Around the time of George Floyd’s murder in the spring of 2020, Providence had its own incident that fueled protests and allegations of police brutality. Joseph Hanley, a Providence police sergeant, was filmed kicking a Black man, Rishod Gore, as he laid face down on the ground in handcuffs. Providence publicly announced it was firing […]
Ben Berke
Based in New Bedford, Ben staffs our South Coast Bureau desk. He covers anything that happens in Fall River, New Bedford, and the surrounding towns, as long as it's a good story. His assignments have taken him to jails, factories, city halls, fishing vessels, bakeries, environmental cleanup sites and the homes of hundreds of interview subjects. Ben joined the bureau in February 2021 after three years in Brockton reporting for The Enterprise. His freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Providence Journal. When he's not working, Ben can often be found near the beach hiking, surfing and collecting the strange things that wash ashore.
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
Savoring summer’s last days the New England way, with a clambake
The clambake is a way New Englanders savor the last days of summer. At Allen’s Neck, a corner of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where farmland meets the coast of Buzzards Bay, a Quaker meeting has hosted an annual clambake since the 1880s. This year, the clambake carried on as a hurricane blew past offshore. Members say the […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk, Transportation
RIPTA considers reducing bus frequency on most routes to close budget gap
Rhode Island’s governor announced a new plan on Monday to resolve RIPTA’s budget shortfall. The proposal would reduce bus frequency on 46 routes, increase fares, and introduce more advertising across the public transit system. Gov. Dan McKee said these changes would help the system avoid eliminating bus routes in their entirety. McKee and leaders from […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local
Trump halts construction on nearly complete wind farm off Rhode Island
President Trump’s administration has ordered a developer to halt construction on a nearly complete offshore wind farm off Rhode Island’s coast, casting the future of the state’s largest renewable energy project into doubt. In a stop-work order issued on Friday afternoon, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it is seeking to address national […]
Posted inEconomy, Local, Transportation
RIPTA proposes largest cuts to bus service in its history
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority proposed service reductions to nearly all of its bus routes on Thursday as it tries to balance a budget deficit. The proposed cuts, which are laid out in detail on RIPTA’s website, would affect 58 routes total, 17 of which would be eliminated entirely. In an interview after announcing […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local, Metro Desk
How an innocent mistake left a Cranston lake strangled by invasive plants
It may look beautiful, but the sacred lotus has been taking over Cranston’s Meshanticut Lake. When the plant native to East Asia (scientific name Nelumbo nucifera) sinks its roots into the lake bottom, it spreads a blanket of green lily pads and purple flowers across the water at a rate that can crowd out native […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, Metro Desk
Providence police explain their role in Sunday’s ICE arrest
After Providence police officers were filmed at the scene of an ICE arrest this weekend, the city’s police chief held a press conference on Monday to explain his department’s role in the incident. Col. Oscar Perez, the city’s police chief, said Providence police officers do not assist federal agents with immigration enforcement or share information […]
Posted inHealth, Labor, Local
Butler Hospital forced to close some psych units as strike grinds on
Two psychiatric units at Butler Hospital have temporarily closed as the strike at Rhode Island’s largest mental health facility grinds on, forcing patients to seek care in emergency rooms that struggle to provide the treatment they need. The hospital’s chief operating officer, Mary E. Marran, said the two-month strike has forced Butler to close about […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk, Politics
Stefano Famiglietti wins primary for Ruggerio’s empty North Providence state Senate seat
Stefano V. Famiglietti blew out the competition in a Democratic primary to fill the legislative seat that belonged for over 40 years to former state Senate president Dominick Ruggerio, who died in April. Famiglietti won over 70 percent of the votes cast in the district, according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
Can a bill protect New Bedford’s migrant teens from dangerous jobs?
Early morning on the New Bedford waterfront looks like a quaint New England scene, with colorful fishing boats lining up at warehouses to unload basket after basket of fresh fish. But a 2023 investigative series by The Public’s Radio revealed some of these seafood processing factories illegally employed migrant teenagers in roles where they worked […]
