Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Today is the deadline for prospective political candidates to submit enough Rhode Island voters' signatures in order to get on this year's ballot.

The signatures, however, must be validated, or certified, in order to count. The thresholds range from 50 signatures for the state House of Representatives and many town/city offices to 1,000 signatures for the U.S. Senate.

You can chart candidates' progress in gathering valid signatures at the Secretary of State's Web site, by using its searchable database.

The number of signatures that have been certified for every candidate will be updated each morning, according to the Secretary of State Ralph Mollis's office.

The office has until July 18 to finish certifying the names for candidates to make the ballot for the Sept. 9 primary or Nov. 4 election.

At 5 p.m. on July 18, Mollis will hold a public lottery at the State House to determine the order in which unendorsed candidates for Congress and the General Assembly will appear on primary ballots. The lottery will also set the order in which recognized political parties and independent candidates will appear on the November ballot.

The 2,800 Rhode Islanders who filed candidacy declarations last month have had since July 1 to collect voters' signatures.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sen. Jack Reed will discuss foreign affairs Sunday morning with Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman on a nationally televised news program.

Democrat Reed and Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, will appear on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

-- John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

WASHINGTON -- With a blast at ``the failed policies of President Bush,’’ and a tribute to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ``bond with the people of Rhode Island’’ Sen. Jack Reed pledged his support to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today, calling him ``a leader of tremendous intellect and promise.’’

Reed thus joined the tide of uncommitted ``superdelegates’’ to this summer’s Democratic National Convention who have moved to endorse Obama, the freshman senator from Illinois, since he claimed a presidential nominating majority on Tuesday after a difficult struggle with Clinton, the former First Lady and Senate colleague from New York.

"Senator Obama began this race as a leader of tremendous intellect and promise, and now, after a long and hard-fought race, he is the Democratic nominee,’’ Reed said in a statement he issued late this morning. ``Senator Obama will have my full and unwavering support,’’ Reed said.

Reed, who has explained that he stayed on the fence in part because the Democratic campaign featured several valued Senate colleagues, said the party was blessed with ``great candidates’’ who ``showed all the passion, integrity, and diversity of this nation.’’

He singled out Clinton for praise as ``a fighter who cares deeply about the issues and the American people.’’ He added: ``She will and must be a significant part of our effort to make America’s future better.’’

Reed said Obama ``has fully earned the right to carry’’ his campaign message of ``change and hope.’’

Now, said the Rhode Island Democrat, ``it is time to come together’’ to reverse Mr. Bush’s ``misguided domestic and international policies.’’

-- John Mulligan of the Journal Washington Bureau

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sen. Edward Kennedy had ``a restful night's sleep'' after brain surgery and is recovering with no complications.

In a statement issued to The Associated Press today, aides to the Massachusetts Democrat said, ``He is experiencing no complications, and has been walking the hallways, spending time with family and actively keeping up with the news of the day.''

Kennedy is expected to leave Duke University Medical Center in Durham next week.

The 76-year-old Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe of his brain after suffering a seizure on May 17 at his home in Hyannisport, Mass. He underwent 3 1/2 hours of surgery on yesterday, during which doctors sliced away at the tumor.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Coast Guard Academy says Vice President Dick Cheney will speak at its commencement ceremony May 21.

Academy officials say the vice president is set to deliver the keynote address at 11 a.m. at the school's 127th commencement.

President Bush spoke at the academy's graduation last year, and portrayed the Iraq war as a battle between the U.S. and al-Qaida. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff addressed cadets at the 2006 graduation.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Although Sen. Barack Obama's near-miss in Indiana and his crushing victory in North Carolina have made Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's pursuit a majority of Democratic convention delegates increasingly implausible, Sen. Jack Reed is one uncommitted party leader who remains unwilling to push her to quit the presidential race.

The Rhode Island senior senator is a superdelegate, one of the unpledged party leaders who hold the key to a nominating majority that neither candidate appears able to attain by the close of the caucus and primary season on June 3.

"I have not put an internal deadline'' on endorsing a Democrat for president, Reed told an interviewer this morning, "but the reality is we can't go much past the middle of June.''

Reed reiterated his intent to let the remaining contests play out-- starting with next Tuesday's West Virginia primary.

"I think we've come far enough down the line that we should probably go the course, at least to see how these primaries work out."

The senator added that he sees a "growing consensus" that "a logical time to begin to conclude is at the end of the primary season."

As for the latest primary, Reed said "I think this has been a race that has featured constantly shifting momentum. It appears that Sen. Clinton had built some momentum. Now that seems to be shifting. That is one of the key factors we have to asses: who has the momentum going into the general election? That has been unresolved based on yesterday."

"This is not about selecting a nominee," he siad, "it is about selecting a president.''

Reed remains confident that after the remaining votes are cast, it won't take long for Democrats to unite behind a standard-bearer in the general election contest against Republican Sen. John McCain.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island’s most prominent Clinton supporter, said he hopes she continues running, despite trailing in the race for delegates. “She’s entitled to fight on and I think she has a good message and I think the process is a good one.’’

But when asked what he’d tell Clinton if she called and reported she was mulling whether to stay in or pull out for the sake of party unity and possibly a chance to be vice president, Whitehouse said, “I’d probably tell her that she should do what’s in her heart.’’

He said she has put an enormous amount of work into a fight in which she has faced a hostile media environment and that she has been steeled by “operating in the toxic environment of Republican smear politics.‘’ Whitehouse declared, “I think she knows very well the position that she’s in and I trust her to make that decision.’’

Meanwhile, one of Obama’s best-known supporters, Lincoln Chafee, a former U.S. senator from Rhode Island and Republican-turned-independent, said he believes the Democratic race is over and can’t understand why Clinton doesn’t grasp the math of the competition for delegates.

As for Clinton setting off on a fresh round of campaigning today, a baffled Chafee asked, “What is the strategy? It eludes me.’’

-- John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau, and M. Charles Bakst, Journal political columnist

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Journal photo/ Kathy Borchers
Fernando Galvao, clerk, organizes completed ballot applications while voters check in before voting at the Vartan Gregorian School in Fox Point, Providence, at 10:30 a.m. today.

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former President Bill Clinton is coming to the Ocean State this week, less than one week before Rhode Island's March 4 presidential primary election.

Clinton has been traveling the country, campaigning on behalf of his wife and presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

He will be hosting a rally at Bryant University in Smithfield Thursday, according to a statement from the Hillary Clinton campaign. Doors open at 2:15 p.m., and the event is expected to begin at 3:15.

The rally, titled “Solutions for America,” will be at the Chace Athletic Center, and is open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to carpool because of the limited parking.

Sen. Clinton has already visited the state, holding a rally at Rhode Island College on Sunday.

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee was on the radio, and visited a school and this newspaper yesterday in a day-long campaigning tour of Rhode Island.

No word yet on Sen. Barack Obama's plans to visit the state, but his wife, Michelle Obama, was in town last week; she held two events on Feb,. 20: one private at the Biltmore Hotel, and one public at Community College Rhode Island.

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

WARWICK -- Governor Carcieri, who originally supported former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the 2008 presidential race, gave a ringing endorsement today to Sen. John McCain.

"I'm going to do everything I possibly can" to make sure that he's the next president, Carcieri said minutes ago.

More than 1,000 McCain supporters are gathered to hear a speech from the first major presidential candidate to visit Rhode Island in this election cycle.

Among those in the crowd are some of his old Naval Academy classmates, including Ed Clune, of North Kingstown, and George Brenner, from Newport.

They were both in the class of 1958 with McCain.

“He was a great guy, a real character,” Brenner said of his former schoolmate. “He was always straightforward and very hard-nosed.”

Clune called McCain a “man’s man. He liked to party, he liked women, he liked sports -- he was just one of those guys, very charismatic, the kind of guy everyone liked.”

When asked if he thought he saw McCain as a future president, Brennar said “actually, I thought it more likely that he would become an admiral like his grandfather and father before him. But now that you think of it,” he added, “I’m not surprised because he’s a real leader.”

Adding to his classmates endorsement, is Mitt Romney, who, officials tell the Associated Press, will endorse McCain today.

Journal staff writer Scott MacKay with reports from the Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will come to Rhode Island this afternoon for a rally in Warwick. He's the first presidential candidate to do so in the lead-up to the state's March 4 primary.

McCain is slated to appear at 1:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza, said state Rep. Robert Watson, who is chairman of McCain's campaign in Rhode Island. Watson said the rally is a free-to-the-public, first-come first-serve event.

“We're very excited,” said Watson, an East Greenwich Republican who is House minority leader and who recently traveled with the McCain campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

After commanding wins in many of the Feb. 5 “Super Tuesday” primary contests, and with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign suspended, McCain is the GOP front-runner.

McCain is set to fly from Washington, D.C., for Vermont for a morning event and then come to Rhode Island, where he is expected to spend about two to two-and-a-half hours in Warwick, according to Watson.

There is also expected to be an official meet-and-greet with McCain for his campaign team in the state and McCain supporters. There is also expected to be a fund-raising component.

No word yet on visits from the Democratic candidates, with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama locked in a battle for delegates. Rhode Island, Vermont, Texas, and Ohio hold presidential primaries on March 4.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AP/Photo
Republican Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain and his wife, Cindy, stop by a polling station at the Broad Street Elementary school the morning of New Hampshire's primary election in Nashua, N.H.

With sunny skies, mild temperatures and bustling crowds, it could have been Patriots' opening day.

But throngs of New Hampshire residents this morning rose before sunrise and braved the crowds for a different type of contest: the first presidential primary in the country.

Voters flocked to the polls at the Brookside Congregational Church in Manchester, where earlier Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney had campaigned.

And at the Broad Street Elementary School in Nashua, voters had to navigate a through sign holding volunteers to cast their vote at the spot John McCain had stumped earlier.

McCain, who received the first vote cast, is sharing an early lead with Democrat Barack Obama. But things are just getting warmed up, as the polls are open until 8 p.m.

Projo.com will continue publishing reports from the scene on our politics blog.

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mackay covering the campaign trail in New Hampshire, as told to projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

JERUSALEM -- Representative Patrick Kennedy says Egypt must crack down on weapons smuggling into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The Rhode Island Democrat is traveling in the Middle East with Senator Arlen Specter, a Republican.

Both lawmakers say future U.S. aid to Egypt should depend on Cairo doing much more to halt the flow of weapons into neighboring Gaza. The U.S. gives Egypt about $2 billion in annual aid. More than half is earmarked for military assistance.

Congress has proposed legislation that would withhold about $200 million in military aid unless Egypt does more to stop weapons smuggling and improves its human rights record.

Kennedy and Specter plan to travel to Syria later this week.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has introduced legislation to ban Internet hunting, according to
The Humane Society of the United States. The Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act would prevent the operation of Web sites that allow people to shoot live animals remotely, according to the advocacy group.

Last year, the General Assembly banned the shooting of live animals by computer users remotely operating a digital camera, live ammunition and a rifle positioned on a ranch. The ban followed protests from The Humane Society, which called the business the "latest fad in Internet animal cruelty."

A total of 34 states have banned the practice, the group says. Here's a map of those states: hsus.org/web-files/PDF/internethunting_map.pdf

“Internet hunting is an appalling form of trophy hunting, one that is opposed by sportsmen and animal welfare advocates alike,” Michael Markarian, the group's executive vice president, said in a statement today.

For more business-related news, visit: http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/bizblog/

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Former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson will speak in Providence about her recently released book, Fair Game: My life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House.

In 2003, Wilson’s husband and former Ambassador, Joseph Wilson, wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times, accusing the Bush administration of misleadingly suggesting that Iraq had sought uranium – used in nuclear reactors -- in Niger.

Shortly thereafter, Robert Novak named Valerie Plame Wilson in his newspaper column as a CIA operative. She retired from the Agency in 2006.

Fair Game is about those last few years of her two-decade career with the CIA. Wilson will take questions from the audience after the lecture, which is free and open to the public.

The lecture will be held at the Salomon Center for Teaching, Room 101. Doors will open to the public at 7:45.

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Rhode Islander is testifying today in front of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary about ways technology may be able to improve health care.

Federal law requires doctors to submit paper prescriptions for controlled substances; Laura Adams, the CEO and president of the Rhode Island Quality Institute, plans to testify that this requirement is a barrier to improved health care and costs savings.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who founded the not-for-profit Institute, will chair the hearing, titled “Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances: Addressing Health Care and Law Enforcement Priorities.”

Federal regulators and health information technology professionals will also testify at the 10 a.m. hearing about where the rules stand in this area and how electronic prescribing for controlled substances could change health care.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK -- Senator Edward Kennedy is joining the ranks of politicians with blockbuster book deals.

The youngest and last surviving brother of the country's most famous political siblings has sold the rights to his memoirs to the Hachette Book Group.

Financial terms aren't being released, but a publishing official says the deal is comparable to ones given to other politicians recently. Hillary Clinton got $8 million dollars for her book, while former British Prime Minister Tony Blair received $9 million for his upcoming memoir.

Kennedy, the father of U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., has the same agent as Clinton and Blair.

The Massachusetts senator says he's been fortunate to have "a front row seat at many key events" in the nation's history. He wants the book to give a "more in-depth picture" of the Kennedys.

The autobiography is slated to come out in 2010.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch released the following statement Sunday night on the news of the death of his father, former Pawtucket Mayor Dennis M. Lynch:

“It is with great sadness that I announce that my father, Dennis M. Lynch, passed away early this evening at Roger Williams Medical Center. Although he had not been in good health for some time, his death was quite unexpected and has left our family stunned.

''Elected Mayor of Pawtucket five times, he served the people of my hometown purposefully and honorably from 1973 to 1981. As Rhode Island’s State Purchasing Agent, he worked for five Governors in more than 20 years of exemplary and honest service. He instilled in my brothers and sisters and me the value of public service, teaching us to do well by doing good and to stand up for the people who can’t stand up for themselves.

''Even more important, however, by his own example, he showed us how family matters more than anything else in life and how life is meant to be lived to the fullest, which is certainly how he lived his life. I offer my heartfelt sympathies to my Mom, Irene, my children, Kelsy and Graham, my brothers and sisters, and my 14 nephews and nieces.”

Posted by Art Martone at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Voters in Smithfield decide today if their town council president will remain in office.

Critics of Stephen G. Tocco, a Democrat, collected enough signatures to require a recall election after facts emerged surrounding a 1993 trial against Gary Garafano, then deputy public works director in Providence.

During the trial, Tocco, who was an officer of Capitol Police at the time – testified that he delivered bribes to officials in Pawtucket and Providence from the construction company for which he worked.

The polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m

Find out online where your polling place is.

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse believes Judge Michael Mukasey is great lawyer and judge, and an all around good person and a good appointment to the position of Attorney General.

“He is not a political hack,” Whitehouse said in a floor speech last week. “He is not a partisan ideologue. He is not an incompetent crony. We’ve had our share of those.

“No, he is a brilliant lawyer, a distinguished jurist, and by all accounts a good man.”

But Whitehouse voted against Mukasey in committee because of his refusal to call so-called water boarding "torture."

The Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey to the Senate floor today.

Mukasey’s refusal to label water boarding as torture was cited by several Senate members as a reason they will not support the nomination.

Watch the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings live on C-Span.

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A handful of elections and referenda are taking place across the state today.

In the Chariho School district, voters will decide if they want to fund a $26 million plan to bring the main school campus into compliance with new fire and accessibility requirements and eliminate the $300,000-a-year trailers that the district has been using.

In Jamestown, two Democrats and a Republican are vying for two spots on the School Committee. A first-time candidate, a 4-year incumbent and a 22-year veteran of the school system are competing.

Three candidates for city council positions in Central Falls will move into their positions unopposed, and two people are vying for a seat on the council in Wards 5 and 3.

Woonsocket Mayor Susan Menard is running for a seventh term, facing a nonpartisan election against retired police officer Todd Brien. In addition, fourteen candidates are competing for seven spots on the City Council. All but one of the current members are running for reelection.

In Portsmouth, the Town Council vice president has been asking residents to approve a $4 million open space and recreation bond, and a $3 million bond for a wind tower.

And in Scituate, voters will be asked whether to approve a $9.2-million bond for school renovations.

For more information about local elections and referenda, visit the Secretary of State's Web site.

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

WASHINGTON — Sen. Edward Kennedy was back at work in the Senate today for the first time since his surgery earlier this month to clear a partially blocked artery in his neck.

“I’m feeling fine,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press. “I think it’s just about getting the energy level back ... The strength has been coming back daily.”

Kennedy, 75, had been resting at the family’s Hyannis Port compound since his Oct. 12 surgery in Boston. The blockage in Kennedy’s left carotid artery, which supplies blood to the face and brain, was discovered Oct. 4 after a routine physical examination and MRI on his back.

-- The Associated Press

Continue reading "Sen. Kennedy back at work after surgery" »

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Sen. Hillary Clinton will bring her presidential campaign to Rhode Island on Sept. 27 with a fund-raising event in East Greenwich.

Sen. Clinton will appear at a luncheon at the home of Democratic Party activists Mark and Susan Weiner. Lobbyist Gerry Harrington is chairman of the event. Harrington was a top fund-raiser for John Kerry’s unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. James Langevin, both of whom have endorsed Clinton’s quest for the Democratic presidential nomination, are also scheduled to attend.

--- By Scott MacKay, Journal staff writer

Posted by Peter Phipps at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today's front page features photographs and stories on the 2008 presidential campaign's visit to Rhode Island. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican candidate, visited the Ocean state for a pair of fundraisers and former President Bill Clinton was also here raising money on behalf of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate.

Download a copy of today's front page in .pdf format.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Journal photo / John Freidah
Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani responds to reporters' questions after a fundraiser at Waterplace Restaurant in Providence.

PROVIDENCE -- Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani arrived at a Providence fundraiser shortly after noon today and was promptly grilled by the waiting press about Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin's recent criticism of Giuliani's support for abortion rights.

The former New York City mayor laughed and said, "After last night, I'm not going to say anything about that."

He was referring to last night's debate in New Hampshire when lightning struck at the same time that Giuliani was asked about Tobin's criticism, which has attracted national attention.

Among other things, Tobin wrote in the diocese newspaper, "Rudy’s public proclamations on abortion are pathetic and confusing. Even worse, they’re hypocritical."

But Giuliani also said he's been clear in his position, and that voters could use that information to decide whether to support him.

Giuliani, a Roman Catholic, says he is personally opposed to abortion – but he does not believe that he, or the government, should impose that view on others. He noted today that abortions decreased and adoptions increased in New York City while he was the mayor.

Audio: Hear Giuliani speak about Tobin's reaction today

-- With reports from projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Your turn: Do you support Bishop Tobin’s view on politicians’ stands on abortion?

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee, the Clinton campaign has announced.

Whitehouse has also been named a co-chair of Clinton's Rhode Island campaign.

“All of my colleagues seeking the Democratic nomination are committed to a new direction for our country, and it has been an honor to serve with, and learn from, each of them. Today, I'm proud to endorse Senator Hillary Clinton to be our next president,” Whitehouse was quoted saying in the Clinton announcement. “Her smart, tough, experienced leadership will be critically important as we work to bring our troops home from Iraq, reform our health care system to cover more American families, and solve the energy challenges of the 21st century.”

Continue reading "Sen. Whitehouse endorses Clinton" »

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- A couple of political heavy hitters are scheduled to visit the Ocean State today.

Former president Bill Clinton and Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani are in Providence for campaign fundraising events.

Neither Clinton nor Giuliani has any public events scheduled.

Giuliani, former New York City mayor, is scheduled to speak at an 11:30 a.m. luncheon at Waterplace Restaurant and then head to a 2 p.m. appearance at the Carnegie Abbey Club.

Clinton is raising money for his wife -- New York Senator Hillary Clinton -- who is running for the Democratic nomination for president. The former two-term president will attend a luncheon at the East Side home of former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr.

-- The Associated Press and Journal staff reports

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rhode Island was one of only three states that cut its budget this year.

A report by the nation's governors says nearly every other state increased spending. Only Michigan and Wisconsin also cut their budgets.

The report says most other states spent freely -- and spending was up 8.6 percent nationally over the previous year. That's compared to 6.5 percent growth on average over the past three decades.

Most states were able to spend more because revenues came in stronger than expected and have for the last several years.

Rhode Island is facing a $450-million budget shortfall for this fiscal year and the next.

Today's survey comes from the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- The state Department of Administration is moving to replace Smart Staffing, the professional services contractor that has drawn so much controversy.

The department said in a news release today it's sent out more than 100 letters to "potentially qualified companies to inform them of their opportunity to bid on the new, longer-term contract."

Last September, the administration signed a no-bid contract worth $11 million or more a year with Smart Staffing to supply 290 private employees to state government. Since then, a Senate investigating committee heard executives from three temporary-staffing companies call "unique" the Carcieri administration's payment arrangements with the small, out-of-state company given the contract.

Today, the president of Smart Staffing was slated to appear before the Senate committee investigating the company's contract to supply hundreds of state workers at a 22.5 percent markup

The contract has become part of a back and forth between legislative Democrats, Republican Governor Carcieri's administration and others over contracts.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with archival reports

Continue reading "State moves to replace Smart Staffing" »

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PROVIDENCE -- The state Ethics Commission this morning put off indefinitely its trial-like hearing on the ethics case against state Senate President Joseph Montalbano, issuing a stay but not taking up a request by Montalbano's lawyer that the case be dismissed.

The decision came after hearing a number of consitutional arguments from Montalbano's lawyer, Max Wistow.

There are eight charges against Montalbano, all related to his votes last spring supporting a referendum on the proposed West Warwick casino and his legal work for the Town of West Warwick.

Four of the charges stem from his votes in the Senate committee handling the casino legislation and later on the Senate floor. Those charges accuse him of having a substantial conflict of interest when he voted and of not filing statements disclosing the potential conflict of interest between his work for the town and his votes on the casino legislation.

The other four charges stem from his failure to disclose his work for the town in financial statements filed with the Ethics Commission.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Bruce Landis

Continue reading "Ethics commission puts off Montalbano case" »

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U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, was highly critical of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and the U.S. Justice Department in an appearance at the top of the hour on MSNBC’s "Hardball with Chris Matthews," which began at 5 p.m.

Whitehouse said Gonzales serves more as someone “to do the president’s bidding and to watch the president’s back” than to make the tough calls.

He said the investigation into the firing of U.S. attorneys will continue and interest in the issue remains. He said everyone’s focus at this point seems to be “on getting to the bottom of this.”

“I want our Department of Justice back,” Whitehouse said.

Getting rid of Gonzales would be in the best interest of the country “and probably the president,” Whitehouse said.

Earlier this month, the Georgetown Law Democrats honored Whitehouse as “Democrat of the Year,” saying the school’s young Democrats have been so impressed by the acuity of the new senator’s questioning as a member of the Judiciary Committtee that they decided to award the honor early in the year.

In brief remarks, Whitehouse, a former U.S. Attorney, sharply criticized Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ management of the Justice Department, including the controversial firings of a number of U.S. Attorneys.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE – About 100 union employees, veterans, Eleanor Slater Hospital residents and lawmakers rallied this afternoon at the State House against Governor Carcieri's efforts to have private companies provide several services now offered by the state.

The news conference, rally and lobbying day began at 2:30 p.m. and is expected to last until 5 p.m., according to Jim Cenerini, a spokesman and lobbyist for Rhode Island Council 94, the largest state employees union and the host of today’s rally.

Cenerini led the crowd of people in green t-shirts with the union’s name emblazoned on them with chants.

“No privatization!” he screamed into the microphone, and the crowd echoed back, “NO!”

“No to the bad budget and a bad governor!” Cenerini screamed, to which the crowd replied, “NO!”

Cenerini said three proposals outlined in the governor's budget are of immediate concern.

-- projo.com staff writers Kate Bramson and Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

Continue reading "'No to the bad budget;' Union rallies at State House" »

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PROVIDENCE -- Three bills involving gay marriage and civil unions will be heard today in the House Judiciary Committee.

The meeting will happen at the rise of the House of Representatives session, about 5:30 p.m., in Room 313 at the State House, according to a State House news release.

The first bill, H-6081, would allow same-sex marriages in Rhode Island, and it would not require clergy members to officiate at a marriage if they don't want to, according to the release. Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston, is the bill's prime sponsor.

Another bill, H-5643, is sponsored by Rep. William J. McManus, R- and would allow civil unions. The third bill, H-5356, sponsored by Rep. Paul W. Crowley, D-Newport, would establish a law to allow and govern civil unions, setting requirements for them and procedures for same-sex couples who want to end marriages.

Your turn: What's the climate for gays and lesbians in Rhode Island?

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

WASHINGTON, D.C., -- Rhode Island's two U.S. senators announced they have asked federal budget appropriators to "permanently block" money for the controversial Weaver's Cove liquefied natural gas terminal proposed over the state line in Fall River.

The LNG tanker port "would risk serious damage to Rhode Island’s waterways and coastal communities," the senators said in a news release today.

In a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Sen. Jack Reed and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, both Democrats, ask that a fiscal 2008 appropriations bill have language stating that "no funds made available by this or any other act for any fiscal year may be used to take any action to approve or allow the construction of any liquefied natural gas facility to be located within the City of Fall River, Massachusetts.”

Also signing the letter are Massachusetts Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, both Democrats, according to the news release.

The letter follows a preliminary Coast Guard review last week that expressed safety and other concerns about Weaver's Cove's plan to use smaller tankers to traverse Mt. Hope Bay.

It was not clear how much sway the letter would have over appropriations for the project.

“LNG tankers serving Weaver’s Cove would pass by several Rhode Island towns and cities and along miles of populated coastline, putting thousands of Rhode Islanders at risk,” Reed said in the statement. "It is essential that we take into consideration the safety of citizens while balancing the long-term, regional energy needs of New England. I am pleased that the Coast Guard voiced its concern last week over the Weaver's Cove proposal. I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that plans to build this LNG facility are put on hold.”

Whitehouse said in the statement: “I am dedicated to fighting to prevent this facility from harming Rhode Island’s precious marine economy and environment.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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LITTLE COMPTON -- Gray's General Store will get two proclamations declaring it the country's oldest continuously running general store when a congressman and a state senator descend on this sea-tossed town this afternoon.

For the store, in the town's Adamsville section, it means settling something of a controversy in the whose-general-store-is-oldest contest. According to a news release from state Rep. John Loughlin II, R-Tiverton, "a controversial Yankee Magazine story, published in 1967, had incorrectly named the Brown & Hopkins store, which opened in 1809, as the oldest even though it was 21 years 'younger' than Gray's."

The release adds: "Hopefully, this official recognition by both the state of Rhode Island and the United States Senate will set the record straight."

U.S. Sen Jack Reed, a Democrat, will present the other proclamation to the store today.

The news conference with the proclamation is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the store.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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SOMERSET -- The polls opened at 10 a.m. today for the annual town elections, where
seats on three boards are up for grabs. Massachusetts towns generally have
their municipal elections in the spring.

As of noontime, canvassing workers said the early turnout ranged from
moderate to heavy.

The most volatile race of the season has been for Board of Selectmen, where
teacher Patrick O'Neil is seeking another term. He is opposed by anti-LNG
activist Lorne Lawless and retired fighterfigher Thomas Bourquin.

The election is being held in the shadow of a $2.2 million judgment against
the town from a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a former highway
department worker.

Anger about the suit could hurt O'Neil, who has promised
to fire the town administrator if an investigation shows that the suit was
handled improperly. Lawless has been arguing against appealing the
decision, saying the town should pay and move on.

In the School Committee race, incumbents Ann Correira and Richard
Fenstermaker are trying to keep their seats. They are being challenged by
Michael Correia and Christopher Murphy in the 4-way contest.

Planning Board member John Ferreira, whose term has been plagued by recent
absences, is being challenged by Andrew Desrosiers and John Toulan.

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

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PROVIDENCE -- Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano in asking for a jury trial on the ethics charges against him instead of a decision by the state Ethics Commission.

The commission, meanwhile, has scheduled its own version of a trial, an adjudicatory hearing, on the Montalbano case for June 5 and 6. Shifting to jury trial would apparently divert the case into Superior Court.

Former Senate President William V. Irons broke new legal ground last month when his lawyer, John A. Tarantino, asked for a jury trial to defend Irons against the state ethics charges against him.

Montalbano’s lawyer, Max Wistow, said that the public, in the form of a jury, ought to decide the charges against his client.

Montalbano is accused of violating the state ethics code by failing to report tens of thousands of dollars in income from West Warwick for legal work associated with the Narragansett Indians’ failed casino proposal. He’s also accused of participating in Senate votes when he had a clear conflict of interest.

Wistow has said the violations were inadvertent, a critical legal distinction. The commission regulations say that it must decide whether a complaint alleges facts that would constitute "a knowing and willful" violation of the code. Otherwise, the charges are to be dismissed.

While a jury trial would be somewhat similar to a commission adjudicatory hearing -- with witnesses, evidence and prosecution and defense lawyers – the differences would be profound. Instead of the members of the Ethics Commission, who have been involved in the cases since their inception and who deal continually with the intricacies of enforcing the state Code of Ethics, a citizen jury would decide the cases.

Commission lawyers have indicated they will probably contest motions for jury trials in arguments before the commission, and the cases seem likely to end up in court one way or another.

-- Journal staff writer Bruce Landis

Your Turn: Should former former Senate President William Irons’ and Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano’s ethics charges be decided in jury trials?

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PROVIDENCE -- The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this afternoon on a "Peeping Tom" bill that would allow the owner of a business caught peeping in on someone at his or her businees to be held accountable.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Amy G. Rice, D-Portsmouth, is seen as closing a loophole that came to light when prosecutors had to drop charges against a Middletown fitness club owner who was accused of spying through a ceiling tile at a woman showering in the locker room of the club.

The current law would not allow the prosecution to bring the disorderly conduct charge because the wording holds that a defendant must enter another person's property.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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PROVIDENCE -- A bill backed by Governor Carcieri to create a Rhode Island Power Authority, which would authorize and finance wind, wave and other renewable-energy projects, is slated for a Senate Corporations Committee hearing today.

Carcieri's office, in a news release, says Senate bill 943, if it became law, would "ensure that Rhode Islanders are the primary beneficiaries of the electricity those sources produce."

Sen. Dennis Algiere, R-Westerly, is prime sponsor of the bill on behalf of the governor.

The committee will meet at about 4:30 p.m.

The governor's office says the Rhode Island Power Authority would be a "quasi-governmental agency" with the authority to borrow money and carry out other transactions -- similar, the governor's office said, to the state's Economic Development Corporation.

“Last year, I set an ambitious goal of generating at least 15 percent of Rhode Island’s electricity needs from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power,” Carcieri said in the release. He added: “Last week, we learned that we can actually achieve five times this goal through wind power alone.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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PROVIDENCE -- Rhode Island is a step closer to making permanent its medical-marijuana law, after the House of Representatives approved the bill today.

The House vote was 49-12, according to the legislative press office. The Senate is due to take up an identical measure tomorrow.

The legislature legalized possessing marijuana for medical use last year, making Rhode Island the 11th state with such a law.

People with a "chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition" can possess up to 12 marijuana plants and 2.5 ounces of marijauna. Conditions that qualify include cancer, HIV, chronic pain and multiple sclerosis.

"Primary caregivers" are also allowed to possess marijuana if they have registered with the state Department of Health to care for a chronically ill person.

Unless made permanant, the provision will expire this June.

The Senate vote will take place during its session tomorrow, which is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. The Senate legislation is sponsored by Sen. Rhoda E. Perry, D-Providence.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney with archival reports

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PROVIDENCE -- The state Senate this afternoon passed a bill that would move Rhode Island's presidential primary up to Feb. 5, 2008 -- a move that a raft of states are already making or considering.

The Senate voted 29-6 in favor of the bill.

The House still needs to consider the move.

Sen. Leonidas Raptakis, D-Coventry, the bill's prime sponsor, argued that the state will get left behind if doesn't act to join the many states deciding to have a kind of Super Tuesday.

But Sen.John C. Revens, D-Warwick, argued it is ludicrous to rush to make such a decision. "I understand the herd mentality in not wanting to be left out," Revens said, but he added that there has not even been an argument made that front-loading the primary-decision making process is better for the state or the country.

If the move does happen, supporters say, Rhode Island might compete with states such as California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas for influence and attention from major presidential candidates traveling the country.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney with reports from Katherine Gregg of the Journal State House Bureau

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PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri, lawmakers and education officials this afternoon will honor people who've helped with the state's charter school initiative.

To be honored at 3:30 p.m. in the State Room on the second floor of the State House are: David Burnham of the Paul Cuffee Charter Public School, Jim Donahue of CVS/Highlander Charter Public School, Ellen Nelson of Kingston Hill Academy Charter Public School, Jennifer L. Wood, Esq., from the office of the lieutenant governor, and Francis X. McMahon of Advocacy Solutions.

The event today is also an opportunity for parents to learn more about the 11 charter schools in the state, which are independent public schools of choice, according to Stephen A. Nardelli, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools. Beginning at 3 p.m., representatives from all the charter schools will be on hand to provide information about the schools and to answer questions about them, Nardelli said.

-- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Kate Bramson

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PROVIDENCE -- The Senate Finance Committee is slated to hear a host of education bills this afternoon, from providing money for schooling young people in DCYF homes to requiring the state to reimburse school committees for the cost of students who must be transported outside a district.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Trainor Hearing Room -- room 35 -- in the State House.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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SWANSEA, Mass. -- A hand recount of votes in the tied election for Swansea Board of Selectmen was to get under way at 4:30 p.m. at Joseph Case High School.

Candidate Frank H. Kingsley requested the recount. Kingsley and M. Scott Ventura are tied with 984 votes each after the April 9 election. They are competing for the seat vacated by Joseph "Butch" Senna, who didn't seek reelection.

Each candidate can have 10 people with him to oversee the recount tonight.

A third candidate, Maureen R. Estes, finished third, with 649 votes.

Time is allotted for the recount to go as late as 10 p.m.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney with reports from Journal staff writer Alisha A. Pina

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PROVIDENCE -- It could be a traffic-jam on the floor of the state House of Representatives this afternoon.

Lawmakers may consider everything from a bill regulating alcohol sales to one dealing with computer crime to another matching public funds for elections.

The list of bills on the calendar tallies to more than 80.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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ROVIDENCE -- Advocates and some lawmakers are expected at an afternoon news conference to stump for legislation they say would help alleviate a shortage of health care professionals.

The bill, filed in the General Assembly, would create a Center for Health Professions.

A news release from the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, which advocates the measure, says the center would "work to address the shortage and retention of qualified health-care professionals."

The bill seeks a one-time $250,000 appropriation to create the center and additional money for several other initiatives.

The bill, H-5840, is slated to be heard by the House Finance Committee after the news conference. Its prime sponsor is Rep. Thomas Slater, D-Providence.

The 3 p.m. news conference will be in the Senate Lounge at the State House.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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PROVIDENCE – Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis today announced his ideas for improving the integrity of the voting system and increasing convenience for voters. Among them: Requiring photo identification at the polls and allowing voting over several days.

Mollis also announced the members of a commission charged with studying his proposals, holding public hearings around the state, and crafting legislation for introduction next year. Mollis said his ideas are just that -- ideas -- and the proposals may change significantly based on input from the commission and the public.

“We expect this to truly change the way Rhode Islanders are used to voting,” Mollis said, noting that last November, roughly half of those registered to vote in Rhode Island actually voted.

Of the list of 10 bullet points -- dubbed the “Voters First” initiative -- the proposals to require photo ID and open polls across several days were the most concrete suggestions. Many of the others named problems, rather than proposing specific ways to solve them.

-- Elizabeth Gudrais of the Journal State House Bureau

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SWANSEA, Mass. — A time and place for a recount has not been scheduled, but Board of Selectmen candidate Frank H. Kingsley has officially made the request for one.

Kingsley and M. Scott Ventura were tied with 984 votes each after the April 9 election. They were vying for the seat vacated by Joseph “Butch” Senna, who didn’t seek reelection. A third candidate, Maureen R. Estes, finished third with 649 votes.

No one could remember a previous tie in Swansea, but Kingsley said he “didn’t want to make history that way.”

“We’ll have to see what happens,” said Kingsley today, who turned 65 a few days before the election. When asked how he felt about the tie, he answered, “not to good. I wanted to win.”

Ventura could not be reached for comment today.

-- Journal staff writer Alisha A. Pina

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PROVIDENCE -- The House and Senate labor committees plan to be busy this afternoon.

On the Senate side, the panel is scheduled to hear testimony on a minimum wage bill that would institute an annual increase tied to the consumer price index.

Bill sponsor Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis, D-Coventry, says his approach would provide necessary pay raises while ensuring that businesses are able to plan for gradual, annual increases, according to a statement.

The Senate Labor Committee hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. in State House Room 212.

The House Committee on Labor is set to review at least two bills with implications for undocumented workers and their employers.

House Bill 5480 would disqualify Rhode Island residents who are neither American citizens nor legal permanent residents from receiving unemployment benefits.

And House Bill 5481 would prohibit "the employment of aliens who are not entitled to lawfully reside or work in the United States" and it would also allow the state attorney general to issue a cease and desist order to their employers.

The House Labor Committee is scheduled to meet this afternoon in the House Lounge at the rise of the House.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

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PROVIDENCE -- A bill that would take away an exemption to the state's Low and Moderate Income Housing Act will be heard today at the State House.

The bill, scheduled to be discussed this afternoon by the House Corporations Committee, would make five cities and towns -- Cranston, North Providence, Pawtucket, Warwick and West Warwick -- subject to the requirement that 10 percent of each community's housing be affordable.

These communities have been exempt from the 10 percent mandate under a 1998 provision that can apply when a community has more than 5,000 occupied rental units.

If those rental units account for more than a quarter of the community's housing, and more than 15 percent of the rental units are affordable, the community is exempt from the 10-percent goal.

-- Journal staff writer Randal Edgar

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Old Stone Corp.'s longstanding lawsuit against the federal government is finally over.

As a result, Uncle Sam will have to pay Old Stone $74.5 million, said Winfield W. Major, a company director. The payment could come in May -- nearly 15 years after Old Stone filed the legal action.

Old Stone had won its case on the merits, and a federal court awarded the company $192.5 million. But a federal appeals court cut the award to $74.5 million. Old Stone last year asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

Today, however, the Supreme Court declined, without comment, to hear the case. As a consequence, the $74.5 million award stands. Company directors will meet soon to decide how to distribute the proceeds.

Old Stone Corp. is a former banking and financial services company. It long ago ceased those operations, but has remained in business, as a shell, solely to pursue the lawsuit, through which shareholders hope to receive some money.

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Carcieri and Romney last year

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri is endorsing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for president.

Romney is seeking the Republican nomination.

Carcieri has previously stated his support for Romney. Journal political columnist M. Charles Bakst reported Carcieri's backing of Romney in a Feb. 11 column. But Romney formally announced Carcieri's endorsement today.

Carcieri credited Romney with a strong record of results as governor.

"In his four years as chief executive, he erased a deficit and provided health care without raising taxes," Carcieri said in a statement released by the Romney campaign. "Our country faces a new generation of challenges that requires a leader to call upon the strength of the American people."

Romney said in a statement that he was grateful for Carcieri's support.

Other candidates vying for the Republican nomination include Arizona Senator John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

-- The Associated Press and projo.com reports

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NORTH PROVIDENCE – Billy Goodman, the Republican candidate for mayor in North Providence, has withdrawn from the race.

Goodman, a former disc jockey and talk-show host in Rhode Island and Las Vegas, said he decided it would be foolish to continue his campaign since he agrees with Charles Lombardi, the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary, on every issue.

And he said other than an endorsement from former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, he received no support from statewide Republicans. “They don’t even seem to know I exist,” he said today.

He formally withdrew his candidacy at 11:45 this morning.

Lisabeth Marwell, the town’s director of elections, said even though only Lombardi’s name will be on the ballot, state law still requires that the town proceed with the special election, at a cost of $35,000.

-- Journal staff writer Richard C. Dujardin

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Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Gerri Nazarian, left, a poll worker at the Marieville Fire Station on Mineral Spring Avenue, gives out stickers to Isabella Neves, 5, right, and her brother Austin, 4, after their father, David, votes this morning in the Democratic primary for mayor in North Providence. Neves had his children with him because they did not have school today due to the primary.

NORTH PROVIDENCE – About 13 percent of the town’s 24,000 registered voters have cast their ballots thus far in today’s special election that will narrow the mayoral field to one of two Democrats and will fill a spot on the Town Council.

By 2 p.m., 983 voters had cast ballots in District 1; 1,345 had voted in District 2; and 821 had voted in District 3, according to Lisabeth M. Marwell-Bussick, the executive director of the town’s Board of Canvassers. That’s a total of 3,149 voters thus far.

People have been voting at “a steady pace,” Marwell-Bussick said. She predicted about 30 percent, or about 7,000, of the town’s registered voters will cast ballots by the end of the day. Polls close at 9 p.m.

In the mayoral primary, Acting Mayor John Sisto Jr., who gave up his council seat in early January to serve in his new capacity, hopes to beat out former Town Councilman Charles Lombardi. The winner will face Republican opponent Billy Goodman in a special election April 17.

Today’s special election takes place because former Mayor A. Ralph Mollis ran for, and ultimately became, the secretary of state.

Four candidates are also in the running for the open Town Council seat created when Sisto filled Mollis' vacancy.

Projo.com plans to post the results of the primary as soon as they become available tonight.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Continue reading "Update: Voting pace 'steady' in N. Providence / Photo" »

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About 30,000 Rhode Islanders have failed to apply for a rebate of their federal phone taxes -- even though they're eligible -- and are therefore missing out on about $809,000 in rebates, the IRS said.

Nationwide, about 10 million have failed to apply, according to IRS estimates. In the first release of this year’s weekly filing season statistics, the IRS calculates about 30 percent of all taxpayers did not request the telephone tax refund.

The rebates are for the 3-percent federal excise tax that the U.S. Treasury once charged on long-distance telephone service. Some taxpayers have complained that the rebate application process is confusing and time-consuming. But the IRS says people can quickly claim a standard rebate amount right on their tax returns.

-- Journal MoneyLine columnist Neil Downing

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U.S. Sen. Jack Reed is scheduled to appear on NBC's Meet the Press this Sunday, according to Reed's office.

Rhode Island's senior senator has become a leader in the Democratic response to President Bush's strategy in Iraq.

Reed is scheduled to appear on the show after host Tim Russert interviews White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.

The show airs in Rhode Island at 10 a.m. Sunday on Channel 10 WJAR.

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PROVIDENCE – Gov. Carcieri’s chief of staff Jeffrey M. Grybowski is leaving at the end of the month to return to private law practice.

He will be replaced on March 1, as chief of staff, by Brian Stern, a top deputy in the Department of Administration.

One of Carcieri’s first top-level hires, Grybowksi signed on as the governor’s policy director in 2003, moved over to deputy chief of staff in 2004 and then took over as chief of staff when his immediate predecessor in that job, Kenneth McKay, left in May 2006 to run Carcieri’s reelection campaign.

In a brief interview this morning, Grybowski said he told the governor shortly after the election that he wanted to return to private practice, but “he asked that I stay around through the crunch time,’’ which included the introduction early in this year’s legislative session of the governor’s state of the state address and proposed 2007-08 budget.

“Now that that is over, it is time to transition,’’ he said.

While “it has been a great experience working for the governor,’’ and “it will likely be the best job I ever had in my life,’’ Grybowski said “I never intended to make state government a career.’’

Grybowski said he is going to Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP as a partner in the law firm’s corporate and business group.

Last week, Carcieri announced the hiring of former U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee’s state director, John R. Pagliarini, as his new deputy chief of staff.

-- Journal staff writer Katherine Gregg

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WASHINGTON -- Republican Mitt Romney will formally announce his candidacy for president next week in Michigan, his native state and an important early test for the GOP nomination, campaign aides said today.

The former one-term Massachusetts governor will make his announcement Feb. 13, and then will visit Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina - the first states to hold 2008 contests. He will return to Boston two days later, where he will hold what his campaign is calling "a unity event" with supporters, aides said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans were not public.

The move has been expected.

Read the full Associated Press story.

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WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democrats' losing presidential candidate in 2004, does not intend to run again in 2008, a Democratic official said today.

This official said Kerry intends to seek a new six-year term in the Senate.

Kerry plans to disclose his political plans in remarks on the Senate floor later in the day, according to this official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting a formal announcement.

Kerry, 64, who lost the White House when Ohio voted for President Bush by 118,601 votes on election night in November 2004, was attending a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting and unavailable for comment.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The taping has begun for U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee’s appearance tonight on comedian Jon Stewart's The Daily Show.

Chafee was poised to begin the taping around 6 or 6:30 tonight for the popular show, which airs at 11 tonight, Comedy Central spokeswoman Renata Luczak said.

Stewart approached Chafee's office about being on the The Daily Show a day or two after Chafee wrote an op-ed piece that appeared in the New York Times on Nov. 12 -- five days after he was defeated by Democratic opponent Sheldon Whitehouse, Chafee spokesman Christopher Spina said.

"I think he really respects the senator and offered to have him on the show," Spina said.

If you're not up late enough to catch the show tonight, it will be re-broadcast tomorrow at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples, with reports from Journal staff writer Ed Fitzpatrick

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PROVIDENCE -- Narragansett Indian tribe Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas will meet with Governor Carcieri in his State House office tomorrow afternoon, the first meeting between the two leaders since the tribe’s casino bid failed.

The tribe requested the meeting a couple of weeks ago, according to Jeff Neal, Carcieri’s spokesman.

Neal did not say what would be discussed at the meeting except that the governor and chief sachem would “explore relations between the tribe and the state” and how “they can work together in the coming year.”

Among the outstanding issues between the state and the tribe is a payment of $392,547 that represents the tribe’s share of revenue from new slot machines at Lincoln Park. Carcieri has offered the money but the tribe has yet to take it, saying it wants clarification about what the money can and cannot be used for.

An effort by the tribe and Harrah’s Entertainment to build a casino in West Warwick was rejected by a wide margin last month. Carcieri was long opposed to the casino.

With the casino effort dead for the time being, the two sides might be able to more easily move on to other topics.

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

Continue reading "Could slots revenue be on the agenda tomorrow?" »

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U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, the Rhode Island legislator who has emerged as a leading Democratic voice on defense issues, is expected to be involved in two high-profile events today in the U.S. Capitol.

Reed is expected today to make a statement on the Senate floor when the full Senate debates the confirmation of Robert M. Gates to succeed Donald Rumsfeld as the new secretary of defense, according to Reed's spokesman Chip Unruh.

The nomination is expected to pass easily. Reed was among those on the Senate Armed Services Committee who voted unanimously last night to endorse Gates.

Also this morning, the Baker-Hamilton Study Group released its highly-anticipated report from the Iraq Study Group, which studies the Bush administration's Iraq policy and makes several recommendations.

Reed and other members of Congress were invited to a private briefing on the report this morning, Unruh said. Reed has also been asked to participate in a press conference later in the day to discuss the Iraq study, but given the timing of the Gates vote and the regular caucus luncheons (which take place Wednesdays while Congress is in session), Reed's staff isn't sure what he can fit in today.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- The state Board of Elections voted unanimously this afternoon to appeal a Superior Court judge's ruling that the public may inspect photocopies of rejected ballots and argue to have them counted.

Judge Stephen J. Fortunato Jr. ruled today in favor of East Providence city council candidate Joseph Larisa Jr. who sought access to rejected ballots that he says may make a difference in his race. He trails his opponent by 16 votes.

The Board of Elections held a 4 p.m. meeting following Fortunato's hearing. A board attorney had argued that public inspection of ballots would compromise the objectivity of state elections.

"The people of Rhode Island should be outraged," said board chairman Thomas V. Iannitti of Fortunato's decision. "This is the most offensive thing I’ve encountered since I’ve been here...Maybe [Fortunato] should have come down and watched the process. He doesn’t even know the process.”

An attorney for the Board of Elections will attend a Superior Court hearing tomorrow at 11 a.m. to ask Fortunato to stay his decision pending a review by the state Supreme Court. In the meantime, the board has refused to release copies of the rejected ballots in the East Providence race.

The Supreme Court already ruled that the state Board of Elections must photocopy rejected ballots, but it didn't say that such ballots could be viewed by the public.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples with reports from Journal staff writer Alisha Pina

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Potential 2008 presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Joe Biden is expected in Providence tonight for a $500-a-head fundraiser.

Tonight’s 6 p.m. reception is at the law offices of St. Peter & Kasle, 4 Richmond Square. It’s hosted by attorney Gary St. Peter and Frank McMahon of Advocacy Solutions, a public-relations and State House lobbying firm.

Biden, D-Delaware, is the fifth recent potential presidential candidate to visit Rhode Island.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jack Reed was assigned today to the Senate Appropriations Committee, winning a seat at the table where money is distributed for many government programs.

Reed also kept his high-profile seat on the Armed Services Committee, plus his slots on the panels with jurisdiction over health care and banking.

Taken together, Reed's gains boost his ability to bring federal dollars home to Rhode Island and consolidate his influence across a broad range of issues, all at a time when he is viewed as one of the new Democratic majority's leading voices on military issues.

"This is a great time to be Jack Reed,'' said congressional analyst Norman Ornstein. " Jack has become as much of an opinion-leader and a bridge-builder on Iraq as any other Democrat.''

Senator-elect Sheldon Whitehouse was assigned to the committee on Environment and Public Works, and the Judiciary, Intelligence and Budget Committees, according to the office of incoming Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. He was also assigned to the Special Committee on Aging.

The Judiciary Committee reviews nominations to the federal bench including the U.S. Supreme Court. The Budget Committee each year draws a broad blueprint for federal spending that guides other committees in writing budgets for the agencies under their control.

The outgoing Sen. Lincoln Chafee served on Environment and Public Works, Foreign Relations and Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees.

House leaders will make committee assignments later in the week.

-- Journal staff writer John Mulligan

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE – The state’s new Democratic senator, Sheldon Whitehouse, expects to head to the Arcade in downtown Providence at noon today to shake hands and thank people for their support.

He may be there a little after noon, but they’re shooting for that time, spokeswoman Alex Swartsel said this morning.

Whitehouse has played it low-key today, mostly spending time with his family, which he expects to do most of the day, Swartsel said. He has not made any public appearances yet this morning, she said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- “No excuses” was the message from a group of female political leaders today as they urged women to head to the polls tomorrow and cast a ballot.

As part of its last-minute plea to female voters, the Rhode Island Women’s Fund created a fake sample ballot with 10 common excuses from women and why they aren’t valid.

“I have two jobs and I can’t take time out of work to go vote,” reads one.

The answer to that excuse: lawmakers are the ones who set the minimum wage, set what is covered by health insurance and set workplace safety standards.

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

Continue reading "Group urges women to forget excuses and vote" »

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just five days before Election Day, Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse leads the incumbent U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee by 14 points, according to a poll released today by the national independent pollster Zogby International.

While Whitehouse has led consistently in recent polls, his lead over the Republican Chafee has never been larger than 10 points.

Whitehouse leads 53 percent to 39 percent with a margin of error of 4 percentage points, according to Zogby. The survey of 601 likely voters was taken Oct. 24 to Oct 30.

A new local poll is expected to be released tonight.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- A staffer for Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee distributed a series of negative e-mails criticizing his Democratic challenger, Sheldon Whitehouse, from her Senate computer, a violation of Senate rules, the staffer acknowledged Wednesday.

Lammis Vargas, a staff assistant in Chafee's district office in Providence, told The Associated Press she sent the e-mails from a personal account on Yahoo but used her Senate computer to do so.

The e-mails, sent under the name "Noname Nolast," began Monday, a little over a week before the Nov. 7 election. Polls show Whitehouse apparently leading Chafee, although still within the margin of error. Democrats hope a win in Rhode Island will help them in their goal to take a majority in the Senate.

Vargas, 25, sent at least three e-mails critical of Whitehouse for his work as attorney general, specifically his handling of two cases, one in which a teenage witness in a murder trial was killed and one in which a man was shot by a police officer.

"WHITEHOUSE, AG at the time did nothing.......," said a message Vargas wrote Monday.

The e-mails were sent to a large number of reporters in Rhode Island and elsewhere. Chafee's campaign connected the AP with Vargas after a blogger traced the e-mails back to a Senate computer.

The e-mails violate rules prohibiting Senate equipment from being used for political purposes, said Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that encourages compliance with federal election laws and ethics rules.

Continue reading "Chafee staffer behind anti-Whitehouse e-mails" »

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

PROVIDENCE -- The political stars keep coming.

The Sheldon Whitehouse campaign confirmed this afternoon that Barack Obama, the Illinois junior senator who drew thousands to Brown University for a late-night speech last month, will return to Rhode Island this weekend.

Obama, who delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, appeared at a Whitehouse fundraiser three weeks ago before speaking at Brown.

He's scheduled to return Saturday morning for a free "get out the vote" rally at the Temple to Music at Roger Williams Park. The event, slated for 10 a.m. to noon, is open to the public.

Voters will head to the polls three days later as Whitehouse tries to unseat the incumbent Republican, Lincoln Chafee.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples, with reports from Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Senator Lincoln Chafee has loaned his campaign another $298,000, according to paperwork filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission.

Chafee, who is listed among the 10 richest members of Congress, had already dipped into his personal fortune twice -- once for $300,000 and then for $200,000 -- during the general election cycle, bringing his personal contributions to just under $800,000 in the last three weeks.

Election Day is six days away. Rhode Island's U.S. Senate race has attracted national attention as Democrats seek shift the balance of power in Washington.

Chafee's initial loans had triggered a provision in federal election law known as the Millionaire's Amendment, adopted in 2004 to prevent wealthy candidates from having an unfair financial advantage in expensive races.

The amendment allows Chafee's Democratic opponent, Sheldon Whitehouse, to seek additional funds from donors who had previously hit the $2,100 personal contribution limit.

Chafee's first round of personal loans, which totaled $500,000, allowed Whitehouse donors to give triple the normal limit, or $6,300. The latest loan of $298,734.25 lets Whitehouse donors give a total of $12,600 for the general election cycle, or six times more than usual.

Campaign finance reports filed last week showed that the Whitehouse campaign had a 6-to-1 advantage in cash on hand for the home stretch of the U.S. Senate race.

For the reporting period that ended Oct. 18, Whitehouse reported having $984,000 in the bank; his opponent Sen. Lincoln Chafee had $152,000.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

CRANSTON -- Republican Mayor Stephen P. Laffey is opposing proposed changes to the City Charter that he has described as a power grab by the Democrat-dominated City Council.

The proposed amendments would increase the council's ability to appropriate money, limit the mayor's authority to promote employees and make it more difficult for the mayor to dispose of city property.

"The Charter, by its nature, should not be an issue-driven document -- one which is at the whims of City Councilors who are angry that the current language didn’t work in their favor when they wanted to hand away taxpayer money or erode management rights,” Laffey said today in a statement.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri's campaign filed a complaint with the state Board of Elections today, accusing the union-backed group Working Rhode Island of illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into this year's election.

Carcieri has requested a temporary restraining order to bar Working Rhode Island from contributing to any campaign that opposes Carcieri or promotes the ballot question involving the West Warwick casino.

Working Rhode Island is not registered as a political action committee with the state Board of Elections, although any group that accepts contributions for advocating the election of any candidate or ballot question must do so.

The group received $200,000 in September from the Harrah's-backed Rhode Islanders for Jobs and Tax Relief, according to a Board of Elections filing. In the past, Working Rhode Island has run television ads criticizing Carcieri, though it's unclear what the group did with the latest contribution.

The group did not immediately return a message requesting comment.

“Working R.I. has repeatedly broken Rhode Island election laws by laundering union money to fund political advertisements against Governor Carcieri," said Carcieri campaign manager Kenneth K. McKay in a statement.

"Not only did they produce and send out flyers advocating that Governor Carcieri be fired, but they even ran television ads against the Governor during the last election cycle. The facts are clear: Working RI has been operating as an illegal PAC.”

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse continues to hold a slight lead over U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee in the race for the Rhode Island Republican's seat, according to a poll released today by a national pollster.

MSNBC-McClatchy released a survey conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc. that gives Whitehouse a 5 percent lead -- 48 percent to 43 percent, with 12 percent undecided.

The poll of 625 registered voters was conducted Oct. 18 to Oct. 20. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Mason-Dixon's last poll showed the candidates locked in a virtual tie; Whitehouse led 42 percent to 41 percent.

The election in the nationally-watched campaign is two weeks away.

Mason-Dixon also found that Governor Carcieri enjoys a more comfortable 10-point lead over Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty -- 49 percent to 39 percent, with 12 percent undecided.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sen. Lincoln Chafee attacks his opponent Sheldon Whitehouse on the steps of U.S. District Court.
Journal Photo / Bill Murphy

PROVIDENCE -- In an unusual press conference on the sidewalk outside the federal courthouse this afternoon, Sen. Lincoln Chafee blasted his political opponent for not "doing his job" six years ago for not pursuing fraud charges against the head of Roger Williams Hospital.

Former president Robert Urciuoli was convicted last week in the same federal court for illegally paying former state Sen. John Celona to do the hospital's bidding at the General Assembly.

The Chafee campaign is facing a strong challenge from Democratic candidate Sheldon Whitehouse, who holds a slight lead according to several recent polls, in a race that has garnered national attention as Democrats seek to regain a Senate majority. The election is less than three weeks away. Whitehouse previously served as Rhode Island's attorney general and U.S. attorney.

"I accuse Mr. Whitehouse of willful blindness," Chafee said today, repeating a phrase he used earlier in the week during a Senate debate. "Mr. Whitehouse didn't do his job to fight corruption in Rhode Island."

Chafee said that Whitehouse, while serving as attorney general six years ago, ignored hospital employees' allegations of improper spending by Urciuoli. Whitehouse said in a debate Monday that the hospital didn't want to pursue criminal charges. Whitehouse also said that a report detailing expense account abuses by Urciuoli was protected by attorney-client privilege.

Chafee refutes Whitehouse's responses. At today's press conference, he even distributed copies of Rhode Island law that he says contradicts Whitehouse's claims about attorney-client privilege.

"Are you in trouble in this race?" one reporter asked Chafee, suggesting that today's press conference was a political stunt.

"It's a close race," Chafee said. "Very, very close."

Whitehouse issued a statement this afternoon characterizing today's press conference as a "desperate" move by someone who refuses "to talk about the real issues in this campaign."

“He’s engaging in these desperate attacks, right out of the George Bush-Karl Rove playbook, because he refuses to explain why his continued support of Republican leadership in Washington is good for Rhode Island families,” Whitehouse said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A live radio debate this afternoon between the two candidates for U.S. Senate in Rhode Island was largely civil -- and largely repetitive.

As he has done for months, Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse did his best to connect his opponent to the Republican Party and President Bush. "We need a new direction in Washington...To change America, we have to change the Senate," Whitehouse said.

And as he has done since winning the Republican primary, Sen. Lincoln Chafee downplayed his ties to the GOP, highlighting his character and his ability to work with people from both parties. "Senator Chafee has the guts to make tough decisions," he said.

Chafee added that it would work to Rhode Island's advantage to have at least one member of its Congressional delegation be in the party in power. Rhode Island's three other delegates to Congress are Democrats.

"Not only have I voted my conscience time and time again, but I’ve also delivered for Rhode Island," Chafee said.

The race is being watched nationally as Democrats look to regain the majority in Congress.

Chafee did his best to turn the debate to local issues and Whitehouse's actions as a former U.S. attorney in Rhode Island, compared to Whitehouse's repeated efforts to focus on the direction of the country and other national issues such as health care and Iraq.

Chafee sharply criticized Whitehouse's record as U.S. attorney, alleging he failed to pursue charges related to political corruption while in office. “Mr. Whitehouse is guilty of willful blindness” in not pursuing an investigation, Chafee said. “He did not want to step on the toes of his friends.”

Again and again, Whitehouse focused on the national implications of the election.

“The Bush administration has been a disaster for America and a disaster for Rhode Island," Whitehouse said. “We have a chance to put a Democratic Senate in place, and a Democratic Senate can stop the nonsense.”

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Continue reading "Update: Chafee, Whitehouse debate on familiar lines" »

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A federal judge has sentenced a former Woonsocket man to 18 months in prison. His crime: failing to turn over to the government the taxes that he had collected from clients of his Woonsocket-based temporary employment agency.

Chuong V. Nguyen, 40, now of Lowell, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi on Friday in U.S. District Court, Providence. Sentencing details were posted by U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente. The case had been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation branch.

Nguyen ran a temporary employment agency out of his residence in Woonsocket, the government said. Client companies paid him for each worker he provided – typically between $6.50 and $8.75 per hour. By 2002, he was supplying about 40 workers, primarily Asian immigrants, to various manufacturing companies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Instead of turning over payroll taxes to the IRS as required by law, Nguyen kept the money and spent much of it on gambling, the government said. Altogether, the government lost $557,180 in withholding taxes that Nguyen should have handed over from 1998 through 2002, the government said.

Nguyen must report to prison Nov. 13. When he eventually gets out, he'll have to file amended tax returns, cooperate fully with the IRS, and pay the taxes he owes. He also must refrain from gambling.

Posted by Neil Downing at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you obtained an extension of the usual April deadline for filing your federal or Rhode Island income-tax returns, now's the time to fess up.

The automatic extension postponed the deadline for only six months. So your new filing deadline is midnight tonight.

The Internal Revenue Service has forms and publications available. So does the Rhode Island Division of Taxation. (If you're eligible, you may prepare and file your federal return online at no charge, through the IRS Free File program.)

Posted by Neil Downing at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE – U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat, will deliver the Gov. Frank Licht Lecture at 9 p.m. tonight at Brown University, an event that is free and open to the public.

“An Evening with Barack Obama” is sponsored by the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions. The lecture will be in Room 101 of the Salomon Center for Teaching.

Obama also will be featured in two campaign fundraisers today for Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

Obama will be at a fundraiser rally at the Rhode Island College Recreation Center, at 5:30 p.m., and then at a $1,000 Whitehouse and Democratic Party fundraiser at the home of Providence lawyer Jack McConnell.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Arsenault

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sen. John McCain speaks at a fundraiser in Providence today for Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

--- Journal Photo Bill Murphy

While speaking at a campaign fundraiser for Lincoln Chafee today, Arizona Senator John McCain shared his thoughts on the scandal involving former Congressman Mark Foley, R-Fla., accused of sending sexually explicit e-mails to teenage boys.

"I think we can all agree that we cannot tolerate the intolerable," McCain said, characterizing Foley's alleged actions as "totally unacceptable" and "particularly odious.

McCain said that an independent panel of well-respected former lawmakers like former senator Warren Rudman and former representative Lee Hamilton should be convened to investigate the situation and make recommendations.

"We have to hold people responsible," he said, adding that he didn't know who was responsible. "I think the issue needs to be quickly addressed and by people who are credible."

McCain said that the American people's confidence in their institutions needs to be restored.

Foley resigned last week after being confronted by ABC News with copies of the suggestive e-mails. He has since admitted being molested by a clergyman in his youth and entered rehab for alcoholism.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- Arizona Senator John McCain, a likely 2008 presidential candidate, went to bat for his moderate Republican counterpart Lincoln Chafee at the Hotel Providence this afternoon, calling on the 100 or so lunch guests to "please do whatever is necessary" to help re-elect Chafee.

A relaxed and largely light-hearted McCain spoke for 18 minutes in the downtown hotel as campaign contributors ate mandarin orange salads, roasted chicken, and chocolate mousse at the $500-a-plate luncheon.

Standing at a small podium with a wireless microphone in his right hand, McCain cracked a few jokes -- including one about drunken Irish twins -- before diving into the real reason for his visit.

"We all know this is going to be a close race," he said of Chafee's battle against Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse. McCain urged the crowd to put bumper stickers on their cars, signs on their front lawns, and even for them to call neighbors.

The most recent polls show Chafee and Whitehouse locked in a dead heat.

Chafee briefly addressed the crowd before McCain, acknowledging that his "piggy bank" was nearly empty after the contentious primary battle against Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey. On top of the $500 for the luncheon, contributors had the opportunity to meet privately with McCain earlier today for $1,000.

"Thank you very much for putting some coins in my piggy bank," Chafee said. "I need those resources to be competitive."

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Continue reading "McCain: 'do whatever is necessary' for Chafee" »

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- Limited seating to the Friday, Oct. 6 live, televised Rhode Island gubernatorial debate between incumbent Donald L. Carcieri and Democratic challenger Charles J. Fogarty became available today for the general public.

The Providence Journal and Fox Providence are cosponsoring the debate, which will air live from Warwick’s Toll Gate High School from 8 to 9 p.m.

Rhode Island voters can register to attend the debate by e-mailing their full names, address and daytime phone numbers to debate06@projo.com by noon Thursday, October 5th.

There is a limit of two names per request. Registrants will be notified on Thursday.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Old Stone Corp. wants the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on its longstanding lawsuit against the federal government. The company's board of directors voted today to petition the court to hear its case, which involves breach-of-contract allegations. The case is marking its 14th anniversary -- Old Stone filed the lawsuit in September 1992. Old Stone Corp. formerly owned Old Stone Bank.

Posted by Neil Downing at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tomorrow is the deadline to take advantage of Rhode Island's tax amnesty program. If you pay what you owe -- and have your application package postmarked by midnight tomorrow -- the state will waive penalties and won't prosecute you. You'll still have to pay interest, but at a rate of 12 percent. On Sunday, the rate the state charges on delinquent taxes will jump to 18 percent, one of the highest such rates in the nation.

So far in the amnesty, which began July 15, the state has collected more than $2.6 in back taxes. Check out the state Division of Taxation Web site for an explanation of the amnesty, the amnesty application form and other information.

Posted by Neil Downing at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri unveiled his plan to reform the state's ethics code during an afternoon press conference at the State House today.

The governor said he plans to deliver his four-point proposal directly to the state Ethics Commission, bypassing the General Assembly, which passed an ethics bill in July that Carcieri chose not to sign. Carcieri's opponent in the race for governor, Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, was a strong supporter of the first bill.

Carcieri's plan has four key points:

-- Legislators would have to disclose specific sources of income. For example, if they work as attorneys or insurance brokers, the legislators would have to list the names of their clients.

-- Legislators would have to disclose any interest or connection to programs or entities that receive state funding.

-- The definition of "conflict of interest" in the code of ethics would be expanded beyond "direct financial benefit."

-- Legislators would be barred from voting on any measure that would affect business or industry from which the elected official or family member derives income.

Noticeably absent for Carcieri's press conference today was the Ethics Commission Chairman James Lynch Sr., who was supposed to be in attendance, according to the press release distributed at today's event.

"Why he didn't come, you'll have to ask him," Carcieri said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples with reports from Journal staff writer Elizabeth Gudrais

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Massachusetts voters are going to the polls today in a primary election that has three Democratic candidates for governor competing for the chance to face Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey in November's general election.

The three Democrats, Deval Patrick, Tom Reilly and Chris Gabrieli, are each taking their own approach to getting their voters to the polls, with Patrick betting on an Internet-based grassroots network, Reilly relying on union help and Gabrieli banking in part on a campaign structure left over from a 2002 lieutenant governor run.

Voters in Bristol County will also pick Democratic and Republican contenders for the 4th Bristol District state representative race.

And Democrats in Bristol County will choose between incumbent District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. and challenger Samuel Sutter. The primary election in that race will effectively settle the District Attorney's race since there is no Republican opposition in November.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can see a full list of candidates and check on polling places at the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Web site.

Read a full Journal story on state and Bristol County races.

Read a full Associated Press story on the governor's race.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CRANSTON - - Mayor Stephen Laffey usually stops by the Caffe Bon-Ami early mornings before heading to work in City Hall half a mile down the road.

The day after he lost a hard-found Republican U.S. senate primary race to incumbent Lincoln Chafee was no different, shop owner Malcolm Najarian said.

Laffey pulled up in front of the shop with his driver at 6:30 a.m. today, his usual time. But he looked disheveled and tired, Najarian said.

"You can see the weary eyes of a man who put everything on the line and left no stone unturned," Najarian said.

-- Chelsea Phua, the Associated Press

Continue reading "A tired Laffey tries to regroup" »

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee says his campaign's computer system has been "hacked into," and the FBI is investigating.

The campaign's Web site has been "compromised," and e-mails have been "stolen," the Rhode Island Republican said today.

But Chafee staff members don't believe the incident was politically motivated.

Chafee is involved in a tight Republican primary race with Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey that has attracted national attention. The primary election is next Tuesday, Sept. 12.

Chafee was interrupted during a telephone interview with a Journal columnist this morning and informed of the situation.

The campaign Web site and e-mail system were hacked from a remote location sometime between midnight and 10 a.m. today, campaign manager Ian Lang and Chafee Senate spokesman Stephen Hourahan confirmed at the senator's campaign headquarters later today.

The staff members say they think they know who did it, and they do not believe it was politically motivated, but they would not elaborate.

Staff members at Chafee's Warwick campaign headquarters say they could not access the site for a time this morning, and they could not send or receive e-mails. (Projo.com was able to view the site late this morning; at a glance, nothing seemed out of order.)

The senator was in Washington, D.C., but is returning to Rhode Island today as previously planned. His campaign headquarters is on 2364 Post Road, Warwick.

Chafee said, "Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of it" and apprehend who ever is responsible.

-- With reports from Journal political columnist M. Charles Bakst and Journal staff writer Katherine Gregg

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Senate panel postponed a vote today on approving John Bolton as U.N. ambassador, a job he has held temporarily since last year when President Bush appointed him over Democratic opposition.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., gave no reason for the delay and did not say when the vote would be held. Bolton had been opposed by many Democrats but was expected to be confirmed by the Republican-led panel of which Rhode Island's Lincoln D. Chafee is a member.

Lugar said he removed the nomination from the agenda of today's committee meeting after conferring with several senators.

Bolton's approval by the committee would pave the way for a confirmation vote on the Senate floor.

Read more about the Bolton confirmation vote and Chafee's role in a Journal story today.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE _ Each time, the correct answer was: Zero.

The questions included: How many women now hold statewide office? How many women have been governor? How many women have been lieutenant governor? And how many women have represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate?

“It is clear that Rhode Island faces a huge gap in gender involvement in political leadership,” said Kathleen A. Swann, president and CEO of Leadership Rhode Island. “We care about closing the gender gap in political office holders in Rhode Island.”

Swann joined female candidates at the State House this morning for a breakfast rally to support women running for public office this fall. The event, in the grand State Room, was hosted by Leadership Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Commission on Women.

-- Edward Fitzpatrick, Journal staff writer

Continue reading "These political questions all have the same answer" »

Posted by Peter Phipps at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rhode Island women tend to be disengaged from politics and many don't regard political activity as an effective way to influence their world, according to interpretations of a survey released today by the Women's Fund of Rhode Island.

The telephone survey of 507 women age 18 to 75, conducted last week, found that Rhode Island women are focused on their local communities, willing to volunteer, committed to voting, but "cynical" about the political process, pollster Anna Greenberg said in presenting the results today.

A key reason, Greenberg asserted, is that Rhode Island has had few women
elected to statewide office. This leaves women with the sense that their
elected representatives do not have personal experience with the
"kitchen-table issues" that worry women, Greenberg said.

In a finding that Greenberg called "stunning," only 13 percent of the
women surveyed believe their vote has an impact nationally (compared
with 47 percent who believe their vote has its greatest impact locally).

This is in spite of the fact that Rhode Island voters could help tip the balance of power in the U.S. Senate if they elect a Democrat in November, and that in a small state, each vote carries more weight.

Read another story on the survey from today's Journal.

-- Journal staff writer Felice Freyer

Continue reading "Pollster: R.I. women cynical about political process" »

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- The general public can reserve seats to the Aug. 23 debate between Republican Senate opponents U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee and challenger Stephen P. Laffey, which is being co-sponsored by The Providence Journal.

The debate, also co-sponsored by WPRI-TV, will be broadcast live and commercial free at 8 p.m. on WPRI (Channel 12) and be picked up by C-SPAN.

To attend, e-mail your full name, address and daytime phone number to debates06@projo.com by noon tomorrow.

Requests also can be mailed or dropped off to The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain Street, Providence, R.I., 02902, c/o Promotion.

Reservations are limited to 200 seats and two names per request. Registrants will be notified by phone on Monday.

The candidates are also scheduled to debate from 5 to 6 p.m. today on The Dan Yorke Show on WPRO (630-AM), their second live debate.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Ned Lamont, whose anti-war campaign rattled the political landscape by toppling Sen. Joe Lieberman last week in Connecticut's Democratic primary, is gaining support in November's three-way Senate race, according to a poll released today.

But the Quinnipiac University poll shows that Lamont still has an uphill battle against Lieberman, the 2000 nominee for vice president who is now running an independent campaign.

Lieberman leads Lamont among registered voters 49 percent to 38 percent. Republican Alan Schlesinger gets support from 4 percent.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

PROVIDENCE -- The tone was relatively civil, but Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey and U.S.Sen. Lincoln Chafee weren't shy about confronting each other in their first head-to-head debate.

The two Republicans will face each other in the Sept. 12 primary for Chafee's Senate seat. Tonight, they brought their campaigns to live radio.

"If you don't bring up my family, I won't bring up yours, Mayor Laffey," Chafee said to his opponent, who suggested Chafee didn't support school vouchers because he could afford to send his children to private school.

The hour-long debate, moderated by former state attorney general Arlene Violet, ranged from school vouchers to Iraq to leadership style.

The usually unassuming Chafee went on the offensive early and often. When discussing leadership style and the ability to compromise, Chafee brought up Laffey's Web site, in which a picture of a political foe was intentionally distorted last year.

If Laffey has a problem with a U.S. senator, Chafee asked, "Are they going to be pixelated out?"

In his opening and closing statements, Chafee asked voters to focus on which Republican candidate has the best chance of winning in November -- a reference to polls that show Laffey well behind Democratic candidate Sheldon Whitehouse. And Chafee asked listeners to "look at people's character over the long term" in choosing a candidate.

"This is a six-year term, you're electing somebody to serve until January of 2013," he said.

Laffey's message was less focused as he listed a variety of issues -- taxes, government spending, prescription drugs, and energy policy -- as his priorities. In his closing statement, Laffey drew upon his personal hardships and accomplishments, an attempt to differentiate himself from his opponent, whose personal wealth comes largely from his family.

"Growing up, life wasn't always easy," Laffey said, noting that he worked hard to become the head of a company worth about a half-billion dollars.

Tonight's debate was the first in a series of four debates, two of which will be televised.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

WATERBURY, Conn. -- Stripped of Democratic Party support and with most of his staff gone, Sen. Joe Lieberman launched a new campaign as an independent today with a pizza party in a city where voters supported him and the mayor understands his unusual position.

The "thank you" stop in Waterbury was Lieberman's first public event since losing Tuesday's primary and his first since dismissing his campaign staff.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The race for Rhode Island's next governor continues to be a tossup, according to an independent poll released today showing that voter sentiment about the state's high-profile races has not changed substantially in the past month, despite a barrage of media advertisements from each campaign.

Governor Carcieri and his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty, each received support from 43 percent of 500 likely voters polled Aug. 3 by Rasmussen Reports.

Carcieri trailed Fogarty 43 to 42 percent in last month's Rasmussen survey.

Today's poll also showed that U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, for the second consecutive month, trails Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse, this time by 6 points: 38 percent support the Republican incumbent, 44 percent picked Whitehouse, and 11 percent said they weren't sure.

The poll's margin of error is 4.5 percent.

Whitehouse continues to enjoy a double-digit lead over Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey, 55 percent to 31 percent.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WEST WARWICK -- The state Supreme Court has declined to hear the case filed by a town resident challenging the legitimacy of a State House candidacy.

The court’s decision, filed today, means the State Board of Elections’ ruling -- to allow Patricia A. Serpa to run for the District 27 House seat – stands.

Resident Alan G. Palazzo had filed his appeal with the state’s highest court of the Board of Elections’ decision to uphold a ruling by the West Warwick Board of Canvassers that allowed Serpa to continue as a candidate.

Read more about this case in the Journal.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Governor Carcieri and other governors from the Northeast are objecting to a U.S. Senate proposal that would allow nuclear waste to continue to be stored in their states.

Members of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors have written to key Senate leaders objecting to the proposal, included in a larger spending bill.

The governors say the plan could result in spent fuel being stored at local or regional storage facilities in as many as 31 states.

They say there's already 50,000 tons of nuclear waste awaiting permanent storage, which was supposed to be in Nevada.

Read more about the issue.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOSTON -- Lawyers for Lincoln Park and two former executives will ask a federal appeals court in Boston today to overturn their clients' convictions.

Nigel Potter, Daniel Bucci and the park itself were convicted of plotting to pay a multi- million-dollar bribe to former Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood in exchange for political favors.

Bucci, the park's general manager, was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Potter was the CEO of the corporation that owned Lincoln Park until last year. He's serving a three-year sentence.

Defense lawyers say their clients were discussing paying a performance bonus or retainer fee to Harwood's law partner, who did legal work for the park.

No money ever changed hands, and no one else was charged.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE – The powerful House Finance Committee is meeting in an unusual summer session to discuss the University of Rhode Island’s plans for a $50-million biotechnology building.

Two state representatives have concerns about how much of the space will be dedicated to administrative offices. They want to examine the university’s plans.

University officials dispute the lawmakers’ claim that office space will not be used for biotechnology.

Read more about the biotechnology building and the hearing in today’s Journal.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE – The state Ethics Commission this afternoon fined former state Sen. John A. Celona $130,000 after he admitted this morning to 10 violations of state ethics laws.

Celona said he was ashamed of what he did.

His fine is believed to be the largest ever leveled by the state Ethics Commission. The commission reached their decision after deliberating in closed session for about an hour.

Celona made no statement after the ruling and was quickly ushered with his lawyer to the elevators in the building.

The former state senator from North Providence resigned from office two years ago and pleaded guilty last year to federal charges of influence peddling involving the Woonsocket-based CVS pharmacy chain, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and the Roger Williams Medical Center.

The commission's lawyer Jason Gramitt called for the former state senator to be fined $85,000.

Celona's lawyer, Lauren Jones, urged the commission, whom he said is "made up of fair-minded people," to take into consideration Celona's admission of guilt and the cooperation he has given the commission and federal prosecutors. Jones did not recommend a penalty that he would consider appropriate.

"I am sorry,'' Celona told the commission this morning. "I am sorry that I let my personal financial needs overwhelm my duty to act ethically."

Celona said he didn't start out intending to violate the code of ethics but at some point "I knew I had stepped over the line.''

"I am ashamed," said the former senator, adding that he was raised by ethical parents. "I shamed myself, my late parents, my family, my wife..."

"By doing the right thing now, I hope I can salvage whatever I have left," he said.

After hearing from Celona, the commission adjourned into executive session to consider Gramitt's request for an $85,000 fine.

"I find this to be the most egregious conduct that I've ever seen before the Rhode Island Ethics Commission,'' Gramitt told the commissioners

Some additional charges against him have been dismissed by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission, which voted unanimously this morning to accept his admissions.

Celona initially faced fines of up to $350,000 on the 14 total counts against him..

Read more about today's hearing and the charges against Celona.

-- Kate Bramson and Steve Peoples, projo.com staff writers

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NORTH SMITHFIELD -- Town Council Vice President Melissa Flaherty will be allowed to run for a seat on the town school committee, after the state Board of Elections dismissed an objection to her candidacy this morning.

Flaherty was one of five candidates across the state last month who filed declarations of candidacy for more than one local office, which is prohibited by state law. She filed for both the town council and school committee during the declaration period. She later withdrew her declaration for the town council seat and turned in nomination papers for the school committee race.

Robert Paul Boucher, a member of the town board of canvassers, filed an objection to Flaherty's candidacy Thursday afternoon after the board voted 2-1 to certify her nomination papers, despite concerns Boucher raised in the meeting.

Flaherty is one of two candidates for two vacant seats on the North Smithfield School Committee. Incumbent Paul Vadenais is seeking re-election. A third candidate, George Hemond, who also submitted dual declarations, failed to turn in his nomination papers by the July 14 deadline.

-- Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The state Board of Elections today rejected a challenge, lodged by the state GOP, to West Warwick Democrat Patricia A. Serpa's candidacy for state representative.

The Republicans had asked that Serpa be removed from the race because she had also declared her candidacy for the West Warwick School Committee, running afoul of a 2005 state law that limits candidates to one race.

The decision clears the way for Serpa to run against Republican Mark R. Fleury for the District 27 House seat.

Serpa withdrew from the School Committee race during the period when candidates needed to gather signatures on their nomination papers, and she only turned in signatures for the state representative position.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin Gedan

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEEKONK, Mass. -- After nearly five and a half hours of testimony, the town's Board of Selectmen closed a hearing early this morning on whether to fire suspended Town Administrator Thorn Mead.

Board members scheduled a vote for Wednesday at 6 p.m. to reaffirm their decision to terminate him.

If the board turns thumbs down on the administrator that night, a third vote must be held within 10 to 45 days to finalize the decision.

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Continue reading "Decision looms for suspended Seekonk administrator" »

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
Pell is greeted by David Tawei Lee, ambassador of Taiwan, today at the Pell Center -- named after the former senator -- at Salve Regina University in Newport.

NEWPORT -- Former U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell received one of Taiwan’s highest honors this afternoon at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations & Public Policy.

Taiwanese Ambassador David Tawei Lee of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office will present Pell with Taiwan’s Order of Propitious Cloud with Grand Cordon on behalf of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, said P.H. Liotta, the director of the university’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy.

Liotta said Pell was being honored for his efforts to promote democracy in Taiwan and improve its relationship with the United States.

Pell, who lives in Newport, represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate from 1961 to 1997.

The Democrat was a top member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1979, when Congress agreed to form economic and cultural ties with Taiwan after recognizing the People's Republic of China.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 when Communist forces took over mainland China. Chinese authorities call Taiwan a renegade province.

-- With Associated Press reports

Posted by Kate Bramson at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new poll by the independent pollster Rasmussen Reports finds Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, edging ahead of incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, 46 percentage points to 41.

The margin of error in the poll of 500 likely voters was 4.5 percent, according to Rasmussen Reports.

If Republicans nominate Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, Whitehouse would have a larger lead: 57 percent to 29 percent, according to Rasmussen.

The independent pollster has run surveys in Rhode Island for several months. The polls show a positive trend for Whitehouse.

In early June, Rasmussen reported that Whitehouse trailed Chafee by two points. An earlier poll in April showed Whitehouse trailing Chafee by three points.

None of the Rasmussen polls have tested Chafee against Laffey.

The governor's race remains neck-and-neck, with Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, a Democrat, one point ahead of incumbent Republican Governor Carcieri, 43 percent to 42 percent. The two have been within a point of each other in the last three Rasmussen polls.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Arsenault

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Weaver's Cove Energy has accused a Rhode Island regulatory agency of dragging its feet in reviewing the company's dredging plans in order to stall construction of the company's proposed LNG facility in Fall River, Mass.

The company cannot proceed with its plans to build the 73-acre facility until it gets the okay from several agencies, including the Rhode Island Coastal Management Resources Council, or CRMC. That's because some of the dredging would occur in Rhode Island waters.

"... The CRMC has abused its federally delegated authority under [federal law] by using it as a political tool to delay, block or otherwise obstruct this important energy infrastructure,'' Weaver's Cove said in a filing to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

CRMC has said in previous filings that it had not processed the application because it was incomplete. It was missing a "water quality certification'' from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Weaver's Cove said DEM "has shown no inclination" to give it that certification, and that it is not needed anyway.

Posted by Tim Barmann at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Govenor Carcieri motions for legislators to join him before the ceremonial budget signing at the State House today. From left are House Speaker William Murphy, Rep. Steven Costantino, House Minority Leader Robert Watson, Sen. Stephen Alves and Rep. Carol Mumford.

PROVIDENCE - Governor Carcieri signed a $6.7 billion state budget today that reduces some taxes while scaling back social services and cutting 420 state jobs to avoid a projected $243 million shortfall.

Carcieri signed the budget one day before the start of the new fiscal year.

"While it does not include all the reforms I would have hoped for, the budget plan that was passed by the General Assembly last week largely addresses the priorities I put forward in February," Carcieri said.

The General Assembly passed the budget a week ago after some last-minute wrangling in which House members voted to lower the state cap on property tax increases in return for Senate passage of the House's budget plan.

The spending plan closes a shortfall estimated at $243 million. Republicans and Democrats call the budget a fair deal in tough economic times.

It enacts tax cuts for high-income families and increases the car tax exemption from five-thousand dollars to six-thousand dollars. Carcieri says he soon expects to sign legislation limiting local property tax increases.

But the budget reduces health insurance for people leaving welfare from 18 months to 12 months. It also keeps new non-citizens from enrolling in the state's health insurance program for the poor after the end of the year.

-- Associated Press

Posted by Kate Bramson at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The parade of local candidates running for election this year became official as those seeking political office met the state deadline for filing documents needed to qualify for the September primary and November general election ballots.

There were few surprises.

In the U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Lincoln D. Chafee of Exeter faces Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey for the GOP nomination. On the Democratic side, former attorney general Sheldon Whitehouse of Providence, Carl Sheeler of West Greenwich, Christopher Young of Providence and Rebeka Palmer Rockefeller of Providence seek the nod.

For Congress, 1st District Rep. Patrick Kennedy has no primary opposition, but three Republicans -- Edmund Leather of East Providence, Joseph Zuccolo of Providence and Jonathan Scott of Providence -- have taken out papers for the GOP nomination.

In the 2nd District, incumbent Democratic Rep. James Langevin of Warwick is opposed by Jennifer Lawless of Cranston. No Republican candidate is running for the 2nd District U.S. Congress.

In the governor's race, Republican voters have a choice between incumbent Governor Carcieri of East Greenwich and Dennis Michaud, a Providence business consultant.

Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty was the lone Democrat to file for governor, but Democrats will have a primary for lieutenant governor between Spencer Dickinson of South Kingstown and state Sen. Elizabeth Roberts of Cranston.

Republicans have two candidates to choose from for lieutenant governor: Former state adjutant general Reginald Centracchio of Scituate and Kernan "Kerry" King of Narragansett.

The Republican attorney general candidate is William Harsch of Jamestown. He will face Democratic incumbent Patrick Lynch.

Democrats have a secretary of state primary between North Providence Mayor Ralph Mollis and Guillaume deRamel of Newport. The lone GOP candidate to file for secretary of state is Warwick City Councilwoman Sue Stenhouse.

-- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Planning to run for office in Rhode Island this year? This afternoon is the deadline for filing your declaration of candidacy.

The deadline applies to candidates who may run in a primary this September or as an independent in November.

Those running for statewide and federal offices have until 4 p.m. to file with the Secretary of State. Candidates for General Assembly, local offices, state and district committees and local committees file with their local boards of canvassers.

Come back to projo.com and The Journal tomorrow morning for a look at some of those who filed today.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you’ve been contemplating running for a federal or statewide office, you’ve got just a couple days left to make up your mind about whether to throw your hat in the ring.

The declaration of candidacy period begins today and ends Wednesday at 4 p.m.

In order to run for office, you must be registered to vote, and the deadline for that has passed.

Potential candidates must also fill out and submit this form. There’s plenty of information on the process on the Secretary of State’s Web site, in English and in Spanish, including a How to Run for Office Guide.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Rhode Island College public opinion survey of the state Republican primary voters shows that U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey are locked in a dead heat for the GOP Senate nomination.

The survey of 256 likely Rhode Island primary voters conducted between June 19 and 22 shows that 39 percent support Chafee and 38 percent would back Laffey. The poll carries a margin of error of 6 percent.

Laffey leads among men, 44 percent to 34 percent, while Chafee has the edge among women, 37 percent to 35 percent.

The survey, conducted by veteran RIC political science professor Victor Profughi, also shows that Chafee does better among independents, who are eligible to vote in the GOP primary.

Chafee does much better with independents than he does with base GOP voters. For example, among unaffiliated voters, Chafee betters Laffey 49 percent to 31 percent. Among registered Republicans, Laffey leads Chafee 45 to 28.

Posted by Peter Phipps at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cape Wind Associates scored a significant victory today as two key senators agreed to drop language from a pending bill that would have allowed the governor of Massachusetts or the U.S. Coast Guard to veto the wind farm project for any reason.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who backed the original measure, agreed to new language that drops the veto provisions, but gives the Coast Guard additional oversight over the siting of the Cape Wind project.

A spokeswoman for Kennedy said that he still believes the governor should have a say over whether the project should be built. But he agreed to the new language, she said, because it will ensure that "public safety is going to be central'' in siting the project.

The new provision requires the Coast Guard to develop a list "reasonable terms and conditions'' to provide navigational safety. Cape Wind would be required to meet those conditions, and they would be included in any lease granted to the project developers.

The provision applies only to an off-shore project in Nantucket Sound. It would not apply to any other wind project, such as the one proposed by Jay Cashman Inc. for Buzzards Bay.

Posted by Tim Barmann at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

COVENTRY -- U.S. Rep. James Langevin formally kicked off his reelection bid today with a speech at the Washington Fire Station.

The 2nd Congressional District Democrat said he chose the fire station because it highlights his support for homeland security issues and the federal money he has brought back to Rhode Island for first responders and disaster preparation.

Democrat Langevin, 42, of Warwick, is a former state representative and Rhode Island secretary of state who was first elected to Congress in 2000. He sits on the House Armed Services Committee. He faces a primary challenge from Jennifer Lawless, a Brown University political science professor.

"To me, national security is family security, and it is all about these issues and more,'' said Langevin, who spoke to a crowd of about 50 under the hot sun in the fire station parking lot. "If our families are not secure, our country cannot be secure. Fom health care to homeland security, it will take our combined effort to ensure that this generation and those that follow are safe in their communities and proud of their country.''

-- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- The House Finance Committee has begun its debate on a state budget proposed by Democratic lawmakers.

The discussion is expected to take hours before the panel could vote on the $6.6 billion spending plan.

Details on the previously unseen proposal to come on projo.com and in tomorrow's Journal.

For background, read today's related Journal story.

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Bill Weld, the former Massachusetts governor, dropped out of the New York governor's race today, saying it was time to look beyond his own aspirations for the good of the party.

The state GOP backed former Assembly Minority Leader John Faso as its candidate last week, meaning a potentially bruising and expensive September primary if Weld had stayed in the race.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE – Homeowners with contractor-horror stories have a second chance this afternoon to address the Special House Commission to Examine the Issue of Licensing Builders and Contractors.

The commission is holding its second public hearing today from 4 to 6 p.m. in Room 313 of the State House. Thirteen people who signed up for a May 25 hearing but didn’t get a chance to speak will get the first opportunity to testify today. Others will be allowed to speak on a first-come, first-served basis.

To check a contractor’s record, go to the Rhode Island Contractors’ Registration Board Web site.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is coming to Rhode Island to boost Democratic Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty's candidacy for governor.

Kerry is speaking June 19 at the opening of Fogarty's new campaign headquarters on Atwells Avenue in Providence and at a meeting the same night of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO Executive Board.

The labor organization is expected to endorse Fogarty's campaign against Republican Governor Carcieri. Kerry was the Democratic candidate for president in 2004.

-- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- A special House commission wants to hear from you today if you’ve had problems with contractors.

The commission is considering tightening regulations for contractors, including requiring them to take ethics and contract law classes, raising the penalties for working without registering as a contractor and increasing the fines that the state Contractors’ Registration Board can impose.

The commission expects to hold a public hearing today at 2 p.m. in room 313 at the State House.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney made an unannounced visit to Iraq this week, an effort to visit Massachusetts troops and understand an international hotspot that could also burnish his foreign policy credentials should he run for president in 2008.

The Republican governor met with military and diplomatic leaders in Baghdad yesterday and today, before returning to a United States staging area in Kuwait City, Kuwait, according to his communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom.

Romney is scheduled to stop in Pakistan tomorrow en route to Afghanistan, where he will meet with President Hamid Karzai. After an overnight stay at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Romney will fly to Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday. The governor is scheduled to return to Massachusetts on Saturday.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Senate leaders have accepted a provision in a landmark immigration bill that would put most Liberians in this country on a pathway to U.S. citizenship.

"It's long overdue,'' U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said of the mechanism that Republican and Democratic leaders have agreed to open to Liberian immigrants.

If it becomes law, the measure secured by Reed would be a dramatic step for Rhode Island's 10,000 to 15,000 Liberian immigrants -- proportionately the largest Liberian population in any state.

Reed's office estimates that the vast majority of those Liberians would meet the immigration bill's criteria for securing full citizenship over the course of several years.

-- Journal Washington bureau writer John E. Mulligan

Continue reading "Senate leaders open citizenship door to Liberians" »

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE – In a 10-minute speech this evening before a crowd of about 200, First Lady Laura Bush urged local Republicans to get behind U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee's campaign for re-election.

Mrs. Bush brought her brief message of support to the 17th floor of the Providence Biltmore hotel, as Chafee and GOP Governor Carcieri stood behind her at the podium.

"Redouble your efforts and make sure he's elected," she told those attending, who paid $500 for the privilege. Chafee is facing a primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey.

Instead of focusing on the fact that Chafee, known as a Republican maverick, doesn't always vote as her husband wishes, she touted his work on some of the issues they agree on, including environmental preservation.

-- With reports from projo.com staffer Steve Peoples

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- Anti-war demonstrators are planning a protest when First Lady Laura Bush visits Providence this afternoon.

The Rhode Island Community Coalition for Peace plans to protest outside the Providence Biltmore Hotel in downtown Providence, where Mrs. Bush is expected to attend a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

The group says it wants the troops brought home.

Mrs. Bush is also expected to speak at Roger Williams University commencement ceremony tomorrow.

Both the fundraiser and commencement ceremony are closed to the public.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON - - Rep. Patrick Kennedy will enter rehab for addiction to prescription pain medication today after a highly publicized car crash near the Capitol.

Kennedy, D-R.I., plans to seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WARWICK -- U.S. Sen. Jack Reed joined Democratic U.S. Senate aspirant Sheldon Whitehouse today for the first of what Reed said will be many campaign appearances across the state as Democrats focus on the Rhode Island campaign in the party's quest to win control of the Senate.

Reed and Whitehouse spoke to a gathering of about 40 elderly residents of the Greenwich Village elderly housing complex in Warwick, then did interviews with local media to stress their intent to work together to try to wrest the seat now held by U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee from the GOP.

"I am particularly pleased and proud to be with my dear friend ... Sheldon Whitehouse,'' Reed said, in endorsing his candidacy. "I will do all I can to make sure he gets elected to the United States Senate.''

Chafee faces a pincer -- a primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, a conservative, and if he survives the primary, a general election attack from the left from Whitehouse, who has been all but anointed as the Democratic nominee.

More in tomorrow's Journal and on projo.com ...

-- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Sierra Club announced today its endorsement of Lincoln Chafee in the battle for his U.S. Senate seat.

Chafee faces perhaps his toughest battle in the primary election against Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey. Top Democratic opponents in the general election include former Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse and Secretary of State Matthew Brown.

The Sierra Club, a national environmental organization that lists more than 750,000 members, has decided to endorse Chafee for both the primary and general elections.

"We are confident that he will continue to protect Rhode Island’s and the nation’s environment in the Senate for many years to come," said Carl Pope, executive
director of the Sierra Club at a morning press conference in Warwick. "Senator Chafee is a key leader in our work towards a pro-environment majority in the Senate.”

Along with the endorsement, the Sierra Club plans to lend its volunteer strength to Chafee's campaign, according to a statement.

"We pledge to do all we can to help ensure Senator Chafee is re-elected," said Alison Buckser, chapter chair of the Rhode Island Sierra Club. "Sierra Club volunteers will work with the campaign to contact voters about his exemplary environmental record."

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE -- The House Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill today aimed at blocking tankers carrying liquefied natural gas from entering Rhode Island waters.

“We have a right to protect our resources in Rhode Island and our people in Rhode Island,” said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., D-Bristol, Portsmouth.

The legislation would place exclusion zones around LNG tankers traveling up Narragansett Bay to the $250 million facility that has been proposed by Weaver's Cove Energy and Hess LNG.

According to the bill, the tankers cannot come with 500 yards (on each side) of any piers, wharfs, waterfront facilities, flammable materials, hunting grounds, welding work, or people. To reach the Weaver's Cove facility tankers would have to pass densely populated coastal areas in Narragansett and Mount Hope bays, which would be prohibited by the bill.

It was Gallison's third attempt at a bill along these lines. He said the bill should come before the full House for a vote sometime next month.

--Journal staff writer Kia Hall Hayes

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PROVIDENCE - - Governor Carcieri plans to ask the House Judiciary Committee today to support legislation aimed at cracking down on drunken driving.

The governor is scheduled to speak at the Putting the Brakes on DUI conference at the Rhode Island Convention Center this afternoon.

Carcieri and Attorney General Patrick Lynch have submitted a bill to close a loophole in the state's Breathalyzer refusal law. Their legislation would toughen penalties for drivers who refuse to take a Breathalyzer test.

The Senate has already passed the bill.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

PROVIDENCE -- The House Judiciary Committee will consider legislation this afternoon that would change the state Constitution, allowing voters to change state laws through a process called voter initiative.

Governor Carcieri, who introduced the constitutional amendment, has urged the House committee to approve the measure, as opposed to delaying action as the Senate Judiciary Committee did last week.

"As a candidate for office, I promised to reform state government, and to make it more open and accessible to the citizens of Rhode Island," Carcieri said in a statement today. "Voter initiative will make state government more responsive to its citizens."

The House Judiciary Committee will consider Carcieri's proposals at the rise of the House, which is set for 4 p.m.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As immigrant groups nationwide plan rallies today, about 10 local groups plan to march in Providence from the Price Rite at 80 Manton Ave., to the Tabernacle Baptist Church, at 134 Bridgham St.

The groups expect to meet at 4:30 p.m. at the Price Rite and begin marching to the church around 5 p.m., said Juan Garcia, a local community organizer with the group Committee of Immigrants in Action.

At the church, organizers plan to hold a public forum around 5:40 p.m. to explain what’s happening on the national level and what it would take to implement immigration changes in Washington, he said. Organizers expect a diverse mix of people and plan to speak in Spanish and English, he said.

Groups are calling for health insurance for their children, access to college, workers' rights, "legalization, not criminalization," drivers' licenses and an end to the high costs of sending money home.

National and local groups are planning the next big action for May 1, Garcia said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Antiwar organizations in Rhode Island plan to protest tomorrow against U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton when she speaks at Brown University.

They plan to have an Iraqi Kurdish human rights and anti-occupation activist publicly confront the senator, according to the Rhode Island Community Coalition for Peace, one of multiple organizations sponsoring the protest.

A Kurdish woman born in Iraq, Sureya Sayadi, plans to speak at 4 p.m. tomorrow in Wilson Hall on the Brown campus and then march with protestors over to Meehan Auditorium, where Clinton is slated to speak at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for Clinton’s talk were scooped up quickly after the university offered one each to holders of a valid Brown ID.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

PROVIDENCE -- A debate on taxes is set to take place today before the General Assembly's Permanent Joint Committee on Economic Development.

The committee is expected to meet from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Senate Lounge at the State House.

Experts from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and the Poverty Institute of Rhode Island will offer views at the opposite end of the spectrum.

The hearing will be televised live by the General Assembly’s Capitol TV and can be viewed on Channel 15 by Cox Cable and FullChannel subscribers.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

PROVIDENCE -- First Lady Suzanne O. Carcieri will return to her teaching roots today as a guest teacher at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, where she will discuss the danger of alcohol abuse.

Mrs. Carcieri, a former science teacher, will teach two 6th grade science classes, starting at 9:15 a.m. and 10:12 a.m.

Mrs. Carcieri is a member of the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, a coalition of governor's spouses dedicated to preventing alcohol abuse among 9-to-15-year-olds.

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SEEKONK, Mass. -- Balloting began at noon for a Board of Selectman's race that could be decided by write-in ballots.

Two seats on the board are open, and the only two candidates on the ballot are incumbent Francis Venditti and newcomer John K. Turner. But Venditti's critics are waging a write-in campaign for incumbent John Whelan, who had decided to step down so he could run for state Rep. Philip Travis' seat in the fall.

Because there are no contested races on the ballot, turnout for the municipal elections would normally be extremely light. During the first half hour of voting, 35 residents had cast ballots in Town Hall, one of the four polling places. But an hour later, at the town library, only four people had voted.

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

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