News

David Cicilline for Congress

Plus, progressive voices on Smith Hill, and 'yes' to casinos
Even admirers of Congressman David Cicilline can find him maddening.

By: PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | October 31, 2012

Blowhards blown away; our humble endorsements; do your part!

Saved by the storm
Cock-eyed optimists that Phillipe and Jorge are, we always look for the silver lining in hurricane-driven clouds.

By: PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 31, 2012

Vote to avoid economic and social catastrophe
Two things stand between almost certain economic and social catastrophe: the prospect of the Democrats maintaining — or expanding — their majority in the Senate, and the reelection of President Barack Obama.

By: PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | October 31, 2012

Born in the wrong body

A Providence doctor is on the leading edge of a new approach to transgender kids
Dr. Michelle Forcier can't remember his name. But she remembers his face: a boy, 14, trapped in a girl's body. He was anguished. Hated what he was becoming.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 26, 2012

Facial recognition software and other badass privacy intrusions

Action Speaks
Action Speaks, the panel discussion series at Providence art space AS220, continues its fall season — "Private Rights and Public Fights" — on October 31 with a look at our surveillance society. The event, free and open to the public, begins at 5:30 pm.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 24, 2012

Brain suckers and walls that shake at the RI Horror Film Festival

Thrills Dept.
A Canadian short film called Attack of the Brain Sucker . A Kuwaiti screen adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass .

By: PHILIP EIL | October 24, 2012

At Muldowney’s, the dive bar lives on

Saddle Up
There used to be more dive bars in this city. The Safari Lounge, the One Up, Splinter's. I got to thinking about this over a short glass of bourbon at one of the city's last dives — Muldowney's Pub on Empire Street.

By: VICTOR PAUL ALVAREZ | October 31, 2012

Abel hits the web; a bit of groveling; bye, George

Social vote-getting
Phillipe and Jorge have used the case of Abel Collins, independent Congressional candidate, to highlight Rhode Island's decidedly undemocratic process for electing politicians.

By: PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 24, 2012

Gay Marriage: yes or no?

Rhode Island advocates have shunned the ballot box, fearing defeat. Is it time to reconsider?
In 32 states, voters have weighed in on same-sex marriage. In 32 states, they have rejected it.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 17, 2012

At the gallerie Nomad, Lovecraft comes home

Art Department
"All right, our next one we have is called 'Nyarlathotep,'" Janis Cimerol says. It is Sunday night, October 7, and Cimerol's broodingly psychedelic band, Hemlok, is playing a special gig before heading on a European tour.

By: PHILIP EIL | October 17, 2012

Breaking a 330-year-old code

Cryptography
Last Saturday morning, a small crowd gathered inside the entrance to Brown University's John Carter Brown Library.

By: PHILIP EIL | October 18, 2012

On the right to privacy

Action Speaks, the panel discussion series at Providence art space AS220, continues its fall season October 24 with a discussion of Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned a law banning contraception and found a right to privacy in the Constitution, paving the way for the Roe v. Wade (1973) ruling that legalized abortion.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 18, 2012

Parsing the political process; Buddy in the Times; ready for their close-up

Heated debates
On debate nights at Casa Diablo, Jorge perches on the couch in the Boom Boom Room, providing a running commentary on the action while taking copious notes such that he can provide a nuanced and informed review of the proceedings in this space.

By: PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 18, 2012

Chaplin’s Modern Times, in our time

Action Speaks
Action Speaks, the panel discussion series at Providence art space AS220, continues October 17 with a look at the Charlie Chaplin film Modern Times (1936), an enduring meditation on economic upheaval.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 10, 2012

In Killer Show, Rhode Island gets its Perry Mason moment

The Station Fire
We already know the story. On an icy night in 2003, a half-forgotten band in a half-forgotten club in a half-forgotten town ignited fireworks to kick off its set of 1980s nostalgia rock.

By: PHILIP EIL | October 10, 2012

Collins on the outside looking in; A couple of history lessons

Fiasco at WPRI
This week, WPRI-TV followed through on its boneheaded decision to exclude independent Congressional candidate Abel Collins from a debate featuring Congressman James Langevin and Republican challenger Michael "Who he?" Riley.

By: PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 10, 2012

How much damage could a President Romney do? Let us count the ways

One Nation Under Mitt
Mitt Romney's penchant for saying whatever he thinks might get him elected creates a challenge for a country eager to discern what he would actually do as president.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 05, 2012

Asleep at the wheel

The state's weak system for vetting contractors allows millions to flow to companies with poor environmental and workplace safety records. It needs to be fixed
In the early morning of April 9, 2007, a small armada of Cardi Corporation trucks crept up Rustic Hill Road in North Scituate to the construction site for the new Ponaganset Middle School.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 03, 2012