To The Editor: The May 27th commentary that dominated the editorial page with yet another large, beautifully rendered artist’s conception of the proposed AAA ballpark features the headline DOWNTOWN PARK WILL BE R.I. GEM needs careful scrutiny. If only we could substitute ‘park’ wherever ‘ballpark’ is featured in the commentary’s twelve paragraphs, we could join […]
The talk these days in Rhode Island is that we have to give large real estate tax breaks to speculators looking to build in the 195 lands if we are to get the “development” that will save the Rhode Island economy. The reality is that give aways to the rich harm economies through promoting greater […]
It’s difficult for any local to imagine someone not knowing about WaterFire. But it’s not common knowledge to everyone. I mentioned it to some friends from as nearby as New York, and they’d never heard of WaterFire – even the word suddenly seemed strange. We forget the unusualness of it – my New Yorkers’ immediate concern […]
With a Rebel Yell, the former Providence RiRa has returned to life as the Rebel Lounge & Restaurant, which delicately balances being a restaurant during the evening and a night club later on. Also in Downcity PVD, the Red Fin has swum in where Fratelli’s burgers used to be on Washington St. It’s serving seafood […]
“Hope St. has everything you could really want, right here.” Says Aaron Lentz, who has been working at Hope St. Pizza for 8 years, and who has lived in the neighborhood his whole life. Admittedly, he’s biased. But he lays out the local landscape well. “You have your restaurants and bars – they’re night-life friendly, […]
If you’ve seen The Big NAZO Intergalactic Creature Band, you’re not likely to forget it. Ever. The giant, spongiform aliens, spacemen and … more aliens look like nothing else on this planet. They thrive on playing with the audience as they’re playing for the audience. They sound great – but it’s the sight of […]
We talked to The Rhode Island Patient Assistance Coalitions’ JoAnne Leppanen about a proposed bill in the Senate that has a lot of caregivers and medical marijuana patients concerned. She not only shared their concerns, but gave us a quick history of medical marijuana in RI. “The original legalization of medical marijuana was really an […]
If you drink, you learn pretty quickly where your tolerance points are. You know what a blood alcohol level is (although I wish the math behind that was being taught in school, or at least college) and you probably understand, more or less, that 12% alcohol booze will have a different effect than 6%. Or […]
VOTING is Closed For this Year. The list of nominees is out for the 2015 Motif Music Awards, celebrating the best in local music. Nominees are selected mathematically from the suggestions by over 75 local booking agents, labels, radio stations, and over a dozen of our music writers.You decide the winners. Voting closes at Midnight […]
We caught up with violinist Timothy Fain and asked him a few questions about his upcoming Providence performance with Philip Glass for FirstWorks (at the Vets, Feb 25). What’s it like to work with Philip Glass? I’ve learned a lot from him, by doing what I love most – performing. We’re learning by doing and […]