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September 27, 2007

Tonight: Benoit's blues and Feldman's artworks

Tab Benoit plays his own blend of blues at Chan's Restaurant in Woonsocket tonight at 8 and 10 p.m. Head to 267 Main St. Call 765-1900. It's $20 to see both shows; $12 for the late show.

Or go to the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Brown University in Providence for the art of Walter Feldman, professor emeritus of visual art. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

And don't forget it's showtime for The Brotherhood at PPAC.

For more ideas, visit projo.com/lifebeat and projo.com's calendar page.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:05 PM | Comment

R.I. man gets probation for Boston drug sales

BOSTON, Mass. -- A Rhode Island man who illegally sold prescription drugs in and around the federal building where he worked has been sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty.

Prosecutors say 45-year-old Anthony Carroll of Warwick, Rhode Island, sold oxycodone and morphine in and around the JFK Federal Building in Boston from October 2005 to February 2006.

He worked for the federal Office of Veterans Affairs at the time.

Carroll faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but received three years of probation with the first six months to be served in electronically-monitored home confinement.

A co-defendant pleaded guilty last year.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:03 PM | Comment

Fire reported in Central Falls' Dexter Street area

CENTRAL FALLS -- Responders are at the scene of a fire this evening in the Dexter Street area.

The Providence Fire Department was asked to send its canteen truck to Central Falls.

No other details were yet available.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:00 PM | Comment

Carcieri asks for teacher contract task force

PROVIDENCE -- Citing concern over the delayed opening of school in several districts because of teacher contract battles, Governor Carcieri asked the new chairman of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education to assemble a task force to study how teacher contracts are negotiated and recommend ways to improve the process.

“…This year the startup of school in our state was marred by labor disputes in a number of our communities,” Carcieri wrote in a Sept. 13 letter to Chairman Robert G. Flanders Jr. “Rather than ensuring students were ready for school … the focus was on such contractual issues as health care benefits and salaries for teachers. This must change.”

Carcieri asked Flanders to select task force members from a wide range of backgrounds -- including teacher unions, school committees, parents, municipal leaders and others, and to report back shortly after the General Assembly convenes in January.

“The governor wants to see if we can avoid strike situations that seem to pop up around the time children go back to school,” Flanders said at a regularly scheduled Regents’ meeting today. Flanders said he will move quickly to assemble the group, begin meetings and present recommendations to lawmakers early next year.

Flanders, a former state Supreme Court justice, was nominated by Carcieri in June to head the board and confirmed by the Senate before its close later that month.

-- Journal staff writer Jennifer D. Jordan

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:30 PM | Comment

Update: All 11 fire departments bow out of drill

PROVIDENCE -- All 11 Rhode Island fire departments slated to participate in a terrorism drill at Rhode Island Convention Center have dropped out, prompted by the Providence firefighters' union plan to picket as part of a protracted contract battle between the Providence firefighters and the city.

Yesterday, East Providence, Cranston and Pawtucket bowed out because of the union picket. This morning, Newport firefighters followed suit. As of this afternoon, all of the other departments dropped out, too, including Coventry, Johnston, North Providence, West Warwick, Warwick, and Central Falls. The 11th department is Providence itself.

Drill organizers, however, say they will conduct the exercise no matter what.

Meanwhile, RIPTA officials are also telling the Providence Emergency Management Agency that their union is concerned about getting involved.

The RIPTA bus drivers were going to transport victims, said Leo Messier, of the Providence EMA. Without them, the drill won’t be able to use its new statewide communications system.

Providence alone was planning to have 80 firefighters involved in the drill, including 40 who are on duty Sunday. There were no volunteers to work overtime.

This morning, the department ordered eight Providence firefighters trained in hazardous materials to come in and work the drill, said Assistant Fire Chief Michael J. Dillon. They are being paid overtime.

Providence Fire Chief George S. Farrell said this morning that he’s hopeful that the controversy can be smoothed over in time for Sunday.

Also today, Governor Carcieri, a Republican, and the head of the convention center authority criticized the union's plan to picket.

The state Republican Party chairman this afternoon said state Democratic leaders need to speak out against the union's planned picket.

Your turn: Are the firefighters justified in picketing a major statewide drill?

-- Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits, with reports from Journal staff writer Michael P. McKinney

“Where are the Democrat leaders speaking out against this? Their silence is deafening and shows they won’t break ranks with the union bosses even when a job action threatens public safety, is an outrageous disruption to a planned anti-terrorism drill, and will waste taxpayers dollars,” GOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione said in a statement.

He added: “The Democratic Party used to stand up for the working class -- now they toss aside valuable training and funding that could save lives just to draw attention to the circus that the unions run for their own gain.”

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:08 PM | Comment

Update: Blue Cross to make cuts; details unknown

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island said today it is cutting staff and eliminating "several programs and functions" to lower its operating expenses.

In a two-paragraph statement, the state's publicly chartered health insurer makes no mention of how many staff members are being cut or which programs -- or how any of that will impact the public.

The corporation said it's "under increasing competitive pressure to provide high-quality health insurance for less. To retain our market share and to ensure the long-term viability and success of the company -- we must operate at the lowest reasonable cost."

The statement adds: "Out of respect and sensitivity to those individuals who are directly impacted, it would be inappropriate for us to provide any more information," the statement says. "We are making every effort to treat those individuals with the dignity and respect they deserve."

Blue Cross is one of the state's two dominant health insurers. The other is UnitedHealthcare, which beat out Blue Cross early this year for the state employees' health insurance contract. Blue Cross is an independent, nonprofit company, while United is a for-profit subsidiary of a national company.

The major news this year from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has been construction plans for a new headquarters in the Capital Center in Providence. It plans a 13-story, 325,000-square-foot building rising 237 feet at the corner of Park Row and Exchange Street and above a parking garage under construction to serve two residential towers.

As of April, the insurer had about 1,100 employees in Providence, in six locations, two owned, four rented. The company has said it plans to sell the two buildings it alreay owns for $20 million and put the proceeds toward the cost of constructing the $114-million building.

Blue Cross has said it hopes to begin constructing the building late this year and occupy the site in early 2010. It is slated to get $25 million in tax breaks from the city, under a plan negotiated in 2004 with Intercontinental when the developer signed its long-term lease on the two-acre Capital Center parcel, Blue Cross officials have said.

In May, Governor Carcieri had expressed concerns about the location in terms of perception: an expensive location.

But Blue Cross & Blue Shield officials have said locating there saves money long term, including because of efficiencies resulting from consolidating in one spot.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney and Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:30 PM | Comment

Brotherhood premieres at PPAC tonight

People can wait until Sunday to catch those Rhode Island standbys of political corruption, criminal shenanigans and friends influencing friends dramatized on Showtime's new season of Brotherhood. Or they can catch it tonight at the Providence Performing Arts Center.

The first two episodes will premiere at 7 tonight. Tickets are free. Pick them up at Cox stores at the South County Commons in South Kingstown, 50 Houghton St. in Providence, and 1999 Plainfield Pike in Johnston and at the Warwick Mall.

It was not clear if tickets were still available at those locations.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:00 PM | Comment

Sex offender, accused again, back in prison

A convicted sex offender, accused of raping a woman in Cumberland while he was on probation, today was ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence from the previous conviction.

Gary P. Lamountain was indicted on two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of larceny in 2003 after attacking a woman he had known for 20 years and stealing stereo equipment. He was given a 20-year sentence with five years to serve and 15 years suspended.

Lamountain was released April 23 of this year after serving three years of his five-year sentence at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

Lamountain, labeled a level three, or “high risk” sex offender, was arrested Aug. 12 after a 27-year-old woman accused him of breaking into her Cumberland apartment and raping her.

At a violation hearing today in Superior Court, Providence, Judge Gilbert Indeglia ordered Lamountain to serve the 15 years that had been suspended as part of his previous sentence.

The police were in the process of putting a notification to let neighbors know a registered sex offender was in the area, but the notice was posted on the police department’s Web site the day after Lamountain's arrest.
.
-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Philip Marcello

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:12 PM | Comment

Guard transportation unit returning to R.I.

CRANSTON -- More than 130 members of the Rhode Island Army National Guard are returning this weekend from a year-long deployment to Iraq.

The 1207th Transportation Company conducted transportation missions in Basra. The Guard members arrived there in September 2006.

The company is scheduled to arrive at Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown.

One soldier in the unit received a Purple Heart in Iraq. Eight were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 31 received the Combat Action Badge.

This morning, 175 Guardsmen departed for Fort Dix, N.J., on their way to Iraq.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:53 PM | Comment

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of R.I. is cutting staff

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island said today it is cutting staff and eliminating "several programs and functions" to lower its operating expenses.

In a statement, the nonprofit corporation said it's "under increasing competitive pressure to provide high-quality health insurance for less. To retain our market share and to ensure the long-term viability and success of the company -- we must operate at the lowest reasonable cost."

The statement made no mention of how many staff members are being cut or which programs.

"Out of respect and sensitivity to those individuals who are directly impacted, it would be inappropriate for us to provide any more information," the statement says. "We are making every effort to treat those individuals with the dignity and respect they deserve."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:35 PM | Comment

Update: Male jumps from Jamestown span

A male jumped off the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge today, according to police.

He was being taken by a Jamestown Fire Department boat to a local hospital.

Coast Guard from Station Castle Hill in Newport responded and helped clear the scene after the incident, which happened around noon.

Police have not found a vehicle on the bridge or immediate area.

The span connects North Kingstown and the island of Jamestown.

No other information is available at this time.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Donita Naylor

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:11 PM | Comment

Mexican gets day in court on workers' comp case

PROVIDENCE -- A day after Edgar Velásquez returned from the mountains of Mexico on humanitarian parole, he got his first chance at seeking justice today against his former employer for a devastating chainsaw injury that sliced his face open.

Though Velásquez was in the country illegally when he worked for William J. Gorman Jr., owner of Billy G’s Tree Service in Warwick, state law allows a person to pursue workers’ compensation regardless of their legal status. Last year when Velásquez tried to pursue against Gorman, however, immigration agents arrested him outside the J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex on the day of a scheduled hearing, and he was sent back to Mexico a month later.

After today’s pre-trial hearing before Judge Bruce Q. Morin, Velásquez said through an interpreter, “I feel very happy to be back in Rhode Island. I hope it’s going to come to a happy conclusion, God willing.”

The case is not over. Lawyers have arranged for Velásquez to give a deposition before his humanitarian parole expires on Sunday. Unless immigration authorities grant an extension, Velásquez must return home that day. It is scheduled to go to trial. It is not clear when.

During the hearing, Velásquez stated that he worked six days a week, between 10 and 12 hours a day for Gorman for more than a year -- except for winter months -- up until the time of the accident. Gorman picked him up and drove him home each day, and he was not free to leave “until the job was done.”

He also said he continues to suffer headaches and dizziness and cannot fully close his left eye since the injury, and he experiences recurring infections along the scar at his hairline.

Michael A. St. Pierre, lawyer for Gorman, argued that his client is an arborist, and as such is exempt from the workers’ compensation statute. He said, however, that Gorman has $300,000 indemnity insurance and as such, there is likely a remedy for Velásquez outside of workers’ compensation.

Maureen Gemma of the firm of Stephen Dennis, argued that Gorman is not a licensed arborist and can better be described as “a woodsman.” She also contended that Gorman “has on one or more occasions, collected workers’ compensation” as an employee of a tree service.

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:08 PM | Comment

Bringing Rhode Island history into the now

The Rhode Island Historical Society is set to go online this evening.

The organization will wave goodbye to the past – its 185-year-old card catalogue system – and enter the modern age with an electronic database that allows anyone with access to the Web to peruse items stored in the Historical Society’s museum and library.

A formal demonstration will be held this evening at 7:30.

The first step is to let users search through about one quarter of the society’s documents, that’s 150,000 items, and determine where they are in the library or museum.

Digital scans or reproductions will not be available online.

The project was paid for with a $75,000 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The society will continue cataloguing its collections as the grants and individual donations become available. Next will be genealogical artifacts, including diaries and 19th-century books.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:16 PM | Comment

Carcieri, convention head criticize union picket plan

Governor Carcieri and the head of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority are criticizing the Providence firefighters union for its plans to picket a statewide terrorism drill this weekend at the convention center.

The union's decision to picket the drill has prompted dozens of firefighters from other departments to say they won't participate.

Your turn: Are the firefighters justified in picketing a major, statewide drill?

Carcieri and David A. Duffy, chairman of the convention center authority's governing board, say they hope the union changes its plans and participates in the drill.

The drill, paid for in part by a $50,000 federal grant, will simulate a terrorist attack at the convention center that leaves hundreds of victims, requires 40 ambulances, and mobilizes seven hospitals to help.

Duffy said the threatened picket could force organizers to scale back, or even cancel, the drill.

Providence firefighters are embroiled in a protracted contract battle with the city. They say they plan an "informational demonstration" for disability benefits.

Carcieri says it's "unconscionable" for the union to even consider picketing the drill.

"In the wake of September 11th and The Station nightclub fire, Rhode Island has worked hard to improve the state’s ability to prevent and respond to emergencies,” Carcieri said in a statement issued this morning. “While we have upgraded our equipment and protocols, the most important thing we can do is drill, practice, and train. In that light, the statewide terrorism drill scheduled for Sunday is a critical part of our ability to protect Rhode Island citizens.”

At this morning's board meeting, Duffy said, "I don't see how this helps anyone. I don't see how this has anything to do with their contract."

"This benefits all the people of Rhode Island," Duffy said. "I hope that common sense will prevail."

Carcieri said he hopes the union does "the right thing" and fully participates in the drill.

-- With reports from Journal staff writers Amanda Milkovits and Benjamin Gedan

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:34 AM | Comment

Someone got lucky in Kentucky

You may have noticed on your way to work today that the big Powerball billboard on Route 95 had a new number.

The prize is down to a measly $15 million, after a ticket bought in Kentucky hit the jackpot in last night's drawing.

The winning numbers were: 25 27 31 44 54 Powerball 8 Powerplay 2

The estimated grand prize -- $61.5 million

For more on last night's winning numbers around the region, and every day's drawings, visit projo.com's lottery page.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 11:29 AM | Comment

Defendants' objections could delay Station payments

PROVIDENCE – A month ago, lawyers for those who lost loved ones or suffered injuries in The Station nightclub fire told a federal court judge that some of the parties they’d sued had tentatively agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle the victims’ claims. They asked the court to allow them to hire a special master who would decide how the settlement money would be divvied up.

But lawyers for two foam manufacturers who are being sued – General Foam and Foamex -- are now objecting to the court’s appointment of a special master. And in a move that may further delay any money getting to the victims, they say in newly filed court papers that they intend to object to the proposed settlements and challenge a law, enacted by the General Assembly in 2006, that is aimed at facilitating pre-trial settlements cases in which there are 25 or more deaths.

Legal experts have said that the new legislation – which lawmakers call The Station fire bill -- could result in monetary settlements with some of the seemingly most culpable defendants who have little insurance and few assets to reach settlements with the fire victims. It was modeled after one that was enacted to pay back credit-union depositors during the state’s banking crisis in 1991.

The new law was enacted despite objections from insurance defense lawyers, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and several local and publicly traded companies. Those lobbying against it included lawyers for some of the large corporations the fire victims are now suing.

More than 300 fire victims and their survivors have lawsuits pending in U.S. District Court in connection with the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station in West Warwick. One hundred people died in the blaze and more than 200 others were injured. The fire began when the tour manager for the rock band Great White set off fireworks inside the club. Sparks from the pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable polyurethane foam that the owners of the club, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, installed on the walls as soundproofing.

Lawyers for the victims have worked out settlements with about a half-dozen defendants and say they are making headway in negotiating with a number of others.

But lawyers James A. Ruggieri and Gerald C. DeMaria, who represent foam manufacturers Foamex and General Foam, assert in papers filed last week that the new law the settlement offers are conditioned upon “is unconstitutional and invalid” and that they “fully intend to object to any proposed settlements on those grounds at the appropriate time.”

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

Up until the new law was enacted, no lawyer representing any of the Station fire victims had entertained any settlement offer because there was a risk that a victim might forfeit millions of dollars in damages if a jury were to find a party that settled primarily at fault for the fire.

But now, with the new law, there would be less risk in a victim accepting pre-trial settlement offers because there would merely be a dollar-for-dollar write-off attached to whatever verdict is rendered at a trial. The degree of culpability will not be a factor in reducing a verdict for this special class of fire victims.

But that is precisely what Demaria and Ruggieri are objecting to.

In a memorandum of law filed with Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, they say that the 2006 law operates to the detriment of deep-pocket defendants in mass tort cases who may have very little culpability. If these large corporations choose to go to trial and have a jury weigh the allegations against them, they could face having to pay for close to 100 percent of the damages awarded, even if they are found to be only minimally at fault.

Demaria and Ruggieri declined to comment further this week when asked what their timetable for contesting the new law would be – and at what point they plan to do so. They could seek declaration of the constitutionality of the act before Lagueux and then appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if the judge rejects their constitutional objections. But the appeals court could decide to wait to take up the issue until after the case is tried and damages are awarded.

While it is anticipated that other defendants who haven’t offered to settle may also join in the fight over the constitutionality of the new law, the defendants who have offered to settle or the victims’ lawyers could also ask Lagueux to take up the issue soon, in an effort to speed the settlement process.

The parties that have agreed to contribute to the proposed $13.5-million settlement are:

* Luna Tech Inc., of Alabama –and two of its European subsidiaries –which the lawsuits contend manufactured the pyrotechnics used by Great White the night of the fire.

* High Tech Effects Inc., a Tennessee company that is alleged to have sold the pyrotechnics used by Great White at The Station the night of the fire.

* Celotex Corp., which manufactured SoundStop board and then sold it for distribution to consumers. According to the lawsuits, the Derderians purchased SoundStop for their club from Home Depot and then installed it in the ceiling of the drummer’s alcove and elsewhere inside The Station.

* Triton Realty and Raymond Villanova, owners of the building on Cowesett Avenue where The Station was located.

* Joseph LaFontaine, of Warwick, owner of New England Custom Alarms, the company that installed the fire alarm system at the club when it was owned by Howard Julian, before the Derderians bought it.

The victims’ lawyers are asking Lagueux to appoint a special master who would devise a grid for apportioning the settlement proceeds among the plaintiffs. They are proposing that the court appoint Francis E. McGovern, a law professor at Duke University who has performed similar duties in mass tort cases more than 50 times.

Lagueux has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 18 to determine whether he will appoint a special settlement master.

DeMaria and Ruggieri say that if the victims’ lawyers want to hire someone as a private mediator to help them come up with a formula to impartially divvy up settlement proceeds, they have no objection. But they don’t want Lagueux to approve the hiring of a special master as an arm of the court or having him involved in the process of sanctioning what he does.

They assert that the court should decide whether the settlements are fair without input from a special master.

And, they say in their court filing that they don’t want to face the prospect of having to pay any of the fees that a special master might charge for his services.

The fire victims’ lawyers, they say, “have not demonstrated exceptional circumstances necessitating a special master.” And Lagueux, they say, has not indicated that he needs any assistance in approving any of the proposed settlements. They contend that “the court should continue its practice of insulating itself from settlement negotiations so that it can more easily conduct trials as they become necessary.”

The court, they say, “should consider the propriety of allocation only at the end of plaintiffs’ internal allocation efforts, when plaintiffs’ work –and presumably that of their internal consultant—is completed. The court need not otherwise be improperly drawn into the internal process of allocation, which could very well be contentious among counsel and/or parties seeking compensation.”

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:15 AM | Comment

DownCity merchants to take to sidewalk

Just in time for fall weather -- the Shop Downcity Fall Sidewalk Sale.

Tomorrow and Saturday afternoon, downtown retailers will be showing off their wares indoors and out, if the weather permits.

Goods from books to furniture will be on sale on Westminster Street between Eddy and Union.

The sale begins tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, shop from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; there will also be live music from noon to 2 p.m.

The downtown Farmers Market is also tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kennedy Plaza.

And Saturday is the Providence Street Painting Festival, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Bank of America City Center, and the Providence Open Market from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the corner of Westminster and Union Streets.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:07 AM | Comment

Sentencing postponed for Mollis's stepson

Sentencing of Gian Piscione, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis’ stepson, has been postponed Oct. 24.

Piscione was scheduled for sentencing today in Superior Court for a January shooting.

He was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder after shooting a shotgun twice into the back of a car with two men seated inside.

Piscione later pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:32 AM | Comment

Workers comp hearing today for Mexican man

PROVIDENCE -- Edgar Velásquez wanted his day in court, and now he will get it.

Velásquez, a Mexican man who slashed his face open with a chain saw while working for the owner of a Warwick tree service, returned to Rhode Island yesterday on a humanitarian permit issued by the U.S. government, so he can to pursue a worker’s compensation case against William J. Gorman Jr., his former employer.

Velásquez had been living in the country illegally and was deported last year after being picked up by immigration agents outside the J. Joseph Garrahy courthouse on the day of a scheduled hearing. By law, Velásquez is entitled to pursue a workers’ compensation claim, regardless of his undocumented status.

"I am not afraid, I’m going to tell the truth as I lived it … of what happened on the day of the accident and how I was treated by Mr. Gorman,” said Velasquez in an interview yesterday afternoon.

Read more about Velásquez
Read projo.com's ongoing series on immigration

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:20 AM | Comment

Bristol Guard unit leaves for N.J. to prepare for Iraq

One hundred seventy five members of the Rhode Island National Guard set out this morning on a bus to Fort Dix., N.J., where they’ll stop for training on their way to Iraq.

The members of the C Battery, 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery Brigade left from the National Guard Armory in Bristol, where friends and family said their last goodbyes. They were accompanied to the Connecticut line by the Patriot Guard Riders, according Lt. Col. Denis J. Riel.

They should arrive in New Jersey by 2 this afternoon.

For many of the soldiers, this is a voluntary second tour in Iraq, where they will act as a security force. The group is expected to return home in October, 2008, Riel said.

With this deployment, 445 Rhode Island National Guardsmen are on active duty.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:07 AM | Comment

U.S. women fall in World Cup

Brazil has defeated the United States, 4-0, in the semifinal of the Women's World Cup in Hangzhou, China. We'll have more coverage this morning on the projo SportsBlog.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 9:56 AM | Comment

Convicted sex offender due in court today

A convicted sex offender now accused of raping a woman in Cumberland is scheduled for a bail violation hearing in Superior Court, Providence, this morning.

Gary P. Lamountain, a level three, or “high-risk” sex offender, was arrested Aug. 12 after a 27-year-old woman accused him of breaking into her Cumberland apartment and raping her.

Lamountain was released from the Adult Correctional Institutions on April 23 after serving just over three years of a five-year prison sentence for raping a 38-year-old Cumberland woman and stealing her stereo in 2004.

Police had prepared a letter notifying neighbors that a high-risk sex offender had moved into the neighborhood four days before he allegedly committed this latest crime. The notice was posted on the police department’s Web site the day after Lamountain's arrest.

Magistrate Joseph Keough will consider violations for each of the three charges Lamountain faces: first-degree sexual assault;, felony assault; and forgery and counterfeiting.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:40 AM | Comment

Bike path opens today

It's been ten years, but the second phase of the Northwest Bike Trail/ Fred Lippitt Woonasquatucket River Greenway is scheduled to open this morning.

The 3.6-mile bikeway runs from Valley Street, Providence, to Lyman Avenue, Johnston. Part of the path is on-road, but 2.9 miles along the Woonasquatucket River is unpaved.

The path connects the 1.5-mile on-road route from Valley Street to Providence Place mall.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 10 a.m. at the start of the off-road section in Riverside Mills Park, off Aleppo Street, in Providence.

Mayor David N. Cicilline, Department of Transportation Director Jerome F. Williams, Department of Environmental Management Executive Director W. Michael Sullivan and Jane Sherman, of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, will be there.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:24 AM | Comment

Funeral for Rep. Paul W. Crowley

A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 this morning for Rep. Paul W. Crowley at St. Augustin Church, Carroll Avenue in Newport. The burial will be at St. Columba Cemetery, Brown's Lane, Middletown.

Crowley, a Newport restaurateur who, in almost 30 years in the General Assembly, championed schoolchildren in the city where he was raised, died Monday after a protracted fight with melanoma.

He was 57.

Read M. Charles Bakst's column on Crowley.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:45 AM | Comment

Lotteries will determine ballot lineups

Three lotteries to determine the layout of ballots will be held tomorrow afternoon.

One will determine the order of names on the ballot to fill the seat of former Rep. Peter Ginaitt, D-Warwick, who resigned to take a job with Lifespan hospital network.

By state law, endorsed Democratic candidate Edgar Ladouceur will be the first name on the ballot for the Democratic special primary election on Oct. 23. A lottery will determine where Frank Ferri and Olin Thompson appear on the ballot.

A second lottery will determine where the winner of the Democratic primary and Republican Jonathon Wheeler appear on the ballot for the Nov. 27 election. A state law requires “recognized parties” to be listed first; independent Carlo Pisaturo will be listed third.

The final lottery will determine whether a Democrat or Republican is listed first on the Nov. 6 ballot in races in Jamestown for town moderator, school committee, and town council.

Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis has invited the public to attend the three lotteries tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at 148 W. River St. in Providence.

“I campaigned for this office on a pledge to make government more transparent," Mollis said in a press release.

"There is nothing that will give voters more faith in the fairness of their elections than the opportunity to see for themselves how the process unfolds."

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:16 AM | Comment

Update: Hillary Clinton cancels Rhode Island visit

Sen. Hillary Clinton has canceled her visit to the Ocean State, according to Susan Weiner, who was set to host the event with her husband, Mark.

A fund-raising lunch was scheduled this afternoon at the Weiners' East Greenwich home, but the Democratic presidential candidate canceled to cast a vote in Washington, D.C., Susan Weiner said.

"That takes precedence," she added.

Lobbyist Gerry Harrington, a top fundraiser for John Kerry’s unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign, was set to chair the event.

Fellow Democrats from Rhode island, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. James Langevin, were scheduled to be there, but Mayor David N. Cicilline, former co-chairman of Clinton’s Rhode Island campaign, had resigned as co-chair and agreed not to attend the event after Providence firefighters pledged to picket the luncheon if he showed up.

In a recently released Brown University poll, Clinton had a lead among other Democratic candidates. If the primary were held today, according to the poll of 380 voters who said they would probably vote in the primary, the New York senator would collect 35 percent of the votes, Sen. Barack Obama would get 16 percent.

Earlier this year former President Bill Clinton appeared at a fund-raising event for his wife at the home of former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:42 AM | Comment

Last day of summer?

Another mostly sunny, summer-like day this September. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 84 degrees with a southwest wind up to 15 mph.

But there may be a change of pace this evening, with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Rain or not, it will be mostly cloudy with an overnight low near 65.

Tomorrow we can expect rain, fog and a high in the mid-70s -- ah, spring!

For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story and photographs about a Rhode Island National Guard unit that is deploying for Iraq.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment