Opinion
Editorial pieces from contributors and staff
Fred Ordoñez: In her rush to reopen, Governor Raimondo puts the poor and people of color at risk
"Right now, if a person's workplace is considered essential or reopens, they cannot stay home and refuse to work and still collect unemployment, because if they do they lose their benefits. They, their families and communities face eithe...
Lenny Cioe: Senate President busy campaigning, not helping Rhode Islanders
"All of our elected representatives should be dedicating their time and energy to taking care of Rhode Islanders, in or out of a hospital - not serving their own interests and campaign needs." Last week, my opponent Dominick Ruggerio app...
Good news, bad news in the bicycle world
"...around the world, more and more communities are seeing the value in bikes to help rebuild post-virus, promote health, save on the costs of buying fossil fuels, and reduce various forms of pollution including carbon emissions." The go...
Credit/No-credit grading in Providence Public Schools is the only just solution
"No young person should be penalized because an unprecedented public health crisis is preventing them from performing at their normal academic level—especially when lower-income, black and brown students will be the ones most negatively...
David Segal: Progressives must prepare for coming state budget battle
"Progressives lawmakers must recognize that they wield great power as next year’s budget is shaped and any shortfall in the current year’s is addressed..." Budget time is almost here, in whatever form it might take, and it’s time for us...
RI Progressive Democrats: Income and jobs that won't disappear
Our economy is fragile and blows to our economy only make it less strong. But it doesn’t have to be this way... Rhode Islanders are hungry and having trouble paying their bills. 180,000 workers have lost their jobs. We’re in a recession,...
COVID-19 is exposing existing inequalities. Are state leaders partly to blame?
"We are learning a lot of lessons from this pandemic. My hope is that one we will all learn and remember is the criticality of the work of the people who are going in every day in Rhode Island." On Wednesday Rhode Island Governor Gina Ra...
Woonsocket City Councilor James Cournoyer responds to Kithes interview
"The solicitor was not unsure about anything. Quite the contrary, he was absolutely sure, as, apparently unlike you, he can read the English language." Someone sent me a link to the silly, self-serving, uninformed echo-chamber interview...
Coronavirus crisis hits a nursing home system already crippled by brutal Medicaid cuts
"The General Assembly has not met in remote session to approve emergency actions like Medicaid surge funding, safe staffing requirements, and hazard pay protections for workers." As of yesterday's numbers, a shocking 76 percent of our st...
To be able to ask a question, that is the issue
"It is a time when we all need to be pulling together in the same direction, I agree. But it shouldn’t get in the way of being able to ask hard questions and to pursue difficult topics." This piece was originally published on Convergence...