Metro

Homelessness paper wins 'most improved'

Willa Truelove has roamed the streets for the past two years. She has no home.

Mayor calls to end indoor prostitution

While the state Senate and House reconcile differences in two versions of a bill to close a loophole that allows indoor prostitution in Rhode Island, Providence Mayor David Cicilline '83 has instructed the city council to move ahead with an ordinance banning the practice within city limits.

Governor and unions may have an agreement

Governor Donald Carcieri '65 has reportedly reached a provisional agreement with state employee unions to allow pay cuts in place of layoffs or government shutdown days. Carcieri has been engaged in an ongoing struggle with the unions in an effort to meet budget cut requirements.

Apartments damaged in small fire

A fire Thursday night at the building at 669-685 North Main St. destroyed a furniture store and left residents living in apartments upstairs, including two Brown graduate students, looking for other places to stay.Also among the 21 people displaced by the fire were Johnson and Wales students, according ...

Brown eyes purchase of former highway land

Sharks, sneakers headline Thayer summer openings

As a new fall semester begins, new restaurants and stores have begun to pop up on Thayer Street, though some shuttered windows remain.

Debate on 'student tax' takes center stage this fall

With a sour economy squeezing the budgets of local governments and universities alike, Brown officials have spent the summer fighting to dissuade state lawmakers from passing legislation that would allow cash-strapped cities to recover funds from private colleges and large non-profit institutions. The ...

Mural, mural on the wall

Teacher hiring plan draws lawsuit

As the school year begins for more than 20,000 students and teachers in Providence public schools, a change in hiring policy has led to praise, concern — and now a lawsuit.

'Indoor prostitution' may be coming to an end in R.I.

Rhode Island is one of just two places in the union where prostitution is currently legal. But legislators could vote to put an end to that when they return from recess before the end of the summer.

State medical marijuana centers get green light

The Rhode Island General Assembly passed a bill last month to allow the creation of up to three state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries, becoming the third state in the country to legalize so-called "compassion centers" after both the House and Senate voted to override the veto of Gov. Donald ...

Legislature moves to remove 'Plantations' from state's name

The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations might lose the distinction of having the longest name of any state if lawmakers and residents favor an amendment to the state constitution.

Taxes on private colleges advance in R.I. legislature

Two bills have made progress in Rhode Island's General Assembly that could cost Brown and its students millions of dollars if they become law.

Local relations director to leave Brown

Darrell Brown, director for state and community relations, will leave his post at Brown this May to start a new job in Washington, with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

Community argues against restaurant

Problems with rowdy crowds at a Providence nightclub, including reports of fights, underage drinking and weapons, may keep the owner from getting the city's permission to open another establishment in Fox Point. 

Forbes: Providence a tough place to live

If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere — at least according to Forbes.

Laid-off ProJo workers print 'stimulus' paper

Four former Providence Journal employees have teamed up to have "a little fun in the face of potential economic ruin" — by creating their own newsletter.

Rep. calls for 'product stewardship'

State Representative Donna Walsh, D-Dist. 36, has introduced a bill in the General Assembly that calls for manufacturers to regulate the disposal of waste from certain consumer products.

Changes in store for Thayer Street

The recession has hit Rhode Island hard, and Thayer Street businesses have not been immune to the slumping economy.

Liberian refugees get extra year in U.S.

Liberians in Rhode Island rejoiced last month at news that refugees from the West African country would be granted an additional 12 months of amnesty in the United States, thanks to an executive order signed by President Obama.