Projo Politics Blog

May 2008 Archives


Radio host off the air after Kennedy remark

8:51 AM Wed, May 28, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Jack Perry    Email

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh-area sports radio host Mark Madden has been permanently taken off the air by ESPN. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted Madden as saying that he had hoped Sen. Edward Kennedy “would live long enough to be assassinated.” The Massachusetts......

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Critic of governor quits top union post

9:31 AM Tue, May 27, 2008 | | Comments (3)
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

A labor union president who made headlines criticizing the Carcieri administration earlier in the year has resigned from the post. Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, then president of Local 314, which represents workers at the state Training School for Youth, told The......

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Assembly in home stretch

9:31 AM Tue, May 27, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

The end is in sight. The General Assembly typically recesses each session before July 4 –– and has been known to leave even earlier in election years, such as this one. That means the next five weeks will be busy.......

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Capitol rotunda is ‘in’

9:30 AM Tue, May 27, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

It might as well be the hottest restaurant in town. The State House rotunda, one of Rhode Island’s most prized landmarks, is also a wildly popular one apparently. Anyone interested in booking the area for a rally or a few......

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Sandra Lynch heads 1st Circuit Court of Appeals

9:29 AM Tue, May 27, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

On June 16, Sandra L. Lynch will become the first woman to head the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sits in Boston and whose jurisdiction includes Rhode Island. Lynch, 61, of Boston, will succeed Judge Michael Boudin as......

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Smoke-filled room?

9:29 AM Tue, May 27, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

The General Assembly fundraising season is in full swing these nights as lawmakers fill their campaign coffers in the runup to the September primaries and the November general elections. Sen. Josh Miller, D-Cranston, scheduled a time last Tuesday at 6:30......

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Dems’ official blogger

9:27 AM Tue, May 27, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

Rhode Island’s liberal blogosphere will be represented at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August. Matthew Jerzyk, founder of RIFuture.org, has been chosen by the Democratic National Committee to be the state’s official party blogger at the confab. The......

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In R.I., female legislators are comparatively scarce

9:24 AM Tue, May 27, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

And in case you missed it last week … The latest numbers on women in state legislatures are out, and Rhode Island doesn’t stack up very well against its New England neighbors in female political success. The rankings, compiled annually......

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Update: Obama to fill in for Sen. Kennedy at Wesleyan graduation

4:52 PM Thu, May 22, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Andrea Panciera    Email

BOSTON -- U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy won't be able to deliver a commencement address to Wesleyan University graduates after being diagnosed with brain cancer, so Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will do so for him. Obama offered to stand in......

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Patrick Kennedy: Your support has helped lift my spirits

4:13 PM Thu, May 22, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Andrea Panciera    Email

U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, the Rhode Island Democrat whose father, Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, has been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, has released a statement today: “I have been overwhelmed by all the support and encouragement from......

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Thinking the unthinkable: Who could succeed Sen. Kennedy?

1:01 PM Thu, May 22, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Andrea Panciera    Email

WASHINGTON -- People in Massachusetts are thinking the unthinkable: Who possibly could succeed U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy? The news about the Massachusett Democrat's cancerous brain tumor has led to quiet speculation about whether he may try to handpick a successor.......

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Sen. Reed gets AFL-CIO board's election endorsement

12:42 PM Wed, May 21, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Mike McKinney    Email

Jack Reed, the state's senior U.S. senator, has picked up re-election endorsement from the Rhode Island AFL-CIO's executive board, representing 80,000 union members. The board voted unanimously Monday to support Reed, a Democrat who's been in the Senate 12 years......

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Female lawmakers in R.I.: Lowest rate in New England

1:08 PM Tue, May 20, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Scott MacKay    Email

The latest numbers on women in state legislatures are out, and Rhode Island doesn't stack up very well against its New England neighbors in female political success. The rankings, compiled annually by the Center for American Women and Politics at......

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Patrick Kennedy breaks hand in martial arts mishap / Photo

9:46 AM Tue, May 20, 2008 | | Comments (3)
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

AP photo U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., arrives at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Monday, May 19, 2008, where his father, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., is hospitalized. PROVIDENCE — As U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy arrived to see......

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Bill would grant anonymity to pamphleteers

3:38 PM Mon, May 19, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

Should political flame-throwers have to identify themselves in the paid ads they place in newspapers or the campaign fliers they drop on doorsteps? Under current state law, the answer is yes. But a bill to repeal those requirements is headed......

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House votes tomorrow on health-cost sharing bill

3:38 PM Mon, May 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

A bill that would require Rhode Island’s $13,508-a-year part-time lawmakers to pay 10 percent of the cost of their state-provided health insurance is headed for a vote by the House of Representatives tomorrow. But recent comments by top Senate leader......

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Woonsocket's Mayor Menard slow to leave

3:35 PM Mon, May 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

And in case you missed it, here’s a bit of news from the wacky world of politics beyond Smith Hill. In early March, beleaguered Woonsocket Mayor Susan D. Menard threw in the towel during a tough week in which her......

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No cause for alarm, Ethics board tells Trillo

3:34 PM Mon, May 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

Worried about a possible conflict of interest, Rep. Joseph A. Trillo sounded the alarm to the state Ethics Commission late last month about, um, alarms. In an April 28 letter to the commission, the Warwick Republican questioned whether it’s appropriate......

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House committee assignments reshuffled

3:34 PM Mon, May 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

Roger A. Picard’s departure from the House to take the Senate seat he won in a special election triggered the latest shuffling of House committee seats last week. Peter Petrarca, of Lincoln, was elevated to vice chairman of the Corporations......

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Photo: Cousins Patrick and Caroline Kennedy meet at the hospital

7:04 PM Sat, May 17, 2008 | | Comments (2)
By Andrea Panciera    Email

AP photo / Winslow Townson U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., left, is greeted by his cousin, Caroline Kennedy, as he arrives at and she departs from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, today, where Patrick's father Sen. Edward M. Kennedy,......

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Spokeswoman: Sen. Kennedy conscious, talking to family

5:26 PM Sat, May 17, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Andrea Panciera    Email

BOSTON (AP) -- A spokeswoman for Sen. Edward Kennedy says he is conscious and talking to family after he suffered a seizure in his Cape Cod home and was flown to a Boston hospital. The 76-year-old Massachusetts Democrat fell ill......

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Sen. Kennedy stricken

4:18 PM Sat, May 17, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Scott MacKay    Email

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Democratic party's liberal lion, was in Massachusetts Hospital this afternoon after suffering a seizure at his home on Cape Cod this morning. Kennedy, 76, was rushed by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital from his familiy's......

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Carcieri's O'Reilly Factor appearance postponed

11:26 AM Thu, May 15, 2008 | | Comments (2)
By Jack Perry    Email

Governor Carcieri's appearance on The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News to talk about his executive order cracking down on illegal immigration is being rescheduled by the program, the governor's office said today. Carcieri's interview was scheduled to appear on the......

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More on governor's immigration order, in FAQs and on Fox

5:26 PM Wed, May 14, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Andrea Panciera    Email

Governor Carcieri is scheduled to be on the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News tomorrow night to talk about his executive order cracking down on illegal immigration. The governor's office issued a news release saying Carcieri will tape a brief interview......

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Reagan-Lincoln Day Dinner -- a GOP fundraiser -- tonight at Rhodes

5:09 PM Wed, May 14, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Mike McKinney    Email

The Rhode Island Reagan-Lincoln Day Dinner, part of an effort to raise money for the state's Republican candidates, is tonight. Former Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey and local town committee leaders, members and guests will gather at Rhodes on the......

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Spygate: Sen. Specter to discuss Walsh meeting today

11:06 AM Wed, May 14, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Jack Perry    Email

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa, is scheduled to hold a news conference at noon today after meeting yesterday with former Patriots videotape assistant Matt Walsh. Earlier in the day yesterday, Walsh met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who announced after......

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Sen. Whitehouse to attend hearing on Alzheimer's

11:01 AM Wed, May 14, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Jack Perry    Email

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Aging Committee, is scheduled to attend a hearing this morning on Alzheimer’s disease, during which former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is expected to speak publicly for the first time......

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Rep. Kennedy turns Obama support into action in W. Va.

3:55 PM Mon, May 12, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Andrea Panciera    Email

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy hit the campaign trail over the weekend for presidential candidate Barack Obama. The Rhode Island Democrat attended a voter registration rally in Providence for Senator Obama of Illinois Saturday morning, according to the congressman’s office. Kennedy......

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Public buildings named for both living and dead

9:19 AM Mon, May 12, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

Should the state be naming buildings after Rhode Islanders who haven’t yet breathed their last? The critical question of above ground or below took on a life of its own on the House floor last week, with Majority Leader Robert......

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Howard Dean huddles with local Democrats

9:17 AM Mon, May 12, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

It was a tale of two Democratic parties Thursday night. At Providence Prime restaurant, on Federal Hill, a group of party elite fundraisers and elected officials met for a private dinner with Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean. Huddling with Dean......

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Speaker Murphy hears Ireland’s Bertie Ahern

9:16 AM Mon, May 12, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

The final days before Bertie Ahern stepped down last week after 11 years as Ireland’s prime minister were packed with last-minute activities. Ahern made several trips to the United States, including one to Boston in which he bestowed $2 million......

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ALS fundraiser will honor the late Tony Marcella

9:14 AM Mon, May 12, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

The celebration of the life of Tony Marcella continues this week with a fundraiser in Marcella’s honor. Friends will gather Friday evening at Newport’s Ocean Cliff Hotel for music, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction. Proceeds from the event will......

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Pagliarini joins Office of Higher Education

9:13 AM Mon, May 12, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Pamela Reinsel Cotter    Email

John “J.R.” Pagliarini, dismissed in February by Governor Carcieri from his job as the governor’s deputy chief of staff, has landed at the state Office of Higher Education. Jack Warner, the commissioner of higher education, confirmed that Pagliarini has a......

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Governor's ex-deputy chief of staff has new job -- in higher ed office

2:25 PM Thu, May 08, 2008 | | Comments (2)
By Scott MacKay    Email

John "J.R.'' Pagliarini, dimissed in February by Governor Carcieri from his job as the governor's deputy chief of staff, has landed at the state Office of Higher Education. Jack Warner, commissioner of higher education, confirmed today that Pagliarini has a......

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Carcieri to NEARI: Does Crowley speak for union on immigration?

5:26 PM Wed, May 07, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Scott MacKay    Email

Just how thin is Governor Carcieri's political skin? An April 22 letter the governor sent to Robert Walsh, executive director of the National Education Association of Rhode Island, the teachers' union, may provide a clue. "It has come to my......

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Update: Reed won't commit yet, Whitehouse still with Clinton

11:46 AM Wed, May 07, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Jack Perry    Email

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......

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Cheney to speak at Coast Guard Academy graduation

11:12 AM Wed, May 07, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Jack Perry    Email

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......

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Too early, too close to call in Indiana

10:22 AM Tue, May 06, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Jack Perry    Email

SPEEDWAY, Ind. –– Indiana’s crucial Democratic presidential primary is too close to call –– at least if there’s any trend to be gleaned from random chats with the voters of this relatively conservative town, the home of the famous auto-racing......

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Rhode Islander engineers big win in Louisiana

7:35 PM Mon, May 05, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Scott MacKay    Email

A 26-year-old Cranston native spearheaded last Saturday's upset special election of a Democratic U.S. House member from a very conservative district anchored by Baton Rouge and its McMansion suburbs. Meet Katie Nee, who tomorrow will become the youngest chief......

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Scott MacKay: Reed and Pastore, the parallels

7:03 PM Mon, May 05, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Scott MacKay    Email

That U.S. Sen. Jack Reed is indeed the "Irish Pastore" was on display once again yesterday at Reed's annual family breakfast at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet banquet hall in his native Cranston. The reference, of course, is to the late Sen. John O.......

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Rep. Ucci wants term limits for General Assembly

7:55 AM Mon, May 05, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Peter Phipps    Email

Rep. Stephen R. Ucci, D-Johnston, has proposed that General Assembly members be limited to three terms and that the length of a legislative term be doubled, to four years. “Longer, four-year terms for lawmakers would result in more stability in......

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A small group of General Assembly members are paying for some of their health insurance

7:54 AM Mon, May 05, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Peter Phipps    Email

The public spotlight placed on their free health-care benefits has prompted several more state lawmakers to offer to pay 10 percent of the cost of the premiums costing up to $16,233 a year for family coverage. In recent days, Senate......

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Jane Hayward told she needs to be vigilant about potential conflicts

7:45 AM Mon, May 05, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Peter Phipps    Email

Before getting too comfortable in her new job, Jane Hayward, former health and human services secretary, decided to check in with the state Ethics Commission. On April 3, Hayward asked the commission what she can and cannot do — under......

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Republican Loughlin considering Kennedy challenge

7:45 AM Mon, May 05, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Peter Phipps    Email

Rep. John Loughlin, a Tiverton Republican, told Political Scene last week that he is considering whether to challenge U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy in November. “It has not been ruled in or ruled out at this point,” said Loughlin, 49,......

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Republicans embrace Operation Clean Government

7:30 AM Mon, May 05, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Peter Phipps    Email

The citizens-advocacy group Operation Clean Government has a new best friend. Who? The state Republican Party, which issued an e-mail under its own e-Pluribus banner last week reminding one and all of OCG’s “Second Annual Forum.” And why would the......

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Photo: Baldly showing support for a sick colleague

7:57 AM Thu, May 01, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Jack Perry    Email

Journal photo/ Connie Grosch Six representatives and the governor's director of legislative affairs visited the Inner City Hair Salon on Smith Street in Providence Wednesday with a common purpose -- to have their heads shaved. From left to right:......

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