Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Senate passes Lawson’s bill that adds East Providence to Blackstone Valley tourism district

 

STATE HOUSE – The Senate tonight passed legislation sponsored by Sen. Valarie J. Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence) that adds East Providence to the Blackstone Valley tourism district.

“For too long, East Providence has not been included in our state’s regional tourism districts, causing the city to forego the benefits and support of these tourism bodies.  With this legislation, this problem will be rectified and East Providence and its residents will be able to finally join the history and beauty of the Blackstone Valley tourism district, while most importantly allowing the city to use collected tourism dollars that we currently are unable to tap without a regional tourism district association,” said Senator Lawson.

The legislation (2021-S 0881) includes East Providence in the Northern Rhode Island regional tourism district.  Once East Providence notifies the Rhode Island Division of Taxation and the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council that the city has elected to become a member of the regional tourism district, all funds previously generated in East Providence and held in escrow by the Rhode Island Division of Taxation shall be allocated to the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council to support tourism activities in East Providence.

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration where Rep. Gregg Amore (D-Dist. 65, East Providence) has introduced the legislation (2021-H 5361).

 

  
Testimony from ex-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker is finished in Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial. Pecker gave details this week on how he protected Trump from negative stories leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors are laying the groundwork that leads to cover up payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair. That is the heart of the case against Trump, but his defense points out nothing Pecker did amounts to a crime.        President Biden says he would be happy to debate Donald Trump ahead of the November presidential election. Biden made the comment today during an interview with radio host Howard Stern. Trump, who refused to participate in the Republican primary debates, has posted on social media that he'll debate Biden "anytime, anywhere, anyplace."        New data shows inflation is still on the rise. The Commerce Department says personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rose two-point-eight-percent from March 2023 to March 2024. On a monthly basis, consumer spending edged up eight-tenths of a percent.        Gas prices are up slightly heading into the weekend. Triple A reports the national average for a gallon of regular is three-dollars-and-66-cents, up a penny from yesterday. Drivers are paying 13 cents more than a week ago, with the lowest pump prices in Mississippi at three-oh-eight a gallon.        Former kickboxer and influencer Andrew Tate's trial will go ahead in Romania. Tate was indicted in June along with his brother Tristan on charges of human trafficking and rape. The self-proclaimed "misogynist" has denied the allegations. Tate has billions of TikTok views talking about male dominance, female submission and wealth.       The tennis drama Zendaya's "Challengers" is off to a good start at the box office. The film made one-point-nine-million-dollars from Thursday previews and is projected to take over the top spot from A24's "Civil War" this weekend. The religious drama "Unsung Hero" and the action film "Boy Kills World" starring Bill Skarsgard are also expected to be among the big draws in their weekend debuts.       

Old News Archives