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« September 18, 2007 | Today | September 20, 2007 » September 19, 2007Here are tonight's riffs in Rhode IslandHere's what's riffing around Rhode Island tonight. Brickpark, rock, Olives, 108 North Main St., Providence. 751-1200. 10 p.m.-1 a.m. No cover. Includes karaoke. Thom Enright and Friends, rhythm and blues, Nick-A-Nee's, 75 South St., Providence. 861-7290. 9 p.m. Chris Gauthier, rock, One Pelham East, 270 Thames St., Newport. 847-9460. 9 p.m. Lois Greco, rhythm and blues, Newport Blues Cafe, 286 Thames St., Newport. 841-5510. 9:30 p.m-12:30 am. Dick Lupino, Dennis Cook and Chris Taylor, jazz, Sardella's Restaurant, 30 Memorial Blvd., Newport. 849-6312. 7:30-10 p.m. Bob Mainelli, jazz, Capriccio, 2 Pine St., Providence. 421-1320. 7-11 p.m. 2nd Avenue, rock, Pitcher's Pub, 80 Manville Hill Rd., Cumberland. 658-0058. 9 p.m. The Vacancies, rock, The Living Room, 23 Rathbone St., Providence. 521-5200. 9 p.m. All ages. Weird Al Yankovic, rock, pop and comedy, Zeiterion Theatre, 684 Purchase St., New Bedford. (508) 994-2900, www.zeiterion.org. 8 p.m. $46.50 Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:55 PM | Comment Providence teen chased off bus, stabbedPROVIDENCE -- Stanton Towns, 17, a Mount Pleasant High School student, was stabbed in the stomach this morning after he argued with another young man over a seat on a bus, the police said. Towns, of 29 Salmon St., Olneyville, told the police that he boarded a bus at Manton Avenue and Salmon and that the argument broke out once he was aboard, at about 7:45 a.m. In order to avoid further trouble, Towns said he got off the bus near Broadway and Valley Street. But the other man got off the bus too. The suspect chased Towns down Valley Street where Towns slipped and fell and was then stabbed. His assailant ran to the rear of the church at 33 Valley St. and escaped. The victim was treated at Rhode Island Hospital. -- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:24 PM | Comment Reed announces $5.4 million for train stationNORTH KINGSTOWN -- U.S. Sen. Jack Reed today said the state will get $5.4 million in federal money to build a train station in Wickford. DOT recently announced plans to start work on a $222.5-million transportation hub at the airport. DOT officials said they have reached a preliminary agreement with Amtrak to allow MBTA commuter trains to connect Warwick to Boston. The station won’t resemble the historic building in nearby Kingston. Instead, the Wickford Junction Station will feature a parking garage, a platform and a waiting area inside the garage, said Stephen A. Devine, chief of intermodal planning for the state Department of Transportation. Because the tracks are elevated, the garage will be partially hidden by a berm. “This is the future of mass transit,” said Devine. The state hopes to purchase land near Wal-Mart and a Staples store from the developer, Wickford Junction Associates. The two stores are part of a retail complex off Ten Rod Road. According to Reed, the state will get more than $2 million to buy the land for the garage. Another $1.8 million will be spent on the design and engineering, and $1.2 million will be used to buy tracks. Officials aren’t sure when construction on the Wickford station will begin, “but our ultimate goal to get the trains running by mid 2010,” Devine said. “We still need to acquire some land from Amtrak” and the state is still negotiating a price with the owners of Wickford Junction, he said. “It’s an ideal site, with immediate access to Route 4,” Devine said. -- Journal staff writer Paul Davis South County is growing and there are few places left for new roads, Reed said. “By getting more commuters off the highways and on to mass transit” the project will relieve congestion on Routes 4 and 95, “improve air quality and provide Rhode Islanders with some measure of relief from rising gas prices,” Reed said. The station should also give local businesses a boost, he added. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:44 PM | Comment OSHA head signs safety pact on armory projectPROVIDENCE -- Edwin G. Foulke Jr., the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, was in Providence today to sign a "site safety partnership" agreement with the Consigli Construction Co. Inc., the Maine company that is renovating the Cranston Street Armory. As part of the agreement, Consigli pledges to "enhance safe and healthful conditions for employees" working at the site, according to OSHA. -- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:33 PM | Comment Warren girl sentenced to a year after DUI crashA 17-year-old Warren girl will serve a year at state Training School and do 200 hours of community service after admitting in Family Court today to charges in connection with the crash that killed Kayleigh A. Raposa, 16, in February. The girl, who was not named in a news release from the state attorney general's office, was charged with one count of driving under the influence, death resulting, and one count of driving to endanger, death resulting. The Journal confirmed this year that the girl's identity is Julie Alfano, daughter of Warren Town Council President Frank J. Alfano. Family Court Chief Justice Jeremiah S. Jeremiah Jr. sentenced the girl to one year to serve at the Training School and a suspended sentence with probation, pending the further order of the court — which, in the language of the juvenile system, means until she turns 21. Her license was suspended indefinitely and she was ordered her to participate in the Reducing Youthful Dangerous Driving program. For her community-service requirement, thr girl will speak at schools and youth groups about the death. “Although we asked the court for a longer term to serve, I’m satisfied that justice was done in this case,” Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said in a statement. “Once she completes her term at the Training School, this respondent will have both the obligation and the opportunity to urge other teenagers not to drink and drive, which may be the only positive outcome of this tragedy.” -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:28 PM | Comment Photo: Pumpkin monster
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:10 PM | Comment Families react to parole for BiecheleRelatives of victims of The Station nightclub fire are reacting to the state Parole Board's decision to allow Daniel Biechele, the tour band manager who lit the pyrotechnics that ignited the disastrous blaze, to leave prison on parole in March. Remarks include: Dave Kane, the father of Nick O’Neil, the youngest person to die in the fire, said the board made "a good decision." “I think it’s time now that this young man be given a chance to get back to his life,” O'Neil said. “It would have been OK with me if he had gotten out before March.” O'Neil said Biechele "is the only guy who stood up and said, 'Here’s what I did, I’m sorry, I’ll take my punishment.' " Anna Gruttadauria, mother of Pamela Gruttadauria, the 100th person to die, learned of the decision from a Providence Journal reporter, who called her at work shortly before 4:30 p.m. She responded: “Oh, wonderful! I’m so glad!” “I felt bad for him from the start. I think he was the fall guy for a lot of people.” “He’s a good guy. He just made that mistake.” William K. Anderson, father of fire victim Kevin P. Anderson, said: “It doesn’t surprise me. I thought that they would.” “I didn’t really care which way they went. Nobody’s ever going to bring these people back.”
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:39 PM | Comment Cicilline resigns as co-chair of Clinton's R.I. campaignPROVIDENCE — The threat of a firefighter and police picket of Hillary Clinton’s upcoming East Greenwich fundraiser has forced Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline to resign his role as co-chairman of Clinton’s Rhode Island campaign, and pledge not to attend the event. The Providence firefighters and police, who are embroiled in years-long contract disputes with the city, vowed in August to protest the Sept. 27 event unless Cicilline stepped down as co-chair and promised not to attend. Weeks of furious behind-the-scenes negotiations followed, according to union officials, and this morning, Cicilline resigned as chairman of the Clinton campaign in Rhode Island, and this afternoon said he would not attend the fundraiser. “I learned that the firefighters union are try to extort from the city and from me agreement to provisions of a contract, which I will not allow,” Cicilline said. “It was important for me to remove that opportunity form the union leadership, the chance to use my position to in any way undermine my responsibility to the taxpayers of the city.” Cicilline said that he isn’t worried about the picketing — but he couldn’t allow the police and fire unions to use his position with Clinton as a bargaining chip. “My decision is not the consequence of fearing the disruption of the event. I’ve had them protest my events. There are signs across the city. I’m used to that. “The issue is their trying to use my position to extort outrageous demands from the taxpayers of this city,” Once he recognized they were using this event, he said, “I knew I had to step down.” In an interview earlier today, Cicilline said he would attend the event. But later in the day, he issued a statement saying he would not. -- By Journal staff writer Daniel Barbarisi Joseph Rodio, a lawyer representing both the police and fire unions, said that the negotiations go back weeks, and that the deal that was worked out was that Cicilline had to step down and promise not to attend. If he does attend, Rodio said, the picket is on. “There were two predicates. If he violated either one, it’s a full-fledged picket,” Rodio said. “If he wants to go, we’re picketing.” If the picket is on, Rodio said, then he has been told that Clinton will not attend — in much the same way that John Edwards cancelled a 2004 campaign visit rather than cross the firefighters’ picket line. “Her staff indicated to us that she would not show up if there was a picket. So there wasn’t a choice on his part, in my opinion,” Rodio said. Rodio said that weeks of negotiations have been with event host and Clinton friend Mark Weiner and with State Democratic Party Chairman William Lynch, and Cicilline was not present. But he said that considering that fire first contacted the Clinton campaign on Aug. 6, and police joined them on Aug. 22, he’d be shocked if Cicilline hadn’t been aware at every stage. “I can’t believe that once we gave them opposition, he was not part of that,” Rodio said. In 2004, the threat of crossing a firefighter picket line caused then-vice presidential candidate John Edwards to cancel a scheduled speech at the Providence Biltmore Hotel at the very last minute, as Edwards’ plane circled T.F. Green airport. That time, a similar demand was made: Cicilline must not attend the fundraiser. Cicilline refused to back down, and the event was cancelled. The firefighters have also done informational pickets of two Hillary Clinton fundraisers. At one, Clinton entered through the back door, but came out front later to chat amiably with fire fighters. Cicilline said in his letter to Clinton that he plans to continue working on her behalf, and that he looks forward “to working with you on issues ranging from community policing to education reform when you are sworn in as the next President of the United States.” Posted by Jack Perry at 4:01 PM | Comment ALERT: Biechele to be released in MarchCRANSTON -- The state Parole Board today decided to release Daniel M. Biechele in March 2008, when the former tour manager of rock band Great White will have served less than half his four-year prison sentence for triggering fireworks that ignited The Station nightclub fire and killed 100 people. It was Biechele's first try for parole. The Parole Board hearing, held at the state prison where Biechele has been jailed, was closed to the public. Parole officials were slated to notfiy relatives of fire victims of the outcome. At about 3:30 p.m., officials were to hold a news conference. Biechele, 30, pleaded guilty last year to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the Feb. 20, 2003, blaze in West Warwick that became one of the nation's worst nightclub fires. The fireworks sent sparks onto club surfaces lined with highly flammable polyurethane foam used as soundproofing. Dave Kane, the father of Nick O’Neil, the youngest person to die in the fire, said the board made "a good decision." “I think it’s time now that this young man be given a chance to get back to his life,” O'Neil said. “It would have been OK with me if he had gotten out before March.” O'Neil said Biechele "is the only guy who stood up and said, 'Here’s what I did, I’m sorry, I’ll take my punishment.' " -- With reports from Journal staff writers Mark Arsenault and Paul Edward Parker. The brothers who owned the nightclub, Michael A. and Jeffrey A. Derderian, pleaded no contest to 100 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for fire-code violations that helped the fire spread. Michael, 46, was sentenced to serve four years in prison. Jeffrey, 40, was sentenced to 500 hours community service. Michael Derderian is not yet eligible for parole because his sentence started about four months after Biechele's. After Biechele's sentencing on May 10, 2006, relatives of victims offered a mix of views on Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan's punishment. Some said Biechele seemed genuine in his remorse to families and survivors, that he did not deserve the blame to the extent that others did and that it was not his intention for people to die. Others, such as the parents of victim Diane Matteras-Housa, who had spoken out about the fire before, criticized the sentence as not enough, given they they can never get back the loved ones killed in the fire. Diane Mattera, whose daughter Tammy Mattera-Housa died in the Station fire, said it's "very hard right now." "What kind of message does it send?" Mattera said of the Parole Board decision. “I think it’s not right” and “II think he should be spending the full term.” But an informal survey of projo.com visitorshas found most respondents saying Biechele should be given parole now. His sentencing had followed days of victims' impact statements in court. Excerpts are available , as well as multimedia coverage of the fire, its victim, and its aftermath, at: Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:34 PM | Comment ME cites 'acute intoxication' in immigrant's deathThe cause of death of Edimar Alves De Araujo, a 34-year-old Milford, Mass., man who died in Providence last month after federal immigration agents took him into custody, was "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and hydroxyzine'' -- the latter an anxiety medication. The state Office of the Medical Examiners released the cause of death this afternoon. Chronic seizure disorder was "another significant condition contributing to death," the medical examiners office stated. Araujo was arrested Aug. 7 by Woonsocket police on a traffic violation. He was released into federal custody after a fingerprint check revealed he was in the country illegally. One hour and 20 minutes after entering federal custody, Araujo was pronounced dead. He has since been buried in Brazil. Read the Medical Examiner's release. His sister, Irene Araujo, has alleged through her lawyer that Woonsocket police rebuffed her efforts to provide anti-seizure medication for her brother, who was epileptic. Woonsocket Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle says his department is not at fault, and has released time-stamped surveillance video and police reports. Extra: Read a a special multimedia report on Araujo's arrest and death.
Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:13 PM | Comment School Committee VP's work as announcer questionedBURRILLVILLE -- The vice president of the School Committee may have violated the town’s charter by working as a hockey announcer at the ice rink, according to the town solicitor. The official, Raymond J. Trinque, a well-known face at the arena, said he has worked as an announcer for years and donated his earnings to charity. The June Rockwell Levy Community Ice Rink is located behind Burrillville High School. Trinque has received an official notice that informs him of his alleged violations and summons him to an Oct. 3 hearing before the Town Council. “I plan to appear at this hearing and explain my actions,” he said in a news release. “…I am preparing for the worst but hoping for the best…” The notice was sent by the town’s solicitor, Timothy F. Kane. It says an investigation “independent of the Town Council” has found probable cause to allege that Trinque repeatedly violated the charter by earning compensation at the rink and paying the money to “third parties.” The alleged violations occurred on 10 dates during the previous school year, beginning on Dec. 1 and ending Jan. 20, the notice says. It notes that any member of the School Committee must “forfeit” his or her office if found in violation. The council hired a Narragansett lawyer, Patrick J. Dougherty, to investigate a complaint about Trinque’s work at the rink, according to the panel’s president, Nancy F. Burns. Dougherty has not supplied any information about his findings. “Mr. Trinque is entitled to a fair hearing,” she said. -- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:26 PM | Comment Update: Decision due this afternoon on Biechele's paroleCRANSTON -- The state Parole Board was deciding today whether Daniel M. Biechele, former tour manager of the rock band Great White, will be released after serving 16 months of his four-year sentence for triggering the fireworks that started The Station nightclub fire and killed 100 people in 2003. Biechele went before the board between 12:30 and 1 p.m. in a hearing closed to the public. Parole officials are said to be in the process of notifying relatives of the fire victims of the outcome. After that, at about 3:30 p.m., officials will hold a news conference to announce the results. Biechele, 30, pleaded guilty last year to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The brothers who owned the nightclub, Michael A. and Jeffrey A. Derderian, pleaded no contest to 100 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for fire-code violations that helped the fire spread rapidly. Michael, 46, was sentenced to serve four years in prison. Jeffrey, 40, was sentenced to 500 hours community service. Biechele became eligible for parole after serving a third of his prison sentence. Michael Derderian is not yet eligible for parole because he began his sentence about four months after Biechele. -- Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker Posted by Jack Perry at 2:21 PM | Comment Family of Iraqi refugees arrive at new R.I. homeA family of four who fled the regime of Saddam Hussein have landed here in Rhode Island after a journey that included a five-year stay in Turkey. The refugees are among about 1,200 Iraqis who have been allowed into the United States since the Bush administration changed policy in March under pressure from Congress and international human rights groups. Before that, only about 400-plus Iraqis had been let in following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Today, Atheer Kiriacos Jajou, his wife, and their two children, ages 10 and 12, were welcomed at T.F. Green Airport by members of the International institute of Rhode Island. The institute has been handling the family's unusual resettlement case as part of its constant dealings with refugees. It hasn't been an easy task. Jajou said he had had to bribe Turkish officials in order to leave that country, and that their departure had been cancelled twice before. Before leaving Iraq five years ago, Jajou said he had been jailed three times, as well as tortured, in the wake of getting sick and being unable to work at his job at a weapons arsenal. One of the first things he asked about today was how to get a job here. This afternoon, the tired-looking foursome were on their way to their new apartment, which was arranged by the International Institute. Jajou has a brother in Detroit, but he didn't know just where Rhode Island was. Greeters got out a map and helped the family orient themselves to both Motor City and their new location. -- With reports from Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:14 PM | Comment Check your wallet, winning lottery ticket expires FridayDo the numbers 13, 21, 26, 45 or 50 sound familiar? Someone bought a PowerBall ticket at a Park Avenue gas station in Cranston last year with four of those five numbers plus the PowerBall: 20. That adds up to $10,000 – and it hasn’t been claimed. Around the state, there’s nearly $458,000 in unclaimed lottery money waiting for its winners, who have a year to claim their prizes before they’re turned over to the State’s General Fund. The $10,000 ticket from Cranston expires Friday. The biggest single jackpot still to be claimed is $200,000 from April of this year. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:55 PM | Comment Rhode Island tops in people who get flu shotsPROVIDENCE -- New data from the federal government shows Rhode Island leads the nation in the percentage of people who get flu shots. During the 2005-2006 flu season, almost 79 percent of Rhode Islanders older than 65 got the preventive shots, compared with just 69 percent nationwide. The Ocean State led the country in two other age groups, people between 18 and 49 who are at high risk and people between 50 and 64. Manufacturers expect to ship 130 million doses of flue vaccine in coming months. Federal health officials are advising that anyone who wants to avoid the flu should get a shot, especially people at high risk of flu complications because of age or underlying illness. For more about getting flu shots in Rhode Island, check the state Department of Health's Web site. Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:30 PM | Comment 48 Hour Film projects screened tonight in ProvidenceAfter rushing to make a seven-minute movie in two days, some of the Rhode Island teams that entered films in the 48 Hour Film Project decided to smooth over the rough edges and “finish” them. Now, nearly one and a half months later comes the 48 Days Later Screening at the University of Rhode Island's Providence campus. In six years, the 48 Hour Film Project has grown into a world-wide event, with more than 100 cities and towns having hosted competitions for film makers around the world. Check out the winning, seven-minute films from Rhode Island, then see what 48 days can do, tonight at the URI's Paff Auditorium, 80 Washington St. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:02 PM | Comment Update: Cianci returns to City Hall / Photo
As the television cameras rolled, Cianci showed his driver’s license, swore he was a citizen of the U.S., and joined 76,000 other Providence residents as a legal voter in city in which he served about 20 years as mayor. The move came on the eve of his first day back as a talk radio host. Cianci begins he stint as a talkmeister on WPRO-AM at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Cianci was given a friendly welcome by several City Hall employees. He enrolled as an independent -- called an unaffiliated voter in Rhode Island political argot -- and said it was important to him to register because a talk show host who is going to criticize politicians ought to be registered. Cianci was mayor until he was convicted in 2002 on a racketeering charge related to corruption in City Hall while he was mayor. Cianci finished serving his prison term at Fort Dix, N.J., in May, then spent more time at a halfway house in Boston, followed by a stint in home confinement at a nephew's home in East Greenwich. His first full official day of freedom was Friday, July 27. Cianci is still on probation but is allowed to vote because Rhode Island voters in a referendum last year approved a ballot question allowing felons to vote. -- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay Cianci may be the first high-profile citizen to take advantage of the change in state voting law narrowly approved by voters in a referendum last November. Question 2 amended Section 1, Article II, of the state Constitution to return the right to vote to felons after they were discharged from prison. They still are not allowed to vote while in prison. He could also run for mayor again, if he so chose. But because of his felony conviction, he could not do so until the 2014 election, when he would be 73. Posted by Jack Perry at 11:51 AM | Comment R.I. nonprofits get money from music biz. settlementSix Rhode Island nonprofits are each getting $2,905 under settlement of a multi-state anti-trust lawsuit that accused music distributors and retailers of conspiring to increase prices people pay for recorded music. Providence CityArts for Youth, the Providence Black Repertory Company, Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, the Chorus of Westerly, Newport’s List Academy of Music and Arts, and the Kent County Arc/J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center in Warwick each received a check last week, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office announced today. The money must be used for music-related programs. “The six recipients of this funding, all of whom are required to use the money for music-related programs, serve a wide spectrum of our Rhode Island residents, including inner-city youth and people with developmental disabilities,” said Lynch. As of today, 15,000 Rhode Island consumers who filed claims have gotten a total of about $150,000. The settlement terms also included distributing 20,000 CDs, valued at $275,000, to the state's public schools and libraries. The money is the last to be distributed, under court order, stemming from the federal suit filed several years ago. Rhode Island was among 42 states to sue, according to the attorney general news release. Defendants were music distributors Bertelsmann Music Group Inc., EMI Music Distribution, Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., and Universal Music Group, as well as three national retail chains: Transworld Entertainment Corporation, Tower Records, and Musicland Stores Corporation. The defendants denied the allegations. Under the settlement, the defendants agreed to an injunction "whereby they would not engage in sales practices that allegedly led to artificially high retail prices for music CDs," Lynch's office said. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:46 AM | Comment Diocese of Providence selling property -- again
The diocese describes three of the properties as “significant’’ and likely to bring in substantial revenue: the Cluny Sisters Convent and Provincial House in Newport; undeveloped land near Dunn’s Corner in Westerly; and Our Lady of Peace Spiritual Center, 333 Ocean Road, Narragansett, a 38-acre parcel with several buildings that was once used as a retreat center. The decision to sell the properties comes after months of study by a committee of priests and lay people. “After thorough study, it was concluded that these properties would no longer be used for ministry purposes,” Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said in a statement. “Many diocesan ministries and agencies that serve the local community are housed in structures in need of repair. Portions of the proceeds from the sale of these properties will enable us to address concerns at other ministries so that they may continue to effectively serve those in need.” The other four properties are the former Carter Day Care building in Providence, St. Anthony House in Providence, and land in West Warwick and West Greenwich. In 2003, the diocese sold other properties, including the bishop's Watch Hill summer home for $7 million, to help pay settlements in sexual-abuse lawsuits against diocese priests. Read a report on the properties decision in the Rhode Island Catholic, the diocesan newspaper. -- Journal staff writer G. Wayne Miller Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:50 AM | Comment Developers eyeing casino sites in western Mass.PALMER, Mass. -- Developer Leon Dragone envisions a shining hotel and casino complex on a hill just off the Massachusetts Turnpike, a tourist destination that will bring jobs and money to the struggling economy of western Massachusetts. Kathleen Norbut, a member of the Board of Selectmen in neighboring Monson, sees a behemoth that will put an unbearable burden on roads, public safety, schools and housing and will change forever her quiet New England town. Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed licensing three resort casinos in Massachusetts - one specifically in the western part of the state. Though his plan needs legislative approval, and it could be years before any casino would be built, developers already are eyeing possible sites as towns debate whether they should embrace gambling. "We do not have the infrastructure to support something of that magnitude," Norbut said. "The town of Palmer doesn't even have a full-time board of health. The average taxpayer, the working middle class, like myself, I don't want to be supporting the profits that will be going to the casino owners." Dragone's Northeast Realty and the Mohegan Indian tribe, which runs the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., want to build a $1 billion resort casino on a 150-acre wooded site in Palmer, just 50 yards from the current turnpike toll booths. Preliminary plans envision a gaming floor with up to 4,000 slot machines and table games, a 600-room. Palmer is not the only town where a casino might go. Several developers are expected to compete with Northeast Realty for the right to build the western Massachusetts casino. Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette said he knew of three developers interested in putting the gaming facility in his town, at a site near the turnpike and the Westover Metropolitan Airport. Read the full Associated Press story ... Your Turn: What impact would three Mass. casinos have on R.I. gambling? Posted by Andrea Panciera at 9:25 AM | Comment Of interest rates, stocks -- and your pocketbook
The Fed did it -- cut that key interest rate. And the stock market soared on the news. What might this all mean to the economic picture in Rhode Island? Earlier this week, The Journal asked several local financial experts their opinions. See what they had to say in the resulting story. Hint: They don't all agree. Meanwhile, you can keep track of your investments through projo.com's personal portfolio tools. And see what happens today when the market re-opens at 9:30 a.m. Today also brings brings new economic data, which investors will be parsing to determine how the economy is faring amid the current credit climate and volatile stock market. The Labor Department's August consumer price index came out a few minutes ago, showing that the prices fell for the first time in 10 months, as another big drop in energy costs offset higher food prices. And the Commerce Department will report on new home construction. The data is anticipated to show that the annual rate of construction of new homes and apartments in August fell since July.
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 9:00 AM | Comment Geeks gather to discuss state's fostering effortsThere's a geek get-together tonight in downtown Providence. Saul Kaplan, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation will join folks from Traction Software -- a local development company that specializes in Web applications -- at a Providence Geek Dinner to talk about the state's efforts to foster innovation in media and technology. According to the Providence Geeks Web site, topics up for discussion include Web applications, start-ups, gadgets, entrepreneurship, social computing, digital art. The food-optional dinner starts at 5:30 tonight at AS220, at 115 Empire Street. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:23 AM | Comment 17-year-olds at the ACI; hearing tonightThe state Senate Health and Human Services Committee is meeting this afternoon to hear testimony from state officials and child advocates about a law requiring that 17-year-olds be prosecuted as adults. Attorney General Patrick Lynch yesterday called for the General Assemble to repeal the law – passed by the House Finance Committee as a budgetary fix. Lynch is expected to be joined by child advocate Jametta O. Alston, Corrections Department Director A.T. Wall, and representatives from Family Court and the state Police Chiefs Association. The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has also raised objections to the law, including issues created for students applying for financial aid. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writers Amanda Milkovits and Steve Peoples Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:52 AM | Comment A cool start to a comfortable dayWords of advice today: Dress in layers. It's in the low 40s now, but the sun is shining and temperatures should reach the mid 70s this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The low tonight will approach 50. Tomorrow may feel like summer again, with clear skies and a high near 80. For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features the fourth in the five-part series on Patrick Murray, a North Kingstown Marine, who lost his leg in Iraq. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006