As she finished her six years as governor of Rhode Island, and left for a new job as Commerce secretary in the Biden administration, Gina Raimondo claimed credit for making the state’s economy stronger. In some cases, the economy is stronger. But in other ways, Rhode Island still faces many of the same challenges as before.
In The Spotlight
Posted inArticle, South County Bureau
In coastal South County, fire districts fight shoreline access instead of fires
Rhode Island boasts of its nearly 400 miles of shoreline, yet the state’s eight public saltwater beaches border less than seven miles of that waterfront. Much of the remaining land along the shore is privately owned. The public has the legal right to the coastal waterfront, but wealthy shoreline communities are getting more exclusive. Special fire districts—which sometimes don’t even fight fires at all—are a big factor in the growing tensions over shoreline access.
Posted inArticle
Personal essay: Grappling with internalized racism and Asian American identity
Growing anti-Asian violence in this country has dominated the news over the last few weeks. In a personal essay, Brown University undergraduate student Michelle Liu reflects on what it was like to grow up and grapple with her Asian American identity.
Posted inArticle, Health
Help on wheels: A mobile trailer delivers COVID-19 vaccine registration to Providence’s hard-hit neighborhoods
A gas generator makes an unholy roar outside St. Bartholomew’s Church in the city’s Silver Lake section where a shiny white trailer is parked. Inside the trailer on this chilly March afternoon it’s warm and filled with light. Two healthcare workers are seated at a long folding table behind plexiglass dividers, working on laptops. Their […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Vaccine Inequities: Getting shots to vulnerable residents is ‘a marathon, not a sprint’
Filiberto Paredes first heard about the coronavirus vaccines on the news. “Pregunté a la doctora si podía ponérmela. Me dijo que no, que tenía que esperar un poco. Seguí insistiendo.” “I asked my doctor if I could get it. She told me no, that I would have to wait. But I kept insisting.” He called […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Vaccine Inequities: Hundreds of people from across Rhode Island sign up for COVID-19 shots meant for residents in hard-hit neighborhoods
Inside a storefront health clinic in a Price Rite shopping plaza in Providence, the regulars are mostly immigrants who speak Spanish, Portuguese and Creole. They work cleaning offices, washing cars and fileting fish in grocery stores. And nearly one in four of the patients last month tested positive for the coronavirus, said Dr. Annie De […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Proposed deal involving for-profit Rhode Island hospitals sparks sharp battle
As Rhode Island’s two-largest hospital groups pursue a merger, a fierce battle is playing out over the control of the state’s third-biggest hospital group. CharterCARE Health Partners includes Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence and Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, which are among the largest employers and biggest taxpayers in their communities.
Posted inEpisode
Juan García, Part II: The Birth of an Organizer
Juan García’s story concludes in Providence, where he finds direction defending immigrant communities.
Posted inArticle, Health
Photo gallery: A vaccination drive in a coronavirus hotspot
Central Falls, R.I. is at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. The one-square mile city of just under 20,000 people has the highest per capita infection rate in a state that is among America’s hardest-hit.
Posted inEpisode
Juan García, Part I: Journey From Bananaland
Part one of Juan Garcia’s life tells a history of revolution, migration, and the strength of the human spirit.
