Providence’s Real Time Crime Center: How the surveillance system works
The new $1 million nerve center for the Providence Police Department can provide instant information to investigators when a crime is occurring.
- Rhode Island’s $32 million grant for low-carbon transportation materials, awarded in 2024, has been rescinded by the Trump administration.
- The funds were part of a larger $1.2 billion program from the Biden-Harris administration, later canceled under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
- Rhode Island had not yet allocated the funds, which were intended for projects starting in 2026.
PROVIDENCE – In November 2024, Rhode Island got the good news that it was in line for a $31,933,577 share of the $1.2 billion the Biden-Harris administration awarded 39 state Departments of Transportation under a “Low Carbon Transportation Materials Discretionary Grant Program.”
Will Rhode Island get that money? It does not appear so.
The McKee administration acknowledged late Friday, Aug. 22, that state Transportation Director Peter Alviti had received notice three days earlier from the U.S. Department of Transportation that: “These funds are no longer available for use.”
“No, it does not affect the Washington Bridge,” said state DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin.
How did we get here?
This is how the story unfolded: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Aug. 22 criticized President Donald Trump for canceling nearly $32 million in funding that her own state had been awarded for “transportation construction materials.”
Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll issued a statement that said, in part:
“MassDOT was informed by the U.S. Department of Transportation last week that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was recently passed by Congressional Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump, rescinded the Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Program.”
The U.S. DOT awarded a total of $1.2 billion to 39 state transportation departments through this program in November 2024, including $31,933,577 for MassDOT and the same amount for Rhode Island.
What does this mean for Rhode Island?
Gov. Dan McKee told The Journal this in an emailed statement:
“Rhode Island was set to receive nearly $32 million to support the use of low-carbon materials in future transportation projects, but the Trump administration has eliminated this funding for states across the country.
“This is a setback for advancing low-carbon infrastructure and another example of how the GOP budget law undermines the progress states are making.”
St. Martin told The Journal:
“Rhode Island had been awarded $31.9 million under this program to incorporate low-carbon materials into future transportation projects to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which was rescinded nationally.
“RIDOT had not allocated any funding from it, as it was not set to begin until 2026 and RIDOT was awaiting further guidance from FHWA on its potential use.”
Massachusetts governor: Canceling funds will hurt jobs
In her own statement, Healey said: “This was money the Massachusetts Department of Transportation won last year that was intended to support the purchase of materials used in construction, such as asphalt, glass, steel and concrete for use in transportation projects,” Healey said.
“President Trump says he wants to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S., but he’s cancelling millions of dollars in funding that would’ve created manufacturing jobs and boosted American leadership in this industry,” they said.
“He’s also hurting the ability of states across the country to purchase the construction materials we need to fix our roads and bridges – which we all rely on. This cancellation is bad for our communities and bad for our economy, and I urge the Trump Administration to reconsider.”
The money had been awarded as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda.
Is the loss of funds related to RI’s stance on immigration?
Contrary to the speculation taking root on the social media platform X, it does not appear that the fate of the money is tied in any way to the state’s stance on handling immigration cases.
A letter, sent to McKee by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Aug. 13, said the state was being formally notified that Rhode Island has been identified as a jurisdiction engaging in “sanctuary policies and practices” that “thwart” federal immigration enforcement.
It warned that failure to cooperate could result in penalties such as adding “immigration-related terms and conditions” to the issuance of grants, contracts and federal funds, as well as potential prosecution of “violations under federal laws.”
McKee and Attorney General Peter Neronha opted not to respond.
“This generic, non-specific form letter lacks any meaningful detail and does not merit a response.” McKee said.
The question, Neronha said, is whether Rhode Island cooperates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And they do, Neronha said.
“Everybody who was arrested in Rhode Island, their prints go immediately to ICE, and if ICE wants to go down and pick that person up, they can do that,” he said.
What the state is not doing is having the Rhode Island State Police “round up” people who are undocumented, or in the country unlawfully, but not committing crimes, Neronha said.
“We want them focused on crimes committed by anybody and leave that other work to ICE,” Neronha said. “But the administration … is effectively trying to force us to take our state troopers and turn them into ICE agents or we don’t get our money. And that’s unlawful.”
