I was shopping at my neighborhood supermarket when I first heard the news. It was the afternoon of June 13th. My friend phoned me and when I answered he blurted out an urgent jumble of words. For a moment I was terrified, thinking something terrible had happened. As it turned out, something terrible had, but […]
On May 25, 2022, Gov. McKee signed the RI Cannabis Act into law. The law legalized cannabis for adult use and stated a three-member commission (aka the Cannabis Control Commission, CCC for short) would be responsible for overseeing the regulation, licensing, and control of RI’s medical and adult use cannabis markets. McKee had 40 days […]
Nine sites in RI will be open to visitors for the annual amateur “ham” radio Field Day this weekend, Jun 24-25, 2023. Details about each of these sites and contact information for the groups running them are available — arrl.org/field-day-locator — on the web. Amateur “ham” radio is often the last line of communications in […]
Stillwater Books, which opened in Pawtucket in March 2018, will move this summer to a new location in West Warwick, according to Steven R. Porter who co-owns the business with his wife Dawn M. Wright-Porter. It was the first retail bookstore to open in Pawtucket for decades, and after its closing the city will again […]
The number of primary care physicians in the US today is dwindling. Nearly a third of the population lacks access to primary care and those numbers are only going to rise – a shortage of more than 52,000 primary care physicians is anticipated by 2025. I spoke with Dr. E, a primary care doctor who […]
RI law (§17-12.1-1) ordinarily requires the presidential preference primary election to be held on the fourth Tuesday in April of each presidential election year, but in 2024 that would fall on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Passover (Pesach), the day immediately following the Seder held the prior sunset. An eight-day holiday in […]
If you cast your mind back, back, beyond COVID-brain and our seismic societal shifts of the last few years, you might remember that Motif came out twice a month. That was more work and more expensive, but it was also lovely because not all shows, events and experiences know their details more than a month […]
Warming weather means the RI food truck season swings into high gear. Major events drawing dozens of trucks have already started their schedules. Both PVD Food Truck Events (PVD FTE) and Ocean State Food Truck Festivals (OSTF) host weekly events every Friday (and a smorgasbord of other events). PVD can be found at the Carousel […]
Motif is trying something new in our first July 2023 issue. Dedicated to the art of writing and summer reading, this issue will include some (clearly labeled as such) fiction. Entries must be original creative work evoking the themes, images, characters or feeling of Rhode Island in the summer, and must not have been previously […]
If you’ve never seen Stefan Couture perform live, then June 10 at Chan’s in Woonsocket is the night to do it. Couture was nominated as one of the best singer/songwriters in Motif’s 2022 poll, and his newest collection, A Brief and Binding Light, clearly shows why. The album will drop on all streaming platforms on […]