STORY OF THE WEEK: For most people, the opioid epidemic is probably out of sight, out of mind. But Rhode Island is still reaping the whirlwind from the epidemic, as those who struggle with addiction and their friends and family members know. Just last week, the state Department of Health put out an alert warning of heightened opioid overdoses in Charlestown, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Westerly and Block Island. In many ways, the roots of the crisis can be traced to Purdue Pharma’s introduction of Oxycontin in the mid-1990s, and how it was aggressively marketed as a non-addictive remedy for a variety of pain-related ailments. (Some of the company’s drugs were manufactured by subsidiaries in Coventry.)

The reckoning took years to develop, triggering an eventual wave of litigation against Purdue Pharma and the family that owned it, the Sacklers. Still, as Patrick Radden Keefe recounts in his authoritative history Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Family, Purdue’s super-wealthy owners were able to have their way for years with such putative regulators as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Although the Sacklers became pariahs — with their name stripped from a number of prominent universities and museums after decades of philanthropy — they were also able to retain most of their multibillion-dollar fortune.

 “That’s a viewpoint that some would have, and it’s not wrong,” Attorney General Peter Neronha said during an interview this week on Political Roundtable. “[A] lot of the Sacklers assets had been moved offshore, and we didn’t have insight into what those assets were.” Neronha said that influenced his decision to hold out with eight other state attorneys general for a stronger settlement last year with Purdue and the Sacklers, raising Rhode Island’s share from $20 million to $45 million. Still, if this money is coming to the state and Rhode Island is still bearing the brunt of opioid addiction, what will it take to curb the epidemic? Neronha said the Purdue money, combined with more recent settlement funds from the Big Three pharmacy chains (“all in over almost $250 million in cash alone”), is starting to flow into the state and will expand treatment efforts. “So that’s going to make an impact,” Neronha said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. Look, it’s not going to be cured overnight. It’s not going to be solved overnight. But these resources are going to go a long way to helping people get into recovery, and successfully completed, I hope.”

TYRE NICHOLS: With Tyre Nichols being laid to rest in Memphis last week, AG Neronha said he thinks police in Rhode Island are getting the training necessary to reduce the risk of having a minor traffic stop escalate into a fatal encounter. “Our Police Chiefs Association, and through what’s called the POST, the Police Officer Standards and Training, the municipal Academy, the Providence Academy and the State Police Academy, are training their officers really well. Now, that said, we saw that we had our own share of incidents here, you know, small percentage compared to the overall interactions with police. But certainly, training is really important … I go back to the body cameras … the body cameras really shed light on the interactions between police and the public. And you know, that should be a disincentive for police officers to act in ways that could lead to bad outcomes. And it’s also a check on, frankly, the public, so that when they make allegations against police that aren’t accurate, we see that as well. That’s why I really believe the body cam program that we did here in Rhode Island in the last year or so — is so important to building trust in our system and you know, holding people accountable when they don’t do the right thing.”

 
WINTER’S BITE: Rhode Island’s most vulnerable residents clearly bear the brunt of extreme weather, including the bitter cold this weekend. Eric Hirsch, the Providence College professor who co-chairs the state’s Homeless Management Information Systems Steering Committee, said 306 people are thought to have spent a night outside in the last two weeks. A lot of those unhoused individuals were expected to move inside as the mercury dipped, Hirsch tells my colleague Lynn Arditi, although this bad weather comes amid a gap in the state’s housing leadership. And as of Thursday, there were no indoor toilets or running water in a shelter at the Providence Armory.

STRAIGHT OUT OF CRANSTON: Twenty years ago, when Steve Laffey built a statewide profile as the mayor of Cranston, it was clear he had his sights set on other things. Sure enough, he ran for U.S. Senate in 2006, challenging then-Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, and came up short. Some thought Laffey would run for governor, and given the razor thin margin by which Chafee won in 2010, we can only wonder how things might have been different. Regardless, Laffey left for Colorado, grumping that Rhode Island wasn’t serious about change. Now, after making losing runs for Congress in the Rocky Mountain State, Laffey is making a GOP run for president. The former Rhode Islander faces a tough climb, since he lacks the name-recognition, institutional support and fundraising prowess of a Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis. But Laffey has the certitude of a true believer, and he’s always been good at retail politics. If his goal is to focus attention on the health of Social Security, that could have civic merit. Still, the clarity of Laffey’s crystal ball is subject to dispute. Speaking in 2010 at the O Club in North Kingstown, he said that without changes to Rhode Island’s property tax system, “The area from Warwick to North Providence to East Providence over to Johnston, in 15, 20 years, is Detroit. It’s that serious.” CUMBERLAND: Gov. Dan McKee’s $13.7 billion budget proposal includes $6.5 million from RI Capital plan funds to renovate a 20,000-square-foot building in Cumberland for the state Medical Examiner’s office. That’s noteworthy since Cumberland is the governor’s home community. Joseph Wendelken, spokesman for the state Department of Health, said the change is being made since the state lab and the ME’s office have outgrown their current building on Orms Street in Providence “and the facility is in significant disrepair …. The location in Cumberland was previously occupied by a company that procured bodies to teach surgical techniques. When the state was exploring different sites for a new Medical Examiner location, this site was ideal because the spaces and setup were similar to what an ME’s office uses. Other sites would have likely required some remodeling.” As it turns out, the plan pre-dates McKee’s time as governor. Laura Hart, spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration, said the property at 900 Highland Corporate Drive, Building 3, “was acquired in November 2020 under a sole source [process] during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”

ON THE MOVE: It was just a few weeks ago when Dr. Megan Ranney, deputy dean of Brown University’s School of Public Heath, guested on Political Roundtable, moving easily and thoughtfully between questions about COVID, treating gun violence as a public health issue and reconciling her football fandom with her career as a physician. Now comes word that Ranney will be leaving Rhode Island for a new gig, as dean of the Yale School of Public Health. It’s a bittersweet change, since Ranney’s friends and supporters are happy for her opportunity, while also feeling sad that this engaging physician and spokeswoman for public health is leaving the state.

RI POLI-MEDIA PEOPLE ON THE MOVE: Former WJAR-TV investigative reporter Katie Davis revealed via Facebook that she’s going to work at Fidelity Investments … Alana Cerrone, who left ABC6 for a job with Gov. Dan McKee, has a new gig with the Providence Tourism Improvement District …. I knew Jeff Emidy back when he was an ace hurler for the Wild Colonials in the Providence Coed Softball League. He moved up this week as executive director of the RI Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission …. The estimable Brent Runyon is leaving as exec director after almost 10 years with the Providence Preservation Society …. WPRI-TV investigative reporter Tolly Taylor has indicated he’s leaving for a yet-to-be-announced job.

 Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.orgt