Wheeler Cowperthwaite

Hundreds protested Elon Musk near a Providence Tesla dealership. Here's what happened. Members of RI's congressional delegation spoke out against cuts by Trump and Musk, but one prominent Democrat said he disapproved and stayed away.

"At Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School next to the Providence Tesla dealership, about 250 people rallied on Saturday, along with 3 members of [RI's] congressional delegation, to decry President Donald Trump's cuts to the federal government."

Via @waveelection.bsky.social, @wheelerreporter.bsky.social.

How will tariffs hit the residential construction industry? Here's what we found. Tariffs were the talk of the town during a recent residential construction show in Rhode Island.

Most of Rhode Island's biggest companies are reluctant to talk publicly about the impact of tariffs.

But this informative @wheelerreporter.bsky.social dispatch finds home builders bracing for shortages and price hikes

www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...

Ruling to block Providence building threatens projects across city – all because of one word Did Providence intend for six-story buildings to only be 50 feet tall? Why the city says a judge's decision could lead to "absurd" results.

What a mess. Apparently poor drafting in Providence's zoning code -- or instead of and -- threatens buildings across the city.

Example of the downside of overly complicated and prescriptive land use rules

From @wheelerreporter.bsky.social
www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...

Revenue generator: Will RI's richest 1% flee the state if they have to pay 3% more? A tax on Rhode Island's top 1% could bring in much-needed revenue but opponents say it could lead to wealth flight.

EPI🫡🫡🫡 @wheelerreporter.bsky.social's objective + comprehensive reporting: bit.ly/3Sqkliz...

Just remember, Dear Readers, that the bottom 20% of RI income earners pay more in state + local taxes as a percentage of their income than the top 1%. And that's just wrong!

'Absolutely stunned': Feds put Warwick Neck Lighthouse up for sale. Why it might not be legal The GSA has listed the Warwick Neck Lighthouse as "coming soon!!!!" but the National Park Service says it hasn't yet released the property for sale.

A heaping helping of Ocean State lighthouse drama, via @wheelerreporter.bsky.social.

They need the setback variance to fit a transformer in the back/the back of the building expanded into an area it hadn't previously after they moved things around to hide the 5th story.

Re: demand:
Planning board *can* grant or deny the variance, it's technically their discretion.

If you read the article, it's a what happens when a commercial zone is next to a residential zone. Nothing more.

"Because the rear of the property is next to a residential district, the setback is 20 feet. If the property was next to anything else, there would have been no setback requirement."

The chairman was complaining that he would need to pull permits because on the higher stories the building would overhang the sidewalk, that it was too much stuffed in, but also, the overhang wasn't in their purview/something they could use to deny the permit.

(Requires sub, please consider)

Did the PVD City Plan Commission put a developer of 269 Wickenden in a catch-22? They demanded he hide a 5th story, then denied a setback he needed for the hiding.

Meanwhile, public comment was aesthetics vs housing crisis

www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...

RI single-family home prices hit new record - again - in September. Here are the takeaways. The price of a single-family house continued to climb in September as interest rates creep toward 8%.

The housing stats for September are out and prices hit a new high of $455k for a single-family house, while interest rates creep toward 8%.

One real estate agent told me her clients are looking toward eastern Connecticut, where prices are broadly $50k cheaper per property.