08/20/2008

Panel won’t review 6 Carcieri nominees
President Joseph A. Montalbano says the Senate committee refuses to act because the governor didn’t consider suggestions from affected groups.

08/13/2008

Bill’s focus is consumption of alcohol by minors
When he learned that three teenage lifeguards had apparently been drinking around the time their car was seen swerving in Jamestown earlier this summer — but that only the driver had been arrested — one state representative couldn’t believe it.

Welfare hearings tomorrow
The public will have an opportunity to comment on sweeping changes to Rhode Island’s welfare system tomorrow.

08/12/2008

Reviews for state’s film tax credit aren’t good
PROVIDENCE –– The movie stars keep coming.

08/07/2008

Carcieri’s plan for union health insurance now on hold
Judge Patricia A. Hurst delays her ruling for up to two weeks on whether the governor’s planned cost increases should be barred.

08/06/2008

Medicaid waiver plan puts neediest at risk, critics say
The only hearing on the governor’s plan to set a five-year spending cap on some of the state’s health-care costs unveils lots of worrying.

07/30/2008

Governor seeks waiver to cap Medicaid at $12.4 billion
The governor would agree to limit Medicaid spending — one quarter of the state budget — through 2013 in exchange for broad authority to change services.

Governor seeks waiver to cap Medicaid at $12.4 bilion
The governor would agree to limit Medicaid spending — one quarter of the state budget — through 2013 in exchange for broad authority to change services.

Dave Barber: Bringing a little pizzazz to Smith Hill
While some call Barber’s taxpayer-financed broadcasts on Capitol TV informative, others say they’re little more than infomercials for legislators.

07/29/2008

Council 94 files labor complaint against Carcieri
The state Labor Relations Board will hold a hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to issue a complaint against the governor.

Council 94 files labor complaint against Carcieri
The state Labor Relations Board will hold a hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to issue a complaint against the governor.

07/28/2008

Immigration legislation? Begorra!
Even a topic as weighty as immigration deserves a little levity.

07/27/2008

Union vote to reject contract offer puts state budget in doubt
The rebellion by rank-and-file workers intensifies the state’s fiscal woes.

07/26/2008

Carcieri rejects talks with Council 94
After members of the largest union of state employees reject an agreement accepted by their leaders, the governor refuses to negotiate further.

07/25/2008

A resounding no from unions to Carcieri
Council 94, which represents about one-third of all state employees, votes 2,870 to 196 to reject a contract offer that the governor says would save the state $10 million.

A resounding no from unions to Carcieri
Council 94, which represents about one-third of all state employees, votes 2,870 to 196 to reject a contract offer that the governor says would save the state $10 million.

07/24/2008

Union members’ votes on new state contract tallied today
“I know it’s a tough deal, but we still encouraged them to approve it because we feel it was the best deal to be had,” says one union leader.

07/21/2008

Budget savings plan not detailed
Six months after Governor Carcieri proposed saving $67 million by seeking a global Medicaid waiver, no written plan has been released.

Saturday session means extra time off for State House workers
For some State House employees, the General Assembly’s decision to wrap up the year during an unusual Saturday session was a bonanza.

07/20/2008

5 of 18 Assembly Republicans abandon ship
Five of 18 Assembly Republicans won’t run for reelection, but GOP leaders say state budget woes may actually help the party in November.

07/18/2008

Court raids put focus on companies suspected of hiring illegal immigrants
State officials talk tough about employers of suspected illegal immigrants who were taken into custody while working in the state’s courthouses.

Court raids put focus on companies suspected of hiring illegal immigrants
State officials talk tough about employers of suspected illegal immigrants who were taken into custody while working in the state’s courthouses.

Court raids put focus on companies suspected of hiring illegal immigrants
State officials talk tough about employers of suspected illegal immigrants who were taken into custody while working for the state.

Ballots finalized for state offices
The biggest surprise from last night’s certification of papers for General Assembly races is that Sen. Kevin A. Breene, R-W. Greenwich, will not seek reelection.

Ballots finalized for state offices
The biggest surprise from last night’s certification of papers for General Assembly races is that Sen. Kevin A. Breene, R-W. Greenwich, will not seek reelection.

07/15/2008

Court won’t review privatization law
A request by the governor became moot when a compromise measure was passed by the Assembly.

07/14/2008

Standing invitation led to copter ride, Roberts’ office says
Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts caused a stir last week over her decision to travel to the state’s most prestigious July 4th celebration in a Black Hawk helicopter.

07/12/2008

Health-care help for immigrants available, just not publicized
Lawmakers approved $1.2 million for basic primary care, but none of that money has flowed to local health centers.

07/11/2008

Group meets to plan combining towns
FOSTER — Maybe years from now, Rhode Islanders will recall an unairconditioned fire house in a quiet rural town where a couple of dozen average citizens gathered on a humid summer evening to talk about new ways of organizing local government.

Westconnaug seeds sown
FOSTER — Maybe years from now, Rhode Islanders will recall an unairconditioned fire house in a quiet rural town where a couple of dozen average citizens gathered on a humid summer evening to talk about new ways of organizing local government.

Westconnaug seeds sown
FOSTER — Maybe years from now, Rhode Islanders will recall an unairconditioned fire house in a quiet rural town where a couple of dozen average citizens gathered on a humid summer evening to talk about new ways of organizing local government.

Urciuoli retrial details emerge
Federal prosecutors say they don’t plan to call former state Sen. John Celona to testify again.

07/10/2008

Meeting tonight on possible 5-town combine
FOSTER — State Rep. Nicholas Gorham (R-Coventry, Foster, Glocester) is hosting a meeting tonight at the South Foster Fire Department to discuss Westconnaug, his proposed “super town” combining five and a half communities in the rural western part of state.

Gorham undaunted in effort to make ‘super town’ reality
FOSTER — State Rep. Nicholas Gorham, R-Coventry, will hold a public meeting this evening at the South Foster Fire Department to discuss Westconnaug, his proposed “super town” combining 5 ½ communities in the rural western part of state.

Retirements help state top 1,000 job cuts
Governor Carcieri estimates savings for Rhode Island at “north of $80 million.” “I think it’s a huge success,” he says.

Victory, then vetoes
PROVIDENCE — For a time, it looked like a memorable year for the prisoners rights lobby.

07/09/2008

Proponents say Malik pushed hard for industrial polluters legislation
Environmental advocates say state Rep. Jan Malik, D-Warren, Barrington, tried his best to get passage of legislation raising maximum fines against industrial polluters to $25,000 — a change that was ultimately doomed when the General Assembly ended its 2008 session.

Assembly’s backup plan: Let’s study it
By the close of this year’s legislative session, lawmakers had created no less than 15 study commissions, bringing the total to nearly 80.

Carcieri vetoes legislation backed by city
PROVIDENCE — City leaders spent last week cheering the success of the city’s legislative package at the General Assembly this year, but that jubilation was short-lived; late last week, Governor Carcieri promptly vetoed several major bills related to Providence.

07/08/2008

College-level politics becomes fodder in race for West Warwick House seat
WEST WARWICK — College-level politics has become campaign fodder in the Republican primary for the District 27 seat in the House of Representatives.

07/07/2008

A disenchanted Smith won’t seek 11th House term
State Rep. Steven F. Smith, D-Providence, made an informal but significant announcement on Federal Hill last week when spotted outside Venda Ravioli.

Amended party-host law closes loophole
As amended, the law also provides driver’s license suspensions and other noncriminal penalties for under-21 hosts of drinking parties.

07/06/2008

Student locator tags: Evil or helpful?
Tracking devices on students’ backpacks are “Big Brother at its scariest,” says the ACLU. Governor Carcieri disagrees.

Tiverton residents dismayed by fate of bill
A measure to increase daily fines on industrial polluters dies in the House environmental committee despite broad support.

07/04/2008

Elections Board won’t order release of nominating papers
PROVIDENCE — Going against the advice of their own lawyer, members of the state Board of Elections yesterday refused to order Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, a Democrat, to release nominating papers for five disputed GOP candidates for the overwhelmingly Democratic General Assembly.

Expungement, public records bills vetoed
The measures were but 2 of 36 proposal laws that Governor Carcieri vetoed yesterday.

07/03/2008

Supreme Court declines to rule on GOP candidates
The Board of Elections must first decide whether the five Republicans can fill open slots in the party’s General Assembly slate.

07/02/2008

State elections board to decide status of would-be Senate candidate
WEST WARWICK — The state Board of Elections will meet tomorrow morning to decide whether Republican John J. Clarke Jr. is a legitimate candidate for the District 9 Senate seat held by Democrat Stephen D. Alves.

New pension eligibility rules for judges, state police
New troopers will have to work longer, and new judges will have to make do with 90 percent of their former salaries.

GOP wants court to allow 5 candidates
The status of five Republican candidates for the General Assembly is in limbo after local election officials rejected the candidacies.

Slowly, R.I. budget cuts begin to take hold
With the start of the new fiscal year, some programs are already affected by spending reductions while others won’t be affected until later in the year.

Carcieri vetoes bills on jail time, bridge
His rejection of a proposal to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge prompts one legislator to call the move “pure political games.”

07/01/2008

State GOP appeals rejection of candidates
The state’s Republican Party is blaming the secretary of state’s office for giving bad advice, but that office denies any advice was given.

06/30/2008

Raptakis gives Sen. Paiva Weed failing grades

06/28/2008

Governor vetoes courthouse construction bill
In his veto message, the governor questions the logic of the authorization in light of the state’s struggle to close a multimillion-dollar deficit.

Carcieri signs reverse mortgage law
Despite some misgivings, AARP Rhode Island supports the new consumer-protection legislation.

06/27/2008

Senate confirms judicial appointments
Also reappointed yesterday were two Superior Court magistrates, William J. McAtee and Susan Revens.

Governor joins lawmakers to sign budget
Cooperation was the theme yesterday when Governor Carcieri and General Assembly leaders spoke of the state’s finances and their decision to hold the line on taxes.

Governor joins lawmakers to sign budget
Cooperation was the theme yesterday when Governor Carcieri and General Assembly leaders spoke of the state’s finances and their decision to hold the line on taxes.

4 more GOP candidates running for Assembly
At least four more Republicans are joining the party’s effort to crimp the Democrats’ overwhelming majority on Smith Hill.

06/26/2008

Candidates aplenty for city’s seats in Assembly
PROVIDENCE — Nine incumbent state legislators in the city could face challenges in Democratic primaries this fall, including crowded races for John DeSimone, Dominick Ruggerio and Grace Diaz, and primary challenges to the heads of the city’s House and Senate delegations, Thomas Slater and Maryellen Goodwin.

Most incumbents to seek reelection
But 4 of 13 GOP House members in the General Assembly have decided not to run again.

Assembly gives town more flexibility on resort taxes
WEST WARWICK — The town will not have to count tax revenues from the coming $150-million 7th Wave water park and resort in its annual calculations to ensure that it does not exceed the state cap on property tax levy increases, thanks to legislation that won the General Assembly’s blessing last week.

06/25/2008

More lawmakers pay toward health plan
At this point, 33 of the 57 state representatives and 9 of the 31 state senators receiving state-provided health insurance are voluntarily paying 10 percent of their premiums.

06/24/2008

Illegal immigration legislation: Why it failed
The frenzied immigration debate that has engulfed Rhode Island politics and produced more legislative bills here than in almost any other state, ended with a thud over the weekend when a final proposal to crack down on illegal immigration collapsed in the waning hours of the 2008 Assembly session.

Carceiri vetoes mandatory minimum, pre-register bills
The governor raised the same issues as he did when he objected to earlier versions of the same legislation.

Legislator John Revens calls it quits after 40 years
The Democrat from Warwick, 61, president pro tempore of the Senate, says he won’t seek reelection.

Former official’s daughter is killed
The 19-year-old child of former Rep. Vincent J. Mesolella Jr., of North Providence, dies after a car crash in New York.

06/23/2008

State still paying $2,000 a month for D.C. office that’s been vacant for 3 years
State government may be awash in red ink, but Rhode Island taxpayers are still paying the rent on an empty office in Washington, D.C., that was once occupied by Governor Carcieri’s Capitol Hill lobbyist, a position that has been vacant for more than three years.

06/22/2008

Assembly wraps up in late session
Among the highlights: the passage of a bill that surfaced just yesterday that weakens a controversial year-old “anti-privatization law.”

In the final Assembly hours, college-student bus passes are the hot topic
Low-cost RIPTA passes are a logical way to help struggling students, says Rep. Arthur Handy, the bill’s sponsor.