State Budgets

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Payin' for my sins

Politics and other mistakes
I don’t like the way you’re looking at me.
By AL DIAMON | April 15, 2009

As Deval Patrick flails, Tim Cahill is positioning himself to run. And that's a-okay with the Patrick team.
Whereas a few months ago it seemed that no one could pose a serious threat to any re-election campaign mounted by Governor Deval Patrick, a recent string of missteps has suddenly made him very vulnerable.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 01, 2009

Public colleges get the shaft

Fewer teachers. Bigger classes. More applicants. Huge tuition hikes. the outlook for Rhode island higher ed is bleak .
When it came time to pick a college, Thomas Ahrens just couldn't pass up the relative affordability of a University of Rhode Island education.
By MEAGHAN WIMS | February 25, 2009

What's wrong with Augusta?

Whatever it is, it isn't new. Things were just as screwed up a decade ago — in the opposite direction
Charlie Colgan couldn't predict a recession if its arrival was signaled by warning lights and sirens.
By AL DIAMON | January 29, 2009

Hey guv: stop slashing!

State budget cuts just make the recession worse
It seems as if there’s no light at the end of the state’s gloomy fiscal tunnel.
By LANCE TAPLEY | December 31, 2008

Prisoners’ support services slashed

Baldacci’s Warehouse
Governor John Baldacci announced on December 16 that he had taken significant steps toward warehousing prisoners instead of rehabilitating them.
By LANCE TAPLEY | December 23, 2008

Survivor winnings could help the state

WINDFALL FOR MAINE
We can be certain that the state's bean-counters are looking forward to Crowley's 2008 tax return — and its accompanying check.
By JEFF INGLIS | December 23, 2008

Chronichitis

Politics and other mistakes
Many of you are suffering from a brain condition called ignorance. Others are infected with a disease called stupidity of the head.
By AL DIAMON | December 23, 2008

UMaine feels the economic pinch

Tuition pressure
The University of Maine system is being asked by the state to describe how it would cut $10.6 million from its budget — the equivalent of 5.3 percent of the state money it gets — on top of the $19.1 million in cuts imposed earlier this year.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 19, 2008

I've heard that story before

Politics and other mistakes
Each year, Governor John Baldacci announces his top priority in the next legislative session will be reducing the state income tax. (“Lack of political clout? What lack of political clout?”)
By AL DIAMON | August 20, 2008

Mixed reviews: A state budget for desperate times

Talking Politics
The budget consensus reached by Governor Carcieri and legislative leaders last week represents just another marker of Rhode Island’s ongoing dire straits.
By IAN DONNIS | June 25, 2008

Can’t anybody here play this game?

Rhode Island remains trapped between economic distress and missed opportunities
The need to reinvent Rhode Island’s economic infrastructure — which remains anemic compared with most of its neighbors in New England — is more urgent than ever.
By IAN DONNIS | May 21, 2008

No side bets

The governor’s gaming legislation crapped out, but are casinos still alive in a compromise? Plus, a school-budget crisis could start a political firestorm.
Opponents of legalized gaming in Massachusetts are celebrating the death this past week of Governor Deval Patrick’s bill to license casinos, which was crushed by a seemingly decisive margin of more than two-to-one.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | March 26, 2008

Jump to it

Politics and other mistakes
Tax reform is the Evel Knievel of political issues. It gives us the most pleasure when it crashes and burns.
By AL DIAMON | March 19, 2008

A “good” tax break in the making

Historic rehab
Legislative leadership supports it, and so does Governor John Baldacci. Last year, the Taxation Committee gave it a unanimous “ought to pass” report. It looks golden.
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 20, 2008

Tax break heaven

The rich get richer, the middle class picks up the tab, and the state goes broke. Here’s why.
As the economy sours, state taxes are bringing in less than expected.
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 20, 2008

The loud business drumbeat

Who really cares about the poor, the sick, the elderly, or the mentally ill? Keep searching.
The majority legislative Dems do not share Baldacci’s enthusiasm for these cuts, but they seem resigned to them.
By LANCE TAPLEY | January 30, 2008

Back to black

Politics and other mistakes
It’s time to get state finances out of the red.
By AL DIAMON | January 23, 2008

Dressed up for the letdown

Politics and other mistakes
I needed to get this column spiffed up, so I headed for the metaphor closet.
By AL DIAMON | January 16, 2008

Shameless

Mitt Romney is a liar, and Republican voters deserve better.
Members of the GOP must reject the shameless, dishonorable, dishonest former governor of Massachusetts, Willard Mitt Romney.
By EDITORIAL | January 09, 2008

The year of impending doom

A softening economy and the $450 million state deficit point to a painful 2008
This hardy old New England state should be able to cope with a little snow, right? Not so much...
By IAN DONNIS | December 19, 2007

Hungry at the Holiday

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank battles a worsening hunger problem
Most of the food banks and soup kitchens across the United States emerged during the so-called Reagan recession of the early 1980s.
By IAN DONNIS | December 12, 2007

Carcieri goes for his cuts

The Governor on his cost-reduction plan, the casino threat, and more
Carcieri seems to find motivation in things like a handwritten note sent by an elderly telephone company retiree, exhorting him to cut state spending.
By IAN DONNIS | October 24, 2007

Hustlenomics

Politics and other mistakes
All human beings are born with an innate sense that they’re fiscally responsible.
By AL DIAMON | October 24, 2007

State house stalemate

Carcieri takes another run at cutting state workers, but the outlook is murky
Many Rhode Islanders take an almost visceral delight in those occasions when a state worker is shown to be goofing off on the public’s dime.
By IAN DONNIS | September 12, 2007

Go all the way

Politics and other mistakes
You see, I’m a virgin. From a long line of virgins.
By AL DIAMON | September 05, 2007

Ménage-à-trashed?

Deval Patrick has been lounging in bed cozily with Therese Murray and Sal DiMasi but with budget questions looming, the party’s probably over
In the hothouse of this past month’s same-sex-marriage battle, the State House’s top three leaders emerged as surprisingly cozy bedfellows.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 11, 2007

How screwed are we?

Elected officials and pundits offer their take on rhode island’s budget predicament
At a time when most state budgets are flush with surpluses, Rhode Island’s fiscal house remains in disrepair.
By IAN DONNIS | June 28, 2007

What can Iowa teach the MCC?

Under new leadership, the arts and humanities comes into focus
The state’s top public promoter of art and culture, the quasi-governmental Massachusetts Cultural Council, has a new executive director: Anita Walker.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 02, 2007

Rhode Island at a crossroads

This year’s budget could signal a major shift in the state’s underlying principles
Among the hundred young people at a recent State House rally was a 17-year-old high school student, who could find himself in one of two places — either in college or homeless — a year from now.
By BRIAN C. JONES | April 25, 2007