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DAVID SCHARFENBERG

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Liberal warrior

Sheldon Whitehouse is attacking the obstructionist GOP head-on. Will it work?
When it comes to his signature issues — climate change, campaign finance reform, tax fairness — Whitehouse makes little secret of his approach: marshal the facts, hammer the Republicans, and embarrass them into action.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 10, 2013

At Brown, a win for climate change activists

Movements
A key Brown University oversight committee has voted to recommend the school divest from coal, delivering a significant victory to student climate change activists.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 11, 2013

Hacking Politics: a guide

Online
Last year, the Internet briefly upended everything we know about American politics.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 03, 2013

Break on through

If Gina Raimondo shatters the glass ceiling in the 2014 governor's race, it may be male voters who get her there
When I spoke with Treasurer Gina Raimondo this week, I opened with the obligatory question about whether she'll run for governor. "I'm seriously considering it," she said. "But I think as you know — we've talked about it before — I have little kids: a six-year-old, an eight-year-old. I'm a mother. It's a big deal."

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 28, 2013

The liberal case for guns

Q&A
The school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut spurred hope not just for sensible gun regulation, but for a more nuanced discussion of America's gun culture. Neither wish has been realized.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 27, 2013

On economic development, the Speaker cedes the spotlight

Playing Politics
In recent months, Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed has emerged as perhaps the state's leading voice for economic revival.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 20, 2013

The Cost of War

When assessing the cost to America of the war in Iraq, a blue-ribbon panel says President Obama is all wet
With the tenth anniversary of the war upon us, a team of economists, lawyers, humanitarian personnel, and political scientists has developed a comprehensive, by-the-numbers look at the human, financial, and social impacts of the Iraq conflict.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 20, 2013

Two shows highlight the RISD Museum's new direction

A dandy list
It's been a year-and-a-half since John Smith took over as director of the RISD Museum. But it's only now that his vision for the place is becoming reality.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 13, 2013

Can Providence rise to the greatest civil rights challenge of our times?

School reform
Standardized test scores — cold, flawed, too often depressing — come and go with little notice these days; an ugly drumbeat we'd prefer to ignore.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 06, 2013

Weeks after Aaron Swartz’s death, a friend takes action

Aftermath
Providence State Representative David Segal's 2010 Congressional campaign was a shoestring affair. It would not prevail.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | February 27, 2013

WPRO drops St. Pierre

Off Air
Buddy Cianci was on a plane to Florida for a five-day vacation. So Ron St. Pierre, his longtime talk radio sidekick, had the microphone to himself.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | February 20, 2013

The Station fire: 10 years after

Four writers on the tragedy that disfigured Rhode Island
It's been 10 years since fire tore through a roadhouse in West Warwick — killing 100, injuring 200 more, and singeing thousands of New Englanders whose mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends died inside The Station or never quite figured out how to live outside of it.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | February 13, 2013