Doherty, former state police superintendent, was at 49 percent, Cicilline at 34 percent and 16 percent of voters are undecided, according to the poll done by veteran Rhode Island pollster Joseph Fleming. In a May, 2011 WPRI survey, Doherty led Cicilline, 46 to 33 percent.

The new poll of 250 registered voters in the 1^st District, which includes most of Providence and the communities on the east side of Narragansett Bay, carries an error margin of 6.2 percent. The poll was done of voters in the recently redrawn 1^st District.

The poll is the second in a week to show Cicilline’s weak standing heading into the 2012 election cycle. A Brown University poll released last week showed Cicilline’s job approval rating at about 15 percent. The Channel 12 numbers put Cicilline at roughly 20 percent favorability. The Brown poll did not include a Doherty-Cicilline matchup.

The Channel 12 survey shows Doherty will a huge lead among male voters, at 55 percent to 30 percent. Cicilline does better among females, where Doherty leads 44 to 37 percent with the rest undecided.

As well as a gender gap, the poll shows a very large generational split. Among voters aged 60 or better, Doherty leads, 53 to 27 percent. Cicilline holds a comfortable bulge among younger voters, besting Doherty 55 to 34 percent among voters aged 18 to 39. The hurdle for Cicilline is that older voters generally have a higher turnout rate than younger voters.

Cicilline has a lead with Democrats, 54 percent to 40 percent, but Doherty has pulled away among independents, or voters called unaffiliated in the argot of Rhode Island politics. Doherty leads among independents, 54 to 25 percent.

Doherty also leads among union members, 56 to 27 percent.

Channel 12 also tested Doherty against Democrat Anthony Gemma, who lost the 2010 primary to Cicilline. Gemma has not announced a candidacy so far this year, but has hinted that he may run. Doherty defeats Gemma with all age groups and has a 41to 28 percent lead over Gemma among all voters. Twenty-nine percent are undecided.

Cicilline is obviously being hamstrung by the Providence fiscal mess and the perception that he was not candid about the city’s finances when he was Providence mayor in 2010 and ran for Congress. That issue isn’t going away; Providence is still working its way out of the deficits that have dominated the year-old administration of Mayor Angel Taveras.

Such issues as pensions, property tax increases for home and car owners and paying for health care for city retirees have dominated news coverage since Taveras took over last year.

Cicilline is also a freshman House member in the minority party and is in no position to bring home significant federal programs or money to Rhode Island. And every national poll shows that Congress is held in very low esteem by U.S. voters, with favorability numbers hovering in single digits.

There is a long way to go in this campaign, but one has to wonder if a stronger Democratic candidate than Gemma emerges as a Cicilline primary challenger. A primary joust against Cicilline would likely take $1 million or more in campaign money. Both Cicilline and Doherty are well-financed so far, according to reports filed with the Federal election Commission.

Cicilline’s best argument against Doherty is likely this one: Why would Rhode Island voters in a presidential year want to send another Republican to Washington to give House Republicans and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, more support for a sharply conservative agenda more suited to red state political stances?

The new boundaries have created a 1st District that supported Barack Obama with 66 percent in the 2008 presidential election, which should help Cicilline.

But before he attacks Doherty in this manner, Cicilline must rebuild his own image. It is never easy to attack an opponent from a position of weakness. At this point, Cicilline has serious trouble with major blocs of 1^st District voters. He is viewed negatively by the elderly (60 and over), Democrats, Independents and women voters.

Tonight’s meeting occurs after weeks of intense, behind-the scenes talks with representatives of the RI Airport Corporation and council representatives.

Rhode Island business, organized labor and political leaders are all lobbying in favor of beginning work on the project that would put more than 1,000 buildings trades employees to work as well as bring the airport into a position to attract more air traffic. But some airport neighbors still have environmental and noise concerns. There are also ancillary issues, such as where new ball fields should be built to replace those being taken by the expansion.

A passel of RI political figures, including Sen. Jack Reed, Governor Lincoln Chafee, Mayor Scott Avedisian and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo have all weighed in in favor of the project.

Tonight’s council meeting is expected to occur in executive session.

Last week’s Brown University public opinion survey carried little in the way of good news for incumbent  Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. Almost 60 percent of respondents think the Newport Democrat is only a fair or poor job. And his good or excellent ratings are only about 30 percent.

Whitehouse is part of a divided Congress that is widely seen as unpopular in every respected national poll. Rhode Island has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates and state government is awash in red ink.

A Congress split between Republicans and Democrats acting like children fighting at recess isn’t doing much to help struggling states like ours. Gone are the days of federal stimulus dollars flowing in to help states avoid deficits and keep public workers on the job.

Whitehouse is in his first term, a time when Senate incumbents are usually most vulnerable. His knee-jerk liberalism is ripe for attack at a time when conservatives are motivated and vocal.

So why does Rhode Island native Jennifer Duffy of the non-partisan Cook Political Report handicap Whitehouse as the solid favorite to win reelection?

Look no further than the feckless Rhode Island Republican Party and its only candidate so far, Newport businessman Barry Hinckley.

It is sad that money has become such an overwhelming force in politics. Hinckley’s biggest problem is that he doesn’t have nearly enough to mount a serious campaign. While Whitehouse is sitting on a campaign chest of more than $3 million, Hinckley has only $175,000, barely enough for a two-week run of television ads.

Contrast Hinckley’s money harvest with that of   Republican Brendan Doherty, who is organizing a race for Congress in the 1^st District against Democrat David Cicilline, who looks increasingly vulnerable. Doherty has raised more than $500,000 and is moving his feet all over the district. Bumpers along the east side of Narragansett Bay are already sprouting DOHERTY stickers and just about every day there is a report of yet another fund-raising event for the former state police superintendent.

And Hinckley doesn’t seem able to capitalize on Whitehouse’s weaknesses. Exhibit A was last week’s visit by to Providence Vice-President Joe Biden, who appeared at a Democratic fund-raiser for Whitehouse.

There is one issue that is tops among all others in Rhode Island – jobs and the faltering economy. Yet, instead of focusing on jobs during the Biden visit, Hinckley’s campaign got mired in a silly, high-school style joust over a vice-presidential news release that contained a typographical error over the spelling of Rhode (Road) Island.

Duffy, the Senate election watcher, says that even though Whitehouse is not well-defined among many voters, Hinckley has a deeper problem: Few voters know who the Republican is and he doesn’t have enough money to drive his messages.

Whitehouse is well-regarded among Democrats in Washington; he is seen as smart, hard-working and capable of scaling the leadership ladder in the Senate. Don’t be surprised if he becomes his party’s Senate campaign chief for the 2014 election cycle.

Whitehouse also has a long resume in politics and public service. He has been attorney general, U.S. Attorney, legal counsel to a governor, the state’s top business regulator and an unsuccessful candidate for his party’s governor nomination. Whitehouse pays attention to Rhode Island and has an aggressive staff. Yes, he is a staunch liberal, but Rhode Islanders have been sending liberals to the Senate forever: think Theodore Francis Green, John Pastore, Claiborne Pell and Jack Reed.

And Whitehouse can ride the arc of history: Rhode Islanders have only twice rejected incumbent U.S. senators since the advent of direct election of senators in 1913. Once was during the Great Depression. The other was Whitehouse’s upset of then-Republican Lincoln Chafee in 2006 during the backlash against the Bush Administration and the Iraq War. In this presidential year, Democratic voter turnout is likely to be high.

Hinckley has never been in a significant public role. Unless he wakes up fast, he appears doomed to become yet another Rhode Island Republican politician who is under the illusion that the U.S. Senate is an entry-level job.

Scott MacKay’s commentary can be heard every Monday on Morning Edition at 6:40 and 8:40. You can also follow his political reporting at RIPR’s `On Politics’ blog at RIPR.org

Here are some of Plain’s thoughts on his vision and hopes for the blog:

There’s a real niche in Rhode Island for a place to find news and commentary that appeals to progressives and liberals. Even though we live in a left-leaning state, the marketplace of ideas is literally saturated with right-wing ideology. There is no shortage of news and/or commentary outlets where one can get the conservative point of view, but RI Future is really the only place that offers a progressive take on the issues. To that end, RI Future should be a critical component of every Rhode Islander’s news diet.

RI Future has a loyal following and a great group of contributors and I’ll be adding an element of deadline and analysis reporting to what the site already offers, as well as some thoughtful commentary on the issues.

I’m putting together a business plan to monetize the site so that the people putting in the sweat equity can reap some reward from their efforts.

This will mark another iteration of a blog launched way back in 2005 by Matt Jerzyk, now a senior aide to Providence Mayor Angel Taveras.

Hull declined to specify terms of the transaction in transferring the blog to Plain.

On the other side of the ideological dial, Anchor Rising’s Justin Katz is hanging up his carpenter’s bag (with some delight, we suspect) to lead a new journalistic effort for the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity:

The website, OceanStateCurrent.com, is expected to launch next week, and will feature articles and other media that break news and address topics not covered elsewhere. The full-time Managing Editor will be Justin Katz, who founded AnchorRising.com.

“We are thrilled that Justin has joined our team and will be leading this new journalism initiative to shed light some of the shadier workings of our government”, said the Center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse. “Justin’s level of professionalism, his creativity, as well as his thoughtful knowledge of the many issues facing the Ocean State is ideal”, added Stenhouse.

Katz, who established AnchorRising.com as one of the state’s most popular blogs dealing with public policy and politics, will be responsible for the material posted to The Ocean State Current. He lives in Tiverton and recently exited his  career as a carpenter in order to fulfill his longtime ambition to work as a journalist. “We believe that the more attention people pay to government, the better it functions,” Katz said.

The Current’s name has a philosophical undertow: “The current of human nature and social endeavors flows through each of us. However ingenious our designs, however eternal our structures seem, they need a comprehending touch and constant vigilance to forestall erosion.”, Katz elaborated on the site’s About The Current page. “We plan to expose the consequences of bad government and its effects on real people.”

An official launch announcement is expected before the end of the February, at which point Justin Katz will be available for media follow up.

Topics likely to be covered on The Ocean State Current include:

 * Capitol Hill legislation and related issues

 * State budget and spending

* Education reform

* Human interest and other public policy stories

According to a memo sent to ProJo employees from Deb Tomlinson, the newspaper’s vice president for audience, business development and digital,  the Journal will begin charging for “new subscription packages’’ that include a choice of print-only, a hybrid of print and digital, or digital only subscriptions. And customers will have options for either a seven day and weekend subscription or a Thursday-Sunday package or Sunday only home delivery.

“Now, with readers having ever wider choices of how to receive information, we are using new ways to meet their needs,’’ states the memo. “We have capitalized on the opportunity that new technology offers to satisfy readers’ desire for speed and convenience in getting breaking new, in-depth news stories, sports and commentary with the launch of our new digital products…’’

The memo did not say what rates will be charged to customers, only that ProJo employees will get discounted rates for all subscription options. One element the memo did not discuss is one that will make print subscribers unhappy, particularly as the baseball season starts. Because the ProJo is now printing the Fall River Herald newspaper at the Kingsley Street production plant, night sports deadlines will be moved back to 10:50 p.m., say ProJo sources. That means that fewer scores will be in the morning print editions, especially from games from the Midwest or West Coast and contests that go into extra innings or overtime. It is already sad that the Boston Globe, published in Boston, of course, has later scores in editions delivered to Rhode Island than the ProJo. Moving up the sports deadlines will only frost the print-only subscribers who can’t get their Sawx or Bruins playoff scores in the paper than lands on their doorsteps. (We are not betting that the Celtics make the playoffs.)

The ad mocks a typo in a White House press release from earlier this week, which said [Vice President Joe] Biden would visit “Road” Island for campaign events.

“On February 23, 2012, Vice President Joseph Biden came to ‘Road’ Island to raise campaign cash for his friend and fellow Washington insider Senator Sheldon Whitehouse,” the ad said in a Star Wars-esque introduction. “With ticket prices of $5,000 or even $1,000 dollars, its hard for most Rhode Islanders to afford to be there in person — what with the unemployment rate in Rhode Island having more than doubled since Senator Whitehouse went to Washington.”

The video, uploaded to YouTube late Wednesday night, targets Biden’s appearance at a Whitehouse fundraiser the next day and gives constituents a spoof of what they can expect to see during Thursday’s event.

Stephen Frater, a native Rhode Islander, author and new writer-in-residence at the University of Rhode Island, wants to craft the definitive biography of a man whose personality and accomplishments in the state’s military, business, social and political circles make him the “Frank Sinatra of Rhode Island” – former Gov. Bruce Sundlun.

And he’s going to show URI students exactly how to do it.

“It’s a terrific story. He was a true war hero and a man of his time who did it all his way,” Frater said, noting that Sundlun specifically requested Sinatra’s My Way be played at his funeral. “Sundlun was a business tycoon four times over and a towering Rhode Island civic, cultural, business and political leader for decades, not to mention his five marriages and innumerable girlfriends.”

Frater began teaching a three-semester “real world” experiential learning course this semester titled “The Art, Craft and Business of Nonfiction,” in which students will learn how to research and write a biography, secure a literary agent and how to pitch a book to a publishing company in today’s challenging publishing environment.

“We’re at an interesting point,” Frater said. “Last year, Amazon’s digital sales of books outsold paper editions for the first time, and it will never go back. In many sectors of the publishing industry, there is no longer an incubation process to nurture young writers. Schools of Communication and Media, like the Harrington School at URI, have a unique opportunity to step into the breach for the next generation of storytellers because the industry just isn’t financially capable of doing it any longer.”

Frater will incorporate the increasing demand for multimedia products into his course. Students will create an iPad-ready book proposal loaded with digital documents, photos and video to pitch the book to publishers.