1. STORY OF THE WEEK: As we edge deeper into the 2026 election season, how much of a difference can elected officials make on the everpresent issue of affordability? Rhode Island used to be a cheap date when it came to housing, but those days are long gone. Now, due in part to an undercurrent of economic anxiety, a “millionaires’ tax” already has the support of Gov. Dan McKee and his top rival, Helena Foulkes. On the national level, President Trump gained support in 2024 from Democrats’ slow response on inflation (and immigration). But Republicans may now be poised to reap the whirlwind, given spiking gas prices and the tendency of mid-term elections to boost the opposition. Back in Providence, popular restaurants are packed on weekends, showing how some people have plenty of disposable income. Economists now talk about an E-shaped economy, with the top tier driving consumption, the middle treading water, and the bottom taking on debt. Income inequality became a buzzword during the Occupy movement 15 years ago, but wider economic fissures keep growing. “As of January, the gap between high-income households and all other households’ annual spending growth reached its highest level since mid-2022,” CNBC reports, citing Bank of America data. While efforts are ongoing in Rhode Island to make headway on housing and healthcare, meaningful change will take time. With election season ramping up, will a robust affordability platform enable any local candidates to stage a Mamdani-like surprise?

2. ORGANIZING: SEIU 1199 NE, the biggest healthcare union in the region, is seeding with $50,000 a new organizing effort, Affordable RI, to train and support candidates at all levels who embrace a laser-like focus on affordability. Some might call this preaching to the choir in a state where Democrats maintain a super-majority in the General Assembly. At the same time, a lot of Rhode Islanders struggle with the cost of child care – and there’s not much relief in sight.

3. GOLDEN GOOSE: The growing profile of the arts scene helped raise Providence’s stature in ‘90s and it was de rigeur for years for mayoral candidates to have a real platform around arts and culture. Artist Bert Crenca, who helped found AS220, says Providence remains a draw for young artists, although the high cost of housing threatens to diminish the city’s appeal. As he told me on One on One this week, “I think housing is the main issue. It’s really bad and it’s a desperate situation, I think, right now. I meet a lot of young new artists that are coming to town and they love this place. I mean, there’s a whole generation of young artists that are making things happen. There’s alternative spaces that have bubbled up, but they struggle to find an affordable place to live and that could kill it. I think it’s a critical issue and I think it could destroy what we built here if we don’t solve this.”

4. LOCAL MOTION: You remember RIPTA implemented its largest-ever service cuts in the Fall. For a sense of how $4.4 million in budget cuts is affecting the people who actually use RIPTA, check out this short video as my colleague Ben Berke joins bus riders to talk about what’s happening.

5. EPSTEIN: U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is no stranger to oratory. He did 100 speeches on climate change. Dark money is another favorite subject. The junior senator’s latest stemwinder – on what he calls “the Trump-Epstein-Russia triangle” has gone viral, attracting more than 2.2 million views as of earlier this week, according to Whitehouse’s office. He also submitted a related list of sources for his comments.

6. THE WAR IN IRAN: As the war continues, supporters of President Trump say he’s acting like Democratic predecessors in pursuing military action without a vote in Congress. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed was among a group of Democrats who sent a letter calling for Trump administration officials to appear for hearings on Trump’s decision to attack Iran. Excerpt: “These ever-shifting goals and explanations suggest there is no clear plan. Further, this raises the risk of mission creep which, based on history, would likely lead to more U.S. casualties and escalating costs for taxpayers. The American people – including our men and women in uniform – deserve clear answers about the war and accountability from your administration,” the three leading Senators wrote. “Public hearings featuring cabinet-level witnesses have been a standard part of congressional oversight throughout our history, including recent military conflicts, as well as during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. After all, our founders were clear about the role of Congress in matters of war as the representatives of the American people.”

7. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:  With Gina Raimondo warning of a coming labor shock due to AI, URI is touting the role of two of its faculty in charting a local course on the technology.  Gaurav Khanna, URI assistant VP for research computing and a professor in the Department of Physics; and Zhu (Drew) Zhang, professor and Alfred J. Verrecchia Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics in URI’s College of Business, were among about 70 task force members who developed a 75-page report released in January. It examined how AI is being integrated with six local sectors – education, defense industries and maritime technologies, finance, health, government and small businesses/startups/nonprofits.

8. RI POLI SHORT TAKES: Secretary of State Gregg Amore, someone to watch in the run-up to 2030 (too soon?), this week announced his re-election campaign ….

U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo this week celebrated the award of $310,000 to the Nonviolence Institute in Providence …. Student Crystal Marie De Jesus was sworn in this week as a member of the Central Falls School Board, the first student to serve in such a role in Rhode Island … URI alum Katherine Riordan, formerly a comms aide with U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner is now executive director of the RI Democratic Party. Will Hardy is the party’s new data director.

9. WEST WARWICK: RI Young Republicans Chairman Ken Naylor Jr. argues an op-ed shared via email that GOP prospects could be improving in the town. He points to solid support there for President Trump, and how an opening is offered by plans not to seek re-election by Rep. Pat Serpa, a Democrat, and Town Councilor Jason Messier, an independent. “What the numbers suggest,” Naylor writes, “is that West Warwick is no longer the reliably blue town it once was. In recent elections, Republican candidates have steadily closed gaps, and in some cases outright won, which could be a result of the town's severe infrastructure deficits and lack of a true development plan and economic strategy. Residents will have plenty on their minds heading to the polls this election season, with true alternatives – especially when Republican candidates present a concrete plan that resonates to help build West Warwick.”

10. KICKER: The People’s Republic of Cambridge has long hosted the awarding of the Ig Nobel prizes, which recognize dubious distinctions in science. Next September, though, the prizes will be handed out in Zurich, Switzerland. “During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country,” Ig Nobel founder and emcee Marc Abrams writes via email. “We cannot in good conscience ask the new winners, or the international journalists who cover the event, to travel to the USA this year.”