The debate over this year’s budget is underway in the Rhode Island House. With federal COVID-19 relief money running out, lawmakers have some tough decisions to make. Our own Ian Donnis and the Boston Globe’s Dan McGowan join us to discuss the likely winners and losers in this year’s budget. Also, Easton’s Beach – the only public beach in Newport – is disappearing. After extensive damage from three severe storms this winter, local leaders and residents are debating how to preserve the beach, or whether to save it at all. And a new exhibit at the Newport Historical Society centers the stories of the city’s Black residents from the 17th-19th centuries. That and more on this episode of The Weekly Catch.

Guests:

  • Ian Donnis, The Public’s Radio political reporter
  • Dan McGowan, The Boston Globe columnist

The Weekly Catch is a production of The Public’s Radio. Our host is Luis Hernandez. Our editor is Mareva Lindo. Our producer is James Baumgartner. Thanks to Maddie Mott for our podcast artwork. Our Chief Content Officer is Sally Eisele, and our CEO and General Manager is Torey Malatia.

Listen to The Weekly Catch every Friday at 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. You can also find it in your podcast feed of choice on Friday afternoons. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or use this RSS feed for your podcatcher of choice.

Got a question, comment, or suggestion? We’d love to hear from you. Email us: weeklycatch@thepublicsradio.org. Follow or reply to us at @thepublicsradio on Instagram, X (Twitter), or Facebook.Click here to support nonprofit local journalism by donating to The Public’s Radio!

Luis helms the morning lineup. He is a 20-year public radio veteran, having joined The Public's Radio in 2022. That journey has taken him from the land of Gators at the University of Florida to WGCU in...

James produces and engineers Political Roundtable, The Weekly Catch and other special programming on The Public’s Radio. He also produces Artscape, the weekly arts & culture segment heard every Thursday....

Mareva joined The Public’s Radio in 2022 and oversees daily news production, writes our Daily Catch newsletter and edits two weekly productions, Artscape and The Weekly Catch. In 2023, Mareva received...