The Providence After School Alliance is one of the heroes of the beleaguered education system in Rhode Island’s capital city. PASA provides programming in the arts, STEM subjects, and sports to 1,500 students in five middle schools and two high schools. Five hundred middle school kids take advantage of the after-school sports programming.

It might be spring, it might feel like summer, but the signals of an intensifying election season are increasingly evident. So thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. Your tips and comments are welcome, and you can follow me through the week on the twitters. Here we go.

Advocates for victims of sexual abuse are imploring lawmakers to repeal Rhode Island’s seven-year statute of limitations for pressing civil charges when the alleged victim is a minor.

A bill introduced by Sen. Donna Nesselbush would repeal the statute of limitations for any type of sexual abuse of a minor. Rhode Island currently has no statute of limitations in cases of first-degree sexual assault.

Rhode Island environmental officials are expecting the gypsy moth caterpillar outbreak to finally end this year. 

The Pawtucket Red Sox are getting closer to an agreement on language for a revised Pawtucket stadium proposal that could be heard by a Rhode Island General Assembly committee later this month, a team consultant said Thursday.

PawSox consultant Guy Dufault said the progress follows ongoing talks between the team, the city of Pawtucket, and staffers in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

"[Pawtucket] Mayor [Don] Grebien has said to me he felt they were making substantial progress," Dufault said.