Artsliteracy Project Offers Providence Teachers Time-Tested Link Between The Arts And Learning

by Roseanne Camacho

Consider the typical high school class beginning its study of a required novel, perhaps To Kill a Mockingbird.  Books are passed out, students read and discuss as a class or perhaps work groups, answer questions for comprehension, and finally write a paper or take a [...]

City Increases Funding for United Way to Support Racial Equity Program

by Serafym Rybachkivskyi / The Brown Daily Herald

The city’s Board of Contract and Supply approved a Nov. 2 request from the Smiley administration to increase funding for the Providence-based racial equity nonprofit United Way of Rhode Island from $1.75 million to $3.35 million from the city’s $10 million COVID-19 Equities Program, widely known [...]

PVD Tree Plan Aims to Bring More Green to Neighborhoods

by Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

It’s been nearly 30 years, and Leandro Castro can still remember how hot his neighborhood was in the summertime. “I’m probably nine years old [at the time], my brother is seven,” Castro recalled. “I’m asking my mom, ‘Mommy can we go out to play,’ and [...]

Less Conflict, More Collaboration: Zurier Commission Presents a Vision for Providence Schools

by Jonathan Howard

RI Senator Sam Zurier’s (D – Providence) quest to nurture a kinder, gentler and more productive relationship between the Providence Teacher’s Union (PTU) and district leadership appears quixotic on its face. But given where we are, it seems like a long shot worth taking. Observers [...]

A Cleaning for the Ages: Addressing Pollution in the Moshassuck River

by Greg Gerritt

The people who lived along the Moshassuck River, before the English removed them, lived in an environment of tremendous richness that sustained their communities and cultures.  We honor the people and cultures who preceded us in this place, and rue the damage that the Europeans [...]

Pot In Providence

by Deborah Schimberg

In 2006, Rhode Island legalized “medical marijuana” which meant that patients with cancer, AIDS, etc. could obtain cards that let them buy marijuana in one of 3 “compassion centers” around the state, the largest of which was the Thomas C. Slater dispensary in Providence.   In [...]

What Constitutes a Community That is Disproportionately Impacted by the War on Drugs? 

by Christopher Shea

That’s the question Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission hopes to better define as it works on initial regulations for recreational dispensaries. To do so, Chairperson Kimberly Ahern said at the commission’s Nov. 3 meeting, she would request data from state and federal agencies on which [...]

Afghan refugees are learning to call Rhode Island home

by Zane Wolfang

Basri Darabi’s face is furled in concentration as she carefully constructs her sentence: “Akhtar is my husband.” She breaks into a beaming smile as she is given a clap for her perfect grammar and word choice –Basri continues down the line, talking about her five [...]

Brown’s Haffenreffer Museum to Bring Indigenous Culture Closer to a Diverse Providence

by Roseanne Camacho

Brown University’s Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology has long been split across two locations: Providence, where it maintains an exhibition and event space on the Brown campus; and Bristol, R.I., where most of its collections and staff are housed. For scholars and community members looking to [...]

Bike and Scooter Sharing Ridership Gives New Urgency to Urban Trail Network

by Jesse Edelstein

“I love SPIN scooters for their convenience. I can unlock it in 10 seconds and then leave it wherever I want at my destination”, says Brown University senior Miguel Howard.  And, indeed, the popularity of e-bikes and scooters has skyrocketed, with the city of Providence [...]