Under the terms of a deal announced Friday, the city must contribute an extra $15 million of funding for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. The city is also committing to $11.5 million more in fiscal year 2026 and additional funding after that. With the agreement in place, Providence Schools Superintendent Javier Montañez says unpopular […]
Metro Desk
Posted inEducation, Local, Metro Desk
City and state reach agreement on Providence school funding
The city of Providence likely owes Rhode Island somewhere between $11 million and $55 million to help fund its schools. In a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Brett Smiley said Providence homeowners will have to reach into their pockets to help pay for the money owed to the state. Smiley said he is likely to […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local, Metro Desk
Parts of Rhode Island are experiencing severe drought conditions
The National Weather Service today upgraded the drought status in the northeastern corner of Rhode Island from moderate to severe drought. Most of the rest of the state continues to be in a moderate drought, and although Newport County and Bristol County, Mass., have not yet reached drought status, the National Weather Service still considers […]
Posted inEducation, Local, Metro Desk
Providence mayor threatens budget cuts, tax increases if the city is forced to pay millions to fund schools
Libraries. Parks. Summer programming for kids. The latest phase of the legal battle between city and state over funding the Providence School Department could mean significant reductions in these and other essential city services, Mayor Brett Smiley announced at a press conference on Tuesday. “We’re going to have no choice but to have harmful, harmful […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk, Politics
Hopkins clinches mayoral victory in Cranston
Incumbent Republican Ken Hopkins won Cranston’s mayoral election last night with 51.6% of the vote. During his victory speech at the fluorescent-lit St. Mary’s Feast Society, Hopkins focused on thanking all of his fellow Republicans for their support and for running in other local races. Voters in Cranston said they appreciated that Hopkins prioritized lower […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk, Stories
Referendum shows most undergraduate respondents oppose Brown University leadership
According to a referendum distributed by Brown’s Undergraduate Council of Students, 73% of undergraduate respondents are unhappy with Brown University’s corporate leadership and would like at least one person on the Brown Corporate Board representing undergraduates. Twenty-six percent of the undergraduate student body responded to the referendum. The students who conducted the referendum say it […]
Posted inHousing, Local, Metro Desk
For advocates, homelessness is the key issue in Woonsocket election
On most Saturdays in Woonsocket, the Milagros Project runs a free store aimed at assisting people experiencing poverty and homelessness in the city. Volunteers hand out everything from clothing to fresh farm vegetables, and CEO Bonnie Piekarski says she does not require that anyone “prove their poverty” with paperwork. Last Saturday, the hallways of the […]
Posted inEducation, Local, Metro Desk
Jewish students at Brown face possible discipline for sleeping in a religious structure
At Brown University, administrators are determining whether to discipline 17 Jewish students who were found sleeping in a temporary structure as a part of a Jewish holiday on campus early on Tuesday morning. The students, who are members of an unofficial campus group called Jews for Ceasefire Now, say their religion commands them to sleep […]
Posted inEducation, Local, Metro Desk
New referendum asks Brown University undergrads if they lack confidence in Brown leadership
Brown University’s Undergraduate Council of Students sent out a referendum on Oct. 16 asking students to vote on whether they have faith in the university’s leadership, and whether they believe students should be able to elect student representatives to Brown’s corporate board. Isaac Slevin, who sits on the Undergraduate Council of Students, or UCS, says […]
Posted inLocal, Metro Desk
State to keep control of Providence schools for up to three more years
On Thursday night the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education approved a plan from the state commissioner of education to keep the Providence Public School District under state control for up to three additional years. Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said during the council meeting that the schools should be “proud,” of the progress they’ve […]
