I dove into one of my favorite topics: how Pawtucket's mills are thriving centers of commerce instead of empty eyesores, and how there's still room for growth and improvement. thelocalinsidernews.com/booming-lorr...

Booming Lorraine Mills, others driving commerce in Pawtucket - The Local Insider News

PAWTUCKET – The narrative around Pawtucket as a place full of empty mills is now decades out of date, say those who have driven the transformation of these old centers of industry. Many of Pawtucket’s...

thelocalinsidernews.com

Timely commentary from @rhodeislandcurrent.com today that gets straight to the facts: "We can keep arguing about why the water is rising. The water is not waiting for us to finish." rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/08/03/a...

Argue all you want about the cause of climate change. The 911 calls still come. • Rhode Island Current

Climate change is not just an environmental issue but a public safety challenge. That's why Rhode Island needs to invest in emergency preparedness, flood resilience and its first responders before dis...

rhodeislandcurrent.com

There are 7 PR people for every journalist in the US. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Real Housewives drama + municipal drama: the crossover we all needed.

The Valley Breeze@thevalleybreeze.bsky.social · last wk.

The husband of Bravo's "Real Housewives of Rhode Island" star Jo-Ellen Tiberi is seeking relief from thousands of dollars in fines tied to cleanup of a North Providence property. Read more: https://bit.ly/45suVft

My very first story as a newly minted journalist in 2015 was covering a naturalization ceremony at the US Citizenship office in Johnston. Still one of my favorite memories. Thanks @amandamilkovits.bsky.social for taking me back.

Amanda Milkovits@amandamilkovits.bsky.social · 2w ago

‘There is room here to dream’: Naturalization ceremony in Rhode Island focuses on hope for brand new US citizens Judge Dubose tells them: “When you believe in freedom, equality, and justice, then you are as American as anyone” www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/22/m...

This is an incredible story. Writing, visuals, shoe-leather reporting, public stakes, and stunning large-scale absurdity — it’s got it all.

ProPublica@propublica.org · 2w ago

NEW: On Alaska’s Adak Island, it costs more than $340,000 per year to provide hundreds of buildings — all but a few of them empty — with internet access no one uses. The money being wasted is yours. With @adn.com

Really appreciated the background on Wyatt here. Almost identical to the history of the sewage treatment plant in Woonsocket, another cash-strapped city where residents are fed up after decades of hosting an undesirable regional facility.

Philip Eil@phileil.bsky.social · 3w ago

New from me:

Local reporters are so important

Portland Press Herald@pressherald.com · 3w ago

Witness says Biddeford shooting victim told police ‘I tried to stop’

Americans who feel more attached to their local community are more likely to say they have spoken with a local journalist. However, most Americans say they have never spoken with or been interviewed by a local journalist. 📺 #PewKnightInitiative #LocalJournalism

Looks like a new online, nonprofit news outlet has launched in Southern Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut: the South County Star. "Those [survey] results pointed to two needs: accountability reporting and stories that build community connection. We aim to do both." CC: @dankennedy.net

One of the issues mentioned here is that hunting fell off as a pastime in New England.

What’s driving New England’s tick boom? Here are key moments that led to the surge. - The Boston Globe

How the region became the most dangerous place in the country for tick-borne illness.

bostonglobe.com

Lot to unpack in this @ohnocastro.bsky.social story about the ebook/audiobook problem at libraries, but this 90s-style READ poster of Rep Lauren Carson is my favorite detail. rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/06/22/r...

Rhode Island joins multistate push to rein in e-book licensing costs for libraries • Rhode Island Current

Legislation that became law last week without Gov. Dan McKee’s signature would bar libraries from entering into or renewing certain digital licensing contracts that interfere with core operations, suc...

rhodeislandcurrent.com

In the “Spotlight” movie, “Kevin from Providence” says, “I never even told my wife.” Jim Scanlan said the first person he told was then-Globe Spotlight Team editor Walter V. “Robby” Robinson. They met at Scanlan's New England Financial office on Federal Hill. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

'Kevin from Providence' on holding institutions accountable for child sexual abuse

Podcast Episode · Rhode Island Report · June 18 · 20m

podcasts.apple.com

Deer Tick stopped by our office www.youtube.com/watch?v=egfJ...

Deer Tick | Biggest Little Desk

YouTube video by Ocean State Media

youtube.com

Big crowd in Westerly today for the dedication of the new Tarzan Brown statue

So we won't pay for news written by human reporters, but we will pay for AI-generated news. Got it.

The Boston Globe@bostonglobe.com · 2mo ago

A South Shore AI-generated news site put up a paywall. Hundreds of readers, including a police chief, opened their wallets.

Three Rhode Island craft beer enthusiasts turned a conversation over beers into a growing podcast that spotlights local breweries, brewers and the stories behind New England’s craft beer scene. https://bit.ly/4ax8fgY

this fake AI-slop story has 2k likes on facebook despite obviously being fake! bleak

When police in Rhode Island wrongfully arrest someone without charges, the RI Attorney General’s office says the public does not have the right to know. Civil rights advocates say that ruling opens the door for secret arrests and abuse. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/02/m...

Are police reports public records? Pawtucket police, R.I. attorney general’s office refuse to release report of wrongful arrest. - The Boston Globe

The decision means police could “break into your house, wrongfully arrest you and never have to explain themselves,” said the executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition.

bostonglobe.com

I've wondered about this. Seems like the plastic straws have quietly reappeared in most places.

ecoRI News@ecorinews.bsky.social · 2mo ago

[Gulp!] Rhode Island banned single-use plastic straws at restaurants four years ago. The ban is now on the precipice of being dumped by many of the same lawmakers who passed it. "In Rhode Island, environmental progress has a way of retreating," writes columnist Frank Carini

One more week to nominate someone advancing equity and promoting diversity in RI for a Bannister Award! Super proud to once again be overseeing these awards for the magazine. @rimonthly.bsky.social www.rimonthly.com/bannister-aw...

Nominations Are Open for the Sixth Annual Christiana Carteaux Bannister Awards - Rhode Island Monthly

The awards program, a partnership between Rhode Island Monthly and the Rhode Island Foundation, recognizes individuals working to advance equity and promote diversity in the Ocean State.

rimonthly.com

Cost-of-living concerns dominated our poll, with the economy and housing affordability emerging as the top issues for more than half of respondents. Healthcare came in third. Full results --> www.wpri.com/12-news-emer...

Surprised to see this on a @globeri.bsky.social op ed today. Curious if this is now common practice for newspapers to accept commentary written (at least in part) with AI?

Season 2 scene ideas: -The ladies visit the Museum of Work & Culture in Woonsocket -The ladies go to a noise show in Olneyville -The ladies attend the holiday lighting of the Big Blue Bug (Xmas episode) -The ladies moderate a gubernatorial debate

Edward Fitzpatrick@fitzprov.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Bravo renews ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ for a season 2 www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/11/a...

This is tremendous reporting from @oceanstatemedia.bsky.social's Ben Berke. A disturbing story.

Before voting against rent control, Providence councilor raised thousands from landlords

Providence City Councilor Ana Vargas supported rent control during her election campaign. As she prepared to vote on it, she received the largest political donations of her career

oceanstatemedia.org

When an interview includes the words "brewery," "raw bar," and "coffee shop" and is 15 min from your house. 👀https://www.rimonthly.com/ravenous-brewing-company-to-become-moniker-north-in-cumberland/ @rimonthly.bsky.social

Ravenous Brewing Company to Become 'Moniker North' in Cumberland - Rhode Island Monthly

Moniker co-founder Bryan Benedict previews the changes planned after purchasing the Rhode Island beer scene mainstay.

rimonthly.com

So happy to discover @elysegraham.bsky.social's book has an entire chapter on the Ghost War! Rhode Islanders will recognize this as the operation Woonsocket factory workers made rubber decoy tanks for to trick the Germans during WWII.

Great dive into how corporate deed restrictions created Woonsocket's food desert (an issue that's also been covered by @antoniafarzan.bsky.social). Not mentioned - the Daily Stop grocery "coming soon" signs that have been on one of these plazas for months. Anyone have an update?

Hot take: Skip The Real Housewives of RI—your local council meeting is where the real drama is.

📰Happy Local News Day - a great day to subscribe to your local paper, watch a local TV newscast, and remember that an LLM can't knock on anybody's door or ask Qs at a presser for ya

Local News Day

A National Day of Action Connecting Communities with Trusted Local News

localnewsday.org