« June 7, 2007 | Today | June 11, 2007 »

June 8, 2007

A partial WaterFire will glow tonight

PROVIDENCE -- A partial WaterFire is scheduled for tonight around sunset, which is at 8:19 p.m.

The partial lighting will run from the basin to Steeple Street.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:54 PM | Comment

Update: House committee unveils state budget

PROVIDENCE -- The House Finance Committee today approved a 2007-08 spending plan that restores funding to many social services, allows some of Governor Carcieri’s cuts to remain and goes even deeper in some places.

Education aid to cities and towns has been completely frozen at this year’s levels, as assembly leaders suggested that municipalities return to local teacher’s unions to shoulder a larger burden of the state’s financial hardship. The governor’s budget plan, released in February, suggested a blanket 3 percent increase.

“This has been a very, very difficult year,” Finance Committee chairman Steven M. Costantino, D-Providence, said at the end of a frantic two-hour meeting in which the panel raced through 43 budget articles with little or no debate. “I don’t believe any of us are really 100 percent happy about what we had to do.”

The budget proposal -- which is subject to approval by the full House next Friday -- amends the tax code to close a number of perceived “corporate loopholes” and freezes the phase-out of the capital gains tax, a move that poverty groups had been advocating for years.

The legislative spending plan will cost state and federal taxpayers $6.99 billion and amounts to a 4.8 percent increase in spending compared to this year.

The budget essentially ignores the governor’s call a day earlier to lay off 1,000 state employees, freeze union-negotiated pay increases, and privatize virtually every state service possible.

Governor Carcieri' s office issued a statement saying he was "gravely disappointed" in the House Finance Committee's proposal.

“This budget is bad for local schools, bad for taxpayers, bad for business and bad for the future of our children and grandchildren," Carcieri said in the statement.

Included in the budget proposal are:

* "Level funding" the total amount of education aid to cities and towns, which means eliminating the 3 percent education-aid increase across the board that Carcieri's budget had called for.

* Allowing Sunday auto sales starting July 1 from noon to 6 p.m., which is expected to increase revenue to the state, but it was not yet clear how much.

* Imposing the so-called “SUV tax” -- higher registration fees for heavier vehicles -- and doubling the fee for a vanity plate.

* Proposed personnel savings across all state departments. No details are available.The governor yesterday proposed laying off 1,000 workers and freezing wages.

* Ending Family Court jurisidiction over young offenders at age 19 instead of 21. The governor has proposed doing so at age 18. That means they could not be sentenced to the Rhode Island Training School, and would instead be slated for state prison.

* Keeping higher-education tuition increases at 6 percent, as the governor proposed.

* Changing eligibility for the Child-Care Assistance Program, now set by law at 225 percent of the federal poverty level, to 180 percent of those guidelines. The governor has proposed 150 percent.

* Adding $745,000 for drug court and $1 million for substance-abuse treatment for parolees to help decrease prison population.

To pass a balanced 2008 budget, as required by law, elected officials must either cut an estimated $90 million from the governor's $7-billion spending proposal released this spring, find ways to raise new revenues, or devise some combination of the two.

Yesterday, the governor announced revisions to his proposal, which included what is believed to be the largest number of layoffs of state workers in state history.

-- Steve Peoples of the Journal State House Bureau, with reports from projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney and Elizabeth Gudrais of the Journal State House Bureau

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:47 PM | Comment

Police get warrant for shooter in Peace Dale

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- The police today obtained an arrest warrant for a once promising football player Michael D. Wilson for allegedly firing shots at a Peace Dale housing complex.

The police connected the shooting to a long-running dispute over the unsolved murder of his brother.

Two witnesses identified Wilson, 26, of 200 Shannock Village Rd., as the man who pulled a handgun from his waistband Thursday and fired three shots at Champagne Heights, a low-income housing development off Curtis Corner Road, said Capt. Jeffrey Allen.

They reported that his intended target was Jay Northup, 25, who was babysitting outside his grandmother’s apartment, C-7.

The charges against Wilson include possessing a firearm without a permit, a felony; and discharging the pistol across a road, and discharging a firearm in a compact area, both misdemeanors, Allen said.

Jevon Scholl, Northup’s brother, whose last known address was C-7, faces the same charges. The police say Scholl fired shots April 30 at Meadowbrook Apartments.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:36 PM | Comment

Two men accused of buying alcohol for teens

WARREN -- Two local men were arraigned today on charges of buying alcohol for four teenagers. Last weekend, one of the boys was found passed out on the East Bay Bike Path.

Eugene Dupras, 45, of 340 Main St. and Raymond W. Bailey III, 23, of 118 Water St., appeared before Judge Walter Gorman in District Court, Providence, on one charge each of purchasing alcohol for a minor, Warren Police Chief Thomas Gordon said today.

Bailey pleaded guilty and was given a six-month suspended sentence and six months probation, and was ordered to do 30 hours of community service. Dupras entered a not-guilty plea.

The men were arrested after a 14 year-old boy was found lying unconscious on the bike path, near Brown Street, on the evening of June 2. He was taken by ambulance to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where he was treated for alcohol poisoning and released. Gordon said the boy had a blood-alcohol level of 0.2.

In an investigation, police determined that he had been drinking in the woods off the bike path with three 15-year-old boys. Dupras and Bailey had purchased alcohol for the boys that day and on one other occasion, said Gordon.

The men were arrested June 5 and issued summons to appear in court.

The boys will be charged with possession of alcohol by a minor, said Gordon.

“We take juveniles with alcohol very seriously,” he said. “In addition, we take it very seriously that an adult would have purchased alcohol for a child. This could have resulted in a very serious situation. Fortunately this young child was found and transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.”

-- Journal staff writer Alex Kuffner

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:25 PM | Comment

Driver of car in morning rollover is listed as critical

WARWICK -- The driver of a car involved in a roll-over this morning on the airport connector entrance ramp to Route 95 is a Warwick man in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital.

The car driven by Bernardus Dirkes went off the road for an unknown reason, though possibly because of some medical problem, said state police Sgt. Ernest Quarry.

Dirkes was on the ramp leading to Route 95 north when the car went off the right side of the road and rolled.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:07 PM | Comment

Photo: Sprouting gardeners in Bristol

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
Fourth-grade students from Hampden Meadows School, Barrington, plant cucumbers and beans in the garden at Mount Hope Farm, Bristol. Twenty-five children and several parent volunteers spent the morning planting seedlings that they had grown in the classroom for the garden. This is the second year of the project; all the food grown will go to the Rhode Island Food Bank.

Thinking of digging in the garden yourself this weekend? You may find some helpful tips on projo.com's Garden page, and on our new Garden Blog.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:04 PM | Comment

R.I. attorney general argues feds violated law on LNG

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office argued in federal appeals court today that federal regulators were in "blatant violation" of a law and the public interest, alleging they were "allowing market forces" to determine what happens to a liquefied natural gas project proposed in Fall River, Mass.

In a news release, Lynch's office referred to oral arguments before the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals, in Boston, regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of the Weaver's Cove Energy and Hess LNG project. The project has drawn howls of protest from across the region over safety and other concerns.

Lynch's office asked the court to "remedy" violations of federal law, known as the Natural Environmental Policy Act, it alleges the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission committed in approving the project.

The Coast Guard recently raised concerns about a plan offered by the company to use smaller LNG-transportating ships to and from the envisioned Fall River terminal. The vessels would traverse Mount Hope Bay, crossing in and out of Rhode Island and Massachusetts waters.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

"With 480 bridge closures a year for the Mount Hope Bridge and Newport Pell Bridge, along with the imposition of security zones on Narragansett Bay every other day on average, the Bay's recreational and commercial values would be seriously compromised by the virtual monopolization by LNG tankers," Lynch said in the statement.

Lynch's office also argued the smaller LNG tankers to navigate the existing Brightman Street Bridge "would mean a doubling of tanker traffic and a doubling of public safety risks to 65,000 Rhode Island and Massachusetts residents along the 21-mile nautical route LNG tankers would travel."

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:37 PM | Comment

Alert: Buddy's really back -- back in Providence

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Buddy Cianci Jr. began work today at The 903 Residences, a 330-unit condominium complex in Providence.

PROVIDENCE -- Former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. started a new job today -- but not the one everyone thought he would. And it's not in Boston either.

He is assistant to the project manager at The 903 Residences, a 330-unit Providence condominium project, according to a news release from public relations firm Chaffee Communications.

The 903 Residences were originally built and developed by a Texas company. The apartments were later bought by the Paolino family -- that's Joseph Paolino Jr., who followed Cianci as mayor in the 1980s.

Paolino, a developer, partnered with an investment group out of New York that bought the complex for $81 million, it was reported in 2005, to convert it into condomiums.

It's also the condominium complex where Cianci's daughter, Nicole, and her children now live.

Paolino had called a friend, which helped Cianci land a post-federal prison job at a different hotel -- the one where a different public relations firm had said Cianci would start work early this month: Fifteen Beacon, a luxury hotel on Boston's Beacon Hill.

No immediate explanation was given today why Cianci, known to all as Buddy, is working in a different hotel.

"We are pleased to provide the former mayor with the opportunity to use his wide range of marketing and management capaibilities on behalf of our exciting and successful 903 condomium project," said Fred Vincent of The 903 Residences.

More about Cianci's recent prison release ...

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:54 PM | Comment

Piping plovers on Rhode Island's beaches, too

The same kinds of restrictions declared on two Cape Cod beaches after federally protected piping plover nests were discovered exist on Rhode Island beaches as well.

Because the birds are federally protected, landowners – whether private, state or federal owners – are ultimately responsible for the birds’ safety, according to Suzanne Paton, wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for the Rhode Island National Wildlife Complex.

Extra: Piping plovers cutting revenue at 2 Cape beaches

When the birds were first listed on the federal protection list in 1989, only about 10 pairs of plovers existed in South County and 10 on the Nature Conservancy property in Little Compton, Paton said. Now, there are 58 pairs in South County and more than 10 on the Nature Conservancy property, Paton said. She’s not sure how many are on the Nature Conservancy property.

Around Rhode Island, Paton said the birds are found on Goose Wing and Briggs beaches in Little Compton, which are part of the Nature Conservancy property; on Trustom Pond, the national wildlife refuge in South Kingstown; the Ninigret Conservation Area in Charlestown; and on several privately owned South County beaches.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Some private landowners have signed memoranda of understanding with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for the federal agency to put up signs and protective fences near the birds so they can nest safely.

The male plovers arrive first in the spring, around April, and fly figure eights over the beaches, searching for an area they think will be suitable for nesting, Paton said.

They’ll scratch depressions in the sand marking those areas, attract females and then leave the nesting-spot selection to the females.

If the birds mate, they work together to line the nests with little bits of stones and shells, and the female lays four eggs. Both the male and female will incubate the eggs, which take 28 days to hatch.

Once they’re hatched, the chicks run down to the water’s edge to search for food but get easily spooked if people are around and run back to the safety of the nest before setting out again on a search for food. They do better on more isolated beaches, Paton said, because they need the food for the energy to build up flight feathers. They can’t fly for about 25 days after they’re born.

The restrictions on beaches with piping plovers include no vehicles and certain dog restrictions, Paton said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:29 PM | Comment

Esserman, ACI leader talk about ex-felons voting

PROVIDENCE – Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman and Corrections Director A.T. Wall are expected to speak in New York today on a panel discussion about voting rights for ex-felons.

They’re participating in a one-day symposium, called “Voting Rights and Reintegration: A Role for Law Enforcement,” at the New York University School of Law.

Twenty-one law enforcement officials and legal scholars have been invited to attend.

Rhode Island voters last fall restored voting rights to an estimated 15,000 felons who've finished their prison sentences, but are still on parole or probation.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:02 AM | Comment

R.I.'s beaches mostly ready for sun-seekers / Photo

Journal file photo
Scarborough State Beachin Narragansett, shown here in June 2002, is among the Rhode Island beaches re-opened this week after heavy rain increased bacteria counts.

Take advantage of Rhode Island’s beaches today – before the rain arrives.

There’s just one beach that’s closed by the state Health Department at this time – Warren Town Beach, because of higher than normal levels of the bacteria Enterococci, according to Ernest Julian, chief of the department’s office of food protection, which also regulates beaches.

When it comes to using the state’s many beaches, no rain is good news, Julian said.

Intense rains – more than half an inch to an inch within an hour – can send bacteria into the water and often prompt the Health Department to issue beach advisories or close beaches.

Check the department’s beach closures page for a list of current closings and advisories, which change on a daily basis. Or call (401) 222-2751 for recorded information.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:36 AM | Comment

And we thought the Clapper already did this ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In a perfect world, there'd be no wires.

They clutter the view, get tangled behind desks and limit how far networks can reach. That's why the telegraph gave way to the radio. Cell phones unstrung telecommunications. Wi-Fi liberated computer data.

Now even the last knotty wire that seemed destined to remain - the power cord - could be on its way out.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have announced they had made a 60-watt light bulb glow by sending it energy wirelessly, potentially previewing a future in which cell phones and other gadgets get juice without having to be plugged in.

The breakthrough, disclosed in Science Express, an online publication of the journal Science, is being called "WiTricity" by the scientists.

The concept of sending power wirelessly isn't new, but its wide-scale use has been dismissed as inefficient because electromagnetic energy generated by the charging device would radiate in all directions.

-- Associated Press

Last fall, though, MIT physics professor Marin Soljacic (pronounced soul-ya-CHEECH) explained how to do the power transfer with specially tuned waves. The key is to get the charging device and a gadget to resonate at the same frequency - allowing them to efficiently exchange energy.

It's similar to how an opera star can break a wine glass that happens to resonate at the same frequency as her voice. In fact, the concept is so basic in physics that inventor Nikola Tesla sought a century ago to build a huge tower on Long Island that would wirelessly beam power along with communications.

The new step described in Science was that the MIT team put the concept into action. The scientists lit a 60-watt bulb that was 7 feet away from the power-generating appliance.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 9:21 AM | Comment

Piping plovers cutting revenue at 2 Cape beaches

ORLEANS, Mass. -- Two Cape Cod beaches have been declared off limits to four-wheel drive vehicles after federally protected piping plover nests were discovered.

Nauset Beach in Orleans, which is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, and Sandy Neck Park in Barnstable could be off limits to vehicles into July when the chicks learn to fly, meaning a loss of revenue for the towns and area businesses.

Piping plovers on R.I. beaches, too

But many people don't realize that the beaches are still open to foot traffic, said Cindy Suonpera of the Village Farm Market near Nauset Beach. Last year, beaches in Orleans were closed to vehicles for 32 days. "That took our 10-week season and cut it in half," she said.

Plover eggs hatch after roughly 25 days and chicks can fly in 25 to 35 days.

Twelve pairs of plovers are nesting on Nauset Spit, forcing the closure of nearly three-quarters of the two-mile long beach. On North Beach, the first plover nest is scheduled to hatch June 13, Parks and Beach Superintendent Paul Fulcher said, and the last two pairs are due July 3.

At Sandy Neck in Barnstable, the season's first chicks hatched Sunday, closing the entire 6.5-mile beach to vehicles.

"Our hands are tied," Sandy Neck Park manager Nina Coleman said. "In the worst-case scenario, the beach will be closed the entire month of June."

Orleans plans to spend more money advertising that the beaches are still open to foot traffic. Selectmen will also allow people with oversand beach stickers to park for free at Nauset Beach.

The town's sales of oversand beach stickers are down 16 percent this year, when compared with the same time last year, Fulcher said. Sales to nonresidents, are down 33 percent, from 1,110 stickers to 741, he said.

-- Associated Press

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 9:03 AM | Comment

Photo: Peeking at the peak through the facade

The peak of the old tower of the Westin Hotel in downtown Providence is framed by a section of the facade of the new tower, now under construction. The new section was strapped onto a flatbed truck, soon to be lifted into position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:52 AM | Comment

Warwick students show work for National History Day

Three students from Warwick’s Gorton Junior High School have been selected to present their projects reflecting this year’s National History Day theme at the national competition next week.

Stephen Deming and John Nunes comprise one of 12 teams selected to present their work next Wednesday at the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium in Washington, D.C. They’ll present the project, “They slipped the surly bonds of Earth to Touch the face of God – The tragedy of the space shuttle Challenger,” according to a release issued early this morning by National History Day.

Nolan Kiernan is among six students selected to present their projects next Thursday at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. His project is “The flu pandemic of 1918: The greatest American tragedy.” His documentary suggested the flu pandemic was the greatest American tragedy because more people died as a result of the outbreak than any other tragedy, including the Civil War, World War I, World War II and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

These Warwick students are among more than 2,000 finalists participating in this year’s history contest at the University of Maryland.

Also during National History Day events, one history teacher from around the country will be chosen for the national Richard T. Farrell Teacher of Merit Award for outstanding success in teaching history. Mount St. Charles Academy history teacher, Joseph O’Neill, is one of eight finalists for that award, which will be announced next Thursday.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:01 AM | Comment

Sunny day today and rainy weekend ahead

PROVIDENCE – This morning’s 55 degrees should warm up to about 75 today.

Clouds are likely to build throughout the day. Tonight, we’ve got a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after midnight.

The weekend now looks like it will be a rainy one, with a 70 percent chance of rain on Saturday -- which could amount to one-half to three-quarters of an inch of rainfall – and a 20 percent chance of rain on Sunday.

Weekend temps are likely to be high 60s into the low 70s. Then, expect temps to rise into the mid-70s for our next work week.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:04 AM | Comment

WaterFire tonight

A partial WaterFire is scheduled for tonight in Providence.

It will begin around sunset, which is at 8:19 p.m.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features photographs and story about Governor Carcieri's calling for the laying off of 1,000 state workers to help close a budget deficit.

Download a copy of today's front page in .pdf format.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment