The Rhode Island General Assembly is a change-averse institution. This has been a year of big and unexpected change in America, first with the COVID-19 pandemic and then the ongoing reaction sparked by the death of George Floyd. What happens when the more

More than 40 of the 73 state representatives present for the supplemental budget debate last week didn't utter a single word during that discussion. Whether that's a good way to approve almost $12 billion in spending depends on your viewpoint (more about more

The protest movement sparked by the death of George Floyd is focused most immediately on calls to reform police departments throughout the U.S. Activists generally want to redirect a portion of money away from police budgets to social needs like housing. more

The challenge facing any social movement is converting activism into change. So it will take time to assess the impact of the mass movement that formed in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police almost two weeks ago. Yet more

When flashy LA litigator Johnnie Cochran came to Providence after the friendly-fire fatal shooting of Officer Cornel Young back in 2000, Buddy Cianci accused Cochran of trying to sow division. Cliff Monteiro, then the president of the Providence NAACP, more

By CHARLES L. CRONIN, III DO These can be extremely challenging times for many. It is when you may see the best, and unfortunately, sometimes the not so best in people. As they did 100 years ago, we too will endure the pandemic and come out stronger. more

Hi there! I'm Ian Donnis, the political reporter at Rhode Island's NPR member station, The Public's Radio (89.3 FM, online at thepublicsradio.org). I write a weekly column to look back at the top RI political stories of the week and to share some other more

The bay beckons. I saw it Saturday when powering out of Warwick Cove, and there was a parade of incoming vessels in the wake of a sailboat under power. It looked and felt like mid-July and all thoughts and worries of COVID-19 were blown away by the warm more

By STEVEN FRIAS Recently, Sen. Erin Lynch Prata announced she is seeking a R.I. Supreme Court judgeship. State law and an Ethics Commission regulation prohibit legislators from seeking or being appointed to a judgeship until they have been out of office more

Our world has been brought to a standstill by something so tiny, it's invisible - a virus. COVID-19 began in Wuhan, China, possibly at an unsanitary market which sold wild animals like bats. This virus is between 10 and 35 times more more

By STEVE FRIAS Our world has been brought to a standstill by something so tiny, it's invisible - a virus. COVID-19 began in Wuhan, China, possibly at an unsanitary market which sold wild animals like bats. This virus is between 10 and 35 times more more

By STEVE FRIAS As first reported by WPRI, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello ordered a performance audit of the R.I. Convention Center Authority. The timing of the audit coincided with personnel troubles for James Demers, a longtime friend of Mattiello, more