On Politics

It appears that New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire media mogul, has switched his affinity from Gov. Lincoln Chafee to RI General Treasurer Gina Raimondo in the 2014 Ocean State campaign for governor.

Moody's Investors Service isn't taking lightly debate about whether to pay back bonds issued to fund the state's investment in 38 Studios. The agency has downgraded the 38 Studios' bonds and warned Rhode Island of other possible action:

There’s an old chestnut in banking: If you owe the bank $10,000, the bank owns you. If you owe the bank $100 million, you own the bank.

That’s pretty much what has happened in Rhode Island state government’s quest to regulate the state-sponsored gambling emporiums at Newport Grand and at Twin River (aka Twin Rivahs in Vo Dilundese) in Lincoln.

Voters will still have to show identification to vote in Rhode Island -- but not a photo ID -- under a compromise ticketed for passage in the House of Representatives.

Welcome back to my weekly column. You can find me on Twitter. Let's head in.

Rhode Island and the rest of New England have become foreign territory for Republicans. RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay explains why.

Just about every state in New England, and especially Rhode Island, could benefit from robust two-party political competition. Our state’s  General  Assembly has 113 members. Only 11 caucus with Republicans.

The long-sought trial of James "Whitey" Bulger in US District Court in Boston offers a great example of how Twitter can carry the drama of legal action to a far bigger audience. Tweets from a bevy of top crime reporters, including WPRI-TV's Tim White, have offered a minute-by-minute account of the scene as the former fugitive mobster faces justice.

House Minority Leader Brian Newberry believes debate over whether Rhode Island should pay back moral obligation bonds for 38 Studios explains why the House version of state budget has yet to emerge.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee is busy embracing his new party. The RI governor was in Massachusetts with President Barack Obama on the campaign circuit to boost the Senate candidacy of U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D_Mass.

Newly minted Democrat Chafee is also ramping up his fundraising for a 2014 reelection bid. The governor has scheduled a fundraising event for Tuesday, June 25th at the University Club on Benefit Street in Providence. It is a two-tier fundraiser with suggested contributions of  $500 and $1,000.

The Gannett Company is buying the Belo Corporation, the Dallas-based entity that owns 20 television stations, for $1.5 billion. Belo Corporation became a separate company in 2008 from A.H. Belo, the owner of the Providence Journal.

The AP reports: