As you might already know, we were successful in obtaining a pardon for John Gordon, the Irish immigrant who was hanged in 1845. This made world wide news. I have collected many of the news articles on my personal website. Please visit: www.stacyhouse.com. [Look in the John Gordon section].

I am also proud to tell you that a very important bill which I had submitted for three years in a row finally got passed. The bill grants the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to resolve the identification of those who choose to trade in Child Pornography by use of a relatively simple administrative subpoena vs. needing a full court subpoena.

In October, I was one of three legislators honored at a 'Keys for the Homeless' benefit for Housing First RI held in Providence. We were recognized for our legislative initiatives on behalf of affordable housing and their efforts to end homelessness in Rhode Island. [see 10/28/2011 Press Release].

On November 4th, I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on 'The Death Penalty on Trial”, hosted by Amnesty International USA, Brown University Chapter, and held recently at Brown University. I was invited to participate in the program as a direct result of my legislative efforts, this year, that led to the gubernatorial pardon of John Gordon, an Irish immigrant who was wrongly charged with and executed for murder in the mid-1800s. [see 11/4/2011 Press Release].

In November, I spent a week in Boston at the 70th annual meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. I have been the Rhode Island Legislative Commissioner since July 2010. This keeps me very active in fisheries issues. http://www.asmfc.org/

On Tuesday, November 29th, I attended an all day Rhode Island Prisoner Reentry Summit which was hosted by the Rhode Island Department of Corrections in collaboration with the office of the U.S. Attorney and the Rhode Island Foundation. [see 12/5/2011 Press Release].

On November 30, I visited McCauley House in Providence and had a tour of that facility which supports the homeless population in Providence. They feed up to 300 people per day. [Check their website here: www.mcauleyri.org/].

On December 1st, I attended a special seminar at the University of Rhode Island on 'Disaster Planning and Response Through Resilience'. Earlier that day, I had attended the signing of the Governor's executive order which formulated the special commission to support the Americas Cup event in Newport.

On December 3rd, I was honored to attend a ceremony at the Artillery Company of Newport where I was able to present copies of the one-hour Capitol TV show that we had done last summer to support this great organization. I have copies available. [www.newportartillery.org].

On December 7th, I attended the monthly meeting of the Fort Adams Trust at which more detailed plans about the Americas Cup event were presented. [www.fortadams.org].

Later that day, I had the distinct privilege of driving Senior Chief Ralph N. Churchwell USN [retired] to the State House where he, and 5 other survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor were honored. Chief Churchwell is the father of one of my De La Salle classmates and a friend of my late father.

On December 6th, I attended a meeting of the Sea Food Collaborative at the RIDEM offices in Providence. This meeting was the result of some of the fisheries legislation that I was able to get passed by the General Assembly this year. [see 9/13/2011 Press Release].

On December 9th, I attended a meeting on Homeless and Recovery at the Institute for Addiction Recovery at Rhode Island College. Earlier in the year I had been honored as the Rhode Island Legislator of the Year by the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. [see 6/22/2011 Press Release].

On December 10th, I attended an all day retreat with the Newport County Community Mental Health Center I was appointed to the board of Directors this past year. [ www.nccmhc.org].

On December 12th, I was one of 6 members of the General Assembly who attended a meeting with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management at their headquarters in Providence. We were given a two hour overview of their very extensive programs.