In June of 2019 Rhode Island signed into law the Reproductive Privacy Act (RPA). Thanks to the forward thinking of a coalition of advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood and the RI Democratic Women’s Caucus, we have codified the protections that 80% of Americans had assumed were protected under Roe v. Wade. At the time, Planned …
In a show of support for the people of Ukraine, the State House dome has been illuminated blue and yellow. But here is how we can actually help. I have chosen two reputable media outlets in the hope that they have vetted the charitable organizations they are suggesting. (This is my way of telling you …
The Rhode Island Blood Center is once again sounding the alarm. Here’s another one of those things we do just because it’s the right thing to do, even when it involves a needle, even when it benefits a complete stranger, even if we never get thanked. It’s just part of the social contract. In recent …
A thoughtful piece in today’s ProJo, “Nativist son: H.P. Lovecraft, race, and a statue,” revives the thorny problem of what to do with a life-size bronze statue of H.P. Lovecraft, the work of local sculptor Gage Prentiss. Author David J. Goodwin, who is working on a book about Lovecraft, does not suggest a solution, and …
The WaterFire ‘Beacon of Hope’ installation will be closing Friday, July 31st. Big thanks to Barnaby Evans for this beautiful and moving tribute. Each evening when the RI Department of Health reports Rhode Islanders lost to COVID-19 that day, a ceremony takes place, lighting individual luminaria to honor those community members, starting at 8:30pm. The …
Now. The Rhode Island Blood Center has sent out an urgent call for blood donors, “As hospitals resume patient care at full capacity, the need for blood has rebounded but donations have not.” Kara LeBlanc, marketing communications manager at the Rhode Island Blood Center, spoke with WPRI: “The problem is that when one blood center …
Global pandemic? Where are my scissors? These stories of how regular people are just rolling up their sleeves and pitching in are so heartening. This news comes from the Steel Yard. We can all breathe easier knowing The West Side Sewing Studio has got us covered! Over the past couple weeks, our neighbor, tenant, and …
From the Providence Department of Planning and Development comes this announcement: As of today (4/6) all city-owned pedestrian signals across the City have permanently been converted to automatic recall. Updated signage coming soon. That’s all well and good, but how many of these buttons were ever connected to anything other than the reward centers of …
Up here in Providence and in a small town called Newnan, Georgia. Providence photographer Mary Beth Meehan spent more than two years in Newnan taking pictures of its residents. The result was “Seeing Newnan,” an art installation aimed at getting Newnan residents to take a new look at themselves. In April, 2018, Newnan, Georgia was …
Meehan Portraits Prompt Introspection And Conversation Read More »
Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends at 2am Sunday, November 4. Fun fact: Daylight saving time and time zones are regulated by the Department of Transportation, not by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Daylight saving time, or DST, is the period of the year when clocks are moved one hour ahead. In the …
(6.16) Rhode Island Pride has events planned all week culminating in “Louder & Prouder,” the PrideFest Main Stage on South Water Street from noon to 7pm. This will be followed by the famous Illuminated Night Parade downtown starting at 8:15pm. Live music and DJs provide music during the day, and fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race …
(3.17) Could there be a more fitting metaphor for the dismantling of the Fogarty legacy than the actual demolition of the John E. Fogarty Memorial Building? The loss of this Brutalist icon will be noted today with a funeral starting at 4pm. (Facebook event page.) We’ll gather at 100 Fountain St. where brief eulogies will …
So you can just program the “Thoughts and Prayers” format into your illuminated sign and fill in the name of the city or school when news breaks? Really saves time. Or maybe it’s time to do something more substantive. Rhode Island State Rep Aaron Regunberg (D-Providence) was already working on some common sense gun control …
(4.29) The Congress for New Urbanism New England (CNU) will be hosting the 2016 New Urbanism Summit at various locations around town. Since its birth in 1993, the CNU has advocated for walkable cities, human-scale development, and diverse, vibrant neighborhoods. Today more than ever, people are voting with their feet for walkable, livable urban neighborhoods. …
(2.25) Sydney Hutchinson, assistant professor of ethnomusicology at Syracuse University, will be hosting ‘Asian Fury: A tale of race, rock, and air guitar’ as part of Brown’s graduate program colloquium series. Attending to race has become essential in ethnomusicology at least since publication of Music and the Racial Imagination (2001). And what sort of musical …
What could a tribal leader in Cameroon have in common with the chancellor of an Ivy League university? The two exhibitions at the Haffenreffer Museum help illustrate how leaders of all types around the world use symbols, images, and regalia to impart and bolster their power and prestige. Curated by the museum student group the …