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Rhode Island's median single-family home price reached $529,000 in April, nearing last year's record high, while inventory remains at 1,333 listings statewide—far below the pre-pandemic 3,398 listings. The median age for first-time buyers has risen to 40, as affordability pressures intensify. Multi-family home prices also remain elevated at $616,000.
Rhode Island's four major commercial insurers exceeded the state's voluntary 5.1% cost growth target in 2024, with actual growth hitting 9.1%—nearly double the goal. Total healthcare spending reached $10.25 billion ($10,901 per resident). State Insurance Commissioner Cory King now proposes enforceable sanctions after two years of voluntary targets failing to control costs.
Procaccianti Companies and TPG Hotels & Resorts announced site work begins June 1 on The Bellevue, a 90-room luxury boutique hotel at 181 Bellevue Ave. in Newport. The phased construction will install water lines and stormwater systems first, while the retail plaza and parking lot remain open. The project represents significant commercial real estate development on Newport's premier shopping corridor.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management reopened a 462-acre shellfishing area along the Portsmouth shoreline south of the Mount Hope Bridge for the first time since 1975. Improved water quality from wastewater infrastructure investments enabled the upgrade. The announcement coincides with Rhode Island's 10th annual Quahog Week celebrating the state's fishing and marine trades.
In his first major legislative initiative as House Speaker, Christopher Blazejewski on May 14 introduced a bill to create a state Office of Inspector General to detect fraud, waste, and abuse after infrastructure failures like the Washington Bridge collapse and payroll blunders. The office, estimated to cost $2 million annually, enjoys bipartisan support and aims to restore public trust. With six weeks left in the session, Blazejewski merged pragmatism with impact in championing the long-debated proposal.
The Rhode Island Senate on May 19 unanimously passed S 2334, which allows officeholders and candidates to use up to $10,000 per election cycle from campaign accounts for home and office security systems. The legislation responds to a nationwide rise in threats against public officials, including the fatal 2025 shooting of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. The bill specifically excludes firearms, ammunition, payments to family members, and unrelated home improvements.
Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green on May 19 criticized Providence School Board President Ty'Relle Stephens for publicly sharing a confidential five-page RIDE memo outlining a tentative plan to return control of Providence schools to the city by June 30, 2027. The plan includes a one-year transition during which the school board regains budget and policy authority but RIDE retains the power to appoint, oversee, and terminate the superintendent. Infante-Green said the details remain under negotiation and should not have been released.
Gov. Dan McKee on May 19 submitted six nominees to the Coastal Resources Management Council, the first slate since a 2025 law shrank the council from 10 to 7 members and added expertise requirements. Nominees include wetlands permitting specialist Scott Rabideau, former DEM director W. Michael Sullivan, engineer Richard Bernardo, and entrepreneur Carder Starr. All face Senate Committee on Environmental and Agriculture review May 20.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha filed a lawsuit May 12 to force Quidnessett Country Club to remove a 600-foot rock wall built without permission along its North Kingstown shoreline in early 2023. The wall protects the 14th golf hole from erosion but violates state coastal regulations and harms the ecosystem. The action comes after three years of unsuccessful negotiations by the Coastal Resource Management Council to secure compliance and restore public access to the shore.
The Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission voted unanimously to interview former House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and four other applicants—Superior Court Judge Luis Matos, Family Court Judge Laureen D'Ambra, Assistant Attorney General Christopher Bush, and attorney John Roberts—for a state Supreme Court lifetime appointment. Former Common Cause RI director H. Philip West Jr. objected, arguing Shekarchi is ineligible under the state's revolving-door statute barring legislators from judicial appointments for one year after leaving office. Interviews are set for July 28; the commission must submit three to five names to Governor McKee within 90 days of the vacancy.
US District Judge Mary McElroy, a Trump appointee, issued a scathing opinion quashing a Justice Department administrative subpoena for names and medical records of transgender youth at Rhode Island Hospital. McElroy accused DOJ attorneys of "subterfuge," found a senior DOJ official made statements that were "at best, deceptive, if not intentionally and knowingly false," and wrote that "DOJ has proven unworthy of this trust at every point in this case." The ruling came after the RI Child Advocate filed an emergency motion alleging DOJ forum-shopped the subpoena to a friendly Texas judge while misrepresenting facts to multiple courts.
