Traditionally, Motif takes what are often confoundingly worded ballot questions and plainly explains them for voters before they enter the ballot box. This year, there’s one ballot question from the state, and it’s a pretty simple one: Is it time to drop “Providence Plantations” from our state name through an amendment to the state constitution? […]
Last month, Woonsocket’s Racist Policies Review Advisory Board, a deliberative body intended to identify discriminatory practices in city policy, voted to recommend the city council’s seven at-large seats switch instead to seven warded seats. Municipal legislature races rarely get much notice during election cycles in the Ocean State, a fact that can mask crucial issues. […]
UPDATE: Due to weather, the November 1 date has been cancelled. The November 2 date will move forward as planned. In Mexico, on the first two days of November, Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated. On this holiday, the veil between the world of the living and the world of […]
Providence has a long history with veganism and vegetarianism. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was home for the North American Vegetarian Society’s annual summer fest; it birthed Like No Udder, the world’s first vegan ice cream truck and now it has Plant City, one of the first vegan food courts in the world. This […]
The pandemic and the election have completely taken over our minds, so many of the stories of yesteryear have been forgotten by most people (and news outlets) at large. We here at Motif thought we’d give a quick update on stories we’ve covered over the last few years and where they are today. Hope Point […]
When Tammy Brown of The Womxn Project approached Alicia Wilder of Metamorphosis Dance Company suggesting they organize a flash mob to promote voting, Wilder was instantly on board. The song they chose to dance to is Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation.” “If you really take the time to listen to the lyrics, it is so relevant […]
Shell Game A local landmark climate lawsuit against a fossil-fuel behemoth has been given approval to proceed. U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith recently denied a request for dismissal by Shell Oil Products U.S. in a case brought by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). The Boston-based environmental advocacy group alleges Shell failed to safeguard […]
Rhode Island the rest of the nation tried something new this autumn: A concentrated effort to use mail ballots and early voting to keep crowds down at polling places on election day. According to the US Elections Project, a website run by early voting expert and academic Michael McDonald, as of October 23, 52 million […]
The Donald Wyatt Detention Facility reported 99 COVID-19 cases among its prisoner population yesterday, according to a court filing submitted by the facility. This is up from the 28 positive cases reported in different court filings on October 15. Wyatt staff are also showing a large increase in cases, with 11 cases as of Monday, […]