Opinion
Editorial pieces from contributors and staff
A moral imperative: Race, poverty and coronavirus
"How does anyone in good conscience separate race from poverty? You can’t. It is intricately linked. There is a tendency to not connect the dots." The coronavirus is ripping mercilessly throughout the world and causing death and destruct...
Essential workers face stark choices, and Governor Raimondo refuses to help
"I don't have an authority via executive order to require private employers to tell them how they have to pay their employees," said Governor Gina Raimondo. "That's certainly not within the scope of my executive authority." “Grocery stor...
New rules for reporters covering Governor Raimondo's remote press conferences favor large media
"This is on the honor system. If you honestly think that you are more deserving of having your question asked every single day than the 35 other reporters who never get a question asked, then that’s your prerogative. Noting that Rhode Is...
The story I couldn't write about the Wyatt
How does one trust that the detainees at the Wyatt are being properly cared for when those directly responsible for their care pass the buck to ICE, an outside agency? When I contacted Christopher Hunter, who does the communications for...
RI Pride rises to the occasion
"I desperately wanted to help my city through this crisis, but I’m just one person, with no medical training- what could I do?" It was March 15th, and I left for a fortuitous trip to see an old friend on Cape Cod; I had planned on runnin...
RICAGV on Department of Homeland Security deeming gun stores "essential"
We would point out that the First Amendment allows for the ‘right of the people peaceably to assemble’, and yet in this time of crisis, that right has been temporarily suspended without controversy. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo ha...
Coronavirus exposes deep problems in Rhode Island's healthcare system
Years of public health funding cuts have left Rhode Islanders vulnerable... Coronavirus is creating a rapidly escalating disaster in Rhode Island. We need to do everything in our power to minimize the damage that the epidemic is causing...
An open letter to Governor Raimondo and the ACI regarding COVID-19
The letter is from Bruce Reilly, J.D., a prison reform advocate in New Orleans, LA, the most incarcerated city in the world. Dear Governor Raimondo, Director Coyne-Fague, and Chairwoman Pisaturo, The situation for incarcerated people is...
An old law for a different time: We need the General Assembly, not the DEFB
Is the decision to convene the Disaster Emergency Funding Board instead of opening the entire General Assembly online a calculated, political move? The section of state law that established the possibility of convening a Disaster Emergen...
RI Repulican Party: An emergency doesn’t end our constitutional democracy
"To prevent our constitution from being violated, we are considering legal action to prevent the Disaster Emergency Funding Board from borrowing funds from any private sector entity without voter approval." At the request of Rhode Island...