Providence mayoral candidate Angel Taveras, who was appointed as a housing court judge by outgoing mayor David Cicilline, has engaged in a delicate dance with his predecessor's legacy: embracing the post-Buddy, anti-corruption image Cicilline has cultivated while seeking to establish a few points of departure from a long-serving pol whose approval ratings have taken a hit in recent years.

An interesting freedom of the press spat is playing out on the Community College of Rhode Island campus. The following is via the Student Press Law Center:

RHODE ISLAND -- Student journalists at the Community College of Rhode Island are back in the newsroom for now after student government locked them out earlier this month.

Interesting joint press release from Congressional candidates Bill Lynch and David Segal, who appear to be ganging up on frontrunner David Cicilline, here, with a proposed debate that is sure to renew focus on Cicilline's refusal to appear on a WPRO radio debate since it was scheduled for nemesis and talk radion host Buddy Cianci's time slot:

Providence has long banked on the creative economy as engine of growth. On Wednesday, the city's mayoral candidates will square off on the issue:

On Wednesday, September 1, candidates for Mayor of the City of Providence will gather in a moderated forum to discuss the future of the Creative Capital. Hosted by RI Citizens for the Arts and moderated by Mark Murphy of PBN, the event expects a large turnout from members of the creative sector and a lively discussion on how the candidates plan to grow and capitalize on Providence ’s creative assets to benefit the city at large.

Add pollster Joe Fleming to the list of political observers expecting low voter turnout for the September 14 primary. His data point: last week's North Providence special election, which drew just 13 percent of eligible voters.

The race was, of course, far from analogous to the upcoming primary. It was a special election, held in one town.

An interesting partnership between the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and the Princeton Review. From the release:

The Princeton Review, Inc. (Nasdaq: REVU) and The Rhode Island AFL-CIO and the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, organized labor’s leading job training and educational program in Rhode Island, announced today that they and The Princeton Review’s wholly owned subsidiary, Penn Foster, Inc.

It took the ProJo a day to acknowledge the signature moment in Tuesday night's Providence mayoral debate - serial candidate Christopher Young's marriage proposal to long-time girlfriend Kara Russo - but as the paper notes this morning, it has caught on nationwide: the HuffPost, MSNBC (lead story on the web site, as I write), you name it.

I'll have a short piece in this week's Phoenix on the Providence mayoral race and last night's debate. The race, more than any other of the major contests in the state, is something of a cipher. There have been no public polls, after all. But the consensus among politicos that it is quite tight.

The conventional wisdom had Angel Taveras riding a Cicilline-like coalition of the East and South Sides to victory in the Democratic primary, with Steven Costantino and John Lombardi splitting the more traditional white ethnic vote.

Here's the new Chafee ad. It hits the right notes - independence, economic development. We'll see if Chafee can maintain message discipline now.

The Associated Press reports that Rhode Island is one of nine states, alongside Washington DC, that has won a second-round competition for federal education money through the "Race to the Top" program.

The victory, which could bring as much as $75 million to the state, does not come as a big surprise - Rhode Island has pursued the brand of aggressive reform the competition encouraged.

It's not quite Labor Day yet, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate says he'll be back on the air come Thursday with ads focused - surprise, surprise - on small business and job creation.

It'll be interesting to see how heavy his rotation will be. Patrick Lynch's decision to drop out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary - leaving the field to Caprio - was supposed to give candidates for Congress, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and Providence mayor a little more room to breath during primary season.

In case you missed it, a household name announced Friday that she will retire. From the AP:

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Longtime Rhode Island broadcaster Karen Adams says she's retiring at the end of the year after 22 years at the anchor desk.

Adams, the evening anchor at WPRI-TV Channel 12, announced her decision Friday.

Providence mayoral candidates Angel Taveras, angling to become the city's first Latino mayor, and Steven Costantino, the powerful chairman of the House Finance Committee and winner of the Democratic Party's official imprimatur, have won much of the attention in the race.

But the third major candidate, longtime City Councilman John Lombardi, is showing strength with strong fundraising of late.

Rhode Island is often labeled a socially conservative state. But it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the claim. The state is solidly pro-choice and a new poll on same-sex marriage suggests ever-growing support for the idea. Commissioned by GLAD, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the poll found 59 percent of voters in favor and 31 percent opposed.

Providence mayoral candidate Angel Taveras released his public safety plan today. No great surprises for those who have followed the campaign closely. The first two bullets reference the recent troubles in the police department and suggest a long-telegraphed split with the Cicilline administration on public safety leadership: