« September 27, 2007 | Today | October 1, 2007 »

September 28, 2007

Lynch praises decision on Brayton Point permit

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch today praised an appeals board's denial of what he called Dominion Energy Brayton Point LLC’s request to "delay compliance" with permit requirements at Brayton Point Station in Somerset, Mass.

In a news release this evening, Lynch's office said Brayton Point's operation "under an inadequate 15-year-old permit" has been causing "significant violations" of Rhode Island water quality requirements.

The decision, dated yesterday, was by the Environmental Appeals Board, an administrative court of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Lynch said in his statement that the decision "gives us hope that Dominion will resist pursuing further legal action and implement the technology that must be employed if Mount Hope Bay — two-thirds of which is within Rhode Island — is ever to recover from the harm inflicted by the operation of Brayton Point Power Station.”

On Oct. 6, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office issued a permit requiring Brayton Point’s operator to lower the plant’s thermal output -- how much water can be discharged and at what temperature it can be discharged -- and requires the operator to reduce its intake of water from the bay.

The plant would have to install what are known as closed-cycle cooling towers in its four coal-and oil-fired electricity-generating units, which Lynch's office said would reduce the plant’s intake of water from about 1 billion gallons to 56 million gallons per day.

The plant’s owners appealed the permit.

The Environmental Appeals Board denied Brayton Point Station’s request for a second review, so terms of the 2003 permit must be carried out immediately, Lynch's office said.

However, Lynch's release noted the company may seek an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, in Boston.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:48 PM | Comment

For Hannah Montana, they'll wait in line 15 hours

PROVIDENCE -- Talk about getting an early start.

A line of 15 to 20 people, adults and youths both, has formed this evening outside Rhode Island Convention Center to buy tickets to see Miley Cyrus -- aka Hannah Montana -- and the Jonas Brothers -- tickets that don't go on sale until 10 a.m tomorrow.

They've pulled up chairs outside the convention center to guarantee seats at the Dec. 20 performance of the Disney Channel favs at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

There is a four-ticket limit per family.

Meanwhile, folk-rock icon Bob Dylan is slated to appear tomorrow night at the Ryan Center at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston.

He'll likely attract a different type of audience.

But you can react to his performance, and Journal staff writer Rick Massimo's review, Sunday on projo.com.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:11 PM | Comment

Textron agrees to loans for Las Vegas development

PROVIDENCE -- Textron Financial Corporation, a subsidiary of Providence-based Textron Inc., has agreed to provide loans to Westgate Resorts to pay for the $400-million Planet Hollywood Towers development in Las Vegas.

The 50-story residential development, on the Las Vegas Strip, is expected to open in two years. It will give owners access to the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

“The closing of this deal is testament to the financial strength and the industry and product expertise Textron Financial offers to all our customers,” Jay Carter, president of Textron Financial, said in a statement today.

The loan is the largest ever by Textron Financial's Resort Finance Division, established in 1990.

Westgate Resorts, based in Florida, is affiliated with Central Florida Investments Inc.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:00 PM | Comment

Gathering to mark same-sex marriage ruling

A gathering on the State House steps tomorrow will mark the first anniversary of a Massachusetts judge's ruling that allows Rhode Island same-sex couples to get married in the Bay State.

Rhode Island same-sex married couples, family and friends will attend, and couples and officials from gay-rights organizations are slated to speak.

The gathering, with a group photo planned, is scheduled for 10 a.m., according to a news release from Marriage Equality Rhode Island.

In September last year, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Thomas E. Connolly ruled that Rhode Island law did not expressly prohibit gay marriage. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court already allowed same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.

In February this year, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, whose sister married a woman in Attleboro, Mass., issued an opinion saying Rhode Island would recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in Massachusetts. Lynch has said his sister's marriage had no bearing on his decision.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:28 PM | Comment

Sox keeping promising Buchholz out for season

Right-hander Clay Buchholz, who no-hit the Orioles on Sept. 1 in only his second big-league start, is being shut down for the season by the Red Sox.

Sox Manager Terry Francona said minutes ago that Buchholz's strength and mobility, among other things the organization test for on a regular basis, are not at the levels the Sox would like to see in order to have him continue to pitch.

So rather than risk his promising career by using him over the final three regular-season games and then in the postseason, the organization has decided to err on the side of caution.

Get the latest from projo.com's SoxBlog ...

-- Journal staff writer Steven Krasner

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:06 PM | Comment

State delays new Medicaid co-payments

PROVIDENCE – The state has delayed plans to ask 14,000 impoverished Medicaid recipients to pay a portion of their prescription drug costs.

The policy, enacted as part of the state budget passed by the General Assembly this spring, was set to begin Monday. It would have required $1 and $3 co-payments for generic and brand name medications, respectively.

The new fee structure has been put on hold until Dec. 1 because of federal objections to state regulations associated with the new policy.

The decision has nothing to do with an outcry from social welfare advocates at a public hearing earlier in the month, Department of Human Services Director Gary Alexander said today.

He did not immediately know how the delay would affect the $600,000 in revenue projected from the fees.

Several people testified that the copays unfairly target those least able to afford them, especially those on several medications and those with sick children. Fee-for-service Medicaid recipients affected by the new co-pays are generally adults under the age of 65 suffering from disabilities. Most live on monthly incomes fixed at $680.

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:57 PM | Comment

9 Liberian journalists to speak at CCRI forum

Nine Liberian journalists will talk about matters impacting Liberia's "emerging democracy," including the media's contribution and the media environment there, during a Community College of Rhode Island forum tomorrow.

The noon forum is at the college's Liston Campus, 1 Hilton St., Providence.

At noon there will be a one-hour viewing of a photo exhibit by Liberian photojournalist Gregory Stemn, a former photo editor of such Liberian newspapers as the Daily Observer and Inquirer. "His photos trace the country’s transition from civil war to democracy and peace," the college said in a news release.

CCRI student government members will participate in the forum, which is free and open to the public.

Maureen Sieh, former senior reporter at the Liberian Daily Observer and now urban affairs editor at the Post Standard in Syracuse, N.Y., will moderate.

Print and electronic media journalists as well as journalists from "civic media organizations," the Press Union of Liberia, Female Journalists Association of Liberia, and the Liberia Media Center are slated to speak.

For more information, call Nyekeh Forkpa at (401) 477-4993 or at nyekeh33@ yahoo.com or Sam Togba Slewion at (215) 964-3217 or stslewion@aol.com.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

The visit is through an exchange program by the Center for Democracy and Development at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Liberia Media Support Initiative, described by the college as a media watchdog group, organized the event, working with the Center for Democracy and Development at UMass Boston and Rhode Island's Liberian community.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:43 PM | Comment

Photo: Brown students back protesters in Burma

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Students at Brown University marched on campus today to show solidarity with protests in Myanmar, also known as Burma, against the ruling military government. Former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, now a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown, was among the speakers.

Security forces first moved against the anti-government protesters on Wednesday, when the first of 10 deaths was reported. Images of bloodied protesters and fleeing crowds have riveted world attention on the escalating crisis, prompting many governments to urge the junta in Myanmar to end the violence. Get the latest from the Associated Press.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:39 PM | Comment

Rhode Island gets grant to stop elder-women abuse

Rhode Island has secured a $320,972 federal grant to develop and carry out statewide training that aims to end abuse against older women.

The grant will be used over three years to accomplish the initiative, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed.

The grant goes to Day One -- the sexual assault and trauma resource center -- and includes as partners the state attorney general's office, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, and state Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“The needs of older woman who are victims of violence are different than those of other age groups,” Kennedy said in the statement. “They are very often the caregiver of an extended family and feel a tremendous responsibility to remain quiet, even while the abuse may threaten their personal safety."

Reed stated: "Too often, older women and senior citizens are targeted by criminals. We need to do more to protect our older citizens from abuse and violent crime."

The goal is for the organizations to work with other community and state agencies to create a "statewide systemic response" to women victims of sexual abuse and violence later in life.

From 2001 to 2005, 1,359 incidents of domestic violence against people 60 or older were reported to Rhode Island police, according to estimates from the lawmakers.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:18 PM | Comment

Update: Firefighters will participate in Sunday's drill

The Providence firefighters will be participating in Sunday's Homeland Security drill at the Rhode Island Convention Center, apparently meaning that the statewide drill will go forward as planned.

The Providence firefighters, who have been working without a contract, had planned to picket the drill, leading firefighters from other departments to say they would not cross the picket lines.

That plan was met with fierce objections by city and state officials.

Their Providence Fire Department's union president said in a statement, "It never was our intention to negatively impact the drill."

Anyone who asserts that it was, union president Paul A. Doughty added, "is either misinformed or is consciously misinforming the public."

The statement also says the Providence firefighters union has contacted all other Rhode Island fire departments to assure them their participation "will be as welcome as it is necessary."

Firefighters will stage a "teach-in" on the steps of City Hall after the drill is finished, according to a statement from the firefighters' union. Doughty's statement said the subject of the teach-in is that "Providence is alone among Rhode Island municipalities in its unwillingness to conform to state law regarding cancer benefits for firefighters."

He added that "in Providence, the city charter provides a legal loophole that allows the city to ignore the state law ... So our argument is not legal in nature. It's about morality. It's about right and wrong."

"Providence firefighters will proudly join colleagues from the other 38 cities and towns of Rhode Island and participate in a preparedness exercise of immense importance to the safety of our state," Doughty said.

Doughty was scheduled to give a news conference beginning at 3 p.m. today.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:19 PM | Comment

Zion Bible College, in Barrington, moving to Mass.

BARRINGTON -- Zion Bible College is moving to Massachusetts after all.

The Rev. Otis Stanley, the Board of Trustees chairman, says the Barrington school will move to the former campus of Bradford College in Haverhill, Mass., after the founder of an arts-and-crafts chain purchased the 72.5-acre campus and donated it.

The school last year considered the move, but backed out when trustees decided it wasn't financially feasible.

That changed when David Green of Hobby Lobby Stores bought the campus. Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini says the school will now use the money it was planning to use to buy the campus to rehabilitate buildings.

Stanley says the campus could be ready by next September.

Bradford closed in 2000 for financial reasons.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:37 PM | Comment

Providence appoints a new finance director

PROVIDENCE -- Bruce T. Miller, the Plymouth, Mass. finance director, has been appointed Providence finance director and will begin work Oct. 15, Mayor David N. Cicilline's office announced today.

Miller has overseen a $155-million budget in Plymouth and fills the post left open by former finance director Alex Prignano, who retired last year, according to a news release.

Miller served as finance director for Provincetown, Mass, from 2000 to 2004, overseeing a $30 million budget. And, from 1993 to 1999, Miller managed the finances of Nantucket, Mass.

“Bruce Miller has a strong background in public sector finance and his track record at successfully implementing long-term financial strategies for several municipalities makes him uniquely qualified to manage the City of Providence’s finances,” Cicilline said in a statement. “He takes on the position at a time when Providence has earned ‘A’ grades from all three bond rating agencies and made progress towards implementing meaningful pension reform.”

Miller carried out long-term strategic planning for capital and operating budgets, "revising debt and cash management/investment policies," and restructured back-office operations of the town’s treasury, collector and accounting departments, the mayor's office said.

Miller modernized Plymouth’s financial operations by carrying out a change to new software.

He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from University of Baltimore.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:20 PM | Comment

R.I. Lottery: scratch a ticket, help the arts

Rhode Island Lottery announced today that beginning Monday all proceeds from a new one-dollar scratch ticket game during its first three months will go to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to help the local arts community.

The ticket was designed in part by Tom Roskelly of Roskelly, Inc. in Portsmouth, and features a performer from Fusionworks Dance Company. The RISCA ticket will be available in full distribution. The game will also be sold at certain arts events.

The new Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Instant Game came out of legislation, Rhode Island Lottery said in a news release. The law was spearheaded by Sen. Maryellen Goodwin, D-Providence, and Rep. John McCauley, D-Providence, with co-sponsors Reps. Peter Lewiss, John Shanley, Edith Ajello, and William San Bento.

"We hope that this instant lottery game is successful in raising additional support for the arts in our state, and we thank all those who have made this possible," Randall Rosenbaum, the state Council on the Arts executive director, said in the statement.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:34 PM | Comment

UAW takes step toward forming union at Foxwoods

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The United Auto Workers filed a petition today with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election to form a union for about 3,000 dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Union officials called the move the largest organizing effort in Connecticut in decades. It also would be one of the first unions at a tribal casino.

"This step is epochal, portending huge shifts in the legal and labor landscape at tribal casinos all around the country," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, whose office has supported such efforts. "It would almost inevitably lead to similar union efforts at other casinos."

The move came after UAW officials said a "supermajority" of the 3,000 dealers had signed cards in support of the effort. At least 30 percent of employees of a proposed bargaining unit must sign cards to force a vote, which is supervised by the NLRB.

UAW officials said in June they had started gathering signatures in a bid to unionize workers at Foxwoods. The casino in Mashantucket is owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and has 11,430 employees.

Foxwoods officials have been fighting the unionizing efforts, telling employees they will be required to pay dues and may lose benefits through negotiations. In February, the casino announced 5 percent raises and improved benefits after a New Year's Eve sickout to protest working conditions.

Full story ...

-- Associated Press

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:26 PM | Comment

More officials decry firefighters' plan to picket

The state's Attorney General has added his voice to the list of state officials objecting to the Providence firefighters' decision to picket, threatening to cancel or drastically scale back a statewide mock disaster drill scheduled for Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

Patrick Lynch said in an interview, "There is a time and place for everything, and I don't think firefighters should use an important _ if not critically important _ public safety preparedness drill as a bargaining tool.''

He urged the union to find a way to allow the drill to take place as planned and said he had left a message for union president Paul Doughty to that effect.

In interviews this morning, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and Gen. Treas. Frank Caprio added their voices.

Roberts, who chairs the state Emergency Management Advisory Council, said she was "shocked" when she read the news about the dispute and the refusal of firefighters from several communities to participate in the terrorism drill.

She said firefighters' "primary responsibility" is to respond to emergencies, something "they do very well.'' She said she was "extremely disappointed'' that an argument over disability benefits - which she acknowledged is an important matter - "is getting in the way of having this important drill.''

Caprio said he wants to see the drill go forward with full participation by everyone who was scheduled to be in it.

"The drill is of utmost importance for our region and I would hope the union and the city administration could work out their differences,'' he said.

Caprio said he'd place a call and pass along his thoughts to Doughty.

Minutes later, Caprio phoned The Providence Journal to say he spoke to Doughty and that the union leader "sounded very hopeful" the situation would be resolved. "I think you're going to to see some news from them sometime this afternoon,'' Caprio said.

Republican Governor Carcieri and Democratic Mayor David Cicilline assailed the firefighters' posture yesterday.

-- Journal staff writer M. Charles Bakst

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:00 PM | Comment

Lawyers ask court to affirm Urciuoli, Driscoll verdicts

PROVIDENCE -- Federal prosecutors are asking a federal appeals court to uphold guilty verdicts against two former hospital executives convicted in a corruption case.

They filed court papers today rejecting arguments from Robert Urciuoli and Frances Driscoll that the trial judge gave the jury flawed instructions.

Robert Urciuoli is the former president of Roger Williams Medical Center. Driscoll was a senior vice president. They were convicted last year of paying then-Senator John Celona to advance their agenda at the Statehouse.

Defense lawyers say the trial judge should not have allowed the jury to consider acts that Celona took on the hospital's behalf that were unrelated to his votes in the Senate. But prosecutors say that argument defies common sense.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal has permitted Urciuoli and Driscoll to remain free on bail.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:45 PM | Comment

Judge: Cunha clients can't pursue Station foam claims

PROVIDENCE – A federal judge has ruled that Station fire victims represented by lawyer Brian R. Cunha may not pursue their claims against a publicly-traded company that may have manufactured the highly flammable foam that lined the walls of The Station nightclub because Cunha never properly notified the company that he was suing them.

This means that if a jury were to find foam manufacturer Leggett & Platt liable for money damages at a trial -- or if the company were to agree to an out-of-court settlement -- the 19 fire victims represented by Cunha would not share in any of the money paid by Leggett & Platt.

Cunha, in a hearing on Sept. 19, told Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux that his failure to serve Leggett & Platt had been an oversight. He blamed one of his paralegals for the error. He argued that it would be unfair to punish his clients by throwing out their claims against the foam manufacturer. And he contended that the lawyer here representing Leggett & Platt should have called him on the phone to give him a head’s up that he hadn’t been served.

But Lagueux was not convinced. Cunha had had years since filing his lawsuits to serve notice on Leggett & Platt and the lawyer for Leggett & Platt “continually gave notice in various pleadings that they had not been served and that they were not answering” the Cunha lawsuits, the judge said.

“It’s unfortunate that this has happened, but trying to shift the blame to the defendants doesn’t carry the day in this case. I’m satisfied that the plaintiffs have not shown good cause for this long delay in either making service or presenting the waiver of service to the defendants,” said Lagueux.

The burden, said the judge, was on Cunha “to demonstrate to me there’s good cause for allowing them to make tardy service at this time."

Good cause, said Lagueux, “requires a demonstration of good faith on the part of the party seeking” an extension of time “and some reasonable basis for noncompliance” with court rules.

“And it’s been held that an attorney’s inadvertence, neglect or mistake is not good cause. And here, whether it’s a paralegal, or someone else in a plaintiff’s office has not satisfactorily explained what happened,” said Lagueux.

“Obviously, there was an oversight” but Cunha, said Lagueux, had given no detailed explanation about what had happened, except “a last-minute discussion with a paralegal and the representation made to the court that the paralegal somehow didn’t catch it.”

Cunha, in a telephone interview today, said he would appeal Lagueux's decision to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston by day's end and predicted "I'm gonna win on appeal."

He said, "I was very surprised by the judge's decision," and that "with all due respect it was factually incorrect and I feel strongly, upon appeal, we'll be fine."

Cunha said that Leggett & Platt's lawyer filed an answer to all of the fire victims' claims against it and included him in the list of people served with answers. He said the foam company's lawyer never raised the issue of "insufficiency of process" until just recently.

Lagueux’s ruling does not affect the Leggett & Platt claims of the fire victims who are represented by other lawyers – just Cunha’s clients.

Leggett & Platt, a Missouri corporation, is one of the big-pocket defendants being sued by the families who lost loved ones and those who suffered injuries in The Station nightclub fire on Feb. 20, 2003. The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The fire victims allege in their lawsuits that Leggett & Platt manufactured foam that the owners of The Station, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, bought as sound-proofing for their club.

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

The lawsuits also allege that the highly-flammable polyurethane foam manufactured and sold by Leggett & Platt “possessed extraordinary dangerous and defective qualities” and “ignited too easily, burned too vigorously once ignited and produced unreasonably dangerous toxic smoke and gases.”

The lawsuits contend that Leggett & Platt’s foam “was an immediate cause” of the deadly fire at The Station, which killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others.

Leggett & Platt is vigorously contesting those allegations and contends that it bears no liability for injuries suffered by the fire victims and their families.

Lawyers for the fire victims, including Cunha, also allege that another foam manufacturer, General Foam, and the company that later purchased it -- Foamex -- are also liable to the fire victims for the same reasons.

They allege that both General Foam and Leggett & Platt delivered polyurethane foam to a Johnston distributor, American Foam, around the time that the Derderians bought the foam there that they installed in their nightclub.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 12:26 PM | Comment

Lawyer: Let injured Mexican worker stay in U.S.

PROVIDENCE -- An immigration lawyer is petitioning for Edgar Velásquez to remain in the country beyond Sunday, when his five-day humanitarian visa expires. The government-issued visa allowed Velásquez to travel from Mexico and attend a workers’ compensation pre-trial hearing yesterday against a former employer, for whom Velásquez worked when he slashed his face open with a chain saw last year.

Velásquez was in the country illegally at the time.

Bernard P. Healy, lawyer for the state Department of Labor, told workers’ compensation Judge Bruce Q. Morin today that an immigration attorney has filed a petition for a visa extension that would allow Velasquez to remain until an actual trial is held in his case against William J. Gorman Jr., owner of Billy G’s Tree Care in Warwick.

Velásquez is seeking compensation for medical bills and permanent injuries suffered on March 31, 2006, when a chain saw he was using kicked back from a fence, cut his forehead to the bone, and sliced through his eyelid and nose.

Velásquez testified at a separate trial this morning in the state labor department’s case against Gorman for not having workers’ compensation insurance when Velásquez worked for him. Gorman could face fines of up to $1,000 a day.

Velásquez testified through an interpreter that he was riding in a vehicle Gorman was driving on August 3rd, 2005, that was involved in an accident with another vehicle. He said he had started working for Gorman sometime before then but could not remember exactly when.

He also testified that he worked for Gorman for as many as six days a week, depending on the weather and work availability, until his accident. He did not work during December and January, he said.

The work involved chopping down trees large and small, chopping limbs into firewood-sized pieces, and mowing Gorman’s lawn, he said.

Asked by Healy who decided what work he would do and how, Velásquez said Gorman did.

“Well, how can I put it? We are just mere workers – we come to the United States and they decide what work we do and how we do it,” he said.

Under cross-examination, Velásquez said his uncle arranged the first meeting with Gorman.

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:06 PM | Comment

Documentary screening to benefit homeless shelter

What a weird name, Woonsocket.

If it hadn’t been for that thought, Mark and Normand, two homeless men who lived in the woods of Woonsocket, may not have been any better off today than they were before their lives were touched by two documentary filmmakers. Or maybe they would have.

Find out for yourself how a group of filmmakers who spend their time driving around looking for people help turned a chance visit to Rhode Island into a documentary film-worthy experience.

See the documentary film “Lost in Woonsocket,” tonight at the Blackstone Valley Visitors’ Center Theater at 7:30 p.m.

Director John Chester, and three of the film’s subjects -- Normand Cartier, Joe the Barber and Pastor Brian -- will be there after the movie for a discussion.

Proceeds for the screening, which costs $20, will help fund St. Paul’s Emergency Overnight Shelter in Pawtucket and the Lost and Found in America Foundation.

And if you're curious, find out where the name Woonsocket may have come from.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:58 AM | Comment

Update: Bush sets goal to fight global warming / Video

Representatives from across the world are meeting in Washington, D.C., today to discuss climate change and strategies that major countries, and major companies, can use to develop cleaner technologies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In a speech to the group this morning, President Bush called on the world's worst polluters to come together to set a goal for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing the climate to heat up. He didn't exempt his own country from the list.

"By setting this goal, we acknowledge there is a problem, and by setting this goal, we commit ourselves to doing something about it," Bush said in a speech that capped two days of talks at a White House-sponsored climate change conference. "We share a common responsibility: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while keeping our economies growing."

He said each nation should establish for itself what methods it will use to rein in the pollution problem without stunting economic growth.

The gathering drew representatives from 16 nations, including big producers from the developing world like China and India as well as the European Union and United Nations. Bush's emphasis is on using green technologies and other voluntary efforts to tackle global warming. The president said the reduction goal should be finalized by next summer, along with ways to measure progress toward it.

Watch a video report of Bush's speech.

Closer to home, politicians are still expressing disappointment at some of the administration’s policies toward climate change. According to documents made public by a congressional committee, the Bush administration is working to create opposition to new state rules designed to reduce carbon emissions from cars.

The potential effects of climate change in New England were outlined in a report earlier this summer by the Cambridge-based Union of Concerned Scientists, self described as “the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world.”

The report warns of the decline of lobster stocks, increased drought, increased coastal flooding and conditions favorable for the spread of vector borne diseases.

Read the report here .

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Peter B. Lord and the Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:35 AM | Comment

Pilobolus comes to PPAC

You could talk about the physics of it all, or the physiology. Of course, being dance, there’s artistry to be admired.

And talking about “a collaborative choreographic process and a unique weight-sharing approach to partnering” just doesn’t get the point across.

To understand what the Pilobolus dance troupe does – even if you’ll never understand how – just watch.

See more tomorrow night at 8 p.m., when the troupe comes to the Providence Performing Arts Center.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:24 AM | Comment

Queen Mary 2 in Newport tomorrow

Journal photo / John Freidah
Sharon Amaral and Joe Chaves of Newport watch the arrival of the Queen Mary 2 when it stopped in Newport in September 2004.

It’s the biggest thing in Newport this weekend.

The Queen Mary 2 will be making a stop in Rhode Island during its “Splendours of Fall” cruise which begins in New York and visits Boston, Halifax, Quebec City, and , Bar Harbor, Maine.

The 1,132-foot-long ship took just under 4 years to build at an estimated cost of $800 million.

It's expected to arrive at 8 a.m. tomorrow and depart for Boston at 5.

A document titled “Queen Mary 2 A Ship of Superlatives,” uses comparisons to make the magnitude of the ship comprehensible. For instance, on the ship, “enough toilet tissue is used to wrap the earth almost five times.”

Whether that's a good thing or not, the ship is certainly something to see.

And if you don’t get a chance to see the ship, you may be able to hear it.

The QM2’s whistle can be heard up to 10 miles away.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:29 AM | Comment

From Providence dumping ground to playground

Riverside Mills was once a thriving mill complex, but in recent years it’s become an eyesore.

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council has been working to clean up the sofas, tires, needles and oil drums that littered the area, even buying new soil to make sure contaminants from the industrial mill’s past were all gone.

And now, a playground and community parks are on the way.

It’s been quite a turnaround, but it’s not over yet.

The Council; Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse; the Providence Parks Department and other community groups are sponsoring a James W. Rouse Community Service Day. They’re asking the public to help install playgrounds, plant new trees and clean up the river.

Tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., stop by the park, near Aleppo Street, along the Woonasquatucket River in Providence and lend a hand in exchange for drinks and food – and the chance to be a part of the area’s revitalization.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:01 AM | Comment

Lead content prompts more toy recalls

WASHINGTON -- A Cumberland company recalls children's necklaces made in China because they contain dangerous levels of lead.

The 850 Spinning Wheel Necklace necklaces were produced by Rhode Island Novelty. They were sold nationwide from November 2006 through May 2007.

Under current regulations, children's products should not have more than .06 percent lead.

The government warns parents to make sure children are not playing or using any of the recalled products.

For more information, call the company 800-528-5599 or visit its Web site at www.rinovelty.com.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Rainy today, but nice for the weekend

Your car may be a little damp this morning, and there's more to come.

The National Weather Service is predicting rain and some thunderstorms across the state all day. The temperature should reach 79 degrees.

Rain should continue into the evening, but skies should clear by 9 p.m. The overnight low should be 54.

Saturday is looking nice, with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s.

Saturday night should be clear, with a low around 46.

Cooler Sunday, with a high near 65 and clear skies. Sunday's low is forecast at 44 degrees.

And Monday may be the perfect fall day, clear, sunny skies with a high near 72.

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 reporting that some defense attorneys in The Station fire civil cases are raising issues that could delay payments to victims' families.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment