Tagged: James Diossa

A group of mayors from around Rhode Island called Monday for the state Senate to legalize same-sex marriage. It remains unclear when the Senate will take up two competing same-sex marriage bills.

The advocacy group Rhode Islanders United for Marriage says the mayors of six communities support same-sex marriage: Providence, Warwick, Pawtucket, North Providence, Central Falls and Cumberland. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras calls same-sex marriage a matter of equality and something that will give Rhode Island an economic boost.

Since James Diossa’s swearing in as Mayor of Central Falls, his former seat on the City Council has sat empty. Steven Corrales is running unopposed for this seat in a special election this March 26th. As Rhode Island Public Radio’s Jehane  Samaha reports, time is running out for Central Falls voters to register.

The tiny city of Central Falls  is moving ahead Thursday evening with what is considered one of the toughest ethics reforms for a small municipality in the country,  even as efforts to restore state Ethics Commission oversight of the General Assembly continue to languish.

State police have charged a Central Falls clerk with embezzlement. The clerk in the finance office is charged with taking thousands of dollars in fines collected by the city’s Municipal Court.

The city’s finance director noticed discrepancies, did an audit, and discovered that over a period of time a total of $13,620 in cash and checks were transferred to collections clerk Joyce Tager but never deposited into the city’s bank account.