This story is part of our series One Storm Away: How climate change is threatening drinking water on the Ocean State’s islands When Christina DiMeglio decided to move back home to Rhode Island in 2016, she thought she’d found the perfect house on Conanicut Island. It has a wide backyard with sweeping views of the East […]
Olivia Ebertz
Olivia Ebertz comes to The Public’s Radio from WNYC, where she was a producer for Morning Edition. Prior to that, she spent two years reporting for KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, where she wrote a lot about how the warming climate is forcing local Indigenous communities to change their traditional lifeways.
Prior to her career as a journalist, Olivia worked in film. Her documentaries have screened at festivals worldwide.
Olivia likes to pursue stories inspired by questions from community members.
Ella habla español, lei parla italiano, и она говорит по-русски.
Posted inLocal, Politics
Tensions flare as Palestinian flag is raised at Providence City Hall
A Palestinian flag was raised on Friday at City Hall, but the flag-raising ceremony turned tense as a crowd of several dozen pro-Israel protestors attempted to drown out the speeches by making loud noises, chanting into a megaphone, and playing loud music. The flag was raised to commemorate the Nakba, when Israel officially declared itself […]
Posted inHealth, Labor, Local
Butler Hospital workers picket in the rain and mud for higher wages, more staff
Workers at Butler Hospital began chanting, cheering and trudging in the mud out front of the psychiatric hospital at 6 a.m. Thursday morning and remained on strike by the end of the day. Members of the union’s bargaining committee say the workers are fighting for higher wages across the board and better staffing. They began […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local, Newport Bureau
State board allows Jamestown residents with dry wells to connect to municipal water
The Rhode Island Water Resources Board voted unanimously on Wednesday to allow four Jamestown households to connect to the town’s water. The residents, who live just north of the Newport-Pell bridge along Seaview Avenue, say they ran out of usable water in their own wells more than two years ago. Some of the residents say […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, Metro Desk
A new website illuminates the history of Indigenous enslavement in New England
Brown University history professor Mack Scott grew up Indigenous in Rhode Island. He moved to the Narragansett reservation in Charlestown in middle school, where he was steeped in his culture. But prior to that he lived in Providence, where he said this identity was less present in his own life. “I was considered a city […]
Posted inEducation, Local, Metro Desk
How Trump’s first 100 days reverberate at Brown University
April 30 marks the one-year anniversary since Brown University students packed up their pro-Palestinian encampment on the school’s Main Green. Students agreed to end the protest after school leaders said they would hold a vote on a proposal to divest from companies that support Israel, drawing both criticism and praise. April 30 also marks President […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local
Climate change is threatening Prudence Island’s drinking water
This story is part of our series One Storm Away: How climate change is threatening drinking water on the Ocean State’s islands Nestled in the middle of Narragansett Bay, Prudence Island is home to a small community of about 230 year-round residents. It’s only reachable by boat, and climate change may be spurring a drinking […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk, Politics
‘No kings’: Rhode Island protesters rally against Trump in nationwide demonstration
Hundreds of protesters rallied Saturday in Providence and towns across Rhode Island as part of a nationwide “day of action” against the Trump administration. In Providence, they marched at noon from the Rhode Island State House lawn through downtown, chanting “government by the people” and “no kings.” The protest was organized by members of the […]
Posted inEducation, Immigration, Local
ACLU affiliates sue to challenge student visa revocations in New England
The ACLU of Rhode Island, joined by other affiliates in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and Puerto Rico, and law firm Shaheen & Gordon, has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court to try to stop the revocation of over 100 F-1 student visas in New England. Gilles Bissonnette, legal director of the ACLU of […]
Posted inEducation, Local, Metro Desk
Brown University students tell school leaders ‘Do Not Comply’ with Trump administration
In one of the first large protests at Brown University this year, more than 100 Brown University students poured onto the Main Green Friday to demand that school leaders refuse to comply with demands they expect are coming from the Trump administration. Over the past several months, the Trump administration has used the prospect of […]
