Watching Controversy from the Other Wall: Providence Mural Community Reflects on Role of Public Art

by Eric Halvarson

A 43-foot tall, 38-foot wide mural on the side of Downtown bar The Dark Lady shows an outline of a blond woman framed by blue geometric shapes. Just one eye is finished—the rest of the face remains a beige and blue outline. The bottom of [...]

In Twice Born, Hester Kaplan Merges Biography and Memoir to Understand Her Elusive Father

by Alizah Holstein

The opening entry in the magisterial compendium begun in 1855 and now known as Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations is an excerpt from “The Song of the Harper,” a poem found in the tomb of the Egyptian king Intef. Dating to around 2600 BCE, the poem speaks [...]

Factory on the Woonasquatucket Being Transformed into 500-Person Capacity Baptist Church

by Eric Halvarson

A new cupola sits on top of a large brick building on Kinsley Avenue, and on the inside, the shape looks like a cross. The structure lets light shine down into the second floor, which will soon open up into a new mezzanine that looks [...]

Why Some Communities Don’t Trust the Media — And What Newsrooms Are Doing about It

by Paul Cuno-Booth

Editor’s Note: To commemorate the upcoming celebration of Local News Day on April 9, The Eye is reprinting select articles from a series titled “Know Your News” by Granite State News Collaborative. About: Know Your News is a Granite State News Collaborative and NENPA Press [...]

Will Barriers to Voting in Providence Affect This Year’s Turnout?

by Eric Halvarson

Over 50% of Providence voters showed up to polling places for the 2024 election, but half as many showed up for the last round of midterms in 2022. As voters register for this year’s midterms, voter turnout in Providence is shaped by factors like competitive [...]

Let it Linger? A Slow Snowmelt Replenishes Local Watertables but Releases Pollution into Waterways

by Eric Halvarson

In Providence, only a few lingering snowbanks serve as reminders of the major storms this winter. As city residents say goodbye and good riddance to the snow, the snowmelt will continue to make a big impact on the local environment. The slow drip of the [...]

A Place to Begin Again at Beautiful Day

by Margaret Rizzuto

A bowl of pasta moves slowly down the table as someone laughs and another person searches for the right English word.  On Tuesday evenings at Beautiful Day in Providence, the kitchen quiets down, and the long tables begin to fill. Staff, trainees, volunteers, and visitors [...]

As City Council Crafts Rent Stabilization, Mayor Smiley Proposes “Housing Stabilization”

by Eric Halvarson

A rent stabilization ordinance is moving through the City Council, and Mayor Brett Smiley is watching closely. Smiley has promised to veto the policy if it passes the Council, but City Hall hearings on the proposal are drawing hundreds of people to testify. “Residents waited [...]

The Costs of Extreme Weather: Providence Spends Triple Amount Budgeted for Snow Cleanup in 2026

by Eric Halvarson

Last month’s blizzard dropped a record 37 inches of snow in the capital streets, and City leaders spent far beyond this year’s budget to clear the streets. The City of Providence paid $3.8 million dollars to handle the record-breaking Blizzard of 2026 in February, surpassing [...]

Happy Land : The Historical Novel Being Read Across Rhode Island

by Diane Josefowicz

Approaching 40 with a surly teenager, an estranged mother, and an imperious grandmother with an urgent problem, Nikki Lovejoy-Berry, the burdened protagonist of Happy Land, is—in a word—unsettled. What she learns over the course of this graceful novel is that she’s never going to feel [...]