David N Cicilline

Latest Articles

An angry electorate? Eh, whatever

Dud Dept.
Whither the rage? Rhode Island's Great Recession — greater, even, than the national model — was supposed to conjure a once-in-a-generation anti-incumbent fever. But so far, it's looking more like a modest headache.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 18, 2010

Can the Netroots triumph in Rhode island?

On the Hustings
Stories of State Representative David Segal’s nascent, underdog run for Congress invariably make a nod to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. And rightly so.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 19, 2010

Joe Paolino weighs a different kind of mayoral run

The Independent
It had been rumored for some time.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 14, 2010

The first Latino mayor?

Angel Taveras’s moment suddenly arrives
Until recently, to talk about Angel Taveras was to talk about the future.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 15, 2010

Down ballot drama

Important races to watch in '10
The race for governor and the scramble to replace retiring Representative Patrick J. Kennedy have obsessed Rhode Island's chattering class. But all the talk has obscured an intriguing set of "down ballot" races for lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 10, 2010

David Byrne and the Termite Towers

Cycling
Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline's second annual Senator Claiborne Pell Lecture on Arts and Humanities wasn't really about the arts. Or the humanities.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 10, 2010

Hands across New England

Connections
Providence may be the Creative Capital. But it is hardly the only community that has attempted to build a new economy on a foundation of laptops, paint brushes, and guitars.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 03, 2010

Looking for a new kind of mayor

Recruitment
Perhaps you've seen the ads ...
By MARION DAVIS | February 24, 2010

What now?

Kennedy's exit rewrites the political game book.
Representative Patrick J. Kennedy's campaigns were always about something far larger than Rhode Island's First Congressional District, which snakes from Burrillville down through the Blackstone Valley and into Newport.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | February 17, 2010

What’s next for Cicilline?

After a couple of tough years — and some jabs from Buddy — how bright is his political future?
Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline rode into office seven years ago as the fresh-faced anti-Buddy. Bleach for a soiled City Hall.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | January 21, 2010

Thanks for nothing!

In our first annual list of Rhode Island turkeys, the Phoenix fingers 10 people and institutions that made a bad year even worse
We'd like to be thankful, we really would. Change came to Washington this year and the Mad Men returned.
By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | November 22, 2011

Art for money's sake

Marketing dept.
This weekend, hundreds of arts marketing gurus and administrators from across the nation will descend upon the Creative Capital, aka Providence, for a four-day (October 30-November 2) national gath-ering entitled “CollaborACTION!”
By RICHARD ASINOF | October 28, 2009

Rhode Island weighs a succesions drama of its own

Political Watch
The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy has Massachusetts' political class speculating, in not-so-hushed tones, about the odds of a next-generation Kennedy running for and winning the seat.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | September 03, 2009

Artistic vision

Providence bets on creativity
The vision is grand and ambitious, both in the big picture and in the details.
By MARION DAVIS | July 02, 2009

Bad blood at 'PRO

Trouble at Salty's Shack. Plus, firefighters burn their bridges and Esserman's bad attitude.
The ongoing Hatefest at Salty's Joint has hit the Urinal, with an absolutely ridiculous story alleging that veteran Rhode Island radio hand, Ron St. Pierre, inadvertently "assaulted" John "The Journalist" DePetro with an 8x11" sheet of paper loaded with a dangerous metal staple.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | June 17, 2009

Cicilline, the firefighters, and the politics of protest

Citywatch
It is, on some level, hard to pick any winners in the li'l Rhody's latest battle royale.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | June 17, 2009

Eyes on the prize

Hold on, Linc Chafee! Dems Frank Caprio, Patrick Lynch, and Elizabeth Roberts would also like to be governor in 2010
We interrupt the Lincoln Chafee buzz fest to bring you this little nugget of news: there are a few Democrats who'd like to be governor, too.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 22, 2009

Equal rites?

Why has Rhode Island lagged behind the rest of New England on same-sex marriage legislation?
New England has made a pretty good case, in recent years, for America's capital of queer.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 08, 2009

A Fighting Spirit

Laughing to keep from crying at the Projo's follies
The funniest Providence Newspaper Guild's annual Follies of all time.
By PHILLIPE + JORGE | March 04, 2009

'Creative Providence' strives to rebrand the capital city

Public image
Perhaps you've seen the banners, with the big, stylized "P" and the tagline, "Providence: The Creative Capital."
By MARION DAVIS | March 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

The year the crap hit the fan

RI political mediocrity couldn't compare with the excesses of the fiscal meltdown
For a good metaphor of the year experienced by Rhode Island in 2008, consider the economic-development summit called by Governor Carcieri in November.
By IAN DONNIS | December 24, 2008

’Tis the season to buy local

Tips for keeping your holiday gift-giving bucks in the ocean state
Frog and Toad, an idiosyncratic gift store on Providence’s East Side, is your quintessential mom and pop shop.
By IAN DONNIS | December 12, 2008

RI ’08: Prelude to 2010

In a national year of change, stasis is likely to prevail at the General Assembly
During a national election season in which “change” remains the dominant motif, Rhode Island politics is locked in a holding pattern marked by a Democratic stranglehold on state and federal offices.
By IAN DONNIS | October 31, 2008

Kennedy Plaza shows fresh signs of life

Citywatch
For a long time, Kennedy Plaza in Providence was in the news for all the wrong reasons.
By PHILIP EIL | October 02, 2008

Activists pitch green jobs as a win-win for Rhode Island

Clean Energy
With global warming looming and the US economy in a mess, environmentalists have a simple answer for promoting environmental protection and economic development.
By IAN DONNIS | September 25, 2008

Ordinance aims to easy the bite of displacement

Citywatch
When Granoff Associates announced plans in May to renovate the Arcade in downtown Providence, tenants in the building got a scant 30 days’ notice.
By AMY LITTLEFIELD | August 27, 2008

Traffic Jammed

This small state should have better transit. So why doesn’t it?
It’s not just the relatively small number of RIPTA users who suffer from the inadequacy of Rhode Island’s transit system.
By AMY LITTLEFIELD | August 20, 2008

Traffic Jammed

The Quiet Power of Jack Reed

Without seeking the spotlight, the senator and his star continue to rise
As he closes out his second six-year term in the Senate, perhaps the most elite club in politics, Reed is the subject of ongoing speculation about his future.
By IAN DONNIS | August 13, 2008