STORY OF THE WEEK: The troubled March trip to Philadelphia by two Rhode Island officials continues to make waves. Following revelations, via ProJo, about a January lunch at the Capital Grill that included Gov. Dan McKee, lobbyist/political operative Jeff Britt, and officials with Scout Ltd., the RI GOP called on the state Ethics Commission to expand its examination of the Philly trip, and for a separate review of Britt’s lobbying. One issue is how Britt paid for the $228 lunch at the Capital Grill, with the understanding, he said, that McKee’s campaign would reimburse him. Adding to the intrigue, McKee said he wasn’t aware that the meeting would include two Scout officials. Britt told WPRI the governor was aware, and the Scout execs each contributed $500 to McKee’s campaign the same day. Among the questions from RI GOP Chairman Joe Powers: whether McKee violated the limit for gifts for an elected official. The GOP chairman added in a statement, “The Scout scandal just gets worse for Rhode Island’s reputation.” All this added to uncertainty about the future of the Cranston Street Armory. Asked about next steps, McKee spokeswoman Olivia DaRocha said via statement, “The governor is committed to a path forward with the Armory that is in the best interest of the taxpayers. As you know, the state is waiting on an outside financial review of Scout’s proposal before any significant commitment of taxpayer dollars is made.”

DUE DILIGENCE: Back in 2020, Sabina Matos appears to have been unaware of financial concerns involving California-based Prospect Medical Holdings, the owner of Roger Williams Medical Center, Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and other CharterCARE entities. Prospect and its majority owner at the time, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, were under fire for taking hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and dividends from Prospect’s 17 hospitals around the nation. Matos (and North Providence Mayor Charlie Lombardi, along with a host of CharterCARE physicians) spoke during a July 2020 meeting of the Health Services Council. United Nurses and Allied Professionals, which now represents about 800 CharterCARE workers, sought a meeting with Matos after she supported the deal to share its concerns about Prospect. “She seemed to be surprised and taken aback and concerned about, you know, the magnitude of these business practices and the extent to which we believed that they were putting these institutions in Rhode Island at risk,” UNAP General Counsel Chris Callaci told me for a recent story. There were so many questions about Prospect’s proposed change of ownership that Attorney General Peter Neronha extended the deadline for reviewing it. Neronha ultimately required Prospect to fund an $80 million escrow account. Without that, he said, it’s highly likely Roger Williams and Fatima would have closed. Notably, for someone running for Congress, Matos declined to sit for an interview for my story or answer written questions, although she said in a statement that the process resulted in a favorable outcome for Rhode Island.

POLICE BLOTTER: State Sen. Josh Miller (D-Cranston) was arrested last week and charged with vandalism, in a case involving the keying of an SUV with a “Biden sucks” sign.

SCOTUS: Another blockbuster ProPublica story on the Supreme Court sparks related follow-up from U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (in a joint statement with U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois): “The Supreme Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making due to the acceptance of lavish gifts from parties with business before the Court that several Justices have not disclosed. The reputation and credibility of the Court are at stake. Chief Justice Roberts could resolve this today, but he has not acted. The highest court in the land should not have the lowest ethical standards. But for too long that has been the case with the United States Supreme Court. That needs to change.
That’s why when the Senate returns after the July 4th recess, the Senate Judiciary Committee will mark up Supreme Court ethics legislation. We hope that before that time, Chief Justice Roberts will take the lead and bring Supreme Court ethics in line with all other federal judges. But if the Court won’t act, then Congress must.”

ELSEWHERE IN CD1…

Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos has been endorsed by EMILY’s List, which could provide important fundraising support. “Matos has been a champion for women, youth, and working families, and she has been a strong supporter of reproductive freedom throughout her time in elected office,” EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler said in a statement. Matos also won the endorsement of Elect Democratic Women — a major sign, according to Punchbowl News, “of institutional Democratic support for Matos.”

Aaron Regunberg unveiled an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a progressive favorite. “Rhode Island punches way above its weight class in Congress,” Raskin said via statement. “My close friend David Cicilline was an essential force for progressive change in the House who never cowered before MAGA Republicans or even the world's largest corporations, and his departure is a sharp loss to Democrats. We need Rhode Island to send another fighter, organizer and leader to take David’s place, and that’s why I’m endorsing Aaron Regunberg as David’s replacement.” Regunberg also won endorsements from Climate Hawks Vote, a national group, and musician Vanessa Carlton.

PVD FEST: Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is defending his decision to make a series of changes to PVD Fest, the signature event created by his predecessor, Jorge Elorza. During an interview on Political Roundtable, Smiley said the choice to no longer allow people to stroll downtown with an open cup of beer or wine was due to how PVD Fest in recent years “had turned into more and more of an outdoor street fair, focused on drinking and less on the performances.” The event will instead take place on the riverfront later in the year. In a nod to people unhappy with the changes, Smiley said the city is looking at allowing bars and restaurants to extend outdoor areas at which patrons can consume a drink. “But we need to make sure that we can properly police and secure those areas so that they're safe for everyone to enjoy. We're trying to work on that. And that's our hope. We're trying to work on the staffing models right now. And we'll have a lot of guidance for businesses in the weeks to come.”

OPIOID MONEY: My colleague Lynn Arditi has an eye-opening look at the lack of transparency accompanying the distribution to cities and towns of more than $10 million in opioid settlement money. Excerpt: “Even finding out precisely how much each city or town is receiving was nearly impossible because neither the local governments nor the state had publicly reported the information – until now. After requests from The Public’s Radio, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office released a detailed summary showing exact dollar amounts of the settlement money allocated to cities and towns. (The state’s summaries, unlike those documented by OpioidSettlementTracker.com and the national KFF Health News, also include money Rhode Island received from separate settlements with Teva and Allergan.) The payments range from less than $800 to the Town of Exeter, to more than $2 million to the City of Providence.”

KICKER: We here at Casa Donnis are typically a few weeks behind in viewing current episodes of Jeopardy! – due to the time-consuming exigencies of following the Red Sox – but scuttlebutt indicates that Dan Meuse, a smart staffer during Elizabeth Roberts’ time as lieutenant governor – suffered a close miss in advancing on the show. Welp.

Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org