On Friday night, Rhode Island lost a great reporter and I lost a dear friend. For nearly 40 years, Jim Taricani and I worked on some of the biggest stories in Rhode Island – he for WJAR-TV Channel 10 and I, for The Providence Journal. Together, we covered the trial and retrial of Claus von Bulow, judicial and political corruption stories and so many mob-related trials that it’s hard to remember them all.

But the things that I treasured most about Jim was his humility, his kindness, his compassion for others and his passion. Passion for the great work he did to make Rhode Islanders more informed about the tiny state they live in. Passion for the First Amendment. And most of all, passion for life itself. – Retired Journal reporter Tracy Breton