Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Police and fire personnel after a fatal crash at the former middle school building at Lincoln High School this afternoon, on Old River Road in Lincoln. Journal photo / John Freidah

LINCOLN -- A car crashed into Lincoln High School today and, after it hit the building, there was a fire and the driver was killed, according to Lincoln Police Chief Brian Sullivan.

The police would not identify the victim other than to say that it was not a student.

The car was registered to Jay Paul, of Cumberland.

A list of school employees in 2006 provided by the town of Lincoln lists a Jay Paul as a substitute teacher.

Parents and students in the parking lot this afternoon also said the victim was Jay Paul.

Lynn Pitochelli, who said she witnessed the crash, said she was waiting in her car at the entrance to the school to pick up her son when she saw a blue Ford station wagon speed toward what is the old middle school entrance.

"I thought, What kid is speeding in this parking lot?" she said.

The car went straight into the old middle school doors, Pitochelli said.

A Journal reporter at the scene said the entrance to the former middle school building is charred.

Pitochelli ran 20 feet to the car and, she said, half the car was inside the school doors and the other half outside.

Parents at the scene confirmed that students had been dismissed by the time the incident occurred.

Pitochelli said it happened around 2:45 p.m. and that school had been dismissed about an hour earlier. School officials said no students were injured today.

The schools superintendent, Georgia Fortunato, who spoke at the scene this afternoon along with the police chief, said all school activities at the school are canceled this weekend.

The police may hold a news conference tomorrow.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

By Neil Downing
Journal MoneyLine columnist

The bailout bill approved and signed into law by President Bush includes a bunch of tax breaks, some of which will directly affect thousands of Rhode Islanders - including parents of college students, schoolteachers, homeowners and IRA owners.

Here's a brief look at some of the breaks:

• Tuition and Fees: In general, you may claim a federal income-tax deduction of up to $4,000 for college tuition and fees. If you meet certain income limits, you may claim the break whether you list your deductions separately (a process known as "itemizing," on Schedule A of your U.S. Form 1040) or simply claim a lump-sum deduction called the standard deduction.

The tuition-and-fees break expired last year. The bailout bill extends it through this year and next, said Mark A. Luscombe, a lawyer and principal analyst for tax publisher CCH Inc., a Wolters Kluwer business.

More than 18,000 Rhode Island filers claimed this break on their federal returns each year before it expired, Internal Revenue Service figures show. If you claim it, you'll automatically get a tax benefit for it on your Rhode Island return, state Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said.

• Schoolteachers: If you're a schoolteacher, you generally may claim a deduction of up to $250 for classroom materials you buy on your own, without reimbursement. The break was available whether you itemized or claimed the standard deduction. But it expired last year. The bailout law extends it through this year and next, Luscombe said. About 16,000 Rhode Island filers claimed this break on their federal returns each year before it expired. By claiming it on your federal return, you'll automatically get a benefit for it on your Rhode Island return, Sullivan said.



• Property Tax: If you used the standard deduction, you couldn't claim a federal income-tax deduction for local property tax. But a law enacted this summer says that if you claim the standard deduction, you may deduct up to $500 in property tax if you're single, $1,000 if you're married - for this year only. The bailout law extends this break through 2009.



• IRAs: If you're 70 ½ or older, you may transfer up to $100,000 a year of your IRA directly to a charity without triggering any tax on the transfer. This break, popular among MoneyLine readers, expired last year. But the text of the new bailout law makes it clear that the deal is available for this year and next.



• Sales Tax: If you itemize, you had the option of deducting your sales taxes instead of your state income taxes. The sales-tax option expired last year, but the bailout law extends it through this year and next. About 15,000 Rhode Islanders chose the sales-tax option each year before it expired, IRS figures show.



• AMT: You're supposed to calculate your federal return two ways: first, under the usual set of rules, then under a stricter set of rules required by the alternative minimum tax (AMT) system. You pay whichever results in the higher amount of tax. More and more people are subject to the AMT. Special relief from the AMT expired last year. The bailout law extends the relief through this year, and adds a cost-of-living feature, Luscombe said.

Rhode Island has recorded its first West Nile case in a person for this year, a Health Department spokeswoman said.

The person who has the virus already had a compromised immune system, according to spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth. The Health Department is not identifying the person. The virus can be a particular concern for elderly, young children and people with weakened immune systems.

The human case was reported to the Health Department today, Beardsworth said.

Last month, mosquitoes were found throughout the state carrying the virus.

Beardsworth said today that health officials are emphasizing that the case is another reminder to people to protect themselves -- using bug spray containing DEET, taking care to avoid being outside uncovered at dawn and dusk and keeping screens on open windows and doors.

People are advised that, if outside, to cover playpens and baby carriages with mosquito netting.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Robert and Donna Urciuoli leave Federal Court in Providence this afternoon, where jurors failed to reach a verdict after four days deliberating. Journal photo / Bob Thayer

PROVIDENCE -- There was no verdict today -- day four of jury deliberations -- in the corruption case of two former Roger Williams Medical Center executives accused of corruptly hiring former North Providence state Sen. John A. Celona to do political favors at the State House beneficial to the medical center and its affiliated nursing homes.

Robert A. Urciuoli, the hospital's former president and chief executive, is charged with one count of conspiracy and 35 counts of honest-services mail fraud.

Frances P. Driscoll, former vice president for marketing, is charged with one count of aiding and abetting the alleged conspiracy.

The jury is scheduled to return to deliberating at 9 a.m. Monday in federal court in Providence. Shortly after 4:20 p.m. today, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lisi said "I understand you would like to go home" and a short time after she dismissed them for the weekend.

The jury earlier this afternoon asked Lisi for clarification on the second count of the indictment, which is the lone count against Driscoll.

They asked the judge to clarify the meaning of "willfully" and "voluntarily" in Count 2 , which charges Driscoll, the former hospital vice president with aiding and abetting her co-defendant, Robert A. Urciuoli, in a scheme to steal the honest services of a state senator, John Celona.

Lisi said that the first question regarding Count 2 was too broad for her to answer, and for guidance on their second question, the judge referred jurors to her instructions.

At trial, the defense maintained that Celona was legally hired to perform valid work promoting the hospital and its affiliates to senior citizens and that the state Ethics Commission issued a ruling that allowed him to work as a consultant, provided that he did not vote on health-care legislation that directly affected Roger Williams.

This was the second trial for both Urciuoli and Driscoll.

In October 2006, Urciuoli was convicted of one count of conspiracy and 35 counts of theft of honest services -- which is mail fraud -- and sentenced to three years in prison. Driscoll was convicted of one mail fraud charge and sentenced to 8 months in prison.

The two appealed the convictions, their lawyers arguing that Senior U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres gave the jury instructions that allowed them to convict Celona for work that he did which was legal.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston overturned the convictions in January 2007. The retrial began in early September.

Both were free on bail pending the retrial.

Read more about the trial and the federal investigation.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick and Journal archival reports

PROVIDENCE -- The Board of Elections finalized counting the mail ballots in the state Supreme Court-ordered recount in West Warwick's Senate District 9 Democratic primary -- between longtime incumbent Stephen D. Alves and political newcomer Michael Pinga -- giving Pinga the win by 17 votes.

The tally today left Pinga with 998 votes to Alves' 981.

The board has finished counting ballots in the state Supreme Court-ordered recount of Warwick's Senate District 31 Democratic primary between Erin Lynch and David Bennett, declaring Lynch the winner by 10 votes.

According to the official tally, Lynch received 859 votes to Bennett's 849.

Earlier, Board of Elections staff went through eight boxes -- about 2,400 ballots -- and found two missing mail ballots in theLynch-Bennett recount.

Before lunch, the board had completed the voting machine counts, reviewed provisional and mail ballots, and found two mail ballots to be missing.

Lynch was attending this morning's recount. Angel Taveras, a lawyer for Bennett is also there.

On primary night last month, Alves, the influential chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, lost by 17 votes.

Bennett, candidate for the District 31 seat to be vacated after four decades by John C. Revens, lost by 10 votes.

The board has already recounted both races once before. The recounts upheld the original results, although the vote totals were different. Both of the apparent losing candidates appealed to the state Supreme Court, asking for new primaries.

Both court orders require recounting all provisional, mail and regular ballots cast. And the court ordered the state Board of Elections to examine any ballots rejected by the optical scanning machines to determine which candidate, if any, the voters intended to choose but failed to mark correctly.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Deepwater Wind, the developer selected last week to build an offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, has won the bid to develop another major wind farm.

New Jersey officials this afternoon announced they had selected Garden State Offshore Energy, or GSOE, to build the 96-turbine project 16 miles off the New Jersey coast. GSOE is a joint venture of PSEG Renewable Generation, a utility company and Deepwater Wind, based in Hoboken, N.J.

Last week, Gov. Carcieri announced that his office had selected Deepwater Wind to build and finance a $1.5 billion wind farm, 15 to 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. It would be one of the largest private development projects ever constructed in the state.

This afternoon, Chris Brown, the chief executive officer of Deepwater, told The Providence Journal that winning New Jersey project will mean more jobs in Rhode Island, where the company plans to build its manufacturing headquarters for the East Coast.

The facility will be located at the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown, the company said last week. The facility will be used to manufacture the structures to support the wind turbines, derrick-like structures called "jackets," and employ up to 800 people, Deepwater said.

Yesterday's award will mean even more jobs in Rhode Island, beyond the 800 already promised, Brown said in a telephone interview.

How many more?

Brown was reluctant to give an estimate. "That's going to be up to our planning people - significantly more," he said.

Gov. Carceri released a statement heralding the New Jersey development as being good news for Rhode Island.

"This is as much a win for Rhode Island as it is for Deepwater Wind," the governor said.

"By establishing ourselves as an early leader in off shore wind energy production and the center for jacket manufacturing, we gain an important competitive advantage in attracting alternative energy companies, including turbine manufacturers, to the state and in creating new high wage, green energy jobs across Rhode Island."

GSOE has proposed building a 345.6 MW offshore wind facility that would produce enough electricity to power approximately 125,000 homes annually. (Deepwater's Rhode Island project would be somewhat bigger with a capacity of 385 megawatts of electricity -- about three-quarters of the capacity of the natural-gas fired power plant at Dominion Energy's Manchester Street Station in Providence.)

The New Jersey project would cost about $1 billion, and would be financed privately.
It would be located southeast of Atlantic City, 16 miles off the New Jersey coast.

"At this distance," GSOE said in a statement, "the wind farm would be barely visible from shore, addressing one of the major concerns of beach communities."

The wind farm could begin generating energy in 2012 with the entire project operational in 2013.

A news release issued by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities said the project would produce power at a cost of 4.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is substantially below current market prices for electricity. (Rhode Islanders currently pay 12.4 cents per kilowatt-hour.)

However, Janeen Lawlor, a spokeswoman for the board, said the BPU learned later that figure is not correct and was the product of a math error by the BPU staff. Lawlor said her office did not have the correct cost per kilowatt hour. She said the incorrect number was not used by the board during its evaluation process.

By Tom Mooney
Journal staff writer

Worried about heating your home this winter? If you know how to run a chainsaw and have a truck, the Department of Environmental Management may have a deal for you this weekend.

The state department is accepting bids from people to harvest up to 130 cords of wood in the George Washington Management Area in Burrillville and Glocester, and the Arcadia Management Area in Exeter.

A total of 40 woods lots are up for cutting, 20 in each management area. The right to cut the trees will be sold on a competitive bid basis, with a minimum bid of $10 per cord -- far less than the $200 a cord market price for cut and delivered firewood. Nearly 100 people have expressed interest in the wood program so far, state supervising forester Jay Aron says.

Aron says the cutting benefits the management areas by opening up areas for wildlife as well as clear potential blow downs from area roads and trails.

DEM personnel plan to open the bids tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Arcadia Management Area headquarters, 260 Arcadia Rd., in Hope Valley. Bids for the George Washington Management Area will be opened there on Sunday at noon.

Successful bidders will have until Oct. 13 to pay for the wood and may begin cutting after full payment has been received. The trees are both live and standing dead hardwoods.

West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis were not found in 57 mosquito pools, or samples, in the latest testing from around Rhode Island.

The mosquito population has dropped significantly and no new mosquitoes are being produced. But a Department of Environmental Management news release says that despite the absence of West Nile/EEE in traps set during the week of Sept. 22, the diseases are "both firmly established throughout the state and the possibility of diseases transmission remains possible."

People in Rhode Island should continue protecting themselves from mosquito bites -- cover up, wear mosquito repellent. Don't use mosquito repellent on infants.

By John Mulligan
Journal Washington bureau

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Reps. Patrick J. Kennedy and James R. Langevin, both Rhode Island Democrats, joined a 263-171 House majority this afternoon that passed the bill to rescue the financial markets and expressed hope that the legislation will soon begin to calm the economy.

"The overall bill was designed to bring stability to our financial system and particularly to the credit markets" that many Rhode Island businesses and citizens rely upon, Langevin said minutes after House members applauded the majority vote that sent the rescue package to president Bush for his signature.

"If this would have been just a bailout for Wall Street, I would have been the first one to vote no," said Langevin.

Kennedy said he has heard worrisome anecdotes from constituents in recent days "with everything from investors not being able to invest in businesses -- which means that jobs can't be created -- to kids who may not be able to go to school because they cannot get student loans for college."

In the long term, Kennedy and Langevin both said that the rescue package will prevent financial difficulties for municipalities and states, which also rely on the flow of credit.

While stressing that Rhode Island has encountered no such problems, Langevin said reports about debt retirement deadlines facing the state of California have served as a warning to officials elsewhere.

For Kennedy, there was a dose of personal satisfaction in this afternoon's House action.

Attached to the financial rescue package was his signature legislation to improve medical insurance coverage for the mentally ill.

"So we made history today not only in saving our financial system but also in passing mental health parity for millions of Americans," Langevin said in praise of his fellow Rhode Island Democrat.

Asked whether he was relieved by the passage of complex rescue package produced after almost two weeks of marathon negotiations in debating sessions, Kennedy replied, "There is no relief. People are losing their homes. They are losing their jobs."

Kennedy said the repair of the economy may take a long time. Now that the rescue package has passed, "Hopefully, this will help mitigate the downturn in the economy and alleviate some of the people's pain."

By Mike Stanton
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- The jury just asked a question of the judge in its fourth day of deliberations in the corruption trial of two former executives for the Roger Williams Medical Center.

The jurors asked Chief District Court Judge Mary Lisi for clarification on the second count of the indictment, which is the lone count against Frances P. Driscoll.

They asked the judge to clarify the meaning of "willfully" and "voluntarily" in Count 2 , which charges Driscoll, the former hospital vice president with aiding and abetting her co-defendant, Robert A. Urciuoli, in a scheme to steal the honest services of a state senator, John Celona.

Lisi said that the first question regarding Count 2 was too broad for her to answer, and for guidance on their second question, the judge referred jurors to her instructions.

Urciuoli, the hospital's former president and CEO, and Driscoll, former vice president for marketing, were charged with corruptly hiring Celona, of North Providence, to perform political favors.

The defense maintained that Celona was legally hired to perform valid work promoting the hospital and its affiliates to senior citizens.

Read more about the trial and the federal investigation.

Family and friends of Michael and Tammie Oliveira are asking divers, boaters, and anyone in the community to come out and help them try to find Michael Oliveira's body.

The Providence couple, who wed in July, had driven to Narragansett's Black Point on Sept. 28. Witnesses said Tammie fell in the water and Michael jumped in after her. It's unclear if they were fishing or just watching the waves.

Tammie's body was recovered that Sunday. Michael's body is still missing.

The official search for Michael's body has been discontinued. Relatives and friends say if they find his body today they can still bury the couple together.

-- Journal staff writer Maria Armental

Traffic appears to be moving slowly on Route 95 north leading up to Exit 21, Broadway, where the state Transportation Management Center say a vehicle fire has blocked two lanes.

By John E. Mulligan
Journal Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy has provided some relief from the gloom of the hard economic news and the tense efforts of House leaders to assemble majority support for the massive economic rescue bill heading for a vote today.

Through a quirk of parlimentary procedure, the rescue package was attached to an unrelated bill, H.R. 1424, that has been sidelined for many months. But Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat, was that bill's original sponsor, so as a technial matter, his name still appears on it as the official author. The financial rescue bill also happens to contain some unrelated legislation, including Kennedy's own bill to improve mental health insurance.

So last night when the House Democratic Caucus met to gauge support for the all-important financial rescue, Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Kennedy to speak about his small piece of the package.

Pelosi mouthed the word "parity" to Kennedy, suggesting that he discuss his "mental health parity" initiative.

Instead, Kennedy recalled this morning, he claimed credit -- with mock gravity -- "for my $700-billion bailout bill."

Kennedy said his remarks brought down the house.

"The whole place totally went bonkers," Kennedy said.

The "attaboys" were still pouring in this morning. As Kennedy walked to and from a preliminary vote before noon, several colleagues stopped to rib him about H.R. 1424.

Typcial was Rep. Brian Baird, D-Washington.

"Hey!" he called to Kennedy as they met near the entrance to the Cannon House Office Building. The two congressmen exchanged high-fives and backslaps.

"Congratualtions on your bill," Baird said. "The Patrick Kennedy $700-billion bailout bill."

By Gregory Smith
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- Stanley Kobierowski, whose drunk-driving case made international news and caused him to become the butt of jokes by comedians on late-night TV, today pleaded no contest to driving with a potentially lethal amount of alcohol in his bloodstream.

In a plea bargain, Kobierowski, 34, of North Providence, acknowledged in District Court that he was driving drunk late on the night of July 21, when he crashed his pickup truck into an electronic sign on Route 95 in Providence.

The state police gave him a chemical breath test, and the two readings -- .489 and .491 -- were six times the legal limit of .08. The police said that as far as they know, the readings were the highest ever recorded in Rhode Island on a machine of that kind.

One alcohol-intoxication expert, James Harasymiw, said there is a very severe risk of death for the average person with a reading that approaches .4.

Judge Christine S. Jabour sentenced Kobierowski to the terms his lawyer bargained with the attorney general's office: One year of probation, a one-year suspension of his driver's license, a $500 fine, 40 hours' community service, attendance at driving-under-the-influence school, participation in an alcohol-treatment program, and court costs and assessments.

Under Rhode Island law, "no contest" is the equivalent of a guilty plea.

In return for his no-contest plea, the attorney general withdrew a second charge of resisting arrest.

Terri Potts and her son, Jackson, 7, of Tiverton, at the memorial to the late husband and father Sgt. Christopher Potts, today at its unveiling at the Bristol Armory of the Rhode Island Army National Guard, Charlie Company, Battery C of the 103rd Artillary. Providence Journal photo / Bob Thayer

By MEAGHAN WIMS
Journal staff writer

Local soldiers and relatives gathered this morning at the Bristol armory to dedicate a memorial to Rhode Island National Guard Sgt. Christopher Potts, 38, of Tiverton, and Sgt. Russell Collier, of the Arkansas National Guard, on the fourth anniversary of their deaths during a firefight in Taji, Iraq. Potts was deployed with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery.

Potts' widow, Terri Potts, looked on at the etched stone memorial as three soldiers knelt before it.

"That's my favorite picture of him," Potts said of the remarkable likeness on the stone. "I can't describe how I'm feeling. I'm just glad that they remember them and they're not going to forget."

Beneath Christopher Potts' picture and name reads: "When you go home, tell them about us and say, for their tomorrow, we gave our today."

BOSTON -- The consortium that operates and maintains the MBTA's commuter rail system has a new chief.

Richard Davey was named the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co.'s general manager Friday. He succeeds James O'Leary who stepped down after two years at the helm. Davey was previously O'Leary's top deputy.

O'Leary took over in Aug. 2006 to deal with a rash of commuter complaints about the nation's fifth-largest commuter rail network. Davey says he also will focus on reliability and customer satisfaction.

O'Leary will continue to serve on the MBCR's board of directors.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's commuter rail system serves 40 million passengers a year.

-- The Associated Press

Tomorrow is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 4 general election, and Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis says there will be more than 40 places open for people to register.

There will be at least one place in every city and town where residents can register, according to Mollis. Mollis has included a list on his Web site of the available locations and the hours they will be open.

In addition to targeting first-time voters, the special Saturday schedule gives voters who have moved or changed their names recently a convenient way to update their voter records as required by state law, according to Mollis.

Mollis expects a heavy turnout for the Nov. 4 election.

To register, you must be 18 by Nov. 4, be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Rhode Island, and have a valid Social Security number or Rhode Island driver's license. There is no charge to register.

>> Continue reading: Tomorrow is the last day to register for Nov. 4 election

A bail hearing is scheduled today for a murder suspect after a man who was stabbed Sept. 13 died five days later.

Emilio Gutierrez, 19, was initially charged with felony assault after the police say he stabbed 38-year-old Pedro Baquiax. The police found Baquiax wounded next to his car outside of his apartment in Providence's West End.

Gutierrez, a Guatemalan immigrant whom authorities say may be living in the United States illegally, lived upstairs from Baquiax.

While Gutierrez was being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, Baquiax died from his injuries, on Sept. 18.

The U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also filed a detainer with local law-enforcement authorities saying that the accused is in the United States illegally.

Gutierrez is scheduled for a bail hearing today in Superior Court, Providence to face a felony murder charge.

projo.com photo/ Brandie Jefferson
Providence firefighters extinguished a fire at a three-story house at 610 Union Avenue this morning.

PROVIDENCE -- An early morning fire in the Silver Lake neighborhood filled a three-story house with smoke. All the residents escaped safely.

Firefighters arrived at 610 Union Avenue at 7:19 this morning. It took several companies about 45 minutes to put the flames out.

The fire appears to have started on the first floor.

Amara Ezeamama, who owns the house with her husband, Bright Onye, said she woke up to the smell of smoke, and the sounds of their house being destroyed.

"We heard the cracking of windows before the fire department got here," Ezeamama said.

She woke Onye, who had just gotten home from work.

"I was fast asleep when my wife started waking me up and telling me "'there's smoke, there's smoke,'" he said.

"I quickly got up, looked at our apartment; there was smoke. I went down to the second floor, there's more smoke. I was like, 'where is my tenant?'"

The tenant, Pedro Cabral, who lived on the second floor, said the smoke was "really thick" when he got out.

He said he wanted to go back in to get his stuff, but, he said, "I knew better." Cabral said this is the second time he's had to escape from a burning house.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) -- A man who set fire to his girlfriend's Fall River apartment, injuring two of her children, has been sentenced to up to 12 years in state prison.

Luis Berrios was sentenced to eight to 12 years behind bars to be followed by five years of probation after pleading guilty yesterday in New Bedford Superior Court to two counts of assault and battery on a child resulting in injury, one count of home invasion and one count of arson.

Authorities say the 21-year-old Berrios of Taunton set fire to a bed in the apartment last October because he was angry with his girlfriend for going out with a female friend.

There were nine people in the apartment at the time, two adults and seven children. Two of the children, ages 3 and 6, were seriously hurt.

-- The Associated Press with information from The Herald News

PROVIDENCE -- The jury in the Roger Williams Medical Center corruption case resumes deliberations today at 9 a.m.

Chief U.S. District Court Mary M. Lisi let the jurors go home at 4 p.m. yesterday after they had reviewed the criminal case against former Roger Williams executives Robert A. Urciouli and Frances P. Driscoll for the third straight day without reaching a verdict.

Urciuoli, the hospital's former president, and Driscoll, its former vice president for external affairs, are accused of hiring John A. Celona, a former senator from North Providence, as a paid consultant in exchange for influence he could sway on legislation in the General Assembly.

Defense lawyers have denied the charges, saying that Celona worked for his pay -- $700 to $1,000 a week -- between 1998 and 2003.

Read about the trial and the federal investigation.

-- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

On this day in 1995, a jury found ex-football player O.J. Simpson innocent of murder in the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman.

Read more about today in history.

What kind of weekend do you want to have? If it's going to be a nonstop, party time, can't-stop-dancing kind of weekend, this one's for you:

Jr. Walker & the All Stars perform "Shotgun"

If you plan on staying in, sitting back, and relaxing, this one may better get you in the mood.

Siblings Alton and Hortense Ellis sing "Sitting in the Park"

Today's looking not too good, not too bad.

Skies should be cloudy for most of the day, with a 20 percent chance of rain in the afternoon. Temperatures should reach about 66 degrees with high winds from the west, reaching 3 mph. at times.

Skies should clear out tonight with temperatures dropping to about 44 degrees with mild west winds.

Tomorrow is looking pretty nice, but brisk with sunny skies and temperatures hitting about 65 degrees.

Tomorrow night, skies will remain clear, and temperatures will drop to about 44 degrees.

Sunday looks sunny too. Temperatures will reach about 62 degrees and mild, south winds. Clouds will roll in Sunday evening when the temperatures drop to about 43 degrees.

Rain may return Monday, after noon. Otherwise it should be cloudy and cool, with temperatures in the upper 50s.

Keep an eye on the weekend forecast on projo.com's weather page.