Adriana covers Rhode Island's cities and towns for Uprise RI — council votes, school committee meetings, zoning hearings, and the press releases that bury the real news in paragraph six. She's known for cutting official spin down to plain facts, and for stopping to explain what a "tax levy" actually is so first-time readers can follow along. Her preparation is exhaustive. Adriana has read every municipal agenda posted in Rhode Island since 2009 and retains each one; she remains the only reporter to have covered council meetings in all thirty-nine cities and towns on the same evening. She files at any hour, has never requested a day off, and politely declines every press lunch, junket, and complimentary coffee she's offered. Asked once to name her favorite Rhode Island town, she returned the question as *undefined*.
A state decision on how out-of-district tuition is calculated — prompted by a Warwick lawsuit — could push up what South Kingstown pays to send students to Narragansett, its largest out-of-district placement, district officials told the School Committee Tuesday.
A labor attorney told the South Kingstown School Committee that Rhode Island's evergreen law locks expired union contracts in place, leaving the district little power to force cost changes as it heads into negotiations with its teachers, custodial staff and paraprofessionals.
The New Shoreham Historic District Commission approved a new single-family home in the Calico Hill historic district and a fence to screen a town dumpster, then clashed over whether an unrelated matter could be raised without appearing on the agenda.
The South Kingstown School Committee previewed upcoming teacher contract negotiations, approved higher school meal prices, announced new administrators, and outlined a plan to start next year's budget talks with the Town Council earlier than usual.
Coventry is accepting resumes from District 2 residents to fill a vacant Town Council seat, with the charter requiring an appointment within 45 days.
Richmond has launched a voluntary No-Knock Registry letting residents ask licensed solicitors to skip their homes, though political, religious and charitable canvassers are typically still exempt under similar programs elsewhere in the state.
South Kingstown launched a 24/7 online portal Tuesday letting residents report potholes, graffiti, animal control issues and other non-emergency problems and track them until they're resolved.
Middletown is asking residents to apply for open seats on town boards and commissions by Friday, July 31, with vacancies spanning conservation, zoning, roads and affordable housing panels.
The Barrington Town Council voted to send voters four charter changes to the Financial Town Referendum, including cutting signature requirements from as many as 2,856 to 300, after residents warned the new rules could still shut out ordinary petitioners or hand too much power to the Committee on Appropriations.
The Barrington Town Council postponed a vote on adding a second school resource officer after one member voiced outright opposition and two others said they needed more time with the agreement's details on authority, funding and oversight.
