A combination of dwindling revenues and soaring costs has put Rhode Island's capital city of Providence in such dire financial straits that some local businessmen think bankruptcy is the only way out.
Tax-exempt exempt hospitals and colleges — particularly Brown University — have cut deeply into the city's tax base. State aid has declined. And the costs of road maintenance and educating more children with special needs continue to rise.
You know those sappy debate questions where the moderator asks each of the candidates to say something nice about the other one?
Here are the poor candidates, having spent the past 88 minutes and the previous umpteen months eviscerating each other. (Often correctly, too — a politician saying positive things is usually lying, but when he attacks his opponents he's often telling the truth.)
