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R.I. indie pop musician Lainey Dionne on finding inspiration, writing songs for TV, and getting her start in Smithfield – The Boston Globe

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R.I. indie pop musician Lainey Dionne on finding inspiration, writing songs for TV, and getting her start in Smithfield – The Boston Globe


“So I kick my leg up high in the air, and they all did the crowd part,” she recalls on this week’s Rhode Island Report podcast.

“To have that connection, that moment, of everybody doing the same thing at once, I was like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

From there, Dionne went to Berklee College of Music in Boston; has released troves of her own music, including a 2021 full-length debut, “Self Titled;” has used her knack for writing songs for television shows and other artists; and most recently, became a voting member of the Recording Academy for the Grammy’s, as she discusses on the podcast.

“She knows what she wants in her music,” said Dewey Raposo, the Rhode Island PBS producer of “Ocean State Sessions,” a series showcasing local musicians. “I think that really comes across and that’s powerful, I think, for people watching and listening.”

Dionne will be featured in “Ocean State Sessions’ ” latest episode, which airs on Friday at 8 p.m.

The series is now in its fifth season.

“We just sort of try to bring our musicians into, you know, the homes of the people in their community,” Raposo said on the podcast, himself a musician. “It’s just a way to sort of throw some support at them and just sort of all support each other.”

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To get the latest episode each week, follow Rhode Island Report podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms, or listen in the player above.


Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.





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Rhode Island

RI weather: Will coastal snow storm hit the Ocean State?

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RI weather: Will coastal snow storm hit the Ocean State?



Snow will likely just brush the far southeast New England coast, with Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard getting 1 to 3 inches and Nantucket getting 2 to 5, the weather service says.

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  • A coastal storm is expected to pass by Rhode Island with minimal impact.
  • There is a chance of snow on Thursday, but accumulation is predicted to be insignificant.
  • Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard may see 1 to 3 inches of snow, while Nantucket could receive 2 to 5 inches.

PROVIDENCE – A coastal storm forecasters have been monitoring looks like it will pass far enough out to sea to have little or no effect on Rhode Island, according to the National Weather Service.

There’s a chance Rhode Island will see snow Thursday but little to no accumulation is expected, the weather service says.

“The main forecast challenge (Thursday) into (Thursday) night revolves around the northwest extent of a snow shield from a distant ocean storm,” the weather service says in its forecast discussion.

Here’s where snow is most likely

Snow will likely just brush the far southeast New England coast, with Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard getting 1 to 3 inches and Nantucket getting 2 to 5, the weather service says.

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For Wednesday, the cold weather will continue but with less wind than Monday and Tuesday, the weather service says. Expect a high near 29 in the Providence area. The temperature should drop to about 11 tonight.



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Woman hurt as sheet of ice smashes windshield on I-95 in Rhode Island

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Woman hurt as sheet of ice smashes windshield on I-95 in Rhode Island


A Cranston, Rhode Island, woman was injured when a sheet of ice came flying off another vehicle and smashed through her windshield, NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports.

Dan DeCesare told the station that he and his wife JoAnn were driving on I-95 south Monday when a strong gust of wind sent the chunk of ice flying off the top of a tractor-trailer in front of them.

“It was like four inches thick, probably like four feet long,” DeCesare said. “It disappeared over our car, and the bottom of it still managed to hit the windshield and just smash right through. It was kind of like a bomb hit the windshield,” Dan told WJAR-TV.

JoAnn was hit in the chest and face by the ice as it crashed through the windshield. She was taken to the hospital and treated for chest contusions, a split lip, a head injury, and bruising across her body. She is expected to recover.

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Dan said the truck driver stopped after DeCesare honked and signaled at him to pull over. Dan said the trucker told them his company is supposed to clean the top, but they don’t always get all of the sides.

State law requires drivers to clear snow and ice from their vehicles before travel. Failing to do so can result in fines. More importantly, falling ice can have serious consequences.

“Absolutely, spend the time to take the ice off—any car, especially big trucks,” Dan said.

Rhode Island State Police and West Warwick Police are investigating.

Similar incidents were reported on I-93S in Salem, New Hampshire and Route 190 in Sterling, Massachusetts. Both states also have laws on the books requiring drivers to clear off vehicles or face penalties.

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New Hampshire State Police

Flying ice smashed a windshield on I-93S in Salem, New Hampshire, on Monday.
Firefighters in Sterling, Massachusetts, responded to two separate incidents of ice smashing windshields on Route 190 on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.


Sterling Fire Department

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Firefighters in Sterling, Massachusetts, responded to two separate incidents of ice smashing windshields on Route 190 on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.



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Fewer teachers, bigger classes: How Trump’s proposed education cuts would impact RI schools

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Fewer teachers, bigger classes: How Trump’s proposed education cuts would impact RI schools


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  • Reed, Magaziner say budget cuts could lead to teacher layoffs and larger class sizes
  • School meal funding and help for students with disabilities could be at stake
  • Labor unions joining the opposition against GOP spending cuts

CRANSTON − Rhode Island Democratic pushback to President Donald Trump’s agenda turned to education Monday.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, Congressman Seth Magaziner, state education officials and teachers union leaders warned that Republican spending cuts in education could leave local schools with larger class sizes and fewer resources for students with special needs.

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“President Trump and the Republicans in Congress have declared war on public education,” Reed told reporters at a news conference Monday morning at the offices of the National Education Association Rhode Island teachers union.

“President Trump has said repeatedly he wants to eliminate the Department of Education and Project 2025, which is their game plan, laid out an attack plan to do just that,” he said. “The architects of that plan are on the march. They have linked up with Elon Musk and DOGE and hey are going in and pillaging the entire federal government.”

How will the cuts impact Rhode Island schools?

Reed and Magaziner targeted the combination of Trump’s plan to dissolve the Department of Education and House Republicans’ budget resolution, which would cut $1.5 trillion in federal spending from several areas.

Although a lot of the specific cuts are a moving target and there is no deal yet with the Senate, the Rhode Island Democrats said they believe education spending will not be spared as the GOP looks for ways to fund more than $4 trillion in tax cuts.

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“People need to understand that without federal support, the public education system in Rhode Island would be crippled,” Magaziner said. “If these cuts happen, it means fewer teachers, bigger class sizes, fewer programs, less [career and technical education] and a less talented workforce for employers.”

State Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green said Rhode Island receives $275 million in education spending from the federal government, most of it going directly to districts. The money includes $65 million in “Title 1” funds for low-income students, $60 million in Individuals with Disabilities Act money, $48 million for school nutrition and $11 million for career and technical education.

Paige Parks, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count noted that federal funding also provides early intervention services for at-risk infants and toddlers.

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In higher education, Pell Grants for low-income students could also be on the chopping block, warned Rhode Island College President Jack Warner and state Postsecondary Education Commissioner Shannon Gilkey.

“Some of you might say, well, that doesn’t impact my child. Well, guess what? It will impact every student in Rhode Island,” Infante-Green said.

What about DEI in Rhode Island schools?

At the same time the state watches for possible federal aid cuts, schools are trying to understand what they need to do to comply with a letter published by the Trump administration Friday that gave recipients 14 days to rid themselves of DEI policies.

Infante-Green said school leaders have not yet changed policy or abandoned anything DEI related as they “huddle” and “try to make sense” of the latest orders.

“I think when they’re thinking about DEI, they’re thinking about race or they’re thinking about just kind of what they envision equity,” Infante-Green said of Trump administration. “So I think that it is very challenging when we start unpacking where it goes into, because we have made sure that it is a fabric of everything that we do.”

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Presidents Day protest against Trump at RI State House

A few hours after the news conference at NEARI, a couple hundred protesters gathered at the State House Monday to rally against what they saw as Trump’s illegal executive orders to unilaterally cut spending and dissolve government agencies created by Congress.

“No kings in America,” they chanted on the south steps of the capitol.



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