Government
Public services and government action
Safer Communities for Justice launches unsolved murders tip line
"It's time for us to provide solutions," said Safer Communities for Justice founder Diana Garlington. "We do rallies and vigils, like Lock Arms for Peace, but it's now time to step up and try to provide solutions to what's going on in our communities."
Central Falls announces new Nonviolence Outreach Specialist; initiatives to engage youth
“As a parent to a newborn 10 days ago, as a coach, as a mentor, as a leader to this community, I know that we have to prioritize our kids, and making sure we figure out the safest way possible to keep them away from the streets,” said Manny Silva, the new Central Falls Nonviolence Outreach Specialist. “We have to build our relationships and trust with this community.”
Nourish RI wants to improve public health with small tax on sugar-sweetened beverages
"When patients ask me, as a physician, what is the number one thing they can do to lose weight or if they're pre-diabetic, my answer is always to reduce your consumption of soda and other sugary beverages," said Dr Philip Chan, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Brown University. "It's literally one of the best things we can do health wise besides quitting smoking or exercising."
One year after George Floyd - BLM RI PAC demands policy, not platitudes
"There have been a lot of shows of solidarity for Black lives," said Senator Tiara Mack. "There has been very little progress to change the ways in which Black and brown and low-income people experience real and tangible change on the precipice of a national and global conversation about how we reckon with racism, not only in our policies but in the practices of those policies."
Faith and community leaders unveil alternatives to violence at Billy Taylor Park
"We recognize that as a community, we are one. And when we are one, all of us hurt," said Reverend Howard Jenkins Jr. "But also we recognize that we are very familiar with the persons that are oppressors in the sense of gun and gang violence. We know the family members. We have had some type of interaction with them."
Governor McKee believes student resource officers are needed - Students disagree
SROs enforce a system of violence that criminalizes our black and brown youth, and perpetuates the school to prison pipeline. The bottom line is, no matter his experience as an educator, Governor McKee cannot understand the lived experiences of students of color, who face harassment and assault at the hands of police in their communities and (as long as the city continues to employ SROs) in their schools. How many times must youth be brutalized at the hands of SROs before Governor McKee realizes that police officers have no place in our schools?
Locking Arms for Peace returns in response to recent gun violence
"We've experienced a lot of violence in these past couple of weeks," said Garlington, speaking about a rash of shootings in Providence and Pawtucket. In addition to honoring her daughter, Garlington also wanted to "bring some sort o solace to the community, to the families that are hurting right now due to the loss of their loved ones."
Remembering Tatyana Shawnte Francis: A celebration
"We talk about gun violence and we talk about creating opportunities for our young people, creating leadership and mentorship programs - but this girl was part of all of that. She was engaged in all of those things. She came from a community where she was loved," said Providence City Councilmember Nirva LaFortune. "So what do you say to that?"
Providence DSA: Rhode Island General Assembly dodges Medicare for All vote, defying public demands
"We do not have the time to play games with healthcare. Every moment we waste translates into potentially irreparable harm to our families, friends, and neighbors. Rhode Islanders are suffering from a dysfunctional profit-driven healthcare system which will continue until they have access to free comprehensive healthcare..."
General Assembly passes good unemployment insurance legislation for the wrong reason
Republicans (and many Democrats, sadly) are saying that unemployment benefits are too good, and that people are not incentivized to go back to work. But the unemployment data doesn't support this idea...