Primary Candidates Speak

by The Providence Eye

Next Tuesday, September 10th, there will be three contested elections on Providence voters’ ballots: US Senate, State Representative District 12, and State Representative District 9. We asked all the Democratic candidates to answer the following question: What is your most important legislative goal and how [...]

History Under Our Feet: Unearthing Providence’s Past

by Ruth Marris-Macaulay

Did you know there was a prison under the Providence Place Mall, an early customs house below Hemenway’s Restaurant on South Water Street, or a red-light district beneath the Providence train station?  In the winter of 1981-1982, architectural historian Myron Stachiw worked on a site [...]

A Stellar Tribute to Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: Sylvia Ann Soares’ Captivating Performance

by Judith Clinton

In an evening that will be remembered for years to come, Sylvia Ann Soares delivered an awe-inspiring performance of her one-woman show, “Defiance! Art and Life,” at the RISD Museum Auditorium. The portrayal of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, an artist whose life was marked by immense [...]

Ana Vargas, Ward 7 Councilwoman

by Michelle Alas Molina

6 out of 15 City Councilors in Providence are Latino, and The Providence Eye is interviewing them to get to know each one better, as well as better understanding their views on the intersection between identity and governance. “Yo voto por Ana, y tú!” This [...]

Providence Teachers Contract Ends August 31- What’s Next?

by Jonathan Howard

Whether defended or despised, public school teacher contracts are critical documents that set out what we expect from our teachers and what they can expect from us as their employers. Yet, the public and its elected representatives have almost no information about or influence over [...]

One Last Summer Outing with Leadership RI’s Statewide Scavenger Hunt

by Dana Schneider

For those Providentians who like to stick close to their homes, where rent is already paid and you’re on the fourth season of that show you can’t stop watching, a scavenger hunt may sound like a four letter word. But if you like stories, and [...]

Floating Wetland Repurposes Invasive Japanese Knotweed for Ecological Healing

by Tim Lehnert

Roger Williams Park’s Polo Lake is in poor shape: excess phosphorus and nitrogen cause toxic blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) blooms which rob the water of oxygen and make it inhospitable to aquatic life. People (and pets) are warned not to ingest or even touch the water. [...]

Historic Districts in Providence: Why There Should be More

by J. Hogue

In Providence, we have seen Historic Districts lose properties to fire, lack of maintenance and neglect, developer speculation, or just the forward march of progress.  As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” When one or two historic properties are [...]

Please Vote, and If You Vote in Person, Please Say Thanks To Your Poll Workers      

by Rochelle Lee

Rhode Island has two elections coming up, a Primary (September 10) and the General Election (November 5), and voting in them is the basic right and responsibility of all Rhode Island citizens.  African Americans alive today, however, can remember places in America where guessing correctly [...]

Double Jeopardy: Summer Vacation Compounds Covid Learning Loss

by David Ahlborn

In their New York Times op-ed piece on learning loss during the pandemic, the authors conclude their analysis of the research with a call to justice: “If we fail to replace what our children lost, we — not the coronavirus — will be responsible for [...]