Word was grim the last couple of days. And now it's official: Providence City Councilman Miguel Luna has died. Mayor Angel Taveras and the City Council issued this joint statement:

Councilman Miguel C. Luna passed away this afternoon at Rhode Island Hospital, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his three children, Dante, 13, Sofie, 11, and Omar 9; his mother Mireya; his four sisters, Ysa, Belkiss, Josefina and Teresa; his brother Antonio; and 17 nieces and nephews.

A time, tonight, for former Providence City Councilwoman Balbina Young, the first black woman elected to the panel. A former social worker and administrator of group homes for troubled youth, she served on the council for 22 years, representing Upper South Providence. The soiree will be at the Shriners Imperial Room in Cranston at 6:30 p.m.

Providence City Councilman Michael Solomon says he has the votes to ascend to the City Council presidency, with Seth Yurdin as majority leader. The announcement gives some shape to a council that was very much in flux after a wave of announced retirements heading into the primary election last week.

Solomon endorsed Steven Costantino in the mayoral race over eventual winner Angel Taveras.

Providence City Councilman Cliff Wood, who has decided not to run for re-election, says he will keep the door open to a return to politics. "I'm hanging 'em up for now," he tells N4N. "I'm 40."

Wood says that if he returned, he'd run for something other than council. Asked whether he'd consider a run for mayor, he demurred. He says he supports Angel Taveras' bid for the mayoralty - and hopes Taveras holds the office for eight years.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline's campaign has launched a radio ad amid the storm over the firefighters' planned picket of the US Mayor's Conference. The script, just in:

ANNOUNCER:

And now a word from Mayor David Cicilline

MAYOR CICILLINE:

These are tough times for Providence. I’ve cut spending and city employees have trimmed benefits….

Oh, it's not over. Weeks after talk radio finished beating on Mayor David Cicilline for the "P" - you know, the little orange letter meant to rebrand Providence as the "Creative Capital" - our favorite little controversy resurfaced yesterday with a front-page piece in the Wall Street Journal on the local tempest and the broader debate over branding places.