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To understand how Rhode Island became the only state in America to decriminalize prostitution, you have to go back to the mid-1970s, when a powerful Rhode Island politician helped advance the cause of a former prostitute.

1979 Providence Journal file photo / Andrew Dickerman

Broken legal barriers made public nuisance a private act

Margo St. James, prostitution-rights advocate, disparages a cheap peep show in San Francisco in 1980. St. James played a role in Rhode Island's decriminalization of prostitution. 'We tried Massachusetts. California. Hawaii. Florida,' she recalls. 'Most of them didn't get anywhere.'

To understand how Rhode Island became the only state in America to decriminalize prostitution, you have to go back to the mid-1970s, when a powerful Rhode Island politician helped advance the cause of a former prostitute.

Your Turn: Do you support legislation that would make prostitution a crime in Rhode Island, whether on the street or indoors?

R.I. in 'eye of the storm' in sex trafficking, prostitution

Providence mayor backs prostitution ban, says legislators could do more

Hundreds rally to end sex trafficking in R.I.

Keep with the latest news on the prostitution bill via the 7to7 news blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Frank J. Williams, the retired chief justice of the state Supreme Court, whose constant presence has been cited as a cause in the divorce case of his former driver, announced Tuesday that he will no longer sit on the state's highest court.

Former R.I. chief justice hired godchild's grandmother

Williams barred from visiting former driver's family

Former R.I. chief justice Williams cited in divorce case involving his ex-driver

Johnston dad says he felt 'intimidated' by ex-RI chief justice

Kerr: It's too late to repair damage done to Williams' reputation

Driver worked for Chief Justice Williams for 4 years

Extra: Read Frank DosReis' full motion in Family Court

Extra: Read the court-appointed guardian ad litem's report

Eight years ago, as a lobbyist for the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, Patrick C. Lynch played a role in persuading the General Assembly to pass legislation that helped the agency develop a controversial industrial park next to the state Central Landfill in Johnston.

R.I. General Treasurer seeks to collect on Resource Recovery Corporation's insurance policies

Case closed on RI landfill but it could reopen

Carcieri's audit: R.I. landfill "mismanaged and corrupt"

Extra: The 155-page state audit on the R.I. Resource Recovery (12mb PDF)

Borrowing Trouble

Our occasional series looks at the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis in Rhode Island.

Public Payroll

State employees' salaries and earnings only begin to tell the story.

State of the Mob

Journal investigative reporter and mob expert W. Zachary "Bill" Malinowski takes an in-depth look at the history of organized crime in Rhode Island.

Station Fire Continuing coverage of the Feb. 20, 2003, nightclub fire, the state's worst disaster.

Operation Dollar Bill
A wide-ranging corruption case involving at least seven politicians and seven corporations that began late in 2003.

The Immigration Debate

An occasional series examining how immigration, both legal and illegal, is affecting Rhode Island and its institutions.

DOT Investigation

Got a tip on the DOT? If there's a story you'd like us to pursue at the Department of Transportation, e-mail Journal State House bureau chief Katherine Gregg or call a confidential tip line at (401) 277-8040, and please be as specific as possible.

Our War Dead

Our continuing report on southern New Englanders who have died in Iraq.

The Price of Miracles: Families, modern medicine and premature births -- Tender skills: A look inside a neonatal intensive care unit at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I.

Tender skills: Nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit care for the sickest, tiniest babies, combining technical skill and tenderness. Learn about life in the NICU from one nurse's vantage point, and take a look at the NICU of the future -- to open in Rhode Island this fall. Read the stories

Your Turn: Parents of preemies: What do you think of the new NICU plans?

Videos: The NICU is a bustling, noisy place || 'This is a way to help'

Narrated illustration: Intensive care for the tiniest babies

Read other chapters in this project

Your Turn: Parents of preemies: What do you think of the new NICU plans?

Videos: The NICU is a bustling, noisy place || 'This is a way to help'

Narrated illustration: Intensive care for the tiniest babies

Read other chapters in this project

Pell remembered as "the right kind of aristocrat" with a common touch

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

Coast Guard Vice Adm. Clifford Pearson salutes Nuala Pell after presenting her with the flag that draped her husband's casket.

NEWPORT -- With reverence and humor, a past president, a future vice president, two U.S. senators and a loving grandson paid heartfelt tribute yesterday to Claiborne de Borda Pell at the late senator's funeral. He was, they all agreed, a rare man whose many contributions to his country will endure.

The common touch felt at a common place

Photo Gallery / Video

Your Turn: Share your Pell story

Read the obituary || Sign the Guest Book

Exit 20: The right way to go east, a multimedia look at the latest phase of the Route 195 relocation project in Providence, R.I.

Exit from Rt. 95 to Rt. 195 in Providence shifts from left to right / Map

Extra: Information, maps, animations showing Iway changes from RIDOT

The latest phase of the 195 relocation project -- the opening of the new Exit 20 connecting Route 95 south to Route 195 east -- means a major shift in traffic habits in and around Providence. Explore our interactive graphic to figure out how to get where you need to go.

Your Turn: How did the changes to 195 east affect your commute?

Video: Sneak peek: The new way to get onto the Iway

Video: Right way, wrong way on the Iway: Commuters encounter the new Exit 20

At RISD: Maeda, Moneo, Chihuly

The inauguration of new president John Maeda was just one among a number of RISD-related events in September. The school formally opened the Chace Center, the sleek new arts complex designed by noted Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. The opening was accompanied by a major exhibition of work by internationally acclaimed glassmaker -- and onetime RISD professor -- Dale Chihuly.

Video: RISD's 'outward looking' Chace Center poised to open

Video: Major Chihuly glasswork exhibit part of new RISD museum kickoff

The 2008 fall art season can be summed up in two words: Chace Center

New president Maeda will keep it simple at RISD / Video

RISD inauguration speaker sought to spread laptops

Renowned designer Maeda to take helm at RISD -- in his own way

Does Ginger Collins belong in prison?

7.20.08: The early symptoms of mental illness tormented Ginger Collins, 37, for years and helped ease her into the company of criminals. Collins has lived nearly her entire adult life at the ACI, where she is serving 65 years for her role in a 1994 murder. Read the story

Your Turn: Is society less compassionate in its treatment of the mentally ill?

Gallery: Photos from Ginger Collins' album

Video: Ginger Collins dreams of a new life without bars

The Washington County Fair

Blue ribbon tradition

From A to Z

Tradition at center stage

Fair schedule

Extra: Aerial view of the fairgrounds

Gallery: Opening day at the fair

Videos: Judges gear up for Washington County Fair || A mini history lesson at the fair || It all depends on where you point your pig || Persistence pays off at egg toss

Colorful parade caps the weeklong SoundSession

7.13.08: A boisterous and colorful parade that snaked from Waterplace Park near the State House through downtown Providence last night brought the city's SoundSession music festival to an enthusiastic close as thousands watched and cheered the event that annually celebrates the city's multicultural population.

Gallery: Lots of photos of Saturday night's carnival parade

Video: SoundSession '08 culminates with carnival parade

Your Turn: What did you think of SoundSession?

Labor's voice is among loudest at State House

6.10.08: While union membership is at its lowest level in 50 years, labor leaders' daily contact with lawmakers is as strong as ever. Most days on Smith Hill, union lobbyists far outnumber those from other interest groups.

Labor’s power hangs in balance

R.I. labor guru George Nee cut his teeth on grape boycott and caught the union bug

Labor able to wield political influence far beyond its membership

Your turn: How much influence do labor unions have in R.I.?

Charts

Largest unions in Rhode Island

Density: About 15 percent of the state's workforce is unionized

Public vs. private union membership

How labor friendly are Rhode Island's current policies?

2008 Olympic Games: N. Kingstown swimmer training for Beijing

Q&A audio slideshow: 'To be from Rhode Island is awesome'

North Kingstown's Beisel bound for Beijing

Beisel among U.S. phenoms eager for Beijing

Your Turn: Send messages of good luck

Gallery: More photos of Beisel || Read Beisel's athlete bio at USA Swimming || Video: Beisel's Blue Fish Swim Club teammates 'still can't believe it' || Beisel's HS Game Time All-State page

More...

The new state budget

6.20.08: The $6.9 billion budget for the 2009 fiscal year, which begins July 1, has been passed by the General Assembly. Lawmakers approved most of the major provisions in the plan with little debate, in an effort to close a $425-million deficit.

Slowly, Rhode Island budget cuts begin to take hold

Budget graphic: A snapshot of spending cuts

Your turn

What do you think of this year's budget?

Will this year's General Assembly action influence your vote for your legislator in November?

Johnson & Wales seeks higher profile in downtown expansion

6.29.08: In the relocation of a section of Route 195, the Johnson & Wales University sees a one-time chance to greatly expand and consolidate its flagship campus in downtown Providence.

Graphic: Johnson & Wales' designs on expansion

Your Turn: How do you think the land uncovered by the relocation of Route 195 should be used?

A Team Effort

6.8.08: Parents, students and teachers working together have made the Learning Community charter school a model of urban education in Rhode Island

For teachers, there’s a tradeoff

Your turn: Do you think the Learning Community's strategy could be effective if implemented elsewhere?

Charter school puts kids on the college track

Gallery: Photos of Blackstone Academy students and teachers

Your turn: Do you think regular public schools could adopt more hands-on approaches to help more seniors go to college?

Rhode Island is examining purchase of Macera family properties in Johnston

5.11.08: In an 18-month span from 2000 to 2002, two land deals around the state's Central Landfill in Johnston paid Johnston Mayor William A. Macera and his relatives $8 million, and left the taxpayers with property containing a swamp and a dump with hazardous substances.

Your turn: React to this story

Garden City Boys reunite, amid tragedy

The "GC" Boys, who took their name from the neighborhood of their childhood, came back to bury a city firefighter allegedly killed by a next-door neighbor in a spat over a child's stray tennis ball.

Gallery: More photos of the Garden City Boys

Our continuing report on the Cranston neighborhood shooting

Warwick home featured on TV's Extreme Makeover

Extreme Makeover: The Warwick reveal

Over four days in February, Ken and Doreen Silva's cramped house was razed and replaced with one triple the size.

Galleries: Day 1 || Day 2 || Day 3 || Day 4 || The new home unveiled || Walk through the Silvas' new home

Your turn: Rate the transformation

Our full report on the transformation of the Silvas' home

U.S. Sen. Reed: A Humble Path to Power

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island says he intends to stay where he is, but his name comes up frequently as a candidate for vice president or secretary of defense.

Your turn

How would you like to see Senator Reed wield the power he holds?

Chat: During an April 28 chat, Senator Reed answered your questions. Read the transcript.

Multimedia

Audio slideshow: From Cranston to West Point

Audio: Washington leaders agree, Reed speaks with authority

Our full report . . .

Fuel Shock: A spring series

A closer look at how the high cost of gas is affecting Rhode Islanders.

Your turn: The ripple effect of gas prices: Where are you seeing it?

Lives Interrupted

4.13.08: The lives of the victim of a devastating crash, the drunken driver serving time at the ACI, and their families are permanently altered.

Multimedia

Cathy Andreozzi's family will never be the same

At the ACI, Marilyn Brownell is four years through her 10-year sentence

PDF: Read the court transcript from Brownell's sentencing

Video: Watch world champion Tori Andreozzi, 12, host a Maine karate competition

Your turn: Do longer prison sentences deter drunken drivers?

Pushed to the Limit

3.23.08: The Navy's Officer Candidate School came home to Newport last year. Its officer candidates endure 12 weeks of grueling physical training, the loss of basic freedoms and intense emotional stress. Some will make the cut; others will fail. This eight-day multimedia series looks at their efforts.

Your turn: How has your military experience contributed to where you are today?

Read the eight-part multimedia series

The smoke-shop trial:
A split decision

4.5.08: A Superior Court jury found Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and two other tribal members guilty of misdemeanor charges while clearing four others in an emotional case that pitted the state against its only federally recognized Indian tribe.

Your turn: React to the verdict in the smokeshop case

At a glance: The seven defendants in the smoke-shop trial

Police not required to show search warrant right away

40 years later:
Race in Rhode Island

4.4.08: To black Americans of a certain age, King's death sears memory, marking the demise of the man, but not his ideas, who used the weapons of nonviolence and interracial cooperation to blunt the ferocity of segregation.

Your turn: How has Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and death affected you?

Audio slideshow: Rhode Islanders remember Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years later

In the classroom, King's dream

Audio slideshow: All for diversity at Providence school

Charter school roulette

3.30.08: It's harder to get into some of Rhode Island's charter schools than it is to get into the Ivy League.

The luck of the draw: Parents learn whether their children win spots at charter schools

Q&A: What, why and where are these schools?

R.I. charter schools, 2007-08

Gallery: Students at, and who want to be at, charter schools

Your turn: Do you think Rhode Island needs more charter schools?

The Gangs of Providence

2.10.08: In the Renaissance City, the mean streets are what many youths call home.

Mapping the violence: An interactive map of 2007's gang related shootings and murders

Gang profiles: The graffiti, symbols, colors and codes of Providence's most visible gangs

Multimedia: An approach to gangs that police say works, what can be learned from gang graffiti, and how gangs initiate and release members

Your turn: What can be done to keep young people out of gangs?

Experience the story in multimedia...

Gay Evolution

1.20.08: Step by step through Rhode Island history, a counterculture becomes mainstream. Staff writer Mark Arsenault and photographer John Freidah take you on a historical journey.

Multimedia: See and hear from gay Rhode Islanders on being gay and Catholic, newly married, a single father, veteran activists, young and out, and more

Your turn: What, if any, recognition should there be of same-sex relationships in R.I. law?

Interactive timeline: Local and national events in gay history

M. Charles Bakst: Reflections on the long struggle for gay rights

Remembering the Blizzard of '78

Thirty years ago, Mother Nature played a bad joke on southern New England.

Gallery: Readers share their pictures

Take a look back at the Blizzard of '78...

2007: Year in Review

Auld Lang Syne, Rhode Island

State government is broke, Rhode Island was one of only two states to lose population in 2007, the schools lag those of its New England neighbors, college grads tend to flee the day they earn their degrees, our bridges are crumbling, some pols are in cahoots with crooked businessmen, and a felon hosts a show on the state's biggest talk radio station.

Vote for the top story of 2007, browse Journal photographers' year-end galleries, review the year in pictures in your community, and more

More special reports . . .

The growing season

A 12-part series by G. Wayne Miller. Journal photos by Mary Murphy

The Unrighteous Traffick

Rhode Island's slave history. A seven-part series by Paul Davis.

Saving Block Island: How Rob Lewis led the way

A seven-part series by Peter Lord.

News Extras: Enhanced reports and the big stories

Sights & Sounds: Featuring multimedia narratives, imagery and audio

Galleries: A collection of photo slideshows

Audio Reports: Stories you can hear

Art Specials: Galleries with an artistic touch

The artist and the underground

Audio: Hear excerpts of an interview with Townsend and Mercer (MP3, 5 min., 25 sec)

Graphic: See a map of where the apartment was

Your Turn: Is living in a hidden corner of Providence Place art?

An American Bishop:
Inside the World of One Cathedral Square

10.21.07: Journal staff writer G. Wayne Miller's series on Bishop Tobin, a journey through a church, a diocese, and the life of a man.

Multimedia: 3 audio slideshows explore the symbols of a bishop's office, church stands on key issues, and Miller's year with the bishop

Chat: Miller hosted Bishop Tobin for an hour-long chat Monday afternoon, in which many readers participated. Read the transcript.

Your turn: What does it mean to be a Catholic?

Rough Seas

Journal staff writer Paul Davis's five-part series -- with four audio slideshows -- examining the struggle for control of the sea.

Your turn: What should be done to save this industry?

Back from the Brink: Cpl. Murray's Story

9.16.07: It's been a year since Marine Corporal Patrick Murray of North Kingstown lost his leg to an IED in Fallujah. A five-part series by the Journal Washington Bureau's John E. Mulligan.

Guestbook: Send a note to Corporal Murray

Video: Joining the Marines, losing his leg, getting a new one

Video: Murray posted this 'MTV Cribs'-style video on YouTube

Gallery: Browse Murray's story in photos