The Providence Eye

Newest Sustainability Commission Member Gives Back to City That Helped Her During COVID Last Monday, Providence’s Sustainability Commission welcomed its newest member: Dawn Sumner. A lifelong city resident, Sumner never considered the role community played in her life. But after receivin...

“The world’s a horrible place. COVID? Horrible. But those people that will help you—I have no choice but to help back,” said Sumner, who is not intimidated by joining the city government for the first time. “I have a loud mouth. I can be opinionated. I’m the one that says things that people won’t.”

A room full of people listen to Phil Eil’s “News Media in the Misinformation Age” talk in Providence on Monday, 9/29.

Great turnout for my “News Media in the Misinformation Age” talk tonight (presented by the @thepvdeye.bsky.social) at the Knight Memorial Library!

Thanks to everyone who came out.

David Morales: State Rep, Wrestling Villain, Spider-Man… Mayor of Providence? David Morales had all of the things you might expect at a Tuesday night birthday party: pizza, wings, pretzels and friends. Except after singing “Happy Birthday,” the crowd gathered to [...]

At a birthday fundraiser for mayoral candidate David Morales, the Dem. RI state representative railed against the sitting mayor for raising taxes twice in the past three years, expressed outrage at ICE raids in the city, and the cost of housing.

Reporting by Andrea Gutierrez and Eric Halvarson.

Home Is Where the Art Is: Go ‘Head, Fix You a Plate at AS220 In the exhibition GO ‘HEAD, FIX YOU A PLATE, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson echoes and extends [the] concept [of home] by conjuring a spiritual geography…that binds the domestic, the external, and the [...]

What does home signify culturally and what does it mean in the most personal and particular?

Go ‘Head, Fix You A Plate, on display now through 9/27 at AS220's Aborn Gallery, reveals layered stories of Black home life.

Photo by Dominique Sindayiganza.

60 Years of the Roger Williams National Memorial, in Numbers On Thursday, August 21, the Roger Williams National Memorial turned sixty and celebrated with a commemoration honoring the founder of Providence, Roger Williams, and his belief in the freedom of [...]

In classic Rhode Island style, our small but mighty national memorial at College Hill in downtown #Providence is a quietly historic yet vital landmark.

🔗 Read More: pvdeye.org/60-years-of-...

✍️ Story by Emily Bruck
📸 Photo by Kenneth C. Zirkel

#PVDEye

“Nuevas Voces” Raises Up Community Leaders for Environmental Justice It’s a balmy 80 degrees outside on an August afternoon on Blackstone Boulevard.  On the same day, at the same time, it’s  an intolerable 93 degrees at St. Joseph’s Hospital. [...]

Nuevas Voces, one of @wrwcri.bsky.social's community engagement programs, is a nine-month bilingual initiative that provides participants with environmental education and training to become advocates in their communities.

In early September, the program kicked off its fifth cohort.

The candidates, so far, in the Providence City Council Ward 2 special election Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Steve Ahlquist’s Substack. Reprinted with permission. The Providence Board of Canvassers and Registration has issued a warrant to hold a Special...

The Providence Board of Canvassers and Registration has issued a warrant to hold a Special Election to fill the vacancy for the Providence City Council in Ward 2.

Meet the candidates who have announced their bid for the position so far.

‘Recovery is Possible’: Overdose Awareness Day Rallies Providence Community to Save Lives and Honor Loved Ones Lost “Hi sweetheart, would you like some free Narcan?” Three smiling faces stood outside the Valley Street Price Rite. They wore black shirts with a big purple heart and a ribbon [...]

To commemorate International Overdose Day on September 4, Project Weber/RENEW and other community groups came together to distribute free harm reduction resources, celebrate the opening of a new recovery center on North Main, and attend a vigil honoring the lives of those lost to overdose.

News Media in the Misinformation Age - A Community Conversation Between the relentlessness of the twenty-four hour news cycle, rampant misinformation, and the influence of social media algorithms, staying informed today can be overwhelming. Join us for a conversat...

With 24/7 news, misinformation & social media algorithms, staying informed can be overwhelming.

Join us Wed., Oct. 1st at 6pm at Knight Memorial Library for a chat with PVD-based journalist @PhilEil.bsky.social about the current state of news media. 📰

🔗 RSVP: pvdeye.org/event/news-m...

Composting 101: With Stewart Martin of Providence Gardenworks Stewart Martin of Providence Gardenworks is a one-man operation, supplying everything one might  need to transform food scraps into compost, and he’s on call for any questions you might have [...]

Almost 60% of all methane released from landfills comes from rotting food scraps.

One local community member, Stewart Martin, is looking to increase composting by debunking common myths and setting composters up for success.

#pvdeye

Caught Between Crises: Long COVID Patients Struggle to Find Healthcare in Rhode Island With Rhode Island’s healthcare system strained to the breaking point, long COVID patients grapple with complex, mysterious, and disabling symptoms — and find meaning supporting each other and working ...

With Rhode Island’s healthcare system strained to the breaking point, #longCOVID patients grapple with complex, mysterious, and disabling symptoms — and find meaning supporting each other and working for disability justice.

The Providence Eye is proud to partner with Rogers Williams Park Conservancy for its FREE screening of "Join or Die," hosted at the Roger Williams Park Casino on September 10. Doors at 5:30, movie starts at 6pm.

For more information and to register, visit: www.rwpconservancy.org/event/join-o...

Every Route a Story: Providence RIPTA Riders Express Fear and Outrage Over Cuts After teaching an interactive course about erosion with a second grade science class at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, Kris Haines took a 30 minute bus ride from Fox Point to [...]

This week, Governor McKee and RIPTA CEO Chris Durand announced a new plan to limit cuts to services.

No routes will be outright cut in the new plan, but passengers are worried about how their lives will be impacted by less frequent buses, fewer days of service and shorter bus routes.

The Worms You Don’t Want to See in Your Garden Meet the jumping worm, an invasive species bad for garden dirt Until recently, most home gardeners were happy to find earth worms when they dug into a garden bed. Earthworms [...]

Most home gardeners welcome earthworms, but the unwelcome jumping worm consumes topsoil, leaving crumbly, quickly drying soil prone to erosion & harmful to plants & soil life. 🪱

🔗 Find out how to keep these buggers at bay: pvdeye.org/the-worms-yo...
✍️ By Catherine Schneider
📸 Brittany Schappach

People in Providence 08.20 - How would RIPTA service reductions affect your daily life? Krysten, 56, Retired “I won’t be able to come out as often as I do. The only reason we went out to Smithfield is because it was on the bus [...]

For their first assignment, our Community News Fellows hit the streets of Providence to ask people "How would #RIPTA service reductions affect your daily life?"

Reporting and photography by Andrea Gutierrez, Eric Halvarson, and Jessamy LeBeau.

Screenshot of text that reads: News Media in the Misinformation Age – A Community Conversation October 1 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Free Between the relentlessness of the twenty-four hour news cycle, rampant misinformation, and the influence of social media algorithms, staying informed today can be overwhelming. Join us for a conversation with acclaimed Providence-based journalist Philip Eil about the current state of news media, how we got to this complex and chaotic moment, and what media consumers can do to maintain a healthy information diet. This event is intended as a dialogue — and Phil is always seeking community input, as a board member of The Providence Eye — so please bring any questions you have about journalism and today’s information landscape.

Providence: I'm bringing my "News Media in the Misinformation Age" road show (a presentation/discussion) to the Knight Memorial Library on Wednesday, October 1. The event is co-presented by my friends at @thepvdeye.bsky.social, where I'm a board member and opinion editor.

I hope you'll join me!

RIPTA funding and the Iraq War Editor’s Note: This Reader’s Voice essay was published originally in Steve Ahlquist’s Substack and is re-printed here by permission. “This spring, the Governor presented a budget that clearly underfun...

Before 2003, RIPTA.com revitalization plans were threatened by rising gas prices after the Iraq invasion, now less than two-thirds of 2010 levels when adjusted for inflation. Underfunding this spring risks severe service cuts. 🚍

🔗 Read More: pvdeye.org/ripta-fundin...
✍️📸 By Tom Sgouros

#PVDEye

Cathedral Square is in Need of a Refresh — or Even a Reimagining. What’s in the Works? Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Providence Preservation Society. Copyright ppsri.org. Reprinted with permission. City has issued RFP to revamp plaza, instituted some temporary ...

Cathedral Square in Downtown #Providence has been called a "failure," "disgrace," "dead zone," & one of the "dreariest places". However, the city is now seeking proposals to revamp & repair the plaza, with a call issued this past March.

🔗 Read More: pvdeye.org/cathedral-sq...
✍️📸 By Katy Pickens

Gilbert Stuart Update “The short answer is ‘no.’” Public told they can’t change Gilbert Stuart demolition plan As reported earlier in The Providence Eye, a community meeting on July 21 unearthed a host [...]

Tuesday night, residents gathered at Knight Memorial Library to hear the official account of what will happen to the Gilbert Stuart Middle School — the massive, 90-year old school building on Princeton Avenue attended by generations of South Side children. They didn’t like what they heard.
#pvdeye

Juan Pichardo- Ward 9 Councilperson 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 [...]

Read the inspiring story of #Providence City Council member Juan Pichardo, the first Dominican American elected to a U.S. State Senate seat, now serving as President Pro Tempore of @pvdcitycouncil.bsky.social.

🔗 Read More: pvdeye.org/juan-pichard...
✍ Story by Michelle Alas Molina

#PVDEye

What We All Need Now is More Big Nazo “Oh my god, one more. Look at that bird again.”   Erminio Pinque, the founder and artistic director of Big Nazo Labs, leans forward in his chair to snap a [...]

Discover the vibrant world of Big Nazo Labs, where puppetry 🎭, performance art & #community collide. The group's story highlights the importance of creative spaces for art & activism in a changing city landscape.

🔗 Read More: pvdeye.org/what-we-all-...
✍️ Story by Dana Schneider
📸 Photo by Ning Lan

Proposed RIPTA Cuts, by the numbers Last week, RIPTA announced proposed service reductions to close the gap in its upcoming 2026 budget. The deficit is wide — $17.6 million — and this is reflected in the [...]

🚍 Important update for #Providence residents! @ripta.com has announced proposed service reductions to address a $17.6 million budget shortfall, including the elimination of some routes & services.

🔗 Learn More: pvdeye.org/proposed-rip...
✍ By Dana Schneider
📸 By Jef Nickerson via Wikimedia Commons

Lights, Camera, Action! RIIFF Returns for Its 43rd Year Film lovers rejoice! The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) returns to Providence from August 5 through 10. Throughout the week, audiences will be treated to full-length films, shorts, d...

Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) celebrates independent films and their makers from throughout the world.

Over the past two decades, RIIFF has screened 6,720 independent films and videos out of 87,532 entries, hosting over 595,000 film lovers both in-person and online.

#pvdeye

Welcome to the Providence Eye’s Readers’ Voices Section. We’d Love For You to Join the Conversation. For as long as I’ve worked in Rhode Island journalism, something has bothered me. The city of Providence – where I grew up and still live – is diverse, interesting, [...]

Today's @thepvdeye.bsky.social Readers' Voices essay is by yours truly, the section's inaugural editor. It's a mini-manifesto for what I'm trying to do with this new, Providence-focused opinion section. And it's an invitation for my fellow PVD people to join me by writing something of their own.

Turning the Tide in Providence How long-term community organizing against polluting industry in the Port of Providence is building the infrastructure for co-governance and making progress towards climate justice   Editor’s Note: Th...

#Providence residents, led by community insiders, are transforming the port area's toxic legacy into a movement for racial and environmental justice through a decade of coalition-building & policy change.

🔗 Read More: pvdeye.org/turning-the-...
✍ Story by Health in Partnership

#RhodeIsland #PVDEye

Ben Sisto Brings “The Museum of Who Let Who Let The Dogs Out Out” to PVD When most people hear the catchy chant and echoing barks of “Who Let The Dogs Out” they think of boom boxes, glow sticks, and an illuminated early-2000s dance floor. But [...]

For local artist Ben Sisto, Who Let The Dogs Out isn't just a throwback — it's a story of intellectual property, copyright law, and artistic collectivity.

Learn more about Sisto's collection of 300 objects related to the song's history, now on display at PPL in collaboration with OPEN.

Essential Work in A Living: Working-Class Americans Talk to Their Doctors by Michael Stein, M.D. When Dr. Michael Stein, a doctor and writer in Providence, sees patients, he makes a special effort to learn about their work.

Providence-based doctor and author Michael Stein considers work as a vital lens to make sense of health, presenting his patients in their own words through a series of first-person accounts.

#PVDlocal

#PVDlocal / #RIlocal

The Case for Ranked-Choice Voting in Providence. Providence may soon be at the forefront of improvements in the way we vote. Many citizens, in Providence and across the country, express frustration with their elected officials and fear [...]

This week, in @thepvdeye.bsky.social's opinion section (which I edit), we've got an argument for Providence (and Rhode Island, more broadly) to adopt Ranked Choice Voting.

Read it here:

Historic Nathan Bishop School Was Saved From Demolition.  Can Gilbert Stuart Middle School Also Be Renovated? The monumental, 500,000 square-foot, Gilbert Stuart School Middle School that has been at the heart of Elmwood and the West End neighborhoods for 95 years, may be demolished in a [...]

On Tuesday, more than 50 community members gathered at the Sackett Street Recreation Center to ask questions and share what they know – or think they know – about why the city is spending more money to demolish and replace Gilbert Stuart than it would cost to renovate it to like-new condition.