Rob Smith


A Moment with Moffat

Readers of Motif might recognize the name Jared Moffat, a longtime leader of cannabis legalization efforts and Regulate RI before he moved out of the country a few years ago. Moffat is considering a move back to Rhody, but even from far away he remains up-to-date on our state’s high moves on legalization, and he’ll be helping out with […]

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Abuse of Power: Bell says sex with a person in police custody should be considered sexual assault

On February 13, State Senator Sam Bell (District 5) submitted a law (S-0317) into the Senate Judiciary committee that sets criteria for sexual assault and criminal offense if you’re in the custody of a peace officer. Peace officers can be state or municipal police, bailiffs, correctional investigators and officers along with a laundry list of […]

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Open and Closed

Opened Friskie Fries: County Road, Barrington. friskiefries.com Hey, french fry lovers (that’s all but two of you, right?)! Friskie Fries now has a fourth location in Barrington. Go check it out! Cork and Rye: 255 Lambert Lind Highway, Warwick. corkandryeri.com A new gastropub and scratch kitchen located where Fat Belly’s used to be. Fearless Fish Market: […]

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Safety First: UNAP has challenged Fatima to provide patient and employee safety data, but they’re not delivering

Last month, members of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5110 picketed informally outside Fatima Hospital in North Providence. UNAP’s contract expired at the start of February, but their protest is about more than just bargaining for higher pay. The union has made safety and all related grievances a mainstay of their platform. […]

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Experiments in Democracy: The Central Falls Neighborhood Health Station aims to improve public health

Innocuous and overlooked, Central Falls usually isn’t seen as a radical experiment in democracy. On February 4, however, it will open the Central Falls Neighborhood Health Station, a collaboration between Blackstone Valley Health Care, Inc and the city of Central Falls. This is a community health clinic on steroids. At 47,000 square feet it will […]

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Opened and Closed

Opened Fearless Fish Market: Rhody’s new fresh fish market opens Jan 29at 425 W Fountain St. fearlessfishmarket.com The Green Room: Rhody’s latest smoke shop opened last month. 895 Post Rd. Fl 2, Warwick. Closed Ken’s Ramen: The beloved noodle shop slurped its last drop last month.  AS220 Food Bar: Closed until March for renovations. Bar area […]

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Sojourn for the Vulnerable

  Sojourner House started as a women’s shelter, but has expanded in recent years. One of its newest programs is aimed at LGBTQ+ populations. They have three shelters, one for female identifying and gender non-conforming victims of domestic violence, one for male identifying and gender nonconforming victims of domestic violence and human trafficking (and their children), […]

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Local Allies: RI organizations support trans folk in our community

“Trans” is a wide-ranging umbrella term that applies to numerous identities: transgender, gender non-conforming/variant/creative, non-binary, genderqueer, intersex and others. It’s a wide spectrum enriched every day as we learn more about human gender and sexuality. If you identify as the gender you were assigned at birth, you are cisgender. It can also be defined as […]

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