Although attendance is coming back, donations have been flat or decreased, expenses have gone up due to inflation…and some venues have closed. Some states have used federal COVID relief money from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) to help shore up their arts nonprofits. Now the Rhode Island Coalition for the Arts has proposed something similar […]
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Posted inLocal, Politics, TGIF
Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for May 24, 2024
With the heat on the rise, 1) it’s time to hit up Sunshine Creamery; 2) go to the beach; and 3) the end of the General Assembly session looms. You can follow me through the week on threads and what we used to call the twitters. Here we go. *** Want to get my column […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk
Hisham Awartani joins Brown University students presenting divestment proposal to board members
On Thursday morning, a group of four undergraduate students and one graduate student wearing business casual attire made their way up the hill to the John D. Rockefeller library at Brown University. They had just presented a proposal on divestment to some of the school’s board members. A group of their peers, members of the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Housing, Local
Why homelessness advocates in RI are watching a U.S. Supreme Court case
Several bags of belongings, a bicycle and small furniture sat just outside one of the entrances to a clearing off Houghton Street in Providence, where until recently roughly 35 homeless people lived. The encampment’s unhoused residents had gathered their belongings so they could move them gradually, sometimes on foot, to new locations. In early May, […]
Posted inLocal, Political Roundtable, Politics
Sabina Matos on bouncing back from an election loss, policy priorities, and what’s next
Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos was the early favorite in the race for an open seat in the First Congressional District last year. But a signature-gathering scandal took on a life of its own, and undermined Matos’ hopes of landing in Congress. Her boss, Governor Dan McKee, shows how a lieutenant governor can move up if they’re in the right place at the right time. But some Rhode Islanders continue to question the value of the lieutenant governor’s office. So what does Matos say about that? What has she done to overcome the disappointment of her performance in last year’s congressional race? And what does Matos say about Democrats losing support among Latinos? This week on Political Roundtable, Ian Donnis goes in-depth with Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos.
Posted inHealth, Local
Rhode Island has ‘more kids in psychiatric care that should be someplace else’
For years, Marty Sinnott warned Rhode Island lawmakers of trouble mounting in the state’s child welfare system. But the CEO of the Middletown-based nonprofit Child and Family Services of Newport County says nobody listened. Now, officials from the state Department of Children, Youth and Families are scrambling to remove kids from the troubled St. Mary’s […]
Posted inLabor, Local, Metro Desk
Outraged by Brown’s threats of faculty discipline, some professors call for institutional reform
It’s been more than two weeks since student protesters at Brown University struck a deal with school administrators, packed up their tents, and peacefully ended a pro-Palestinian encampment that had lasted nearly a week. But some faculty members at Brown say they are unwilling to move on and forget about a series of ominous letters […]
Posted inEnvironment, Health, Local, The Weekly Catch
Federal investigation of DCYF, local hunters group advocates banning captive hunting, and more
Bradley Hospital is in the news this week. The U.S. Justice Department alleging the state’s child welfare agency is violating the civil rights of children with behavioral and developmental disabilities by keeping them hospitalized long after their treatments have ended. We’ll talk to a reporter who’s been following the story for years. Also, we’ll find out more about proposed legislation to ban hunting captive wild animals in Rhode Island.
And a company in Pawtucket called Gif-o-Graf has a fun way for students to create stop-motion animation
Posted inLocal, Politics, TGIF
Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for May 17, 2024
Time to get down to brass tacks with the budget. You can follow me through the week on threads and what we used to call the twitters. Here we go. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here. *** STORY OF THE WEEK: In a sure sign […]
Posted inLocal, Political Roundtable, Politics
Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera on housing progress, what’s next for schools, and why more Latinos are voting Republican
Maria Rivera made history in Central Falls when she won election in 2020 as the first Latina mayor in Rhode Island. Rivera does not yet face any announced opponents for re-election this year and she’s an up and comer in Rhode Island politics. During her time in office, Rivera has led the charge to build more housing, with a goal of completing 300 new units. Central Falls broke ground on a new high school last month and millions of dollars have been raised for a new community center. But the one square mile-sized city, like the rest of the state, still has a way to go in addressing its need for housing, better jobs and higher performing schools. Can Mayor Rivera make more progress in delivering these needs? Does she plan to run statewide in 2026? And what does this Democrat say about how more Latinos are voting Republican? This week on Political Roundtable, we’re going in-depth with the mayor of Central Falls, Maria Rivera.
