Providence Safe Stations Offer 24/7 Access to Addiction Recovery Support

by Daneisha Rodriguez

At the start of 2018, the Providence Fire Department launched Safe Stations, a program designed to provide 24/7, free walk-in access to services for people struggling with substance abuse.  Providence Fire Department’s Chief of Emergency Medical Services, Zachariah Kenyon, proposed the program in late 2017 [...]

Brown ACLU Raises Alarm Over Connecting Cameras to Providence Police Surveillance Hub

by Eric Halvarson

Despite operating over 1,200 cameras on Brown University’s campus, authorities struggled to find video footage of the gunman who attacked the school in December. The Barus & Holley building where the shooting occurred only operated two exterior cameras, and during a prolonged manhunt, authorities knocked [...]

Wanskuck Historic Local District Gets City Plan Commission ‘OK’

by Katy Pickens

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Providence Post on March 4, 2026. Copyright ppsri.org. Reprinted with permission. At its meeting on March 3, the City Plan Commission (CPC) voted in favor of the 31-building Wanskuck Local Historic District (LHD) as well as changes to [...]

A Recycling Crisis in Providence Drives 2026 Changes

by Emily Smith

In May 2024, The Providence Eye published a story addressing recycling in Providence and the City’s failure to achieve the State-mandated recycling rate of 35%. At that time, the City’s 2023 recycling data revealed that Providence recycled only 7.8% of its waste. With 2024 data [...]

Brown University Doubles Campus Police Presence After Mass Shooting. Have Mental Health Services Kept Up?

by Eric Halvarson

This semester, Brown University doubled the number of school police officers assigned to each shift. The school also hired private guards from Allied Universal to bolster campus security. Even police vehicles from numerous cities patrol the streets around campus. A Brown spokesperson said this “enhanced [...]

Olneyville Resilience Hub Links Climate Action with Community Connection

by Amber Ma

Olneyville is home to Rhode Island’s only “resilient hub,” a community space dedicated to helping residents adapt to the challenges of climate change  The Olneyville Resilience Hub launched in early 2024 through a collaboration between several city agencies and non-profits, including the Woonasquatucket River Watershed [...]

Lima, Lauro and Feinstein: Remembering the Namesakes of These Schools and Their Immigrant Ancestors

by Jane Lancaster

In 2026, there are about 50 public K-12 schools in Providence, including public charter schools.  More than half of them are named for notable people, predominantly men. If we remove the two national figures (RFK and MLK), and the five public or charter schools I’ve [...]

When the Lights Go Out: Reverie Theatre’s Dystopian Thriller Hits Close to Home

by Judith Clinton

Reverie Theatre Company’s new production of A Girl in School Uniform (Walks Into A Bar) lands with a jolt of eerie timeliness. Written in 2016, Lulu Raczka’s dystopian thriller imagines a society plagued by unexplained blackouts—moments when the lights fail, systems collapse, and women vanish. [...]

The Providence Eye Hires First Full-Time Reporter As Staff Continues to Grow

by Philip Eil

The Providence Eye recently hired its first full-time staff journalist. City News Reporter, Eric Halvarson, officially joined the publication’s staff on February 9. Halvarson has been a regular contributor since August of 2025, when he joined the Eye’s inaugural cohort of News Fellows. His articles [...]

A Labor of Love: Volunteer Shovelers Help Clean Up Providence Neighborhoods after Historic Snowfall

by Eric Halvarson

The day after the largest snowfall in Rhode Island history, the sun was shining on Providence as residents tried to move three feet of snow out of their driveways and sidewalks. But Ray Kiefaber was feeling under the weather, and outside, their Prius was buried [...]