Beverly Najarian, one of Governor Carcieri's closest aides, is leaving state government, Carcieri administration sources said.

      Senate Majority Leader Dan Connors, D_Cumberland, is saying out loud what many State House Democrats have been thinking: That Governor Carcieri's budget-balancing plan is too harsh on the state's 39 cities and towns.

 In an interview with WRNI and in a statement released today, Connors said the Carcieri's more than $100 million in mid-year cuts to cities and towns is not realistic.

Gov. Donald Carcieri will propose to the General Assembly that the state make deep cuts in aid to cities and towns, reduce education spending, further slash state employee pension benefits and make cuts in social services.

The recession continues to drive down Rhode Island state revenues, according to the House Fiscal Advisory staff's latest report on the state's fiscal collections.

Tax collections through the end of November are $15.1 million below estimates. This is mostly due to faltering business tax and income tax collections, according to the report. Also below estimates are cigarette tax collections, the inheritance and gift tax, gas taxes and state lottery revenues.

Gov. Donald Carcieri's veto of legislation that would have allowed gay couples to make funeral arrangements has drawn sharp criticism from gay rights advocates and almost every Democratic state office holder.

Jeff Neal, former press spokesman for both Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Gov. Donald Carcieri, has landed at Harvard University. Since September Neal has been the spokesman for the faculty of arts and science at the Ivy League college.

 Gov. Donald Carcieri, stung by criticism of his recent veto of a measure allowing gay partners to make funeral arrangements, now says a state law may already contain a provision that would allow anyone to designate another person to be responsible for funeral planning.

A bevy of leading Democrats have stepped up to sharply criticize Governor Carcieri for his veto of legislation allowing domestic partners to make funeral arrangements for their loved ones.

If you just run the numbers, this is one legacy of Donald Carcieri's seven years as governor: Rhode Island has 39,000 fewer jobs than the state did in January, 2003, when Carcieri entered the State House. But we have 5,000 more slot machines.

Governor Donald Carcieri will be the first speaker at tonight's annual Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council dinner in Providence, but he won't be hanging around for the meal.

Instead, Carcieri will bolt from the RIPEC dinner to be the keynote speaker at the Massachusetts Family Institute's Annual Fundraising Banquet. The Massachusetts Family Institute is a group that lobbies against gay rights and gay marriage.