Keith Olbermann may have pulled out of Netroots Nation, the lefty blogger's conference coming to Providence June 7-10. But organizers can claim another progressive media star: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Mary Rickles, communications coordinator for the event, passed along the word today. More big names to be confirmed in the coming days, she says.

Governor Lincoln Chafee, who's had a tough go of it since taking office on a crisp day in January 2011, has looked more statesmanlike this week than at any point in his tenure.

That is due, in part, to the nature of crisis. When something big and troubling happens in a state, all eyes turn to the chief executive. Think of Governor Carcieri after the Station nightclub fire.

As soon as news broke of financial troubles at former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling's 38 Studios video game company, observers began comparing the firm to Solyndra. Former GOP gubernatorial candidate John Robitaille made the analogy just yesterday in an interview with WPRI-TV.

On the surface, the comparison makes some sense: the Obama Administration invested in Solyndra, the solar energy firm, only to watch it go bust - prompting questions about government picking winners and losers in the private sector.

Just back from buisiness incubator Betaspring's 2012 Spring Launch Day in their new, loft-space offices on Chestnut Street, right down the street from Phoenix HQ. And it was enough to give you some hope for the economic future of our fair city (full disclosure: one of Betaspring's principals, Owen Johnson, is my wife's cousin).

In the "in case you missed it" category:

Interesting item in the Wall Street Journal this week - it had appeared on wsj.com's Law Blog a week earlier - focused on Rhode Island US Attorney Peter Neronha, who brought a big case against Google for knowingly running ads for rogue online pharmacies. It resulted in a $500 million settlement.

Congressman James Langevin has signed on to an alternative to the controversial Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) legislation in the House of Representatives.

Langevin is now a co-sponsor of the OPEN Act, introduced by California Republican Darrell Issa, which aims to move piracy disputes to the International Trade Commission (ITC) and address some of the Internet companies' concerns about SOPA and its Senate corollary, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The death of Steve Jobs has inspired reflection nationwide. I spoke, this afternoon, with RISD President John Maeda, who has done plenty of thinking about technology and design - and Jobs's special place at their intersection. The interview is edited and condensed.

WHAT DOES THE DEATH OF STEVE JOBS HIGHLIGHT FOR THE REST OF US ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN? I think it's making us think what design is all about.

Well, if you think Google is evil, you have reason to be pleased with your home state today. Rhode Island US Attorney Peter Neronha has announced a mammoth settlement with the search engine. The company will forfeit $500 million after profiting from ads that prompted US consumers to illegally import prescription drugs. From the ProJo:

As first reported in the Phoenix, Netroots Nation - an annual conference of influential liberal bloggers - will be coming to Providence next summer.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse made it official with an announcement at this year's Netroots Nation in Minneapolis over the weekend.

This is good for Providence: a small economic infusion, some election-year atttention, bold-faced names, and a little bump for a city attempting to build a reputation as a high-tech hub.

Netroots Nation, the annual confab of progressive bloggers, has become a sort of whistlestop for left-leaning politicians. In 2007, all the major Democratic candidates for president participated in a lively debate at the event, then known as the YearlyKos Conference. Since then, figures like Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid have made the pilgrimage.

As Providence Mayor Angel Taveras announces the city's designation as one of IBM's "Smarter Cities" and plans to develop a computerized land management system to help spur growth in the Jewelry District (or Knowledge District), it may be worth another look at a piece that appeared in last week's Phoenix on Brown University's Chris Bull.

My cover story in this week's Phoenix on cyber security quotes Congressman Jim Langevin, who has been a leading voice on the issue in the House. But another member of the Rhode Island delegation - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse - is also active on the issue. He co-authored a recent op-ed for CNN, with Senators Barbara Mikulski and Olympia Snowe, on the topic.

I've got a piece in today's Phoenix on the daunting challenge of cybersecurity. Experts say our power grid, financial systems, and telecommunications are vulnerable to hackers. And erecting a comprehensive defense is a near impossibility: intruders need find only one weak point to break in and do damage.

The local angle is Congressman Jim Langevin's heavy involvement in the issue.

As I'll note in my cover story this week, Rhode Island's 2010 gubernatorial race will probably be the state's first test of a post-Obama, technology driven politics. Sure, candidates for local and statewide office have posted web sites and made use of a little Facebook now and again. But no Rhode Island pol has truly harnessed the web as an organizing tool.

While keeping an open mind, I'm not yet sold on this form of new media.

But Clive Thompson had a great NYTM article on the subject a while back.

This is the paradox of ambient awareness. Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane.