22-02-2025
Well-dressed state troopers; sky-high energy bills; DEI guidance: Top stories this week
Here are some of The Providence Journal's most-read stories for the week of Feb. 16, supported by your subscriptions.
Trump administration actions continue to reverberate in Rhode Island. This week, members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation offered a forecast on how federal budget cuts and the proposed elimination of the U.S. Department of Education would affect Rhode Island's schools. A U.S. District Court judge in Providence heard arguments Friday on whether the court should permanently block the federal government from freezing billions of dollars in appropriated aid to states. And U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha tendered his resignation on Monday at the president's request after four years as R.I.'s top federal law enforcement officer.
St. Joseph's Day doesn't arrive until next month, but it's not too soon to start scoping out bakeries where you can get your zeppole fix. Check out our guide to these fluffy cream-filled pastries, which come in all kinds of variations.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Rhode Island Top Workplaces, offering recognition for employers with an outstanding workplace culture, based on employee feedback. Here's how to make a nomination.
Rivals URI and UMass are taking different routes in search of the dollar, as Massachusetts joins the Mid-American Conference in all sports starting in the 2025-26 academic year, ending annual games between the two schools in basketball and other sports. Is it really the end for this longtime regional rivalry? For that, and all the latest and sports news, go to .
Here are the week's top reads on
Knee-high, lace-up boots – always worn with a pair of dark gray jodhpur-style breeches with red piping – are practically synonymous with Rhode Island state troopers.
"What's the story?" one What and Why RI reader wanted to know. "Why are they part of the uniform, who makes them, and how long do they take to lace up?"
The answer comes down to tradition, according to a docent at the Rhode Island State Police Museum, who traced the design back to the department's founding in 1925 not long after World War I.
Find out how the military-style uniform, with those eye-catching boots, has endured for 100 years, landing the department national recognition for being the best-dressed police in the U.S. and a fashion show on "Late Night with David Letterman."
What and Why RI: RI state troopers have been called best dressed. The story behind the tall leather boots
If you've talked to just about anyone lately, you've probably heard complaints about the high energy bills this winter.
Rates are nearly as high as they've ever been, and the weather's been unusually cold, so it makes sense that people are paying more for their utilities.
State policymakers seem more focused than usual on the situation, with legislation under consideration to slash the profit margins for Rhode Island Energy, turn the company into a public entity, and give customers who are struggling to pay their bills extra help.
The Journal's Alex Kuffner answers questions about the state's energy supplies and costs, how RI's energy bills compare with those elsewhere in the country, and ways consumers can save money.
Utilities: Why are energy bills in RI so high this winter? Here's what we found.
Employers who want to keep "diversity" and "equity" in their workplaces while staying legally compliant with policies put forward by President Donald Trump's administration are getting guidance from top legal officials, including Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.
Attorneys general from 16 states are advising businesses, nonprofits and others that efforts to create "diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplaces are not illegal, and the federal government cannot prohibit these efforts in the private sector through an Executive Order."
Neronha said state and federal laws still prohibit discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, sex, national origin and other protected characteristics, policies he said "help combat discrimination, not the other way around."
Read the full story for the coalition's guidelines on recruitment and hiring.
Politics: Can RI employers still promote DEI in the workplace? Here's the legal guidance.
By the time former Pawtucket state Sen. Sandra Cano became regional head of the Small Business Administration New England on Nov. 20, she had already effectively lost her job.
That's because two weeks earlier − and just a little more than a month after she had given up her Senate seat − Republican Donald Trump was elected president, marking the end of the road for federal political appointees picked by predecessor Joe Biden.
Cano, who was New England's first Latino SBA administrator, may also have been its shortest-tenured, at two months. The SBA stint capped a busy few years for Cano, who came in third in the 2023 Democratic special election primary for Congress and was Pawtucket economic development director during the Tidewater Landing soccer stadium financing.
Does she regret giving up so much for such a short-lived SBA job? The Journal's Patrick Anderson finds out.
5 Questions: Why Sandra Cano left the RI Senate to spend two months with the SBA
Providence College men's basketball coach Kim English has been fined $5,000 by the Big East for comments made on the court following his ejection in the second half of the Friars' Feb. 12 loss against Xavier.
A statement from the conference on Monday said English was fined for 'derogatory comments directed to a game official on the court following his ejection.'
'I want to start off by saying this – after my ejection in our last Xavier game I had choice words for one of the game refs,' English said after a 75-62 victory over Villanova on Saturday. 'Just want to be clear – it's never my intention to put our college, our conference or our athletic department in a negative light.'
For more details on what happened, read the full story.
College sports: Providence basketball coach Kim English has been fined $5K by the Big East. Here's why
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI trooper boots; high energy bills; DEI guidelines for employers
