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September 22, 2006

Update: Carcieri sides with Landmark in Blue Cross debate

Taking sides in a longstanding contract dispute, Governor Carcieri has accused Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island of unfair negotiations with Landmark Medical Center and urged the insurer to pay more money to the Woonsocket hospital.

But Blue Cross replied today that Landmark merely wants the insurer to cover $5.6 million in losses from the hospital’s new cardiac-surgery program, which Blue Cross asserted has not attracted as many patients as expected.

Hospital president Gary Gaube called that assertion “absolutely false.” He said he didn’t know where the $5.6 million figure came from. The heart program, Gaube said, had met every volume target and has not lost any more money than would be expected from a start-up.

The governor’s involvement in insurer-hospital negotiations — typically a private, if contentious, matter — is unusual and probably unprecedented.

But Carcieri said in an interview today that he felt he should step in to encourage more cooperation from Blue Cross in what the governor described as a David-and-Goliath battle between a struggling community hospital and a wealthy insurer that dominates the market.

“I’m not trying to negotiate the deal,” Carcieri said. “All I’m saying is that Blue Cross has an extra special obligation. They’re not for profit. They’re the dominant insurer in the market. This is a small community hospital in a very vulnerable area ….and Blue Cross has a little extra responsibility to work with them and keep them healthy.”

Landmark and Blue Cross have been in negotiations since February over the rates that Blue Cross will pay the hospital for services provided to its members. All Blue Cross contracts with Landmark expire at the end of this month.

-- Journal medical writer Felice J. Freyer

Although it is common for insurers and hospitals to have contentious negotiations, Landmark took the unusual step of going public with the disagreement, even organizing a rally outside Blue Cross headquarters. It also asked the governor to intervene.

Carcieri wrote to Blue Cross yesterday and made his letter public today. Carcieri accused the insurer of being "unwilling to provide Landmark with a fair contract" and urged Blue Cross to "immediately resolve" the dispute.

James E. Purcell, president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross, declined a request for an interview, but made public the letter he sent the governor today.

Purcell asserted that Blue Cross had already “offered Landmark a healthy fee increase for 2007 and 2008” -- and one that, according to Purcell, Landmark officials considered acceptable.

Earlier today, Landmark president Gary Gaube said today that Blue Cross pays less than any of the other health insurers that the hospital deals with, and insures the highest percentage of the hospital's customers, 35 percent.

He said Blue Cross had used its market dominance to take a “take-it-or-leave-it” stance. Gaube said that Landmark's importance to Blue Cross members in northern Rhode Island wasn't giving the hospital any leverage with the insurer. He said Blue Cross plans to transition them to other hospitals.

-- Journal medical writer Felice J. Freyer

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:29 PM | Comment

Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts today at sundown and ends 48 hours later at sundown on Sunday.

While there are few similarities between the Jewish holiday and the parties that often characterize the American New Year, some Jews do use the holy period as an opportunity to plan for positive changes or make resolutions.

Jewish tradition bars work on Rosh Hashanah.

To celebrate, many people eat honey-dipped apples, a symbol of a wish for a sweet new year. Another popular practice is Tashlikh, where Jews walk to flowing water on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets (full of pieces of bread), symbolically casting off their sins.

The next major Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Attonement, is Oct. 2.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:56 PM | Comment

New Haven man charged in R.I. bank robberies

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- A Connecticut man with a lengthy criminal record has been accused of the hit-and-run robbery of at least two banks in Rhode Island.

Marcus A. Trimble, 29, of New Haven, was charged in District Court this morning with two counts of second-degree robbery. He is expected to be charged in a Providence robbery Monday.

The police say Trimble would exit Route 95, write a threatening note, rob a bank and then get back on the highway and return to New Haven.

Trimble was picked up by New Haven police late Thursday as a fugitive from justice following a brief foot chase, said Westerly Detective Sgt. Ed St.Clair. Sources, including an ex-girlfriend, tipped the three police departments off about his identity early this month, police said.

Police link Trimble to the Aug. 3 robbery of the Washington Trust Co. branch at 1200 Main St. in Richmond and the robbery of the Westerly Community Credit Union on Granite St. in Westerly Aug. 28. In each, the suspect handed the teller a note saying she would be killed if she didn’t turn over the money. No weapons were shown, police say.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

"It was a crime of convenience. He got off Exite 3 thinking about how he had no money and was going to be evicted and there was a bank in front of him,’’ said Richmond Police Chief Raymond Driscoll. Police said he took $2,966 from that bank.

Trimble was taken to ACI because he was unable to make the $100,000 surety bail set by Judge Frank J. Cenerini.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:52 PM | Comment

American Idols take the stage at the Dunk tonight

PROVIDENCE -- The idols are coming.

The Dunkin' Donuts Center will host the American Idols Live Tour 2006 tonight, featuring the top 10 finishers from this season's super-popular TV reality show.

But unless you already have a ticket, don't get too excited. The show is essentially sold out -- except for some available through ticket brokers.

Tonight's 7 p.m. concert is scheduled to feature the top American Idol, Taylor Hicks, in addition to Ace Young, Bucky Covington, Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Lisa Tucker, Mandisa and Paris Bennett.

Driving in? Leave extra time. You can expect downtown streets to be snarled before and after the show. Parking along streets adjacent to the Dunk has already been restricted.

Come back tomorrow to projo.com and The Journal, where you'll find staff writer Rick Massimo's review of the evening -- and add your own.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:45 PM | Comment

Sen. McCain coming to R.I. for Chafee

PROVIDENCE -- Likely 2008 presidential candidate John McCain is planning to visit Rhode Island next month on behalf of U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

The Arizona senator is scheduled to appear at a campaign luncheon for fellow Republican Chafee in the Hotel Providence Oct. 4.

Like Chafee, McCain is among a small group of moderate senators known as the "Gang of 14" which helped avoid a filibuster during the debate over President Bush's Supreme Court nomination Samuel Alito.

The incumbent Chafee is facing Democratic candidate Sheldon Whitehouse in November's general election.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:31 PM | Comment

Church group: Hope comes from God, not jackpots / Photo

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
From left, Marie Bouvier-Newman, president of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches; Nancy Bancroft, South Kingstown, president of American Baptist Church of Rhode Island, and Rev. Matthew Kai, pastor, Tabernacle Baptist Church West Side, Providence, and vice president of RISCC, spoke at the press conference at Prospect Park. A statue of Rhode Island founder Roger Williams is at the rear.

PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island State Council of Churches signed on this morning as the newest member of Save Our State, the coalition opposing the Harrah's-Narragansett Indian casino proposal.

"We have not come to make a political statement, but rather, a theological statement," said the Rev. Donald Anderson, pastor of the First Baptist Church-East Greenwich and vice president of the council of churches. "In the tradition of the prophets of old, we have come to speak a word from God against great evils of our day."

As the backdrop to the press conference, the council of churches chose Prospect Park, in front of a giant statue of Roger Williams, who founded the city after being banished from Massachusetts due to his religious tenets.

The location wasn't coincidental. Those who spoke noted the city's name, and the presence of the word "hope" on the state seal and flag. People should rest secure in hope and providence that come from God, not from the possibility of taking home a jackpot, they said.

"Greed, which motivates gambling, is strongly condemned by biblical ethics as contrary to trusting God for our daily bread," Marie Bouvier-Newman, president of the council of churches, said. "For too many of our fellow citizens, the ever-so-slim possibility of sudden material gain becomes the primary plan for their lives, and their best hope, they think, for the future."

The council of churches is an ecumenical body representing 11 Protestant denominations, 4 affiliated church organizations and 8 Orthodox denominations and congregations.

-- Journal staff writer Elizabeth Gudrais

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:59 PM | Comment

R.I. wolf hybrids not among pack that escaped in N.H.

A pair of wolf hybrids taken from URI President Robert L. Carothers' property last month weren't among the seven animals that escaped from a new Hampshire sanctuary this week, prompting neighbors to keep guns nearby for protection.

Two of the hybrids taken from Carothers' property, Cotton, 1, and Gabe, 5, remain under quarantine at the South Kingstown pound and are awaiting transfer to Dancing Brooke Lodge in New Hampshire ``sometime next week,'' said AnnMarie Biegner, pound manager.

Carothers' son Matthew brought three wolf hybrids, or wolf dogs, to Rhode Island from Alabama, but the state Department of Environmental Management ordered them removed from his care last month because it is illegal to keep them in the state without a permit.

One of the animals was euthanized.

In New Hampshire, one of the seven wolf hybrids that escaped from Dancing Brooke Lodge has already returned on its own. Some have been spotted in neighbors' yards. Concerned for their pets and kids, neighbors have guns ready and professional trappers were trying to capture the hybrids.

Read a full Associated Press story out of New Hampshire.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney and the Associated Press.

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:54 PM | Comment

APC to cut another 330 jobs

American Power Conversion Corp. American Power Conversion Corp. announced this afternoon that it plans to cut 330 jobs, or 4 percent of its global workforce.

This is the second major round of layoffs announced this year by the West Kingston-based technology manufacturer.

In June, the company cut 66 positions in Rhode Island and 200 to 250 positions in Ireland. Over the past year, the company has struggled with high operating costs and income losses and Rodger Dowdell, its former chief executive officer, retired in August.

APC said this year's cuts, including the ones announced today, will save the company $32 million annually. The company's stock was up 21 cents at around 2 p.m. today, trading at $21.51 a share.

-- Journal staff writer Andrea L. Stape

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:15 PM | Comment

Hollywood comes to Providence

PROVIDENCE – You can catch a taste of Hollywood today outside City Hall and at Kennedy Plaza, as the CBS series Waterfront gears up for filming this afternoon.

They're filming this afternoon and will continue until dusk, according to Jenny Peek, the city's film manager in the Department of Art, Culture & Tourism.

Then, they’ll move over near the Convention Center for additional shooting, she said.

Although Peek said bystanders may be asked to step to the side to stay out of the shoot, there are plenty of opportunities to watch the action. No streets will be closed, and there will just be “intermittent traffic control,” she said.

Monday, the crew will be back inside City Hall. That means the oversized trucks will be lined up once again near the Rhode Island Foundation.

The series stars Joe Pantoliano, as the charismatic but sometimes shady Mayor Jimmy Centrella, and William Baldwin as an ambitious attorney general. Waterfront was picked up by CBS as a midseason replacement and should air early next year.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:55 PM | Comment

Hasbro issues toy recall following two child deaths

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Hasbro Inc., the nation's second-largest toy maker, issued a voluntary recall today on part of a toy workbench set after two children apparently suffocated to death on oversized plastic toy nails, company officials said.

Chief Executive Al Verrecchia said the recall applies to two plastic nails included in the Playskool Team Talkin' Tool Bench, which has sold about 255,000 sets in the last year.

The toy company learned in February about the death of a 19-month-old boy from Martinsburg, W.V., who apparently choked on at least one 3-inch-long plastic nail, Verrecchia said.

-- The Associated Press

Last week, the company learned it was named in a civil lawsuit prompted by the death of a 2-year-old boy from League City, Texas, who also allegedly choked on a toy nail.

"As soon as we heard that, we made the decision to get the product back and find out what's going on," Verrecchia said.

The toy workbench is designed for children three years and older, company officials said. Both victims were younger than that.

Verrecchia said the nail, which is more than an inch wide, meets federal safety guidelines.

Consumers who return the plastic nails will receive a $50 gift certificate for Hasbro products. Verrecchia said consumers can also claim a gift certificate for returning toy plastic screws in the set, although those parts have not been blamed for any deaths and are not part of the recall.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:53 AM | Comment

Law professor says secrecy bred controversy over plea

A law professor at Roger Williams University says the controversy swirling around the Derderians' plea agreement highlights the downside of negotiating deals in secret.

The plea agreement with Michael and Jeffrey Derderian in The Station nightclub fire case was negotiated between the defense and the prosecution and in chambers with the judge.

Indeed, the vast majority of Superior Court cases end with a plea agreement, said David M. Zlotnick, a professor at the Ralph R. Papitto School of Law at Roger Williams University.

It can be an efficient way to bring cases to closure. But there’s a downside, and Rhode Island is witnessing that right now, Zlotnick said today.

“Now the danger is: People are saying, ‘I didn’t say that,’ ‘I didn’t mean that,’” he said. “That’s the downside of allowing an informal system with judge participation. The downside is that sometimes people disagree about what happened in chambers and there’s no court reporter in chambers and we don’t know what happened.”

That wouldn’t have happened if this were a federal court case, Zlotnick said, because federal judges are not permitted to engage in plea-bargaining in closed chambers.

“I was a federal prosecutor. Not once in my career was I ever in a backroom with a judge deciding what would happen later,” Zlotnick said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:50 AM | Comment

Volunteers picking corn today for the Food Bank

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Students from The Met School and Johnson & Wales University will be picking corn today at the University of Rhode Island for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

In partnership with the food bank, URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences planted five acres of corn and squash at its Agricultural Experiment Station in Kingston.

Rosie Connors, the food bank’s director of development and communications, called the planting and the harvest: “a perfect project."

Last Saturday, volunteers picked more than 10,000 pounds of corn.

“It’s a very meaningful donation,” she said. “This is a lot of food, a lot of great, nutritious, fresh food.”

And while fresh food is a little more difficult for the food bank to manage and distribute – the food bank is thrilled to have it, Connors said.

“Fresh produce is a delight,” she said.

The corn and squash was planted in stages so that it could be harvested in stages.

The food bank is looking for volunteers to harvest the squash next week. Anyone interested in helping, Connors said, can contact Kirsten French at the food bank, at 942-6325, ext. 212.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:50 AM | Comment

R.I. delegation sees troops training in Mississippi

A delegation of 35 Rhode Islanders from 30 businesses and groups are at Camp Shelby this morning to watch the training of 150 Rhode Islanders in the National Guard who will be deployed to Iraq in the next week.

The trip, sponsored by the Rhode Island Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves, was organized to help employers understand the mission of their workers who have been called up and to seek their support.

Among the businesses and organizations represented on the trip are American Power Conversion Corp., Toray Plastics, Lincoln Environmental, Ocean State Harley, the Providence Fire Department and the Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.

Posted by at 7:47 AM | Comment

Cape fisherman: Are seals eating all the fish?

CHATHAM, Mass. -- A Chatham fisherman is seeking support for an official study of the gray seal population in Cape Cod waters to see if, as he suspects, their numbers are having a negative effect on local fish stocks.

Paul Bremser believes the seal population on Chatham's Monomoy Island and South Beach shores has been depleting cod, haddock and flounder, among other species.

Gray seals, 600- to 1,000-pound animals with distinctive horse-like heads, are protected under the federal 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Bremser said he wants federal regulatory officials to do a study of the seals, he told the Cape Cod Times for a story published today.

Read the full Associated Press story

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:41 AM | Comment

A summery day on the last day of summer

The National Weather Service forecasts a mostly sunny day with a high near 69 degrees on the last day of summer, but warns of high seas on the coast late tonight and into the weekend.

The weather service has issued a high surf advisory from 10 p.m. tonight until 6 a.m. tomorrow for the Rhode Island and Massachusetts south coasts, including Cape Cod and the islands.

The advisory could extend further into the weekend as southwest winds could build seas to 10 feet and generate rip currents, the weather service says.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment