Tired of all that budget chatter? Well, Rhode Island's bizzarely high profile debate over illegal immigration is back again, with a curfuffle over Providence College's decision to block former Congressman, presidential aspirant and anti-illegal-immigration crusader Tom Tancredo from speaking at the school.

Raising the quality of public education in Rhode Island remains one of the top issues for the future well-being of the state, and a new effort known as Young Voices aims to make students part of the solution.

Please join us at a huge press conference, as our youth present the results of their extensive survey of the classroom experience of Providence public school students!

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.

A controversy concerning a recent action by Brown University members of Students for a Democratic Society has continued to swirl on College Hill -- and it can be expected to heat up anew tomorrow.

From the BDH:

A University Disciplinary Council hearing will be held [tomorrow] to adjudicate charges against eight members of Students for a Democratic Society.

A local bright spot amid all the bleak economic news is the growth of RISD and its potential as a creative and economic incubator.

Tomorrow marks the grand opening of the art school's new $34 million Chace Center, which Greg Cook describes in this week's Phoenix. Peter Kadzis puts it in context.

As part of the same package, I talk with John Maeda, RISD's impressive new president.

Talk radio was yesterday abuzz with this story, with hosts like John DePetro supporting the view that Governor Carcieri's approach to illegal immigration in responsible for a sharp decline in the number of students in Central Falls.

Matt's theory, IMHO, strikes me as closer to the mark:

One word, people: FORECLOSURES.

Scott MacKay in the ProJo and Matt have the details on Christine Heenan, the longtime local PR and consulting expert who worked in the Clinton White House and who was spokeswoman for Hillary's RI campaign, taking a new gig in Cambridge. (Obligatory only-in-RI connections: Christine is the daughter of former Phoenix columnist Pam Steager.

Ted Widmer, director of the John Carter Brown Library and a member in good standing of the Phoenix' friends and family program, is a polymath and one of the great Rhode Islanders. Who else could offer such superlative quote in discussing the cultural ethos of Narragansett Beer in the old days?

"It was really a whole way of life, and it involved loving the Red Sox .

Via blogging upstart Scott MacKay:

Marion Orr, a political science professor and expert in urban politics, has been chosen as the new director of Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy, the university announced today.

Orr succeeds longtime director and pollster Darrell West, who is leaving Brown on July 1 to become vice president of the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.

As discussion continues on budget cuts, another piece of Rhode Island's economic future is the quality of the Providence schools. With more than 25,000 students, the district accounts for about one-sixth of the state's students, and if they're not well-prepared for the job market, it will have a very adverse effect.

Phoenix contributor Greg Cook sends word of this news:

On Tuesday, the University of Rhode Island informed Judith Tolnick Champa, who runs the URI Fine Arts Center Galleries, and Roxana Tourigny, who runs the school's "Great Performances" program, that they would be laid off, effective July 4, and that the galleries and performance program would close, according to the two women.

Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline also stopped by the Newsmakers' set for a taping of this week's broadcast. The show is broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12 and at 10 am on Fox Providence.

He denied that his budget revenue projections are overly rosy, asserting that Worcester has enjoyed success in tapping a multi-million dollar cash stream related to trash and recycling.

Local peace activist Mark Stahl is apparently experiencing a little pushback for some critical remarks he made about the Brown pie-tossers. He relayed these comments to me via e-mail this past week, and I thought it was important to include his gist in the related story by Ariel Werner:

“I totally reject this action as an absurd and unwelcome attack on freedom of speech.

In a story about how one person can make a big difference, the Phoenix reported last year on how Caitie Whelan, a senior at Brown, has been aiding the Merasi, a community of lower-caste musicians in India.

Under the Hindu caste system, the 15,000 Merasi in Jaisalmer District, Rajasthan, are members of the lowest strata within the untouchable caste, “the lowest of the low,” according to Whelan.