Every Thursday they converge, seemingly out of nowhere: a core group of volunteers who will unload two pallets of food in about 20 minutes. It is an efficient operation and this group has it down to a science. They are some of the nearly 100 people pitching in at Tap In, an all-volunteer outreach organization […]
Sick Pills — Sickening Earlier today I was blasting the new CD Sickening from the New Bedford-based band Sick Pills. With all that ground thumping new wave goodness pouring from my open window, my normally bucolic, suburban street was transformed into what the Bowery must have sounded like some 40 years ago when Television or […]
With November’s statewide election drawing closer, Rhode Island is beginning to enter its bi-annual political frenzy of candidates and policies. In the four years since the last mayoral race, the nation has seen a dozen gun-related mass murders and hundreds of shootings in Providence alone, putting firearm policy atop the list of hot topics. In […]
By Crimson Al-Khemia Beautiful and brutal, they are the Providence Roller Derby’s all-star teams: The Rhode Island Riveters, The Killah Bees and The Rocky Point Rollers! On May 31, roller derby moves to the William H. Thayer Arena in Warwick. A double bout will feature the Riveters going skate to skate against the Gainesville Roller […]
An unresponsive university president doesn’t look good For more than a decade, the University of Rhode Island had a national reputation as one of the most unfriendly campuses for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Those students didn’t need The Princeton Review to tell them how hostile the environment had become; they had been […]
The Supreme Court recently heard Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby, which asks the justices to consider whether for-profit companies can refuse certain types of medical coverage, citing religious objections. Hobby Lobby President Steve Green stated, “We do not have a problem with contraceptives … it is those that are abortive in nature — that is when […]
Rhode Island; a melting pot Global culture continues to homogenize, and American cultural elements have spread throughout the world. When everyone can watch Breaking Bad at the same time on their computers (or, unfortunately, Two and Half Men), it’s odd to recall a time when the expanse of an ocean was a barrier between ways […]
Should the Federal Government prohibit Cannabis? Though the Obama administration has been the first to open a dialog exploring marijuana prohibition’s end, the government’s message is convoluted and inconsistent with public opinion. While Attorney General Eric Holder discusses a shift in U.S. Marijuana Policy that respects state marijuana laws, the Republican-controlled House looks to pass […]
For the Love of Theater The energy level is high on a Wednesday night in February as three dozen kids head into their final rehearsal of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. They’ve been practicing for nearly two months, but with opening night now on the immediate horizon there’s the usual mix of excitement, anticipation […]
House Speaker Gordon Fox Resigns The irony was not lost on anybody who has spent any amount of time at the Rhode Island State House. On a quiet Friday morning last month, the Rhode Island State Police, accompanied by agents from the FBI and IRS, swooped in, making a beeline for the third-floor office suite […]