Perpetually at odds with the Democratic legislature and pushing further and further into his lame-duck period, Governor Carcieri rarely has an opportunity to claim a high-profile victory. But he gets that opportunity today, with members of a key state workers' union signing off on a cost-cutting deal that will impose a temporary pay cut in a bid to cover a portion of the state's budget shortfall.

Word from a Smith Hill source that the House leadership will allow Democrats to caucus and review next year's budget before the finance committee takes it up.

Doesn't sound like a big deal, I know. But for years, the leadership has jealously guarded its control over the budget - the single most important piece of legislation the General Assembly cranks out each year.

Pat is wondering whether a directive by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will stop Governor Caricier's global Medicaid waiver.

Meanwhile, the NYT -- which has a front-pager today looking at growing Medicaid costs in a number of states, has a sidebar on how Rhode Island is pursuing a different approach.

In her first in-depth TV interview since formally winning election as Senate president, M. Teresa Weed talks about the budget, economic development, her leadership team, immigration, port development and other topics on WPRI-WNAC-TV's Newsmakers (video here and here). The show is typically broadcast Sundays at 5:30 am on Channel 12, and at 10 am on Fox 64.

The bombast in East Providence this week seems like a taste of things to come, and this inclusion in the budget will pour more fuel on the fire.

From Ray Henry of the Providence AP, via the Boston Globe:

A budget plan that Governor Don Carcieri submitted this month to close a massive deficit includes a provision making it illegal for teachers to protest during contract negotiations by performing strictly to the terms of their contracts, for example, by refusing to host after-school clubs or chaperone school dances.

It is timely and all.

From the Institute:

Tomorrow, over 200 Rhode Islanders, including local and state policymakers, representatives from nonprofit organizations, labor & religious groups, and Rhode Island citizens will attend the 2009 Budget Rhode Map.

The state budget is Rhode Island’s most important policy document, yet many Rhode Islanders are in the dark when it comes to how the budget is developed.

Speaking of 2010, General Treasurer Frank Caprio, while steadily deflecting questions about his forthcoming gubernatorial run, continues to dramatically elevate the public profile of his current position.

Following Governor Carcieri's televised budget address on Wednesday, for example, Caprio commented on WJAR -- an opportunity that came after communications director Tim Gray made the treasurer's availability known to various media outlets.

Elsewhere in blogland . . .

Matt, following up on Grow Smart RI and today's ProJo, faults Governor Carcieri for being late to the stimulus party . . .

And Justin crunches some numbers to conclude that the gov was correct, in response to my query on Newsmakers, in saying middle class Rhode Islanders have not assumed a greater part of the tax burden in recent years.

UPDATE: The video is up here.

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Governor Carcieri visited with Tim White, Arlene Violet, and myself this afternoon to discuss his supplemental budget address and a few other odds and ends.

Some brief highlights from Newsmakers, which should hit the Web later today, and which will be broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12, and at 10 on Fox Providence:

Governor Carcieri's special televised budget address last night struck me as a bit of a hodge-podge -- a mix of overdue concepts along with some others that leave continued questions.

As is his wont, the talk radio-friendly governor took his case directly to the public, communicating the seriousness of the situation, trying to frame it in a national context, and offering steps that might help to burnish his legacy.

As Governor Carcieri prepares to outline spending cuts tonight, Grow Smart Rhode Island offers this:

In a letter delivered to the Governor, Grow Smart Executive Director Scott Wolf stated, “With all the uncertainty created by economic conditions these days, there are two things of which we can be certain.

One school of thought holds that poverty will always be with us. Perhaps, but that overlooks the fact that government, however flawed, can make an important difference for the better on important issues.

Two examples:

1) The federal government, through the Democratic administration of LBJ and the Republican one of Richard Nixon, dramatically diminished the prevalence of hunger in America.

From Governor Carcieri's office:

Governor Donald L. Carcieri will discuss the State of Rhode Island's financial situation and outline details of his FY 09 supplemental budget during a live, televised address on Wednesday, January 7, 2009. The address will be will air live on live on all three local network TV affiliates (WJAR NBC 10, WLNE ABC 6, and WPRI 12) at 7:00 p.

Word comes today of a January 9 legislative hearing on Governor Carcieri's global Medicaid waiver, which he bills as a big money-saver for the state.

Governor Carcieri touts a federal Medicaid waiver as a ticket to savings in the Rhode Island budget, but it seems as if an awful lot of questions about how this will work remain unanswered. Given how the Ocean State has a very high percentage of elderly residents, this plan comes with considerable risk.

From the ProJo: