Columns | EastBayRI.com - News, Opinion, Things to Do in the East Bay

Should Rhode Island raise taxes on its wealthiest residents?

STORY OF THE WEEK: Legislative leaders in Rhode Island have for years reflexively opposed efforts to raise broad-based taxes. The trend has been more in the other direction, with a four-point cut in … more

By Ian Donnis | 5/12/25

Balancing interests for the leader of the Senate, who's the leader of the union

STORY OF THE WEEK: After Val Lawson won election Tuesday as the new president of the Rhode Island Senate , she faced a battery of reporters’ questions about her dual role as head of that … more

By Ian Donnis | 5/5/25

Farewell to the longest-serving lawmaker in Rhode Island

1. STORY OF THE WEEK: The unexpected death of Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio at age 76 on Monday marks the end of an era in more ways than one. Ruggerio, widely revered by his … more

By Ian Donnis | 4/29/25

Do deportation efforts show 'a complete disrespect for the Constitution'?

STORY OF THE WEEK: If the sine qua non of President Donald Trump is about pushing boundaries, the apex of that tendency is coming front and center. The showdown over Kilmar Abrego Garcia in … more

By Ian Donnis | 4/21/25

Reaction to global trade war is mostly breaking along partisan lines

1. STORY OF THE WEEK: Decades after supporters lauded the North American Free Trade Agreement as a way to add American jobs, there’s plenty of criticism of NAFTA from both the left and the … more

4/14/25

For Democrats, it's not too early to start thinking about midterm elections

1. STORY OF THE WEEK: The mid-term elections of 2026 are almost 20 months away -- and that’s an eternity in politics. But after months of soul-searching after the Democrats’ devastating … more

By Ian Donnis | 4/7/25

Questions about the homeless pallets are spot-on

Amazon has a small house for sale, 20’ by 40’, which is larger than the pallets now housing the homeless, with three bedrooms (or choice, like a living room or den if one bedroom is … more

By Arlene Violet, Esq. | 4/2/25

Still waiting for the state's professional cannabis regs

1. STORY OF THE WEEK: Almost three years have passed since Gov. Dan McKee signed adult-use cannabis legalization into law , and the state has yet to open the application process for handing out … more

By Ian Donnis | 3/31/25

Will voters assign bridge blame at the polls?

1. STORY OF THE WEEK: As we roll into the weekend, perhaps you’re savoring the emergence of spring, the arrival of March Madness in Providence, an expected return to form of the Red Sox or any … more

3/24/25

Commentary: '40,000 Headmen'

Originating in the (aptly named) rainforest’s hills, a heavy nighttime downpour sluiced palm fronds, bamboo and other plant life into the sea. In the dawn, coconuts sporting long hairlike … more

By Rick Massie | 3/18/25

Expect R.I.'s 'tax the rich' debate to be heating up soon

1. STORY OF THE WEEK: “Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax that fellow behind the tree!” -- the timeless aphorism from the late U.S. Sen. Russell B. Long of Louisiana -- speaks … more

By Ian Donnis | 3/17/25

Keeping close watch on the on-again, off-again tariffs

STORY OF THE WEEK: Tariffs “will always tend to crush the spirit of enterprise and cripple the productive energies of a country.” If that sounds like a gripe from Canadian Prime Minister … more

By Ian Donnis | 3/10/25

AG believes the courts will help balance the power shift in D.C.

Despite the breakneck pace of President Trump and Elon Musk as they try to remake the federal government, Attorney General Peter Neronha said, “I think you can, for the most part, put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” more

By Ian Donnis | 3/3/25

I pledge allegiance to Trump

Nobody would argue that government is not corpulent and needs a diet, which the President is doing. While scholars are focused on whether much of President Donald Trump’s purge of programs and … more

By Arlene Violet, Esq. | 2/18/25

Providence will be Ground Zero for an array of federal cuts

STORY OF THE WEEK: Providence is Rhode Island’s ground zero for an array of possible cuts sparked by the administration of President Donald Trump and his GOP congressional supporters. With … more

By Ian Donnis | 2/18/25

The President's moves incite a range of countermoves

STORY OF THE WEEK: Everyone talks about waste and fraud, but no one does anything about it. That may sum up the view of many, if not most, supporters of President Donald Trump as his administration … more

By Ian Donnis | 2/11/25

Turbulent waves keep rolling out of Washington

Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for Jan. 31, 2025 1. STORY OF THE WEEK: If the past week tells us anything, here are a few starting points: 1) Democratic-leaning states like … more

By Ian Donnis | 2/4/25

Trump comes out swinging, pushes immigration to the forefront

STORY OF THE WEEK: President Trump ’s use of an executive order to try to eliminate birthright citizenship — a right enshrined in the Constitution not long after the Civil War — … more

By Ian Donnis | 1/27/25

Is Rhode Island's glass half-full, or half-empty?

STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Dan McKee had a high-profile platform last Tuesday, using his State of the State speech to assert that Rhode Island is “flipping the script” from some of the less … more

By Ian Donnis | 1/21/25

A New Year’s resolution for state leaders

Here is a basic New Year’s resolution for state political leaders: “Spend taxpayer money as if it were you own.” Instead, far too many politicians make giddy spending decisions … more

By Arlene Violet | 12/31/24

The bridge fallout still hovers over R.I. and the governor

1. STORY OF THE WEEK: Dec. 11 marks the one-year anniversary of the abrupt emergency closing of the westbound Washington Bridge, a crisis whose full effect will … more

By Ian Donnis | 12/12/24

A Great Horned Owl surveys its territory from a native cherry tree perch in the East Bay. Great Horned Owls are widespread across the U.S. but bird count surveys have shown a significant decreasing trend in the eastern region. Photo courtesy of Butch Lombardi.

The symbiotic relationships between owls and woodpeckers

Head outside on a clear winter night in the East Bay and you might just be greeted by the deep, soft hoots of Great Horned Owls advertising their territories and calling to their mates. Listen more … more

By Cindy and Ed Moura | 12/12/24

Dr. Patrick T. Conley, chairman of the U.S. Constitution Council, delivers an address to dignitaries at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on Dec. 15, 1991, to mark the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights. U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered a similar address on that day in Richmond, Virginia.

In praise and recognition of America’s Bill of Rights

December 15 is the anniversary of our Bill of Rights. On that date in 1791, Virginia’s ratification of Articles I through X of our Constitution incorporated them permanently into our … more

By Patrick T. Conley | 12/4/24

ILO Group report shined a bright spotlight on the governor

STORY OF THE WEEK: About three years after Attorney General Peter Neronha ’s probe into the ILO Group became public, the story hit a dramatic apex. On Tuesday, Neronha released his findings via … more

By Ian Donnis | 11/6/24

Trump teeters in the twilight zone

C BS has been interviewing potential voters in the so-called swing states about for whom they are going to vote for President. Virtually all Trump supporters said they were voting for him … more

By Arlene Violet | 10/2/24