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DAVID SCHARFENBERG

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The political story everyone missed

John Robitaille almost beat Lincoln Chafee in the race for the corner office. How did he come so close -- and why did the local media leave him almost wholly unvetted?
The headlines from this year's gubernatorial race were Democrat Frank Caprio's indelicate suggestion that the leader of the free world "shove it" and Lincoln Chafee's historic victory as Rhode Island's first independent governor.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 22, 2010

The Celtics and the birth of the real NBA

Sports Dept.
The Providence Journal 's estimable sports columnist, Bill Reynolds, is out with a new book, Rise of a Dynasty: The '57 Celtics, the First Banner, and the Dawning of a New America .

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 22, 2010

Not waiting for Superman

Can Teach For America come to the rescue of Rhode Island's struggling schools?
Just off the main drag in Federal Hill, in a brightly painted office, a series of hand-written notes hang on the wall. This is headquarters for Teach for America Rhode Island, the local branch of a booming nonprofit that recruits top-tier college graduates to teach in some of the nation's toughest public schools.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 15, 2010

The 2011 political forecast

Getting Back To Business
The great wave election of 2010 did little to reshape Rhode Island's Congressional delegation. Neither of the state's senators faced re-election and Democrats held onto both House seats, with Congressman-elect David Cicilline replacing the retiring Patrick Kennedy.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 15, 2010

Providence's mapmaker goes digital

Geography Dept.
Eddie Grant, veteran mapmaker for the city of Providence, sits at the back of an otherwise colorless planning department office, a large cardboard cutout of the Three Stooges looking over his shoulder.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 08, 2010

Angel Taveras on design, technology — and his theme song

Urban Affairs
With the New Year rapidly approaching, Providence's mayor-elect Angel Taveras has been busy assembling a ginormous transition team and fending off a small army of job-seekers.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 01, 2010

At a downtown bar: Fluffernutters and pickle juice

Nightclubbing
For a city driven, in many ways, by its youthful artist-entrepreneurial class, there is surprisingly little in the way of hipster night spots.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 01, 2010

Is divorce contagious? Yes, according to Brown researchers

Heartbreak Dept.
Your husband filed for divorce and you blamed his rotten friends. Turns out you were right!

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 24, 2010

The high-stakes overhaul of a newspaper website

As the ProJo turns
The Providence Journal 's website, once considered forward-looking, feels a little backward at the moment.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 17, 2010

Electric cars: Rhode Island plugs in

Can the smallest state make the biggest use of electric cars — and help save the world?
“I’m not a car guy,” says Al Dahlberg, sitting in his office on a recent afternoon.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 12, 2011

At URI, Booker challenges a generation

Callings
"Gun shots rang out," said Cory Booker, Newark's charismatic mayor, during a talk at the University of Rhode Island's Edwards Hall this week.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 10, 2010

Chafee's Smith hill prospects

Lincoln Chafee faces all manner of landmines
Lincoln Chafee rides into office with a weak mandate, at best. The governor-elect won just over one-third of the vote, barely edging his Republican rival for the throne.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 03, 2010

Nine things to watch for on Election Day

Solidarity forever! Tea Party froth! Providence Rising!
It is, perhaps, a sign of a troubling derangement. But I'll say it anyway: I'm going to miss this election season when it's over.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 27, 2010

Caprio's Clinton fixation

The gubernatorial hopeful is running an ‘It’s The Economy, Stupid’ campaign. But will the centrist approach work in a liberal-leaning state?
It was the highlight of Democrat Frank Caprio's bid for governor: an endorsement by Bill Clinton before an enormous American flag at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 20, 2010

On the meaning of trash

Action Speaks!
Providence cultural center AS220 wraps up the fall edition of its Action Speaks! panel discussion series with an examination of that oft-ignored byproduct of America's consumerist culture: trash.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 20, 2010

In Chafee we trust

But is trust enough in this volatile political season?
In a year that finds most top-tier politicians promising jobs, jobs, and more jobs, independent gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee is betting his political future on a different message: trust me.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 14, 2010

Is the brain wired for the Crackberry?

Action Speaks!
Providence cultural center AS220's panel discussion series Action Speaks! marches on with a chat about the transformative impact the cell phone.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 13, 2010

Does the local food movement really work?

Action Speaks!
Providence cultural center AS220's panel discussion series Action Speaks! continues with a look at the "local food" movement.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 06, 2010

11 Big Ideas for Rhode Island

Great notions to make things better in tough times: internpreneurships, dance parties, and Netflix for underwear
Rhode Island has problems. We all know it. Unemployment, political corruption, the Providence College basketball team.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 05, 2010

The birth of conservative talk radio

Action Speaks!
Providence cultural center AS220 is kicking off its latest season of "Action Speaks!" roundtable discussions. The theme for this fall's chats: "What's Eating Us?," a look at the patterns of consumption that precipitated the economic crash — and may help us get out.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | September 29, 2010

Flying blind: A primary-season post-mortem

With little public polling on the most hotly contested races in memory, Rhode Island’s pundit class was in the dark as the primary approached
With little public polling on the most hotly contested races in memory, Rhode Island’s pundit class was in the dark as the primary approached. But could the presence of a high-profile gay candidate make opinion surveys suspect anyway?

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | September 15, 2010

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