An encore presentation (2006) featuring James Joyce's The Dead (excerpt), Lady Gregory's The Workhouse Ward, and Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince. Janice Duclos, Stephen Thorne and Rachael Warren join artistic director Curt Columbus and host Bob Seay.

URI Professor Maureen Moakley and WRNI's political analyst Scott MacKay talk about the most significant political stories of 2008 and take a look ahead to 2009.

Rhode Island is in mourning for a beloved public servant. Retired U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell died New Year's day after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 90. WRNI's Flo Jonic looks back on his life and legacy.

Some of the most prominent politicians in the country traveled to Newport yesterday for the funeral of retired Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell, who represented Rhode Island for 36 years, died New Year's Day of Parkinson's disease at the age of 90. 

Many of us spend years in search of community, yearning for deep connection with other people. We search for connection in our families, in our neighborhoods, and in our own backyards. This week's essayist, Ruth Marris-Macaulay, reflects on a time in her life when she found that connection far from home.

Cities, towns and public employees would take the biggest hits under a budget balancing plan unveiled by Governor Carcieri in a rare televised address.

At a public hearing this morning, Rhode Islanders will have a chance to weigh in on a plan to dramatically alter programs for the state's poor, elderly and disabled. 

A public hearing on a plan that would overhaul the state's Medicaid program in exchange for a federal spending cap continues this afternoon. According to WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall, the first day of testimony was lively. 

Governor Carcieri unveils his budget balancing plan; the General Assembly convenes on Smith Hill; and one of Rhode Island's most notable politicians- Senator Claiborne Pell is laid to rest: some of what is discussed with WRNI's political analyst Scott MacKay and URI political science professor Maureen Moakley.

It sounds like a cliché: we're so busy running ourselves ragged with our relatively mundane life tasks that we neglect to stop, smell the roses, and notice what's truly important. But, as Gigi Edwards reminds us, this is far from a cliché. The truth is that throughout our lives most of us need these all-important reminders. 

An editor at the University Of Rhode Island Publications Department, Edwards lives in Saunderstown. Her fiction appears in The Rhode Island Writers' Circle 2007 Anthology and her non-fiction in regional magazines.

The State Department of Labor and Training says the unemployment insurance fund will run out by April unless it can borrow from another state fund.

When Attorney General Patrick Lynch rented the Providence Performing Arts Center for an inaugural viewing party he had no idea how many people would show up. 

Sadly, many of us have experienced profound trauma in our lives - trauma that, over time, has a great deal to do with the people we become, the struggles we face, our triumphs in life, and our passions.  Kim Baker tells us about trauma in her life that, until very recently, was a deep, dark secret.  Today, she is empowered by her past.  Baker has been teaching writing in academe and business for 16 years.

In these difficult times, the Gamm Theatre looks back to the Great Depression. Clifford Odets' play "Awake and Sing" took on the era, the American immigrant experience, and love in many forms. Bill Gale has review.

A survey of 1,700 high school students suggests teachers are not performing well. The Providence teachers' union is questioning the validity of the survey. WRNI's Flo Jonic has our story.

Rhode Island lawmakers are pleading with lawmakers to reject a $55 million cut in state aid proposed by Governor Carcieri.  The cut is aimed at closing a $357 million shortfall in the current fiscal year.  WRNI's Flo Jonic reports from the Statehouse.

Rhode Island's unemployment rate continued its relentless march upward in December.  It's now ten percent, the highest level in more than 30 years.  WRNI's Flo Jonic with one economist's reaction.

The Governor's budget goes before the House Finance Committee; the State Supreme Court says it will review the ethics case against former state senator William Irons; and Providence High School students give their teachers failing grades: some of the topics discussed on the Political Roundtable with WRNI's political analyst Scott MacKay and Providence Phoenix News Editor Ian Donnis

All of us have encountered that painful moment in life when we realize, perhaps for the first time, that something precious to us - really precious to us - is drifting away.  Gayle Goldin reflects on that challenging moment in her life, and on the path she has traveled since then.  Goldin is a consultant in the nonprofit sector and the board president of Adoption Rhode Island. She lives with her husband and two young sons in Providence.

Warren's 2^nd story theater had planned to stage Arthur Miller's tragedy "Death of a Salesman" this winter. But in these difficult times, the theater chose to go with a 1920's comedy instead. Bill Gale has a review.

The federal economic stimulus plan and what it means for Rhode Island; Providence Mayor David Cicilline fires the city tax collector; and those running the troubled Wyatt detention center in Central Falls regroup: the topics discussed with URI Professor Maureen Moakley and Providence Phoenix news editor Ian Donnis.

In a state long run by men with names like Cicilline and Carcieri, a breakthrough. Cranston republican Allan Fung took office last month as Rhode Island's first Asian-American mayor. For WRNI, David Scharfenberg reports.

Throughout our lives, many of us have encountered rude awakenings - those sudden, sometimes tragic, events that throw us for a loop, take the wind out of our sails, and turn our worlds upside down.  Fritz Lanz found himself in the middle of one of these life crises; he reflects on the lessons he learned about how to cope with unexpected trauma.  Lanz teaches math at Riverside Middle School in East Providence, RI.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline says he does not believe the circumstances surrounding the firing of his tax collector will affect his political future. But as WRNI's Flo Jonic reports the public is not entirely buying his explanation for the dismissal of Robert Ceprano.

Yesterday President Obama signed a bill that could allow over four million uninsured children to receive health care.  WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall has more on what the State Children's Health Insurance Program could mean for Rhode Island.

Imagine losing a loved one and having to wait four weeks to claim the body. That happened not too long ago to a Providence man and now he's on a mission to change state law. WRNI's Flo Jonic reports.

February is Black history month. At the Trinity Repertory company they are performing the African American family drama "Raisin in the Sun".  Bill Gale has a review.

The Governor's tax reform panel issues its recommendations; the Governor cautions lawmakers against assuming federal stimulus money will solve the state's budget problems; and the General Assembly passes a bill to give it oversight of any changes to the state Medicaid program: some of what is discussed on the political roundtable with URI political science professor Maureen Moakley and WRNI's Political Analyst Scott MacKay.

Trinity Rep company actors Janice Duclos, Fred Sullivan, Jr., and Rachael Warren read and discuss Cheever's "The Enormous Radio," "The Worm in the Apple" and "The Autobiography of a Drummer," with artistic director Curt Columbus and host Bob Seay.

The Obama stimulus plan promises to ease a disastrous budget situation in Rhode Island public schools, but will it also derail efforts for needed reform?

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of a Chinese immigrant who died in federal custody at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls.  The suit claims 34 year old Jason Ng died as a result of negligence when his late stage liver cancer went undiagnosed until a few days before his death. WRNI's Flo Jonic has the story.

Many of us obsess about what we'll name our children, our beloved pets, or perhaps a boat that's moored in Narragansett Bay.  Anne Grant, explores the profound meaning of the names in our lives, especially when we have a choice about them.  The Reverend Anne Grant of Providence is a retired United Methodist minister whose denomination, she notes, restricts her from performing weddings for same-sex couples.

In an economic climate where most businesses are shrinking, there's at least one organization in the ocean state that can't keep up with demand and plans on expanding- The Rhode Island Free Clinic. 

In an economic climate where most businesses are shrinking, there's at least one organization in the ocean state that can't keep up with demand and plans on expanding- the Rhode Island Free Clinic.

As we celebrate the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln's birth, it's natural to wonder whether he was ever in Rhode Island and what he may have thought of the state. WRNI's Flo Jonic wondered so we asked her to investigate.

Governor Carcieri delivers his 7^th state of the state address; the governor reverses his stand on a cigarette tax hike; and lawmakers prepare for money from the federal economic stimulus package: some of what we discuss on the Political Roundtable with professor Maureen Moakley of U-R-I and WRNI's political analyst Scott MacKay

Rhode Island is the lone New England state that has no legal recognition of same sex relationships - as domestic partnerships or marriage.

Rhode Island high schools are finding it difficult to improve student performance on state Math tests, especially in urban districts. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison has more.

As residents of the smallest state in the union, most of us have learned to appreciate the meaning of small.  Over time we've adjusted our sense of geographical distance and we expect that we'll bump into someone we know at the supermarket, beach, or airport.  Kate Moran shares her view of Rhode Island's smallness, and its very large implications. 

Kate Moran is associate dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography and professor of ocean engineering and oceanography at the University of Rhode Island- and, she notes, she's 5'3" tall.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline has ambitious plans to reinvigorate the city's struggling economy. He unveiled them Tuesday night during his sixth annual state of the city address. WRNI political correspondent Ian Donnis was there.

Step into Providence's Festival Ballet on a Saturday morning. As young ballerinas practice their plies, there's another very different class taking place down the hall. 

Listen to an extended version of our conversation with Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, playwrite and artistic director of Mixed Magic Theater in Pawtucket.

This month on Rhode Island Artscape  - how local theaters are exploring black history this February. Trinty Rep is staging the black theater classic "Raisin in the Sun" and helping local teachers develop strategies for their classrooms.

Also, a conversation with Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, the artistic director of Mixed Magic Theater in Pawtucket, and the author of a new play that reflects on the civil rights movement.

We start on location at a teachers workshop in Providence...

Web Extra: Hear an extended interview with Ricardo Pitts-Wiley

Johnston teachers have reversed course and agreed to participate in a federally-funded summer science program. Parents and community leaders were outraged when they learned teachers might not participate.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline delivers his state of the city address; a new Brown University poll has some disappointing results for Rhode Island politicians; and Senator Jack Reed has a warning for state officials about spending all that federal stimulus money: some of the topics covered in this week’s Political Roundtable with WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay and URI political science professor Maureen Moakley. 

Some ten thousand Liberian natives, including many in Rhode Island, will be deported March 31st unless President Barack Obama grants them an extension.

Most of us have spent some time thinking about the origin of life as we've come to know it, the beauty of the forest, and the mysteries of the ocean.  For some, a higher power explains it all - for others, evolution holds the key that unlocks the door.  Kenneth Miller shares his passionate beliefs about how life unfolds. Miller is professor of biology at Brown University.

 Governor Carcieri meets with lawmakers to discuss how to spend the federal economic stimulus money; after losing in the US Supreme Court, the Narragansett tribe says it may take its land use case to the United Nations; and cities and towns struggle with unions while trying to balance their budgets: some of what is discussed this week with WRNI's political analyst Scott MacKay and URI political science professor Maureen Moakley.

Bill Gale reviews the Trinity Repertory Company's production of David Hare's play. "The Secret Rapture" runs through March 29.

March 1st was the deadline for Rhode Island school districts to notify teachers if they're slated for layoffs this spring. The pink slips lead to a ripple of personnel changes as WRNI's Elisabeth Harrison reports.

At 10.3 percent, Rhode Island's unemployment rate continues to rank as one of the worst in the nation. WRNI's Megan Hall explores how the state got into this mess with a look at one person behind the numbers.

Last year's Wall Street meltdown devastated the pension fund for teachers and state workers in Rhode Island. And unless state leaders take action, pension costs will consume a steadily larger amount of the tax dollars used to operate the state. WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis has more.

Many people who are remarkably successful in their public lives find themselves tormented by some kind of intense, nagging, private agony.  Some succumb to this inner turmoil; others thrive as they discover a resolve they didn't know they had.  Jeffrey Sparr tells us about his deeply personal struggles, and his inspiring triumph.  Years ago Sparr started a textile business in Rhode Island, which he travels all over the world to run.

A judge rules that Woonsocket can layoff firefighters to help balance its budget; a special house commissions is told Rhode Island must reign in its pension costs;  and Treasurer Frank Caprio leading the pack for governor in 2010: some of what is discussed with URI professor Maureen Moakley and WRNI's political reporter Ian Donnis

A set of proposed regulations governing where and how often Rhode Island fisherman can fish could take effect on May 1^st.  Regulators say the rules are necessary to protect fish but fishermen say they'll cripple their industry.  WRNI's Megan Hall reports

Trinity Rep company actors Timothy Crowe, William Damkoehler, Janice Duclos, Barbara Meek, and Rachael Warren read and discuss three stories with artistic director Curt Columbus and host Bob Seay.

Yesterday, Governor Carcieri unveiled plans to close the current budget deficit and an even bigger one for the next fiscal year. He hopes to forge ahead with pension reform and changes to Rhode Island's tax structure.  WRNI's Political reporter Ian Donnis has the details.

The governor releases his latest budget proposal; city and town officials say they're being shortchanged in the budget; and Mayor David Cicilline takes himself out of the governor's race in 2010: some of what is discussed on the political roundtable with WRNI's political analyst Scott MacKay and URI political science professor Maureen Moakley.

Most of us have had the occasional fantasy of tossing aside what we do for a living and taking a wild ride into the unknown, pursuing long-held dreams that are a radical departure from what has become all too familiar in our lives.  Vinny O'Neill reflects on his decision to venture into the unknown - and about how it turned out. 

O'Neil is the author of the award-winning Frank Cole mystery series, which includes Murder in Exile, Reduced Circumstances, and Exile Trust. A native of Massachusetts and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, O'Neill currently lives in Cranston.

Governor Carcieri's 2010 budget assumes the state will save almost fifty million dollars by overhauling its programs for the poor, disabled, and elderly.  One major reform aims to make it easier for the elderly and disabled to receive the care they need outside of an institution.  WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall takes a look at the people who will be doing that work- home health care providers.

One of the hallmarks of adolescence is indecision.  Should I wear this sweater or that sweater? Should I go out with this friend tomorrow or that friend?  Should I wear my hair this way or that way?  Thirteen-year-old Ruby Stenhouse takes us for a walk through her uncertainty.

Stenhouse is an eighth grader at the Wheeler School in Providence.  She dances ballet and enjoys art and creative writing at school.

The YMCA might be best known for weight lifting, swimming, and treadmills, but the Y on the east side of Providence is now offering a less traditional work out. If you put your ear up to the door, you'll hear the sounds of laughter

WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall has more.

This month we discuss the future of the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals with the festival founder George Wein, and Bill Gale reports on the work and history of 2^nd Story Theater in Warren.

Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed leaves her law firm; a former state senate president says he wants a jury trial on ethics charges; and Brown University urges a memorial be crested recognizing the school's connection to the slave trade: Some of what we'll discuss on the political roundtable this week with WRNI's political analyst Scott MacKay and political reporter Ian Donnis

Elected Republicans are relatively rare in Rhode Island. Yet in Warwick, Scott Avedisian has handily won reelection five times since he became mayor in 2000. More recently, Avedisian gained budget savings and concessions from city unions with far less of the rancor seen in some other local communities. WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis explores how Warwick has had some success in moving past partisan politics.

The most fortunate among us have learned to appreciate the glorious life lessons taught by our natural environment - if, that is, we take the time to notice.  Stunning sunsets, budding trees, and polar ice caps are packed with meaning about the origins of life, the mysteries of the universe, and inexplicable life forces.  Scott Turner reflects on the profound lessons he has learned about what matters most in life by stepping back and watching a hawk in full flight.

In addition to his duties as the director of web communications at Brown University, Turner writes a weekly nature commentary for the Providence Journal.  Turner is a former land manager, park ranger and science writer. He lives in Providence with his wife and two children.

Nationwide, schools are reporting an increase in students qualifying for subsidized lunch and breakfast programs. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison visited a school in Pawtucket, where educators are concerned that a small but growing number of students are going hungry.

Rhode Island is home to the only parrot sanctuary in New England.  It's called ‘Foster Parrots'.  It's located in an old poultry farm in Hopkinton and, as WRNI's Flo Jonic found out, it's one noisy place. 

Sen. Teresa Paiva Weed of Newport is president of the Rhode Island Senate and the first woman to hold a top leadership position in the Rhode Island General Assembly. WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay caught up with Senator Paiva Weed between meetings at the State House.

Despite an overall increase in graduation rates, urban students in Rhode Island are still three times more likely to dropout than their suburban counterparts. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison looks at why more than 2,000 teenagers in the class of 2008 slipped through the cracks of the public school system.

Psychologists around the state are reporting a spike in business from people who are experiencing severe depression for the first time. In most cases the despondency is the direct result of the loss of a job or home. Mental health experts call it "situational depression" and say it's perfectly normal. But, as WRNI's Flo Jonic reports, that doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

What National Public Radio listeners have in common is a keen interest in ideas, intellectual curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge.  But where does this need to know come from?  What makes us curious?  Mary Baker reflects on the roots of her own insatiable curiosity, which, interestingly, began with a childhood visit to the zoo. 

Baker is an anthropology professor at Rhode Island College.  She has a special interest in understanding what factors influence patterns of behavior among white-faced capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica and in the conservation of nonhuman primates. 

Angela Brazil, Janice Duclos, Anne Scurria and Joe Wilson, Jr. join Curt Columbus and Bob Seay for performances and discussion reflecting on years well shared.
 

It took seven hours and tempers flared as the Rhode Island House last night passed a revised $7.2 billion budget for the current fiscal year. WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis covered the marathon session.

In December, Governor Carcieri formed a panel to evaluate the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. The advisory group's findings will be released later this month, with the hope of bolstering the local economy.

But as WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis describes, the Economic Development Corporation can't get the job done by itself.

Most of us can recall traumatic moments from our adolescence that were confusing, disconcerting, and perhaps overwhelming.  Viewed through our adult eyes and the wisdom that comes with aging, we often wish we could have handled those events differently.  Anne Davidson Babineau reflects on that time in her life when, as a teen, the parents of several of her classmates - including one very special classmate - died.

Babineau is a writer, editor and artist. She lives in southern Rhode Island with her husband and two children.

The early 1960s were a period of robust highway construction in the United States.  The interstate highway system- the largest public works project in the nation's history- was connecting American cities, often times cutting right through them.

This week, the Rhode Island health department released its first survey of which doctors use computers and which still use paper files to keep track of patient data. WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall reports who has and who hasn't taken on the new technology might be surprising.

Scott MacKay talks to Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts about the 2010 governor's race, the Rhode Island economy and gay marriage.

The latest book by Providence Journal sports columnist Bill Reynolds, '78: The Boston Red Sox, a Historic Game, and a Divided City, describes how a memorable single-game playoff took place during the winding down of Boston's busing desegregation crisis. Reynolds recently spoke with WRNI's Ian Donnis about the book.

Employment experts see a silver lining in The Ocean State's economic crisis - a chance to upgrade the skills of Rhode Island workers. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison spoke to two students trying to do exactly that. Now they face graduation and a very tough job market.

On April 11, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson told the nation, during the signing of a prominent education bill: "Education is 'the guardian genius of our democracy.'"  He was quoting the former President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau Lamar.  Nearly a half century later, then Presidential candidate Barack Obama delivered his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention and said, "Michelle and I are here only because we were given a chance at an education. I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance."  This week's essayist, Joan Countryman, has devoted her life to this mission we call education.  Her journey is a remarkable one, and it has shaped her compelling beliefs. 

Countryman grew up in Philadelphia and was the first African-American graduate of Germantown Friends School. She retired in 2005 as Head of Lincoln School in Providence, and then served as Interim Head of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa and the Atlanta Girls' School. She lives in Providence. 

Bob Seay visits the Everett Dance Theater in Providence and talks with co-artistic director Aaron Jungles about their new multimedia theater piece. "Silas the Teenager" is inspired by Jungle's relationship with his autistic 16 year old nephew.

This month's Rhode Island Artscape features the Everett Dance Theater of Providence and their latest multimedia production "Silas the Teenager" about a boy with autism. Bob Seay previews the production and interviews its creator Aaron Jungels.

Brown University professor Hilary Silver talks with Bob Seay about her documentary film "Southside: The Fall and Rise of an Inner-City Neighborhood." The 55-minute film explores the transformation of South Providence from a notorious site of urban blight to a multicultural community with blocks of vitality.

An alternative high school in Providence is going beyond the high school diploma to try and solve a nation-wide problem: how to help more minority students graduate from college. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison takes a look at College Unbound, the latest venture from the Met charter school.

The Wyatt Detention Center is under new management. The board of directors has fired Avcorr Management and its director, Anthony Ventetuolo. WRNI's Flo Jonic has our story.

It may sound like a cliché, but it's no doubt true that nearly all adolescents struggle to sort out who they are, where they're headed in life, and how they want to be seen by others.  This winding path is easier for some to navigate than for others.  Anna Bigney shares her wise insights about who she is at this tender life stage. 

Anna Bigney is an eighth grader at the Wheeler School in Providence.  Her favorite activities include swimming, basketball, reading, and hanging out with my friends.

It seems unlikely that a rarely performed German Play from the 1890's would be material for a Broadway hit. But "Spring Awakening" was just that in 2007. And the show is now on stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Bill Gale has a review.

Spring Awakening continues at the Providence Performing Arts center through Sunday.

World premieres generally happen in big towns like New York. But this weekend a new contemporary ballet by choreographer Viktor Plotnikov is being presented by Festival Ballet Providence. Bill Gale has the story.

The bloodshed on Providence’s south side has subsided since a pair of gang-related shootings last month, including one in which a teenager was killed at a birthday party. But violent crime typically increases in American cities during warmer weather – what some youth workers call “the killing season.” WRNI’s Ian Donnis reports on how police and others are actively trying to prevent further shootings in Rhode Island’s capital.

The wisest among us have learned to appreciate every single one of life's precious moments, knowing full well that our circumstances can change in an instant.  Accidents happen, people die suddenly.  In short, our lives can turn upside down with little notice.  Indeed, this is what happened nearly three years ago to Nancy Worthen, when she learned about her precious daughter's stroke - and about the remarkable power of community in times of need.

A native Rhode Islander, Worthen has worked at the Center for the Arts in Westerly as the Program Director, at the Providence Children's Museum as Operations Director, and most recently as AmeriCorps Director at Ready to Learn Providence.  She lives with her family in the Armory.

As Rhode Island monitors three possible cases of swine flu, WRNI's Elisabeth Harrison takes the pulse of residents in North Kingstown. The seaside enclave is home to the first probable case in Rhode Island, which was detected Wednesday and could be confirmed by Friday.

Rhode Island has only three probable cases of the swine flu that's spreading across the world, but state officials predict that number will rise in the coming weeks.  WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall has more on Rhode Island's plans for what may happen next. 

"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway: a couple waits for a train to Madrid.

"The Dill Pickle" by Katherine Mansfield: six years later, a couple meets by chance.

"A Piece of News" by Eudora Welty: a newspaper gives a woman hope that her husband will finally appreciate her.

"Wants" by Grace Paley: a woman encounters her ex-husband of 27 years.

For nearly all of us, family is at the center of our lives.  For sure, family life can be complicated, filled with a rich mix of remarkable joy, intense anguish, and, for the most fortunate among us, a steady flow of nurture and sustenance.  John Schenck reminds us that our understanding of what family means can change dramatically during the course of our lives, as it did for him when his daughter and her family traveled across the globe to adopt a baby boy. 

Schenck moved to Rhode Island after four decades in New York City, where he was a magazine marketing executive. Since coming to Providence, he has co-authored "The Providence Guide to the 91 Best Restaurants" and is now publisher of "Edible Rhody."

Imagine being 23 years old, already a veteran of the Providence rock music scene and poised to make it big nationally. That's exactly where John McCauley III of Providence and his band Deer Tick find themselves at this moment.  At the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Rolling Stone magazine picked Deer Tick as the breakout band of the event. WRNI's Bob Seay talks with McCauley about the band and their Providence roots.

All of us have just endured a remarkable - and remarkably long - presidential campaign that was filled with partisanship wrestling and, at times, rapprochement, or fence mending.  Eric Bronner reminds us that partisan tensions sometimes run much deeper than political debate.  Indeed, often we find partisan strain in our own lives . . . in our own families and our most intimate relationships.  And here, too, diplomacy matters. 

Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Bronner has lived in RI since 1985, now in Riverside.  He is a faculty member at Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University, and sings opera locally, regionally and nationally. Bronner teaches voice, public speaking, aesthetics, and music education courses. 

WRNI's Scott MacKay talks with outgoing president of the University of Rhode Island Robert Carothers who is retiring after 18 years. Carothers will deliver the commencement speech at URI's graduation ceremony Sunday, May 17^th.

WRNI's performing arts critic Bill Gale reviews "The Scarlet letter" at the Gamm theater in Pawtucket through June 7^th.

Central Falls High School is trying a new approach to discipline. Since January, the principal has suspended suspensions as part of an effort to improve the school. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison visited the high school to see whether or not there is order in the class rooms without this time tested tool to deal with kids who get out of line.

Latinos are considered the largest single ethnic group in Central Falls. Yet despite the size of this community, the city's Latinos remain underrepresented in municipal jobs and elective office. WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis examines why this large population group has yet to get its piece of the political pie.

The foreclosure crisis has hit Rhode Island hard. Last year nine out of one thousand properties were taken back by lenders - foreclosure rates far higher than the neighboring states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. And no Rhode Island community has been hit harder by the real estate meltdown than Central Falls.

As we continue our series on the One Square Mile city, WRNI's Flo Jonic examines the foreclosure issue and what Central Falls officials are doing about it.

In the hushed reverence of a historic Central Falls Church on Mother's Day, WRNI's Scott MacKay found that everything old is new again as immigrants from Latin America worship in the same pews where generations of European and Canadian immigrants knelt in prayer.

Like all cities and towns, Central Falls has changed with the times. 
Factories that once hummed with activity are now silent and empty. 
Trolleys that once ran so often a car was unnecessary have
disappeared.  But there is one constant.  Central Falls is now, and
always has been, a city of immigrants.  This morning we begin a 14-part
series we call "One Square Mile." Wrni's Flo Jonic begins with an
overview.

Central Falls may be the smallest city in the smallest state in the country, but its history is a tapestry of all that has made the United States the nation it is: the marginalization of Native Americans, the industry that catapulted the country to world power status and the waves of immigrants in search of a better life. As we continue our series on the one square mile city, WRNI's Flo Jonic explores the events that made Central Falls what it is today.

Many of the Latino immigrants in Central Falls suffered trauma before
they arrived here - be it conflicts in their home countries or
challenges crossing the border. But if they're looking for
professional help, it's hard to find. In that one square mile there's
not a single psychiatrist that speaks their language. WRNI's health
care reporter Megan Hall has more on mental health care in the city's
Latino community.

Imagine what it must be like to live your life as a world renowned cardiologist, a celebrated medical scholar, and an international spokesperson for physicians concerned about the daunting implications of nuclear weapons.  Life is chock full of meaning, purpose, and never-ending challenge.  Now imagine what it must be like to shift both speed and gears abruptly as you cope with the unexpected news that you must now be a patient - a patient who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and dementia.  Indeed, this has been the life course for Dr. Tom Graboys, who reflects on his deeply personal and poignant journey, and his inspiring determination to live his life to the fullest. 

Dr. Thomas Graboys is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is President Emeritus of the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation, and former attending cardiologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Lown Cardiovascular Center.  Dr. Graboys, who grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts, became a patient himself after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and dementia. He has published a book about his personal battle, Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia.

Facing bankruptcy in the early 1990's, the city of Central Falls asked the state to take over its school system. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison takes a look at the only school district in Rhode Island funded entirely by the state.

A little over a year ago the Wyatt detention center in Central Falls proudly announced that it had received a 99.7 percent rating by the American Correctional Association Commission on Accreditation, placing it in the top 17 percent of American penal institutions for standards that protect both the inmates and the public. Today, it's on the brink of financial collapse over fallout from its treatment of a prisoner who died of cancer that went undiagnosed until a few days before his death: a story that made national headlines.

Although Central Falls has been down on its economic luck, with about 15% or over 8,000 people currently unemployed according to the State Department of Labor, many of the storefronts along Broad and Dexter streets are occupied.  Like generations of immigrants before them, today's mostly latino population is carving out a living by employing themselves.  WRNI'S Rita Cidre explores the spirit of entrepreneurship that keeps people coming back to Central Falls.

Central Falls has a reputation for being a tough neighborhood with a notoriously under-performing school district. So it may come as a surprise to hear that it's also home to more than one state-champion chess team. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison has our story.

For this month's Rhode Island Artscape we turn to a major artists who had emerged from the city of Central Falls.  Anyone who has seen the film doubt can not forget about the riveting performance of Viola Davis.  WRNI's Bob Seay visits Viola's sister, Deloris Grant, who teaches acting at Central Falls Highschool. 

The politics of Central Falls, a gubernatorial nomination faces new hurdles, and David Cicilline pushes his proposal to raise revenue through college students. That's some of what we'll be talking about today on Political Roundtable. Joining Ian Donnis are the sagacious Maureen Moakley and the wry and whimsical Scott MacKay.

The teen pregnancy rate in central falls is the highest in Rhode Island.  Almost sixty out of every thousand girls age 15-17 get pregnant each year.  That's three times the state average of nineteen girls out of every thousand.  WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall profiles some of the people behind the numbers.

Central Falls is best known as a magnet for Roman Catholic Immigrants. But over the years it was also home to an enclave of Protestants who traced their ancestry to the British Isles. One of the most notable of this group is Rhode Island's 72nd governor, Lincoln Almond. Today, as we continue our `One Square Mile' series, WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay strolls the streets of Central Falls with the former governor, who recalls fondly his boyhood in Rhode Island's smallest city.

Food may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Central Falls. But the smallest state's smallest city has a vibrant culinary culture that draws customers from near and far. WRNI's Ian Donnis gets a taste of what's behind the flavors of Central Falls.

For many months now - what may, in fact, feel like an eternity - all of us have felt caught in the tight grip of distressing national news - an economy that seems to need life support, staggering unemployment, an anemic housing market.  So, is there room for hope - real hope - in the midst of this bad storm?  This week we feature a compelling poem on this very challenge, a poem about the possibility of hope.  The poet is Rhode Islander Dave Dragone. 

After working for oil companies for many years, Dave Dragone decided to refocus his career around music and writing. He now works as a piano tuner, violin instructor, and poet. Dragone and his family have lived in Rhode Island for 30 years.

As the Rhode Island School of Design prepares for graduation this weekend, Providence is taking steps to increase the amount of money it and other universities pay for city services. Providence is facing a $17 million deficit this year and nearly $50 million next year. WRNI Education Reporter Elisabeth Harrison looks at how the search for revenue may be affecting its relationship with private colleges.

More than 80 percent of Rhode Island public schools are making good progress toward improving student achievement. That according to state officials, who have released the 2009 school classifications. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison was at DelSesto Middle School in Providence Wednesday for the announcement.

Charles Reed, the architect of Washington State's long term care overhaul and chairman of AARP's long term care committee talks with Bob Seay about lessons learned reforming long term health care in Washington state as Rhode Island prepares to revamp its Medicaid system.

Nine-eleven.  September 11, 2001 . . . phrases that now are permanently seared in our collective awareness, sounds that are likely to echo forever in our nation¹s memory.  Many of us agonized about 9-11 from a safe distance as we watched horrifying video images and clung to television and radio announcers' graphic and gripping narration.  For others, including Cara Murray, 9-11 was deeply personal, especially when it happened in one's own neighborhood.  Murray has carried 9-11 with her, even as she has relocated to Rhode Island from New York City.

Cara Murray is a graduate of Brown University and is pursuing a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island.  She is a former dancer and an emerging writer.

Actors Janice Duclos, Phyllis Kay, and Fred Sullivan, Jr. join Curt Columbus and Bob Seay with Dorothy Parker's poems, stories "You Were Perfectly Fine," and "Here We Are," along with Alexander Woollcott's elegy "Our Mrs. Parker."

Almost half of the children in Providence grow up in poverty. David Cartagena grew up poor in Rhode Island's capital, and became a criminal and gang member. But that's not how he'll be remembered. WRNI's Ian Donnis reports on how Cartagena changed not just his own life, but many of those with whom he came into contact.

The Low Anthem is another Providence based band drawing fans and critical acclaim from beyond the city limits. Bob Seay talks with the group about their music.

People handle aging very differently.  Some people seem filled with a calm equanimity about life's inevitable passages; others seem hemmed in by understandable anxiety and existential angst.  The most fortunate among us age with wisdom, insight, and a healthy measure of grace.  Ron Wolk clearly has reached some very wise insights in the eighth decade of his rich life. 

Wolk is founder and former editor of Education Week, which is American education's newspaper of record.   He is also Chairman of Big Picture Learning in Providence (a WRNI underwriter), and former vice president of Brown University and Johns Hopkins University.

Jocie Adams, Ben Knox Miller and Jeffrey Prystowsky comprise The Low Anthem - one of the musical groups emerging from Providence that's attracting fans and critical acclaim well beyond the city limits with albums like "What the Crow Brings" and "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin". They recently sat down with Bob Seay to talk about their music. 

Close to 200 hundred mayors from around the country are in Providence this weekend for the 77th annual convention of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.  But the major attraction, Vice President Joe Biden and dozens of Obama administration officials, will not be here. They're boycotting the event because they don't want to cross a Providence firefighters picket line. 

The decision of Vice President Joe Biden and Obama administration officials not to attend the US Conference of Mayors meeting in Providence this weekend due to a contract dispute between Mayor David Cicilline and the city's firefighters union is the lead story for this week's Political Roundtable with host Ian Donnis along with Scott MacKay and URI Professor Maureen Moakley.

Bill Gale reviews "Menopause the Musical" now playing at Trinity Rep.

Since coming on the job in 2003, Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman has been credited with helping to turn around what had been a troubled police department. Yet the chief's critics, mostly within the department, have taken issue with what they call his sometimes confrontational and mercurial management style.

One of the great joys of living in Rhode Island is the rich array of scenic vistas that surround us, from majestic ocean views to the many forest trails and stunningly beautiful bike paths that thread our state.  Yet, it's quite easy for Rhode Island residents to roam around our fascinating state completely unaware of hundreds of untold stories that are part of Rhode Island's complex and rich history.  Sandra Enos has uncovered some of these treasures that tell us so much about some of Rhode Island's most vulnerable citizens. 

A resident of Peace Dale, Sandra Enos is a professor of sociology at Bryant University. As part of her research on the history of child welfare in Rhode Island, she is collecting oral histories of former residents of the state's orphanages. 

A sampling of the high school valedictory addresses of 2009, assembled by WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison.

On this month's edition of Rhode Island Artscape, we profile a local artist who recovered a treasured diary lost in the nineteen eighties and turned it into a uniquely personal piece of art. Correspondent David Golann has the story.

The House Finance Committee closes a big state deficit, but tough times remain. Budget talk dominates this week's Political Roundtable.

As lawmakers consider changing the Caruolo Act, a controversial state law that allows school districts to sue their city or town for more funding, WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison takes a look at its impact in Rhode Island.

It really wouldn't be full summer around here if there was not a musical on at Theatre-by-the-Sea in Matunuck. Right now, the barn theater is doing a show from the old days. Bill Gale has a review.

"Crazy for You" continues at Theatre-by-the-Sea through July 11. Bill Gale reviews the performing arts for WRNI.

The social messaging service Twitter has figured prominently during recent unrest in Iran. Activists have used short Twitter messages to share information about protests and to counter the government's official statements. Closer to home, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other forms of new media are also remaking American politics. But can they bring change to the tradition-bound Rhode Island state house? WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis describes the outlook.

Perhaps it goes without saying that dashed hopes are part of the human condition.  None of us is able to escape occasional disappointments in life.  For the most fortunate among us, those disappointments are relatively rare, manageable, and followed by better news.  Caleb Woodhouse reflects on a time in his life when he received some very sad news from his son . . . . and about its much happier - and profoundly moving - aftermath. 

Caleb Woodhouse is a 1954 graduate of Brown University and a retired history teacher. He lives in Little Compton, Rhode Island with his wife Alessandra.

Federal stimulus money has helped patch a big budget hole, but more challenges remain. Budget talk again dominates the Political Roundtable with host Ian Donnis along with WRNI's Political Analyst Scott MacKay and Political Science Professor Maureen Moakley of URI.

With an unemployment rate of over 12 percent, that's 68,500 people, it's probable that every Rhode Islander knows someone who's out of work. Today we begin a three part series introducing you to some of them.  You may not know these people but their stories are emblematic of the state's unemployment crisis, which is the third highest in the nation and the worst in more than 30 years.  We begin in North Kingstown, a community where the average family earns $70,000. It's also home to a civil engineer whose income has fallen below the average as a result of a recent job loss.

Imagine being out of work, out of unemployment benefits, homeless and with a wife and eight month old baby to support. That was the situation a Westerly family found itself in this spring until a social service agency put a roof over their heads.

In the last 11 years, surgeons in Rhode Island have operated on the wrong site of a patient's body 11 times. According to the Joint Commission, the national body that accredits and certifies hospitals, that's a fraction of the over 100 wrong-site surgeries that take place each year across the country.

We conclude our series on Rhode Island's unemployed with the profile of a man who has been jobless so long he's living in a tent. It's a consequence of unemployment that is more common than you might expect. WRNI's Flo Jonic has our story.

One of Rhode Island's virtues is its remarkably diverse, richly textured citizenry, many of whom emigrated from other nations.  Thousands of Rhode Island's teenagers are growing up trying to navigate between the world of their ancestors and contemporary America - certainly not an easy task, as we hear from 17-year old, Margaret Garcia. 

 Garcia is a recent graduate of the Providence Academy for International Studies and plans to attend Holy Cross College. She composed her essay as a participant in College Visions, a Rhode Island-based program that empowers low income and first-generation college-bound students to pursue higher education.

Rhode Island's highest court has ruled that lawmakers cannot be prosecuted for ethics violations based on their voting records. The ruling guts a case against former Senate president William Irons, who was accused of conflict of interest for voting against the so-called "Pharmacy Freedom of Choice" bill while collecting large fees from health insurance companies. WRNI's Flo Jonic has more.

When doctors at Hasbro Children's Hospital operated on the wrong side of a child's mouth in May, it was one more reminder that patients can sometimes leave the hospital with more problems than when they entered. But the causes of those problems are not always as obvious as surgery performed on the wrong part of the body.

This week, Rhode Islanders learned of another medical error when a surgeon at Miriam Hospital put anesthesia in the wrong eye of a patient. But smaller, less dramatic mistakes often go unnoticed and happen even more frequently. Last year, Rhode Island hospitals reported over three hundred mistakes to the department of health. And for every error, there's the trauma that comes with it- for the patient, as well as the doctor involved.

One of the joys of living in the Ocean State is that we're surrounded by a critical mass of remarkably creative people.  With good reason, Rhode Island is known for its rich collection of painters, jewelry designers, sculptors, potters, and weavers.  At their foundation, these forms of art are a profound act of creation.  For Naomi Herzfeld, such handwork is deeply personal, even spiritual. 

After a 25-year career as an office worker in downtown Providence, and a brief stint in health care, Naomi Herzfeld now co-owns Bella Yarns in Warren, Rhode Island, where she weaves, knits, and creates.  Herzfeld lives in Riverside, Rhode Island. 

Artistic director Curt Columbus and host Bob Seay welcome actors Janice Duclos, Stephen Thorne, Rachael Warren and Joe Wilson, Jr., performing and discussing the work of American writers in the City of Light: Langston Hughes, Sylvia Beach, David Sedaris and Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes).  

Congressman Patrick Kennedy is back in Washington, Attorney General Patrick Lynch goes on the road, and the state tries to save Medicaid money. That's some of what we'll talk about this week on Political Roundtable with Ian Donnis, Scott MacKay and Professor Maureen Moakley from the University of Rhode Island.

The American newspaper industry remains gripped by a cycle of decline. Readers and advertisers continue to move to the internet, but web-based advertising is less profitable than the old print advertising. This upheaval is sparking some new approaches, including the emergence of web-only newspapers entirely dedicated to covering much smaller communities. WRNI's Ian Donnis examines what this means for Rhode Islanders.

Imagine finding out in the middle of an otherwise ordinary day that you could save a friend's life - a friend with a chronic, debilitating illness - if you are willing to sacrifice one of your own organs.  Would you hesitate, or would you jump at the chance to donate one of your body parts, and to endure the invasive surgery, in order to keep a friend alive?  Indeed, this was the choice facing Daniel Carpenter. 

Carpenter teaches Latin, Ancient Greek and Ancient Literature courses at the University of Rhode Island.  He is especially interested in the study of the Greek epic poet, Homer.  Carpenter lives with his wife, Jean, in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

Few issues have provoked debate in Rhode Island and drawn the attention of those across the nation as has the proposal to strip the word "plantations" from the Ocean State's official name.

The opening shots in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Sheldon Whitehouse in the spotlight, and cities and towns lean on property tax increases. That's some of what is discussed on this week's Political Roundtable with Ian Donnis, Scott MacKay, and Professor Maureen Moakley.

The Newport Music Festival continues in the mansions of The-City-by-Sea  through July 26^th. With 57-concerts performed by 52 musicians from 24 countries it is a massive undertaking that needs lots of volunteers, like a page turner, for instance. Bill Gale has the story.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank says it distributed more food in the year ending June 30th than at any time in its 27-year history. But as WRNI's Flo Jonic reports, its banner year was more than offset by an increase in need.

Another legislative session is nearing an end with no vote likely on a funding formula for Rhode Island schools. Formulas are used in every other state to determine how much money to give each district. Rhode Island relies instead on legislative appropriation. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison looks at the consequences of keeping that system in place.

The most astute and perceptive among us recognize, indeed celebrate, the profound connections between the survival of diverse plant and animal species and our own destiny as human beings.  How we treat the plants and animals whose paths we cross says in awful lot about who we are as people and about our purpose on this planet.  And this is the compelling message offered by Scott Turner.

In addition to his duties as the director of web communications at Brown University, Turner writes a weekly nature commentary for the Providence Journal.  Turner is a former land manager, park ranger and science writer. He lives in Providence with his wife and two children. 

Providence is known internationally as a center for glass art, thanks to Dale Chihuly, renowned as the most inventive glass sculptor in the history of the medium - and the program he created at Rhode Island School of Design in the 1970's. Many graduates have gone on to distinguish themselves in the art world, often working with glass in ways much different than those of the renowned Chihuly. One of them is Daniel Clayman, who works out of a 12,000 square foot factory building in East Providence.

Perhaps because they are headquartered amid the summer throngs in Newport, Island Moving Company makes a habit of performing every July, a time when most dance companies lie fallow. This year their program is both bold and amusing. Bill Gale has the review.

A fatal boating incident that came to symbolize the problem of teenage drinking in Barrington has come to an end, with the sentencing of Ryan Greenberg. Prosecutors say Greenberg deliberately mowed down a friend with a power boat after a alcohol-fueled argument.  In handing down the sentence, a Providence Judge had unusually harsh words for Greenberg's parents and the Barrington police department. WRNI's Flo Jonic has our story.

The legality of underage strippers, the politics of poor investment returns, and the release from prison of former state senator John Celona. Those are some of the topics this week on Political Roundtable.

An innovative summer program gives middle school students an introduction to the techniques of crime scene investigation or, as the popular CBS series is entitled, "CSI." WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison is on the case in Providence.

What is it about Rhode Island that keeps so many of us planted here?  For many, there's a deep sense of rootedness that comes from living in, and being a part of, a community's rich traditions and customs.  For Nina Murphy, being part of Bristol's annual, and storied, Fourth of July Parade has taught her what community and tradition are all about.

Nina Murphy is a writer who lives in Bristol with her husband, Bart Ferris, and their two children. Murphy also handles marketing and sales for a family business, Wicked Natural, which makes a line of all natural gourmet condiments, sauces, dips and jams.

Summer school...for generations of Americans those two words have provoked a cascade of groans. Summer school is often required for poorly performing students at the expense of camp or other warm weather adventures. But a Providence program has been involving district teachers and students in a new kind of summer experience

If a new state regulation works, health insurance policies in Rhode Island will read less like legal documents and more like Reader's Digest.  WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall has more.

Last night wrapped up the 50^th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival.  WRNI's Megan Hall was there all weekend.

Hospital mergers seem to be in the air these days in Rhode Island. Roger Williams and St. Joseph's hospitals are moving closer to becoming one system. Lifespan and Care New England hospitals resubmitted a merger application last month, and Rhode Island Hospital and Memorial may consolidate as well. 

Beach visits, music festivals, and Del's lemonade: it's summer in the Ocean State. But in addition to these traditions, many Rhode Islanders are enjoying fresh produce from local farmer's markets during our short but illustrious warm season. WRNI's Reza Clifton has the story.

Curt Columbus takes walks near his home in Pawtucket and is artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Company. In this encore essay, he discusses his belief in community.

This episode features Curt Columbus and company members Janice Duclos, Barbara Meek, and Fred Sullivan, Jr., performing and discussing the work of literary and theatrical soulmates Anton Chekhov and Olga Knipper, and Robert Browning and Eli

Have you ever wondered what happened to your closest childhood friends?  What path did they take in life?  How did things work out for them?  For many of us these are questions for which we have no answers.  Not so for this week's essayists, Ed Iannuccilli and Steve Mallett.

Ed Iannuccilli is a physician and former Chairman of the Board at Rhode Island Hospital. He is a graduate of Providence College and author of the book, "Growing up Italian, Grandfather's Fig Tree and Other Stories."  An Air Force veteran, Steve Mallett has been in the kitchen design and sales business for 45 years. A golfer, New York Yankee lover and expert cake decorator, Steve has four children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife live in Suffield, Connecticut.

THE HEALTHCARE DEBATE, GLIMMERS OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY, AND THE PASSING OF STATE REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS SLATER. THAT'S SOME OF WHAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT TODAY ON POLITICAL ROUNDTABLE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND'S MAUREEN MOAKLEY AND GUEST PANELIST JENN STEINFELD

The Lieutenant Governor's office is sometimes viewed as an unnecessary perch from which officeholders plan their future campaigns. So when Elizabeth Roberts announced in July that she will seek re-election next year, rather than running for Governor, it raised fresh questions about the value of the office. WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis examines whether Rhode Island really needs a Lieutenant Governor.

Life is full of contradictions and inconsistencies, especially in those moments when we yearn for clarity.  Issues that appear, at first glance, to be in sharp black and white relief quickly drift into shades of gray. That's what Beth Taylor has learned about distressingly ambiguous matters of war and peace.

Beth Taylor teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program in Brown University's English Department. She lives in Providence with her husband Bill, and they have three grown sons.  Taylor's new book is The Plain Language of Love and Loss: A Quaker Memoir. (University of Missouri Press).

Mike Birbiglia may not be a household name, but the young Boston-born comedian's star is rising. He has made several appearances on Comedy Central, had a successful one-man show off-Broadway, "Sleepwalk with Me," and has two DVDs to his credit as well as being a regular on This American Life.

Every summer theater tries to go out with a winner. This year Theatre-by-the-Sea in Matunuck has chosen "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."  Bill Gale has the review.

Congressman Jim Langevin held a town hall meeting in Warwick this week to hear concerns about changes to the nation's health care system. WRNI Health Care Reporter Megan Hall fact checks some of the questions and answers.

Sharp words about healthcare, the perils of campaign finance, and controversy at the Rhode Island School of Design: some of what is discussed this week on the WRNI Political Roundtable.

Congressman Patrick Kennedy has spent much of the summer dealing with family issues, especially his father's terminal brain cancer. But Kennedy tells WRNI that he will hold a public forum on health care early next month and talks about health care issues and his father's illness with WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay.

Providence officials are expected to unveil details of a plan next month to turn part of downtown into a hub for biotechnology and small start-up companies. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison looks at a shift at colleges and universities that may help strengthen the "knowledge economy" in Rhode Island.

State health officials meet with school leaders this week to discuss the H1N1 virus. WRNI Education Reporter Elisabeth Harrison has more.

Lately, the debate over the federal government's health care overhaul has centered on the content of fiery town hall meetings where opponents and supporters shout at, boo, and applaud members of congress. WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall takes a step away from the drama to hear what some of the leaders in Rhode Island's health care community think about the proposals.

WRNI's Bob Seay speaks with Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed about the government's health care overhaul.

WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay covered Senator Edward Kennedy for more than three decades. He reflects on the senator's legacy in this commentary:

When Ted Kennedy was nine years old his parents sent him to Portsmouth Priory, a Catholic boarding school on Aquidneck Island now known as Portsmouth Abbey.  Kennedy hated it but fortunately he didn't hold it against Rhode Island. He sent his son, Patrick, to  Providence College and campaigned hard as Patrick was elected first to the Rhode Island General Assembly, then to Congress. 

The senator leaves legions of friends and admirers in the Ocean State. WRNI reporter Flo Jonic spoke to some of them.

WRNI's Health Care Reporter Megan Hall reports on concerns that health care providers in Rhode Island have about reform and Bob Seay interviews Senator Jack Reed about those concerns and the prospects of passage of a health care overhaul bill:

Teachers around the state are preparing for the start of school, but for a few, it will be their very first time in a real classroom. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison visited the Rhode Island Teaching Fellows, a new state-sponsored program that puts teachers into the classroom after just six weeks of training.

The passing of Ted Kennedy; shutdown days in Rhode Island; and an internal fight in the AFL-CIO:  That's some of what we'll talk about this week on political roundtable with Scott MacKay, Maureen Moakley, and special guest Marion Orr, director of Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy.

Some beliefs remind us of how we would like to live, not how we do live. In this encore essay, Cathleen Calbert reminisces about past friendships.

One of the joys of spending time with children is the opportunity to witness their remarkable and spontaneous creativity - the kind of creativity that, sadly, seems to drift away from so many of us as we age.  Jenny Peek lives in the world of children's creativity and shares her beliefs about what this should mean for all of us.  

Peek has been working in theater and the performing arts since 1986.  After living in New York City for 16 years, she moved to Providence, and, in January 2004, founded THE MANTON AVENUE PROJECT, which is designed to enhance the self esteem and unleash the creative voices of inner-city children by uniting them with professional artists to create original theater.

University of Rhode Island President David Dooley speaks with WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison about encouraging business development and the challenges of running a major research institution with less than 10% of its funding from the state.

This 2008 episode features Curt Columbus and company members Anne Scurria, Barbara Meek and Janice Duclos, and a special guest from Trinity Rep's Young Actors Studio - Molly Allen, with stories and poems that explore the relationship between mothers and daughters: The Unnatural Mother by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; The Sempstress by Colette; Girl by Jamaica Kincaid; Where the Water Is by Jan Shoemaker; and Anne Sexton's poems Pain for a Daughter and Mothers.

More red ink in Rhode Island, the governor headlines an anti-gay marriage event in Massachusetts, and a lot of interest in the race to succeed Rep. Tom Slater: that's some of what is discussed on the political roundtable with Ian Donnis, Scott MacKay, Maureen Moakley, and our special guest, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung.

Most of us find that our perspectives change as we age.  What was once a relatively trivial concern in our lives may begin to take on great meaning, or we may begin to relax about issues that once caused us great consternation and angst. Tom Doyle reflects on this very shift in his own life, and on its implications.  

Following graduation from Wesleyan University, Doyle worked as a journalist, including a stint as managing editor of the Block Island Times weekly newspaper.  He then pursued a career in medicine, graduating from Brown medical school.  Doyle currently has a clinical faculty teaching appointment at Brown Medical School and in internal medicine at the Providence VA Medical Center. 

On Monday, Women and Infants Hospital will celebrate the opening of its new center for premature babies. The over 76 million dollar building will feature 70 private rooms for preemies and their families, making it the largest center of its kind in the country.

All of us have moments when we replay in our minds various times and events in our lives, wondering what would have happened had they not occurred, or had unfolded in some other way.  Were these events meant to be?  What if I handled those moments differently?  Ben Castleman reflects on these times in his life, and on their profound meaning.  Castleman is a doctoral student in at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He moved to Rhode Island in 1995 to attend Brown University. Before enrolling in the doctoral program at Harvard, Castleman was a teacher and administrator at The Met School in Providence.

Shakespeare's comedies can often be more difficult to do than his tragedies. But the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre has done well with one of the Bard's better comedic  works. Bill Gale has the review.

The best American musicals, such as "South Pacific" or "La Cage aux Folles" make you laugh, cry, and even think. That can be the case with  "Cabaret" now at the Trinity Repertory Company. Bill Gale has a review.

After years of effort, Rhode Island's General Assembly is moving closer to passing legislation that would outlaw indoor prostitution.  Rhode Island, along with Nevada, are the only states that sanction indoor prostitution.  But opponents say it's time to shut down what has become a growing indoor sex-for-sale industry.  WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis explores the debate - and what's at stake for the state.

For many of us, daily connection with family is at the center of our lives, the ballast that helps us navigate through life's complex and often unpredictable challenges.  But it's not a cliché to say that in modern times, we find it harder and harder to sustain these connections, what with our daunting job and social schedules, after-school calendars, electronic distractions.  Mandy Twaddell reflects on her family's challenges . . . and . . . triumphs.

Twaddell and her husband still live in Providence in an old house with a smaller kitchen.  They still look forward to breaking bread with family and friends, especially at one of the area's fine restaurants!  Twaddell is a frequent book reviewer for the Providence Journal.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline is adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward tent communities for the homeless. His hard line comes as lawyers for the city go to housing court today in an attempt to evict about 17 people from an encampment on Westminster Street. WRNI's Flo Jonic has a preview.

For the next two days, senior officials from the Obama administration will be in Providence to hear from residents and experts in Rhode Island about how best to manage the nation's oceans and coastlines.  

The theater can be a very tenuous proposition.  That's why it's notable when an acting troupe lasts for 25 years.  Now in Pawtucket, the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre has done just that.  Bill Gale has a look at the past and present of a Rhode Island theatrical winner.

It's no secret that for months we've been surrounded by intense, seemingly unending debate about health care reform, welfare reform, and myriad other forms of reform that strike at the heart of what it means to live in a civilized society.  At their core, these controversies boil down to fundamental beliefs about the very purposes of government in our lives and the nature of civil liberty.  Donald Breed shares his beliefs about what government truly means in his life.

Breed joined the staff of the Providence Journal in 1966, where he worked as a reporter in the financial, Sunday (features) and News departments. As a sideline, Breed also wrote the Journal's wine column and penned restaurant reviews.   Although he retired from Journal in 1996, Breed still writes for the Journal and other publications.

Rhode Island State representative John Loughlin the Republican who plans to challenge Congressman Patrick Kennedy in 2010 did something last night that Kennedy hasn't done: he held a public meeting on health care reform and WRNI's Health care reporter Megan Hall was there.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that roughly 12 percent of Rhode Islanders were living in poverty last year --- statistically unchanged from 2007.  The only exception was southern Rhode Island, where the poverty rate jumped from five to eight percent.  Yesterday, agencies that serve the poor came together to offer their services at the Westerly Armory. 

Speaker Murphy on the way out, the ongoing healthcare debate, and the future of Rhode Island Republicans. That's some of what WRNI's political roundtable takes up this week. Joining us are WRNI Political Analyst Scott MacKay, University of Rhode Island political science professor Maureen Moakley, and special guest, Giovanni Cicione, chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party.

There may be signs that the recession is coming to an end, but many states are still struggling with budget gaps and high unemployment rates. That's especially true in Rhode Island, where a 68-million dollar budget deficit has prompted the governor to consider a government shut down and layoff state employees - unless they accept a pay cut and a delay in their pay-raises.  

After three seasons recording the program in WRNI's Providence Studio, we hit the road and welcomed our first audience in August, at the Jane Pickens Theater and Event Center in Newport.  Stephen Berenson, Curt Columbus, Janice Duclos, Phyllis Kay and Joe Wilson, Jr. performed and discussed excerpts from Theophilus North, Thornton Wilder's beloved portrait of 1920s Newport. This special event is broadcast as a two-hour program, presented together with another chapter from the novel recorded in 2007.

Try to imagine what it must be like to live a full century, to have started life when William Howard Taft was president of the U.S. and to now have a president who communicates via the Internet and BlackBerry; to have been born in the year when construction began on both the Titanic and the Cape Cod Canal, and to now travel by cars that are guided by satellite-based global positioning systems; and to have taken your first breaths when the Wright brothers were forming a company to manufacture airplanes and to now hear news about routine space shuttles.   Today we chat with one such Rhode Islander, Esther Elkin, who shares her beliefs about her remarkably rich, century-long life.

Elkin has lived in Rhode Island since 1954, when she moved here from the New York area with her late husband, Harry.  Throughout her long life, Elkin has been both a student and a teacher, indeed what many have described as a master teacher.

It took 163 games, and 12 innings, but the Minnesota Twins are champions of the American League Central Division.  In a one-game play-off last night the Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers 6 to 5 in extra innings, and move on to face the New York Yankees today in the first round of post-season competition.

One-person plays are often criticized because of their intense focus on, well, just one person. But the play "I Am My Own Wife", now on the stage in Warren presents dozens of characters -- all played by one fine actor.  Bill Gale has our review.

As President Obama considers whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, he's confronting a split among his key advisors.  His top military people, including General Stanley McChrystal in Afghanistan, say more troops are needed if the 8-year-old war is to succeed.  But others, including Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, are skeptical about deploying more troops.

Casino gambling, more fiscal woes and rising tuition costs:  part of the discussion this week on the Political Roundtable. We're joined, as usual, by WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay, and University of Rhode Island political science professor Maureen Moakley. We're pleased to welcome our special guest, Justin Katz, administrator of the conservative blog Anchor Rising.

Educators gathered in Providence with a singular focus: cutting the state's 16-percent dropout rate. WRNI's Elisabeth Harrison reports educators, state officials and students exchanged ideas about which strategies can help keep kids in school.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston heard arguments this week about a Rhode Island racial profiling case.  The Rhode Island ACLU says state troopers illegally detained a van-load of Guatemalans after a routine traffic stop more than three years ago.  The lawsuit alleges that state police violated Rhode Island's Racial Profiling Prevention Act.  

Stop for a moment and think about the books you've read that have changed your life - those remarkably compelling passages that stopped you in your tracks, the literary images that changed the way you understand the world, the thought-provoking dialogue that altered how you view yourself.  I suspect that every one of us has at least a short list of life-changing books on that imaginary shelf.  And that's especially true for Lisa Van Allsburg.

Van Allsburg has spent years teaching art, creating and producing educational programs, and holding trustee positions on a number of Rhode Island boards.  Few things make her happier than bringing the arts to young children and putting books into their eager hands.  Van Allsburg is the creator of the Rhode Island Festival of Children's Books and Authors at the Lincoln School in Providence.

Healthcare, the Divided States of America, and more tough times for Rhode Island's cities and towns: that's part of the discussion this week on the Political Roundtable. Host Ian Donnis is joined by WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay, and University of Rhode Island Political Science professor Maureen Moakley and guest Tricia Rose, Brown University Professor of Africana studies.

By: Bob Seay

Herreshoff is a famous Newport boat designer, who talks to Bob about his famous sailing family, the history of sailing, and the America's Cup in Newport.

By: Flo Jonic

Our general assignment reporter will kick off the series with an overview of this 370-year old city. You'll learn about the architecture that draws thousands of tourists, the city's high poverty rate, and the city's biggest problem: parking.

Before Newport was a tourist Mecca, it was a Navy Town. The theme of a city re-inventing itself is at the heart of our One Square Mile series this week. It's also at the heart of this essay from WRNI's political analyst, Scott MacKay--who has followed Newport's transformation for the past three decades.

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. 

By: Flo Jonic

WRNI's reporter Flo Jonic investigates the lives of the servants who worked in the Bellevue Avenue mansions. The conditions under which they worked will make even a job you hate sound great.

Most of the servants who worked in Newport's mansions were Irish - many of whom lived in the city's old 5th ward. The neighborhood eventually became Newport's political springboard for generations that would follow. The 5th ward has changed over the years, but as WRNI's Scott MacKay reports, the old neighborhood is full of history and memories.

Newport may be known as a tourist destination, famous for its large mansions and yachts. But it's also home to a large working class population,  and like many cities, to a growing number of homeless. That poses a big challenge for the city's schools, which last year saw a significant increase in one of its neediest populations: homeless children.

As part of our One Square Mile: Focus on Newport reporting series, Bob Seay spends some time with Newport gallery owner William Vareika.

Vareika has a story to tell about John LaFarge, the multi-talented and influential artist based in Newport in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Take a look at some of LaFarge's stained glass.

Images courtesy of William Vareika Fine Arts

By: Scott MacKay

The difficult economy means more demands on social service agencies in Newport. WRNI's Scott MacKay reports that the Seaman's Church Institute, which has been helping those in need for the past ninety years, is busier than ever these days.

Steven Dietz is a prolific playwright with dozens of productions to his credit. But, for some reason, he's not been done much on the East Coast. Now, Midwesterner Curt Columbus brings him to Trinity Rep, and that's a very good thing. Bill Gale has the review.

Legislative leaders hope to close the state's indoor prostitution loophole when lawmakers return to the Statehouse next week, An East Greenwich businessman becomes the first Republican to enter next year's gubernatorial race, and questions are raised over accountability on tax incentives. Those topics this week on WRNI's political roundtable.

By: Megan Hall

If you live in Newport, it's likely that you live on Broadway, or close to Broadway, or at least know someone who does. The street passes through a large section of the city's residential area – running past the Newport Hospital, the police station, and city hall. Broadway is a major thoroughfare, but it's not the best place to take a walk. The street is wide, the sidewalks are uneven, and the lighting is poor.

WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall has this story on the city's attempt to transform one of Newport central roadways.

By: Bob Seay

Founder George Wein personally stepped in to keep the Newport summer folks and jazz festivals going this year, but what about the future of these iconic events? Bob Seay reports.

By: Ian Donnis

How is it that one seaside city has three women in prominent elected positions, led by Senate president Teresa Paiva-Weed, when the number of women in high public office has declined since the 1980s?

Listen to a Newport Town Meeting, "Reinvention & Renewal," a panel discussion about Newport's journey from Naval town to thriving tourist destination, moderated by WRNI News Director and former NPR News correspondent Anthony Brooks. This program was recorded live Thursday, October 22nd at the Jane Pickens Theatre and Event Center in Newport and originally broadcast on October 23.

"Romeo and Juliet" is one of Shakespeare's most produced works. It's also one of the hardest to do well. In Pawtucket, the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre has taken on the challenge. Bill Gale reviews.

Is the recession over?  According to the Federal government, the U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 % annual rate in the third quarter of this year, ending a full year of decline.  But in Rhode Island, there is little sign of an economic recovery. The recession is continuing to take a big toll on the nation's smallest state - which historically is the first in and last out of a recession.  As WRNI's Flo Jonic reports, history seems to be repeating itself. 

The death earlier this week of a twelve year old girl with swine flu has added new urgency to efforts to deliver the H1N1 vaccine. School vaccine clinics begin on Monday at ten schools across Rhode Island. 

This week's special 2-day session of the Rhode Island General Assembly is part of the focus of this week's Political Round-Table. WRNI's Political Reporter Ian Donnis is joined by URI Professor Maureen Moakley and Tom Sgouras.

All of us have had terrifyingly stressful moments in our lives when we were not sure we had the strength, the intestinal fortitude to survive the crisis.  Perhaps it was a genuine health scare, or receiving dreadful news about a loved one or a terrorist attack.  Whatever the daunting challenge, what all of us hope, and want to believe, is that we have the courage to survive.  Peter Mandel reflects on his very personal brush with bravery.

Mandel is the author of nine books for kids including Planes at the Airport (published by Scholastic), My Ocean Liner (published by Stemmer House) and Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays (published by Hyperion).  He contributes travel articles and essays to The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Coastal Living, and the Providence Journal's op-ed page.

As Rhode Island struggles through the worst economic slump since the Great Depression, one of its biggest challenges is to convince smart, college-educated young people to put down roots and stay in the Ocean State after they graduate. Each spring, too many graduates from local colleges collect their degrees and move away, resulting in a serious brain drain. 

For what seems like an eternity, we've been overwhelmed by a spate of bad news, what with a disastrous economy, terrifying terrorist attacks, swine flu, and sordid political scandals.  Through it all, many of us struggle to find a reason to smile, to laugh out loud.  Karen Lee Ziner wisely reminds us of the profound importance of humor in our lives. 

Ziner has lived in Providence since 1980. A former fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, she is writing a collection of stories for a yet-unpublished book on her West End neighborhood.  Ziner is a reporter for The Providence Journal.

This week, the ocean state saw two more deaths due to the H1N1 virus- a twelve year old girl, and a middle aged woman with underlying medical conditions. The news is adding pressure to an already difficult situation- a flu that is spreading rapidly and a shortage of the vaccine too. 

 THIS WEEK'S OFF-YEAR ELECTIONS DELIVERED SOME SETBACKS FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.  THAT'S PART OF THE DISCUSSION THIS WEEK ON WRNI'S POLITICAL ROUNDTABLE.

Trinity Rep company actors Janice Duclos, Fred Sullivan, Jr., and Rachael Warren read and discuss Cheever's "The Enormous Radio," "The Worm in the Apple" and "The Autobiography of a Drummer," with artistic director Curt Columbus and host Bob Seay.

Law enforcement officials are among those welcoming Rhode Island's new prostitution law. They say the law signed last week by Governor Carcieri gives them the tools necessary to fight sexual exploitation. Yet despite the new law, WRNI's political reporter, Ian Donnis, reports that the debate about criminalizing prostitution continues.

Law enforcement officials are among those welcoming Rhode Island's new prostitution law. They say the law signed last week by Governor Carcieri gives them the tools necessary to fight sexual exploitation. Yet, despite the new law, WRNI's political reporter, Ian Donnis, reports the debate about criminalizing prostitution continues.

One of the joys of living in Rhode Island and in New England is that we get to experience the poignant changes in the seasons, the shift from summer's sweetness to the bucolic fall, and from winter's chill to spring's bountiful beauty.  Yet, as Henri Flikier notes, shifting seasons - in New England and in our own lives - are filled with complexity. 

Flikier is a child and adult psychotherapist practicing in Providence and North Kingstown. He grew up in Paris, France and moved to New York City as a teenager. Flikier resides in East Bay with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, kayaking, gardening and reading.

Author and frequent "This American Life" contributor Sarah Vowell talks with Bob Seay about her book on Roger Williams and the Puritans "The Wordy Shipmates"

Thanks to a new GI bill now in effect, colleges and universities in Rhode Island are starting to see an increase in the number of veterans on campus. WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison looks at some of the challenges these students face, and what schools are doing to try to help them.

The deadly shootings last week at Fort Hood army base in Texas brought post traumatic stress disorder into the national spotlight for a new and troubling reason -  the alleged gunman was a psychiatrist, counseling soldiers traumatized by the war.  On this Veterans Day, WRNI's health care reporter Megan Hall examines how the Ocean State counsels its returning veterans, and how those mental health professionals are taking care of themselves.

Combining premieres and chestnuts, Up Close On Hope has become a popular series at Festival Ballet Providence. The latest incarnation is running now. Bill Gale has our review.

WRNI"s Bob Seay talks with New Republic Senior Editor Jonathan Cohn about House approved healthcare legislation pending in the U.S. Senate.

There's been swift and angry reaction to a veto this week by Governor Donald Carcieri.  The Governor vetoed a bill that would have allowed same sex couples to make funeral arrangements for a deceased partner.  The man whose personal experience inspired that bill is vowing to fight the veto.  WRNI's Elizabeth Harrison reports.

Governor Carcieri's controversial veto this week on funeral rights for same-sex partners is part of the discussion this week on WRNI's political roundtable.  Here's WRNI Political Reporter Ian Donnis ...

Governor Carcieri and some of his critics in the gay community took part yesterday in what both sides call a productive meeting. The dialogue took place two days after the governor vetoed a bill giving gays and lesbians the right to make funeral arrangements for their partners. WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis was at the state house.

The very public disagreement about health care reform and abortion between Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy and Bishop Thomas Tobin remains unresolved.  Kennedy and Tobin had scheduled a meeting last week to discuss their differences, but Kennedy pulled out, saying he didn't want to air the disagreement publicly. 

Students at the Rhode Island School of Design are helping to develop a cutting-edge computer system that may one day replace the mouse and keyboard. It's called g-speak, and it uses hand gestures to communicate with the computer. WRNI's education reporter Elisabeth Harrison visited the studio where RISD students are working on the project.

New York Times reporter David Rohde, who was kidnapped by the Taliban and spent seven-and-a-half months in captivity in Pakistan before escaping, spoke at Brown University on Monday.  Rohde is a graduate of Brown, who recounted the ordeal of his capture and eventual escape in a five-part series in the New York Times. 

How do the most important people in your life view you?  How do you want to be viewed by others?  Do you aim for some sort of ideal persona?  As Cathleen Calbert notes, sometimes our answers to these questions come from a very unusual source.

Calbert's short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in many publications, including Ms. Magazine, The New Republic, and The Southern Review. She is the author of three books of poetry: Lessons in Space (University of Florida Press), Bad Judgment (Sarabande Books), and Sleeping with a Famous Poet (C.W. Books). Her awards include The Nation Discovery Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the Mary Tucker Thorp Professorship at Rhode Island College, where she currently teaches.

WRNI Morning Edition host Bob Seay speaks with author Deborah Davis about her book "Gilded" and its characters.

Gay rights in Rhode Island, including Governor Carcieri's tepid embrace of civil unions for same sex-partners is part of our weekly discussion on Rhode Island politics.  Here's WRNI's Ian Donnis with this week's Political Round Table. 

The phrase sounds so plain and simple.  Yet all of us know how complex and challenging our human - and our sometimes inhumane - connections can be. Barbara Schweitzer reflects on the profound, and complicated, meaning of connections in our lives.

Schweitzer is the author of 33 and 1/3.  She has twice been awarded the Merit Fellowship for Poetry in RI.  Schweitzer is co-founder of Rhode Island's Origami Poems Project, a free poetry venture that engages poets from New York to Jakarta, Indonesia.  She maintains a private practice in psychotherapy in Providence.

It's easy enough to feel pessimistic about Rhode Island's future. A two and a half year recession left us with a nearly 13 percent unemployment rate, plummeting home values and soaring state deficits.  While economists agree the old manufacturing companies that once made the state prosper will never return, a new kind of business is taking root.

Rhode Island's General Assembly faces a raft of perennially tough budget issues when the session convenes in January. One topic the Assembly has not tackled recently is whether the state should decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, as Massachusetts has done.

Natural disasters are not usually seen as subjects for the musical stage. But then there was "Titanic" on Broadway and in film. Now another improbable production is being developed in New York - and it is centered in Rhode Island. Bill Gale has the story.

Imagine eleven people living in a public housing apartment.  Well, this oversized Providence family is enjoying its first Thanksgiving in their own home thanks to Habitat For Humanity. WRNI's Flo Jonic reports.

Natural disasters are not usually seen as subjects for the musical stage. But, then, there was "Titanic" on Broadway and in film. Now being worked on in New York, there's another idea for an improbable production. But it is centered in Rhode Island. Bill Gale has the story

It's Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. The name stems from the fact that the Christmas shopping frenzy often puts retailers in the black. But as WRNI's Flo Jonic reports it may have a more sinister connotation this year.

The Kennedy Tobin war, and Gordon Fox goes to Fenway Park. That's part of the discussion this week on Political Roundtable. Joining us are WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay and University of Rhode Island political science professor Maureen Moakley. We're pleased to welcome back our special guest, Justin Katz, administrator of and a leading contributor to the conservative blog Anchor Rising.

The fledgling moderate party of Rhode Island has high hopes for next year's political season.   It intends to field a broad slate of candidates, including one for governor and close to 20 for the general assembly.  The moderates crossed a threshold last summer when they became an officially recognized political party.

There are ways to improve Rhode Island's economy, but it won't happen quickly or easily. That was one of the main themes yesterday as the House of Representatives held an economic forum at the State House. WRNI political reporter Ian Donnis has the story.

As the U.S. Senate begins debate this week on a major bill to overhaul national health care, WRNI's political analyst, Scott Mackay, sat down with Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to talk about what's in the bill, and its propsects for passage.

It's probably not hard to imagine a time in your life when you felt something that was profoundly precious to you was slipping away, perhaps the last moments of your college career, a glorious vacation, or a very special relationship.   Lauren Birnie reflects on just such an experience in her life, and on the beliefs she formed along the way. 

Birnie is originally from Rome, New York near Syracuse.  She is a senior business management major at Providence College.  In her spare time Birnie enjoys reading, writing, and playing soccer.

Officials at the Community College of Rhode Island say they have reached a tipping point: with enrollment on the rise and budget cuts continuing due to the state's fiscal crisis, the days of an open door policy at Community Colleges may be nearing an end.

WRNI education reporter Elisabeth Harrison has the story.

As the U.S. Senate takes up national health care reform this week in Washington, much is at stake for Rhode Island residents.  This morning we begin a series of reports on how Rhode Islanders are faring in the current health care system, and what they hope for in a new one. 

If the holidays are upon us here in southern New England, there is a no doubt what is on stage at the Trinity Repertory company in Providence.  Here's bill gale with a review of the yearly classic, A Christmas Carol.

Jazz Legend Dave Brubeck has returned to what is a very special place for him here in Rhode Island and it isn't in Newport...it's in Cranston at the Immaculate Conception church.

President Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan and Rhode Island's economic challenges are part of the discussion this week on Political Roundtable. Here's WRNI's Ian Donnis.

Recorded with a live audience, resident acting company members Stephen Berenson, Janice Duclos, Stephen Thorne and Rachael Warren read and discuss three stories with Curt Columbus and Bob Seay:

There's been mixed response from liberals to President Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.  Two cases in point -- Rhode Island's two Democratic congressmen, James Langevin and Patrick Kennedy, who are staunch supporters of President Obama on almost every issue -- except Afghanistan.  WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay explains why the reluctance among Rhode Island's representatives could spell trouble for the president's troop buildup.

A certified sexologist will learn tonight if the city of Pawtucket will allow her to open a sex education center in an old five and dime store. The Pawtucket Zoning Board has already rejected the permit request once.  Tonight the panel will rule on an appeal.  

As Senate Democrats continue efforts to pass landmark health care reform, they're still searching for consensus around controversial issues like abortion and a government-run insurance plan.  That's the starting point of a conversation this morning between WRNI's political analyst, Scott Mackay and Rhode Island Congressman, Jim Langevin.

At one time or another, most of us have received bad news - the kind of news that stops us in our tracks and, possibly, alters our path in life, our priorities, the way we cope with adversity, indeed our most basic understanding of what life really means.  And that's exactly what happened to Kathi Kolb.

Kolb was born and raised in the Boston area.  She moved to South County, Rhode Island to attend graduate school 18 years ago, and still works there as a physical therapist.   Kolb is also an award-winning photographer and writes a popular internet blog called "The Accidental Amazon."

It's been a tough year for Rhode Island farmers.   So bad, in fact, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared the state's farmland a natural disaster area  - after a cold, rainy spring destroyed more than 30 percent of the state's crops. 

Researchers at Brown University's Watson Institute have developed a teaching unit for high schools on U.S. policy in Afghanistan.  It's part of a series of teaching tools aimed at involving teens in international issues. 

Wind power, Republican divisions, and a big salary for a new state official. That's part of the discussion this week on political roundtable. Joining us are WRNI Political Analyst Scott MacKay and University of Rhode Island political science Professor Maureen Moakley. We're pleased to welcome our special guest, Glenn Loury, a social critic, public intellectual, and professor of economics and social science at Brown University.

Last week, Rhode Island Republicans convened their central committee to plan strategy for the 2010 elections.  With the state's economy struggling, and public disaffection for government growing, 2010 should represent a good opportunity for the state's tiny band of Republicans to pick up some gains in mostly Democratic Rhode Island. 

How often do you walk the streets of Rhode Island's cities and towns and notice - really notice - the architecture that surrounds you?  What do Rhode Island's buildings mean to you - their height, their texture, their aesthetics?  How do they shape your life?  Ross Cann reflects on the profound meaning that Rhode Island's buildings have in his life.

Cann is a former board member of the RI chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He holds architecture degrees from Yale, Cambridge and Columbia and is an historian, educator and practicing architect living and working in Newport.

If it's December, you can count on finding "A Christmas Carol" and "The Nutcracker" on a stage or two around here.  But redemption and joy aren't the only way to go in this season.  Consider, for example, the production called Santa-Land, now at Pawtucket's Gamm Theatre.  Our reviewer, Bill Gale, say the show takes a decidedly contrarian look at Christmas.

The Carcieri administration has unveiled a sweeping plan to cut spending and balance the state budget.  The effort to close the current year's 218-million dollar deficit includes cuts in education and state pensions.  WRNI Political Reporte Ian Donnis reports.

Some local officials are reacting angrily to Governor Carcieri's proposed budget cuts.  WRNI's Elisabeth Harrison took a sampling of opinions from officials around the state and prepared this report. 

Last month, scientists made the startling announcement that they had discovered water - on the moon - after they deliberately crashed a small spacecraft into the lunar surface.  One of those on the scientific team looking for evidence of lunar H-two-O was Doctor Peter Shultz, a planetary scientist at Brown University.  Dr.  Shultz stopped by our studios recently to talk about what for him was a remarkable discovery.

In the wake of President Obama's decision to send 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan, a new Brown University Poll suggests tepid public support for the escalation. The Brown poll found that 50% of Rhode Islanders support the increased U.S. troop presence. 

Three school districts in Rhode Island are close to adopting a system of merit pay, which would reward teachers who get good results in the classroom.  Advocates believe the programs will improve student achievement, although that has yet to be demonstrated.  What is clear is that merit pay remains a controversial idea. 

Last month, the state issued a $150,000 wrong site surgery fine to Rhode Island Hospital. Besides the fine, the health department ordered the hospital to shut down operating rooms for a day and provide extra training.  It also gave the hospital 45 days - until today - to design a plan to video-tape its surgeries.  

This week Governor Carcieri announced a package of spending cuts in an effort to close a 218-million dollar budget deficit.  Will that be enough to balance the state's book - or will tax hikes be part Rhode Island's future?  That's part of the discussion this week on Political Roundtable. Here's WRNI's Ian Donnis

Last week, Governor Carcieri proposed a sweeping package of  budget cuts in response to the state's 220-million dollar budget deficit.  Now it's up to the General Assembly to respond.  Rhode Island's State Senate Majority Leader Dan Connors mentioned the ONE word that is rarely uttered at the State House: tax-hikes.  WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay says 2010 may bring reality to a state government that too often is content to rule by slogan. 

Every one of us has had moments in life when we weren't sure whether we were up to the challenge that stared straight at us.  Perhaps it was in the face of sudden news about a loved one's death, the end of a profoundly important relationship, or bad news about our health.  Nicole Purcell reflects on just such a time in her life, and on the lessons she has learned along the way. 

Purcell is the Development Director for Rhode Island Public Radio. Purcell notes that with the support of wonderful family and great friends, she has lived well with type 1 diabetes since she was eight years old.  She writes a regular blog for dlife.com, an online resource for families living with diabetes.

From New York to London to Osaka, "Wicked" has been a huge hit. Now it has returned to our neck of the woods. Bill Gale says it's a most welcome comeback.

The recession is leaving a lot more Rhode Islanders in the dark. Utility shut offs have risen 147 percent since 2006, the last full year before the recession started.

Rhode Island is ending 2009 as the year began  -  with high unemployment, budget deficits, and a sputtering economy.  But Governor Donald Carcieri and other officials are touting  the state's new economic development director, Ioanna Morfessis, as part of the cure for these woes.  WRNI political reporter, Ian Donnis, has our story.

On Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate approved major health care reform legislation to expand coverage to tens of millions of Americans.   There's much at stake for Rhode Islanders - particularly for the more than 118-thousand Ocean State residents without health insurance. 

How many fish in the ocean?  It's a simple question but seemingly impossible to answer. That hasn't stopped a group of scientists who are compiling the first ever census of the worlds' oceans.  It's a global effort -- coordinated by scientists at URI -- to identify and quantify marine life around the planet. WRNI's Bob Seay spoke to two of the scientists, and has our story.  

How often do you have this fleeting, or perhaps even nagging, thought that you tend to take life too seriously, that you'd like to regain that childlike sense of fun and frolic?  How often does genuine play find its way into your life?  Sam White shares his passion for play, and about its importance in our lives. 

White is the president of Wooly Productions, a Providence-based event company dedicated to merriment in all forms, including Woolly Fair, Fearless Mobile Mini Golf, and The Werewolf 5k. He lives with his wife, Gillian, at Monohasset Mill, a live/work artist community in Providence's valley district.

How many fish in the ocean?  It's a simple question but seemingly impossible to answer. That hasn't stopped a group of scientists who are compiling the first ever census of the worlds' oceans.  It's a global effort -- coordinated by scientists at URI -- to identify and quantify marine life around the planet. WRNI's Bob Seay spoke to two of the scientists, and has our story.  

There are working artists, and then there are artists who work so they can create their art. You will find them everywhere, especially in Providence. Our special Arts Correspondent Marina Windels introduces us to one of them: C.W. Roelle.