To the Editor: Recently Rhode Island saw a promising step for Narragansett Bay when Rep. Maria Cimini introduced a bill in the R.I. House of Representatives to ban disposable plastic shopping bags in the state. more

To the Editor: Thanks to the Rhode Island Taxpayers’ Organization, word is getting out about the amount of special-interest legislation that long has been the source of the fiscal predicament that much of state and local government finds itself in at this time. more

PROVIDENCE – Charter-school applications for the 2013-2014 school year were up more than 20 percent from 2012, according to an analysis by the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools released March 1, which was charter-school lottery day. more

PROVIDENCE – Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-Providence, would bar employers from demanding social media-related materials of job applicants, and would establish similar prohibitions for colleges as they consider prospective students under a bill he introduced. more

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick last week unveiled an online tool that shows the impact of his administration’s fiscal 2014 budget proposal on an individual or family’s budget. more

BOSTON – Two Massachusetts-based companies with Rhode Island ties were recognized for their climate leadership by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at its Climate Leadership Conference this month. more

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. State Council on the Arts and The Rhode Island Foundation announced last week that they are bringing the Assets for Artists program to Rhode Island through a partnership with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the International Institute of New England and other partners. more

BOSTON – Former Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill will pay $100,000 and serve a pre-trial probation period of 18 months to four years after admitting to violating state ethics law, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced. more

To understand why Rhode Island recently approved a set of local admiralty rules for disputes on the high seas, it helps to know the story of the British-flagged freighter M/V Lamma Forest. more

Central Falls Mayor James Diossa is among the new guard of political leaders hoping to step out from the shadow of public corruption that often runs beside issues of taxes, incentives and educating a 21st-century workforce in Rhode Island. more