Governor Carcieri Prepares for Layoffs

From Cynthia Needham of the Projo's 7-to-7 newsblog...

[Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri] sharply criticized Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg's decision earlier Thursday to block the first scheduled shutdown of Rhode Island state government on Friday, and announced that he will move forward with layoffs.

The justice, he wrote, "has left me with no option but layoffs. I have asked my department directors to identify the last 1,000 people hired and begin the process of layoff notifications."

"It should greatly disturb every state employee and every Rhode Islander that labor leaders are willing to sacrifice people's jobs so they can maintain their stranglehold on the citizens of this state."

One question of many, now staring Rhode Island in the face: How far will courts be allowed to go, in asserting that they can order other branches of government to ignore Rhode Island's dire fiscal imbalance?