State Budget: Gov. Dan McKee signed the $15.2B FY27 budget, touting affordability and keeping lawmakers in the loop during revisions, though some of his tax-cut goals weren’t fully adopted. Infrastructure & Resilience: Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank awarded about $1.1M in EPA stormwater grants for design and engineering to reduce flooding impacts across multiple communities, including Pawtucket and Providence. Small Business Relief: SBA approved Economic Injury Disaster Loans for Rhode Island businesses and private nonprofits hit by the historic February blizzard, with all five counties eligible for up to $2M. Local Growth & Housing Finance: East Providence’s expanding tax base helped keep the FY26 tax rate increase to about 2.1% despite a 4% levy bump. Port & Real Estate Development: Quonset’s Port of Davisville began seeing early returns from the Terminal 5 Pier, boosting capacity for auto imports and other cargo; in Pawtucket, GAMG moved ahead with plans to redevelop the former Memorial Hospital campus into mixed-income housing. Workforce & Business Climate: Rhode Island Senate confirmed a new Cannabis Control Commission chair, while lawmakers advanced a charter school moratorium bill that would pause new charters for three years. Regulation Watch: The CFTC escalated its push against state attempts to regulate prediction markets, filing suit against New Mexico—another step in a growing federal-state turf fight. World Cup Economy & Operations: Rhode Island hosted Ghana’s World Cup base camp, but midfielder Thomas Partey was ruled out of Ghana’s opener after Canada denied his visa; Providence also enforced a drone-free zone around the city and Bryant University during the tournament.