This Just In: State House reopens, with expensive plexiglass shields

Also, the state Supreme Court rules on forced DNA collection [View email with images]( [Providence Journal] Wednesday June 17, 2020 [Subscribe Now]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Providence Journal]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Good afternoon and welcome to This Just In. I'm Mike McDermott, managing editor of The Providence Journal. Happy birthday to Cumberland native Bobby Farrelly, who turns 62 today. After more than three months apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my Warwick Firefighters U14 soccer team was back on the field for practice last night. It was a small but significant milestone for me and my oldest son -- a return of some fun, and structure, on a perfect night with some great kids. And now for a place that sounds a little less fun to me: both houses of the Rhode Island General Assembly are reconvening today, for the first time since mid-March. Katherine Gregg reports that legislators who are not participating in debates will watch the hearings on televisions in their offices, or a lounge or committee room. When the time comes to vote, they will be escorted in small groups to their desks, which have been encased in plexiglass. The cost of installing the plexiglass around the desks of the 113 legislators? [It's a nice chunk of change](. Bills to ban 3D-printed guns and give hometown police chiefs more oversight over gun purchases [appear headed toward final passage](. Attorney General Peter Neronha has announced that police departments will now have to report [less-than-deadly uses of force]( and allegations of excessive force, to his office for review. It's the first change in protocol involving Rhode Island use-of-force incidents since 2007. Neronha says the changes were planned before the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but Floyd's death and the deaths of other Black people at the hands of police have added to the urgency. The Rhode Island Supreme Court has overturned a lower court judge and ruled that a DNA sample extracted forcibly from a murder suspect [can be used]( at trial. Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause called video of the incident "one of the most disturbing clips I have seen in a long, long time." But Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg wrote that the use of force by police and correctional officers was reasonable, and "the intrusion into the defendant's Fourth Amendment interests was minimal and was far outweighed by the countervailing government interests." [Subscribe to The Providence Journal]( Authorities are offering [a $10,000 reward]( for information leading to an arrest in the arson fire at the state Department of Administration building, which occurred amid an outbreak of looting and vandalism in Providence after midnight on June 2. The state Department of Health [reported 11 additional coronavirus deaths]( and 49 additional cases of COVID-19, and Gov. Gina Raimondo said asymptomatic people who work in close-contact industries can now get tests at Stop & Shop grocery stores. Care New England's website is down for the second day, but so far an investigation has turned up [no evidence]( that patient information has been compromised. A former Warwick priest [is charged with stealing $40,000]( from the parish he once led to buy furniture, a television and video-game console, among other things. An admitted drug trafficker, whose case was at the center of a dispute between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the state of Rhode Island, has been [sentenced to 10 years in federal prison](. Pawtucket's Smug Brewery is taking a shot at Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski with [a new beer called Traitorade](. Former Providence College women's basketball assistant coach Priscilla Edwards has opened a juice bar, and our food editor Gail Ciampa [has the lowdown](. And I don't know when I'm going back to our old building at 75 Fountain Street, but when I do, [I'll be sure to try Saladworks](. Have a great night. And remember, if you enjoy This Just In, please [encourage a friend to sign up](. providencejournal.com [Facebook]( [Twitter]( You are receiving this communication as a member of the Providence Journal. Providence Journal values your online privacy. For more information, view our [privacy policy]( now. Please do not reply to this message. [Manage Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( Providence Journal 75 Fountain Street Providence, RI 02902 © 2020 Providence Journal. All rights reserved.