With the RGA picking up all but $304.60 of the travel costs to send the governor and a state trooper to the event, cost did not appear to be a factor.

Before heading back Thursday, Carcieri was scheduled to moderate a discussion on energy.

Explaining his last-minute decision to back out, spokeswoman Amy Kempe said: "The Governor's original plan was to fly there today and back tomorrow after leading the policy discussion on energy. The flights to/from Texas have him spending more time in the air and in airports than at the conference.''

Before heading back Thursday, he is scheduled to moderate a discussion on energy.
A series of reports out of the budget office this week have focused attention on the size of the state's ballooning deficit, and the need to freeze hiring and cutback on all less than essential expenses.

But spokeswoman Amy Kempe said the RGA will pay for all of the governor's travel costs, including his airfare and hotel accommodations.

She said the state is picking up the $304.60 in airfare to send with him a state trooper she declined to identify.

But she said the RGA will pay for all of the trooper's other travel costs, including his accommodations and meals.

In between discussion groups on energy, health care and the "2010 campaign battlefield,'' there will a plethora of "optional activities,'' including horseback riding, skeet and trap, archery and a 'trunk show and clothing boutique'' for the governors and their spouses.

Kempe said "Mrs. Carcieri has not decided if she will attend.''

PROVIDENCE,R.I. -- State Sen. Frank A. Ciccone is calling for a legislative inquiry into the state's role in choosing managers for the bankrupt Twin River, and potential award of the gambling license - worth hundreds of millions of dollars - to new owners without a competitive and public vetting process.

Ciccone, a Providence Democrat, suggested the commission consider the potential termination, "due to breaches,'' of Twin River's "master contract'' to operate more than 4,750 video-slot machines placed there by the state Lottery.

He said the commission should then look at "the possible options of the state, in the event that the license is revoked, to reissue the license in accordance with a bidding process, or to a better location in the state, or on more desirable terms,'' and in the interim, "the right of the state to approve or disapprove the next owner or manager.''

Ciccone, a top-ranked official in the Laborers International Union affiliate that represents state court employees, tried without success to force the current owners of the Lincoln slot-parlor and greyhound track to drop their plans to suspend dog-racing in August. The governor vetoed the legislation.

Ciccone based his current campaign for the "immediate creation'' of legislative study commission on events since the last changeover in ownership, that led him to question the depth and extent of the state's oversight.

"BLB was awarded a long-term contract by the state and lobbied against a full-scale casino in the 2006 casino referendum, only to announce afterward that it was teaming up with a Massachusetts Indian Tribe to build a full-scale casino in Massachusetts that would compete against Rhode Island.

"While BLB was pursuing a casino in Massachusetts, it shut down restaurants and other amenities in Lincoln and filed for bankruptcy in breach of its long-term contract with the state.

"Most recently...Warner Gaming- who I presume the bondholders and Governor Carcieri [had] chosen to manage [the former] Lincoln Park- announced in the Boston Globe in late October that it is planning to build a casino in Milford, Massachusetts because it is, and I quote, an 'ideal location' and will capture traffic which heads to 'Rhode Island gaming facilities today.''

Warner's Massachusetts proposal would create a gambling complex that could house 5,000 slot machines, 250 gambling tables, hotel rooms, restaurants and all the accoutrements of a full-fledged casino resort. The complex, known as the Crossroads Resort Project, would be located along Route 495 in Milford -- about 20 miles north of Twin River.

Soon after William H. Warner withdrew his application to manage Twin River earlier this month, the state's director of business regulation, Michael Marques, said he "indicated he was withdrawing his application because [Twin River's] lenders communicated to him that they were not comfortable with his plans for gaming in another state.''

Ciccone said he is not concerned about the bondholders, BLB or Warner Gaming.

"I am worried about the state of Rhode Island and our ability to control this license," he said. "This license is an asset of the state and should revert to the state. It does not permanently belong to bondholders, BLB or Warner Gaming; it belongs to the state and should only be issued to a company that has the history, brand recognition, management and marketing experience to help Rhode Island compete in this increasingly competitive marketplace."

"It should not be with a company that is less than two years old that recently announced that it plans to build a casino in Massachusetts to compete against Rhode Island," he continued. "Maybe this plan somehow works for the bondholders, but it does not work for, and is not in the best interest of, Rhode Island. And the state of Rhode Island should control the license."

Once a stand-alone state agency with a board of directors made up of lawmakers and gubernatorial appointees, the state Lottery is currently a division within the executive branch of state government, under Governor Carcieri.

There was no immediate comment on Ciccone's proposals from Senate leaders or the Carcieri administration.

With The Journal's front-page story about Carcieri's veto as his starting point, the mock-conservative Colbert begins broadly with this observation -- "Gays ruin everything sacred, just look at what Michelangelo did to the Sistine Chapel. They'll never scrub that stuff off'' -- then zeroes in on the case that prompted the legislation.

A sampling:

"I believe that the governor might not be going far enough if we really want to protect the sanctity of traditional decomposing... It might be time to bar gays from having funerals... and hear me out... I am not a monster... I am in favor of civil end-of-life ceremonies. It's just like a funeral... except legally you don' have to bring a covered dish... And instead of defiling our traditional graveyards, gay people can have their own same-sex cemeteries. We'll call them 'same-eteries'."

There was no immediate comment from the Carcieri administration.

Watch the spoof in its entirety below. View with caution as the 5-minute, 45-second piece does include some off-color references. The Rhode Island specific portion begins approximately 1 minute and 45 seconds in.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Skeletons in the Closet
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating

The delegation included the Narragansett's Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, lobbyist Terry Fracassa, and one-time Celtics hoop star Kevin Stacom. All three lobbied hard three years ago to get the tribe's West Warwick casino proposal on the ballot, where it was ultimately defeated.
But both Thomas and Fracassa said their visit to the state treasurer, along with two unidentified representatives from a mid-West manufacturing company, had "absolutely nothing'' to do with gaming.

Thomas said Fracassa contacted him about a potential joint venture with a company that manufactures items for the military which believed a partnership with a federally-recognized tribe might give it an advantage in the contract selection process. Thomas surmised "the reason this manufacturer sat down with us...[is that ] we could benefit them.''

But he said he did not want to jinx the potential "economic development'' project, which he has not yet outlined for his own tribe, by saying too much, too soon.

In a subsequent conversation, Fracassa too was reluctant to name the company or the representatives at this point, but he said he arranged the meeting in Caprio's office because the out-of-towners believed Rhode Island had a "difficult climate'' for doing business, but had heard enough about Caprio to believe he was "a person of action'' in the economic-development arena, who had been "pretty active in terms of meeting with the small business community.''

Economic development is not one of the state treasurer's specific job duties.

But "I think Frank was saying that he would be able to act or help act as a facilitator in terms of just helping them gain traction...and just to basically offer general support [by] reaching out a helping hand and seeing that every question that they had would be answered,'' Fracassa said.

When asked, however, to describe Caprio's role in this private meeting, his spokesman Tim Gray said he just "listened.''

He also issued a statement that made no mention of the two manufacturing company representatives. It said: "Treasurer Caprio met with a small group today to discuss potential economic development opportunities for the Narragansett Indian Tribe, including manufacturing and logistics, models which have proven to be successful with other tribes.''

"As you may know,'' Gray wrote in an e-mail, "Treasurer Caprio grew up in Narragansett and has known Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas since the 1970s when they played youth sports together.Today's attendees: General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, Narragansett Indian Tribe.

"Also attending the meeting as guests of Chief Sachem Thomas were: Kevin Stacom, Mike Van Leesten, local economist, Terry Fracassa, esq. The group discussion today did not involve gaming issues.''

On Monday, he announced his hiring of the New Hampshire-based Norway Hill Associates, led by David Carney, a White House special assistant to former President George H.W. Bush; and James McKay, former executive director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, as his "general consultant,'' and Dave Sackett at The Tarrance Group, as his pollster.

A Rhode Island native, McKay had a role in the national GOP's unsuccessful 2006 run at the Vermont U.S. Senate seat won by then U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, and in Texas, in Republican Gov. Rick Perry's reelection campaign.

Carney is no stranger to controversy, having been at the center of a 2004 presidential campaign imbroglio involving the hiring by Republican operatives of workers to solicit signatures to put independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the New Hampshire ballot.

New Hampshire Democrats filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging the hiring constituted an illegal corporate donation. The office of general counsel recommended the commission "find reason to believe that Norway Hill and its principals knowingly and willfully'' made an illegal corporate contribution to the Nader campaign.

Carney was quoted in the Portsmouth Herald at the time as saying: "The Kerry campaign is obviously afraid of a Nader candidacy...and anything they are afraid of, I support.''

The FEC ultimately voted to dismiss the complaint, on grounds the principals in the company "each likely reimbursed Norway Hill within...[a reasonable] period of time from their individual funds, converting the potential illegal corporate contribution into permissible in-kind contributions'' of $2,000 each, and the Nader campaign reimbursed "the remaining $265 in potentially illegal contributions.''

The FEC decision said: "The commission does not see the value of spending investigatory resources to determine whether this small amount was reimbursed in a commercially reasonable period.''

In his press release, Smith quotes Carney as saying about him: "Rory is an exceptional candidate. His experience helping small businesses through tough economic times will serve the people of Rhode Island well. More than anything, Rhode Island needs to create economic opportunity and Rory has the skill to do just that."

The Republican mayor said that while he appreciated and respected the effort to help people who are faced with foreclosure, he could not support measures that "interfere with and alter existing mortgage agreements" and "contradict state law," potentially creating "problems with the titles of properties in our city."

Legally sound or not, Fung's vetoes prompted members of the all-Democratic City Council to say they will likely seek overrides when they meet again on Nov. 23.

His vetoes also drew protests from Democratic City Committee Chairman Michael J. Sepe, who issued a two-page statement Friday with the headline: "Fung turns back on Cranston's homeowners,"

Sepe wrote: "One has to ask, what motivated Mayor Fung to take the side of the mortgage bankers over the concerns of his own constituents? Has his extensive training and years of experience as a paid lobbyist on Smith Hill for a major national insurance company tainted his reasoning so that he is incapable of feeling empathy for those unfortunate Cranston residents who have lost their jobs and now find themselves -- through no fault of their own -- in a position of losing their homes to some out-of-state bank with an '800' telephone number."

He continued: "On behalf of all those Cranston homeowners who are affected by Mayor Fung's callous, cold-hearted veto, I implore him to get real, come to his senses and reconsider the fallacy of his reasoning."

Republican City Committee Chairman James Quinlan said Fung's vetoes show that he is looking out for taxpayers and trying to spare the city the cost of defending ordinances that won't hold up in court.

Of Sepe and the council, Quinlan said the Democrats are focused on trying to win votes when they should be concerned about budget deficits and cuts in state aid.

"You can see where the council's financial priorities are," he said.

To help quell rumors he is not long for the race, Chafee went so far as to make public the results of a telephone survey of 403 likely voters conducted for his campaign by Alpha Research Associates. The poll showed where he would place in a three-way race with newly emerged Republican candidate Rory Smith and either one of the leading Democratic contenders, "if the election were held today.''

Among the findings of the Oct. 26-29 poll:

* In a general election race between Chafee, Smith and Gen. Treasurer Frank Caprio, Chafee would draw 36 percent, Caprio 34 percent and Smith 8 percent, with a majority of those who chose no side saying they did not yet know.

* In a race between Chafee, Smith and Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch, Chafee led the attorney general 37 percent to 24 percent, with Smith drawing 15 percent, and the balance undecided.

"To be honest,'' Chafee said, he was surprised at his apparent edge over the high-visibility Lynch, and believes the numbers mean "it is going to be a competitive race, no doubt about it.''

He also made this observation: when the Democratic nominee is Caprio -- instead of Lynch -- the "social conservatives abandon Smith and go to Caprio.''

He said he was also struck by the number -- 84 percent -- who said they were willing to give "a serious look'' at all candidates, even independents. People interviewed had the option of saying they would vote for whoever emerged as the Republican or Democratic nominee.

Caprio spokeswoman Margie O'Brien responded in an e-mail: "The Chafee-sponsored poll showing a former senator in a statistical dead heat with Frank Caprio speaks for itself.''

Lynch campaign manager Mike Mikus, meanwhile, said: "We are one year away from Election Day and, as with most elections at this point, a large number of voters are undecided, and many will ultimately change their mind over the course in time. Once the voters focus on the race, they will see that Patrick Lynch is the candidate who has fought tirelessly on their behalf for the last seven years and is best equipped to fix the economy and bring real change to Rhode Island."

The poll, of course, did not look at where Chafee or any other likely candidates would stand in an even more crowded race, featuring an as-yet-unknown Moderate Party candidate and other possible candidates, including former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, who was Chafee's '06 Republican nemesis in the U.S. Senate race. (Chafee won the primary, then lost the seat in the general election to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.)

But the Alpha poll found that no other issue comes close to "jobs/economy'' in the minds of voters, with an overwhelming number convinced the the state has veered seriously off track. It also test-marketed the campaign theme, "A new way forward.'' Chafee has been using it ever since.

From the poll and his campaign travels so far, Chafee said he has come to a conclusion: "They don't want to hear what I have done. ...They want to hear what I am going to do. I think that is going to be the campaign, and people know these decisions are not going to be easy. They do not want glossy pie in the sky.''

But he still trails Caprio and Lynch by wide margins in dollars in his campaign account, having added $120,210 in the three months that ended Sept. 30. That included a new $50,000 personal loan. Caprio netted $135,377 during the same period, and Lynch, $112,653. At the end of the quarter, Chafee had $200,122 left, Lynch, $562,167 and Caprio, $1.504 million.

To save money, Chafee said, his campaign coordinator -- former bank executive James DeRentis -- agreed at the end of October to shift over to unpaid fund-raising for him, leaving him with one paid campaign staffer, administrative aide Cara McAllister. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, the campaign paid DeRentis $23,000.

"Like any business, you've got to raise the money,'' Chafee said. "We've got to do better at fund-raising.''

CENTRAL FALLS, RI -- George L. Ortiz Jr., who was named interim director of the advocacy organization Progreso Latino in late September, has resigned.

A statement released Friday announcing Ortiz's departure, is dated Nov. 5.

Ortiz wrote in a letter to the board of directors, "My admiration for the staff of Progreso Latino and the people they serve cannot be summed up in a few lines." He added, "Progreso Latino is not just another non-profit in Rhode Island. It serves as a beacon of hope for many that have no other place to turn."

Ortiz, who served as a consultant to Progreso Latino for the past three years, and was chief operating officer when he took over as interim director, said he plans to expand his consulting business.

He replaced Ramon Martinez, who resigned Sept. 25 to pursue a new career, possibly including "national endeavors." Martinez had served as executive director for three years.

The Rev. Eliseo Nogueras, chairman of Progreso Latino's board of directors, could not be reached.

Reed will be joined at 10:30 a.m. on WPRI-TV by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, and Ed Rollins, Republican political consultant.

On July 7, Jerzyk sold the Elizabeth Roberts' campaign an "e-mail list for fundraising mailings." Congressman James R. Langevin reported a similar $740 expenditure last month.

A lawyer and former editor of the liberal Web site, RIFuture.org, Jerzyk told Political Scene that he's been collecting e-mail addresses of "people who I think are the most civically-minded Rhode Islanders" since graduating from Brown University in 1999.

That list has grown substantially over the last decade, he said.

"I ultimately decided that this list might be valuable to people who want to engage Rhode Islanders in political dialogue," Jerzyk explained. "The Obama campaign showed that e-mail has become one of the vital tools for reaching voters."

He declined to specify the number of names on the list, describing it only as being more than 1,000 and less than 10,000.

She has launched a revamped campaign Web site that uses new technology such as Twitter and Facebook that offers "180 ways to share information" about the candidate, according to a statement issued by the campaign.

"The site offers a bright, easy-to-navigate format, more photos, ways to share information with your friends and with me, and more opportunities to follow my campaign for reelection as lieutenant governor," she wrote on the Web site's blog.

We found it interesting, however, that the front page of the site doesn't mention in any prominent way the office for which Roberts is running. "Elizabeth Roberts for Rhode Island" reads the logo at the top, just above the catch phrase, "Restoring Hope To Rhode Island in Economy, Health Care and Good Government."

"It was just a design issue," said Seth Klaiman, former campaign director who has been downgraded to fundraising campaign consultant. "She is definitely only running for lieutenant governor."

At this point, Roberts' campaign team consists of two paid consultants: Klaiman and communications consultant Jill Harrington. Roberts' latest campaign filing with the state Board of Elections shows that Klaiman's firm, SMK Enterprises earned $8,500 each month between July 1 and Sept. 30. Harrington was paid $3,250 monthly.

Consulting costs will fall in the next report, Klaiman said, as will campaign spending in general as the focus shifts from a competitive gubernatorial race to a lieutenant gubernatorial campaign in which there's no high-profile opposition at this time.

Roberts latest filing reveals that she spent $47,112.97 between July 1 and Sept. 30, while raising $30,754.86, giving her an ending cash balance of $336,539.30.

The Moakley senatorial campaign has scheduled a fundraiser for Friday, Nov. 13, at the University Club on Benefit Street. An invitation for the 5 p.m. event notes ticket prices of $500, $1,000, or $2,400 (the personal donation limit for the primary election cycle).

Moakley may be considered the frontrunner in the fight to replace long-time Senator Edward M. Kennedy, but she faces Democratic opposition in the Dec. 8 primary.

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy's office reports that Kennedy won't attend the event.

We asked whether he favors Coakley over the other Democrats in the race to fill his father's seat.

"The Congressman is not taking a position on the race in Massachusetts," said spokeswoman Kerrie Bennett.

The hosts, as listed on the invitation are Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, former Patrick Kennedy staffer and head of the Mayforth Group lobbying firm Rick McAuliffe, and Chris Vitale and Gerry Harrington, both lobbyists for the lobbying firm Capitol City Group.

A former prosecutor in the criminal division of the attorney general's office, Wallin created a campaign fundraising committee in February. At the time, however, he left blank the box for candidates to declare the "office being sought.'' In his new filing, he left no further doubt about the office he seeks: attorney general.

He loaned his campaign $25,050 in start-up money, and he had $20,236 left to pursue his campaign after raising an additional $8,450 during the three-month stretch that ended September 30.

Now in private practice in Wakefield, Wallin, 39, worked in the attorney general's office.
In recent weeks, he said, he has started sending out press releases and proposed editorials to the state's smaller local newspapers, and accepting invitations to speak on talk radio shows.

On his campaign web page, Wallin describes himself as a native Rhode Islander raised in North Kingstown, who graduated from Bishop Hendricken High School, Rhode Island College and the Roger Williams University School of Law, Class of 1997, before enlisting in the Air Force, where he served as a military prosecutor and "successfully litigated numerous court martial cases involving drugs, sexual assault, child Internet pornography, and financial crimes.''

Before returning to Rhode Island, he also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

In recent weeks he has circulated for publication a sample of his views and writings that begins: "The cancer that is corruption continues to devour our state. Most recently, the governor's audit shed light on $75 million of willfully mismanaged taxpayer dollars for insider deals, extravagant bonuses, over-paying and a variety of other corrupt actions....What Rhode Islanders can see from these actions at the landfill is inaction from the state's highest elected official responsible for enforcing our laws, the Attorney General.''

"Is it possible this corruption occurred under the nose of the attorney general and he had no idea?'' he asked. Rhode Islanders are entitled to answers rather than a statement that no prosecution of anyone involved in this fleecing of taxpayer dollars will occur.''

A woman of many opinions, she shared a few of them during a rare -- but not unprecedented -- radio talk-show interview, hosted on Tuesday morning by WPRO's John DePetro.

Of the proposed Constitutional amendment to strip the word "plantations'' from the official name of the state, she said: "They should keep the name as it is.''

A measure placing the proposal on the 2010 ballot was approved by state lawmakers last week during a hectic two-day special session.

After researching the history of how the state came to be named "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," Mrs. Carcieri said: "We believe this has absolutely no connotation that people want to attribute to it,'' and the referendum drive is likely to cause "a lot of trouble'' and "cost money to fight that fight ... in a year when "there are many more important things.''

"And it's a distraction,'' she said, but "maybe that's the purpose of it. I don't know. I find myself wondering about these extraneous ideas ... Is this about distracting us from what's really important ...The economy is really important, for instance.''

Moving along, Mrs. Carcieri said she is "disappointed'' that none of the candidates in the mix to succeed her husband as governor when his run ends next year share the Carcieris' strong anti-abortion views. That includes the newly emerged Republican candidate: Riordan B. Smith.

Aside from that, however, she said, Smith strikes her as "a very, very great candidate with many good ideas, and I am pleased that we have someone who would continue the policies of my husband.

"I think that's the main point I am looking for in a candidate, and good character,'' she said. "And, he's a good Republican. His background is in business, and I think we continue to need that in this state.''