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Public colleges get the shaft

Fewer teachers. Bigger classes. More applicants. Huge tuition hikes. the outlook for Rhode island higher ed is bleak .
When it came time to pick a college, Thomas Ahrens just couldn't pass up the relative affordability of a University of Rhode Island education.

By MEAGHAN WIMS | February 25, 2009

Propping up a puppet

Obama gets it wrong on Afghanistan
"If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer," Yogi Berra once said. President Obama should do the same.

By TED RALL | February 25, 2009

It's getting easier to go green

THE ENVIRONMENT
In Rhode Island and across the US, economic troubles seem to be getting worse by the day. But green energy and conservation, several local advocates and entrepreneurs say, has a chance to flourish in the coming years.

By MARION DAVIS | February 25, 2009

The beginning of the end?

Journal to cut 100 more jobs.
As the ProJo Turns: There is nothing shocking anymore about the layoffs sweeping the newspaper industry.

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | February 25, 2009

Rhody's local food movement finds its groove

Relishing the fresh flavor of homegrown goods
Five years ago, when Farm Fresh Rhode Island (FFRI) launched its mission of promoting Ocean State-produced food, co-founder Noah Fulmer discovered a curious disconnection in the local food chain.

By IAN DONNIS | February 23, 2009

Fest raises awareness, celebrates women

Come together
Maria Mendes found her voice last spring, at a gathering to prepare for a trip to New Orleans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues . Standing before a group of women, she finally got the courage to talk about being abused, surviving, and fighting to protect other women.

By MARION DAVIS | February 18, 2009

Bill proposes cap for hospital CEO salaries

Meanwhile, Lifespan postpones raises
All but two Rhode Island hospital CEO executives would face massive pay cuts under legislation filed last week by state senator Michael McCaffrey

By STEVEN STYCOS | February 18, 2009

Examining the state of Iraq's democracy

Only eight candidates for office were murdered during this year's campaigning, down from 200 in 2005
Why don't people laugh out loud, or at least guffaw, when they hear about US troops overseas assisting elections? Too many US states and municipalities have dysfunctional voting systems for us to be proudly tutoring anyone else.

By ANDISHEH NOURAEE | February 23, 2009

Health-care's big moneyman in New England

Lifespan CEO George Vecchione's compensation is tops in the region
Lifespan CEO George Vecchione's compensation is tops in the region

By STEVEN STYCOS | February 20, 2009

Ticket to ride

Reflections on 10 years at the Phoenix
In April 1999, two weeks after I started on the job at the Providence Phoenix , the FBI raided City Hall, formally unveiling the federal investigation that would land Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr., Rhode Island's rascal king, behind bars.

By IAN DONNIS | February 11, 2009

Phoenix group harvests 17 regional press prizes

Bragging-Rights Night at New England Press Association
The New England Press Association (NEPA) annual newspaper contest has always been good to us.

By CLIF GARBODEN | February 12, 2009

The problem with the Church's selective embrace

Vatican City
Pope Benedict recently lifted the excommunication of four bishops who had been consecrated without the required Vatican consent.

By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | February 12, 2009

Can the geeks save Rhode Island?

The tech sector offers promise for the economic future, but a small labor pool and other hurdles must be overcome
The tech sector offers promise for the economic future, but a small labor pool and other hurdles must be overcome

By MARION DAVIS | February 04, 2009

Miller and Bettencourt document TB epidemic

Reel Life
You wouldn't think G. Wayne Miller would have time left to blink, considering the work he delivers

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 04, 2009

Congress's war on toys

A new US law threatens to handcuff local indie artisans — and could render certain kids' products contraband
Incredible, but true: until this past Friday, America was on a fast track to outlaw grandmothers selling children's sweaters for charity.

By LISSA HARRIS | February 09, 2009

A great little performer

Obama administration stubs its toe with the tax-challenged
If this doesn't convince you that no one with lotsa bucks plays by the rules, and that insider trading is rife on Wall Street, along with obscene bonuses collected by what are essentially crooks, with no morals, at most big lending institutions, how would you like to buy that bridge to Brooklyn at the lower end of Manhattan?

By PHILLIPPE AND JORGE | February 04, 2009

A fusillade of tweets ring in the new year in RI

New Media
The feed is like a collective stream of consciousness, served up in tidbits of 140 characters or less (this sentence, for perspective, is 100).

By MARION DAVIS | February 04, 2009

Advocates renew push for publicly-financed RI elections

Talking Politics
During a news conference Tuesday afternoon in the State House rotunda, proponents of significantly expanding publicly financed elections in Rhode Island — a concept they call "Fair Elections" — cited a litany of reasons for why it would be good for the Ocean State and its citizens.

By IAN DONNIS | February 04, 2009

The upside of hope in Rhode Island

Nine individuals who are bullish and optimistic amid the state's current tough times
Everywhere one turns these days, there's seemingly more bad news about Rhode Island: the unemployment rate, one of the highest in the nation, tops 10 percent — and the state's running out of unemployment assistance.

By IAN DONNIS | January 29, 2009

Dirty Harry goes to church: Clint and Catholicism

Reel Life
In Mystic River , Clint Eastwood examined the damage to a close-knit group of Boston friends, years after one of them was sexually abused by a stranger, in a film depicting the power of sexual abuse with Catholic overtones.

By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | February 02, 2009