On Friday, a Woonsocket and Providence-based Indigenous drum group helped kick off the Newport Folk Festival. The Eastern Medicine Singers aim to bring cultural healing and representation to audiences.
Olivia Ebertz
Olivia Ebertz comes to The Public’s Radio from WNYC, where she was a producer for Morning Edition. Prior to that, she spent two years reporting for KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, where she wrote a lot about how the warming climate is forcing local Indigenous communities to change their traditional lifeways.
Prior to her career as a journalist, Olivia worked in film. Her documentaries have screened at festivals worldwide.
Olivia likes to pursue stories inspired by questions from community members.
Ella habla español, lei parla italiano, и она говорит по-русски.
Posted inArticle, Metro Desk, Politics
The Providence City Council hires lawyer to recoup millions in tax breaks
The Providence City Council wants to recoup more than $42 million in tax breaks the city gave to developer Arnold “Buff” Chace.
Posted inArticle, Metro Desk
Providence announces upgrades to its hurricane barrier system
$1.5 million worth of repairs for hurricane barriers in Fox Point will start later this month, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced today, on the wettest July 10 on record in the last century. At least one climate researcher has applauded the decision.
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice, Metro Desk, Politics
Three RI bills aimed at reforming criminal justice are set to die today
The list includes a bill to enact bail reform for probation violators, a bill to minimize the length of time a person can spend in solitary confinement, and a bill to change the way police officers are investigated and penalized.
Posted inArticle, Metro Desk
Portugal’s national day takes on an American flavor at Rhode Island Day of Portugal
Portugal’s national day is a holiday marking the death of a famous Portuguese Poet… and the celebrations have become a lot more important in the United States than in Portugal.
Posted inArticle, Metro Desk
The unsheltered homeless population in RI is up by 370% since before the pandemic
Housing costs and availability are pushing more people out onto the streets, says the director of the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness.
Posted inEpisode, Housing, Metro Desk
“It’s a relentless pursuit”: How one organization has secured housing for hundreds of homeless Rhode Islanders
In the second installment of our series, “Falling Short: In search of affordable housing,” we look at Amos House, a local nonprofit that entices landlords to house homeless people by offering them thousands of dollars in cash incentives.
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice, Metro Desk
Bail reform advocates block jail bus from leaving RI courthouse
At a rally Thursday, activists with Direct Action for Rights and Equality demanded a change to a Rhode Island rule that prevents people who violate probation from receiving bail.
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice, Metro Desk
A Rhode Island rule keeps people on probation stuck in a cycle of reincarceration. A new bill could change that
In Rhode Island, it’s up to judges to decide whether people who violate probation can be released on bail. That rule keeps many people stuck in a cycle of reincarceration, including one woman who spent the last few months of her life in state custody.
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice, Metro Desk
Mayor Smiley proposes more money for police, lower taxes for commercial landlords
Some of the new mayor’s priorities include a new tax structure for many of Providence’s landlords, more police officers, raises for city workers, and new spending for some city services.