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June 14, 2006

R.I. delegation reports income, gifts, travel

The Rhode Island congressional delegation detailed personal financial information -- ranging from wedding gifts to privately-funded trips -- in financial disclosure reports made public today.

Sen. Jack Reed and his wife received an oil painting, china, silverware, crystal and one night of accommodations at the Inn at Perry Cabin Hotel in St. Michaels, Md., among other gifts, at their wedding last year.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy reported unearned income between $15,001 and $50,000 from Arctic Royal Limited Partnership, which owns oil and gas royalty interests, according to Kennedy's report.

The American Israel Education Foundation paid for Rep. James Langevin's trip to Israel in August 2005. The American Shipbuilding Association paid for his trip to Naples, Fla., last fall.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee and his wife own undeveloped land in Sorrento, Maine, valued between $500,001 and $1 million. Chafee's wife owns WeeHoose Farm, LLC, a family horse farm in the senator's hometown of Exeter. It is valued at more than $1 million and produced rental income.

Read the full story on the filings.

-- With Associated Press reports

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:06 PM | Comment

Photo: A flag comes home to Warwick

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
A year ago today, the city of Warwick unveiled its memorial to the Sept. 11 terror attacks by raising an American flag. They then took it down and shipped it to Iraq with a Warwick helicopter pilot, who raised the flag at his base and then took it with him on several missions. Then, it came back home, was flown over the State House, and used at St. Patrick's and St. Joseph's Day festivities. Today, it returned for permanent display at Warwick City Hall, where children from St. Rose Elementary School sang patriotic songs during the ceremony, which coincides with Flag Day.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 7:03 PM | Comment

DEM hearing tonight on fishing, hunting changes

WARWICK -- The state Department of Environmental Management will hold a public hearing tonight to talk about proposed changes to hunting and freshwater fishing regulations.

State officials plan to shift fishing season dates and make permanent a ban on the use of goldfish as bait. DEM enacted an emergency temporary ban on goldfish use last month.

There are also various changes that will affect hunters, primarily those who hunt turkey and deer.

Check here to see the details of the proposed changes.

Tonight's hearing will take place at 7 p.m. inside the Warwick Police Department's Community Room at 99 Veterans Memorial Drive.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:16 PM | Comment

Brown to introduce new men's basketball coach Thursday

PROVIDENCE --- Brown University is expected to introduce Craig Robinson as its new men's basketball coach Thursday morning in a press conference.

Robinson is a former star player at Princeton who has been an assistant coach Northwestern for the last six years.

-- KEVIN McNAMARA and BILL REYNOLDS

Posted by Art at 6:12 PM | Comment

Bald eagles discovered in Fall River / Photo

Special to The Journal photo
Jim Terrio, director of the Fall River Water Department, looks at a bald eagle chick found in the North Watuppa watershed area.

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- State wildlife officials have found a family of bald eagles living here -- the first such discovery in the southeastern Massachusetts city in more than 200 years.

The mayor's office today announced the unusual discovery of two eaglets -- a male and a female -- and two adults living in a nest atop an 80-foot white oak in the North Watuppa watershed.

State wildlife officials joined representatives from the Fall River Water Department at a "banding ceremony" today, in which state wildlife biologists placed tracking devices around the eaglets' talons. The eaglets are believed to be about a month old.

The mayor's office also launched a naming contest. The person who suggests the best name for the brother and sister eaglets will win a American eagle gold coin worth $100.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Kia Hayes

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:04 PM | Comment

Carpio trial: Both of Allens' wounds were fatal, detective says

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Providence police Detective Patricia Cornell, testifying during Esteban Carpio's murder trial today, holds Detective Sgt. James Allen's gun and explains where she attempted to lift fingerprints.

PROVIDENCE -- City police Detective Patricia Cornell testified this afternoon that either one of two gunshot wounds suffered by Detective Sgt. James L. Allen could have killed him.

Cornell, who took the stand this morning at the trial of murder suspect Esteban Carpio, has been reviewing crime scene evidence.

She said this afternoon that the headshot to Allen was at close range, according to gunshot residue on him. A gunshot to the clavicle was from at least three feet away, she said.

Three bullets were fired in the conference room at police headquarters where the shooting occurred in April 2005. Cornell said today that the third was lodged in the base of a table in the room.

The evidence shows that that bullet was fired from someone standing with his back to the interior of the closed conference room door, she said, adding that rabbit fur from Carpio's rabbit fur jacket was found on the door.

Cross-examination of Cornell began before the trial stopped for today. It will resume tomorrow morning.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Earlier today, the owner of a Boston barber shop, where Carpio told police he worked on the day Allen was killed, appeared on the witness stand.

Doyen Dunkley, of A-1 Barber Shop, denied knowing or ever seeing Carpio, now on trial for murdering Allen and stabbing an elderly woman hours before.

Later in the proceedings, Providence police Sgt. Robert Boehm, who works in the department's weapons unit, used Allen's holster -- known as a pancake holster -- to show the jury how one would remove the gun. In a detailed demonstration, Boehm used Allen's actual gun, its evidence tag hanging off.

Trooper testifies he punched Carpio in the face

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Christopher Zarrella, a state police detective who helped arrest Esteban Carpio, points to Carpio during Carpio's murder trial today in Superior Court, Providence.

State Police Detective Chistopher Zarrella testified today that in arresting Carpio last year he punched Carpio three times in the face with his closed fist.

Zarrella, the first witness to testify today said he hit Carpio on Washington Street a few blocks from police headquarters.

"I struck him because he was trying to strike me. And I thought he had a weapon,'' Zarrella testified.

He added during further questioning that Carpio was swinging at him and that he believed that his life was in danger.

Until today's testimony, the public never knew who injured Carpio the night of the arrest. According to today's testimony, Zarrella broke bones in Carpio's face.

Carpio last year wore a protective face shield at his arraignment, which corrections officials said was to prevent him from spitting at officers.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections called the use of the mask a rare security measure. The spokeswoman did not mention Carpio's injuries.

-- Staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:08 PM | Comment

Update: 2 shootings -- one fatal -- may be connected

PROVIDENCE -- A 20-year-old man died today after being found lying in the street just after noon at the corner of Hamilton and Congress Streets, suffering from several gunshot wounds, police said this afternoon.

Richard Perez, of Providence, was found about an hour after an 18-year-old man was shot several times on Sackett Street. He was pronounced dead at Rhode Island Hospital.

The earlier shooting victim, Neffi Crisostomo, of Balkan Street, is in stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital, according to police.

Police are exploring the possibility that the two shootings are connected. No more information was available at this time.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Richard Dujardin

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:58 PM | Comment

3 more farmers' markets open this week

The season for fresh, local fruits and vegetables is finally under way again in Southern New England.

From Noah Fulmer at Farm Fresh Rhode Island comes word that farmers' markets begin at three more locations this week:

-- Armory Park at the Cranston Armory, Parade St and Hudson St., Thursday 3 - 7 p.m.

-- Downtown Providence, Kennedy Plaza, Friday, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

-- Pawtucket, downtown at Broadway & Exchange St., Sunday, 12 - 3 p.m.

They join two that are already in full swing:

-- Wickenden Street, in the parking lot of Doyle Realty, Brook St and Alves Way, Tuesday, 2 - 6 p.m.

-- Hope High School, 324 Hope St., Saturday, 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.

More markets -- at least 27 in all -- are expected to open as the crops come in.

More information about the farms, current crops, "pick your own" fields and roadside stands is linked from that Farm Fresh homepage.

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 2:55 PM | Comment

Cicilline cancels Federal Hill dinner tour

PROVIDENCE -- Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline will not visit three Federal Hill restaurants later today as part of the Taste the Neighborhoods initiative.

The mayor issued a statement earlier today canceling his plans, citing the death of Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Michael Day, who passed away last night inside a Providence fire station.

Each month, the mayor invites the public to join him and his staff at a different neighborhood restaurant to support local businesses and to showcase dining establishments in Providence. The Federal Hill visit will be rescheduled.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:30 PM | Comment

Warwick man crushed by boat trailer

WARWICK _ A man was crushed and killed at his 38 Fuller St. home last night when his boat trailer pinned him to the driveway, the police said.

The police today say William H. Shoesmith, 34, was trying to fix a bolt on the trailer when it snapped and the trailer and his 24-foot powerboat fell on his head.

A police officer used a floor jack to free Shoesmith. He was then taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7 p.m. yesterday.

Posted by Peter Phipps at 1:45 PM | Comment

Deadline today for switching voter affiliation

PROVIDENCE – Today is the deadline for voters who want to change their affiliations to be eligible to vote in the Sept. 12 primary.

Under Rhode Island's hybrid primary system, independents -- also known as unaffiliated voters -- can vote in either the Republican or Democratic primaries. But registered Democrats and Republicans are allowed only to vote in their respective primaries.

Voters have until 4 p.m. to visit their local town or city halls and change their affiliation.

Read the latest story in the Journal for more background on the issue.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:29 PM | Comment

ACLU sues feds for gathering info on anti-war groups

WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in federal court today demanding more information about a Defense Department database that collected information on anti-war groups and U.S. citizens.

ACLU affiliates in Rhode Island, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Pennsylvania and Washington, along with more than two dozen activist groups, joined the lawsuit, which charges that the Pentagon is violating federal freedom of information laws by refusing to provide information on the database.

The lawsuit asks that the Defense Department turn over records it collected in its TALON database, a system developed by the Air Force in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as a way to collect information about possible terrorist threats.

Anti-war groups and other organizations, including a Quaker group - the American Friends Service Committee - protested after it became public that the military had monitored anti-war activities, organizations, and individuals who attended peace rallies.

"The U.S. military should not be in the business of maintaining secret databases about lawful First Amendment activities," said ACLU attorney Ben Wizner. "It is an abuse of power and an abuse of trust for the military to play any role in monitoring critics of administration policies."

Pentagon officials did an internal review of TALON - or the Threat and Local Observation Notice - and concluded that it was an important tool in counterterrorism investigations. The review also found that as many 260 reports were improperly collected or kept in the system.

At the time, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said there were about 13,000 entries in the database, and that less than 2 percent either were wrongly added or were not purged later when they were determined not to be real threats.

The ACLU lawsuit argues that the organizations and individuals monitored by the Pentagon have a right to know what information the military has collected about them.

"Spying on citizens for merely executing their constitutional rights of free speech and peaceful assembly is chilling and marks a troubling trend for the United States," said Joyce Miller, assistant general secretary for justice and human rights of the American Friends Service Committee. "These actions violate the rule of law and strike a severe blow against our Constitution."

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:29 PM | Comment

Armed robbery at Cumberland Domino's

CUMBERLAND – Detectives are searching this morning for two men who robbed the Domino’s Pizza at 250 Mendon Rd. armed with a hunting knife late last night, police detective William Wilkie said.

Although police canvassed the area in the moments after the robbery was reported, they were unable to locate the suspects, Wilkie said.

Wilkie said his department has not had any similar incidents recently, nor have they heard from surrounding departments about robberies with a hunting knife.

The manager at the small pizza delivery and pick-up location called 911 shortly after 11 p.m. last night to report the robbery, Wilkie said.

The man told the police two men in dark clothing with their faces covered – one of whom was brandishing a “large hunting knife” – walked into the building around closing time and demanded money, Wilkie said.

The business manager complied, handing the men an undetermined amount of money, Wilkie said.

The men fled on foot into the surrounding commercial area. Near the pizza business, there’s a Stop & Shop, another pizza place and a used car dealership, Wilkie said. Behind Domino’s is a wooded area and the Blackstone River, he said.

Anyone with any information about the robbery could call the police department at 333-2500 and ask to speak with detectives, Wilkie said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:28 AM | Comment

Updated: Providence Fire Department mourns first line-of-duty death in 29 years / Photo

Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Providence Fire Department Lt. Philip Payne tells about his colleague and friend, Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Michael Day, who died yesterday at the age of 49.

PROVIDENCE – The death of Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Michael J. Day, 49, who died while on the job in the downtown fire station last night, was the first line-of-duty death for the department since 1977, Assistant Chief of Administration Mark S. Pare said this morning.

The last Providence firefighter who died in the line of duty was Lt. William J. Moreland Jr., Pare said. Moreland, 48, was crushed to death on Dec. 13, 1977 when a ceiling collapsed on him and 15 other firefighters as they fought an arson fire in the What Cheer American Legion Post.

Day, who is survived by his wife and four children, was found in his office, unconscious and with no heartbeat by his coworkers at the Washington Street Fire House last night, firefighter union president Paul A. Doughty said.

According to Fire Chief David Costa, Day had gone to assist at the scene of a fire earlier yesterday evening, but he was not there very long.

This morning, Pare said the department does not believe there was any connection between that fire and Day’s death.

The department is reeling from Day’s death, Pare said.

The flag at the Providence Public Safety Complex has been lowered to half-staff in Day's honor.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:12 AM | Comment

LIN TV will be looking for a new chairman and CEO

PROVIDENCE-- LIN TV, which owns 30 television stations in 18 markets around the U.S. and Puerto Rico says it will soon launch a search to replace Gary R. Chapman.

Chapman, the company's CEO since 1994, will leave LIN July 10. The company says Vincent L. Sadusky, the company's vice president and chief financial officer, will run the company during the search for Chapman's replacement.

The company, in its statement, did not explain why Chapman was retiring as CEO, president and chairman.

Posted by Peter Phipps at 7:50 AM | Comment

Chance of showers today

PROVIDENCE – Expect a high of 77 degrees today with a slight chance of showers between 9 a.m. and noon and then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m.

Tomorrow, mariners should be prepared for high seas over the waters south and east of Nantucket -- remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto. The storm may track close enough to New England to bring up to 10-foot seas, which are dangerous for operators of small recreational boats. Winds may also gust to around 30 knots over the waters southeast of Nantucket.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:10 AM | Comment

Carcieri to lobby for homeland security aid in Washington

Governor Carcieri will argue for additional homeland security funding for Rhode Island when he meets with officials in Washington, D.C., later today.

The governor is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at a health information technology conference in the nation's capital tomorrow morning and decided to arrive a day early to meet with Department of Homeland Security officials, according to his spokesman Jeff Neal.

"He's wanted to meet with homeland security officials since May 31," Neal said, referring to the day Carcieri learned that Rhode Island's homeland security grants for 2007 had been cut in half.

This afternoon, the governor is scheduled to meet privately with DHS Security Under Secretary for Preparedness George Foresman, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Grants and Training Tracy Henke, and State and Local director Chet Lunner.

Carcieri plans to return to Rhode Island tomorrow after the conference.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:06 AM | Comment