The Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 — developed by Brown students working with a faculty member and outside consultants — was introduced to the Rhode Island General Assembly by Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston, last week. The University provided funding to support the legislation, which outlines ...
The Rhode Island Senate approved two bills March 12 proposing to call the first constitutional convention the state has seen in 30 years and to create a bipartisan preparatory commission. The convention would consider a number of changes to the state’s constitution, including term limits for elected ...
Rhode Island voters have low confidence in the effectiveness of their elected state leaders, according to the results of a poll conducted Feb. 9-12. Only 2 percent of voters rated state leaders’ effectiveness as “excellent,” while the majority — 82 percent — rated it “fair” or “poor.” The ...
Marina Tolou-Shams, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior, received a $3.4 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to examine the prevalence of risk behaviors and certain other outcomes in formerly incarcerated Rhode Island juveniles now reentering the community. Tolou-Shams’s ...
In proposed resolutions and legislation this week, the General Assembly targeted childhood education, renewable energy and health care delivery. Kindergarten program The Senate Education Committee considered a joint resolution Wednesday to study the feasibility of creating full-day kindergarten programs ...
Rep. Patricia Morgan, R-Coventry, West Warwick, Warwick, introduced a bill that would require people using electronic benefit transfer cards to show proof of identity to redeem food stamp benefits. The bill aims to reduce fraud in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and was introduced ...
PopUp Providence, a tactical urbanism program that introduces inexpensive and temporary installations designed to engage its residents and invigorate the area is now accepting proposals from the community. The program is a partnership between the Providence Redevelopment Agency and the Providence Department ...
Rep. Joseph Almeida, D-Providence, introduced legislation to the Rhode Island General Assembly Feb. 25 that would form the 1696 Historical Commission. The commission, named for the year enslaved Africans were first documented to have arrived in Rhode Island, would create a comprehensive curriculum ...
As the national unemployment rate inches back toward pre-crisis figures, Rhode Island’s rate has followed the general trend. But the state’s stubbornly high unemployment distinguishes it from national progress. As lawmakers attempt to identify the cause of the Ocean State’s struggles, a range ...
Approval of the finalized Thayer Street Planning Study in late January marked the conclusion of exploratory research on potential Thayer Street improvements, signalling a transition into the plan’s implementation phase. Following months of revision, the approved outline calls for the long-term development ...
The governors of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware and Vermont — three of whom are alums — joined Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science and public policy, at the first of five events Saturday that together composed the President’s Colloquium on the Virtues of a Liberal Education. ...
The sixth annual Senator Claiborne Pell Lecture on Arts and Humanities featured Arlene Goldbard, an activist and author, who spoke about art and culture as catalysts for social transformation Wednesday. The event, entitled “A Culture of Possibility for Providence,” also featured a panel of local ...
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Block launched a new stage of his campaign with the announcement of a plan to transform the state’s tax system, reduce government spending and instate multiple government reforms last week. Block, a 2010 gubernatorial candidate for the Moderate Party, is poised ...
“I think we are due for a shake-up,” said Seth Magaziner ’06, candidate for Rhode Island general treasurer, at a Brown Socially Responsible Investment Fund meeting Tuesday night. Rhode Island’s pension system and high unemployment rate stand out as critical issues that need to be addressed ...
Michael Fine, director of the R.I. Department of Health, gave the Ocean State a B-minus rating in the State of the State’s Health address Wednesday. The score was determined by compiling rankings from national health organizations. The rating is “a little bit subjective,” Fine said. “At the ...
Former Central Falls Mayor Charles Moreau was released from federal prison Friday, and his conviction for federal program fraud — the illegal acquisition of federal dollars allocated to the state — was vacated, the Associated Press reported. Moreau’s release comes one year into his two-year sentence ...
The Joint Behavioral Health and Firearms Safety Task Force of Rhode Island proposed recommendations to the General Assembly last week that would prevent individuals with serious mental health issues from purchasing firearms. If the legislation is passed by the General Assembly, it would enable the ...
“We are tired of being used and abused,” said Krystle Martin, a waitress at the Hilton Providence and one of many of the hotel’s employees rallied Feb.18 to petition the hotel’s management, the Procaccianti Group, for better working conditions. Police blocked the entrance to the hotel, thwarting ...
“One should not be afraid to try something new,” said Nobel laureate H. Robert Horvitz to an audience of high school students and University community members at the Providence Career and Technical Academy Wednesday. Horvitz received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2002 for research ...
Committees in the General Assembly reviewed several pieces of legislation this week, including budget proposals, a request to obtain evidence in the 38 Studios lawsuit and a bill to improve bus transportation for Providence students. Budget brief The Senate Committee on Finance met Feb. 25 to review ...
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