The city of Woonsocket is moving forward with a new ordinance that makes it illegal to camp on public property and carries a fine of up to $250 for repeat violators. Critics say the change is going to harm unhoused people who will be burdened with legal troubles and fines they can’t pay. Months after […]
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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 inLocal, Politics, TGIF
TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for May 9, 2025
If Gina Raimondo was still governor, she could roll out her meatloaf recipe while talking on Real Housewives of RI. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here. *** 1. STORY OF […]
Posted inLocal
Rhode Island Catholics welcome Pope Leo XIV
When white smoke finally appeared above the Sistine Chapel Thursday evening, seminarian Nathan Ledoux of Newport had a front row seat. He and several other Rhode Islanders currently studying in Rome to become priests went straight to St. Peter’s Square to see the new pope. “It was truly, truly an amazing time,” Ledoux said. They […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
Guatemalan man detained in New Bedford due to be released after judge’s order
Immigration Court Judge Donald Ostrom said he was dismissing a case against Juan Francisco Méndez because immigration authorities had failed to properly file the necessary paperwork to charge him, according to his attorney, Ondine Galvez-Sniffin. In court, Galvez-Sniffin said, the the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was unable to account for itself when asked about […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Education, Local
Should Rhode Island require Ethnic Studies to graduate high school?
Should Rhode Island high schools be required to offer an Ethnic Studies course? State lawmakers are considering a bill that would do just that. Some supporters say it’s a crucial step at a time when the Trump administration is targeting curriculum that the president has described as “discriminatory equity ideology.” That can include teaching about […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Local
JWU cuts 91 jobs
Like many New England colleges and universities, Providence-based Johnson & Wales University has been hit hard by declining enrollments. But university officials say their efforts at cost cutting haven’t kept pace with the smaller student body. On Tuesday, university officials announced they are laying off 52 faculty members and 39 staff people — 91 people […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, Politics
Federal judge in R.I. temporarily halts deportation of Venezuelan man to Salvadoran prison
A federal judge on Monday temporarily halted the deportation of a Venezuelan man who lives in Rhode Island. Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose issued an order stating that the man cannot be removed “outside the District of Rhode Island without providing the Court with at least 48 hours’ advance notice of […]
Posted inHealth, Local
Neronha co-leads lawsuit aimed at federal health cuts
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is among 20 attorneys general backing a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from making sweeping changes to the federal Health and Human Services Department and to restore cuts. The complaint in U.S. District Court in Providence targets what Neronha called the Trump administration’s dismantling of HHS. “A quarter […]
Posted inEn Español, Immigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
‘Tienes que seguir adelante’: Cómo un arresto infame de ICE cambió la vida de una familia
Click here to read in English. Marilú Domingo Ortiz dice que Lunes, abril 14, comenzó como cualquier otro día. “Mi esposa tenía una cita en la clínica con el dentista, estábamos yendo por la cita”, Marilú dijo. Marilú dice que ella y su esposo, Juan Francisco Méndez, fueron detenidos mientras estaban manejando por la calle […]
