Do you suddenly feel pressured to leave a tip everywhere you go and for almost everything you buy? Are you unsure, frazzled even, after running in to buy a cup of coffee and being prompted by a screen to choose how much of a tip you want to leave?
Many years ago while I was living in San Diego, The Human Eye Theater, a company my wife and I had formed, produced an all-Black production of… Read morePitts-Wiley: We now expect to be lied to
Gov. Dan McKee should have one clear takeaway from his broadcast State of the State speech last week in front of the General Assembly, the jud… Read moreYorke: Governor's speech went over with a thud
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When back in 2015 then-Gov. Gina Raimondo introduced the RhodeWorks 10-year highway and bridge improvement program, she insisted that tolls on large commercial trucks were a common-sense funding mechanism to help fund it. She argued that such vehicles were the major source of damage to the i… MoreYorke: On tolls, this mess could all have been avoided
Sen. Jack Reed has always seemed like a reliable and measured moderate. I have voted for him every time he’s been on the ballot since our move to Rhode Island in 2005. I appreciated his steadiness. He showed no signs of being an ideologue. He earned his law degree at Harvard Law School. I di… MoreSanzi: On Title IX, Trump/DeVos were right, Obama/Reed are wrong
The New York Football Giants are 2-0. MoreYorke: Contentious primary sets up dramatic November election
Two recent events have given me cause to pause and reflect on history and the world we live in. Those two events on the surface may not seem to have anything to do with each other, however, I came to see how they were very much related. MorePitts-Wiley: Kings, queens, history and truth
I don’t know how you parents with children in more than one sport at a time do it. This fall my three kids are all playing soccer, with practices on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, followed by three games at different times on Saturday. MoreShorey: I love my life at the soccer field
All due respect to the holidays, this is the most wonderful time of the year. MoreYorke: Despite politics, it's the most wonderful time of the year
Editor’s note: The Breeze invited gubernatorial candidates this summer to have their supporters write columns on their behalf. This is the last in that series. MorePaul: Matt Brown and Cynthia Mendes will do what’s right, even when it’s hard
Next week’s primary in Rhode Island will all but decide many races in our area and the state, bringing to a conclusion many months of intense campaigning. Some candidates have walked hundreds of miles through sweltering heat, shedding pounds along the way. MoreShorey: No matter what happens next week, we all choose what’s next
In my more than 50 years in the theater I’ve learned a great many life lessons. The first lesson may have been that to be a performing artist, talent is fifth on the list of things you need to find your way onto the stage. Of those five things, courage is first, followed by discipline, focus… MorePitts-Wiley: We want jobs that care about us
Carefully crafted messages, glossy images, signs with the colors and slogans the experts say will resonate best with average Joe, they’re all part of a successful campaign for office, but they shouldn’t ultimately determine who ends up making the decisions that impact your life the most. MoreShorey: Local elections matter more than you think
As any independent-minded scientist will tell you, science is rarely settled. Many even say it’s never settled because it is “an ever-evolving body of human knowledge.” There was a time when some claimed the science of lobotomies was settled. Or that nicotine and opioids weren’t addictive? A… MoreSanzi: Waiting for an apology and a promise
Editor’s note: The Breeze is inviting gubernatorial candidates this summer to have their supporters write columns on their behalf. This is the next in that series. MoreLima: Muñoz running on authentic relationships, not transactional ones
Most Rhode Islanders living outside the Oak Hill neighborhood have never seen the site of the proposed new soccer stadium in Pawtucket. MoreYorke: On stadium project, look past the titillating headlines
During the first week of August, I attended a press conference at Providence City Hall to witness the announcement of the Immigration Legal Assistance and COVID-19 Recovery Program. In partnership with Dorcas International, the program will provide free legal assistance related to the federa… MoreBetancur: Do we value immigrants?
On an off day last week, during rush hour crawling through the Route 295 North Cranston caverns, I came upon a high-end black SUV with a single sticker neatly tucked into the bottom left of the back window. MoreYorke: Our highways are a stomach-turning testament to free speech
“Hi. I’m Seamus’s Uncle Dan.” MoreYorke: What we have here is a failure to communicate
On Monday I was shopping at Marshalls and noticed a woman with a medium-sized dog on a leash. For a quick second I wondered to myself why the dog was in the store and then, just as I was about to turn my attention to the back-to-school section of lunch boxes and backpacks, I noticed a sizabl… MoreSanzi: Doggone it with these pets in stores
Don Fox is playing show and tell. MoreYorke: For Burrillville's Fox, time to start walking it back
I was in St. Louis for an annual family reunion this last Fourth of July weekend. It was a grand time in every way possible. Four generations of my beautiful family gathered to laugh, hug, kiss new babies, dance, compete and feast. We always end this event with a picnic of about 150 people. … MorePitts-Wiley: Saddened, but not surprised
Editor’s note: The Breeze is having supporters of various candidates for governor write columns this summer. This is the latest in the series. MoreJessica de la Cruz: R.I. needs a governor like Kalus
In my full-time job, a big part of my work focuses on coalition building and advocacy for different issues impacting Rhode Islanders. For many like myself, July brings the work of a full legislative year to an end. However, the end of the session doesn’t always bring joy. Instead, it brings … MoreBetancur: Advocacy is both joyful and exhausting
At this time of year, public enthusiasm and the long-revered tradition of celebrating the nation’s founding combine to fill the local skies with fireworks. MoreOne More Thing: The work behind the fireworks
Most people, I’ve learned, want things to be better. MoreShorey: Learning is patriotic
The most patriotic people I know are immigrants to the United States. Their appreciation for America is different from mine because they have personally experienced life without the freedom and opportunity that exists here. I have not. MoreSanzi: They love this country
For decades during my broadcast career I have avoided what I refer to as “shelf topics,” conversations that generate the same boring and predictable calls. MoreYorke: Two topics no longer avoidable
There is a proposed bill in the R.I. Statehouse that would require, as of July 1, at least two police officers in each public school. MoreYorke: We should be investing in counselors
Last month I wrote an article that was in part a reaction to the series of horrific mass shootings in New York, Oklahoma and Texas. I also wrote about a conversation I had with a young man who said, “It’s crazy out there, be safe and arm yourself.” MorePitts-Wiley: Hold onto joy
About a month ago, news swirled that RIPTA would be suspending its express bus service to the beach. I felt a pain in my belly immediately, and a wave of nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks. MoreBetancur: More than a ride on a bus
The cars were stopped and pedestrians were everywhere on Mendon Road last Friday night, as the Cumberland High School Class of 2022 spilled out with friends and family in tow. An officer worked the traffic pulling out of Tucker Field, alternating the flows from those already on the main drag… MoreYorke: We've been through it before
When my good friend Elyse Major and I agreed to become co-presidents of the Rhode Island Press Association last year, we had a goal to help create a more vibrant organization that makes a significant difference in our state. MoreShorey: Happy to serve
First the PawSox left. MoreYorke: Stadium plan needs help
Editor’s note: With some open column slots this spring and summer, we’re asking supporters of various candidates for governor to give their perspective on those running. MoreKennedy: Foulkes is the mental health leader R.I. needs
I’m sick to death of observing another moment of silence when children have been murdered, particularly in a school setting. Since 2018 there have been 119 school shootings. The most recent carnage at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, marks the 27th school shooting in 2022. No other civ… MoreViolet: Not another moment of silence
Editor's note: John Marion, of Common Cause Rhode Island, will have a rebuttal of this piece in the upcoming edition of The Breeze. MoreSanzi: We failed to count our people correctly
Editor’s note: This column was written prior to the mass murder of children and teachers at a school in Texas. MorePitts-Wiley: Is this reality? Monster-making no longer shakes us
Editor’s note: With some open column slots this spring and summer, we’re asking supporters of various candidates for governor to give their perspective on those running. MoreCaldwell: Gorbea understands root of housing crisis
I am baffled. From 2009 to 2018, there were at a minimum 33 bridge suicides in Bristol and Newport County. I do not have anything for 2019 and most of 2020, but from November 2020 until today, I am aware of 15 falls/suicides from our unprotected Mount Hope (c.1929), Pell (c. 1969) and Jamest… MorePanichas: On bridge barriers, when do our leaders take action
When the news broke last month that the online outlet Politico had a draft of a majority opinion written by Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito, a likely precursor to flipping Roe vs. Wade and turning the decision on abortion over to each individual state, it set the stage for a bat… MoreYorke: Likely abortion ruling forces people off the sidelines
In the 2022 Rhode Island race for governor, Democrats challenging Dan McKee in the primary must be hoping that the self-financed Republican candidate can get her act together and become the foil. MoreYorke: Kalus should be accountable for uncontested haymakers
You probably know that women make up more than 50 percent of the population in our state and country. You may also be aware that women are more likely to be heads of households and caregivers for children and family members. I am also sure that you’ve heard that in the U.S., women are paid l… MoreBetancur: We need to invest in women's health
My wife Deb and I were sitting at the bar last Friday night enjoying our usual baked fish dinners when the oversized cake was brought out. I said something like, “Oh, somebody’s birthday, how nice.” MoreYorke: A salute to the server who enriched our lives
Growing up as a kid with multiple children in the family, and later as a teen when a bunch of my buddies were piling into the car, you had to remember to make the claim early to secure the front passenger seat in the car. Have a mental breakdown and someone else would call it, and you’d be s… MoreYorke: I call shotgun!
Rhode Island’s latest education goal, as stated by the education commissioner and Department of Education, is to “reimagine high school.” While the turn of phrase is eye roll inducing, it is heartening to see an effort to align graduation requirements with eligibility prerequisites to attend… MoreSanzi: If we're going to reimagine high school, we'd better bring back trades
Improbably, the relatively small Providence Journal, not newspaper giants the New York Times or the Washington Post, had an out of proportion influence on America finally deciding to enter World War I. The fact that The Journal’s effort was spearheaded by a man who lived most of his adult li… More'The Imposter's War' delves into the life of former Journal editor Rathom
Early on in the pandemic, our team here at The Breeze decided that we weren’t going to allow the difficult circumstances we were all experiencing lessen our support to the communities we cover, not only through our coverage, but in money, time, and organizing. MoreShorey: We’re for any effort that makes our communities stronger
This week, The Valley Breeze begins coverage in Central Falls, and I, for one, could not be more excited. This small and vibrant city has a very special place in my heart, and I hope that soon, it will make space in yours too. MoreBetancur: A whole world in a square mile
I went to Washington, D.C., last week and saw the White House in real life for the first time, and it was striking how much smaller the place looks in real life than on TV and in movies. One reason for my trip was to attend an event for a woman running as a Democrat for New York’s 12th Congr… MoreSanzi: The moderate middle is the big tent and it’s full of parents
There is no end to my disappointment in policy around production of energy in the United States. For all Americans, the price of gas has exploded higher. For those in our area, heating oil costs have soared too, making for colder homes and more difficulty for those least able to afford it. MoreWard: Our gas inflation is Made in America
Many think it’s a “payoff” to the unions for their vote in the fall. MoreYorke: On payments, governor sloppy on messaging, execution
