PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The unemployment rate in Rhode Island drops to its lowest rate in nearly seven years and a lawmaker wants the state to allow terminally ill patients to obtain experimental drugs that have not been federally approved. Here are things to know this week in Rhode Island:
UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS
The unemployment rate in Rhode Island in December dropped to 6.8 percent, the lowest rate since March 2008. Rhode Island has had one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation for years. The state Department of Labor and Training says the unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a percentage point since November. Gov. Gina Raimondo says she is pleased by the news, but points out that the state’s unemployment rate remains significantly higher than other New England states and the national average. The national unemployment rate in December was 5.6 percent.
’RIGHT TO TRY’
A Rhode Island lawmaker wants the state to give terminally ill patients the “right to try.” Democratic Rep. Joseph McNamara has introduced a bill to allow such patients to obtain experimental drugs that have not been federally approved. Five states enacted similar measures in the past year. McNamara says he wants to give terminally ill patients hope. The official state motto of Rhode Island is simply “Hope.” Lawyers and medical professionals have voiced concerns but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not weighed in.
BUDGET WOES
A public policy group says Rhode Island’s budget for the 2015 fiscal year had projected a surplus of $500,000, but now the state faces a $34.5 million deficit. The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council says the state is spending more on Medicaid than expected and agencies are overspending. Executive Director John Simmons says the new administration needs to rein in costs for grants and benefits because structural deficits loom over the state for the next several years. He projects that the deficit will grow to at least $172 million in fiscal 2016, and total expenditures will likely outpace general revenues through 2019.
BELOVED SISTER DIES
Sister Ann Keefe of St. Michael the Archangel Church died at 62 at her South Providence home from brain cancer. Providence residents and state officials remembered Keefe as a dedicated and beloved community activist who advocated for peace and social justice. She fought gang violence with the Providence-based Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, worked with children in the arts education program Providence CityArts for Youth and volunteered with a variety of other groups. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza ordered all city flags lowered to half-staff in her memory.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.