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August 6, 2007

Name that tune tonight: rock, blues or jazz

Catch rock at AS220 in Providence, blues at, well, the Newport Blues Cafe and jazz at the True Brew Cafe in Wakefield, among shows tonight.

Tinsel Teeth, Banana Hands, Mammoth Hunter and The Inevitable Minor Fires play at AS220, 115 Empire St., Providence. Call 831-9327. 9 pm. $6. All ages.

Heavy Rescue is at Newport Blues Cafe, 286 Thames St., Newport. Call 841-5510. 10 p.m.

Joe Parillo and Friends play the True Brew Cafe, 213 Robinson St., Wakefield. Call 284-1850. 6:30-9:30 p.m. $5.

Or to see what else is going on, check the Journal's online listings.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:50 PM | Comment

Portsmouth limits outdoor water use

PORTSMOUTH -- Customers of the Portsmouth Water and Fire District are asked to voluntarily limit their outdoor water use to every other day, effective immediately, in response to a high demand for water.

Today, the district asked those with even-numbered addresses to use water outdoors only on even-numbered days. Customers with odd-numbered addresses should use water outdoors only on odd-numbered days.

Although the odd-even conservation program is not mandatory, it may be may necessary if customers do not comply with the voluntary restrictions, according to Joseph Magliocco, administrative board chairman of the water district.

Conservation is necessary to reduce the demand on the water system during exceptionally dry summer days and to maintain adequate water levels for fire protection and emergencies, Magliocco said in a statement.

The voluntary restrictions apply to all residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as the Navy housing at Melville and the Melville Campgrounds, which are supplied through the Navy’s water system. The water district has separate conservation arrangements with agricultural users, today’s statement said.

--By Gina Macris
Journal staff writer

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:13 PM | Comment

Fire in Tiverton unit today caused by candle

TIVERTON -- A candle caused a fire in a house at 11 A Connell St., around noon. A man who lived in the second-floor unit had stepped out momentarily to go downstairs, according to Fire Chief Robert Lloyd.

The man returned to find heavy fire in the bedroom. It appears the candle caught bedding on fire.

Lloyd said it was the second candle-caused fire the department has responded to in less than a week.

Tiverton engines, with a ladder truck assisting from Fall River, and a medical rescue responded. One person was taken to a hospital for, but there were no life-threatening injuries. The Red Cross helped an elderly resident who lived on the first floor.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:33 PM | Comment

Designer Joseph Abboud buys Fall River company

Men’s clothing designer Joseph Abboud has purchased a Fall River textile company and is poised to re-enter the design world.

A Boston native, Abboud moved to the forefront of apparel designers in the 1990s and his clothing lines became staples of high-end menswear stores. His rise boosted the spirits of textile workers in Massachusetts, where his clothes were made in a New Bedford factory.

He was a hometown hero.

Abboud sold his label in 2000 and J.W. Childs Associates, a Boston private-equity firm, bought the Abboud operation for $73 million in 2004. The Abboud line was put under the control of JA Apparel Corp., which continues to produce garments under the brand name at a factory in New Bedford. Marty Staff, an apparel industry veteran, led the buyout.

A noncompete clause apparently lapsed in 2005.

Now, Abboud is poised to re-enter the design world with jaz, a new menswear label to be produced by the workers at the Fall River Shirt Co., which was owned until last month by George Nova.

“Our main interest was to find a way to retain the jobs,” Nova said today in a phone interview. “The people there are hard-working . . . they had developed a skill that was so exceptional in shirt making that it would have been criminal had it been lost.

“This was a win-win for everybody.”

-- Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

Nova and four partners bought the clothing factory in 1988. The company remained in business even as others around it fell to overseas competition. Fall River Shirt’s 165 workers still can churn out 5,000 shirts in a week.

In 2006, the company developed its own line of shirts to complement its contract work for department stores, distributors and designers. Stores in 30 states carry the “Singles and “Custom” lines.

The company also developed a “modular” sewing system to make easier the handling of small batch orders and custom requests that come from independent stores.

In a February interview, Nova asked a rhetorical question: “The question is, ‘Can we sell the shirts? The answer to that is in -- retailers love us.”

Still, Nova and his partners were on the lookout for an investor who could pump $1.5 million into the plant to finish revamping it, to hire more people and expand its marketing program.

According to Nova, Abboud will maintain Fall River Shirt’s existing lines and produce his own designs there as well, opening up the possibility of new hiring at the plant.

“As far as I know, the marketing plans that we put in place will continue,” Nova said. “I think the plan is to run them both.”

JA Apparel said Abboud’s decision won’t affect its operations. Last year, the company had $300 million in sales.

"Mr. Abboud’s return has no practical impact on our business,” the company said in a statement e-mailed to The Journal.“The Joseph Abboud lifestyle brand has grown by double-digit margins in each of the last four years and is bigger than any one individual. The brand embodies sophisticated American style and our excellent growth since Mr. Abboud’s departure is strong evidence that we are connecting with our extremely loyal customers.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:17 PM | Comment

Barrington car crash probed; patient released

BARRINGTON -- The police said speed was a factor in this morning's crash in which an 18-year-old Barrington man's car hit utility poles on Nayatt Road -- less than 10 yards from where two teens were killed in a car accident two years ago.

Douglas Vartanian, 18, of 5 Collins Court, was treated and released from Rhode Island Hospital.

There is no indication that alcohol was a factor, Chief John LaCross said.

The police received a call of a "loud bang" from a Nayatt Road resident about 2:40 a.m., LaCross said. Officers found a serious crash at the scene, with two telephone poles damaged or destroyed and a heavily damaged car.

After hitting the poles, the car crossed the center double-line and struck a pole opposite the side of the road that Vartanian had been traveling, the investigation indicated today.

The investigation is continuing, and the chief said that given the proximity of the road to Vartanian's address and the late hour, there could be several possibilities for the crash, including falling asleep while driving.

Vartanian was issued a summons for operating a motor vehicle with an expired license, lane roadway violations, and failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle, the police said.

Vartanian was removed from the silver Dodge Charger and taken by rescue to the hospital.

-- Projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney and Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

The road was closed for much of the morning -- as late as 7:10 a.m. -- from Bluff Road to Clarke Road.

Journal staff writer Bill Malinowski, who lives on Middle Highway about a mile from the accident, was awoken shortly after 2:30 a.m. by the sound of a car traveling past his house and skidding near the top of Middle Highway and Nayatt Road.

He heard the car turn left, which is east, and accelerate again. Seconds later, he heard a loud boom and called the 911 emergency number.

The police and fire rescue were at the scene within minutes. The car had snapped one utility pole in two and knocked down a second pole. It also downed power lines and a tree that was lying completely across the two-lane road.

About an hour after the crash, a crew from Narragansett Electric was busy trying to clear the downed tree and restore the utility lines.

In May 2005, Zachary Stiness and Michael Neubauer were killed after they lost control of their car and crashed into a tree a few feet from the scene of this morning's crash. The police have said speed was a factor in that crash.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:53 PM | Comment

Restaurateur accused of violating shell-fishing ban

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- The state Department of Environmental Management today charged the owner of the China Buffet in East Greenwich with harvesting clams from the Narrow River’s polluted waters.

The owner, Brian K. Cheng, of Scituate, said the clams were for personal use. The state Department of Health found no signs of questionable shellfish being served at the restaurant after an inspection, a spokeswoman said.

DEM’s environmental police received a call around 8:15 a.m. that several men were shellfishing in restricted waters south of Middle Bridge, officer Stephen Alfonso said. Officers discovered Cheng and his friends had dug about 12 gallons of quahogs and a few oysters from flats on the west side of Narrow River.

DEM prohibits shellfishing on the Pettaquamscutt, or Narrow, River because of pollution, Alfonso said.

Officers seized a large Kikkoman Soy Sauce bucket brimming with quahogs and two other buckets that were partially filled with shellfish.

Cheng, 38, of 110 Scituate Ave., Hope, was charged with shellfishing in a closed area; possession of undersized blue crabs; and taking oysters out of season, Alfonso said.

Cheng said he and his friends from church intended to go crabbing on the river, which DEM permits as long as the shell is five inches across. He was not aware that clamming was not allowed and did not plan to serve any of the shellfish at his restaurant, he said. He had been there once before to crab.

“There’s no way we would do anything like that,” said Cheng, who is originally from China and has owned China Buffet for 14 years. “Every clam we sell in the restaurant has a tag.”

He first said that they had dug the clams for a party at his house. Later, he said that his friends were going to split the shellfish and that he wasn’t planning to take any at all.

“It’s the stupidest thing I ever did,” Cheng said.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

DEM notified the Department of Health, which sent two inspectors to the 1000 Division St. restaurant, said Andrea Bagnall-Degos, Health Department spokeswoman.

“They didn’t find anything there that looked questionable,” she said. “They think he may have been doing it for personal use,” such as a party.

The inspectors were awaiting an arrest report from DEM to make a final determination, she said.

Cheng was issued a summons to appear in District Court, Wakefield, Aug. 29.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:41 PM | Comment

Report: Many states toughened immigration laws

Though federal comprehensive reform of U.S. immigration laws stalled this summer, many states have stepped up efforts to enact their own immigration-related laws, according to a report issued today by the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Immigrant Policy Project.

The report states that 1,404 pieces of legislation related to immigrants and immigration law have been introduced among 50 state legislatures: roughly two and a half times more bills this year than last. From January to July this year, 140 of those bills became law in 41 states.

Rhode Island’s efforts to join the trend all but failed this year when the General Assembly took a pass on some 36 immigration-related bills. All but one which failed to make it out of committee; the lone surviving bill, a citizenship-verification measure, died at the close of the Assembly session in June.

The report cites a new Rhode Island law as part of the trend: It makes human-trafficking a crime.

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Next session, the two Rhode Island legislators who introduced the majority of this year’s failed legislation -- Rep. Peter G. Palumbo, D-Cranston, and Rep. Richard W. Singleton, R-Cumberland -- will introduce more such legislation.

“Peter and myself, we’re not running away from this issue,” Singleton said today. “In fact, there will be more bills, not less. Obviously, the bills I put in will be re-entered. I would also like to put a bill prohibit any city or town in state of Rhode Island from becoming a sanctuary city or town.”

Singleton said, however, that he wants to sit down with House and Senate leadership to try and reach “some kind of agreement” on these issues before January.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:53 PM | Comment

Severe thunderstorms could hit region this afternoon

Scattered thunderstorms could be here soon, if you haven't heard booms already, and some could be severe, the National Weather Service reports.

The weather service, under its "hazardous weather outlook," lists northern Rhode Island and, specifically, Providence, Kent County abd Bristol County

"The main threats will be lightning and very heavy rainfall,' the weather service's outlook says. "... But damaging winds and an isoloated tornado can not be ruled out ... especially south of the Mass Pike and west of the I-95 corridor."

The chance of rain is 70 percent in the late afternoon and 40 percent tonight, the weather service said.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:04 PM | Comment

Secretary of State wants voters' elections ideas

WARWICK -- Think you've got a way to improve Rhode Island elections?

Secretary of State Ralph Mollis says he will hear from you tonight.

In what his office today called part of an effort to is do comprehensive election reform ahead of the 2008 elections, Mollis and the Voters First Advisory Commission hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m.

It's at the Warwick Central Library, 600 Sandy Lane.

“Improving the current system will make it easier for Rhode Islanders to vote and give them more confidence in the integrity of our elections," said Mollis.

The focus is on 10 proposals including weekend voting, developing a voter identification system and expanding the 50-foot “no-canvassing” zoning around polling places that is off-limits to campaign workers.

The public's comments "will guide the development of a detailed a legislative package for improving the way Rhode Islanders vote," which Mollis will introduce in the 2008 legislative session.

For more information, go to www.sec.state.ri.us.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:48 PM | Comment

Photo: Everybody wants to hear from Brady

A little sweat doesn't seem to bother the reporters at Gillette Stadium. A gang surrounded Pats quarterback Tom Brady after practice this morning.
Journal photo/Bob Breidenbach

Posted by Peter Phipps at 2:30 PM | Comment

ACLU sues police chief over removal of political signs

The American Civil Liberties Union, Rhode Island affiliate, filed a federal lawsuit today accusing the town of Richmond and Police Chief Raymond Driscoll of repeatedly taking down political signs of former congressional candidate Rod Driver.

In a news release, the ACLU alleges the alleged actions "amounted to a willful violation" of Driver's First Amendment rights.

Driver lost to incumbent Democrat James R. Langevin in the race for U.S. representative from the state's 2nd Congressional District.

Driver put up a sign in August on private property of supporters across from the Washington County Fair Grounds in Richmond, the ACLU said.

When the sign was removed, Driver replaced it but found it taken down on several occasions, the ACLU said. Driver complained to the police chief, but the chief said he had removed the signs, asserting they violated state law prohibiting signs “within the limits of a public highway without first obtaining the written consent of the chief of police.”

Driver argued there was no basis for the chief's conclusion the signs were within the limits of Route 112. Driver nevertheless posted signs farther from the road but discovered those were taken down as well.

Driver put up a sign almost 30 feet away from the centerline of Route 112 and attached a note to Driscoll saying: “This sign is on private property, well outside the highway right of way.”

The ACLU said Driscoll let the sign stay but had a police cruiser parked with lights flashing "directly in front of and blocking the sign, preventing fairgoers from seeing it."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:27 PM | Comment

Unclaimed lottery tickets worth more than $230,000

If you had lottery tickets for Saturday night drawings, you’re going to want to check your tickets – especially if you had a Wild Money ticket.

An unclaimed ticket for Rhode Island’s progressive jackpot game hit the Wild Money jackpot – and it will make the ticket holder $201,288.14 richer. The winning ticket was purchased from Capital Liquors, at 811 Park Ave. in Cranston, according to the Rhode Island Lottery.

Two other tickets sold in Rhode Island for Saturday drawings – PowerBall, this time – were also winners.

Both matched four numbers and the PowerBall number. One ticket is worth $10,000, the standard payout, and one is worth $20,000 because the person who bought it opted to buy the Power Play feature, which doubles the typical prize by the Power Play number – 2 – on Saturday.

The $20,000 ticket was purchased at Cumberland Farms, 94 Aquidneck Ave. in Middletown. The $10,000 ticket was bought at Tiverton Liquors on Main Road in Tiverton.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:14 PM | Comment

Block Island airport gets $920K for more plane space

Block Island State Airport is getting more than $920,000 in federal money to make available about 30 more parking spaces for planes on existing airport property, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed's office announced today.

Reed's office said in a news release there is a shortage of spaces for planes during the summer.

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation will get the $927,542 from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help build a turf tie-down area to allow for aircraft parking overflow that is not met by the existing apron.

“This federal funding is an essential investment in keeping Block Island’s airport up-to-date, safe, and convenient," said Reed, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees federal transportation projects.

The town of New Shoreham has less than 1,000 year-round residents, but summer tourism can inflate that to more than 10,000 inhabitants a day.

Lacks of spaces for visiting planes can raise safety concerns, because planes must circle longer to wait for a place to land and park.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:15 PM | Comment

North Scituate motorcyclist killed in Johnston

JOHNSTON -- A 59-year-old North Scituate motorcyclist was killed over the weekend when he collided with a Jeep on Plainfield Pike, the police said today.

Charles Bowers, of 304 Rockland Rd., was headed east on Plainfield at 9:33 p.m. Friday night when he collided with a Jeep Liberty driven by Claire Ramieri, 54, of 47 Underwood St. in Warwick, Johnston Deputy Police Chief Gary W. Maddocks Jr. said.

Investigators still haven’t determined who was at fault in the crash, Maddocks said.

Ramieri, a Warwick school teacher, was headed west on Plainfield and attempted to turn left onto Pippin Orchard Road. The Suzuki Katana 750 motorcycle hit the front door of the Jeep on the passenger side, Maddocks said.

Bowers was pronounced dead at the scene by a medical examiner.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

The police are looking at speed and other timing issues in the crash. Investigators did not find any evidence of skidding by either vehicle shortly before the crash, according to Maddocks.

Ramieri, who was wearing her seatbelt, passed a field sobriety test as well as a preliminary breathalyzer test, the police said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:38 AM | Comment

Bristol police ID man found dead at town beach

BRISTOL – The police have identified the 58-year-old Warwick man found dead in the water early Saturday morning about 25 feet from the shore of the Bristol Town Beach.

The body of Donald J. Brennan, of 203 Sandy Lane, was found floating in the water shortly before 7:30 a.m., Bristol Lt. Nick Guercia said this morning.

There was “no obvious trauma” to his body, and the cause of his death is unknown at this time, Guercia said. The state medical examiner is expected to conduct an autopsy.

The police have learned that Brennan frequently swam at the town beach where his body was found. As he generally arrived at the beach around 5:30 a.m., the police don’t believe Brennan was in the water for more than a couple hours, Guercia said.

Brennan was wearing a wetsuit, swimming cap and goggles when he was found. The weather and the water that day were calm, and there’s no riptide in that area, Guercia said.

Two other people this weekend drowned in Rhode Island waters.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:03 AM | Comment

Gas prices drop 4 cents

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have dropped an average of four cents this week, the third straight week the prices have fallen, according to AAA Southern New England.

The average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $2.869 at the self-service pump, according to AAA's weekly survey.

A similar survey by the state Energy Office found the average price at $2.88.

The price has fallen 11 cents in three weeks, AAA says.

The average price was $3.099 a year ago at this time, AAA says.

-- With reports from The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:36 AM | Comment

Small craft advisory for Mass. and R.I. mariners

We hate to report that it’s not a good beach day, although all Rhode Island beaches appear open and ready for business today, according to the state Department of Health.

Mariners in Massachusetts and Rhode Island coastal waters, beware the small craft advisory the National Weather Service has issued from noon today through tomorrow morning.

You can find more marine weather information on the National Weather Service’s interactive coastal marine map for this region.

Also, for all your nautical needs, boaters love the Maine Harbors site, which is packed with tide charts, marine weather news, information on fishing tournaments and links to local boat builders, charter operators, lighthouses and publications. The tide charts on this site are so well done that boaters rave about them. Check out Rhode Island’s chart.

To check the status of any beach for swimming, go to the state Department of Health’s beach-monitoring siteor call (401) 222-2751 for recorded information.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:00 AM | Comment

State engineers to review bridge records today

PROVIDENCE -- State engineers expect to review records today on 53 Rhode Island bridges that lack “redundancies” that maintain the integrity of a bridge in the event that one part fails. The engineers will determine if any of those bridges should be reinspected.

“There is no mandate to do this,” said Kazem Farhoumand, deputy chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation. “Just in an abundance of caution we will determine if these bridges should be inspected again, or inspected more frequently.”

The extra focus on bridge safety comes after the fatal failure of a steel truss highway bridge last week in Minneapolis. The U.S. Transportation Department has urged states to inspect any bridges that use similar steel truss construction.

Rhode Island has no bridges of that type, said Farhoumand.

However, Rhode Island ranks worst among all states in the percentage of its bridges listed as “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete,” although state officials say local bridges are not dangerous to drivers.

Read a July story reporting how a federal audit slams Rhode Island for ceding almost total control of its bridge-design and repair program to consultants.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:08 AM | Comment

Barrington crash sends driver, 18, to hospital

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
The car sits on a tow truck after the early morning crash.

BARRINGTON -- An 18-year old man crashed a car into two utility poles and took down a tree this morning on Nayatt Road, less than 10 yards from where two Barrington teens were killed in a car accident two years ago.

The man, whose name the police have not yet released, was removed from the car -- a silver Dodge Charger -- and taken by rescue to a local hospital. His injuries did not appear life-threatening, Sgt. Thomas Poirier said this morning.

The accident took place around 2:35 a.m.

The road was still closed as of 7:10 a.m. from Bluff Road to Clarke Road.

Journal staff writer Bill Malinowski, who lives on Middle Highway about a mile from the accident, was awoken shortly after 2:30 a.m. by the sound of a car traveling past his house and skidding near the top of Middle Highway and Nayatt Road.

He heard the car turn left, which is east, and accelerate again. Seconds later, he heard a loud boom and called the 911 emergency number.

The police and fire rescue were at the scene within minutes. The car had snapped one utility pole in two and knocked down a second pole. It also downed power lines and a tree that was lying completely across the two-lane road.

About an hour after the crash, a crew from Narragansett Electric was busy trying to clear the downed tree and restore the utility lines.

In May 2005, Zachary Stiness and Michael Neubauer were killed after they lost control of their car and crashed into a tree a few feet from the scene of this morning's crash.

-- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:47 AM | Comment

Thunderstorms likely, maybe even a tornado

Watch out for showers and thunderstorms developing over southern New England today.

The storms could be severe with lightning and heavy rain, but damaging winds and an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out, the National Weather Service says.

The temperature should reach about 77 degrees in the Providence area, the weather service says.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story and photographs about the state Department of Environmental Management's efforts to find mosquitoes carrying Eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus, another in the summer series Creature Chronicles.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment

Route 95 open and ready for morning commuters

PROVIDENCE – A second week of nighttime closures for the work on the Route 95-Route 195 interchange project has begun without a hitch.

Both northbound and southbound lanes of Route 95 opened this morning ahead of schedule, after both directions of the highway were closed for the second time this month as the state Department of Transportation continues overnight work on the project.

The northbound lanes opened at 4:45 a.m., and the southbound lanes opened at 5 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

The work halted over the weekend, with no closures Friday and Saturday nights, and began again last night in this second round of closures for the highway project. The DOT's Transportation Management Center reported that Route 195 west to Route 95 south and Route 95 itself, between exits 18 and 20, were all closed by around 11 p.m. last night.

The highway is expected to close again by 11 p.m. tonight – with individual lane closures starting by 8 p.m. The lanes are expected to reopen by 5:30 a.m. tomorrow in time for morning commuters.

Check out the road-closure schedule on the DOT’s site.

For a look back at the earlier closures this year, see projo.com’s special reports section.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 6:32 AM | Comment