Related story: The heat of the battle: Judiciary pushes for control of its buildings, including the thermostat

By Edward Fitzpatrick
Journal Staff Writer

I began working on this story after doing a daily story about a bill, inspired by The Station nightclub fire, that would allow Rhode Island to press felony charges when someone is seriously injured because of negligence. The House Judiciary Committee heard a bunch of other bills that night, and one of them had to do with who controlled courthouses.

The next day I called Chief Justice Frank Williams, and he talked about how this bill was part of his overall push for an ``independent judiciary.'' So that upgraded it from a story about a bill to a story about a larger issue. But then Williams mentioned that when he wanted to turn up the heat at a courthouse, he had to call a guy named Vinny.

To my mind, that made it more than an issue story. Now it was a Rhode Island story.

From growing up here and from covering the State House, I've concluded that that's how a lot of things get done in Rhode Island: You have to talk to a guy named Vinny. If you want a bill passed, if you want a low-digit license plate, if you're a judge with a cold courtroom, you have to talk to a guy named Vinny.

Of course, you don't always have to talk to Vincent N. Iannuzzi -- the state's interim buildings and grounds coordinator -- but someone like him, whether that person is named Vinny, Eddie or Sally.

Certainly, there are big issues in this little state, but more often than not, matters of policy and politics come down to the personal. And that's often the best way to tell an issue story -- through one person. As Vinny said in this story, ``Bing.''