PROVIDENCE – Rep. Maria Cimini, D-Providence, scored the highest mark in the General Assembly on the 2012 Common Cause Legislative Scorecard. more

The Rhode Island General Assembly complied with the state’s Open Meetings law 96 percent of the time in 2012, according to Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis’ Access 2012 report. more

In 2012, Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee got the chance to say “I told you so” to the sizable chunk of the business community that supported the 38 Studios LLC loan deal, and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity. But opposition from the business community has helped frustrate many of Chafee’s top fiscal proposals since he took office and critics say he’ll need to work with corporate Rhode Island, not fight it, to turn the state economy around. more

The bear market in bonds is being delayed by Americans socking away money at 50 times the rate at which they take on debt to buy houses, cars and other items. more

Watching Democrats and Republicans hash out their differences in the public arena, it’s easy to get the impression that there’s a deep disagreement among reasonable people about how to manage the U.S. economy. more

PROVIDENCE – Property-tax rates for homeowners would rise with rates for businesses holding flat under a $663 million fiscal 2014 budget proposed by Mayor Angel Taveras Thursday. The spending … more

Patrick Boris, a banquet chef in Las Vegas, is inching closer to his own “fiscal cliff,” 2,100 miles away from the political brinksmanship under way on Capitol Hill. If Congress and the White House allow the country to go over the cliff, Boris figures he could owe federal income taxes on more than $100,000 in forgiven mortgage debt following the short sale of his two-bedroom townhome next year – a personal financial “disaster,” in his words. more

Through the ownership of several popular nightspots and restaurants, State Sen. Joshua Miller has been influential in the Providence dining and nightlife scene for years. But since jumping into politics seven years ago, the Cranston Democrat is now as likely to take a stand on hospital consolidation or payday lending as he is nightclub closing hours or farm-to-table cuisine. After leading a commission on health care affordability and wrestling with the sale of Landmark Medical Center in the Corporations Committee, Miller this year was named chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. more

More than 100 Rhode Island residents, business owners, state officials, local planners and lawmakers gathered at the Statehouse on Thursday night to kick off RhodeMap RI, a year-long project to create statewide economic development and housing plans that link with strategies for future development, transportation, land use and the environment. more

Patrick Boris, a banquet chef in Las Vegas, is inching closer to his own “fiscal cliff,” 2,100 miles away from the political brinksmanship under way on Capitol Hill. If Congress and the White House allow the country to go over the cliff later this month, Boris figures he could owe federal income taxes on more than $100,000 in forgiven mortgage debt following the short sale of his two-bedroom townhome next year – a personal financial “disaster,” in his words. more