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LEADING OFF
Happy Tuesday and welcome to Rhode Map, your daily guide to everything happening in the Ocean State. I’m Dan McGowan and I hope Governor Raimondo issues an executive order banning “The Bachelorette” contestant Luke P. from Rhode Island. Follow me on Twitter @DanMcGowan or send tips to Dan.McGowan@globe.com.
US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will hit a milestone in the coming days when he delivers his 250th speech on climate change. Each week when the Senate is in session, he spends a few minutes discussing the issue.
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So what has Rhode Island’s junior senator learned in the seven years since he started making the speeches?
In an interview last week, Whitehouse said he started making his comments at a “really bad time” for the global warming conversation because “we had a Democratic president in the White House who didn’t want to put the words ‘climate’ and ‘change’ in the same paragraph.”
He said President Obama deserves credit for signing off on the Clean Power Plan later in his final term that placed restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Whitehouse is no fan of President Trump. But he said businesses around the world are beginning to the sound the alarm about the potential dangers of climate change. He pointed to the Bank of England’s willingness to take a lead on the issue.
It doesn’t hurt that the polls appear to be on Whitehouse’s side. Earlier this year, researchers at Yale University found that the percentage of Americans who are concerned or alarmed about global warming has increased 16 points to 59 percent in the last five years. Meanwhile, an April CNN poll of Democratic voters listed climate change as the top issue the presidential candidates need to address.
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Whitehouse still has a long way to go when it comes to breaking any records for consecutive speeches on the Senate floor. In the 1970s and 1980s, Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire delivered nearly 3,000 speeches over 19 years urging his colleagues to approve a treaty outlawing genocide.
NEED TO KNOW
Rhode Map wants to hear from you. If you’ve got a scoop or a link to an interesting news story in Rhode Island, e-mail us at RInews@globe.com.
• Apparently sharks have no love for Rhode Island. While Massachusetts appears to have seen an uptick in shark sightings in recent years, Amanda Milkovits explains why the ferocious predators don’t seem to enjoy summering in the Ocean State.
• Remember that bizarre story about all those Rhode Island residents who were registering their cars on the same lot in Maine? Amanda reports Providence police are now sending bills for unpaid speeding and red-light tickets to dozens of people.
• The Globe’s Stan Grossfeld looks at the demise of pickup baseball.
• Rhode Island is set to receive $1 million as part of the Equifax data breach settlement.
• This is fun. Providence Municipal Court Judge Frank Caprio is going to throw out the first pitch in the Red Sox/Yankees game on Thursday night.
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WHAT’S ON TAP TODAY
Each day, Rhode Map offers a cheat sheet breaking down what’s happening in Rhode Island. Have an idea? E-mail us at RInews@globe.com.
• The state Council on Elementary and Secondary Education is expected to authorize Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green to begin the process of taking over the Providence school department tonight.
• With all eyes on whether Hasbro will remain in Rhode Island, the company just released a healthy earnings report this morning.
• “Hamilton” opens at the Providence Performing Arts Center tonight. There are still a few tickets available.
• Shark Week doesn’t begin until July 28, but the Jane Pickens Theater & Event Center in Newport is hosting its fourth annual “Jaws” summer party tonight.
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Thanks for reading. Send comments and suggestions to dan.mcgowan@globe.com, or follow me on Twitter @DanMcGowan. See you tomorrow.
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