In the United States, laws prohibiting discrimination against protected classes regulate “public accommodations,” a term of art legally that describes businesses and other facilities open to the public on substantially similar terms. Classic examples (such as from the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964) are trains and buses where anyone who pays the fare can […]
I’m disturbed by many of the social media posts I see on July 4th denigrating the United States, saying Independence Day is not worth celebrating, displaying inverted flags as distress symbols, and in the worst cases saying that Americans feel alienated from and not a part of America. Providence arts organization AS220 hosted “FX4 Fest,” […]
Nine sites in RI will be open to visitors for the annual amateur “ham” radio Field Day this weekend, Jun 24-25, 2023. Details about each of these sites and contact information for the groups running them are available — arrl.org/field-day-locator — on the web. Amateur “ham” radio is often the last line of communications in […]
Stillwater Books, which opened in Pawtucket in March 2018, will move this summer to a new location in West Warwick, according to Steven R. Porter who co-owns the business with his wife Dawn M. Wright-Porter. It was the first retail bookstore to open in Pawtucket for decades, and after its closing the city will again […]
RI law (§17-12.1-1) ordinarily requires the presidential preference primary election to be held on the fourth Tuesday in April of each presidential election year, but in 2024 that would fall on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Passover (Pesach), the day immediately following the Seder held the prior sunset. An eight-day holiday in […]
Warming weather means the RI food truck season swings into high gear. Major events drawing dozens of trucks have already started their schedules. Both PVD Food Truck Events (PVD FTE) and Ocean State Food Truck Festivals (OSTF) host weekly events every Friday (and a smorgasbord of other events). PVD can be found at the Carousel […]
If you want to ride a two-wheeled dirt bike or four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle (ATV) legally, there is only one place in the state open to the public: ButtonwoodsMX in Richmond. We previously reported (“Picking on Poor People: Outlawing minibikes and ATVs” by Michael Bilow, Apr 6, 2021) about police campaigns in urban areas to crack […]
Former President Donald J. Trump was finally arraigned yesterday in New York state court on felony charges with a bare-bones 16-page indictment alleging 34 separate counts of “falsifying business records in the first degree… with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a […]
The RI Cannabis Act signed into law on May 25, 2022, legalized recreational use and provided for automatic expungement of eligible criminal and civil records by no later than July 1, 2024. The effect is that a person whose records are expunged has a clean record, as if the offense never happened, subject to certain […]
A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for Mon 8pm – Wed 8am (including Providence County). At Providence, steady rain is expected to change to snow Tue late afternoon before ending Wed 2am. Temperatures well above freezing should prevent accumulation before Tue afternoon, with a low of only 33F overnight Tue 8pm – Wed 8am. […]