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Make-believe Main Street

Lifestyle centers create public squares in private places. Can a nation undone by sprawl be saved by the Mall?
WaterFire, bocce, oh my!

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 04, 2009

Can the Rhode Island tea party brew a revolution?

The movement strives to be a coherent force for change. But is it just blowing steam?
The Rhode Island Tea Party, local wing of the national uprising against all things Obama, has some reason for hope.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 21, 2009

Hell on wheels

Providence roller derby — fast action, big fun, and grrrl power on skates
There are rules. No hands, no feet, no heads. No tripping, no hitting from the back — just thighs, hips, upper arms and torso, from the side or front.

By MARION DAVIS | October 14, 2009

Camelot: The Next Generation

Patrick Kennedy is a square peg in his family's historic round table
Senator Ted Kennedy's months-long battle with brain cancer inspired endless commentary about the demise of Camelot.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 01, 2009

You're all guilty!

In his new book, Three Felonies A Day , Harvey Silverglate dissects the corrupt justice practiced by federal prosecutors
Silverglate's thesis is as provocative as it is simple: justice has become sufficiently perverted in this nation that federal prosecutors, if they put their minds to it, could find a way to indict almost any one of us for almost anything. It is a truly radical notion.

By PETER KADZIS | September 28, 2009

Compassionate or coercive?

Pro-life pregnancy counselors say they are offering women hope, but critics see manipulation
The election of Barack Obama has inspired dread among pro-lifers nationwide. But for the Rhode Island wing of the movement, the anxiety goes back quite a bit farther.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | September 17, 2009

Short-sighted?

The Projo 's ultra-local approach could save the paper — or spell its demise
There may, in the end, be no way to save the American metropolitan newspaper. Plummeting advertising revenue and competition from the Internet often seem forces too daunting for even the savviest of publishers.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 26, 2009

The Mighty Wind

New England is answering Obama's clarion call and beginning to harvest its most viable renewable energy source. In Rhode Island, can Deepwater also blow life into our ailing economy?
The Rhode Island recession, among the worst in the country, has become something of a national curiosity: how could such a little state be in such big trouble?

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 19, 2009

Holding a finger to the wind

An energy expert forecasts a blustery day ahead for the region
Across New England, there's currently less than 150 megawatts worth of wind turbines installed and operational. That's small change compared with what's happening in places such as Texas and California. But it's a whole lot more than existed just a few years ago.

By MIKE MILIARD | August 19, 2009

Why wind power blows

Why we shouldn't overload our energy basket with wind eggs
The world is looking for a no-brainer solution to the 21st century's impending energy crisis, and wind power seems to provide many of the right answers.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | August 19, 2009

Health of a nation

Enough with the 'forums!' Plus, playing politics and sporting news.
Let's just forget about all these dog and pony health care "forums" and face some facts. First and foremost, the main (and, perhaps, only) debate is this: Do you believe that health should be subject to the marketplace?

By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | August 19, 2009

Photos: Stetson Wind in Maine

Images of Stetson Wind
Photos of Stetson Wind in Washington County, Maine

By MIKE MILIARD | August 19, 2009

State House status

In a purportedly liberal state, the Rhode Island General Assembly has a stubbornly conservative bent. But can progressive politics make a dent in 2010?
Rhode Island voters, for all their supposed insularity, are an increasingly progressive bunch.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 12, 2009

The 12th Annual Muzzle Awards

A look at the dishonorable enemies of free speech and personal liberty in New England.
With the era of repression and secrecy fostered by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney finally over, this should be the best of times for freedom of expression, open government, and civil liberties. Yet change comes slowly.

By DAN KENNEDY | July 10, 2009

Muzzle Awards: Collegiate Division

New England campuses muzzle free speech
In a 1957 Supreme Court decision upholding the free-speech rights of university professors ( Sweezy v. New Hampshire ), Justice Felix Frankfurter quoted prominent South African scholars on the importance of academic freedom.

By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | July 10, 2009

Local news blues

With layoffs, plummeting revenue, and dwindling viewership, TV news departments are getting desperate.
There has been plenty of hand-wringing, in these parts, over the decline of the local broadsheet. The Providence Journal is the paper of record, after all, the agenda setter. And the agenda is decidedly thinner these days.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | June 24, 2009

White-supremacist code printed nationwide

One man's death spread the numeric code for "Heil Hitler" across the world.
While von Brunn survived to face federal criminal charges and may yet die slowly in federal prison, he did manage to get newspapers around the globe to print a white-supremacist code praising Adolf Hitler right next to his name.

By JEFF INGLIS | June 17, 2009

Federal judge: more rights for the unborn

Fetal Obligations
A federal judge in Bangor, Maine, has recognized a new right of fetuses that could become a key element in the nation's ongoing abortion debate.

By JEFF INGLIS | June 11, 2009

Sotomayor's mixed message on free speech

Freedom Watch
Minutes after President Barack Obama announced that he was nominating appellate judge Sonia Sotomayor for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court, battle lines were drawn on the pre-scripted questions of "post-racial" America.

By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 03, 2009

Is the party over for the GOP in RI?

A disastrous election in '08. A depleted war chest. Dismal approval ratings for the outgoing governor. Yet the faithful see hope for a Republican revival
In a state known for its political obsessions, there is remarkably little in the way of rabid protest here.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 13, 2009

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Today's Event Picks

[MUSIC] Steve Miller at the Providence Performing Arts Center

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BLOGS

About that Shield Law
Not For Nothing | November 06, 2009 at 3:59 PM

Former Save the Bay Chief to Head New England EPA
November 05, 2009 at 5:15 PM

In Today's Phoenix
November 05, 2009 at 11:54 AM

Fallout for Dems from Tuesday's Election
November 04, 2009 at 2:24 PM

Is the Maine Vote a Setback for Same-Sex Marriage in Rhode Island?
November 04, 2009 at 10:32 AM