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« June 12, 2006 | Today | June 14, 2006 » June 13, 2006Man struck by train in Pawtucket ID'dPAWTUCKET -- A man struck and killed by a train last weekend has been identified by his fingerprints, Pawtucket police said today. Anthony Bataitis, 46, of Providence, was hit by a northbound Amtrak train near Lonsdale Avenue Saturday morning, said Lt. Dan Mullen of the Pawtucket Police Department. The accident occurred at 10:34 a.m., and the tracks were cleared about three hours later. The 180 passengers aboard the Washington-to Boston train were transferred to a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter train to continue to Boston. -- Journal staff writer Talia Buford Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:50 PM | Comment Carpio trial: 'Something didn't seem right' to cabbiePROVIDENCE -- Cab driver Michael Crugnale had just heard that police were looking for a man who killed a police officer when he got the call. His dispatcher wanted him to pick up a man looking for a ride to Boston or New York. "Something didn't seem right to me," Crugnale testified this afternoon in the Superior Court trial of Esteban Carpio, the man accused of murdering police Detective Sgt. James Allen in April 2005. He testified that he spotted a police cruiser on his way to pick up the passenger. He stopped and told the officers he thought his prospective passenger might be the man they were looking for. The policeman said, "Go ahead, we'll follow you," Crugnale testified. Crugnale pulled up to the corner of Washington and Empire streets in downtown Providence. He locked his doors. "Then I seen (sic) a gentleman walking up toward the cab, looking at the cab," Crugnale said. The man, who police believe was Carpio, looked at Crugnale through the windshield, before turning and running down Washington Street. Crugnale will continue his testimony when the trial resumes tomorrow morning. He was the last of six witnesses to take the stand today. -- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Nicole Hanson, 24, of East Cheshire, Conn., testified this afternoon that she heard glass shattering and saw a man jump from a police station window on the night that Allen was killed. The police say Carpio killed Allen with Allen's gun, escaped by jumping out of a third-floor window and was later captured downtown. Hanson told jurors that she was a passenger in a car driven by her boyfriend, Nathan Fiero, which was traveling south on Service Road 7. After hearing the sound of shattering glass, Hanson looked up, saw glass falling from the sky and watched a man pushing glass out of a window frame, she testified. Then she saw the man climb through the window frame and hang from the ledge for a moment before dropping to the ground, she said. "He hit the ground and instantly got right up. He began ...striding" past them, Hanson said. Hanson testified that she saw the man go across a Route 95 overpass, then jump over a wall or a fence on the east side of Route 95. The jury this afternoon also heard from FBI Special Agent Justin Bowers, who described how he helped apprehend Carpio on Washington Street in front of the Roger Williams University Campus.
The jury spent much of this morning listening to a digital recording of police dispatchers involved in the search for Carpio right after Allen's murder. "Out the window! Out the window!" an officer said on the recording, which the jury followed with the aid of a transcript because it was often difficult to hear. "Does anybody know which way they ran?" a dispatcher said later in the roughly 45-minute recording. -- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:28 PM | Comment Red Sox place Foulke on DLWell, it turns out there was a reason Keith Foulke was lit up like a Christmas tree over the weekend. And it had nothing to do with a bad back. The Red Sox placed the veteran reliever on the 15-day disabled list this afternoon because of elbow tendinitis. Jermaine Van Buren was recalled from Pawtucket to replace him. Foulke, who was inactive for nearly a week because of what the Red Sox described as back spasms, returned to action Saturday night against the Rangers. In one inning, he gave up a walk and a two-run homer. He was worse on Sunday, surrendering seven hits and four runs in two innings. He didn't mention any arm pain after either game, nor did the Sox indicate his arm was hurting. Van Buren, who has had two earlier stints in Boston this year, was sent back to Pawtucket late last week. Normally he couldn't be recalled for two weeks, but that rule is waived when a roster move is made because of injury. Van Buren is 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA in five relief appearances over two stints with the Red Sox in 2006. With the PawSox, he was 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA and a team-leading seven saves in 13 games. -- ART MARTONE Posted by at 4:56 PM | Comment House finance panel quickly OKs budget proposalPROVIDENCE -- The House Finance Committee approved a $6.66 billion budget proposal from fellow lawmakers this afternoon in what may be record time -- less than two hours. The tax and spending plan for the coming year -- only unveiled today -- raises spending by 4.9 percent. It goes to the House floor next week for a vote. It would restore many -- but not all -- of the human service cuts proposed by Governor Carcieri, give a tax break to the state’s richest residents and significantly increase aid to local school districts. The Democratic lawmakers chose not to reduce state employee benefits, as the Republican governor had proposed, but left it up to the Carcieri’s staff to somehow reduce the workforce enough to save $36.5 million. The budget also further reduces the state’s car tax, includes a $50-million bond for affordable housing and provides a tax credit for companies that donate to private or parochial schools. More to come on projo.com and in tomorrow's Journal ... -- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:53 PM | Comment Update: Kennedy gets probation, community serviceWASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy will serve no jail time for driving under the influence of prescription drugs May 4, but he was sentenced this afternoon to one year of probation, $350 in fines, and 50 hours of community service. Kennedy appeared before a Judge Aida Melendez in Washington Superior Court earlier this afternoon wearing a navy blue suit. He did not smile during the 20-minute hearing and answered the judge's questions in simple phrases, such as "yes, your honor." His longest statement was: "I am pleading guilty to driving under the influence." Melendez outlined several conditions for Kennedy's probation. They include attending one meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous per week, attending monthly treatment sessions with a doctor at Bethesda Naval Hospital, attending a weekly recovery group meeting in addition to the AA meeting, having weekly contact with his AA sponsor, submiting to random urine drug abuse screenings, and staying in touch with psychiatrists to monitor mood symptoms, anxiety and use of psychotropic prescription medication used to treat his mental illness. Melendez sentenced Kennedy to 10 days in jail, which was suspended. Kennedy also must pay $100 to the Victim's of Crime Fund, and $250 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, D.C. -- the same organization to which he must commit 50 hours of community service. Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:55 PM | Comment Photo: A very Brady moment at Pats' mini-camp
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:48 PM | Comment House finance panel begins debate on budgetPROVIDENCE -- The House Finance Committee has begun its debate on a state budget proposed by Democratic lawmakers. The discussion is expected to take hours before the panel could vote on the $6.6 billion spending plan. Details on the previously unseen proposal to come on projo.com and in tomorrow's Journal. For background, read today's related Journal story. -- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:23 PM | Comment W. Warwick man presumed dead after 11-day searchPolice disclosed today that they have been searching for a West Warwick man who disappeared in the Big River Management Area 11 days ago and who is now presumed dead. Gerald G. Cox, 44, a production manager for a floral company in Cranston, left a suicide note at his home and drove to the 14-square-mile woodlands in West Greenwich on Friday, June 2, said his wife, Teresa Cox. The state police searched exhaustively for Cox over the following weekend, but failed to find him. Last week, volunteers from the Sheriff's Department began searching the area in all-terrain vehicles, still with no success. Some State Police and volunteers are continuing the search, but in a more limited way. Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:56 PM | Comment Seekonk police searching for Maine fugitiveSEEKONK, Mass. – Local police are searching for a 28-year-old man wanted by the police in Maine and profiled on the television show America’s Most Wanted. The manhunt, which also involved Massachusetts State Police, began late last night, Seekonk Police Chief Ronald Charron said. The police have issued a bulletin to all police departments in southern New England about their search for a stolen vehicle they believe the man took in the midst of the search, Charron said. Authorities in Maine alerted the Seekonk Police around 9 p.m. yesterday that a task force searching for Jesse Anthony Caron had information that he was at the Stop & Shop on Highland Avenue in Seekonk. Caron was wanted on a weapons offense and a forgery charge, Charron said. The America’s Most Wanted Web site says Caron faces a rape charge and was arrested on Feb. 14. Charron said he does not know about that charge and was told that Caron was arrested but later skipped bail. Charron said Seekonk officers impounded Caron’s car, which they found last night in the Stop & Shop parking lot, and spoke with a woman who had been sitting in it waiting for him, but the interview did not lead them to the man. Around midnight, the police responded to the call of a burglar alarm sounding at Martin Elementary School, Charron said. A school employee who arrived shortly afterward with a key and entered the building reported to the police that a man escaped out of a classroom window as the employee searched the school, Charron said. "We're not sure if it was the suspect (Caron), but we took the initiative that it was him, and a grid search was set up around the neighborhoods" in the area of Anthony Street and Cole Street, Charron said. The Massachusetts State Police entered the search around 10:30 p.m. with a helicopter, canine unit and “numerous patrols on the ground,” Trooper Thomas Ryan said. The state police stopped its search about 5 a.m. today, Ryan said. Seekonk’s search continues, spurred on by the 8 a.m. report of a stolen 2001 Acura from the Cumberland Farms at Route 6 and Warren Avenue, Charron said. A witness in the parking lot there described a suspect in the parking lot, and when the police showed him a photo of Caron, the witness identified the Maine fugitive, Charron said. Two Seekonk officers are still actively searching for the fugitive, Charron said. Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:30 PM | Comment Trinity Rep director gets Chicago awardCurt Columbus, artistic directory of Providence's Trinity Repertory Company, has won a Joseph Jefferson Citations Award, a prize given to non-Equity professional theaters in Chicago, according to the website Backstage.com. Columbus won the award for his adaptation of Three Sisters for Chicago's Strawdog Theatre Company. Columbus worked in Chicago theater before moving to Trinity Rep this year. The Citations are different from the Joseph Jefferson Awards, which honor productions that employ personnel from Equity, the union for actors and stage managers. Posted by at 9:17 AM | Comment R.I. ranks near the bottom in volunteeringRhode Islanders are among the stingiest in the nation when it comes to volunteering, but the number of Ocean State residents who volunteer has increased every year since 2002, according to a national study. Rhode Island ranks 45th in the nation with its rate of 24.9 percent of residents aged 16 or older who volunteer. That's a far cry from the top-ranked state of Utah, where 48 percent volunteer. Rhode Island is tied with Arizona, according to the study conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that tracked volunteer efforts for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. That volunteer rate covers the last three years and is lower than the three-year rate of 26.4 percent for the Northeast and lower than the three-year rate of 28.8 percent for the nation, according to the study. Connecticut ranks 21st, with 30.8 percent of its residents volunteering, and Massachusetts ranks 36th, with 27 percent. Read the full report, "Volunteering in America," check out individual state rankings and read key statistics from the study. -- Staff and wire reports
Rhode Island is, however, one of just eight states in the country in which the number of volunteers has increased each year since 2002, according to the study. In each state, the study found that women volunteer at a higher rate than men. The greatest percentage of volunteers in the U.S. volunteer primarily through religious organizations. The largest groups of people who volunteer are between the ages of 35 and 44, including members of both Generation X and Baby Boomers. Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:46 AM | Comment Diversity Career Fair is todayPROVIDENCE -- More than 35 companies are at the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence today for the Diversity Career Fair. The Career Fair, sponsored by The Providence Journal, runs from noon to 5 p.m. Job seekers should bring a hard copy of their résumé that will be distributed to all participating companies. A panel from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, local colleges and universities will be on hand for a free résumé critique. Rene Godefroy, author of Kick Your Excuses Goodbye, will speak at 11:30 a.m. in the convention center foyer, near registration. For a full list of exhibitors, go to projoJobs.com/careerfair. Posted by Jack Perry at 8:04 AM | Comment Money going to help children with parents in jailNew Roots Providence, a program that serves needy people in the city, this morning plans to announce the recipients of 21 grants designed to help small community and faith-based organizations. The so-called "capacity building grants" range from $12,000 to $18,000 and will help the organizations in areas such as training and development. The recipients were selected from 34 applications. The organizations address one or more of the following areas: children of men and women who are in prison; people returning to the community from prison; youth in danger of getting involved with violence or gang activity; and people moving from public assistance into employment. New Roots Providence will announce the grants during a 9 a.m. breakfast at the Rhode Island Foundation, One Union Square, Providence. New Roots Providence is a program of The Providence Plan, which is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1992 to help in such areas as jobs, neighborhood safety and affordable housing. The following organizations are receiving grants: * The Blessing Way Posted by Jack Perry at 7:50 AM | Comment Nice June day today, but Alberto's effects loomPROVIDENCE – Looks like we’re going to have another June-like day today, with this morning’s clouds expected to dissipate and give us a mostly sunny day – with a high around 79. But the rain we’ve come to know so well could soon return. There’s a chance of showers tomorrow, mostly between noon and 3 p.m., and then we may see the effects of Tropical Storm Alberto. The storm that has already forced evacuations in Florida is forecast to track about 100 miles south of Nantucket Thursday, which could be close enough to bring rain and eventually gusty winds to the Cape and islands late tomorrow night into Thursday. The storm will have a greater impact on the marine community with gale force winds and rough seas possible over the waters south and east of Nantucket, according to the National Weather Service. Check back for the latest conditions and forecasts at projo.com. Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:04 AM | Comment Cops to sell cookies for Big BrothersPROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri will help Big Brothers of Rhode Island launch its 2006 fundraising campaign at a State House press conference this morning. Big Brothers hopes to raise $250,000 this year by selling boxes of chocolate chip cookies made by Au Bon Pain stores. The nonprofit group this year has partnered with the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association. Starting this month, police departments around the state will offer boxes of cookies -- with six in each box -- for $5. "The cookies will be a high-quality, gourmet product. They'll be absolutely delicious and all the proceeds will go toward a good cause right here in Rhode Island," said Big Brothers President Edward A. Carosi in a statement. "That's why they'll be the greatest. This effort has never been attempted by a Big Brother agency." Today's press conference will be at 10 a.m. at the State House rotunda. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006