Good Evening..

Seeing many areas changing over to sleet, rain and freezing rain…some light snow in far northwest suburbs, but even there a change over likely.  This is due to milder air coming in but not near the ground  but rather several 1000s ft up in the air…this mixture will continue overnight.

836 PM: Foster, RI: Wires Down on Foster Pine Road, power outage in the Central Pike area
836 PM: North Providence, RI: Tree into Wires on Vivian Avenue

Tony Petrarca

Good Evening…

Weather spotters checking in with about 2-4″ snow in Western Kent And Northwest Providence County….its in that area where we were forecasting 3-5″ so we’ll keep that forecast thinking going.  Elsewhere, so far its has been a slushy 1-2″ away from coast.

Still expecting a change over to sleet, freezing rain and rain later this evening and over night from south to north. It has taken a while for snow to stick to pavement, but now that temps are getting colder, any additional snow (before the change to rain) will stick on paved surfaces as well

Tony Petrarca

Congressman Jim Langevin’s public comments are usually about cybersecurity, job training and other weighty policy matters. But not when he does an interview with Heard on the Hill, Roll Call’s gossip call, for its weekly Take Five feature.

Did you know the 2nd District rep’s favorite superhero is Superman? That he still prefers printed books over e-editions despite being a tech guru? That he’s more of a football fan than a baseball aficionado? Langevin revealed all this and more.

The congressman’s most interesting comments may be about the historical figure he’d most like to meet: FDR, another Democrat who didn’t let his wheelchair keep him from Washington.

“He’s one of my great heroes and led the nation in one of the most challenging times in U.S. history,” Langevin said, adding that he’d like to find out “what gave him his courage and determination during challenging times.”

(comic via AP)

Those of you who followed my pension coverage last fall may recall my incessant, obnoxious whining about the lack of Internet connectivity at the State House, where all the key hearings were held. We had an awful time trying to get strong enough Wi-Fi signals through our cell phones to file stories and tweet live coverage.

Considering the General Assembly’s nearly $40 million budget, it didn’t seem like a huge burden for them to add a wireless signal in the building. Well lo and behold, today our prayers were answered:

STATE HOUSE — The General Assembly now offers Wi-Fi accessibility for members of the general public and the media. As of today, Wi-Fi is available in the House and Senate chambers and galleries, all committee rooms and in the hallways outside the chambers and committee rooms.

“This is another step in our concerted effort to upgrade the General Assembly’s technology in order to provide a more transparent and accessible legislature,” said Speaker of the House Gordon D. Fox. “During the pension reform hearings and debate last fall, we received a number of requests from the public and the media to have access to the social media world from our chambers and hearing rooms. We invested in this upgrade and it was installed during our February recess last week.”

Speaker Fox added that both he and President of the Senate M. Teresa Paiva Weed are committed to the technological upgrades, which began last year by making all House and Senate floor votes available on the General Assembly’s website instantaneously, as well as all votes in House and Senate committees recorded on the website within 24 hours. …

Wi-Fi users can gain access to the network by going to rilin_public. The user name and password will be displayed on the screen. By using this on a personal device, members of the public will be able to have direct access to the Internet.

Hallelujah!

Snowe with John Chafee, right, in 1996

When Gov. Lincoln Chafee became a Republican U.S. senator in 1999, he ate lunch each week with four other GOP moderates: Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Jim Jeffords of Vermont and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. They called themselves “the Mod Squad.”

In 2001, Jeffords left the party to caucus with the Democrats. In 2006, Chafee lost his seat to Sheldon Whitehouse after a primary challenge from the right. In 2009, Specter switched parties and went on to lose his first Democratic primary. And on Tuesday, Snowe shocked Washington by announcing her retirement.

“Of the five members of the ‘Mod Squad,’ soon only one will remain a U.S. senator, and that says a great deal about the ways in which Washington and the Republican Party have changed,” Chafee told WPRI.com in a statement. The last remaining member is Collins, who was re-elected in 2008.

Snowe said Tuesday she had been planning to run again in November and thought she would win. “However, what I have had to consider is how productive an additional term would be,” she said. “Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term.”

(more…)

Kevin O’Brien, the former owner of ABC 6 who fought unsuccessfully to hold onto the local station last year, is back in the news. This time O’Brien is making headlines in Detroit, where he was fired last week after as a consultant to independent station WADL-TV, which hired a former FBI agent to investigate him.

TV Spy reports on the latest:

After his very public termination as a WADL consultant, Kevin O’Brien is firing back at the independent station and its owner Kevin Adell.

Today an attorney representing O’Brien circulated a press release defending him against the “defamatory” press release WADL sent out last week announcing his dismissal.

In firing O’Brien, WADL cited his use of company equipment to “obtain a deal with the San Jose Sharks” as the reason for his termination. O’Brien denies trying to land a deal with the NHL team, and contends that he was fired because he disagreed with Adell about how to discipline an employee for excessive use of a company vehicle.

Taveras and Cicilline with Joe Freitas, center, in 2011

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, who has spent nearly a year sounding lukewarm at best about supporting predecessor David Cicilline’s tough congressional re-election bid, is getting off the sidelines.

Taveras has put his name on an invitation to a fundraiser for Cicilline to be held on March 29 at the home of Providence philanthropists John and Letitia Carter, WPRI.com has confirmed. The news is a welcome shot in the arm for the Cicilline campaign after a new WPRI 12 poll shows him trailing Republican Brendan Doherty by 15 points.

“We’re thrilled to have Mayor Taveras’ support as the campaign begins to ramp up,” Cicilline spokeswoman Nicole Kayner told WPRI.com on Wednesday. “David is proud to work with the mayor as the two of them work hard to get things done for Rhode Island.”

Taveras isn’t the only popular Democrat standing by the embattled congressman: Treasurer Gina Raimondo and her husband are also listed as members of the host committee for the March 29 event. Hosts are contributing $2,500 each, with other donors giving $1,000 and $500.

(more…)

While hazy sun greeted morning commuters, the scene will be quite different for the evening commute today.  A fairly vigorous storm system is moving across the Great Lakes while cold, dry High Pressure has anchored itself to our northeast.  The result will be a lot of moisture and warmth colliding with cold air and leading to a burst of wintry weather.

It’s not so much the amount of snow/sleet that will be the headline with this storm, but rather the timing.  We’re still looking for snow to arrive by mid-late afternoon and turn steadier and heavier by evening.  Initially, the pavement and late February stronger sun will prevent accumulations, but as night falls the snow is expected to begin sticking–even to the roadways.

During the evening hours and into tonight a wide variety of weather can be expected, depending on your location… the coast will begin to change to rain, while a wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain are likely in the metro area and in northern suburbs the accumulating snow will continue.  Eventually, the warmer air is expected to win out with all areas changing to rain and freezing rain through the night.

I feel pretty comfortable with a coating to 2″ of snow for most areas…. higher totals will be in northern suburbs–generally 2-4″ with isolated 5″ amounts possible if the snow is slower to mix with/change to rain.

By the way: the storm system has already made headlines…. bringing blizzard like conditions to parts of the northern Great Lakes to deadly tornadoes last night in the plains and  Midwest.

By Ted Nesi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – It turns out Rhode Island’s job market wasn’t as ugly as it looked in 2011.

It was worse.

Rhode Island’s unemployment rate hasn’t fallen below 11% in more than two and a half years and was higher than originally reported throughout 2011, according to revised data released Wednesday by the Department of Labor and Training. Fewer residents were working or looking for work last year than first reported, as well.

“It shows that the recovery was probably a little bit slower than we thought,” said Zachary Sears, an economist with Moody’s Economy.com who tracks Rhode Island. He cited a number of factors that held back the economy in 2011, notably the euro crisis, the debt-ceiling debate and rising oil prices. “All those weights make for a very slow recovery.”

Rhode Island will not regain all the jobs the state lost in the downturn until 2015, the same year the unemployment rate will fall back to 6%, according to Economy.com’s forecast. The state began losing jobs in 2007, about a year before the nation as a whole.

(more…)

Hi

Looking at new data that has been coming in since 10pm.  Still keeping the general “weather theme” with this next  system, which is to say wet snow and sleet changing over to rain later Wednesday Night. This transition to sleet and rain will keep snow totals in check, so nothing major or excessive as far as amounts. Looking at a general 1-2″ of slushy snow and sleet across most locations (though the coast may end up with just a coasting)  The exception would be areas well north and west of Providence where we are forecasting 2-5″ .  Feel confident of 1-3″ in northern suburbs…..we will see 4-5 inches  “only if the transition to rain is several hours later“ than expected in northern locals.

If you have travel plans an well to the north up thru the Worcester hills and Mass Pike area in central and northern Mass, amounts will be higher with 6+ inches there.

As pointed out by the Projo’s Jim Donaldson and picked up by Deadspin, this has been a season to forget forRhode Island’s Big Four basketball programs. Friars fans still seem pumped about the future. Rams fans are a bit more restless. Bryant and Brown student bodies… well they’d like to have great teams but at least they’ll be sure to land a few all Academic All-Americans when all is said and done.

 While it’s been a write off season for coach Cooley in the Big East local college hoops fans can find pleasure inRhode Island’s Little East domination. In fact RIC can boast not one but two of the best teams in D3. Bob Walsh has built the men into a small school dynasty. The Anchormen will be making a sixth straight trip to the Big Dance. Talk of winning a national title is no longer just the normal rhetoric from young athletes that have no real connection to how they’re viewed outside of their own gym. It’s a real life goal for any of the local players that suit up each night in the Murray Center.

 Meanwhile the Anchorwomen have quietly put together the best season in program history. Marcus Reilly, recently named LEC coach of the year, has seen his team grow into a dominating force. RIC won a school record 24 games and will host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Throw in the Salve Regina women continuing to play their way into the tournament and you have a large dose ofRhode Island flavor in the upcoming NCAA bracket.

 So take pride hoops fans. You may have to wait to get your one shining moment but don’t be afraid to throw your support behind the kids shining bright on D3 stage.

Good Evening..

A major snowstorm not likely..however some accumulations likely by Weds evening. Forecast is a complex one because there will be a variety of precipitation types (snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain)…all of this passing thru the smallest state in the country…the net result makes the town by town accumulation forecast a tricky one. Snow and sleet will begin between 12-2pm Wednesday…it will start to mix with sleet along south shore first by late afternoon. Eventuallyduring  the evening and night times hours the sleet freezing rain area will advance north towards Providence and then lastly to our far northern suburbs.  This is why snow totals inland and north of Providence will be a bit higher.

Amounts by Weds night will range form 1-2″ south and east of Providence….2-5″ of snow further north of Providence. Check back with us for updates on these amounts as any minor fluctuations in temperatures (warmer or colder) will have an effect on the accumulations going higher or lower. New data comes in around 10pm.  Updates on Fox Providence at 10pm and again on Eyewitness News at 11pm

Tony Petrarca

By Tim White and Ted Nesi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – More than two-thirds of Rhode Islanders want the state to help Providence avoid going bankrupt, according to an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Tuesday evening.

The new survey of 511 registered voters finds 71% think the state should do what’s necessary to prevent the capital city from filing for bankruptcy, while 19% think the capital should be allowed to reduce its debts by filing as Central Falls has, with 10% unsure.

“I was kind of surprised 71% said ‘save the city’ – that’s overwhelming,” WPRI 12 political analyst Joe Fleming said. “Obviously, the residents of Rhode Island want to avoid the capital city going into bankruptcy. That would really put a black eye on Rhode Island.”

Read the rest of this story »

Rhode Island isn’t exactly known for its squeaky clean politics. But Monday’s new WPRI 12 poll has made Cook Political Report senior editor Jennifer Duffy think this year’s 1st Congressional District race could be one for the history books – and not in a good way.

The poll shows Congressman David Cicilline 15 points behind Republican challenger Brendan Doherty. “I think this means if he’s going to win this race, he’s not going to win it pretty,” Duffy, a Rhode Island native, said of Cicilline. “It is going to be among the ugliest races Rhode Island has ever witnessed.”

And considering the state’s political history, “the bar’s pretty high there,” she added.

Cicilline’s allies think he can to close the gap and defeat Doherty by following the strategy employed by Sheldon Whitehouse to defeat then-Republican Lincoln Chafee in 2006 – basically, say that even if the former state police superintendent is a moderate himself, he’ll provide a key vote to empower congressional Republicans who’ve supported privatizing Medicare.

(more…)

By Ted Nesi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Providence Mayor Angel Taveras says he’s “making good progress” in negotiations with Brown University over how much the Ivy League school should increase its contribution to the city budget.

Taveras and Brown President Ruth Simmons have met face-to-face twice in the last two weeks and spoke by telephone on Monday, the mayor told WPRI.com. “We’re planning to meet again soon,” he said. “She’s personally involved.”

Taveras met earlier this month with the CEOs of Providence’s large hospitals to plead the city’s case with them. “We’re pursuing that, as well,” he said. “Those conversations are ongoing.”

The mayor has asked Providence’s largest tax-exempt schools and hospitals to contribute an additional $7.1 million to the city budget as he tries to keep the state capital out of bankruptcy. An exclusive new WPRI 12 poll set for release Tuesday at 6 p.m. will show whether Rhode Islanders think the state should keep the city out of Chapter 9.

Taveras will meet Saturday morning with city retirees to ask them to accept voluntary reductions in their pension benefits. “You have to have structural change,” the mayor said Tuesday. “You cannot simply rely on more revenue to solve this problem.”

• Related: Moodys: Cities must balance tax-exempts’ cash, contributions (Feb. 15)

(photo: Ted Nesi/WPRI)

The storm system heading our way tomorrow looks to be one of those  southern New England winter storms where everything but the kitchen sink is in the forecast–snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain…. then back to sleet and snow.

Here’s what we’re thinking right now for timing:

• 1pm-4pm Wednesday–snow and sleet arrive, accumulations expected especially away from the coast.

• Wednesday Evening–Snow and sleet begin to transition to rain and freezing rain–1st at the coast then spreading northward.  Evening commute could feature slick roads and poor visibility at times.

• Wednesday night–Periods of rain and gusty winds…. some pockets of freezing rain and sleet still possible in northern suburbs

• Thursday–Rain tapers to lighter showers… may mix with or change back to sleet and snow before ending Thursday evening.  Little to no additional accumulations expected

AMOUNTS: 

Lighter amounts at the coast due to a quicker changeover to rain, higher amounts the further inland you go. Early take on accums is coating to 2″ for points south of Providence with 2-5″ for areas north and west of Providence.

Snow Accums Forecast for Wed--Thu

Check back in for updates!  The key to the accumulation forecast will be the exact track of the storm and figuring out how quickly (and how far north) the changeover to rain occurs.

Good Evening..

Still looks like messy weather will arrive Wednesday Afternoon and extend into Thursday. Precipitation will be a wide variety including wet snow, sleet and rain.  Right now the trend looks as though we will start as wet snow and sleet Wednesday afternoon and evening…mixing with rain and freezing rain Weds Night into Thursday Morning…then changing back to snow Thursday afternoon.

With that being said, the snow accumulation forecast is a difficult one with some many types of precipitation…however the “early” (certainly not  the last) call would be for several inches of snow, with the amounts trending higher for northern suburbs and less as you get closer to shore.

Check back for updates now thru Tuesday Night…

Tony Petrarca

By Ted Nesi and Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Rhode Islanders of every stripe are unhappy with Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s performance as he settles into his second year in office, according to an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Monday evening.

The new survey of 500 registered voters finds just 21% of voters give a positive grade to Chafee, an independent ex-Republican, while 75% give him negative marks. That includes nearly half of voters – 48% – who rate the job Chafee is doing as “poor.”

The widespread antipathy toward Chafee is a stark contrast with how Rhode Islanders view Treasurer Gina Raimondo. The survey shows 56% of voters give Raimondo a positive review.

The poll also finds U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has a 22-point advantage over his challenger Barry Hinckley, with the Democratic getting 50%, the Republican getting 28% and 20% of voters unsure.

Read the rest of this story »

• Interactive: Complete results from the WPRI 12 poll with cross-tabs

Coming on Tuesday: Should Providence file for bankruptcy? Should Rhode Island allow casinos?

By Ted Nesi and Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Congressman David Cicilline is headed for a double-digit defeat at the hands of Republican Brendan Doherty unless he finds a way to win back a large number of voters by November, according to an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Monday evening.

The new survey of 250 registered voters in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District shows Doherty, a former state police superintendent, would defeat Cicilline 49% to 34%, with 16% of voters undecided. Doherty’s lead over Cicilline has grown by two points since the previous WPRI 12 poll last May.

Cicilline has “moved the needle, but unfortunately for him in the wrong direction,” WPRI 12 political analyst Joe Fleming said. “Clearly, whatever he’s tried to turn it around hasn’t worked to this point.”

Read the rest of this story »

• Interactive: Complete results from the WPRI 12 poll with cross-tabs

Coming up at 10: Whitehouse-Hinckley; approval ratings (Obama, Chafee, Reed, Whitehouse, Raimondo)

When our exclusive WPRI 12 poll drops at 6 p.m. tonight, you’ll see that the margin of error is plus or minus 4.38 percentage points for the entire poll and plus or minus 6.2 percentage points for the 1st District only.

Inevitably, some well-meaning folks will take our top-line results and then argue that anything in a range of, respectively, 8.76 points or 12.4 points could be true. If Cicilline is down 5 points, these folks may say the race is a “statistical tie.”

Those folks will be wrong, and here’s why, as explained by Kevin Drum back in 2008 (emphasis mine):

(more…)

A brief break from poll-previewing to note that Governor Chafee is returning on Monday from a meeting of the National Governors Association, which gathered in Washington over the weekend. Considering the recent brouhaha here over the Senate Presidents’ Forum, it’s worth asking, who funds the NGA anyway?

The answer is big corporations, National Journal’s Reid Wilson reports:

Federal campaign finance law does not allow corporations to contribute directly to a candidate or a political party. But each state regulates campaign finance rules for non-federal candidates differently. That means the three major committees focused on governors — the Democratic Governors Association, the Republican Governors Association and the bipartisan National Governors Association — must organize themselves under section 527 of the IRS code.

Those 527 groups, the fore-runners of today’s super PAC, are legally allowed to solicit and accept contributions from corporations in any amount they wish. …

A major corporation has as much interest in good relations with a governor as it does in good ties to members of Congress. Insurance regulations, environmental rules, and even liquor laws vary by state, making it important for a corporation’s government affairs division to keep an eye on state capitals as well as on Washington.

• Related: Fogarty: Paiva Weed attendance at corporate-backed event OK (Jan. 12)

Boy, who isn’t doing a survey in the 1st Congressional District this month?

David Segal did a poll. WPRI 12 did a poll (which we’ll release at 6:00 tonight). And now we’ve learned someone else with a keen interest in Congressman David Cicilline did a poll, too.

Two NN readers separately reported getting calls last week to take a part in a telephone survey by an organization that described itself as something like ”Rhode Island Opinion Research.” That doesn’t ring a bell, so it’s quite possible a different group – The Feldman Group, perhaps? – used it as a nom de plume.

One of the two readers, bless her heart, took thorough notes about the questions, which were asked by “a very professional woman,” though she had some trouble pronouncing “Carcieri,” “Segal” and “Boehner.” After the jump, you can scan the reader’s hastily drafted notes about the survey questions.

(more…)

You know the old saying, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”?  This year the 1st part of the quote, at least, may be true.  A complex area of low pressure–a storm center–will track near our area, bringing a round of snow, sleet and rain to New England.  Present thinking is that the highest snowfall totals will be outside of RI—Berkshires, northern MA, etc… but some accumulating snow is possible for at least parts of southern New England.  It looks like we’ll have the potential for a wintry mix starting Wednesday afternoon… possibly changing to rain for a time.. before ending with some colder air and a return to a wintry mix or snow.  Our computer models are still showing some discrepencies in the track, intensity and amount of cold air with this storm… which will all help determine how much snow (vs sleet/rain) we see.  I’m not ready to put out an accumulation map yet…. but here’s a 1st look at the HPC’s (Hydrometeorological Prediction Center’s) snowfall probability maps for 7am Wed through 7am Thursday.  These maps can give you an idea of “where” the greatest likelihood of accumulating snow is.  The 1st map is for the probability of accums greater than 4″, the second is for the probability of accums greater than 8″

HPC Probability of 4" of Snow From 7am Wed through 7am Thu

HPC Probability of 8" of Snow from 7am Wed through 7am Thu

Check back in for updates!

Everyone loves a good poll, and in Rhode Island there are no better polls than those conducted by WPRI 12′s longtime pollster and political analyst, Joe Fleming. And that makes today a big day in Campaign 2012.

The 1st Congressional District race between Democratic Congressman David Cicilline and Republican challenger Brendan Doherty is already the state’s biggest political battle of the year. The two candidates finished 2011 neck-and-neck in the money race and Doherty’s only obstacle to the GOP nomination – John Loughlin – left the field in January.

Our last WPRI 12 poll, in May, showed Cicilline trailing Doherty by 13 points. There’s been little sign of a comeback for the congressman since then, with last week’s Brown University survey giving him a 15% approval rating and his successor in Providence now saying the capital is nearly bankrupt. Cicilline may face a primary challenge from Anthony Gemma, too.

But there’s a reason top Democrats remain behind Cicilline and political observers refuse to count him out: he’s a dogged campaigner, a prodigious fundraiser and a down-the-line Democrat in a deep-blue state running in a presidential year, while Doherty is a first-time candidate whose few public appearances so far have been so-so.

While the Cicilline-Doherty matchup will likely get most of the ink, other results to keep an eye on include how Gemma would fare against Doherty; whether Barry Hinckley is getting any traction against U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse; how voters feel about Governor Chafee after a year in office; and where Treasurer Raimondo stands post-pensions.

WPRI 12 will release the results of our new poll in four televised installments today and Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. tonight. Here’s what we’ll tell you about this evening:

• 6 p.m.: Cicilline vs. Doherty; Gemma vs. Doherty; approval ratings (Cicilline, Langevin); right track/wrong track
• 11 p.m.: Whitehouse vs. Hinckley; approval ratings (Obama, Chafee, Reed, Whitehouse, Raimondo)

My colleague Brian Curtin has created this interactive results page where you can dig into the results for different demographic groups, and I’ll have articles and analysis here. Don’t miss it.

• Related: Exclusive Poll: Cicilline would lose to Republicans Doherty, Loughlin (May 19)

CVS Caremark gets a lot more attention than Textron, Rhode Island’s other Fortune 500 company. But the Providence-based industrial conglomerate is having a pretty good year, too.

Textron’s stock is up 50% so far in 2012, for the third-biggest gain year-to-date in the S&P 500 index, The Wall Street Journal reports. Sears Holdings is first with a 97% bump and Netflix is second with a 63% increase.

Textron was #233 on the Fortune 500 last year and has just over 300 workers in Rhode Island these days. The company is forecasting a bigger-than-expected profit this year.

The New York Times reports on Rhode Island’s former congressman entering the fray in Massachusetts:

Patrick J. Kennedy lashed out at Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts on Sunday, asking him to stop invoking the name of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Mr. Kennedy’s father, in a radio advertisement about insurance coverage for contraceptives. …

In a letter that the Brown campaign released on Sunday, Patrick Kennedy, a Democrat like his father, wrote: “Providing health care to every American was the work of my father’s life. The Blunt Amendment you are supporting is an attack on that cause.” …

He added, “You are entitled to your own opinions, of course, but I ask that, moving forward, you do not confuse my father’s positions with your own.”

In a response circulated by the Brown campaign, Mr. Brown wrote: “I’d like to think your dad would have been working with me to find an accommodation that all sides found satisfactory. One thing I know he would not do is demagogue the issue, or inflame passions against the church, as Elizabeth Warren has done.”

The Providence Journal will start charging online readers Tuesday, doubling down on its strategy of selling a digital replica of the print edition rather than using an HTML-based paywall like those of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal said it will create 10 subscription tiers on Tuesday. A seven-day digital-only subscription will cost $208 a year for the Web and iPad e-editions or $192 a year for the iPad e-edition alone through Apple’s App Store. A seven-day subscription to both the print edition and the e-edition will cost $416 a year, unchanged from the current price, effectively making it free to current subscribers. A weekend print subscription with seven-day digital access will cost $312 a year.

The Boston Globe charges the same price – $208 a year – for digital access to its new website without a print subscription. The New York Times charges $195 a year for full access to its website and smartphone apps.

The Journal’s new e-edition designed by Olive Software has been available as a free trial since Oct. 17, when the paper launched its new website, which also offers brief blog items and sports stories for free. The paper’s online traffic has declined 33% since the new site debuted. The paper has not created iPhone or Android apps and did not say whether those will be added.

(more…)

Which major bridge in Rhode Island is RIDOT chief Mike Lewis’s No. 1 concern? Find out:

Welcome to the latest edition of my new weekly column. As always, send your takes, tips and trial balloons to tnesi (at) wpri (dot) com and I may include them. Thanks for all the great feedback so far. Let’s jump in.

1. Governor Chafee’s media team put out another YouTube video this week and managed the impressive feat of making the municipal fiscal crisis feel like the trailer of a summer blockbuster. There was only one problem. The video calls on viewers to “stand with Governor Chafee” because “the time to act is now.” Yet it never spells out what exactly we’re supposed to do “to act” right now. Contrast that with Engage Rhode Island’s ads, which created the same sense of crisis but told those watching to call their lawmakers and and urge them to vote for the pension bill. Chafee’s video is a call to action that’s missing the action; he and the mayors haven’t even filed a bill yet. Should we call Providence’s retirees? Protest at Rhode Island Hospital? Perhaps call Chafee and ask him to appoint a receiver in Providence?

2. Mark your calendars – this year’s first exclusive WPRI 12 poll of the 2012 campaign drops Monday at 6 p.m. Is Doherty ahead of Cicilline? How do people feel about Chafee? Should Providence go bankrupt? All the questions are here, and I’ll be on John DePetro’s WPRO radio program Monday morning at 9 to preview the results.

(more…)

Good Evening..

The snow may be gone, but “busy” weather continues. Steady rain tonight. Lightning tracker is actually picking up some isolated strikes in New York…a few thunderstorms may come thru later this evening. Drier air moves in after midnight.  The other big weather story will be the wind on Saturday….25-35 mph with gusts of 45-55 mph could produce some localized damage to limbs and or powerlines.  Weekend as a whole looks dry and very cool.

Tony Petrarca