When Paul Gauvin was an internal affairs investigator with the Fall River Police Department, his efforts to discipline officers for things like steroid abuse and excessive force were sometimes thwarted by station politics and powerful protections in union contracts. So when Gauvin was promoted to chief in December 2021, he said he tried to overhaul […]
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Posted inEducation, Local
Breaking down the ballot: Should Rhode Islanders support capital improvements at URI and RIC?
The voter registration deadline in Rhode Island is Oct. 6. You can register at vote.RI.gov. Go here for a guide to all five referenda questions on this year’s ballot, and click here for more information on when, where and how to vote in this year’s election. TRANSCRIPT: This transcript has been edited for length and […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, TGIF
TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for Oct. 11, 2024
There’s no truth to the rumor that $1 tickets will be sold for the chance to swing a sledgehammer as part of the demolition of the Washington Bridge. You can follow me through the week on threads and what we used to call the twitters. (A quick program note: my column is skipping next week […]
Posted inLocal, South County Bureau
Local playwright explores Jewish experience after Oct. 7 attacks in ‘Picking Up Stones’
The Jewish High Holy Days this year have also been a time of reflection and mourning a year after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Local playwright Sandy Laub, who wrote a one-person play after the tragedy called “Picking Up Stones: An American Jew Wakes to a Nightmare,” sat down with South County Bureau Reporter […]
Posted inLocal, On Sports
Farewell to a Red Sox Legend: Luis Tiant
He was a big-time pitcher with a big-time personality. His one-of-a-kind windup defied description. His delivery baffled hitters. His ever-smoldering cigar became a facial feature. Opponents respected him; teammates and fans loved him. Luis Tiant died Tuesday at his home in Maine. He was 83. El Tiante, as we dubbed him, was an icon in […]
Posted inHealth, Local
In R.I., a spike in opioid overdose deaths among older adults
Nearly three-quarters of the country reported declines in fatal opioid overdoses in the second half of last year, but in Rhode Island they increased 7 percent, according to a new report by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. The reason: More people 65 and older in Rhode Island died of opioid overdoses. Rhode Island is among […]
Posted inEducation, Local, Politics
Brown votes against divestment from companies with ties to Israel
Brown University will not divest from 10 companies that student activists said facilitated “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.” The Corporation of Brown University, the university’s governing body, voted Tuesday to support the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACURM) against divestment, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. ACURM found […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Fall River mayor switches police chiefs under pressure from unions
As Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan weighed four internal candidates for police chief, he said Kelly Furtado emerged as a popular choice among the department’s rank and file. Furtado comes from a police family: her father, husband and son have all served as Fall River police officers. She had also worked alongside the mayor at […]
Posted inLocal, Politics
Cranston mayoral candidates spar over city finances in testy debate
At a debate Monday night at Cranston West High School, incumbent Mayor Ken Hopkins and Democratic challenger Robert Ferri portrayed two very different visions for the city. Moderated by The Public’s Radio morning host Luis Hernandez, a panel of three journalists – Rory Schuler of the Cranston Herald, The Public’s Radio political reporter Ian Donnis, […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Local
How one Providence rabbi is supporting students as they ‘understand the meaning of October 7th’
On the one-year anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks in Israel — the deadliest day in the history of the country — a group of students from Brown and RISD stood in the rain hanging an installation in honor of the October 7th victims. Members of the Brown RISD Hillel, they wanted to mark Monday’s somber […]