Speaking of the ProJo, the Sunday version of Rhode Island's statewide daily was on its game yesterday with a quartet of stories that combine to sum up some of the state's greatest challenges:

-- Things had been quiet on the surface for months with Operation Dollar Bill before Mike Stanton swooped in with an update: in short, the FBI is scrutinizing whether state Senator Stephen Alves of West Warwick -- who is no longer in the employ of UBS Financial Services -- killed a tax-incentive measure for a Pennsylvania company to punish Johnston mayor Joseph Polisena for not investing town funds with Alves.

Green design has become the rage in a lot of places, and for good reason: it helps to cut contributors to global warming and reduces the need for expensive energy resources. But as Marisa Angell Brown wrote last week in the Phoenix, it's not easy being green in Rhode Island:

Rhode Island remains far behind many of our neighbors in the Northeast, where there has been either more proactive legislation or greater local support from institutions and corporations, when it comes to promoting green design.

A debate over the waterfront land being made available in Providence by the relocation of I-195 has played out, mostly quietly, in recent years.

To some, like David Riley of the Friends of India Point Park, maximizing public access to the waterfront makes the most economic and civic sense. For its part, the Cicilline administration has seemingly wanted to keep its options open when it comes to the development of this area.