Government
Public services and government action
Mayor Elorza rallies to have teacher contract details released
"...once we see the contract, we can get into whether it's transformational or not," said Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. "But all we're asking for here today is let us see the details of the contract, and let us provide some input before you sign the dotted line and make it official."
PVD's Pension Working Group membership skews right-wing, anti-worker
I noticed that you have groups like RIPEC and the Providence Chamber that are notoriously anti-worker when they are at the State House advocating against things like minimum wage, advocating against worker policies. And I was wondering who on the Pension Working Group represents a less… neoliberal, right-wing point of view on that panel?
RI Poor People's Campaign demands support from Senators Reed and Whitehouse
"We are here because this is the season of non-violent direct action," said Pamela Poniatowski, one the Tri-Chairs. "This has gone on far too long where poor people and the lower income have just been ignored in our Congress and in our Senate - and we are done," said Pamela Poniatowski, one the Tri-Chairs of the Rhode Island Poor People's Campaign.
Providence family facing harassment and violence after police altercation
"My family has been targeted since the last press conference," said Taffii Moore, who has lived in her home for the last decade. "We've had death threats. We've had our house attempted to be set on fire - the surroundings were set on fire."
ECHO Village project vocally opposed by South PVD residents and politicians
"The comments that some of you are making are insensitive to people with lived experience, who have been homeless… We're not all drug addicts… We came here to talk to you guys about the realities of homelessness. You could be standing next to somebody who is homeless and don't even know. Everybody is saying you don't want this in your community, but it's already in your community."
PVD Police release video of unhoused encampment visit
"I believe that once this video is released, it could potentially be national training video on how to handle a situation like that," said State Senator Joshua Miller. "They were called by the neighborhood to respond to certain complaints about what had happened in the homeless encampment - To every person they encountered in there the compassion was tremendous."
ACLU calls out Cranston Police over illegal stop policy
“… When police are put in the position of choosing which cars to pull over merely for the sake of meeting an arbitrary quota, rather than for a legitimate public safety need, it can only encourage discriminatory treatment of motorists. In addition, the anxiety and trauma that can be generated by a police stop goes without saying. For most people, it is an unnerving experience, but for people of color, it is particularly fraught...."
Some residents of condemned Cranston apartment complex have lost assistance
These residents all received a letter saying that their income was too high for them to be eligible. Many of the other 39 families affected will be housed in a Providence hotel until at least August 6.
Clemency tour comes to Rhode Island with march on women's prison in Cranston
The organizers are calling on Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee to grant clemency to five women in particular: Trearra Hudgen, Katherine Bunnell, Crystal Berube, Danielle Lefebvre, and Ashley Weaver in a petition to be circulated throughout the weekend.
Court fines and fees are hurting our communities. What can be done?
"Across the country, many people and organizations are talking about how municipal court fines and fees are unjust," write the organizers. "These costs often hurt poor people, Black/Indigeneous People of Color (BIPOC) communities, and people who are homeless. Court fines are also connected with racist policing. This causes the courts to be a 'revolving door' for many poor and BIPOC people, getting them stuck in the system for years and making it harder to stay connected with family, get housing, and keep healthy."