A long-awaited piece in the New Republic on Rhode Island's voter ID law has landed. The story, by Simon van Zuylen-Wood, asks why black liberal politicians here supported the bill and suggests anxiety over growing Latino political power - among elected officials black and white - is to blame.

The story recounts several "tales of corruption" - anecdotal stories of voter fraud cited by the bill's supporters - and concludes:

Lincoln Chafee's new choice for chief of staff, George Zainyeh, is a well-regarded figure in Rhode Island political circles. And the selection underscores one of the governor's strengths: a willingness to reach across the aisle, to make peace.

Chafee, after all, did battle with Zainyeh for the Warwick mayoralty years ago.

The Rhode Island redistricting commission will roll out its final maps tonight. One issue to keep an eye on: prison gerrymandering.

The census counts prisoners as if they live at the correctional facility. And because Rhode Island is a small state with a single state prison complex - in Cranston - the potential for distortions is particularly great.

We've got a pretty good sense, now, for what the pension bill will look like when it comes up for a vote. And most observers expect it to pass. So how did the key players fare in Smith Hill's battle royale? An initial look:

• Gina Raimondo seems a clear winner, here. This bill was her baby. She got loads of local and national press for it.

Word on Smith Hill is that Representative Daniel Gordon, despite his extensive legal problems, is unlikely to be booted from the General Assembly.

Minority Leader Brian Newberry and Minority Whip Joseph Trillo have suggested the legislature turn its rarely invoked power to expel against Gordon, a fellow Republican.

ProJo columnist Bob Kerr writes in his column today on the Daniel Gordon drama:

...we really do have to ask ourselves how a guy who did really bad stuff and spent time in jail managed to get elected without anyone taking a hard look at a very ugly history.

It is a good question. But I'd ask another. Two actually: who, exactly, should have unearthed Gordon's history? And who should be tasked with the responsibility of vetting candidates going forward?

As you slog your way through a marathon budget session on a Friday night, it’s nearly impossible not to dream up every possible scenario in which you could leave the State House at a decent hour. (What if I pull the fire alarm? Could the Speaker speak if I stole his gavel? Is it possible to pay the interns to go on strike?)

The best idea I came up with would have to come directly from press row.

And it is so. From the ProJo:

The 10-member House Republican bloc has voted to replace Robert A. Watson as House minority leader, a week-and-a-half after his arrest in Connecticut on driving-under-the-influence and marijuana possession charges.

After a closed-door meeting, the GOP caucus announced its choice of Republican Rep.

GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders), which has been active on the gay marriage push in Rhode Island, is slamming openly gay Speaker of the House Gordon Fox, who has announced that he is abandoning the push for a same-sex nuptials bill in the face of Senate opposition and backing a civil unions bill.

The legal advocacy group is particularly troubled that Fox cited the federal Defense of Marriage Act in a letter to colleagues on the matter.

As details of the governor's proposed budget start to leak out, a mixed reaction in the upper reaches of the General Assembly.

Chafee's proposal to lower the sales tax rate from 7 to 6 percent, while broadening the items covered, has some appeal - the 1 percent drop can be sold to the public, perhaps, even if more items are covered.

Last week, I wrote a cover story for the Phoenix on the Smith Hill battle over same-sex marriage.

Partisans on both sides are focused, at the moment, on the lobbying effort in the General Assembly. But hanging over that effort is the prospect of electioneering, by advocates and opponents alike, in the 2012 races.

Some of the senators I spoke with voiced doubt that a single issue could make or break their re-election efforts.

I've got an inside peek at the same-sex marriage fight roiling the State House in today's Phoenix. And there was plenty that landed on the cutting-room floor. One thing to keep an eye on in the General Assembly: the amendment process.

Same-sex marriage opponents, in both houses, are likely to propose an amendment that would send the question to the voters.

A new poll from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling has 50 percent of Rhode Islanders favoring same-sex marriage and 41 percent opposed. It's a good number for advocates. And the long-term picture is even better.

Young people overwhelmingly support gay marriage, according to the poll: 62 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds are in favor and just 31 percent opposed.

The state's chief anti-gay marriage group, the National Organization for Marriage - Rhode Island, got substantial ink last month for a television ad suggesting Governor Chafee - elected with 36 percent of the vote - does not have a mandate to push through a same-sex marriage bill.

But there was a small reply - an radio ad that ran last week supporting same-sex marriage and arguing that separate isn't equal.