The unionized workers of the Community Libraries of Providence have been without a contract for two years now. Their patience, which had been wearing thin, was stretched to the breaking point by a recent move on the part of management that, by union rules, crossed a line. On August 4 & 5 they went into […]
“We will continue pushing back on ill-planned attempts to force A.I. into our newsrooms and onto our readers, who deserve quality, human-led journalism…” – Philip Eil, freelance journalist Why would a newspaper company partner with Palantir, the notorious tech company co-founded by Peter Thiel? Well, according to USA Today Co.’s CEO Mike Reed, who spoke […]
Two years ago in these pages I wrote “PPSD in Peril” to mark the five-year anniversary of the state assuming control of the Providence Public School District and my general take on it. Rereading it now, I came off a tad cynical about the bureaucracy, the theater, and the posturing behind it all. Now, the […]
David Morales, candidate for mayor of Providence, who will challenge incumbent Brett Smiley for the Democratic Party nomination in the Sep 9 primary election, has made disturbing statements that, in my opinion, should be disqualifying. Morales has characterized Israel’s conduct in Gaza as “genocide,” which is offensive and inherently antisemitic. Why is local government preoccupied […]
Artificial intelligence became a mainstream sensation in late 2022, its flames fanned by the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. What was previously a high-tech field became a highly visible mass-market product, carrying with it a minefield of ethical considerations. There are pros and cons at every turn, but one thing is clear: AI is a double-edged […]
My name is Nyrsalee Cruz, I’m a high school student and I intern at the Rhode Island statehouse as a docent. Every Friday for the last year and a half, I’ve given tours to students, community members, and tourists. I walk guests through the rotunda made from Georgian marble, and I guide them in and […]
“Foreigner.” I find it a harsh word that I hate seeing applied to others. Yet applied to myself, it’s the only word that half conveys how baffling I find this country at times. I’d like to apologise ahead of this article, for I will be telling you some things you already know. The first time […]
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2026, those of us old enough to remember the 200th anniversary in 1976 tend to be fondly nostalgic for the “Bicentennial” in what seemed a less troubled time, when patriotism could be unironic. That’s somewhat of a false memory: the Vietnam war, the Arab Oil embargo, […]
We sat down a few months ago with one of the organizers of RI’s Deportation Defense Line. The Defense Line’s origins are organic and multifaceted. No one person is in charge of it. No one organization is either. But the end result is a system that, while far from foolproof, is effective and responsive, driven […]
Smithfield, RI: A town known for its forests, trails, ponds, and well, wealth. An unlikely location for a potential AI-Data Center, one may think. Yet, this rural community, despite data center construction being illegal under current zoning laws, finds itself at the center of Rhode Island’s first major data center debate. Revity Energy’s desire to […]