When last week’s Rhode Island House Finance Committee
hearing on state spending turned to the Department of Corrections, lawmakers were not pleased to discover that running the state’s prisons has cost more
than anticipated.

Finance Chairman Steve Costantino and Rep. David Caprio fired sharp questions at A.T. Wall, the state’s longtime corrections commissioner.

How come, they asked, is the prison overtime budget so large? Why aren’t there fewer inmates? And why can’t the state save more money in the prison budgets?

Reports from the ProJo's Fountain Street headquarters have Cynthia Needham, one of the newspaper's three State House reporters, moving on to a new assignment in the newsroom. Needham, a stylish writer, gained a reputation as a hard-working and smart reporter during her tenure at the Capitol. No word yet on who will replace her

INTRO: The late Ted Kennedy’s revealing memoir, True Compass, touches on Rhode Island politics and even a local prep school. WRNI political analyst Scott MacKay discovers that Kennedy ties to Rhode Island went way beyond his son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

Democrat Scott A. Slater posted an impressive win for the seat held by his late father, Tom Slater, in Providence's West End, South Elmwood and Reservoir Triangle.

The 34-year old Slater cruised to victory over six other candidates in a crowded Democratic primary. He captured nearly 50 percent of the vote in the district with 498 vote. His closest challenger was John Kelly, president of Meeting Street School, who had a not-so-impressive 256.

Legal indoor prostitution is about to become history in Rhode Island when the General Assembly meets later this month.

Both General Assembly chambers have aoproved legislation banning indoor prostitution, but the House version contains stiffer penalties. Under the House bill, even first-time offenders would be subject to hail time. The Senate version treated a first conviction as a civil penalty with a $100 fine.

The race to succeed Rhode Island House Speaker William Murphy is underway. That means State House Democrats will be deciding who will take over one of the most powerful jobs in state government.  But WRNI analyst Scott MacKay says that if the past is any guide, state voters will be pretty much in the dark until after the deal is done.

Mayor Charles Moreau of Central Falls is running for a fourth term, and working hard to ensure that he has no opposition. Earlier this month the local board of canvassers voted unanimously to disqualify his only opponent. But the local chapter of the ACLU is challenging the decision in federal court.

Governor Donald Carcieri has been locked in another dispute with unionized state employees. The latest skirmish involved his effort to shut down state government to close a budget gap. Carcieri has blasted union leaders for resisting his plan, accusing them of maintaining what he calls "their stranglehold on the citizens of this state."