The Hummel Round-up - Aggregated News, A Lively Experiment & Hummel Latest Investigations

Latest News

Hummel Investigations

Left Out

Engineers hired by the state to find out why the westbound side of the Washington Bridge failed in 2023 concluded that broken rods which led to the closure had been corroding for more than 15 years. But that conclusion was omitted from the 64-page draft report that Wiss Janney Elstner Associates provided The Rhode Island Department of Transportation in April 2024, according to documents obtained by The Hummel Report. Jim Hummel takes a closer look. Read the full report here.

No Thank You

Six years ago, The Rhode Island Department of Transportation declined multiple offers from the company repairing the Washington Bridge to...

Shifting Costs

Fire Departments in a handful of Rhode Island communities are using a new online database to catalogue inspections of fire alarm boxes,...

New Charlie Hall Toons

New cartoons are available at the bottom of the page.

Here We Go Again

Nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island take note: if you have an exemption certificate that allows your organization to avoid paying...

Not So Fast

The former owners of Johnson’s Pond in Coventry filed a federal lawsuit Friday that paints the picture of an orchestrated – and illegal –...

A Lively Experiment

Lively 10/31/2025

This week on Lively: the state takes action as more than 140,000 Rhode Islanders stand poised to lose federal SNAP benefits. Plus, some rare, good news on the affordable housing front. And the field is getting crowded in the race for Attorney General. Moderator Jim Hummel breaks it all down with Boston Globe columnist Dan McGowan and political contributor Dr. Pablo Rodriguez. Watch the show here.

A Lively Experiment 10/16/2025

On Lively Experiment, Jim Hummel and guests discuss URI’s potential medical school and Brown University’s decision to turn down a Trump administration funding deal — two stories shaping the state’s education and policy landscape. Watch the show here.