Complex Web of Regulators Track Providence’s Low-Income Housing

by Eric Halvarson

On October 30, the city purchased a $1.7 million dollar plot on Washington Street for another affordable housing project. Every unit in the new development by Lincoln Avenue Communities will be income-restricted. Sixty-eight of the units are reserved for households earning between 60 and 80 [...]

Can Providence Afford $1 Billion for New Schools?

by Jonathan Howard, Research by Mary Minow

The Providence Public School Dept. (PPSD) and the city of Providence will spend about $1 billion, give or take a few tens of millions of dollars, to build at least 16 new or like new school buildings and extensively overhaul most other buildings in its [...]

A Christmas Carol and the Alchemy of Magic

by Judith Clinton

This year marks Trinity Rep’s 49th production of A Christmas Carol, and the creative team is conjuring something extraordinary. Co-directed by Richard and Sharon Jenkins, with original music by Richard Cumming and choreography by Sharon Jenkins, the 2025 staging runs November 6 through December 31 [...]

New RIPTA program lets landlords get free bus passes for tenants over the holidays

by Christopher Shea

Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by Rhode Island Current on November 11, 2025. Reprinted with permission. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) has launched a pilot program offering landlords free monthly transit passes to share with their tenants this holiday season. [...]

Inaugural Winter All-Ages Swim Classes Make a Splash at Batastini Rec Center

by Andrea Gutierrez

Tuesday night, Batastini Recreation Center is bustling with energy in the early evening hours. The building hosts after school activities with amenities that include basketball courts, a playground, and a swimming pool. The swimming pool is the busiest of the amenities on Tuesday and Thursday [...]

House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman by Marion Orr

by Diane Josefowicz

For someone who was, by all accounts, quiet and reserved, Charles Coles Diggs, Jr. — Michigan’s first Black member of Congress, founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, and icon of the Civil Rights era — lived a remarkably dramatic life of stratospheric highs followed by [...]

Something For Everyone Over The Holidays

by Margaret Rizzuto

Holiday meals have become a little more complex and that’s before we even get to the seating arrangements! You might have a vegan daughter, a gluten-free sister-in-law, or a friend who’s “mostly plant-based but eats fish sometimes.” Before you panic about what to serve, let’s [...]

ProvPort Community Benefits Fund Distribution Remains in Contention Almost Three Years Since Inception

by Eric Halvarson

Three years after a city tax agreement dedicated at least $120,000 annually to a community benefits fund for projects in South Providence and Washington Park, residents are struggling to follow the money. Neighborhoods near the Port of Providence are calling for a more transparent and [...]

Finding His Voice: The Creative Journey of Hugo Pierre Martin

by Judith Clinton

Rhode Island is home to a wealth of talented actors, including French–American actor and bilingual voiceover artist Hugo Pierre Martin, newly transplanted by way of California. Before starting a new creative pursuit in Providence—namely, his audio series The Diaries of Netovivius the Vampire — he has [...]

Four Providence Churches Launch Audacious Plan to Combat Homelessness by Providing Winter Warming Centers

by Steve Ahlquist

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Steve Ahlquist’s Substack on November 06. Reprinted with permission. November 8, 2022: A corrections, with apologies: The Housing Department wanted to clarify that these churches are operating “warming centers,” not “warming shelters.” The difference is both semantic and legal. [...]