Two years after Pawtucket city officials closed Morley Park with plans to convert it to a parking lot, the National Park Service is being asked to weigh in on its future. An environmental lawyer says it’s just one more example of why Rhode Island needs an environmental justice law. Also, what exactly is ranked-choice voting, and how does it work? We’ll walk you through it. And on this week’s Artscape, we hear some “witch pop” in a studio session with Providence singer-songwriter Olivia Dolphin. That and more on this week’s show.
Morley Field
Posted inPolitical Roundtable, Politics
State Rep. Jennifer Stewart on housing, improving schools, Washington Bridge & more
Jennifer Stewart won election as a state representative from Pawtucket in 2022. She ran on the idea that lawmakers should do more to help everyday Rhode Islanders with key needs like healthcare and housing. But these are complex issues that defy easy solutions. Stewart is one of a number of progressive lawmakers who have joined the legislature over the last decade, moving the General Assembly a bit more to the left. But Rhode Island still faces familiar challenges in building a stronger economy and improving public schools. What will it take to make more progress? And do progressive lawmakers have the vision to make it happen? I’m Ian Donnis and this week I’m going in-depth with state Representative Jennifer Stewart.
Posted inEpisode, The Weekly Catch
Behind efforts to save Morley Field in Pawtucket, redlining in Rhode Island, and more
A group of Pawtucket residents, elected officials and activists have been campaigning to save the city’s Morley Field. Now they say the city may have been violating land-use laws for years. And many people think of redlining as a thing of the past, but the justice Department this week found evidence of discriminatory lending in a number of American cities – including in Rhode Island. Also, we share the first in a series of stories from Latinos in Rhode Island, a new collaboration with a local oral history project. Plus, a conversation with a Sephardic musician who sings songs in Ladino set to original music.
