1. STORY OF THE WEEK: Could House Speaker Joe Shekarchi be any more coy on the question of whether he will run for governor next year? “I don’t even know that I have a timetable,” Shekarchi quipped during an interview on Political Roundtable this week. But time waits for no one and the Warwick Democrat conceded he’s closer to the end than start of his time as speaker. For now, Shekarchi has smashed the idea that the speakership is a terminal job. He remains well-liked after more than four years at the pinnacle of the legislature — no small thing in what former Speaker Bill Murphy dubbed “the House of Ambition.” Shekarchi has been widely lauded. Democratic Attorney General Peter Neronha calls him “a vastly different speaker” who doesn’t exercise power for power’s sake. House GOP Leader Mike Chippendale (R-Foster) said on the House floor Shekarchi’s management of the budget process “is unlike anything I’ve seen in this House, and is commendable and worth acknowledging.” It’s not hard to imagine these across-the-board plaudits getting amplified as part of a bid for governor, fueled by the $3+ million in the speaker’s campaign account. The effect of portraying Shekarchi as a Statehouse insider and digging into his record as a land-use lawyer remains untested. For now, that marks a difference from the prominent bugaboos shadowing fellow Democrats Gov. Dan McKee (Washington Bridge) and Helena Foulkes (A DOJ lawsuit against CVS involving opioids). However, despite Shekarchi’s favorables, Rhode Island still faces familiar challenges, including underperforming schools. The Tax Foundation ranks us 39th for business climate, down from 37 a few years ago. And while the Ocean State has enough quality of life to attract out-of-staters to buy homes here, it still lacks the new engines of job growth that would ease ingrained crankiness and put the fiscal outlook on a stronger footing. 

2. MCKEE’S MODE: Speaking of the race for governor, Gov. Dan McKee is showing increasing signs of warming to the fight. He put down a symbolic marker this week by announcing he would not sign the $14.3 billion budget passed by the General Assembly. “We gave them a good budget [proposal], as we have every year, and they gave us a bad budget,” McKee said during a meeting with reporters.“When we tax people unnecessarily and raise the cost of driving a car or owning a home, this is going to be money out of the hardworking people of Rhode Island’s pockets.” Speaker Shekarchi and Senate President Val Lawson rejected the criticism and Leader Chippendale called it “transparently political.” 

3. BUDGET BLUES: With the GOP holding just 10 of 75 seats in the RI House of Representatives, sounding off is the party’s main leverage. Here’s more of Leader Chippendale’s view of the spending plan, via statement: “While every state budget carries some good and some bad fiscal policies and appropriations, this budget is outweighed by the bad. Rhode Island continues to rank among the top 10 states with the highest tax burden per capita. Yet, this budget fails to demonstrate the kind of fiscal restraint our residents deserve. Rather than focusing on long-overdue spending reforms, this plan leans on increased fees, higher taxes, and growth in government. These choices will only worsen our economic competitiveness and place even greater strain on our struggling taxpayers.” During the spending debate, Rep. George Nardone (R-Coventry) said tax hikes should be offset by spending cuts. During our interview this week, Speaker Shekarchi defended the budget as a plan that met the moment for the needs of Rhode Islanders. “I’m proud of our budget,” he said. “It’s a good budget, and I stand behind the budget.”

4. GUN DEBATE: The effort to ban the sale in Rhode Island of guns defined as assault weapons, which began after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012, culminated this week in the signing of a new law by Gov. McKee. “We’re taking a powerful step to taking weapons of war off the street and making Rhode Island safer,” Senate President Lawson said during the signing ceremony at the Statehouse. (The law takes effect in July 2026.) Opponents of the law predict it will eventually be overturned. Senate GOP Leader Jessica de la Cruz (R-North Smithfield) used the timing to announce the creation of a “Keeping the Spirit of 1776 Alive campaign,” “a call to defend Rhode Island — not just from bad legislation, but from the slow erosion of constitutional order.”

5. RI BRIDGES: The Washington Bridge has commanded attention since December 2023 and understandably so. But despite the advent of the RhodeWorks road and bridge improvement plan announced by former Gov. Gina Raimondo in 2015, 119 Rhode Island bridges are still rated as “poor,” according to findings by The Public’s Radio and Rhode Island PBS. Reporting by my colleague David Wright shows that just four states have a higher percentage of structurally deficient bridges. Meanwhile, as Tim White reports, the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority cites security reasons for  not releasing an inspection report on the Mount Hope Bridge.

6. MEDIA: Political Roundtable, a signature program at The Public’s Radio, has changed over the years. When I signed on as host back in 2009, Rountable was a discussion with Scott MacKay, Maureen Moakley and a guest from the world of politics and civic life. It eventually became a one-on-one interview. Now, Roundtable is poised for another change. The segment is going on hiatus for summer. When it returns, it will feature a new name, longer conversations with an array of Rhode Islanders, with a heavy emphasis on politics, and we’ll videotape it and put it on YouTube.

7. RI SENATE: The all-important primary for the Senate seat formerly held by the late Dominick Ruggerio is coming up fast on July 8. Progressives are split between supporting former state Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell (who lives in Wanskuck, outside the bigger North Providence part of the district) and three-time Ruggerio challenger Lenny Cioe. State Rep. Cherie Cruz (D-Pawtucket) and some other progs are making a push for MRV this weekend, hoping to catch some Zohran lightning in a bottle. Cioe this week called for the North Providence Council to probe Mayor Charlie Lombardi. Meanwhile, NP Councilor Stefano Famiglietti picked up the endorsement of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, with council president Michael F. Sabitoni saying that Famiglietti “has the track record to carry on Dominick’s legacy of fighting for working families throughout his district and Rhode Island.”

8. DC UPDATE: U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said President Trump moved too quickly by launching airstrikes against Iran …. U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo also objected, saying via statement, “Only Congress has the power to declare war. Trump’s unconstitutional, unilateral strikes against Iran endanger Americans and undermine Congress’ authority. He risks dragging the U.S. into another endless war, breaking his promise to end foreign conflicts.” …. U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner plans a joint Newport fundraiser, scheduled for Aug. 16, with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossof of Georgia. The two Democrats are leaders in the effort to ban congressional stock-trading …. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse supported a Trump nominee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, while rejecting another, for the Environmental Protection Agency, panning the current state of the agency as “a cesspool of fossil fuel-driven corruption, even weaponizing the justice system to serve the interests of the polluters.” 

9. LIFE-SCIENCES: Rhode Island was late to the game in trying to nurture the local life-sciences sector. Now,  the Trump administration’s cuts to research funding pose uncertainty on related fronts. But Gov. McKee struck an optimistic note as he toured the new state health lab on Tuesday, pointing a short distance away to construction workers assembling a Brown University life sciences building on Richmond Street. 

10. MUNILAND: Now comes Adam Greenman, president/CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, as a Democratic challenger to longtime Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien. Like his fellow mayors in Central Falls and East Providence, Grebien faces a choice about whether to aim for the lieutenant governor’s office next year.

11. RI POLI-MEDIA PEOPLE: Count me psyched that Ben Berke is taking over the Providence metro beat for The Public’s Radio. Ben is a crackerjack who has done a tremendous job covering southeastern Massachusetts for us in recent years. Keep an eye out for his upcoming reports … Kudos & congrats to Lauren Greene, who has been promoted to vice president at the New Harbor Group, the Providence-based comms and policy shop. Known for a keen attention to detail, Greene will continue to lead client service for such entities as Quonset, RIPEC, the League of Cities and Towns and Greysail Brewing, among others …. Sympathy to Noelle Crombie, a senior investigative reporter at the Oregonian, on the loss of her father David Crombie, a Brown alum and longtime former ProJo reporter … Kudos & congrats to Mike Stenhouse, CEO of the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, on being named to the 2025 class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Stenhouse played for the Expos, Twins and Red Sox back in the 1980s and hit an eye-popping .475 as a Harvard freshman in 1977 …. Former Rhode Islander Wendy Lawton is making her way back to southern New England ….

Now that bills to bury power lines at India Point Park and Bold Point Park have become law, don’t forget to tip your cap to longtime Fox Point activist David P. Riley, who began pushing for that issue many years ago.

12. PRESERVATION: The Providence Preservation Society has an impressive web buildout about Atlantic Mills, tracing the history of the site from its origin in 1852 through its sale last week. (Thanks for linking to a number of my Providence Phoenix articles in the resources section.) 

13. BEE NICE: Environment Rhode Island shares word that more needs to be done to protect local pollinators. Via news release: “During its related research, outreach and education efforts, Environment Rhode Island found that, while Rhode Island has taken one concrete action to help bees, butterflies and the like, it still trails other leading pollinator-friendly states.” The group held a press conference on Thursday to discuss its findings and launch a statewide canvassing campaign to increase pollinator protections in Rhode Island. “Now that bee-killing pesticides are restricted to only licensed applicators, we’ve gotten one of the most difficult protections on the books,” said Environment Rhode Island State Director Rex Wilmouth. “But the job’s not finished – our leaders should use this as a springboard to stronger protections that ensure the future of pollinators in Rhode Island.’” 

14. FOOD NEWS I: Chefs Josh Finger and Maggie McConnell have opened Claudine in downtown Providence as “not just a love letter to New England and to each other, but an expression of their shared passion for intentional hospitality, mastery of classic technique, and modern vision of exceptional fine dining in a lively, vibrant setting. Following respective culinary journeys spanning institutions like The French Laundry, Momofuku, and Per Se, Josh and Maggie serendipitously met in the kitchen of Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-starred Per Se in New York City, where Josh worked for many years as executive sous chef and Maggie as pastry sous chef. Their experience at Thomas Keller Restaurant Group instilled in them a deep commitment to the precision, discipline, and collaboration required of a tasting menu-only service, as well as laid the foundation for a partnership inside and out of the kitchen. After countless trips to Maggie’s hometown of Providence, RI during their time in New York City, the couple set their sights on returning home to build their dream restaurant in the heart of the city.”

14. FOOD NEWS II: Trinity Brewhouse, which has always offered an excellent cheeseburger, has changed hands from former state Sen. Josh Miller to the team behind the Patio on Broadway. Via news release: “Trinity Brewhouse will host a series of special events and fundraisers supporting local nonprofits through the end of July, before closing for scheduled renovations in August. The refreshed space is expected to reopen in time to welcome Brown University Health to the neighborhood and to gear up for a busy fall season in the heart of downtown Providence. Trinity’s current team will remain actively involved throughout the transition, and the new owners plan to retain many longtime staff members, several of whom have been part of the Trinity family for decades.”

16. KICKER: Forgive me if I’ve previously used “summer of our discontent” and “Red Sox” in the same sentence. For now, ace baseball scribe Joe Posnanski summed it up well right after Rafael Devers got dealt: “Why did the Red Sox stop being the Red Sox? For 15 or so years — from maybe 2003 to about 2018 — the Boston Red Sox were pretty much the model franchise in baseball. I mean, yes, of course, they had their ups and downs, their starts and stops, their parades and their chicken and beer controversies. But they were always pointed toward the North Star, right? ….”