Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

A year ago today:
Two people are dead and a third severely injured after a fiery plane crash at Newport State Airport. The single-engine Piper aircraft carrying three people went down at 7:30 p.m. about 700 feet from the small airport's runway. The plane, which was large enough to seat four, suffered a power failure immediately after takeoff, according to James Warcup, chief aeronautics inspector with the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. Authorities believe it was "an instruction flight."

5 years ago today:
A proposal to build a massive offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound appears poised to clear one of several regulatory reviews exploring the project's feasibility and environmental impact. The staff of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board recommended approving plans to link the Cape Wind project to the regional electricity grid. The recommendation to the board came after the staff concluded the power the project's wind turbines would produce is needed for energy reliability and economic reasons. The staff also reviewed other questions including the environmental benefits proponents say the project would yield from greater reliance on wind power. The plan is to build 130 power-generating wind turbines across 24 square miles of Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, off Cape Cod.

25 years ago today:
The man standing in the lobby of Green Airport this morning with Sen. Claiborne Pell might have been mistaken for a businessman in his charcoal suit, light-blue shirt and navy-and-red tie. Not quite. He was Crown Prince Hans Adam Liechtenstein, who next month takes over from his father, Prince Franz Josef Liechtenstein, 77, the leadership of the country that takes its name from his family. The crown prince had been in Rhode Island since Saturday, visiting with Senator Pell, eating steamed clams and lobster and relaxing on Block Island. Pell said Prince Hans Adam doesn't get the publicity of other royalty, like Princess Caroline of Monaco, because Liechtenstein "is a more serious country." The prince said, "I try not to get involved in jet-set things."

On the national front:

On this day in 1863, Confederates are forced to retreat on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg, turning the fortunes in the American Civil War; 37,000 die on both sides in three days of battle.

Read The Associated Press's Today in History.

Watch a video report of highlights from Today in History.

 Tags  Claiborne Pell Newport State Airport wind farm

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