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 […]
Tune In & Tune Up, the health awareness initiative of the RI Music Hall of Fame, has changed a lot in the last year. Conceived as a way to raise awareness in the music community of health issues, especially preventative care, it ended up focusing a lot of effort on helping musicians navigate the strange landscape that shaped efforts […]
A year ago, we wrote about the massive changes happening in health care – Obamacare on the national level, HealthSourceRI and changes at Blue Cross Blue Shield and other RI institutions, as well as how those things were expected to change the lives of local residents, especially artists, musicians and others in professions that historically […]
The election 2014 is nigh upon us, and I’ve been contemplating the Mayoral race more than any of the others. It looks to be one of the closest races this election cycle, and I think it may be the most important. The mayor certainly doesn’t outrank the governor or other state-wide offices. But this year, […]
Other voting thoughts: Vote Bob Healy in the Governor race – not so he’ll win, but so he’ll get a big enough showing that others will take some of his ideas more seriously, and understand that we like it when a candidate actually answers questions in a debate, rather than dancing around them. I plan […]
It’s official: Comic Con and the formerly geeky cultural norms attached have gone mainstream. If the blockbuster status of so many recent superhero and sci-fi movies weren’t evidence enough, RI Comic Con this weekend was not only sold out, but closed off due to capacity concerns. The convention center has a capacity of around 14,000 […]
The Phoenix Media/Communications Group (PMCG) announced today that, after 36 years, it will stop publishing the venerated alt-weekly The Providence Phoenix. This news comes a little over a year after publisher Stephen Mindich and COO Everett Finkelstein announced the closing of the sister publication The Boston Phoenix. The Portland Phoenix, in Maine, remains in operation. […]