With Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza term-limited, several candidates have thrown their hat into the ring, including Ward 3 City Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune. She discusses city violence, the unfunded pension liability and more. Then the executive director of the Latino Policy Institute, Marcela Bentancur, talks about her organization's 15th anniversary and the increase in the Hispanic population in Rhode Island.

Newsmakers: WPRI 12 Eyewitness News

10/15/2021: Providence mayoral candidate Nirva LaFortune; Latino Policy Institute

Providence City Council President John Igliozzi on the increase in shootings and homicides in the city, a controversial police hire, what the city plans to do with an influx in federal COVID relief funds and more. Then, Eli Sherman joins Tim White and Steph Machado to break down a series of State House hearings focused on a controversial taxpayer-funded contract awarded to a new firm with political connections.

10/7/2021: Prov. City Council President John Igliozzi

In the coming weeks, Rhode Island lawmakers will be considering how more than $1 billion in federal coronavirus aid money should be spent. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ryan Pearson, D-Cumberland, discusses the process moving forward, and questions he wants answered surrounding a controversial multimillion-dollar state contract that is being paid for with those funds. Then Tim White and Ted Nesi break down the latest in the 2022 governor's race.

9/30/2021: Sen. Ryan Pearson; week in review

This week on Newsmakers: New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell. A Democrat first elected in 2011, Mitchell talks about the struggle to increase vaccination rates in his city, the challenging facing the fishing industry, offshore wind, his own political future and more.

9/23/2021: Mayor Jon Mitchell

This week on Newsmakers: state Rep. Gregg Amore, D-East Providence, discusses his newly launched campaign for Rhode Island secretary of state; Shannon Buss and David Salvatore of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors break down the latest trends in the state's housing market.

9/16/2021: Gregg Amore; RI housing market update

This week on Newsmakers: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., talks with Ted Nesi about the budget talks on Capitol Hill, America's exit from Afghanistan, and her political future; Matt Newell, whose mother Renee died on Sept. 11, looks back with Mike Montecalvo in Newell's first sit-down interview about the topic.

9/9/2021: Sen. Elizabeth Warren; 9/11 anniversary

Steph Machado interviews the acting superintendent of Providence schools, Dr. Javier Montañez; Tim White and Ted Nesi break down the controversy involving the governor's now-former chief of staff.

9/3/2021: Dr. Javier Montañez; week in review

Among President Joe Biden’s most vocal supporters in the military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Massachusetts. Auchincloss served in Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine in 2012, and said Biden’s decision was the right one, though the execution of the plan could have gone smoother. Auchincloss also weighed in on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and what it could mean to towns in his district including Attleboro, Taunton and parts of Fall River.

8/26/2021: Congressman Jake Auchincloss

This week on Newsmakers: U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, discusses the chaotic American evacuation of Afghanistan and whether President Biden made a mistake ordering the withdrawal. The fourth-term Rhode Island Democrat also looks back at why the U.S. mission struggled and what he learned during his 18 visits to the country since 2001.

8/19/2021: Sen. Jack Reed

This week on Newsmakers: Tom McCarthy, executive director of Rhode Island's COVID-19 response, lays out the state's strategy to deal with the delta variant and open schools; Ben Downing, a Democratic candidate for Massachusetts governor, explains why he's running for the state's top job.

8/13/2021: COVID outlook in RI; Ben Downing

This week on Newsmakers: Brett Smiley, candidate for mayor of Providence, discusses rising concerns about violent incidents in the city and other policy issues; Target 12 investigator Eli Sherman shares an update on the latest coronavirus trends in Rhode Island.

8/6/2021: Brett Smiley; COVID in RI

In the era of misinformation, should a seminal case that provided sweeping protections to a free press be revisited? Roger Williams University Law School Prof. David Logan’s recent law review article arguing it should be was cited multiple times in a dissent by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, and explains why New York Times v. Sullivan may doing more harm than good. Then, author Maureen Boyle takes viewers through the findings of her new book “The Ghost” that relives one of the most notorious mysteries in Southern New England.

7/30/2021: Roger Williams Law School Prof. David Logan; Author Maureen Boyle

This week on Newsmakers: Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos discusses her first 100 days on the job, and her visit to every city and town in the state. She also discusses the state takeover of Providence Public Schools, and why vaccination rates in Providence - where she was city council president - lags the rest of the state. Then Eli Sherman joins Tim White and Steph Machado to discuss the uptick in COVID cases, decline in vaccinations, and body worn camera policies.

7/23/2021: Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos; a reporters roundtable

This week on Newsmakers: Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, D-North Providence, and Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey, D-Warwick, discuss the end of the regular legislative session and the prospects for lawmakers returning in the fall to tackle marijuana.

7/16/2021: Sens. Ruggerio, McCaffrey

This week on Newsmakers: Kim Kalunian talks with R.I. House Speaker Joe Shekarchi; Ted Nesi moderates a reporters' roundtable on Rhode Island politics featuring Steph Machado, Ian Donnis and Dan McGowan.

7/9/2021: Speaker Shekarchi; reporters' roundtable

Tim White hosts in-depth interviews each week with top politicians and others in the news from Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Brought to you by WPRI 12, Fox Providence and myRITV.

hubhopper

Newsmakers: WPRI 12 Eyewitness News

hubhopper