Edward Fitzpatrick

Edward Fitzpatrick Political Columnist 11/08/2009

Edward Fitzpatrick: R.I.’s new U.S. Attorney is a veteran prosecutor
If you’d asked him a year ago if he expected to become Rhode Island’s top federal prosecutor, Peter F. Neronha probably would have laughed.

11/05/2009

Suggested gift for the courts: A new judge
Nearly a year has passed since District Court Chief Judge Albert E. DeRobbio Sr. died, yet Governor Carcieri has not nominated a replacement.

11/03/2009

Columnist Ed Fitzpatrick: Who should be redrawing districts after 2010 census?
At the Common Cause Rhode Island annual meeting, executive director John M. Marion pointed out an object looming on the political horizon: the once-a-decade process of redrawing political maps.

11/01/2009

Columnist Edward Fitzpatrick: What R.I. needs is creative thinking on revenue
The General Assembly just plowed through about 200 bills in a two-day spasm of speechifying and legislating. The bills dealt with everything from mixed-martial arts to New England Patriots license plates, but they did precious little to address the state budget crisis.

10/29/2009

Columnist Edward Fitzpatrick: Lawless urges more women to run for office
Jennifer Lawless, the former Brown University professor who lost a 2006 Democratic primary to U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, delivered the keynote address at an Oct. 22 fundraiser for the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, and each of the 275 people in attendance received a red-white-and-blue button that read “Jennifer Lawless: 20??”

10/27/2009

Edward Fitzpatrick: A name can get you only so far
You didn’t have to guess which one was former U.S. Rep. Barry Goldwater Jr.

10/25/2009

Columnist Ed Fitzpatrick: Merit selection process for R.I. judges to get a close analysis
In the last few weeks, news about the Rhode Island judiciary has been dominated by accounts of how retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams is embroiled in a messy divorce case involving his former driver.

10/22/2009

Edward Fitzpatrick: Treasurer’s race waiting on incumbent
With General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio primed to run for governor, sitting on $1.5 million in campaign cash, attention is turning to who will run for treasurer in 2010.

10/20/2009

Columnist Ed Fitzpatrick: Chafee saw politics as noble profession
About 25 people gathered at Bristol’s Colt State Park on Saturday, forming a circle beside the statue of the late U.S. Sen. John H. Chafee. “Today, we gather in joy to remember the legacy of John Chafee and how fortunate we are to have had a small part in that,” they said in unison.

10/18/2009

Edward Fitzpatrick: Run for speaker is a real R.I. story
Good economic news can be hard to come by here in Rhode Island. So I’m happy to report that the race to be the next speaker of the House is producing a nice little stimulus package for restaurants such as Capriccio and The Capital Grille.

10/15/2009

Columnist Ed Fitzpatrick: Obama has promises to keep
On the campaign trail, President Obama pledged to support the idea of more protection for journalists and their sources as they try to blow the whistle on abuses of power, cheating and corruption. As a senator, he cosponsored an earlier version of the Free Flow of Information Act, which would give reporters a limited privilege to refuse to divulge their sources.

10/13/2009

Race issues may define Roberts court
Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. wants to outlaw affirmative action, and his tenure will end up linked with the issue of race, CNN senior analyst Jeffrey Toobin predicted at Brown University.

10/11/2009

Edward Fitzpatrick: Let’s make Rocky Point a state park
A statue stands in Bristol’s Colt State Park, showing the late U.S. Sen. John H. Chafee striding toward Narragansett Bay, heading in the general direction of Warwick’s former Rocky Point amusement park.