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CRANSTON, Rhode Island (Reuters) - A Rhode Island school board voted on Thursday to comply with a federal court order to remove a prayer banner that has been displayed in a public high school for nearly a half century, saying the cash-strapped district cannot face a costly appeal.

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- When the state stepped in to take over financially struggling Central Falls in 2010, Rhode Island's smallest city lost something fundamental: its democratic government. Mayor Charles Moreau would be forced to give back his key to City Hall, and the City Council was relegated to advisory status - unsure for months whether it was even allowed to convene. "They're being governed without elected representation," state Sen. Elizabeth Crowley said of Central Falls' 19,000 residents. "That flies in the face of the democratic principle that our country is founded on, not only our little city. Maybe we...

U.S. Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) is asking unemployed Rhode Islanders to share their stories so that his colleagues will understand the importance of passing an emergency extension to benefits set to expire for more than 2 million Americans on Dec. 31. The Congressman has launched a new Tell Your Story feature on his website in hopes to convince the House and Senate to pass the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2011 (H.R. 3346) which would continue the program through the end of 2012. More the 9,800 state residents currently depend on the aid and according to Director of the...

A battle is brewing in Rhode Island and you can weigh in with other Americans to stop this War on Christmas! November 30, 2011 Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee does not like a Christmas tree being called a Christmas tree. So he is changing it. According to FoxNews, Gov. Chafee has said the Christmas tree in the State House Rotunda in Providence, as of this year, will be called a "holiday" tree.

(NewsCore) - A Rhode Island lawmaker is calling Gov. Lincoln Chafee "Governor Grinch" for defying politicians and deciding that the state would have a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." The governor defended his decision by arguing that it is in keeping with the state's founding in 1636 by religious dissident Roger Williams as a haven for tolerance -- where government and religion were kept separate. Chafee, an independent, said in a statement issued Tuesday that his stand was a continuation of past practice, "and does not represent a change of course on my part." But Rep. Doreen Costa,...

... After decades of drift, denial and inaction, Rhode Island’s $14.8 billion pension system is in crisis. Ten cents of every state tax dollar now goes to retired public workers. Before long, Ms. Raimondo has been cautioning in whistle-stops here and across the state, that figure will climb perilously toward 20 cents. But the scary thing is that no one really knows. The Providence Journal recently tried to count all the municipal pension plans outside the state system and stopped at 155, conceding that it might have missed some. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission is asking questions, including the...

Three years ago, a winner was chosen to make Rhode Island the nation's first state with an offshore wind farm. Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri made the announcement: Deepwater Wind Inc., -- a well-capitalized New Jersey wind power development company with hotshot lobbyists -- won the contract. Carcieri unveiled the $1.3 billion, 800-job venture in language fit for a legacy: "This is much more than an energy project. This is about creating a new industry in Rhode Island; an industry that puts Rhode Island at the epicenter of the emerging alternative energy market."

by John HillStand With Arizona Over 500 people turned out for a protest against R.I. Gov. Lincoln Chafee's support for in-state tuition for illegal aliens - which was implemented with a lawless decree by Chafee's education "czars" when he failed to get the Legislature to pass the outrageous bill. Local media hailed the "unusually large turnout for a weeknight" at the the State House in Providence, which included many Stand With Arizona activists, along with members of Rhode Island for Immigration Law Enforcement, and average citizens furious at the Obama-style bypassing of elected officials on behalf of illegal aliens....

EVENT: JOIN R.I. LEGISLATORS AND PROTEST THE LAWLESS DECREE OF SUBSIDIZED TUITION FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS BY GOV. CHAFEE'S UNELECTED 'BOARD OF GOVERNORS'WHO: SWA Activists from RI, CT and MA - and ALL SWA'ers to call, fax or email. 6 Rhode Island Representatives and Senators will be attending the protest and holding a press conference (see below).WHERE: Rhode Island State House (Smith St. Side). Providence, R.I.WHEN: Wed., Oct 5th, 2011, 5:00 P.M. NOTE: SWA will be providing signs for you to print out (if you need them please email us at act@standwitharizona.com). Otherwise please bring your own (non-political) signs against in-state...

Providence, RI - Rhode Island State Police say that the shooting death of a woman's Pit bull, "Champ" was an "unfortunate accident". Accident or not, a beloved family companion is dead. The tragedy happened on Wednesday morning when a fugitive task force was stationed outside of a home in Providence. Though the task force was waiting for a fugitive to emerge, they were instead greeted by two dogs who had been let out for a potty break. Moments after the dogs were let outside, shots were fired. The officer who fired the three shots told the dog's owner that the...

FOLLOW THE LAWThat would be a sure-fire cure for our Economically Transmitted Disease [ETD]. MERS and their Banker pals are adroit enough to gobble up free homes, along with all the various "credit enancements" that go with it...but they aren't quite adroit enough to do it without breaking the law. Too bad for them.

In the wake of Central Falls's bankruptcy filing last Monday, lawmakers and local officials across the Ocean State have had to come to grips with the fact that the tiny city's fiscal "issues" are not unique. As you may remember, Central Falls's financial woes are primarily the result of the city's $80 million unfunded pension liability. The city was forced to file for bankruptcy after union retirees failed to agree to concessions that would have slashed pension benefits by as much as half. The filing was a wakeup call for Rhode Island, which is suffering from widespread pension crises. Combined,...

The tiny, cash-strapped town of Central Falls, Rhode Island, is expected to know Monday whether it is officially bankrupt. Robert Flanders, the town's state appointed receiver, will work through the weekend to decide whether he will file for bankruptcy on behalf of Central Falls... ... Central Falls faces a $4.9 million budget shortfall. The real financial problem, however, is the city's $80 million public pension debt and it's public safety worker pension fund is on track to run out by October. A Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy filing would give Central Falls the opportunity to change it's union agreements. But it...

It's not Jefferson County, yet, but it could certainly be seen as the precursor to the first domino. "The state-appointed receiver overseeing the cash-strapped Rhode Island town of Central Falls has filed for bankruptcy on the city's behalf in an effort to help it get back on its feet. Receiver Robert G. Flanders and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced the step - which Flanders has described as a last resort - at a news conference at City Hall. Flanders filed the legal paperwork seeking bankruptcy protection Monday. "From the ashes of bankruptcy Central Falls will rise again," Flanders said."...

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — The retirees came from near and far, gathering in a muggy auditorium here to listen to an urgent pitch: give back a big chunk of your pension or risk losing it all. This city of 19,000 is broke and headed for bankruptcy, partly because it has promised retired police and firefighters millions of dollars in pensions and benefits that it cannot begin to afford. And so Robert G. Flanders Jr., a state-appointed receiver who is trying to right the city’s finances, found himself on the stage at Central Falls High School on Tuesday, asking retirees...

When a voter ID bill passed in Rhode Island last week, longtime opponents were stunned. How could this happen in one of the country’s most Democratic and liberal states? Why did Democratic leaders and black legislators support it? And why did Governor Chafee sign it? Some say black politicians were trying to protect themselves from Hispanics’ growing political power — two longtime black legislators were defeated by Hispanics in the 2010 elections. Some cite illegal immigration as a driving force. Some say voter ID is simply essential. Whatever the reason, [ideologues] are still seething a week later. That includes many...

PROVIDENCE - The fight over Rhode Island's new voter identification law continued for three days after Governor Chafee quietly signed the legislation, with opponents saying they were led by the governor's office to believe they still had a fighting chance. A week earlier, Democratic North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed a voter-ID bill passed by her state's Republican-controlled legislature, saying it would "unnecessarily and unfairly disenfranchise many eligible and legitimate voters." But there was no such opposition from Chafee in Rhode Island, where Democrats overwhelmingly control the House and Senate. Democratic House Speaker Gordon D. Fox was one of the...

The U.S. Catholic bishops have expressed their disapproval with a civil unions bill likely to be signed into law after passing Rhode Island's state senate on June 29. “In no way can civil union measures be considered a permissible compromise or a step in advancing the common good, said Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, Chairman of the U.S. bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, in a July 1 statment. “Instead, they directly violate principles of justice and accelerate the push to redefine marriage itself.” The bill, likely to be signed by Governor Lincoln Chafee, would allow same-sex couples...

Rhode Island's governor on Saturday signed into law a controversial bill legalizing same sex civil unions, but said it does not go far enough toward legalizing gay marriage. Governor Lincoln Chafee, an independent who supports gay marriage, nonetheless signed the measure with the promise that it would move Rhode Island closer to the ultimate goal of legalizing gay marriage. Chafee had urged the General Assembly to consider same-sex marriage this legislative session. But some legislators felt it would be doomed in a state populated by many elderly and Catholic voters, and a civil unions bill was passed instead. Rhode Island...

PROVIDENCE, June 30, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “Can there be any doubt that Almighty God will, in His own time and way, pass judgment upon our state, its leaders and citizens, for abandoning His commands and embracing public immorality?” That was how Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin reacted to today’s passage of legislation approving homosexual civil unions in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Senate approved the final version of the bill by a vote of 21 to 16. Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who advocated the legalization of homosexual “marriage” in his inaugural address, is expected to sign it into law. The bill was...

CHARLESTOWN - A police officer shot and killed a dog at a Narrow Lane home this week, and its owner is challenging the police department's account of how the animal died. Police Chief Jack Shippee said Patrolman Robert Petrocelli was dispatched Monday night to the area of Route 1 and Narrow Lane for a report of a roaming horse in the roadway. The officer did not find the horse, but responded to its owner's home at 210 Narrow Lane - a property mired in zoning disputes and the focus of animal welfare concerns. "The officer went to the residence and...

Senate leaders and labor officials have made it painfully clear they do not want you to know about the sweet deals given to college dropout Stephen Iannazzi, the taxpayer-funded $88,112-a-year “special assistant” to Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio. Indeed, it appears they may be engaged in some kind of sub-rosa program to silence questions. Stephen is the son of Donald Iannazzi, the business manager for Local 1033, the Laborers International Union affiliate that employs 30-year-old lawyer Charles Ruggerio. Charles is the son of Senator Ruggerio. Donald received an annual salary of $212,658, plus $53,212 in “other compensation,” in 2009, according...

The 18 Senators Who Approve Breaking The Internet To Protect Hollywood from the not-cool dept Last fall, we noted that the Senate Judiciary Committee had unanimously voted to approve COICA, a bill for censoring the internet as a favor to the entertainment industry. Thankfully, Senator Ron Wyden stepped up and blocked COICA from progressing. This year, COICA has been replaced by the PROTECT IP Act, which fixes some of the problems of COICA, but introduces significant other problems as well. A wide cross section of people who actually understand technology and innovation have come out against PROTECT IP as written...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced Thursday that he would pull out of a regional climate pact by the end of the year, delivering a political setback to the fledging effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. In a news conference, Christie said the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a 2005 accord in which 10 states agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants 10 percent by 2018, would not be able to meet its goals. The program requires plants in the region that burn fossil fuels to buy pollution allowances for the carbon they...

Rhode Island Is 'Being Crushed' By Pension Debt, Treasurer Urges Major Overhaul Of Retirement System Grace Wyler May 24, 2011, 5:56 PM Rhode Island's retirement system needs a swift and dramatic overhaul to save the state from collapsing under its massive pension debt, according to a new report from state treasurer Gina Raimondo. The report, out yesterday, suggests several radical solutions to the state's pension woes including, reducing benefits, suspending cost-of-living adjustments, raising the retirement age, and implementing a new "hybrid" retirement system that would couple a smaller pensions with a 401k-style plan. The report, "Truth In Numbers: The Security...

It’s likely that Robert Watson, the minority leader of the Rhode Island House, is now regretting his incendiary comments during a speech to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce last February. Watson caused a commotion when he made clear his feelings that Rhode Island lawmakers were wasting their time debating marijuana decriminalization. According to Watson, making pot decrim a priority would be a good idea “if you are a Guatemalan gay man who likes to gamble and smokes marijuana.” Watson’s hypocrisy was revealed this week after he was stopped at a police checkpoint Friday and charged with – what else?...

PROVIDENCE — House Republican Leader Robert Watson, the trenchant and bitingly acerbic leader of the tiny GOP bloc in the overwhelmingly Democratic House of Representatives in Rhode Island, is facing charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana possession after a random stop by Connecticut police as he was driving his pickup truck through a checkpoint in East Haven, Conn., Friday night. A police report said his eyes were “extremely glassy and bloodshot,” his speech slurred, and he had difficulty performing a series of sobriety tests. After handcuffing Watson and placing him under arrest, the arresting police officer...

Shortly after Anjan Dutta-Gupta bought a small Middletown company in 1996 in order to secure potentially lucrative business at the submarine research base nearby, a Navy program officer named Ralph M. Mariano approached him with a stark demand. Mariano told the Calcutta-born businessman to pay him $6,000 a week or else the Navy would stop paying his company, which had inherited a technical services contract with its purchase of the smaller firm, according to a statement filed Monday as Dutta-Gupta agreed to plead guilty to a federal bribery charge. That was just the beginning of a 15-year relationship that has...

After decades of increasing tobacco taxes at the federal, state, and local levels, some states are beginning to buck this fiscally burdensome and irresponsible trend. On March 17, the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill that would cut the state’s cigarette tax by a dime, to $1.68 per pack. Two other states with high tobacco taxes—New Jersey and Rhode Island—are also considering proposals to reduce taxes on tobacco products to make their state’s tax rates more competitive. This reversal in policy would be fiscally responsible and especially beneficial to low-income people. Many economists have noted that many states’...

As Pajamas Media has been reporting since July, Eric Holder’s Justice Department is only interested in enforcing some parts of Motor Voter, but not the parts that require states to remove dead and felon voters from the rolls. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes told the voting section she is only interested in enforcing the welfare agency voter registration provisions. As a result of her dereliction of her duties, thousands of illegal aliens may have participated in the 2010 elections in New Mexico and Colorado. I reported on an undercover sting operation in Louisiana targeting welfare agency registration. Now...

CONCORD, N.H. – Bucking a national trend of raising cigarette taxes, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Rhode Island have considered reducing theirs, hoping to draw smokers from other states and increase revenue. Supporters argue reducing the tax by a dime would make New Hampshire more competitive with Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts, while opponents say that even if the state experienced higher sales as a result it still would lose millions of dollars in revenue. It's very unusual for states to lower the tax, University of Illinois at Chicago economics professor Frank Chaloupka says. The increase in sales isn't enough to...

A father still enraged over his young son’s death more than 35 years ago has vowed to kill the boy’s murderer if he is released several years early from his 40-year sentence, as now scheduled. Michael Woodmansee, who was a neighbor of the Foreman family, killed Jason Foreman in South Kingstown in 1975 and hid the boy’s shellacked bones in his house for years. A Department of Correction lawyer said Woodmansee earned time off for good behavior and it can be revoked only if he misbehaves.

CNN) -- The firing of every teacher in the Providence public school system has set off a wave of anxiety, anger and uncertainty in the Rhode Island city, with a union leader blasting the mayor's decision as anti-union maneuvering along the lines of what's happening in the Midwest. Mayor Angel Tavares said in a online message Wednesday that he authorized the previous day's move to dismiss almost 2,000 teachers and staff to allow for greater flexibility once the budget process is complete. Tavares also said the final number of layoffs needed to balance a multimillion budget deficit will be determined...

Former Providence mayor-turned-ex-con Vincent “Buddy” Cianci yesterday left open the door to another run for public office on the heels of a new poll showing he remains one of the most popular politicians in Rhode Island. “There’s always a possibility of running for office,” he said. “But I have no intention right now of running for anything.” Cianci is barred from running for office in Rhode Island until 2012 but could seek federal office, a prospect that gained steam yesterday when a Providence TV station released a poll showing him within striking distance of freshman Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). Despite...

The Providence Journal of Rhode Island reports that the Providence school district "plans to send out dismissal notices to every one of its 1,926 teachers, an unprecedented move that has union leaders up in arms." The paper continues: In a letter sent to all teachers Tuesday, Supt. Tom Brady wrote that the Providence School Board on Thursday will vote on a resolution to dismiss every teacher, effective the last day of school. In an e-mail sent to all teachers and School Department staff, Brady said, “We are forced to take this precautionary action by the March 1 deadline given the...

To what lengths will cash strapped Democrat controlled states, counties and municipalities go to fatten their coffers to pay for their inflated budgets? While law enforcement should be chasing “bad guys” – the crack dealer, the murderer, the thief – those types of law breakers only strain an already tight budget filled with this gimme program and that gimmie program. No, all you have to do is follow the money trail. One look at Rhode Island will illustrate just that. Truck drivers are prime targets for any number of traffic violations apart from speeding. The fact that they are “just...

Add to Paul Krugman, Clarence Dupnak, Chris Matthews and Sherrod Brown the name, Lincoln Chafee, who joins a growing chorus of stooges building a narrative around the straw-man, talk radio.  The governor of Rhode Island, Mr. Chafee will institute a "no talk policy" for state officials, banning them from speaking to radio hosts.  A spokesman tells the Providence Journal:  "Talk radio is essentially ratings-driven, for-profit programming and we don't think it appropriate to use taxpayer resources to have state employees use work time to support for-profit, ratings-driven programming."  Get that?  It isn't the state's business to aid the private sector...

PROVIDENCE — No one is likely to confuse new Governor Chafee with his Republican predecessor, Donald L. Carcieri, and now here’s another way to tell them apart: Chafee doesn’t plan to spend his own time on talk radio, and he intends to ban state employees from spending their state work time talking on talk radio, which was Carcieri’s favorite medium and an integral part of his communications operation. Spokesman Michael Trainor said a directive will go out over the next day or so that reflects that new policy. He said the policy emanates from a belief that talk radio is...

Quick thinking saves girl from Warwick pool A local teenager has been hailed a hero after saving a little girl from a swimming pool. Warwick Eagle Scout Austin Irons saved a little girl from drowning after a group of cub scouts and boy scouts finished swimming at McDermott Pool in Warwick. Austin jumped in the water to save the girl who was lying face down and helped lifeguards resuscitate the girl. "We heard shouting for lifeguards...I didn't even think. It was like, just do it," Austin recalled on the experience. He was able to get the girl out of the...

PROVIDENCE — Dominic Johnson, a 10-year-old fourth-grader with a fledgling Mohawk, brandished his black, long-nosed toy gun and caressed the muzzle appreciatively. “It’s like a shotgun mixed with a rifle,’’ he said, as his mother, April, told him to stop pointing it at nearby children. Soon it would be junk. Dominic joined dozens of children yesterday at the annual Toy Gun Bash in the gymnasium of Pleasant View Elementary School. There, they lined up to toss their toy guns, from dainty purple water guns to camouflage-painted pistols, inside the Bash-O-Matic, a large black, foam creature with churning metal teeth and...

The major problem is the city, with an annual operating budget of about $16 million, is facing about $32 million in promised after-retirement health-insurance costs in addition to the $48 million in pension obligations. “That’s $80 million for a city that has 19,000 citizens, approximately,” he said. “That’s a huge problem.” Pfeiffer raised the specter of a municipal bankruptcy filing as a last resort..... The crisis in Central Falls has been growing for more than a decade, Pfeiffer said. City administrations approved municipal employee contracts Central Falls could not afford and kept giving out pension and retirement benefits without figuring...

PROVIDENCE — Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee repeated a pledge yesterday to rescind an executive order on illegal immigration, but his office said he is discussing with State Police whether they should ask for immigration papers when there is reasonable suspicion that a person is in the United States illegally. The order signed by Governor Don Carcieri, a Republican. sparked outrage in the immigrant and minority communities in part because it instructed State Police to check the immigration status of suspects in the course of investigations. . . .

It’s been more than three months since we first told you about Capt. John Kerry’s high-seas tax dodge on his new $7 million yacht, Isabel, and the town of Nantucket still doesn’t have a check from the senior senator! You may recall that Kerry lowered the flag and surrendered in July, agreeing to pony up more than $400,000 to cover state taxes on the toney tub. Mr. Teresa Heinz broke out the checkbook four days after the Track set off a furious tempest with our report that he had purchased the 76-foot floating palace and ported her in Rhode Island,...

Former President Bill Clinton will campaign in Rhode Island for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio this week - despite the candidate recently telling President Obama, who refused to endorse Caprio, to "shove it," according to Politico. The appearance, currently scheduled for Sunday, could give the Democrat a much-needed boost in the polls: According to a Rasmussen report from last Friday, Caprio trailed Independent Lincoln Chafee by seven points.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – This state's official name — The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations — is more than just a mouthful. To many, it evokes stinging reminders of Rhode Island's prime role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Democrats are about to be trounced in the midterm elections, and if the pundits are correct the emergency brakes are about to be slammed on Obama’s out of control liberal agenda. In response to the predictions of a Republican tidal wave coupled together with lack of enthusiasm for the Democrat party and Barack’s policies, the President is stumping for Democrat candidates as if his life depended on it. The Democrat Party is certainly giving it their all. Stumper/early voter Michelle Obama is showing up all over America. Nuclear-code-loser Bill Clinton has found his way to “95 campaign stops for 65...

WOONSOCKET, R.I. – President Barack Obama attacked Republicans with gusto Monday as he plunged into a final week of midterm election campaigning, but his party's prognosis remained darkened by the feeble economy and his itinerary was designed largely to minimize losses. Nor was his greeting totally friendly in a state where Obama has pointedly declined to endorse his party's candidate for governor. Obama can "take his endorsement and shove it," declared Democrat Frank Caprio, battling Republican-turned-independent Lincoln Chafee in a Rhode Island gubernatorial race rated tight in the polls. Chafee endorsed Obama during the 2008 campaign for the White House....

<p>PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The Democratic candidate for governor of Rhode Island is reacting angrily to news that he won't be getting the endorsement of President Obama.</p> <p>Obama is scheduled to visit Rhode Island on Monday, but according to The Providence Journal, won't be endorsing anyone.</p>

Democrat Frank Caprio, who is running for Governor of Rhode Island, didn’t receive President Obama’s endorsement and had some choice words about it, saying he “can take his endorsement and really shove it” on WPRO radio. He went on to say that Obama ignored Rhode Island and now he’s coming in to treat them like an ATM machine.

In an election cycle that has Democratic candidates running as far as they can from an unpopular president, Rhode Island's Democratic gubernatorial candidate made a sure to go viral comment today when he didn't get President Barack Obama's endorsement. Democrat Frank Caprio told a local radio station, "He can take his endorsement and really shove it" and went on to criticize Mr. Obama for ignoring Rhode Island's recent floods and "treating us like an ATM machine." So was this a real snub of a fellow Democrat or a well-orchestrated plan to help both Mr. Caprio and the president?