News >>

This Just In

Should Americans Send Books to Iraq?

Foreign relations
Sending books to Iraq to promote civic culture in Iraq might help you to sleep more soundly. But do small-scale efforts make more than a symbolic impact?

By: A.J. PACITTI | August 20, 2008

Khrushchev calls conflict a matter of protecting Russians

Georgia
At press time, Russian President Dmitry edvedev declared a halt of military operations against the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

By: PETER VOSKAMP | August 14, 2008

Critics say bill co-sponsored by Langevin and Kennedy heightens tensions

Iran
Rhode Island peace activists say a resolution co-sponsored by US Representatives James Langevin and Patrick Kennedy could lead to war with Iran.

By: STEVEN STYCOS | August 13, 2008

McCain has a double standard on Viagra and birth control

Sexual politics
McCain backed legislation allowing Medicaid to cover Viagra for men, while forbidding the federal health-insurance program for the poor from covering birth control pills for women.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | August 13, 2008

Hummel splits from ABC6; Planned Parenthood CEO resigns

Politics + media
When Jim Hummel decided to depart last week because of the approach being pursued by new management, it seemed to encapsulate the take-this-paycheck-and-shove-it fantasy of many people.

By: IAN DONNIS | August 06, 2008

Scituate doctor touts a cheaper approach for health-care

Got insurance?
Local illustrator Emily Lisker gave Dr. Fine six of her drawings, and in exchange, he gave her and her husband six years of free primary care.

By: AMY LITTLEFIELD | August 06, 2008

Let’s not sugarcoat the flaws of Newport society

R.I.P. Eileen Slocum
Eileen Slocum, an ardent opponent of reproductive freedom and a staunch supporter of “basic family values,” spent her days trying to deprive poor men and women of access to the same societal choices enjoyed by the rich.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | July 30, 2008

R.I.P. Richard Egbert, super-tough defense lawyer

In Memoriam
In the time before Buddy Cianci’s Plunder Dome trial in 2002, I met with Richard Egbert, the quintessential take-no-prisoners defense lawyer, and gleaned a telling detail about him.

By: IAN DONNIS | July 30, 2008

Let’s embrace satire, not boycott it

Get a grip
When the New Yorker last week ran a cover illustration spoofing the right-wing critique of Barack Obama, it was another instance in which the storied magazine put a provocative point on its front page.

By: IAN DONNIS | July 23, 2008

Injured Wobbly awaits trial for resisting arrest

Annals of labor
One year after North Providence police severely injured Alexandra Svoboda during a demonstration, she awaits a fifth knee surgery and a trial for resisting arrest.

By: STEVEN STYCOS | July 23, 2008

From janitor to detainee: one woman’s story

Immigration
As part of her job cleaning the Superior Court in Providence, Angela de la Vega often imagined how hard it must be to be a judge.

By: AMY LITTLEFIELD | July 23, 2008

Bicyclists strike a blow for affordable housing

Good deeds
30 bicyclists shoved off a few weeks ago from the Brown Boat House in Providence to begin a two-and-a-half-month journey to Seattle.

By: A.J. PACITTIV | July 16, 2008

MacKay’s fill-in column comes to a sudden end

As The ProJo Turns
Providence Journal political reporter Scott MacKay’s temporary assignment as a political columnist came to an abrupt end.

By: IAN DONNIS | July 16, 2008

The deadly cost of ‘honor killings’

Human rights
The United Nations Population Fund estimates that 5000 "honor killings" occur worldwide each year, though they are vastly underreported.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | July 16, 2008

Jai alai, once exotic, is now a thing of the past

The Sporting Life
Jai alai’s local fade can be attributed to various factors.

By: TIM LEHNERT | July 09, 2008

Dour economy offers an echo of a painful past

Tough times
My grandparents used to talk about the Depression. I am only now able to put a face on what they were remembering, and I fear for what the heartless, cold, and costly winter will bring.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | July 09, 2008

What about McCain’s mental health?

Campaign 2008
While some worry about the impact of John McCain’s age on his physical health and his potential longevity in office, others are more concerned about his mental health.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | July 02, 2008

AS220 targets further downtown expansion

Citywatch
On the heels of expansion in the Dreyfus Building, AS220 hopes to acquire another property on Washington Street in downtown Providence, expanding the nonprofit arts organi-zations programs and footprint.

By: A.J. PACITTI | July 02, 2008

George Carlin

1937–2008
Among scads of other, more important achievements, George Carlin deserves full credit for my comfort with and penchant for salty language.

By: SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | June 25, 2008

Backers of ‘compassion centers’ come up short

Medical Marijuana
If proponents thought that the state’s approval of medical marijuana two years ago signaled broad support for legal distribution of the drug, the General Assembly’s defeat of legis-lation to create “compassion centers” shows otherwise.

By: A.J. PACITTI AND IAN DONNIS | June 25, 2008

Communion shouldn’t be based on politics

Religion
Catholic priests call themselves “vicars of Christ,” so those giving communion need only recall Christ’s forgiveness of a thief on an adjacent Calvary cross, and ask, “What would Jesus do?”

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | June 18, 2008