Sofia Rudin
- Legal Intern, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environment reporter @ThePublicsRadio
Chicago ➡️ Baltimore ➡️ Providence 🏳️🌈 she/her
Articles by Sofia Rudin
Sea level rise threatens to flood East Bay evacuation routes
If you live in central Warren and there’s a hurricane, you’re supposed to use Market Street to evacuate towards Massachusetts. The road is also a major commuter corridor, along with County Road and Wampanoag Trail through Barrington. But there’s a looming problem – both of these routes are projected to flood as sea level rises.
Climate change creating new options for fish lovers who want to “eat local”
This story was produced for the ear. To listen, press the orange play button. Transcript: TIMOTHY: Alright so we’re gonna drop these guys in our – we have water going, a bouillon of sorts. RUDIN: So, Antonia, a couple weeks ago I met up with Jason Timothy. He’s the creative culinary director and co-owner of a restaurant called Troop. TIMOTHY: That's gonna cook for about, you know, three or four minutes or until they turn a little bit red.
R.I. not on track to meet climate goals, latest state assessment finds
When state scientists released their annual report on greenhouse gas emissions for 2016, they had good news to share: the state had achieved its 2020 goal ahead of schedule. That goal was to reduce climate-warming fossil fuel emissions to 10 percent below a 1990 baseline. But updated numbers released by the state Friday show the achievement was fleeting. In 2018, the latest year for which data have been analyzed, total emissions rose for a second year in a row.
R.I. Attorney General asks courts to halt sale of Narragansett Electric
Published Thu Feb 24 2022 20:40:51 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is asking the state Superior Court to review the sale of Rhode Island’s largest utility company. And he’s asking for an immediate stay on the transaction to prevent “extensive and irreparable harm” to energy customers.
Regulators approve sale of R.I.’s largest electric and gas utility
Published Wed Feb 23 2022 22:30:57 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) The Division of Public Utilities and Carriers approved the transfer of the Narragansett Electric Company from National Grid to PPL Corporation, finding that the sale is “consistent with the public interest.” Under the deal, Pennsylvania-based PPL will purchase all shares in Narragansett Electric for $5.3 billion, taking on electric service for more than half a million Rhode Island customers and gas service for another...
Solar fields are contributing to deforestation in Rhode Island. Advocates want to change how the state incentivizes development
Published Tue Feb 22 2022 09:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Walking along a snowy trail, Kate McPherson points out evidence of life in the frozen forest. She stops to examine a spot where the snow has been disturbed by deer digging up grass and acorns. She traces the path of a mink: where it bounded along a streambed, swam through a culvert, and wriggled out on the bank. “You can see these little specks on the ground,” she said, pointing out scattered brown dots on the snow.
R.I. Hospital officials plan to ask for extended military aid amid ongoing staffing shortage
Published Wed Jan 26 2022 19:41:40 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Officials at Rhode Island Hospital said Wednesday they plan to ask the Pentagon to extend the help of military medical personnel to cope with ongoing staffing shortages. President Biden deployed two military medical teams to help hospitals in Rhode Island earlier this month.
Community groups allege Providence Water’s lead pipe replacement strategy is discriminatory
Published Wed Jan 05 2022 21:47:31 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Over the last decade, Providence’s water utility has been working to replace lead pipes. But the way they’re doing it disproportionately raises the risk of lead exposure for Black, Latinx and Native American residents, community groups allege.
Central Falls steps up housing code enforcement to prevent lead poisoning
Published Tue Dec 21 2021 10:00:17 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Once a month, the Central Falls Department of Public Works is transformed into a courtroom. Property owners and lawyers trickle into the squat building, where Judge Bob McConnell rules on fines for furniture left on the street and management plans for abandoned buildings. These days, he spends the first chunk of the evening working through lead violations.
Coal tar oil leaks into Seekonk River from Tidewater site
Published Thu Dec 02 2021 20:45:32 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Two boats motored back in forth on the Seekonk River Thursday morning, towing white, absorbent booms in their wake. The smell of gas hung in the air. “We also see crews walking along the shoreline to the south of the site, with different absorbent materials,” pointed out Mike Jarbeau, Baykeeper for the environmental nonprofit Save The Bay, from a picnic table across the river.
Extra-high tides offer a glimpse into the future as sea level rises
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Extra-high tides offer a glimpse into the future as sea level rises
Copyright 2021 The Public's Radio. To see more, visit The Public's Radio. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: We have a story now of extra-high tides. When the moon and sun line up in a certain way, you can get a higher tide than normal in places like Rhode Island, which is where we're about to go. And climate change is making those extra-high tides even worse, offering a glimpse of our future. From Rhode Island Public Radio, Sofie Rudin reports. SOFIE RUDIN, BYLINE: All right. So I've arrived in Wickford.
Extra-high tides offer a glimpse into the future as sea level rises Original
Extra-high tides offer a glimpse into the future as sea level rises Coastal communities are experiencing more flooding at extreme high tides. Merchants in North Kingston, R.I., say it's going to cost a lot of money to keep the water at bay.
Extra-high tides offer a glimpse into the future as sea level rises
Copyright 2021 The Public's Radio. To see more, visit The Public's Radio
Extra-high tides offer a glimpse into the future as sea level rises
By Sofie Rudin • 29 minutes ago Originally published on November 10, 2021 7:43 am Copyright 2021 The Public's Radio. To see more, visit The Public's Radio.
High tide flooding offers a glimpse of Rhode Island's future as sea level rises
Published Mon Nov 08 2021 09:19:13 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) As the tide rolled in on a recent morning in Wickford, the center of the Brown Street parking lot gradually filled with water. The parking lot is wedged between the harbor and the main street, which is lined by antique shops, boutiques, and restaurants. In the middle of the lot, water welled up through a storm drain.
Rhode Island’s attorney general is taking landlords who fail to fix lead hazards to court
Published Mon Oct 25 2021 09:00:10 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) In the early 2000s, a child living in the second floor apartment of the triple decker on Dyer Avenue in Cranston tested positive for lead poisoning. A health department inspector found lead hazards in all nine rooms of the apartment, including the child’s bedroom. Soon after, a child living in the apartment upstairs was also found to have lead poisoning.
Climate activists say Rhode Island is “already behind” on emissions reduction planning
Published Thu Sep 30 2021 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) When Rhode Island’s General Assembly passed the Act on Climate earlier this year, it broke a stretch of inaction on climate change by the state’s legislature, under the leadership of former House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello.
Trees stressed by pests, climate change pose growing threat to electrical grid
Chris Rooney describes his job as “making sure the trees and the power lines get along.” He’s in charge of forestry for National Grid Rhode Island, the utility company that serves most of the state. And that job is getting harder. When the electrical grid was first built, rural Rhode Island was mostly farmland. Over the last century, the region's forests grew back, up and over the power lines.
RI - How a Block Island marina dispute fractured trust in R.I. coastal agency
Control of Rhode Island’s 400 miles of coastline is contentious, and hotly debated questions often fall to the Coastal Resources Management Council. Critics say the council is not accountable to the public. When the CRMC last year went into private mediation with a marina owner, it fueled further questions about the agency’s transparency.
R.I. Superior Court finds no wrongdoing in coastal agency’s mediation with Block Island marina owner
Published Thu Sep 09 2021 22:01:12 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rhode Island’s coastal agency followed the law when it went into mediation with a Block Island marina owner. That’s the decision released Thursday by Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear. The mediation was aimed at resolving an 18-year battle over a proposed marina expansion.
How a Block Island marina dispute fractured trust in R.I. coastal agency
Published Wed Sep 08 2021 09:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) The Rhode Island Superior Court this week is expected to issue a decision on the validity of a mediated agreement between the state Coastal Resources Management Council and a marina owner on Block Island. The town of New Shoreham, local environmental groups, and the state Attorney General contend that the mediation cut out the public and violated state law.
Wading into an urban river: What lives in the Woonasquatucket?
Published Mon Aug 16 2021 09:30:33 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) The water was running high on this recent muggy afternoon, as a group of volunteers in hip waders prepared to step into the Woonasquatucket River. The banks were lush and green, with a bike path running along one side. Under the trees, coffee cup lids, bottles, and plastic bags littered the ground. Broken glass mingled with clam shells in the mud. And a shimmering rainbow slick coated the edge of the water.
R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council chair resigns
Published Thu Jul 22 2021 21:54:34 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) In a letter to Gov. Dan McKee Wednesday, Jennifer Cervenka did not give a reason for stepping down from her position as chair of the Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Management Council. Her resignation was first reported by GoLocalProv.
R.I. set to change parole guidelines for young people convicted of a crime
Published Tue Jul 06 2021 07:00:53 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Tucked into the budget passed by the Rhode Island House and Senate is a measure that would guarantee most people convicted of a crime committed before the age of 22 a parole hearing after serving 20 years in prison. Currently, the state's parole guidelines do not take into consideration a person's age at the time the crime was committed. The budget proposed by Gov.
‘Constant COVID-brain’: Newport’s school nurses describe the stress of keeping students, teachers safe during a pandemic
Published Mon Mar 29 2021 08:24:29 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Maureen Grimes used to start each day preparing for a flood of minor injuries. “We’d walk in the door in the morning, and a typical morning would be to go get our cooler and walk to the cafeteria big ice machine, and fill it to the brim with ice,” she said. “Now we fill it halfway.” Maureen’s one of two nurses at Pell Elementary School in Newport. These days, parents are keeping kids with a runny nose home from school.
Language, Socioeconomic Barriers Make Getting Shots To Vulnerable R.I. Residents ‘A Marathon, Not A Sprint’
Filiberto Paredes first heard about the coronavirus vaccines on the news. “Pregunté a la doctora si podía ponérmela. Me dijo que no, que tenía que esperar un poco. Seguí insistiendo.” “I asked my doctor if I could get it. She told me no, that I would have to wait. But I kept insisting.” He called Anna Delgado, a community health advocate in Rhode Island with the Providence Community Health Centers, months ago. “At that point, we didn't even have the vaccine.
Vaccine Inequity: Getting shots to vulnerable residents is ‘a marathon, not a sprint’
Published Thu Mar 04 2021 11:00:35 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Filiberto Paredes first heard about the coronavirus vaccines on the news. “Pregunté a la doctora si podía ponérmela. Me dijo que no, que tenía que esperar un poco. Seguí insistiendo.” “I asked my doctor if I could get it. She told me no, that I would have to wait. But I kept insisting.” He called Anna Delgado, a community health advocate with the Providence Community Health Centers, months ago.
CVS changes tune on use of extra COVID-19 vaccine doses
Published Fri Feb 26 2021 16:45:41 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) CVS Health said Friday that it allows pharmacists to give extra coronavirus vaccine doses to people outside the state’s eligibility criteria, if no one over age 65 is available to take the shot. The statement comes one day after The Public’s Radio reported that the Woonsocket-based company was limiting the use of leftover vaccine doses to people who are 65 and older.
CVS limits leftover COVID-19 vaccine doses to people 65 and older
Published Fri Feb 26 2021 01:40:09 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) On a recent Tuesday, a line snaked through the makeup aisles of the CVS on Hope street in Providence. An employee stood near the front of the store, taking down names for a waitlist for the coronavirus vaccine. The list was open to all ages, and people as young as 32 signed up. Typically, the pharmacy would call just a couple people at the end of the day, to finish off an open vial.
First cases of U.K. coronavirus variant identified in Rhode Island
Published Tue Feb 16 2021 22:30:04 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rhode Island health officials have identified three cases of a more contagious coronavirus variant first found in the United Kingdom. The strain is known as the B.1.1.7 variant. And last week, British scientists warned that in addition to being more contagious, the variant “likely” has a higher risk of causing hospitalization and death. “No one is surprised that the SARS-CoV-2 variant is here. We knew it was coming.
What’s the holdup? A look at Rhode Island’s vaccination effort
Published Tue Feb 02 2021 21:10:21 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rhode Island’s use of its COVID-19 vaccine supply ranks among the slowest in the country, according to an analysis by The New York Times. In part to help speed the pace of vaccinations, state health officials recently began moving older residents to the front of the line. The Public’s Radio analyzed state data and spoke to state health officials about the pace of Rhode Island’s vaccine rollout.
Rhode Island health officials plan to offer vaccine by age group, not occupation
Published Fri Jan 22 2021 17:30:41 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Age will be the top consideration in the next phase of Rhode Island’s coronavirus immunization campaign, health officials said during a presentation to an advisory committee Friday morning. The state’s draft plan for the second phase of vaccine delivery would start by offering COVID-19 vaccines to adults age 65 and older.
Rhode Island towns deliver coronavirus vaccine in effort ‘unlike we’ve ever had’
Published Thu Jan 14 2021 19:30:37 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) The basketball court inside the East Greenwich Swift Community Center these days is covered by ten folding tables. Red, white and blue banners hang from a railing around the gym. At each table sits a pair of volunteers, equipped with gloves, cleaning supplies, a sharps container, and one small vial of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.
Supply shortages slow Rhode Island’s vaccine delivery
Published Tue Jan 05 2021 22:09:56 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rhode Island health officials said Tuesday that the limited supply of coronavirus vaccine is the biggest challenges to the state’s vaccination effort. “One of the biggest obstacles we’re facing right now is that we’re just not getting a lot of vaccine,” commented Dr. Phil Chan, a consultant medical director for the state health department. “We’re receiving roughly 14,000 doses a week of vaccines in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island prisoners with COVID-19 to receive new antibody treatment
Published Tue Dec 15 2020 20:46:33 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Prisoners at Rhode Island’s Adult Correctional Institutions may have access as early as this week to a new therapy to treat COVID-19 patients at risk of being hospitalized. The monoclonal antibody treatment began being administered in late November to patients in Rhode Island, and is now being expanded for use in the state prison system, where more than a third of the inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Medical director for RI prisons quits, as coronavirus cases spike
Published Tue Dec 01 2020 21:45:49 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Dr. Jennifer Clarke is leaving her position as Medical Director for Rhode Island’s Department of Corrections at the end of the week. Clarke declined to comment on the reasons for her departure, which comes as the number of coronavirus cases within the state’s prisons soar.
Rhode Island eases rent assistance requirements to help families on the brink of homelessness
Published Wed Nov 25 2020 20:56:19 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Previously, applicants needed to provide extensive documentation proving their loss of income, which program leaders said hindered their ability to help tenants in need. Now, applicants can self-certify that they’re unable to pay rent.
Updates on election results
Published Tue Nov 03 2020 15:21:46 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Live coverage of election returns on The Public's Radio will begin air at 7 pm. The first returns from Rhode Island and Massachusetts will come after polls close at 8 pm. by Sofia Rudin Tracking voter turnout A record number of voters cast their ballots early in this election. In Rhode Island, over 138,000 people voted early in person, and over 155,000 voted by mail ballot. Check out the totals by day and by municipality.
Legal observers, journalists raise concerns about police response to recent protests
Published Wed Oct 28 2020 08:59:11 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Last Tuesday, hundreds of protesters marched through Providence, demanding accountability in a police-involved moped crash that left 24-year-old Jhamal Gonsalves in a coma. Twenty-one people were arrested, following a standoff outside the city’s Public Safety Complex, and at least one, Jaylon Butler, was hospitalized following his arrest.
Following primary gains, progressive candidates seek to tip the scales on Woonsocket’s city council
Published Tue Oct 13 2020 09:04:02 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rudin: So help us get situated in Woonsocket's political scene. What's the dynamic on the current city council and what's their vision been for the city of Woonsocket? Clem: So when I first started covering Woonsocket for the Valley Breeze in 2018, we really saw two groups of politicians who have been around city politics for a very long time, you know, whose families have been involved.
Oversight board raises concerns about Providence police officers’ failure to intervene in alleged assault
Published Wed Oct 07 2020 22:29:40 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) On April 19, Providence Police Sergeant Joseph Hanley and two other officers approached a parked car and forcibly pulled Rishod Gore from the passenger seat. They put him on the ground, facedown, and handcuffed him. Hanley verbally taunted Gore, and knelt on the back of his neck, punched and kicked his ribs, kicked his head, and walked on the back of his legs.
Escalating affordable housing shortage leaves low income families with few options during pandemic
Published Tue Sep 22 2020 09:00:07 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) As the coronavirus swept Rhode Island, Lawrence tuned in to Gov. Gina Raimondo’s press briefings religiously. “I watch her every single - when she was on three times a week and then it was on two times a week - I used to tape it or I would watch it live,” he said.
‘Hurry up and wait’: Rent relief programs struggle to deliver aid to low-income tenants
Published Mon Sep 21 2020 09:23:01 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) In March, as the coronavirus took hold of the country, Devra Levy joined a Providence-area mutual aid group on Facebook. Within a month, the group had almost 3 thousand members, and was flooded with posts asking about stimulus checks, mask patterns, food delivery, and how to get tested. More than anything else, people were asking for help getting unemployment insurance.
Lawmakers make move to halt evictions, foreclosures
Published Thu Aug 20 2020 18:51:27 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Sen. William Conley (D-East Providence, Pawtucket) and Rep. Grace Diaz (D-Providence) say an eviction and foreclosure moratorium is needed to keep families safe during the ongoing pandemic. The lawmakers cite concern that the state will see a spike in eviction filings as thousands remain unemployed and can no longer rely on a weekly bonus from the federal government.
From inside prison, activist Mario Monteiro is pushing to change juvenile sentencing laws
Published Fri Aug 07 2020 09:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) In 2016, Mario Monteiro was heading to the prison yard at Rhode Island’s Adult Correctional Institutions, when someone handed him a piece of paper that would shape the next five years of his life. “I know exactly where I was. I was in maximum security at the time,” Monteiro recalled. “I was walking down the stairs to go outside. And someone stopped me and showed me a list of bills that was being argued at the statehouse.
Providence’s police oversight board seeks details on two incidents from the past week
Published Fri Jul 24 2020 20:13:07 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) The Providence External Review Authority is asking for a briefing on two incidents involving the city’s police department over the past week. “We are trying to schedule a conversation as early as today,” Executive Director Jose Batista said. “We’re trying to get that down on paper ASAP.” The first incident that Batista and PERA investigator Eugene Monteiro hope to review occurred Wednesday, July 22nd.
Providence City Council votes to subpoena police body camera footage
Published Thu Jul 16 2020 23:26:21 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) The subpoena requires that Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré release to the Providence External Review Authority body camera footage from an incident in which a police officer is charged with assault. Ten of the city’s 15 councilors co-sponsored the resolution, which is the first time the city council has used its subpoena power to help the police oversight board obtain records.
Rhode Island doubles rent relief funding, but advocates say more is needed
Published Fri Jul 10 2020 20:53:29 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) About 75 tenants are calling Rhode Island’s Center for Justice each week for help fighting their evictions. That’s about triple the number of calls the organization was getting before the COVID-19 pandemic, director Jennifer Wood estimates. “We've been answering these phone calls since March. People who were terribly distraught about housing instability,” said Wood.
The protester and the police commander: How a tense standoff ended peacefully
Published Tue Jun 16 2020 18:46:30 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) The sun was setting over the Rhode Island State House, as hundreds of protesters chanted “Black Lives Matter,” and the names of people killed by police. On the steps stood a silent line of State Police officers in body armor and helmets, with National Guard troops behind. Overhead, a helicopter circled.
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