The Weekly Catch

The destruction in Los Angeles serves as a reminder of how vulnerable many of our communities in Rhode Island are to wildfires. We hear about what the state and residents can do to prepare for a predicted increase in wildfires due to climate change. Also, dozens of community members recently sent a letter to the Board of Trustees for South County Hospital. In it they criticized leadership and expr...

After more than five years under state control, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is asking state lawmakers to force the Department of Education to return the city's schools to local control. Meanwhile, during the recent drop in temperatures, the Providence City Council opened its doors this week as an emergency warming center. We talk with the mayor about his plans for the city's schools and the home...

Rhode Island lawmakers return to the capital on Tuesday for a new session. A massive budget deficit, continued troubles with the Washington Bridge, healthcare, and housing remain some of the top issues politicians face in the Ocean State. Our reporters roundtable shares what to watch this legislative session. Also, president-elect Trump has promised to roll back anti-discrimination protections for...

A week after the state announced a massive security breach at Rhode Island’s online portal for health and public benefit programs, a lot of questions remain about who’s responsible and what happens next. We’ll hear from Jim Langevin, the head of the cybersecurity program at Rhode Island College. And a new investigation from ecoRI News found that Rhode Island has many environmental laws on the book...

Rhode Island is now home to the first state-sanctioned overdose prevention center in the country. Advocates hope the new facility will lead to fewer overdose-related deaths, and more people getting connected with drug treatment. And the Quidnessett Country Club is trying to get retroactive approval for an illegal sea wall that they *already* built. But they hit a hurdle this week with a subcommitt...

Residents in Narragansett and South Kingstown have complained that URI isn't providing enough housing for its growing student body, affecting the town's strained housing market. This week, the university announced plans to build more student housing. What will that look like, and will it be enough? Also, author and podcaster Nate DiMeo built up his chops as a storyteller living and working in Prov...

What could Trump's second presidency mean for reproductive health in Rhode Island? A reproductive rights advocate tells us what they expect, what they're hearing from people in our communities, and how they're preparing for the difficult fights ahead. Also, Fall River has been a Democratic stronghold politically for a century. So how did Trump and the Republicans flip it in this past election? Plu...

Providence school officials have persistently warned that if the city continues to underfund education, they will have to make some painful cuts. We hear from two PPSD leaders about what’s at stake if they don’t get the additional $10 million they’re asking for. Also, president-elect Trump has vowed to enact what he calls the “largest deportation operation in American history.” The head of a New B...

With Republicans soon in control of the White House, Senate, and possibly the House, what could it mean for Rhode Islanders? Political reporter Ian Donnis and political scientist Wendy Schiller join us to talk about that and other takeaways from Tuesday's elections. Also, how are the state’s young voters feeling about the election results? We talk with a group of students from Johnson & Wales...

In this final episode before Nov. 5, we’ll be talking all about the election. With just four days left, what can we expect in Rhode Island, and what do we know about how the outcome will affect our region? Political reporter Ian Donnis and political scientist Adam Myers will break it down. Also, five students at Johnson & Wales University tell us what they’re feeling and thinking about as the...

This election, South Coast residents will pick candidates for the state legislature, decide on five statewide ballot questions, and vote on a contested Congressional race. Our South Coast Bureau Reporter Ben Berke reviews what you need to know. And we continue our breakdown of Rhode Island’s ballot referenda, this time with question four, a $53 million green economy bond that will go towards green...

Rhode Island voters will face five statewide referenda questions on November’s ballot. In the weeks leading up to the election we’ll dig into each of them. This week: should voters approve a $120 million dollar bond to increase the availability of housing, and promote home ownership? Also, the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service paid a visit to Rhode Island in honor of National Wildlife Ref...

On Oct. 8, 2023, local playwright Sandy Laub started writing. The result was a one-woman play called “Picking Up Stones: An American Jew Wakes to a Nightmare.” She sat down with our South County Bureau Reporter Alex Nunes to talk about the play and reflect on the past year. Also, in November, Rhode Island voters will be faced with five statewide ballot questions. Between now and Election Day we’ll...

This week, CVS Health announced it will be laying off nearly 3,000 employees nationwide, and is exploring breaking up parts of its business. We’ll talk about how these changes may affect the state and its Woonsocket-based headquarters. Also, there are five questions for Rhode Island voters on this year’s ballot. This week we’ll look at question one: should the state host a constitutional conventio...

A seafood processing plant in Fall River is at the heart of a new lawsuit that claims the plant employed underage migrant workers – and says the teens were exposed to potentially dangerous conditions. The suit comes a year after an investigation by The Public's Radio into possible child labor violations at seafood processors in New Bedford. Also, a year after UMass Dartmouth abruptly closed its ar...

What would it mean if Hasbro left Rhode Island? News broke this week that the company is considering moving their headquarters to the Boston area. Political Reporter Ian Donnis talks about what’s at stake. Also, Westerly's town solicitor is facing scrutiny over work related to the Watch Hill Lighthouse, which was transferred in January to a private nonprofit amidst public outcry. Our South County...

For years Woonsocket homeowners didn’t have the same foreclosure prevention tools as the rest of Rhode Island. After an investigation by The Public’s Radio, that is finally changing. Our Nina Sparling will give us the update. Also, Alan Shawn Feinstein had a profound impact on the lives of thousands of young people in the Ocean State. We’ll meet a couple of them in a remembrance of one of Rhode Is...

Rhode Island lawmakers are taking aim at the state’s housing shortage by passing laws and increasing funding to expand inventory. But local zoning laws that vary between cities and towns are often a barrier to building. We take a look at the political tug-of-war between state and local officials over the housing crisis from our series Zoned Out. Also, Rhode Island’s state primary election is this...

Buried deep in residential property records across Rhode Island lies an ugly truth: old restrictions in deeds that prohibited people of color from buying a given home. We hear from our own Nina Sparling about how racist restrictions in housing deeds helped shape where Rhode Islanders live today. Also, Providence public schools will remain under state control for another three years. Political repo...

Rhode Island has faced a housing shortage for decades, and despite efforts to address it, the problem is getting worse. Today, thousands of people in Rhode Island are homeless, thousands more homeowners and renters are living in unsecure conditions, and home prices continue to skyrocket. The state needs to build more housing, but one of the biggest factors stifling that process is zoning. It’s the...

Two years ago the city of Providence approved a $10 million reparations fund in order to narrow the city’s racial wealth gap. This week, some of that money was awarded to 15 different nonprofit groups. We’ll discuss how that money is being used. Also, we’ll introduce you to our new community engagement reporter, Paul C. Kelly Campos, and talk about how you can help inform our elections coverage th...

A scrapyard in South Providence was shut down last month after two recent fires. This week a judge said it could reopen, despite opposition from state officials and locals who say the facility poses health risks to an already over-polluted neighborhood. And Monday is Victory Day here in Rhode Island, commemorating the surrender of Japan in August of 1945 that led to the end of World War II. We hea...

A North Kingstown country club is clashing with state coastal regulators, environmentalists and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after building an illegal sea wall along Narragansett Bay. Now the country club is trying to retroactively change the law. Also, WaterFire is an iconic Providence experience, but the nonprofit that runs it is in dire straits. We talk with the founder and CEO about what n...

One of the pressing questions going into next month’s Democratic Convention is who Vice President Kamala Harris will pick for her running mate. Former Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo is on the short list. We talk with political pundits from Brown University and the Boston Globe about that story and more. The number of people experiencing homelessness in the Ocean State is up from last year - b...

Last week a judge sided with coastal property owners, saying Rhode Island’s new shoreline access law amounts to an unconstitutional taking of private property. We’ll talk with a law expert about where this fight could go next. Also, a few months after the merger of The Public’s Radio and Rhode Island PBS, the board has announced a new CEO. We’ll get to know Pam Johnston, the former head of news at...