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An open casting call (with background checks) in Providence

Crime Notes
"You gonna apply?" Providence Police Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr. says. We're in his office at the Providence Public Safety Complex and he's talking about the department's current recruiting drive — its first since 2010.

By: PHILIP EIL | May 22, 2013

Young Dems and dance dads

Conventions Bureau
"Hypothetically, in an alternate universe, if you were governor," a college-age guy with tousled hair is asking Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, "if you were sent a bill that would regulate and tax marijuana, would you be willing to sign that bill?"

By: PHILIP EIL | May 22, 2013

Digital alchemy on Power Street

Welcome To the Machine
The Ming Mecca has been described as a "reality synthesizer" capable of diving into old-school Mario or Zelda-esque game worlds and molding them like clay.

By: PHILIP EIL | May 14, 2013

Trading pomp and circumstance for mallet and chisel in Newport

Cap and Gown Dept.
"Basically, you start carving, and at the end of the day you stop carving. And that's the way it goes. That's your life."

By: PHILIP EIL | May 14, 2013

Peering into a 40-acre crystal ball at URI's 'Urbanscape'

Downcity
The vacant spaces in downtown Providence — the Industrial Trust Building and Davol Square's "Dynamo House," among others — are like ink blots. Some see them as stages for the city's next crooked, cash-dissolving deal. Others see them as slingshots to launch Providence into a Renaissance 2.0.

By: PHILIP EIL | May 08, 2013

Searching for legal walls in the 'Creative Capital'

Tagging
In a corner of the spray-painted mural on Westminster Street's Route 6/10 overpass in Providence there are two mysterious words: "AVENUE CONCEPT." What do they mean?

By: PHILIP EIL | May 09, 2013

Giving Jack Kirby his due in 'Comic Book Creator'

Superheroes
"Am I a comic book weirdo?" Jon B. Cooke yells. "No," the owner of the Time Capsule — Cranston's beehive for comic-book lovers — calls from behind the counter.

By: PHILIP EIL | May 01, 2013

A Fine vision for health care in Rhode Island

Q&A
It's no easy task to schedule an interview with Dr. Michael Fine. The man has a lot on his plate.

By: JEFF BYERS | May 01, 2013

In Boston, Chris Faraone reports from Heartbreak Hell

Letters
Chris Faraone was a block and a half from the finish line of the Boston Marathon, en route to a bar called Forum on Boylston Street, when the bombs went off. The day's shift from carnival to chaos is preserved impeccably on his Twitter feed.

By: PHILIP EIL | April 24, 2013

The guru of advanced hindsight

A talk with Dan Ariely
A talk with Dan Ariely

By: PHILIP EIL | April 24, 2013

For Cluck!'s sake

Urban Agriculture Dept.
A turf battle on Providence's West Side

By: PHILIP EIL | April 17, 2013

Jukebox heroes

Holding the Line
The sign behind the bar reads: "Nick–A-Nee's: Best Jukebox, 2012." At the time it was an honor. Today it's a relic. The Phoenix dropped the "Best Jukebox" category this year. There just aren't many true jukeboxes left in the state.

By: VICTOR PAUL ALVAREZ | April 17, 2013

Crate diggers

Record Store Day
On Saturday, April 20, indie music merchants in Providence — and Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and other cities — will celebrate the sixth annual Record Store Day, a way for artists, fans, and record shop owners to bask in their mutual love through sales and in-store events.

By: PHILIP EIL | April 17, 2013

Moon Signs: April 18-24

Lunar lines
This period of quarter moon to full moon is the best time to take projects and relationships to the next level.

By: SYMBOLINE DAI | April 18, 2013

At Yellow Peril Gallery, foreclosed dreams

Pictures
When Providence-based photographer David H. Wells set out to document the American foreclosure crisis, he started by snapping photos of workers as they cleaned repossessed houses in California's central valley in 2009.

By: PHILIP EIL | April 10, 2013

At Brown, a win for climate change activists

Movements
A key Brown University oversight committee has voted to recommend the school divest from coal, delivering a significant victory to student climate change activists.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 11, 2013

Hacking Politics: a guide

Online
Last year, the Internet briefly upended everything we know about American politics.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 03, 2013

Charlie Hall drinks and dabbles

The Arts
The Industrial Trust Building in Providence looks like a hairspray can with a condom on top. This is what Charlie Hall — Rhode Island's unofficial comedian laureate — is telling a room full of boisterous guests at Chester's Restaurant in Harmony, Rhode Island.

By: PHILIP EIL | April 03, 2013

At Brown, torture in watercolor

Foreign affairs
Stroll down College Street from Brown University during the next few weeks and you'll find Providence's iconic spires and skyscrapers slightly obscured by a banner hanging from a streetlight outside Brown's List Art Building.

By: PHILIP EIL | April 03, 2013

The not-so-liberal case for guns

At the Range
"I'm an absolutist," Robert Farago says. "I believe that American citizens should be able to walk into a gun store, show their driving license, purchase a firearm — no background check — purchase some bullets, put the bullets into the firearm, and walk out of the store."

By: PHILIP EIL | April 01, 2013