Steve Klamkin & The Saturday Am News

Brian Daniels is Executive Director of the Rhode Island League of Cities & Towns, which recently held its annual convention. #WPRO They covered issues including the car tax phaseout, marijuana legalization and more. http://www.rileague.org/

Mark Shriver, CEO of the Save The Children Action Network recently came to Rhode Island to lend support to Gov. Raimondo's Universal Pre-Kindergarten initiative. #WPRO www.savethechildrenactionnetwork.org

Dr. Tracey Wilen, career consultant and author of "Career Confusion; 21st Century Career Management in a Disrupted World" #WPRO http://www.traceywilen.com/

Singer & songwriter Liz Longley appears Thursday, Jan. 31 at The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River. #WPRO https://www.lizlongley.com/

Dr. Terrance Healey, Rhode Island Medical Imaging Radiologist and Director of Thoracic Radiology at Rhode Island Hospital. #WPRO The American Lung Association recommends cancer screening for those who have been smoking for more than 30 years or are over age 55. http://www.rimirad.com/2017-diagnostic-services/lung-cancer-screening

Dr. Michael Fine, MD is a former Rhode Island Director of Health & author of "Health Care Revolt - How to Organize, Build a Health Care System, and Resuscitate Democracy All at the Same Time" #WPRO https://www.michaelfinemd.com/

Talya ten Brink, a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island spoke with commercial and recreational fishermen about the impact of the Block Island wind farm. #WPRO Photo by Talya ten Brink

Patricia Coyne-Fague, the new Director of the RI Department of Corrections talks about their recruitment drive for corrections officers and the challenges facing the department. #WPRO

New Providence City Council President Sabina Matos talks about her priorities and the challenges facing the city. #WPRO

Jennifer Long is the creator of The Whale Guitar and The Whale Guitar Project. #WPRO She is out to see that The Whale Guitar is played by guitarists all around the world to inspire the protection of whales and endangered environments, including a Jan. 24 screening of the film "The Devil We Know" about the spread of PFAS toxins. Photo of the Whale Guitar by Michael Cevoli. https://www.thewhaleguitar.com/home

Two Brown University graduates are off to the Grammy Awards. #WPRO Tucker Halpern and Sofie Hawley-Weld of Sofi Tukker are nominated for music’s highest award in the category “Best Dance / Electronic Album” for their record, "Treehouse".

James Diossa, the mayor of Central Falls has been named to co-chair the newly-formed Rhode Island Complete Count Committee. #WPRO Without a complete count of the 2020 census, the governor says that Rhode Island stands to lose a member in Congress and federal funding.

Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director of FirstWorks talks about some of the shows that the group has coming up in 2019. #WPRO http://first-works.org/

Jordan Hevenor of The Woman Project in Rhode Island says the recently-formed group is focused on passing the "Reproductive Rights" bill in the upcoming session of the Rhode Island General Assembly. #WPRO https://thewomanproject.org/

Keith Oliveira, Executive Director of the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools. #WPRO He talks about new state school accountability standards, and new RICAS standardized tests and their impacts on charter schools. http://richarterschools.com/

Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner issues a study that looks at ways to improve financial literacy in RI schools. #WPRO "Fallen Behind - Rhode Island’s Personal Finance Crisis and the Urgent Need for Stronger Personal Finance Education in Public Schools" https://bit.ly/2BI4BQf

Marcela Betancur has been named to lead the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University. #WPRO https://www.rwu.edu/life-at-rwu/rwu-community/lpi

Maya van Rossum is proposing that states adopt constitutional amendments guaranteeing the right to a clean environment. #WPRO She is the Delaware Riverkeeper and author of "The Green Amendment: Securing Our Rights to a Healthy Environment http://www.mayavanrossum.green

Lisa Raiola, the founder of Hope & Main and Sue AnderBois, Rhode Island's Director of Food Strategy #WPRO They talk about a USDA grant to Hope & Main to increase access to locally grown food, and bring us up to date on food developments.

Recent war games at the Naval War College in Newport involved cyberwarfare and social media, according to Professor Jacqueline Schneider. #WPRO She points out that her views are her own, and not those of the NWC, the Department of Defense or the Navy.