This morning I taped my first appearance on WPRI-TV's "Newsmakers" alongside intrepid host Tim White. We spoke with David Smith, executive director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, about the flooding from the recent storm - and the agency's reposnse.

We also spoke with Stephen Archambault, a Democratic candidate for attorney general.

Beth made a post at the Dose yesterday about an anti-drug war event at Brown:

The Brown University chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy ( SSDP) sponsored a lecture last night featuring Jeffrey A. Miron, libertarian economist and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Harvard University. Mr. Miron is the author of Drug War Crimes: The Consequences of Prohibition; his particular focus last night was contrasting the libertarian approach (complete legalization of all drugs) with that of liberals (some marijuana is okay sometimes, but the other stuff should be controlled).

Considering the socially conservative ethos of the General Assembly, it was somewhat counter-intuitive when the legislature overrode Governor Carcieri's veto of a medical marijuana bill a few years back.

Yet if the Ocean State's smallness was a key role in the bill's passage, Smith Hill is still reluctant to sign off on the actual distribution of medical marijuana.

David Segal and Matt Jerzyk yesterday used a ProJo op-ed to outline a progressive vision for Rhode Island.

They focused on three important needs: efficiency through regionalization, and creating a predictable funding formula; building the Green economy; and delivering criminal-justice reform.

THERE’S LITTLE disagreement that Rhode Island’s budget needs savings, that our property taxes are too high, or that our economy could use a boost.

In the aftermath of the death last week of 17-year-old Patrick Murphy in Barrington, Bob Kerr this week had an insightful observation about Americans and alcohol:

“Our kids drink because we drink,” Father Glover said.

But that’s not the only reason. Sure, if Mom and Dad are knocking down pre-dinner cocktails — or maintaining a steady alcohol diet in the comfort of their home — the kids are going to wonder about the attraction.

This week, as the General Assembly votes to make permanent Rhode Island's medical marijuana law, Te-Ping Chen reports in the Phoenix that the measure's implementation has taken place with relatively few snags or problems:

In January 2006, the General Assembly resoundingly overrode Governor Donald L. Carcieri’s veto, thereby making medical marijuana legal in Rhode Island.

WPRO-AM's Dan Yorke has been beating the drum this afternoon for additional prison construction as a way of responding to the all-time high population at the ACI.

One of his callers upped the ante, suggesting that the state take Central Falls by eminent domain, build a wall around it, "and then we'd have an Escape from New York scenario."

As we head into budget season, One Rhode Island has announced plans to hold a news conference this Thursday, February 22, at 11 am, at the Federal Hill House, 9 Courtland St., Providence, to outline its 2007 legislative priorities. "Coalition urges expansions, not cuts, to vital work support programs," is one of the subheadlines on a news release.

The bill has come due for about a decade in which state spending has grown at more than twice the rate of inflation. While Governor Carcieri and the General Assembly have their work cut out in trying to make sense of Rhode Island's structural deficit, it's curious that the governor did not budget any more money for drug treatment.

Even with widespread recognition about the failings of the drug war, moving in a new direction remains difficult for states, in large part because of entrenched practices. I've got a look in this week's Phoenix at how the state deficit and crowding at the ACI are causing RI policymakers to consider a different approach. In related news, Brian C.