Athena Kobin is a licensed mental health counselor and art therapist who uses art in her practice to help older teens and adults express themselves in a different way than what they may be accustomed to. Kobin and I had a recent discussion about what art therapy is, who benefits from it, and how to […]
Rhode Island media lost a heavyweight in early 2021 with the passing of long-time TV news investigative reporter Bill Rappleye, who succumbed to brain cancer last week. Bill left a mark on RI journalism that will affect generations, setting an example as the political reporter for Channel 10. He was a distinctive combination of respectful […]
“We’ve crossed the 30,000 doses mark… as of 9am,” said Dr. Philip Chan of the RI Department of Health (DoH) in a press briefing late in the afternoon on Friday, January 8. “This morning, 31,541 doses have been administered and 1,798 people were fully immunized, meaning they received their second and final dose of the […]
Governor Gina Raimondo is leaving the Ocean State for another job. News broke last week via a leak to The New York Times that President-elect Joe Biden was picking our two-term Rhode Island executive for commerce secretary. The decision comes after months, if not years, of rampant speculation. Raimondo, a rising Democrat within her own […]
A new treatment for COVID-19 patients is available in RI to anyone who tests positive and is age 65 or older, or has an underlying health condition: a one-shot infusion of monoclonal antibodies. It is most effective when administered as soon as possible after testing positive, and it is hoped that it can reduce severity […]
Attorney General Peter Neronha announced today his office will press no charges against any officers involved with the Jhamal Gonsalves moped crash on October 18. The announcement from the AG’s office comes after a two and half month investigation. Jhamal Gonsalves had been driving a moped for the Ride Out rally on that day, before […]
Rep. Joe Shekarchi is officially the new Speaker of the House in Rhode Island. The state’s House of Representatives met today for the first meeting of the new legislative session. Shekarchi became speaker-presumptive last fall, shortly after then-Speaker Nicholas Mattiello lost his race to Barbara Fenton-Fung in District 16. “The COVID crisis has dealt a […]
A few weeks ago I went to a virtual screening of PechaKucha (look it up, you won’t regret it) and stumbled across a wonderful initiative in Rhode Island, an Instagram account called the_hidden_worlds_of_pvd, which chronicles the adventures of Justin Foster, who has dubbed himself an “urban wanderer.” Foster defines it simply: “Urban wandering is the […]
President Donald Trump signed the combined $900 billion pandemic relief bill and $1.4 trillion omnibus funding bill around 8pm on Sunday, December 27, after almost a week of issuing implied threats that he might not do so. The delay already allowed critical unemployment insurance (UI) provisions to lapse the prior day, although the bill provides […]
In the last few days, there has been a near-panic reaction to the discovery of a mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. The mutated lineage – in virology, a “lineage” suggests a variant somewhat closer to its immediate ancestors than a “strain” – is now named “Variant of Concern 202012/01,” having been referenced […]