Columnist Russell J. Moore (clearly not a fan of Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee and his Director of Administration) says in a new column that Richard Licht, the governor's Director of Administration, finally admitted publicly that the Governor's office "wasn't watching 38 Studios" after the Economic Development Corp. greenlit a $75 million loan and before it eventually defaulted on that loan and went bankrupt.

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee has quickly signed into law a bill that was passed yesterday in the RI House (and earlier in the week in the RI Senate) that will make it easier for the state to settle its lawsuit with 38 Studios and principles involved in the $75 million loan guarantee that enticed Curt Schilling to move his game development studio to Providence in 2010.

The Rhode Island House has approved a bill that will make it easier for the state to settle its lawsuit with Curt Schilling, other executives from 38 Studios, and others involved in the deal that could end up costing the state upwards of $100 - $110 million in the long-term. The RI Senate approved its own version of the bill earlier this month. With both houses of the State Assembly passing the bill, there's no doubt that Governor Lincoln Chafee will sign it into law the minute it crosses his desk (his administration pushed the legislature to pass the bill as quickly as possible).

According to a Go Local Providence report, one of the defining issues in the campaign that could hurt Rhode Island Attorney General (D) Peter F. Kilmartin is the 38 Studios loan deal, which he voted for while in the General Assembly.

Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley offered some harsh words for current Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee (I), who he painted as a saboteur in the last days before 38 Studios went bankrupt.

Adding a new complication to the case for the state of Rhode Island in its lawsuit against former Red Sox pitcher and 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling is news today that he has been diagnosed with cancer. Schilling, who is now serving as an on-air sports analyst for ESPN, told the network about his condition today, though he did not go into any detail about what kind of cancer he has.

It should come as no shock that the Rhode Island Senate today unanimously approved legislation that encourages out-of-court settlements in the 38 Studios lawsuit. The news comes from a syndicated Associated Press report. The bill, which was floated to lawmakers by Governor Lincoln Chafee's office earlier this month and supported by the lead attorney representing the Rhode Island Economic Corp.

According to an Associated Press report, lawmakers in the state of Rhode Island are doing everything they can to fast track a bill that would make it easier for the Economic Development Corp. to settle its lawsuit against executives from 38 Studios and other parties being sued on behalf of the state.

On Wednesday legislation was introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly that would resolve the the $75 million loan guarantee to 38 Studios and subsequent debt when the company defaulted on the loan and filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The proposal, which was submitted at the request of Governor Lincoln Chafee's administration, deals with Chapter 42-64-40 of the state's General Laws, which covers "court-approved settlements."

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation for information related to the state’s $75-million investment in former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's 38 Studios video-game company, according to a Providence Journal report.

The governor of Rhode Island said that he isn't surprised that many of the 38 Studios assets remained unsold after an online auction earlier this month failed to find a buyer. At a press conference today Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee told the press that Schilling's flagship MMO game "Project Copernicus," was a "a lot of junk."

The Rhode Island General Assembly is on recess until January, and while lawmakers in the state have kicked around a lot of contentious issues in the days leading up to the break, one committee has been silent since its last meeting in September: the House Oversight Committee’s review of the 38 Studios loan deal.

The Big Huge Games' assets that are part of the 38 Studios asset auction have fetched $320,000, according to a report on Joystiq. Sold as part of two lots, the Big Huge Games trademark was sold, along with the Rise of Legends and Rise of Nations strategy game properties. Details on who purchased these assets has not been disclosed.

Yesterday we reported that no one bid on a $50,000 proposal put out by the state of Rhode Island to examine its options if it decided not to pay back the debt related to the $75 million loan given to Curt Schilling's 38 Studios. The state is on the hook for over $90 million or more (depending on who you ask) related to the deal. Well it turns out that - as of yesterday - one firm has stepped forward.

Last summer lawmakers passed a measure to make an initial $2.5-million payment to the investors who purchased the state-backed bonds that financed Schilling’s now-bankrupt video-game company, 38 Studios.

According to a brief report on Boston.com from the Associated Press, the auction to sell off what remains of the 38 Studios intellectual property assets will happen today via a telephone auction.

The company handling the auction, Heritage Global Partners, has declined to estimate the IP’s worth, and 38 Studios receiver Richard Land says initial bids that were due last week are being kept confidential.

A new WPRI 12 Eyewitness News poll shows that a majority of Rhode Islanders have no problem defaulting on the bonds used to secure 38 Studios a $75 million loan in 2010. The company founded by Curt Schilling would later default on the loan payments and leave the state with a debt of $90 - $100 million.

State Senator Dawson Hodgson (R-North Kingstown) is putting forth legislation today to renew his push to create an independent commission to investigate Rhode Island's investment in 38 Studios, which ultimately left the state on the hook for $100 million after Curt Schilling's game studio went bankrupt in 2012. Hodgson promises to create a bipartisan coalition to bring the bill to a vote early in the 2014 General Assembly session.

Earlier in the month we reported that the attorney appointed by the Rhode Island courts to sell off the intellectual property owned by 38 Studios planned to delay an auction that was set for later this week. The online auction to sell off the current and future rights to the MMO Project Copernicus, sequel rights to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and rights for Big Huge Games franchises including Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends and Catan, as well as game engine technology, was set for Nov. 13 - 14.

Because the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (EDC) did a pretty lousy job of keeping records during the whole 38 Studios $75 million loan guarantee deal, the agency charged with spurring economic growth in the state will be installing tracking software to keep tabs on its employees.

The new executive at the top of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. (EDC) says that the failed $75 million loan guarantee to Curt Schilling's 38 Studios has hurt the reputation of the agency, but he will do all that he can to restore it and to rebuild confidence in the state's economic recovery efforts.

In court documents obtained by GoLocalProv, the former head of Rhode Island's Economic Development Corp. (EDC) accused RI Gov. Lincoln Chafee of forcing 38 Studios into bankruptcy last year by standing in the way of efforts to restructure its debt or raise additional funding. The accusations were part of a court filing responding to the state's lawsuit against Curt Schilling, former executives from the company, former Economic Development Corp.

The Providence Journal reports that pre-trial wrangling was underway this morning in the lawsuit filed by the state of Rhode Island against 14 defendants related to the $75 million loan guarantee given to Curt Schilling's 38 Studios in 2010.

It looks like Rhode Island will finally have an auction to sell off 38 Studios' intellectual property. According to an IGN report citing WPRI.com, the court-appointed receiver for the assets, Richard Land, says that an auction will happen "soon." The state took possession of the 38 Studios IP after the company defaulted on a $75 million loan and filed for bankruptcy.

Rhode Island State Representative Karen MacBeth (D-Cumberland) wants the House Oversight Committee to grant subpoena power to a group of lawmakers looking into the Economic Development Corporation's 2010 deal with 38 Studios. Rep. MacBeth says that she wants to extract documents and compel appearances by key figures in Rhode Island's investment in Curt Schilling's now-bankrupt game development studio.

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation has confirmed with several outlets that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is actively investigating the $75-million taxpayer-backed loan given to Curt Schilling's now-bankrupt video-game company 38 Studios.

It looks like former Red Sox pitcher and 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling - along with associates of the company - could face legal problems on another front. Last week the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. approved a request by the federal bankruptcy court trustee to use up to $150,000 in assets recovered from the company to further investigate its former officers, directors, and other parties. If this investigation turns up any further information, it could lead to additional legal actions against 38 Studios.

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation's handling of a $75 million loan deal to 38 Studios continues to have an effect on politics in the state, and today more reforms are being discussed so that the failure of that deal can never happen again.

Yesterday afternoon lawmakers in the Rhode Island House began examining hundreds of documents in an attempt to piece together a timeline on the $75 million loan guarantee awarded to Curt Schilling's 38 Studios. The committee began by looking at emails from the former Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Keith Stokes.

Stokes said in emails that the General Assembly would not have created the loan guarantee program without knowing Curt Schilling was interested in moving his video game company to Rhode Island in 2010.

A Rhode Island House committee opened hearings today to look into the events leading up to awarding a $75 million loan guarantee to former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's 38 Studios. The oversight panel will start by sifting through 8,000 pages of documents related to the loan guarantee, according to what House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Marcello (D-Scituate, Cranston) told talk radio station WPRO.