Why Unions Matter
I just had to share this gem I found. This was a high school project by Jennifer Huang, a student in Canada. She nails it on the head and does so interestingly and with a sense of humor. If I was her teacher, she’d get an “A”!
Laid Off: A 21st Century Career in Print Journalism
I tried telling myself I was just being paranoid. There were any number of reasons I could’ve been called down to my publisher’s office at Southern R.I. Newspapers’ Wakefield headquarters at 9:30 a.m. on a March Friday morning. It could’ve involved some major changes at the East Greenwich Pendulum, the weekly newspaper for which I [...]
The Internet Advances Government
Take a few minutes to watch Jennifer Pahlka at a TED conference. Essentially, I’m a big fan of initiatives that do two things: 1. make government more responsive, and 2. save government money. At the same time, for those of my generation who see this sort of stuff as patently obvious, it’s nice to [...]
Racial Profiling, Vehicle Checkpoints Bills Heard Today
Last week here on RI Future, I shared a short podcast about Racial Profiling in RI from the perspective of youth and community organizers working with Providence Youth Student Movement. Here is an extended series of excerpts from my conversation on Sonic Watermelons with Sangress Xiong and Yonara Alvarado, and Franny Choi. Xiong, Alvarado, and Choi [...]
Advocating to End Racial Profiling in RI
PROVIDENCE, RI – On Wednesday, March 7 at 4:30 PM, community members and advocates are expected to show up en masse to share their views on racial profiling in RI at a hearing at the State House before the House Committee on Judiciary. But folks have been speaking out on the topic for years, including [...]
Cannabis compassion centers could get green light
Medical marijuana compassion centers may be able to open soon thanks to a compromise deal between legislators and Governor Chafee that would limit the amount of marijuana a compassion center could on its premises. “Basically the compromise sets out stricter guidelines for the compassion centers,” said Rep. Scott Slater, D- Providence, the sponsor of the [...]
The new owner/editor of Rhode Island’s Future
Fresh off a redesign of our site, Rhode Island’s Future has a new owner/editor now, too. It’s me! Some of you may know me from my stint as the digital reporter/blogger for WPRO. I know it isn’t the most common career path to go from a right-leaning radio station to leftist-trumpeting website, so allow me [...]
Payday Reform and Policy Change: A Recent Conversation on Sonic Watermelons on BSR
PROVIDENCE, RI – Are Rhode Islanders paying fees for loans that are higher than what residents in other states are paying? The answer in some cases is yes – 260% versus 36%. Learn more about the type of loans that charge these rates, the impact of these loans on RI families, and what you can [...]
Station Nightclub Fire Documentary
There is a documentary film project under way about the Station Nightclub fire of February 20, 2003. In 2010, Paul Lonardo helped Gina Russo write a book called From the Ashes about the loss of her fiancé, and of her survival from the fire. Local documentary filmmaker David Bettencourt is working on adapting and expanding Gina’s story for [...]
Philadelphia-based Feminist Media Activist Group Led By Providence Native, Nuala Cabral, Launches Campaign Supporting Ethnic Studies in Arizona
Click here to check out my recent interview with Nuala Cabral and Denice Frohman of FAAN Mail, a Philadelphia-based media activist group that has launched a social media campaign (on Twitter, primarily, #WishiLearnedinHS), “Wished I Learned in High School,” in response to policies in Arizona restricting ethnic studies programs. Cabral is graduate of Moses Brown [...]
Providence Children’s Film Festival 2012: Feb 16-21
The Providence Children’s Film Festival was founded in 2009 to bring high quality, independent and international children’s films, animation, and documentaries to New England, and to present them as shared theatrical experiences for the community. Programming includes live action, animation and documentaries, shorts and features, and films made by RI youth, including the films made in our [...]
Imagination, Collective Struggle, and the Inclusion of Artists and Ordinary People: Angela Davis Speaks at RISD in Providence
PROVIDENCE, RI – Click on the image above to hear a short podcast with Dr. Angela Davis. It is from a brief interview I conducted with her after a keynote address she gave on Monday, June 23, 2012 at Rhode Island School of Design. More information about her talk is below; in the podcast/interview, I [...]
Understanding The Intersection of Race, Music and Politics
(RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS) – If I were to describe some of the events I have coming up as political, I’m sure someone would ask me, “hey Reza, what is political about an event featuring spoken word poetry and world rhythms?” This is the type of question I love to answer, though, sadly, few seem to [...]
PODCAST: Brian Hull and Reza Rites Discuss the New RIFuture, January 11, 2012 Archive
by Reza Rites / Venus Sings Click here to listen to a podcast of Brian Hull talking to me, Reza Clifton, (Reza Rites / Venus Sings) on Sonic Watermelons, a show I produce weekly on Brown Student and Community Radio (www.bsrlive.com). (PROVIDENCE, RI) RIFuture.org, which was once RI’s number 1 political blog, has relaunched and re-entered [...]
Hear About the New and Improved RI Future Tonight at 6:15 PM: Sonic Watermelons on Brown Student and Community Radio
Rhode Island’s Future, which was once RI’s number 1 political blog, has relaunched and re-entered the state’s blogosphere (with new voices including mine). Learn more today when Brian Hull visits and takes on six questions starting at 6:15 PM. It’s all part of Sonic Watermelons on BSR (Brown Student and Community Radio), a show I [...]
Right to Work (for Less)
Waging war on public sector unionized employees last year, with Governors Walker, Kasich and LePage leading the charge, lawmakers are now gearing up to take on private sector employees in this year’s sessions in legislatures in states across this country. Indiana is in the forefront of the war against workers’ rights with its governor, Daniels, [...]
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