is this - for decades, the Diocese sought to minimize, contain, and conceal clergy child sexual abuse within its ranks, and prioritized its own reputation, and the accused clergy, at the expense of victims.” As Ocean State Media reported, the report identifies 75 credibly accused clergy members who, in total, abused more than 300 victims between 1950 and 2011 according to Diocesan records. Twenty of these names were not publicly identified on the Diocese’s own Credibly Accused Clergy list. Victim-survivors hailed Neronha’s report. Bishop Bruce Lewandowski used a video message to apologize to survivors. The RI House Judiciary Committee plans upcoming public hearings to review Neronha’s report.

Helena Foulkes is stepping up her campaign schedule. She held separate events this week to talk about housing and to collect an endorsement from AG Neronha. Gov. Dan McKee’s campaign touted the governor’s role during the recent blizzard, and he remained visible on TV news as the state dug out. The two campaigns continue sniping at one another, as they fight for the attention of the big chunk of undecided voters who will help decide this race. Considering that, campaign ads could play an impactful role – remember McKee’s winning “motha” spot from 2022? Foulkes has maintained a lead over McKee in a series of polls, and she has a fundraising advantage on him, but she hasn’t closed the deal with voters. Will she go up on TV soon with a biographical ad in an attempt to bolster her standing? Can McKee’s team pull another advertising ace out of the hole? With the heavy slogging of the campaign still to come, and six months until the Sept. 8 primary, it remains unclear when the air war will get started.

Sen. Dawn Euer (D-Newport) is my guest this week on One on One. Watch the video above or on Ocean State Media at 7:30 pm Friday or 10:30 am Sunday for a wide-ranging conversation on the war in Iran, energy policy, and the politics of the Rhode Island Senate.

People on the outs with leadership tend to be more candid and Euer was no exception. She stands by her call to see a doctor’s note when former Senate President Dominick Ruggerio was in declining health (and his team was downplaying health concerns): “I had voted for a Senate president that I didn’t feel was capable of doing the job anymore … I would say the only thing that I do regret is I do regret that people took it personally …” Euer lost her Judiciary chairmanship after backing Ryan Pearson last year for Senate president. She said she is untroubled that lobbyists no longer approach her to sponsor their bills because “you know, that perception of ‘people are in Siberia’ or whatever if they go against leadership. It’s been interesting to me because I feel like I’ve had a number of successes in the legislature even after being on the losing side of the leadership fight. But I suppose I might just define success a little bit differently.”

It’s pothole season in Rhode Island. This point was driven home to me after a recent getaway to New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Mount Washington is known as the home to the world’s worst weather, but my wife and I were both impressed by how many miles of nearby local roads were smooth as a silk ribbon (signs warning of frost heaves notwithstanding). Yet we were greeted by a series of pockmarked roads once we made it back to Rhode Island, reinforcing the notion that our state struggles with the basics. Sure, the internet makes it possible to find Granite Staters unhappy with their roads. But Ted Nesi was apparently reading my mind, documenting how the Ocean State has had the worst roads in the nation for a decade, even as RIDOT’s budget has grown to more than $1 billion. A bill backed by Sen. Sam Zurier (D-Providence) and Rep. Jennifer Stewart (D-Pawtucket) calls for the state to commission an efficiency and performance audit of the transit agency.

Jonathan Womer is out as director of the state Department of Administration …. As previewed in this column last week, Xay Khamsyvoravong this week launched his Democratic run for lieutenant governor …. Elsewhere in the LG race, Sue AnderBois unveiled endorsements from former Rep. Aaron Regunberg, former Providence Councilor Helen Anthony and Providence Councilors Miguel Sanchez and Justin Roias …. In the Democratic primary race for attorney general, UNAP endorsed Kim Ahern, the RI Troopers Association endorsed Joe Solomon, and Keith Hoffmann announced the hiring of pollster Fred Yang of Hart Research …. The RI Young Republicans announced an April 23 West Warwick event with Brandon Straka, founder of a movement encouraging liberals to walk away from the Democratic Party …. Sen. Mark McKenney (D-Warwick) was named grand marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Pawtuxet Valley …. RI Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz (R-North Smithfield) introduced a bill for phased reduction of state personal income taxes …. DSA member Brittany Kubicek announced a run for the seat held by Rep. Anthony DeSimone (D-Providence) …. CD2 Republican Vic Mellor has a “Rhode Island First” rally this weekend.

When Providence Place opened about 26 years ago, there was a real conversation about whether it would have an outsized impact on downtown, not to mention the artists and underground scene that helped to put PVD on the map. That was a prescient take as Jeremy Workman’s wonderful Secret Mall Apartment documentary showed. But malls tend to have a high degree of built-in obsolescence, and it’s no different for Providence Place. It makes one wonder, what has consumerism wrought?

After the Blizzard of ‘26, you’ve probably had enough snow to last you for a while. And even with climate change, we could have more big snowstorms in the coming years, since warmer air can hold more moisture. But if the trend continues, and temperatures hit a certain point, snow will largely become a thing of the past in southern New England, WPRI’s T.J. Del Santo told our Possibly team.

Three cheers for Ethan Shorey as he takes a hiatus after embodying the importance of local reporting for many years at The Valley Breeze.

At long last, the Centurion Foundation has completed its deal to acquire Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. It will take time to assess how this is working out, but it’s good news for now.