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08/20/2008

Reed to speak at Democratic Convention
Sen. Jack Reed will discuss national security on night three of next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver.

08/19/2008

Charter changes are questioned
CHARLESTOWN –– A Town Council hearing last night on proposed changes to the Town Charter drew eight residents –– including the chairwoman of the committee that proposed the changes –– and no questions from the public.

How about starting with ‘I’m sorry’?
Thoughts on the Providence Retirement Board’s decision to award even a partial pension to the corrupt Frank Corrente:

08/18/2008

Evangelical voters size up the candidates
Presdient Bush took nearly 80 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2004, but things are not as clear-cut in this election year.

Slip at fundraiser leaves mayor in a cast
Some say that politics is a dangerous business. Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline is sporting the cast to prove it.

Labor History Society sets awards dinner
Among those slated to be honored is former Attorney General Julius C. Michaelson.

Whitehouse sets ‘community dinner’ to discuss nation’s sputtering economy
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse invites the public to discuss “a weakening economy, the nation’s foreclosure crisis, and rising energy costs,” at a community dinner tomorrow in North Providence, according to an announcement released by his office.

08/16/2008

Sale of Celona land delayed
A Superior Court judge wants to make sure that the jailed ex-senator was served notice of the tax sale.

8 make resignations official
One said the departing members of the governor’s Hispanic Advisory Commission were voicing a vote of no confidence in Governor Carcieri.

08/17/2008

Bakst: 13 conventions, countless memories
In a ballroom in New York’s Waldorf Astoria, the Secret Service agent told me to wait on the other side of a door leading to a kitchen pantry.

08/15/2008

Political Briefs
Thomas Rose Jr. cites local roots in House bid

05/22/2008

Campaign literature bill may be sunk
A bill to offer anonymity to producers of campaign literature is sent back to committee.

08/14/2008

State Board of Elections rejects signature petitions appeal
The state Board of Elections rejects an appeal of a ruling by the city’s Canvassing Authority.

Bakst: John Edwards: Mr. Smooth is a phony
The front page of The New York Post featured a photo of former Sen. John Edwards, with a headline, “Edwards admits affair. HE’S A LYIN’ CHEATIN’ NO-GOOD HYPOCRITE!”

08/13/2008

Zoning Board impasse averted
CHARLESTOWN –– A deadlock over appointments to the Zoning Board of Review that threatened to open the town and any board decisions to legal challenge ended last night with compromise appointments.

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

Ex-Sen. Chafee joins Republicans for Obama
Former Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee, who left the GOP last year and later endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, has signed on with Republicans for Obama, saying that the Illinois senator embodies “my kind of traditional conservatism.”

State signs 90-day deals with cleaners
Some of the vendors who gained a contract had lost out before to the two companies now barred by the state.

08/12/2008

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

GOP diary: Hello from E. Greenwich
Republicans can be hard to locate in Rhode Island, but they sure are interesting to talk with.

08/11/2008

Democrats’ coffers brim as Election Day nears
Three months before the general election, the Rhode Island Democratic Party continues to hold a financial advantage over its Republican counterpart, according to campaign finance reports filed last month with the state Board of Elections.

Rep. Sullivan heads Obama’s R.I. campaign
State Rep. Ray Sullivan has been hired to lead Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign operation in Rhode Island.

08/10/2008

Benefit raises $23,000 for aid of arrested immigrants
Families sell homemade food and secondhand items at St. Teresa’s Church in Providence, though most of the money donated comes from local churches and the Guatemalan government.

M. Charles Bakst talks to Council 94 executive director about contract storm
Drive up Charles Street into North Providence, past Lancellotta’s Banquet Restaurant, and you’re at the home of Council 94, the largest state employees union.

08/08/2008

Carcieri: Unionized workers who fought increased health premiums will pay retroactively
As a Superior Court judge reviews his order compelling higher premium contributions, the governor says he will make up for lost time.

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.

M. Charles Bakst: Memo to Darigan: Don’t dismantle state ethics law
Old words, new urgency.

East Providence Democrats challenge two rulings
The appeals center on Canvassing Authority decisions regarding the validity of affidavits filed by candidates Shannon Barbosa and Brian G. Coogan.

08/06/2008

Zaccaria challenges Langevin to 20 debates
As he fights to boost his name recognition in the campaign against Democratic U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, Republican Mark Zaccaria has offered up a challenge: 20 debates in 20 towns before Election Day in November.

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.

08/05/2008

In public glare: Cicilline and his brother
I give Providence Mayor David Cicilline credit for getting on the phone yesterday and fielding questions on last week’s fund- raiser to help his brother, John, who is headed for jail.

08/04/2008

Carcieri taps pay accounts of agencies served by his staff
Governor Carcieri is charging the salaries of some of the top people in his office, including policy director Tim Costa, to other state agencies.

08/03/2008

M. Charles Bakst remembers two powerful figures: Newport socialite Eileen Slocum and Boston criminal lawyer Richard Egbert.
You could hardly think of two more different people than Eileen Slocum and Richard Egbert.

08/01/2008

One last visit with Newport grande dame Eileen Slocum
In keeping with family tradition, the Newport socialite and Republican stalwart asked to be viewed at home after her death.

Carcieri hikes health-care payments
Governor Carcieri increases what most state workers will have to pay for their health care.

Mental-health parity provisions stall again
Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy says he will work to pass the legislation to improve insurance coverage “when Congress reconvenes in September.”

Carcieri hikes health-care payments
The governor says the higher health-care co-shares are needed to balance the budget. Union officials vow a court fight.

07/31/2008

Challenges against two East Providence candidates are dismissed
Brian G. Coogan and Shannon Barbosa will be on the ballot after the Canvassing Board fails to find fault with the gathering of signatures on nomination papers.

A governor chats with the people
I went to watch the governor do a town meeting — where all can come and ask questions and he can make his own points — and it was very interesting.

07/30/2008

Eileen Slocum, Newport society’s grande dame, dies at 92
NEWPORT — Eileen Gillespie Slocum, who reigned for decades as the grande dame of Newport society while achieving national prominence for her devotion to the Republican Party and unflinching defense of conservative politics, died quietly Sunday morning at Newport Hospital. She was 92.

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.

Boy’s cancer fight leads his family to the White House
The Haights, of Warwick, who lost a son to cancer and found a mission, are guests at the White House to witness the signing of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act.

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

East Providence Canvassing Authority rife with partisan spats
Though the board is scheduled to review candidates’ nomination papers tonight, the infighting by members may prove the evening’s highlight.

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.

Supreme Court won’t hear GOP case
The Republican Party waited too long to seek a reversal of a Board of Elections decision denying five candidates spots on local ballots, the court says.

Reed excited and he has a right to be
Sen. Jack Reed is riding high — you know, hobnobbing abroad with Barack Obama, appearing on Face the Nation, even seeing his name mentioned for vice president — but when we spoke yesterday he was most enthused about something else entirely.

Supreme Court won’t hear GOP case
The Republican Party waited too long to seek a reversal of a Board of Elections decision denying five candidates spots on local ballots.

07/28/2008

GOP asks Rhode Island Supreme Court to overturn elections board decision
PROVIDENCE –– The state Republican Party has asked the Rhode Island Supreme Court to reverse a recent Board of Elections ruling that blocks five prospective GOP candidates from running for the General Assembly, an institution long dominated by Democrats.

Kennedy’s mental-health bill on fast track
Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy’s signature mental-health bill has found a legislative vehicle that could speed its progress through the Senate, where the measure has been on hold for weeks.

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.

Reluctant Reed seen as impressive running mate
Analysts have been speculating that Sen. Jack Reed could add foreign policy luster to the Obama ticket.

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.

07/27/2008

Tell-all memoir by a Bush White House press secretary raises questions about betrayal of trust
I can appreciate tell-all books by former public officials.

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.

Democratic Town Committee may dwindle to one
Politics, logistics and a procedural oversight have reduced from 11 to 2 the pool of candidates to the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee.

07/24/2008

Cleaning workers charged in identity thefts from URI
Since the arrest of the two women who work for TriState Enterprises, URI has taken Social Security numbers off employee timecards.

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.

Kempe debuts as Carcieri’s press secretary
I don’t envy Amy Kempe, Governor Carcieri’s new press secretary, but I do wish her luck, and I look forward to seeing how this 36-year-old public relations operative fits in at the State House.

07/23/2008

Peloso faces probe over nomination signatures
WARREN — The news keeps getting worse for Dana Peloso.

U.S. stockpiling antidotes to counter a biological threat
A federal Homeland Security official tells congressmen meeting at the R.I. State House that more is needed at the state and federal levels, however, to prepare for such a threat.

West Warwick Town council president walks out of meeting, says “I’ve just resigned”
WEST WARWICK — It was 7:06 p.m. when Town Council President Edward A. Giroux stormed out of Town Hall.

07/22/2008

Obama set on withdrawing U.S. troops by summer 2010
The Democratic presidential candidate concedes that the troop surge he opposed reduced the level of violence, but notes that Iraqi leaders also favor a U.S. troop withdrawal by 2010.

Council begins weighing pros, cons of at-large seats
PROVIDENCE — A coalition of city residents who want to see at-large seats incorporated into the City Council made its pitch last night, and it was met with skepticism from council members who wanted more evidence that changes to the system would improve minority representation and issue advocacy.

Picard breaks ranks with Mageau on several key votes
CHARLESTOWN –– The Town Charter includes language to remove an elected official from office, but no means to do so.

Obama set on withdrawing U.S. troops by summer 2010
The Democratic presidential candidate concedes that the troop surge he opposed reduced the level of violence but notes that Iraqi leaders also favor a U.S. troop withdrawal by 2010.

R.I. Democratic Party drops complaint over signatures
PROVIDENCE –– The state Democratic Party has withdrawn objections to the nomination signatures submitted by two candidates running against two of the highest-profile Democratic politicians in the state.

Rhode Island in search of a governor
Rhode Islanders made a mistake when they decided, starting with the 1994 elections, to switch to four-year terms for governor.

Peloso won’t be running for House seat
Dana Peloso withdraws his objection to a decision by the Barrington Board of Canvassers to disqualify voter signatures.