Government
Public services and government action
Lawmakers urge Providence College President to go virtual for the rest of the semester
"Even before the return of PC students, our neighborhoods in the 02904 and 02908 zip-codes were already some of the most impacted by COVID cases and deaths across the state. Please remember, there is a reason our neighbors were initially...
A domestic violence survivor seeking assistance was instead assaulted by Providence police officers, lawsuit alleges
Simone Phoenix was attempting to access services for survivors of domestic abuse, and ended up assaulted by police, detained, and “maliciously” prosecuted, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Content warning: this story, and th...
Opponent's march against Raimondo's plan to break up Kennedy Plaza
"They're not looking at the elderly people. They're not looking at the people that have disabilities. They're just looking at how they want to glorify Kennedy Plaza. They want to push the homeless people out… They're not addressing the n...
Newly elected RI lawmakers are saying 'No' to Raimondo's austerity budget
"Cuts to critical services in communities like Pawtucket worsens inequality, which hurts us all over the long term, and in the short term does devastating damage to the people who are living close to the margin," said Senator-elect Megha...
Providence teachers protest Covid-unsafe schools and unsound home learning option
"Let there be no mistake: These conditions in our schools are a direct result of racist and classist systems that replicate injustice. The negligence and the disregard by elected officials in our own district leadership of the conditions...
DARE uses street theater to highlight gentrification and displacement
"Actually," said DARE's Terri Wright, in the role of the developer Omni Group, "If you want low-income apartments, you can go down Broad Street, and take some of the abandoned properties and build your low-income housing there." "No! We...
Senate Bill aims to decrease Rhode Island's Black maternal mortality crisis
“The doula bill must be passed, and reimbursement has to come from both Medicaid and private insurance.” At a time when our country is reexamining its racist history, we must realize that structural racism pervades the system of healthca...
Democracy dies at PVD City Council committee meeting
"I just want to be clear that nobody's trying to shut out the public from this committee," said Councilmember Narducci. [Of course, that's exactly what he did.] It's important to realize that even before the meeting of the Providence Cit...
Parents demand transparency and options around school reopening
"Two days ago I tried to sign him up for online school, and they're not letting me in," said Helena Dahm, a parent of a child at Veazie. "They want my son to come in person… I don't want my son to be present in school. It's not safe for...
PVD Teachers Union sets up outdoor classroom to demonstrate crowding in classrooms
"When we look at who this pandemic has most affected, it's the Black, Indigenous and People of Color in the Providence community, the same community that's also most affected by systems of oppression that keep our schools underfunded and...