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Rhode Island Report

A weekly podcast from The Boston Globe on what’s bubbling in Rhode Island news. In-depth interviews with newsmakers, perspective and analysis from Globe Rhode Island reporters, and intimate conversations with community members across the state.

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Latest Episodes

For Central Falls Mayor Rivera, one call captures many of the challenges of her first year

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, the state’s first Latina mayor talks about the pandemic, the housing crisis, and plans for a new high school.

State Senator Tiara Mack, a Providence Democrat

Senator Mack challenges Senate President Ruggerio’s stance on taxing the rich

On the Rhode Island Report, the progressive Providence Democrat talks about legalizing marijuana, the Rhode Island Political Cooperative, and rugby.

Marcela Betancur, director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University.

Latino Policy Institute director weighs in on long lines for COVID-19 tests, 2022 legislative priorities

Marcela Betancur calls for Governor McKee to propose budget providing health coverage for all children, including 400 undocumented youth.

Members of the Globe Rhode Island team, from left: Dan McGowan, Amanda Milkovits, Lylah M. Alphonse, Carlos Munoz, Ed Fitzpatrick, and Brian Amaral at an event at the Venture Cafe in Providence, R.I., in Sept. 2021.

Podcast: Meet the Globe Rhode Island team

The editor and writers discuss the stories they're covering and their goals in R.I.

Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat, speaks to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick during the Rhode Island Report podcast.

Senate President Ruggerio opposes raising taxes on richest Rhode Islanders

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Senate President Ruggerio backs a proposal to tear down McCoy Stadium and build a new Pawtucket high school.

Sue Tremblay emerged victorious in a chestnut fight with Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick in Greenville, R.I., where they both grew up and had schoolyard chestnut battles.

Forget roasting them on an open fire. Chestnut fights make the season bright

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick returns to Greenville to relive a schoolyard tradition.

A screenshot from a Youtube video produced by the students in North Kingstown High School coach and teacher Aaron Thomas' Communications III class shows the office where former student-athletes said Thomas performed the naked fat tests on them. The CCTV screens show video from cameras in the classroom and outside Thomas' door. The faces of students in the class have been redacted because they are juveniles.

How did a coach’s naked ‘body fat’ tests go on for 25 years?

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Globe reporter Amanda Milkovits talks about the unfolding scandal involving former North Kingstown basketball coach Aaron Thomas.

The new entrance to the Community College of Rhode Island's Knight Campus in Warwick, R.I.

CCRI President Meghan Hughes on how to improve the college transfer system

On the latest episode of the Rhode Island Report podcast, Hughes also discussed her new role as president of the board of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, how CCRI has handled the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role colleges need to play in K-12 education in Rhode Island.

Lorén Spears, executive director of the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter, Rhode Island, speaks to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick during the Rhode Island Report podcast.

For Indigenous people, Thanksgiving represents a day of mourning

“There’s no US history without Indigenous people’s history,” says Tomaquag Museum executive director Lorén Spears.

Providence College sociology professor Erich Hirsch, who has been advocating for homeless people since 1990, speaks to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick during the Rhode Island Report podcast.

Advocate: R.I. leaders are sitting on federal funds as homelessness crisis intensifies

"We’re worried that people are going to freeze to death," Providence College professor Eric Hirsch says on the Rhode Island Report podcast.

Brown University economics professor Emily Oster speaks to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick for the Rhode Island Report podcast.

Here’s what parenting expert Emily Oster says about vaccinating your kids against COVID-19

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, the Brown University professor also talks about test-to-stay programs such as the one launched in Westerly schools.

Michael DeCesare of Johnston stands inside one of the crypts he built for a free haunted house he hosts at 10 Canonchet Trail in Johnston, Rhode Island every Halloween.

Halloween fun, for free: ‘Deadly Fantasies, Silent Nights started as a bet and became a Johnston, R.I. tradition

“Everybody likes a good scare,” Michael DeCesare says on the latest episode of Rhode Island Report.

Rhode Island Governor Daniel J. McKee spoke to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick for the Rhode Island Report podcast.

McKee defends state contract with ILO Group, outlines 2030 vision

The governor responds to Matt Brown’s criticism on Johnston’s Amazon warehouse deal, saying, “We negotiated the very best agreement in the country.”

Jennifer Rourke, co-founder of the Rhode Island Political Cooperative, talked to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick for the Rhode Island Report podcast.

‘I am not in some sort of progressive civil war,’ R.I. Political Cooperative co-founder says

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Jennifer Rourke explains her comments about “Fauxgressives” but played down divisions that have been evident within the Democratic Party.

Thousands of spectators come each year to Providence's dowtown for WaterFire, when the rivers are lit with bonfires and the air is filled with music.

Oct. 16 WaterFire event will celebrate Rhode Island’s people of color

On the latest episode of the Rhode Island Report podcast, the founder and the board adviser of the Papitto Opportunity Connection discuss why it is sponsoring the special event.

Left to right, Hilary Levey Friedman, Bret Jacob, Geena Pham, Ray Rickman, and Sam Zurier.

The key factors in Tuesday’s state Senate primary in District 3

On Rhode Island Report podcast, Globe columnist Dan McGowan reviews who’s running and what’s at stake in the race on Providence’s East Side.

Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, left, spoke with Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick on the Rhode Island Report podcast.

Providence Mayor Elorza on skipping the R.I. governor’s race, and what he hopes to accomplish before he leaves office

On the latest episode of Rhode Island Report, the mayor talks about his poll numbers, his plans, and whether he’ll endorse Governor Dan McKee.

Omar Bah, founder and executive director of the Refugee Dream Center, and Negina Sadat, an Afghan refugee who lives in Providence, spoke with Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick on the Rhode Island Report podcast.

The Taliban killed her father. Now she calls Providence home

On the latest episode of Rhode Island Report, Negina Sadat, who came to the US as a refugee from Afghanistan, and Omar Bah, founder and executive director of the Refugee Dream Center, discuss welcoming evacuees to Rhode Island.

Brown University professor Baylor Fox-Kemper speaks to Boston Globe reporter Brian Amaral during the recording of a Rhode Island Report podcast.

Brown climate researcher warns of rising seas, flooding in R.I.

In the latest episode of Rhode Island Report, a professor who was a lead author of new UN climate change report outlines the trade-offs the state faces in protecting its coastline.

Judge Melissa A. Long, left, was sworn in as the first Black justice on the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, right, did the robing of the new justice.

Trailblazing Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson reflects on her career

As she prepares to enter semi-retired status, the first Black judge on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals talks to Rhode Island Report about the value of diverse viewpoints on the bench

Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency director Marc Pappas, center, speaks from the podium about Tropical Storm Henri.

Rhode Island exhales after Henri

Marc Pappas calls in from the road while touring the state to assess toll taken by the tropical storm.

The Maximum Security Facility of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.

Exoneree Scott Hornoff on winning state support for the wrongly convicted

On the latest edition of Rhode Island Report podcast, a former Warwick police detective who was wrongly imprisoned shares his story and his fight to help other exonerees.

Globe reporter Brian Amaral talks about controversies over shoreline access in Rhode Island during the taping of the Rhode Island Report podcast.

Shore subjects in R.I.: Limited beach access and the right to collect seaweed

On this Rhode Island Report podcast, Globe reporter Brian Amaral reviews the various battles over shoreline access.

Representative Karen Alzate, chairwoman of the Rhode Island Legislative Black and Latino Caucus, speaks to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick during the Rhode Island Report podcast.

Black and Latino caucus leader calls for R.I. to include minority-owned businesses

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Representative Karen Alzate talks about the group’s legislative priorities.

Rhode Island civil rights leader Clifford R. Montiero speaks to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick during the taping of the Rhode Island Report podcast.

R.I. civil rights leader Clifford R. Montiero discusses voting rights battles, past and present

“When you saw the Confederate flags, and you saw the families yelling and spitting at you and screaming,” he said on the Rhode Island Report podcast, “I had not seen that kind of hatred.”

PODCAST | RHODE ISLAND REPORT
Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals are about to return to the main stage
“I think we really needed a touchstone of kind of looking around and saying, ‘hey, we’re all here together,’” the executive producer and director of the festivals said during the latest edition of the Rhode Island Report podcast

PODCAST | RHODE ISLAND REPORT
How R.I. Education Commissioner Infante-Green wants to transform schools after the pandemic
During a taping of the Rhode Island Report podcast, Infante-Green said that could include a system where secondary education – particularly at the high school level – could look more like college, with students setting schedules for classes that might allow them to take on jobs or babysit their siblings.

PODCAST | RHODE ISLAND REPORT
Second great white shark tagged in Rhode Island waters could provide key climate-change data
The head of the Atlantic Shark Institute discusses their latest work, how sharks affect the ocean’s ecosystem, and how “Jaws” helped him get into the water.

PODCAST: Rhode Island Report
R.I. attorney general addresses why hate crime prosecutions fell short
On Rhode Island Report podcast, Peter Neronha talks about the value of body-worn cameras for police and the shooting of a teen by an off-duty officer.

PODCAST | RHODE ISLAND REPORT
Matos: It’s too soon to end state takeover of Providence schools
The lieutenant governor talks about city schools, her 2022 campaign plans, and her transportation wish list for Pete Buttigieg.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi speaks to Boston Globe reporter Edward Fitzpatrick during the taping of a Rhode Island Report podcast in the CIC Providence space at the Wexford Innovation Center.

House Speaker Shekarchi aims to act on pay equity, police discipline bills

But as the legislative session enters the homestretch, Shekarchi said he’s not expecting final action on marijuana legalization or drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants.

RI HEALTH
The work that must be done before the next pandemic
On RI Report podcast, Dr. Pablo Rodriguez calls for addressing the social determinants of health, including poverty and affordable housing.

PODCAST
Raimondo on China, Biden’s infrastructure plan, and leaving her home state
In the first episode of Globe Rhode Island’s new weekly podcast, the US Commerce Secretary and former R.I. governor talks candidly about getting the economy back on track, what Red states are up against, and what she’ll miss most about Rhode Island.

Follow Globe R.I.

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Treasurer Seth Magaziner will run for Congress rather than RI governor

“The fight to preserve our democracy is the most sacred obligation of this generation and this is why I’ve decided to seek to represent the people of Rhode Island’s second congressional district in the United States House of Representatives,” Magaziner said in a statement. 5:23 p.m.

RI HEALTH

A resident at a local nursing home returns to their room.

The situation inside R.I. nursing homes is dire again, but not because of COVID-19

Nursing home workers are exhausted. Patients are at risk of receiving inadequate care. Administrators are starved for resources. And they are all begging the state to help. 4:56 p.m.

A man carried his shovel while working during a storm on Main Street in Plymouth in 2017.

Storm could bring 16 inches of snow, 60-mile-per-hour gusts

Forecasters on Wednesday issued a winter storm watch for areas in eastern, northeastern, and southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, saying 8 to 16 inches of snow could fall. 1:06 p.m.

Dave Epstein | Forecast

People shoveled out their cars in Dorchester in January. It’s looking increasingly likely that we are going to see a major winter storm Friday night into Saturday evening.

Here’s the latest on a possible Southern New England snowstorm this weekend

While this weekend's major winter storm will likely bring plenty of snow, it's not going to be an unprecedented weather event. 9:22 a.m.

RHODE MAP

Field Analyst Byron Aceveda processes marijuana samples in a lab at PureVita Labs, a cannabis testing and analytics laboratory in West Warwick, R.I. on Jan. 05, 2022.

Rhode Island mayors want their cut of marijuana dollars

The Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns is asking for municipalities to receive at least a 3 percent local sales tax. 8:05 a.m.

RI ARTS

“Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience”, opens on October 1, 2021, at Atmosphere Studios in downtown Salt Lake City.

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience opens May 17 in Providence

The traveling art installation, which has already sold 2.5 million tickets worldwide, uses three-dimensional technology to immerse audiences into 300 of the artist’s most iconic paintings. 7:55 a.m.

COLUMN | DAN MCGOWAN

Democratic state treasurer Seth Magaziner responded to a reporter after he announced he was running for governor of Rhode Island last fall.

Seth Magaziner should stay out of the race for Congress

Rhode Island's state treasurer has more to offer by staying in the race for governor than jumping over to the race to replace retiring US Representative James Langevin. 6:00 a.m.