Providence locals often enjoy sharing that their city tap water is among the best in the country. U.S. News and World Report, however, has other ideas: Rhode Island sits at a middling #21 for drinking water quality in U.S. News national rankings. The best I could do to corroborate this proud anecdotal claim is a […]
I’ve been critical of Mayor Smiley in the past – particularly about his lackluster approach to PVDFest – but now, I’ve got to hand it to him. The mayor’s PILOT agreement negotiation seems to have been quite successful. PILOT agreements – or Payment In Lieu Of Tax agreements – have been a subject of discussion […]
Photo: Wikimedia Commons. The current state of Providence Water is another example of Rhode Island’s long history of disenfranchising its poor in favor of its wealthy. To be fair, it isn’t just Rhode Island. It’s pretty much an American tradition to exploit the populace when it serves the powerful and neglect them when it doesn’t. […]
The people of the internet are generally displeased with Mayor Smiley’s PVDFest changes. Well, the people of the internet are generally displeased, period. But let’s take a look at some of the feedback happening right now. “The irony of the guy named Smiley killing fun.” -Good-Expression-4433 “Can’t wait til Smiley moves New Year’s Eve to […]
I used to believe that boring government was good government, that if you didn’t hear about scandals, corruption, and other sensational news stories about leaders, that meant that things were probably going okay and weren’t worth digging into. As it turns out, boring government is more of a government purgatory — just because it isn’t […]
Gina Lerman, the cover artist for this year’s April Cannabis Issue and Motif’s Creative Director, has had an interesting journey into art. When we asked her what got her into drawing initially, it was a stumper. “It’s hard to answer,” Lerman said, “I’ve always drawn.”The first thing she remembers drawing is Eevee, one of the […]
Profiles by Bobby Forand, John Fuzek, Marc Clarkin, Bradly VanDerStad, Meg Coss, Tess Lyons, Lee Adrain & Mike Ryan. AMERICANA Favorite Americana Act I don’t entirely regard The Silks as an Americana act, personally. Their sound is heavily grounded in the blues, which was invented in America… so I guess that sort of counts? The […]
On March 1, the who’s who of PVD’s creative scene gathered at the Providence Public Library downtown to attend the unveiling of the Art, Culture, and Tourism Department’s new cultural plan: PVDx2031: A Cultural Plan for Cultural Shift. It was a wonderful, full-day event, complete with spoken word poetry, music, and a delicious catered lunch. […]
This is it, folks. My final holidays piece. It’s the piece you’ve all been waiting for.
Joe Wilson Jr. knows what it means to be a director. “The most important job as a theater director is how I set the table,” Wilson told me, in an interview in the afternoon before the Super Bowl on February 12. “It’s to create an environment where people trust each other, and are therefore engaged […]