Photo by Gilles Lambert on Unsplash.
Brown University Shootings Expose Providence’s Emergency Communications System Shortcomings
by ,

On Saturday afternoon, minutes after a masked gunman entered a classroom and sprayed gunfire on students studying for an economics exam, Brown students, faculty, and staff were notified of an active shooter on campus. However, nearby neighbors without connections to the school did not receive [...]

17
Dec
Local Translator Brings Pacheco’s “Pandora” to English Readers
by

Written by the award-winning Brazilian fabulist Ana Paula Pacheco, energetically translated from the Portuguese by Julia Sanches, Pandora is a strange and unsettling novel. For this reason it is also perfectly attuned to its equally strange and unsettling subject: the surreal nature of life under [...]

17
Dec
Donations are up at the R.I. Blood Center. A RIBC staff member checks the IV line in the arm of Laureen Decas of Wareham. Laureen is O Negative and came down when she saw the need posted. In the background is Megan Lowney of Providence. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)
Rhode Island Blood Center reports record donations after Brown University shooting
by

Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by Rhode Island Current on December 15, 2025. Reprinted with permission. First-time donors increase significantly at the blood center’s four donation centers across the state After a sleepless night with the sounds of sirens and TV news about Saturday’s Brown [...]

16
Dec
Monica Huertas, executive director of the People’s Port Authority, points to Public Street’s access point to the water. Photo: Eric Halvarson.
South Providence Residents Alarmed Scrapyard Expansion Could Encroach on Their Only Public Coastal Access Point
by

Signs that read “Air Quality Inequality Zone” and “Aire Limpo Para Todos” decorated Washington Park’s Community Library on Monday, November 24. More than 50 residents and city officials packed in between the bookshelves to discuss the latest development in the battle to make Public Street [...]

10
Dec
A Fox Point garage was converted into a rentable unit between 2022 and 2025 — the garage sits on a lot detached from the house at the rear of these photos. Captured by Google Streetview.
Building ADUs in Providence: The What, the How, and the Why Not?
by

Providence has one of the lowest construction rates in the country in a state that had average low vacancy rates in 2023 of 3.7% for apartments and 0.3% for houses. In short, there are not enough homes and we are not building new ones fast [...]

10
Dec
Photo: Margaret Rizzuto.
Breaking Bread for a Stronger Providence: Inside Oberlin’s First Providence Community Bake Sale
by

On a cold December morning, as holiday lights flicker along Westminster Street, Oberlin is preparing for something outside of their delicious culinary dishes. The acclaimed downtown restaurant is getting ready to host its first-ever Providence Community Bake Sale, a collaborative fundraising event benefiting the Rhode [...]

09
Dec
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, far right, participates in a panel discussion at the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans, on Dec. 3, 2025. With Smiley from left to right are African American Mayors Association CEO Phyllis Dickerson, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. (Photo by Paul Morse Photography/Courtesy of Combat Antisemitism Movement)
Smiley Draws Criticism from Democratic Rival After Speaking at New Orleans Antisemitism Conference
by

International, national and local politics collide in Providence mayoral race with over nine months to go before primary Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by Rhode Island Current on December 9, 2025. Reprinted with permission. On a national stage last week, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley [...]

09
Dec
A photo from the November 18 presentation on Nine Neighborhood Fund. Photo: Eric Halvarson.
Staff Behind Historic Central Providence Participatory Budget Fired Without Notice
by

Editor’s Note: All Providence Eye interviews with former Central Providence Unidos staff in this article were conducted before notice of their termination. On Tuesday November 18, Central Providence Unidos (CPU) staff prepared to celebrate the completion of the largest participatory budgeting program in Rhode Island [...]

03
Dec
Emma Pendleton Bradley 1879-1907, aged five, painted by Paris-trained artist Ida Waugh (1846-1919) c. 1884, some two years before the child contracted encephalitis. Source: Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital.
George Bradley and His Legacy: “First Preference to Poor, Needy Children from Rhode Island”
by

In his will, made shortly before he died in 1906, wealthy Providence resident George Lothrop Bradley set up a trust to create a hospital. His motivation was personal: Emma Pendleton Bradley, his only child, was seven when she contracted encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. [...]

03
Dec
Senator Reed and Susan Mills. Photo: Steve Ahlquist.
Senator Reed Talks Trump Tariffs and the Spiraling Costs of Coffee
by

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Steve Ahlquist’s Substack on November 14. Reprinted with permission. On Friday, United States Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) visited the great-smelling Mills Coffee Roasting Company on Broad Street in Providence to discuss his latest effort to help lower the price of coffee. Dating to [...]

02
Dec