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August 1, 2006

Update: 'Cooling centers' opening around the state

PROVIDENCE -- With an "excessive heat warning" in effect into tomorrow evening, more emergency shelters are being opened around the state for those who need a refuge from the high temperatures.

So-called "cooling centers" have been established in 31 of Rhode Island's cities and towns, Governor Carcieri's office said early this evening, with some communities hosting more than one.

They range from libraries and senior centers to the ice rink in Smithfield. Many of them will be open until late this evening.

They are being staffed by American Red Cross of Rhode Island volunteers, according to spokeswoman Angie Moncada. She also expects the centers to be open tomorrow, when the temperatures in the current heat wave are expected to reach their peak.

Click here for the full list of centers and their hours of operation.

The governor has also ordered free admission at all state beaches, and at Carcieri's request, National Grid has agreed not to shut off power to any customers through tomorrow.

Get the latest weather conditions and forecasts here ...

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:51 PM | Comment

Today's temperature soars to 97, a new record

A record high temperature for today's date was set for Providence when the mercury hit 97 degrees shortly before 1 p.m.

The old record was 96 degrees, set in 1995, said National Weather Service meteorologist Kim Buttrick in Taunton, Mass. And while the weather service describes this as being set "at Providence," the temperatures are actually recorded at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick.

With temperatures expected to approach or exceed 100 degrees tomorrow, the Weather Service continued its excessive heat warning for southern New England.

The Weather Service called this heat wave "an extreme event'' with potentially life-threatening consequences for elderly, children and disabled people and those who work outdoors between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day.

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:33 PM | Comment

Red Sox' captain, Jason Varitek, to undergo knee surgery

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox found out in the last hour that they will be without their captain, catcher Jason Varitek, for at least one month because of a torn miniscus in his left knee, suffered in Monday night's game against the Cleveland Indians.

Varitek's injury comes on the heels of a biceps strain suffered by right fielder Trot Nixon, which is expected to sideline him for as long as a month.

Read more on the Red Sox blog.

-- SEAN McADAM

Posted by Art at 6:20 PM | Comment

Photo: Run, paddle, run

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
Megan Falkenberry of Narragansett Town Beach, Aly Zalewski of Easton's Beach, Newport, and Christine Pfeifer of Riis Park, New York, carry their rescue paddle boards as they get ready to start the "run, paddle, run" in an annual lifeguard competition held today at Easton's Beach, Newport.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:54 PM | Comment

I-195 bridge will sail up Bay to final home this month

PROVIDENCE – The new Providence River Bridge is expected to sail up Narragansett Bay and into Providence on Aug. 23, as long as the weather is right.

The state Department of Transportation today announced plans for bringing what they call the “signature structure” for the Interstate 195 relocation project to the capital city.

It should be quite a sight. The DOT is recommending several public viewing areas: Conimicut Point Park in Warwick, Colt State Park in Bristol and Crescent Park or the East Bay Bike Path Overlook, both in East Providence.

State engineers plan to haul the structure from Quonset Point/Davisville in North Kingstown up Narragansett Bay using two barges. The center part of the bridge, which was largely assembled in Quonset, is 164 feet wide, 400 feet long and 80 feet high.

The DOT will hold a kickoff press event on Aug. 11 and begin moving the bridge into place on Aug. 12. As long as water and wind conditions are right, the bridge will then leave Quonset around 5 or 6 a.m. on Aug. 23 and travel five to six hours into Providence, according to spokeswoman Heidi Cote.

“We are truly excited to see an engineering marvel of this magnitude travel up Narragansett Bay and hope that all Rhode Islanders will have the opportunity to share in this excitement as well,” said RIDOT Director James R. Capaldi in a news release today.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 4:37 PM | Comment

Crossroads says homeless could be targets

Crossroads Rhode Island officials today said a small group of men have attacked five or six homeless people over the last few days.

“They’re saying, ‘We’re looking for homeless people,’” Crossroads Director of Social Services Russell Partridge said this afternoon.

One homeless man, William Spencer, his left wrist in a cast, and his left eye bruised and blackened, said he was attacked around 3 p.m. Saturday.

Spencer said that three men, around 18- to 20-years-old, approached him at a bus stop on Broad Street and asked for a light.

“All I remember is reaching for my lighter in my right front pocket and waking up in intensive care at Roger Williams Hospital,” he said this afternoon.

Alan Neville, Crossroads’ vice president of marketing and development said it seems the men are beating people up “for the sport.”

Spencer said he doesn’t know if he was a target because he’s homeless – or just an easy mark.

He said the men crushed his left wrist, broke three of his ribs, broke his nose and have left him unable to see out of his left eye. He said he'll need an operation to fix his wrist. .

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:25 PM | Comment

Photo: Who cares if Brady's a bit sweaty?

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Alexa Albanese, 11, of Johnston, reaches out to get New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady's autograph folllowing today's training camp session. For reports from the camp, check out Journal sportswriter Tom Curran's PatsBlog.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:35 PM | Comment

Power grid operator to consumers: Please conserve

The company that operates New England's power grid has asked consumers to cut back on electricity usage as the hot weather pushes demand for power close to record levels.

ISO New England, based in Holyoke, Mass., said this afternoon that power resources should be adequate, but "supplies could be tight." The nonprofit company said it is requesting consumers to conserve electricity as a "prudent, precautionary measure to help keep supply and demand in balance during this high heat and humidity."

Hot weather puts extra stress on the regional power grid because of greater demand for air conditioning. According to ISO's Web site, power conditions were normal at 1:30 p.m.

ISO New England suggests reducing electricity use, especially during the hours of peak demand -- 1 to 8 p.m. -- by raising air conditioning thermostats to 74 degrees to 78 degrees, if health permits; turning off uneeded lights, appliances and office equipment; and delaying laundry and other chores that require electricity to the evening.

New England's energy usage is expected to break a new record tomorrow. The ISO is forecasting that demand will reach 28,030 megawatts. That would break the previous record set two weeks ago on July 18, when usage reached 27,395 megawatts.

More information and tips for managing electricity use year round are available at www.takecharge-ne.org.

Posted by Tim Barmann at 1:31 PM | Comment

Gavel to fall in new Kent County court today

WARWICK -- Judges to hear the first cases in the new Kent County Court House this afternoon.

The old court house closed last week. The new venue is next door on Quaker Lane. A broad, four-story 197,000-square-foot building with a glass facade, the new building opened to the public this morning without any hitches, said court spokeswoman Lisa Dinerman.

The court house serves Coventry, East Greenwich, Warwick, West Warwick, and West Greenwich. Cranston, Johnston, and North Providence will change jurisdiction and move to Kent to relieve congestion at Providence's J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex.

The courthouse will be the site of the trials of Station nightclub owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian. Michael Derderian's trial was delayed several weeks to allow for some extra time to get the court house ready. It is scheduled to begin Sept. 5.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:10 PM | Comment

Derderian seeks to ban testimony on club capacity

PROVIDENCE -- Lawyers for one of the owners of The Station nightclub are trying to keep witnesses from testifying about the number of people who were in the building on the night a fire killed 100 people there, according to motions released by the court this morning.

Prosecutors say they plan to prove that 458 people were at the West Warwick club on Feb. 20, 2003, and that the West Warwick building was packed beyond capacity.

But defense lawyers say they're willing to stipulate to the number of people in the club. They say it'd be a waste of time for prosecutors to prove that 458 people were present.

The defense also wants to prevent witnesses from estimating the crowd size at earlier concerts at the club, where the fire was ignited by pyrotechnics set off by the band Great White.

A hearing on the requests is scheduled for tomorrow. Derderian's trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 5.

For more background, read the story in today's Journal.

-- Staff and wire reports

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:36 PM | Comment

Town of Foster joins pilot for wireless Internet

FOSTER -- A Providence company announced today that it will include Foster in a pilot program testing wireless Internet capabilities for the entire community.

The company, Business Innovation Factory, has already started such programs in Providence and Newport.

"Supporting the extension of the [pilot program] into Foster will not only speed up our efforts to make Rhode Island the first sate in the country with a border-to-border broadband mobile network, it creates an opportunity to bring infrastructure into a rural community where this kind of technology is not available," Governor Carcieri said in a statement.

The state provided $200,000 for the purchase and installation of a base station -- roughly the size of a mini-fridge -- in Foster that broadcasts the wireless signal.

All Foster Internet users will likely have access to the wireless network in four to six months.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:42 AM | Comment

Narragansett man found dead on his boat

NARRAGANSETT -- A Narragansett man was found dead last night aboard his sport fishing boat, state authorities said this morning.

William H. Carr, 47, of 14 Perriwinkle Road, was found by his 10-year-old son, who rode his bike to the dock in Galilee when his father hadn't returned home when expected, said Steven Hall, chief of the division of law enforcement for the state Department of Environmental Management.

Hall doesn't believe the death is suspicious, but the state medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy today to determine a cause of death.

Carr was last seen yesterday at about 11 a.m., when he went to a nearby marina to buy some parts for his boat, the 42-foot "Ashley."

The local fire department pronounced him dead at about 6:30, Hall said.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 9:05 AM | Comment

Providence heat index could hit 105

PROVIDENCE -- Today's high temperature will be "right around 96" degrees, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson.

So it wouldn't surprise him if the record for the hottest day in the Providence area was broken today -- it currently stands at 96 degrees, set back in 1995.

"I certainly wouldn’t discount it," Simpson said this morning of the possibility of a new record, adding that today's heat index will be around 105. The heat index factors in humidity. It's sort of like the wind-chill temperature, in reverse.

Tomorrow's high temp could break 100, he said, though it won't likely surpass the record high of 104 degrees, set in 1975.

"Usually to get to 104 you need a west wind with dew points not so high," he said. "But with heat indices of 110, that's pretty bad."

-- Steve Peoples, projo.com staff writer

Posted by Steve Peoples at 8:14 AM | Comment

Ozone alert issued for today

PROVIDENCE -- It may hurt to breathe outside today, according to the state Department of Environmental Management, which has issued an ozone alert for today as temperatures are expected to climb well into the 90s.

It "warns that unhealthy levels of ozone can cause throat irritation, coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, and aggravation of asthma," according to a statement urging people to stay in air-conditioned environments today.

All RIPTA routes will be free throughout the day to encourage people to avoid walking outside and not to drive their cars.

Governor Carcieri has ordered all state beaches to be free today and has asked each community to designate at least one public air-conditioned facility to stay open late serving as a "cool center."

DEM regularly issues updates on the state's air quality.

More weather information to come ...

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:02 AM | Comment