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In their first televised debate the Rhode Island candidates for the U.S. Senate continued their now familiar strategy. In the debate broadcast on WRPI television, Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse tried to focus on national issues and the national Republican Party. Incumbent Lincoln Chafee tried to focus on local issues.

The Rhode Island candidates for U.S. Senate are going negative, as the national Republican Party is reportedly giving up hope of holding onto the Senate seat in this state. That's among the topics examined in the political round-table.

WRNI's Bob Seay spoke with regular analysts Scott MacKay of the Providence Journal and Maureen Moakley of the University of Rhode Island.

In 2006, the Newport housing authority discovered that close to a third of its units contained someone who suffered from asthma, sometimes so severe that it sent them to the emergency room. Since then, administrators has been working to reduce the problem – removing dust and mold from the units, and connecting residents with preventive health care.

The final step in the housing authority’s asthma control program is the most controversial: to make Newport the first city in Rhode Island to ban smoking inside all public housing units. WRNI’s health care reporter Megan Hall has the story.

By: Ian Donnis

Aquidneck Island is comprised of Newport and two other towns. But in a reflection of how little Rhode Island struggles with efforts to promote government efficiency and regionalization, a vision to create an island-wide approach to handling household sewage has proven vitrolic.

Try to imagine Rhode Island without Newport. It seems unthinkable, as if Juliet had no Romeo, or Fred Astaire had no Ginger Rogers. Newport is quintessential Rhode Island, vital threads in the Ocean State's rich fabric. Many of us know Newport best through the lens of summer, as we amble along the tranquil Cliff Walk or stroll through the vibrant harbor. But as Liz Doucette tells us, Newport's seasons have their own special rhythm.

Newport's health care workers are feeling the effects of tough economic times. For some time, we've been hearing that nurses are in short supply in the United States, and Rhode Island is no exception. But the recession has changed that.