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…
Editor’s note: With some open column slots this spring and summer, we’re asking supporters of various candidates for governor to give their pe… Read more
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… Read more
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. More
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 childr… More
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.” More
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 passeng… More
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 … More
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. … More
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… More
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 … More
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 … More
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 so… More
Many think it’s a “payoff” to the unions for their vote in the fall. More
For the past few years, we have seen an increase in “diverse” panels or presentations across sectors including business, government and nonprofits. I myself have been part of quite a few of those panels… More
It hits you like a ton of bricks when at the beginning of the weekend, “3” is the first number on the gas signs, and come the end of the weekend, it’s a substantial “4.” More
It seems to be the only reason the western world looked on and correctly predicted an invasion as Russia built its military position on its borders, and now only watches every day as the two countries b… More
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Editor's note: This column was submitted prior to Vladimir Putin's full-scale attack on Ukraine. More
I’m glad there are parents such as Brendon Hall of Pawtucket, who intervened last month at the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts to stop a 9th-grade performance of the play “… More
The first time I witnessed my mom voting I was about 8 years old while we lived in Colombia. At the time, I did not really understand what she was doing, what impact it had, or why it was all that adult… More
Is it really too much to ask that an iced coffee at the drive-thru come with a straw? The answer to that seemingly absurd question if you live in Rhode Island is yes, yes it is too much to ask. In the s… More
Aside from my career as an actor, director, playwright, and composer, I love my career work as a teacher. I teach at universities and colleges, public and private high schools, as well as offering priva… More
It’s getting harder to write a newspaper column. Unlike social media lords, I can’t write two columns for the two Americas, and have exactly the correct people from the correct information silos pick up… More
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Have you read the revised Rhode Island guidance on COVID school protocols issued for this week? Give it a quick read, then close your eyes and repeat what it says. More
Almost every sports fan in America will tell you all the reasons why Antonio Brown should never play another down in the National Football League. His stellar career is tainted with legal matters and team disciplinary challenges including the latest this season when he was suspended for faki… More
The COVID pandemic has made planning difficult for just about everyone from multinational corporations to families trying to make daily schedules. It is quite common to hear people say, “We’re making a plan, but COVID is driving the bus and we’re not sure where we are going.” More
They’re getting it right in Pawtucket. More
While growing up, the idea of grief was foreign to me. It was something I saw others endure on television or heard my family members mention. However, I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t understand how the absence of someone or something could create such a deep feeling. More
- Arlene Violet
- 4
I was taken aback when I received a letter from Santa! There in black and white was his Christmas list of Rhode Island leaders who have been either naughty or nice. One politician dominated the naughty list. Santa asked me to let you know who is on each list. Who am I to disregard his request? More
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that people are more disconnected than ever despite the greatest ease of communication we’ve seen at any time in human history. More
The news about the Omicron variant ironically broke last Friday, the day after normalcy returned for many American families. If you didn’t have indigestion from overindulging on your turkey dinner and desserts, there was, for some, the stock market drop to seal the deal. More
In 1987, while I was the artist-in-residence at the University of Rhode Island, I wrote, along with my co-composer Robert Schleeter, a musical title “The Spirit Warrior’s Dream.” It was a play about a charismatic leader (The Dreamkiller) who rose to power by taking away the people’s will to … More
After hearing NEA Director Bob Walsh’s comments about stay-at-home moms on a recent episode of PBS’s “A Lively Experiment,” one has to wonder if it is the official position of his union that stay-at-home moms can’t also be education advocates. More
Air travel has become one of the most-used forms of transportation across the globe. However, in the last two decades there have been a few occasions when it screeched to a halt, most notably after Sept. 11 and most recently during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Both of these important events… More
If my memory serves me correctly, it was about 15 years ago when I was an invited guest speaker at a dinner for professional engineers at Kirkbrae Country Club. Being that my late father was an accomplished executive in the banking security and semiconductor sectors, and an electrical engine… More
Greenville’s Vincent “Vin” Cimini is to Rhode Island ice hockey what Ken Jennings is to “Jeopardy,” a walking encyclopedia. More
“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” More
The scene that played out last week at the North Kingstown School Committee meeting is certainly something to behold and one that could be repeated in the near future, similar to the “critical race theory” aggressive open mic protests that have popped up throughout the state and nation. More
- Ethan Shorey
- 0
I have this thing I do each holiday season where I try to buy the vast majority of my presents from local retailers. Sometimes I’m more successful than others, but the process is always rewarding, as I get to meet or get reacquainted with wonderful local merchants and often find fun items at… More
Mrs. Donahue was my school librarian at Hardy Elementary School. She was kind and patient as she helped me find books such as “Where the Red Fern Grows,” just the right book for a 5th-grader to read. And she knew how to shush us in that warm but strict way that told us she wasn’t mean. More
A blatant disagreement on crucial COVID policy between Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health and her boss, Gov. Dan McKee, occurred last week right in front of the comatose press and the tuned-in audience. More
The Union has never been perfect for many people. It was full of flaws and loopholes that allowed the rich and thus powerful to stay rich and powerful. It supported the capitalist idea that a permanent underclass of people had to be maintained at all costs. While the Union was founded on Chr… More
It’s been a long and interesting 18 months since I’ve been on this page, and in that time, political conditions in our country have deteriorated. I’m pretty sure the two are not related. More
Memory is a mystery. No matter how old we are, there are moments from our young lives that are vivid. Things we saw, great moments we had, things that scared us. So profound, these slices of time and why the picture or scene sticks may make perfect sense to us. Some remain for reasons that w… More
- By ERIKA SANZI
- 26
Albert Einstein said, “the important thing is not to stop questioning,” but something strange and unhealthy has unfolded before our eyes during the pandemic. It has become commonplace to see people shamed and even cast out of their social networks for simply asking questions about decisions … More
- RHEA BOUCHARD POWERS
- 0
As it does every year, the advent of Sept. 11 casts a pall on my soul and this year, the 20th anniversary of that dark day in history, is no exception. If anything, it brings it into even sharper relief with more media coverage surrounding it than had been generated in recent years. More
- RHEA BOUCHARD POWERS
- 0
We have a bridal shower coming up this weekend and my sister Bev and I were discussing what to wear. She had been rummaging through her closet for something suitable and had narrowed the choices down to three, which she brought out on hangers to show me. It needed to be something reasonably … More
- JOHN ROSEMOND
- 0
Q: Our 19-month-old is a very active little boy who flips out when things do not go his way. When he has a tantrum, we walk away or simply ignore him. Nonetheless, he will scream and flail about and has recently begun to bang his head on the floor, walls, doors, furniture, whatever. Is this … More
- JOHN ROSEMOND
- 0
Q: Our 4-year-old, an only child, is giving us fits. As a toddler, he began ignoring us. That evolved into downright refusing to do what we ask, as in, “I’m not going to” and just plain “No.” It seems like the nicer we are to him, the meaner he is to us. In addition, his tantrums when he doe… More
- RHEA BOUCHARD POWERS
- 0
Interconnectivity might not be the precisely correct word here, but it was the word that sprang to mind after a very enjoyable visit with old friends earlier this week (although the full title of this piece should, perhaps, more correctly be, “The Unexpected Interconnectivity That Comes of L… More
- RHEA BOUCHARD POWERS
- 0
I can remember as clear as day the exact moment when I was made aware of my size. It was in the summer of 1956. I was 14 years old at the time and standing in our kitchen in Manville, talking to my boyfriend Ronny and his friend Norman, when in the course of conversation I referred to myself… More
- RHEA BOUCHARD POWERS
- 0
We were playing cards when my sister Bev announced, “there’s a big black horse fly in your window,” referring to the bow window she was facing in the dining room where we were playing cards, and she was right. While not actually a horse fly, there was indeed a large black fly frantically buz… More
- JIM RAFTUS, Breeze Book Reviewer
- 0
Anne Tyler has written 23 novels. Six of these works have been made into movies. It is a safe bet that none of these movies used computer generated imaging to move the plots forward. This is not meant as an insult. Tyler’s profound talent lies in the slow, quiet unveiling of her characters’ … More
- JOHN ROSEMOND
- 0
Several columns past, I took to my bully pulpit and excoriated men who are married with children for being fathers first and husbands a distant second (maybe even third behind sports fans). My point, for those of you who are behind the curve here, is that children don’t need fathers who are … More
- RHEA BOUCHARD POWERS
- 0
A question popped up on Facebook recently: “When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?” I of course immediately responded: “A writer and a nurse,” which was the simple, bare bones truth. But as so often happens with simple questions and answers, different, more distant o… More
- JOHN ROSEMOND
- 0
No small number of today’s parents view their children through psychological lenses, especially when it comes to misbehavior. Instead of regarding a given misbehavior as simply an error that needs to be corrected through the application of proper discipline, the parents in question interpret it. More