Tagged: cranston

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung announced an agreement Monday to improve the condition of one of the worst funded municipal pensions in the state.

Fung says the deal will save Cranston $6.5 million in pension costs over the next fiscal year while solving a lingering problem.

“This issue has been an albatross over the city for decades, close to half a century, and this agreement shows the progress that can be made when all parties come together in a spirit of cooperation,” said Fung.

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung has submitted a new budget proposal with no tax increases.  Fung says Cranston has stabilized city finances with help from public safety contract concessions and careful spending.  He points to the growth of businesses like the Alex and Ani jewelry company as proof that Cranston is now seeing an economic expansion.  

"The city of Cranston is not only stable from the initiatives we have put into place these last four years, but now we are experiencing real growth," Fung says.  

Add Senator Josh Miller (D-Cranston) to the list of potential candidates for lieutenant governor in 2014.

Miller says it's too early to consider him an LG candidate, but adds that there "might be a point before the end of the session that I'll start looking at it."

The Cranston Democrat and restaurateur says he's focused on legislative matters for now and wants to consider his potential effectiveness as lieutenant governor before making a decision. Miller says he can offer "a wide range of experience on a wide range of issues."

The Senate Education Committee will hear testimony today about whether schools should be allowed hold father-daughter dances.

The hearing comes after controversy in Cranston over a single mother who said her daughter was denied access to a dance. She wrote to the district charging the policy violates anti-discrimination laws. Cranston school officials responded by banning father-daughter dances, prompting community outcry.

In less than 20 years a quarter of the state's population will be older than 60. In a series we call "The Silver Boom: Aging in Rhode Island," we're looking at how the state will take care of this expanding older population .. and how it can benefit from it.  In this installment, we travel to Cranston to look  at the state’s aging prison population.