Fall Birding in Providence Along the Seekonk River

by Leslie Bostrom

In September, October, and November, birds move south at a leisurely pace. Breeding is over, and they are flying to areas where food is abundant. Some birds will pass through Rhode Island on the way to points south, and some will arrive here to spend [...]

CHOP – Great Food, Community, and Training All in One Innovative Space

by Amber Ma

CHOP (Culinary Hub of Providence) is now open for dinner. Located at the corner of Washington and Empire Streets inside the Providence Public Library, CHOP offers visitors a delicious, mission-driven dining experience in a stylish, welcoming space. High, open ceilings and dark gray concrete flooring [...]

With Sale Pending, Atlantic Mills Tenants Concerned about Future of Community Hub

by Katy Pickens, Providence Preservation Society Planning & Development Writer

Editor’s note: This story was published originally in the Providence Preservation Society’s October 6, 2024 newsletter. The tenants of Atlantic Mills — an Olneyville community staple which has hosted the Big Top Flea and other events for decades — are worried that with the pending sale of [...]

Leave Your Old Ideas About Aging at the Door

by Ellen Welty

Mildred Nichols, founding member of the Rhode Island Women’s Political Caucus: “I’m an elderly woman, I guess, though I don’t feel elderly.” Linda Miller, the woman behind what is now the Providence non-profit Inspiring Minds: “When people call me ‘hon’ and ‘sweetie’, I just explain, [...]

Community MusicWorks’ New Building in the West End Opens Its Doors Very VERY Wide

by Carole Saltz

“We never really had a place where all the things happened together…. Now we do. Now, you literally see what’s going on in the performance space. There are windows on all four sides on two levels so there’s always permeability between this very special space [...]

Getting Serious About Providence’s Housing Crisis

by Seth Zeren

It’s no secret that Providence is in the midst of a housing crisis. In 2012, the median home sold for around $200,000. Today that number is nearly $500,000, far more than the median household can afford. From 2018 to 2023, average apartment rents increased 50% [...]

RIPTA Bus Hub in Kennedy Plaza: This Group Wants it to Stay!

by Barry Schiller

The future of RIPTA’s downtown Providence bus hub remains unresolved, even though it has been discussed at least since 2014 when voters approved a $35 million bond to fund “enhancements and renovations” to transit hubs throughout the state. Kennedy Plaza, previously Exchange Place, is the [...]

Hope Scholarship Shows Promise at Rhode Island College

by Alexander Castro

The Hope Scholarship at Rhode Island College (RIC) seems to be living up to its title by producing small gains in the school’s lagging enrollment, the first annual review of the program shows. Less than a year into the program, RIC has seen higher retainment [...]

The Historic Newport Navy Sex Scandal of 1919 Resurfaces in an Immersive Musical Documentary Experience

by Ruthie Wood

Newport, February 1919, Chief Machinist’s Mate Ervin Arnold is transferred to Naval Station Newport. Arnold has severe arthritis, and he almost immediately checks into the hospital for medical attention. There, he overhears snippets of a thriving underground subculture within the Navy: drinking, partying, drugs, cross-dressing, [...]

Community Members Share Concerns About Future of John Hope Settlement House

by Keating Zelenke

Editor’s Note:This story was originally published by the Providence Preservation Society, which is shifting to include local news coverage. Read more here and subscribe to the PPS Newsletter. As the sun was setting on August 27, about two dozen people from a variety of neighborhoods on the West Side [...]