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October 20, 2006

Season's last WaterFire tomorrow night

Journal files
People line South Water Street in Providence during an earlier WaterFire.

Here's how Lifebeat Weekend put it yesterday:

The final WaterFire of this season takes place Saturday, with the full lighting of the bonfires on the river beginning at sunset, which is at 5:56 p.m., creeping before 6 p.m. this time, marking the earlier nightfalls of fall and winter.

WaterFire is urban conceptual art, braziers fed wood by people in boats at night on three rivers. It's the brainchild of Providence artist Barnaby Evans, each "fire sculpture," as Evans calls it, sponsored by a different local group or business. They have been a regular part of Providence's mild Saturday nights since 1997. (Sometimes on a Friday, or midweek too.)

WaterFire is outdoors, and it is free.

If you've never seen it, head downtown to catch the "classic" version -- recorded music (usually classical in some culture) and fires on the river; walk over bridges, around the rivers, see street art, shadows, flickering lights, reflections, relax.

Nobody knows what it is, but it works.

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 6:50 PM | Comment

Providence man guilty in fatal car crash

A Providence man has been found guilty of two felonies for his part in a 2004 car crash that killed a North Providence high school student.

A Providence County jury convicted Jacob D. Bilodeau, of 16 Vinton St., this afternoon after deliberating for four hours. The trial spanned five days.

Bilodeau was found of guilty of driving to endanger, death resulting, and leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years on the first count and 15 years on the second.

Bilodeau called 911 after the July 2004 crash which took place on Route 295 in Smithfield. Prosecutors believe that Bilodeau caused the accident that claimed the life of 17-year-old Louis J. Salvatore.

Bilodeau’s sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 6:28 PM | Comment

RFK Jr. to keynote Brown Parents Weekend tonight

It's Parents Weekend at Brown, so expect to see folks craning their necks to look up at the architecture, and know that the restaurants will be crowded.

Among the scheduled events, in a few minutes Robert F. Kennedy Jr., parent of a Brown senior, is to deliver a keynote lecture titled, “A Contract with Our Future.”

Also interesting: The last WaterFire of the season takes place tomorrow night. More on that in a few minutes.

To see what else is going on in the area, here are our weekend Calendar listings, sorted by topic, and a list of restaurant reviews and menus going back to the turn of the century.

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 6:16 PM | Comment

Judge temporarily bars firing of 3 correctional officers

PROVIDENCE -- A superior court judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring state prison officials from firing three correctional officers accused of forcing an inmate to eat his own feces on Valentine’s Day.

The officers were scheduled to lose pay and benefits beginning tomorrow after receiving letters of termination last week.

Their union appealed the decision to federal court, which agreed to block the move temporarily, pending a full hearing scheduled for Oct. 30.

R.I. Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Fortunato Jr. said that the officers didn’t receive a fair termination hearing because they weren’t allowed to present witnesses on their behalf.

Capt. Gualter Botas, Lt. Kenneth J. Viveiros and Officer Ernesto Spaziano were arrested in May for assaulting five inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions. The criminal charges are still pending.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Tom Mooney

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 4:25 PM | Comment

Replacing spoiled vaccine may delay flu shots for some

PROVIDENCE -- The state Department of Health announced today that it has returned a shipment of 10,000 doses of flu vaccine because it was stored at the wrong temperature during shipping.

The total supply of the flu vaccine “remains plentiful,” according to the health department notice, but some Rhode Islanders may have to wait to be vaccinated until late November or early December when the replacement shipments are scheduled to arrive.

Overall, 500,000 doses of the flu vaccine purchased by the Centers for Disease Control were recently ruined when the company, Cardinal Health, didn’t store them at the proper temperature during shipping; 10,000 of the doses were headed to Rhode Island.

The state has distributed 6,000 new doses purchased from another supplier to local doctors, according to today’s announcement. But the lack of the CDC doses may force some Rhode Islanders to wait for their vaccine.

Flu season lasts through the end of March, according to the Health Department, which said that “it is not too late to get a flu shot at any time during the winter.”

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 4:10 PM | Comment

Woman missing after Bonnie Raitt concert returns

Jessica Anne McGuirk, the Millville, Mass. woman who disappeared while attending a Bonnie Raitt concert three days ago has been found.

The Providence Police today said her family knows where she is, and the police are no longer looking for her.

According to the police, McGuirk, walked out of Tuesday's concert at the Providence Performing Arts Center, has since been spotted in Warwick.

"We did an investigation and found she left of her own and she’s been seen since then,” Providence Police Maj. Stephen Campbell said this afternoon.

McGuirk was spotted at an Exxon gas station near T.F. Green airport around 2:30 p.m. yesterday, according to Warwick Police Col. Stephen McCartney.

Earlier that day, McGuirk may have placed a 911 call from DB Mart on Post Road in Warwick, McCartney added.

Campbell said the Providence Police have spoken with several witnesses who saw McGuirk walk out of the PPAC Tuesday evening. After she left, Campbell said a Providence police officer “made contact with her.”

“She expressed a desire to go to her home in Massachusetts. [The officer] gave her some assistance in that, but she didn’t go home,” Campbell said. Since that time, police have not made direct contact with McGuirk.

He added that a third person has been in contact with McGuirk since her disappearance, but would not elaborate on who that person is.

McGuirk, 29, had gone to the concert with her husband, Patrick, and two friends.

Patrick J. McGuirk, a Smithfield dentist, told the police he and his wife had argued briefly toward the beginning of the concert. At about 8:30 p.m., Jessica McGuirk got up from her seat and never returned.

Her husband filed a missing person’s report with the Providence police the next day.

Jessica McGuirk, who has two young children, works as an emergency room nurse at Sturdy Memorial Hospital.

-- Journal staff writer Peter Phipps

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 3:46 PM | Comment

Lynch, Harsch to debate on WPRO this afternoon

EAST PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick Lynch and his Republican opponent, J. William W. Harsch, will face off this afternoon in a live radio debate likely to touch on The Station nightclub fire of 2003.

Democrat Lynch was criticized by some, including Harsch, for his handling of the prosecutions stemming from the state’s worst nightclub tragedy, especially that of club co-owners Michael and Jeffrey Derderian. Both recently pleaded no contest to manslaughter charges.

WPRO’s Dan Yorke will host the "no rules" debate, scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

The candidates are scheduled to debate twice more before the Nov. 7 election: Oct. 22 on television station WPRI (Channel 12), and Nov. 5 on television station WJAR (Channel 10).

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 3:28 PM | Comment

Carcieri, Fogarty spar over spending cap, education, corruption

LINCOLN -- Republican Governor Carcieri and Democratic challenger Charles Fogarty clashed over spending limits, education funding and corruption scandals during a debate today.

Speaking before the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, Carcieri touted his credentials as a former CEO of Cookson America. He described himself as a governor who holds at bay a Democrat-dominated General Assembly he frequently calls corrupt.

"This state has suffered for so long from a bunch of insiders who constructed a system just to benefit themselves, take care of themselves," he said.

Fogarty criticized Carcieri for backing a tax cut for the richest Rhode Islanders while authorities raised tuition rates at the state's colleges and universities and the ranks of those without health insurance grew.

"That doesn't make sense. It's poor public policy," Fogarty said. "Governor, you're out of touch on that issue."

With two weeks before the election, Carcieri stuck to his anti-corruption platform while Fogarty faulted Carcieri for policies that he says hurt the poor, the lower middle class and the state's cities, reliable Democratic bastions.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 2:50 PM | Comment

Witness testifies to alcohol, drug use with former councilman

PROVIDENCE _ The man whom former East Providence City Councilman Gerald R. Lynch is accused of sexually assaulting as a boy testified that he drank liquor with Lynch and also smoked marijuana before several of the assaults occurred.

The witness, now 37, offered the testimony this morning in Superior Court, where Lynch is being tried on nine counts of sexual assault.

The prosecution says the alleged sexual assaults occurred in 1982, 1983 and 1984, when the witness was an employee of the flower shop Lynch owned with his wife on Newport Avenue in Pawtucket.

Lynch’s wife Jane worked at the flower shop part-time, usually arriving at mid-morning and leaving between 3:30 and 4 p.m., said the witness, whose name is being withheld because of the nature of the charges.

When his wife left, Lynch would drink vodka martinis, the witness testified, sharing the vodka with him although he was only 13.

A year later, the witness testified, he started smoking marijuana with Lynch, at first bringing it from school, where he bought it; eventually growing it with Lynch in a greenhouse behind the flower shop.

The flower shop was seized by a creditor in 1996, after Lynch filed for bankruptcy.

-- John Castellucci, Journal staff writer

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 2:06 PM | Comment

3 ACI officers seek temporary hold on dismissals

PROVIDENCE – Three correctional officers at the Adult Correctional Institutions facing termination by their employer as of tomorrow are in court today seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the dismissals.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Fortunato has ordered both sides back to his courtroom at 2 p.m. today, following arguments in court this morning, according to Richard Ferruccio, president of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, the union that represents the three correctional officers.

The three -- Capt. Gualter Botas, 38, of 186 School St., Pawtucket; Lt. Kenneth J. Viveiros, 54, of 211 Woonasquatucket Ave., North Providence; and Officer Ernest Spaziano, 38, of 50 Whipple Rd., Burrillville – were fired by ACI Director A.T. Wall after an internal administrative hearing found "numerous violations of departmental policy," ACI officials said earlier this week.

Multiple assault charges by the state police are pending against the three in District Court in Providence.

Today, Ferruccio said the union believes the three deserve to have those charges handled in court before Wall makes a decision about the officers’ employment status.

"The brotherhood’s position is that they should have the same opportunity for due process that’s granted to every inmate behind the walls of the ACI," Ferruccio said. “And they, unfortunately, haven’t had that."

-- Kate Bramson, projo.com staff writer

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 12:18 PM | Comment

RV show motors into Providence

About 8,000 people are expected to attend the Rhode Island RV/Camping Show, which starts this afternoon at the Rhode Island Visitor and Convention Center and continues through Sunday.

The show will feature more than 40 different recreational-vehicle makes and models, covering everything from pop-up camping trailers to luxury motor homes and RV accessories, according to its organizers. Attendees can also learn about insurance and finance options and find out more about East Coast campgrounds.

The show runs from 1 to 9 p.m. today, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for children from 12 to 17 and free for those under 11. Seniors can get in for $5 today only. Tomorrow night is date night with 2-for-1 admission after 6 p.m.

The show's Web site: http://www.macevents.com/show.cfm?eventID=118

-- Jack Perry, projo.com staff writer

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 11:33 AM | Comment

Keith Urban cancels casino show tonight

Tonight’s Keith Urban show at the Mohegan Sun casino has been canceled due to illness. No new date has been announced. If you have tickets, you can get refunds at the same place you bought them.

-- Journal staff writer Rick Massimo

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 11:27 AM | Comment

PC students to live like the homeless tonight

Some Providence College students are planning to sleep outside tonight, in cardboard shelters they’ll create on campus this afternoon, wearing just the clothes on their backs.

They’ll only eat whatever food passers-by might be willing to give them.

As a small group has done for the past two years, they’re hoping to raise awareness of the realities of homelessness, said PC junior Kevin Moore, the president of the school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter.

He hopes to see 25 students at an event that has drawn about 10 each of the last two years.

“It’s always a meaningful event for those who participate, and the larger number of people we have, the more impact it has on those just passing by,” he said. “It wouldn’t be realistic to think it would give you an insight into what it would be like to be homeless because we’re on a secure campus, we have bathrooms if we need them, shelter’s only a few feet away, but it does allow the campus to become a little more aware of the issues of homelessness and the need for affordable housing.”

In a new turn this year, the group of students will also build wooden planters, starting at 4 p.m. on the Slavin Center Lawn on campus. They’ll donate those to the South Side Community Land Trust, which plans to give them as gifts to people moving into a small cluster of affordable houses being built on the south side of Providence, Moore said.

The campus chapter of Habitat – with about 100 active members – works to build local homes with the Providence affiliate. Students build about once a month. They also travel on spring break to other projects and take summer trips. Last spring break, 72 students worked on eight different projects, and last summer about 15 people went to Bridgeport, Conn., Moore said.

By Kate Bramson, projo.com staff writer

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 11:19 AM | Comment

Forecast: Rain today, windy tonight, cool sunny weekend

PROVIDENCE – Strong to potentially damaging west winds may move through the area later today and through the evening.

The National Weather Service predicts the winds may develop just behind a strong cold front that should move quickly through the Connecticut Valley this afternoon and over to the Cape and Islands by early this evening.

Once the cold front passes, west winds are expected to increase to 25 to 30 miles per hour, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour possible. Such strong winds are capable of knocking down trees and power lines and damaging property, the weather service cautions.

If the weather service upgrades its current high wind watch to a high wind warming, the service advises people to stay indoors and away from windows.

Meanwhile, this morning’s drizzly, gloomy weather has only gotten worse in the past few hours. The rain should continue throughout the day, with perhaps some thunder in the mix as well.

We should see a high of about 65 today.

As for the weekend, it’s still predicted to be a dry one, with sunshine and a high of 59 on Saturday and some clouds and a high of 58 on Sunday.

Rain showers could return as we head back to work on Monday morning.

-- Kate Bramson, projo.com staff writer

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 11:09 AM | Comment