🌱Zone 6 Dispensary License In Limbo + No Incumbents Redistricted

Hello, people of Pawtucket! It's me again, Nicole Fallon-Peek, your host of the Pawtucket Daily.

First, today's weather:

A bit of snow and rain. High: 42 Low: 27.

Here are the top stories today in Pawtucket:

1. Depending on the outcome of a state appeal, either Pawtucket or East Providence will be getting a marijuana dispensary in 2022. Five of the six licenses up for grabs were awarded by Rhode Island via a lottery drawing, and the sixth and final one is pending an appeal of a candidate's previous disqualification. If Rhode Island Care Concepts loses its appeal, the license will go to the last remaining qualified Zone 6 candidate, Mother Earth Wellness. Owner Joe Pakuris plans to open the dispensary on Esten Avenue in Pawtucket if selected. (WPRI)
2. Planet Fitness locations throughout Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts are collecting gifts for Boys & Girls Clubs in their local areas this holiday season. There will be a giving tree on display at each participating Boys & Girls Club, where children served by the club can post wish tags. Planet Fitness members can fulfill a wish by selecting a tag, purchasing the item listed, and dropping it off at a designated location. In Pawtucket, you can drop off donated gifts at the Planet Fitness on 295 Armistice Blvd. or on 50 Ann Mary St. (ABC 6)
3. Rhode Island's redrawn district maps that appear to protect incumbents were made that way to "avoid disruptions," according to the company hired to create the redistricting maps. This week, Ryan Taylor of Election Data Services spoke to the Redistricting Commission about potential changes to House and Senate Districts, specifically along the Pawtucket/East Providence border, and said the company consulted with legislators about their districts to ensure no incumbents were redistricted. "It is hard for a sitting member to go into a new town as well as residents of that town to get used to a member who is not from that town," Taylor added. (Uprise RI)

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— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.