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« October 1, 2007 | Today | October 3, 2007 » October 2, 2007Brits, Canadians and Americans rock Lupo's tonightIt's an international presence on the stage of Lupo's tonight. Bloc Party, the British indie rock band, plays tunes, as do Canadian indie rockers Tokyo Police Club and the American indie band Smoosh. The show begins at 8. Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel is at 79 Washington St., Providence. Tickets are $23, $30 for reserves. Call (401) 331-5876 or (401) 272-5876 or visit www.etix.com. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:55 PM | Comment Verizon seeks to expand R.I. cable TV serviceVerizon Communications is seeking permission to expanding its FiOS cable television service in 10 more Rhode Island communities, mostly in the northern section of the state, the company said today. Verizon filed applications with state regulators to provide the service to the 115,000 households in cable service areas 1 and 4. The communities in those areas are Burrillville, Central Falls, Cumberland, East Providence, Glocester, Lincoln, North Smithfield, Pawtucket, Smithfield and Woonsocket. The applications were made with the state’s Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, which grants cable TV franchises, as long as a prospective provider is fit, willing, and technically and financially qualified to deliver cable TV service. Assuming it gets that approval, Verizon said it expects to begin offering its service in those communities next year. The company is already offering its FiOS TV service to about 80,000 households in service area 6, which includes Coventry, East Greenwich, Exeter, North Kingstown, Warwick, West Greenwich and West Warwick. Verizon is awaiting state approval to offer FiOS in service areas 2, 3, and 8, which includes 158,000 households in Charlestown, Cranston, Foster, Hopkinton, Johnston, Narragansett, North Providence, Providence, Richmond, Scituate, South Kingstown and Westerly. The company expects to begin offering the service in these three service areas by the end of this year, Verizon said. Altogether, Verizon has permission, or is seeking permission, to provide service in 29 of the state’s 39 cities and towns. The company competes directly with Cox Communications in those communities. Posted by Tim Barmann at 6:37 PM | Comment 2 Pawtucket dispatchers fired after woman's deathPAWTUCKET -- The Fire Department dispatchers who were on duty when a woman bled to death waiting for a rescue truck have been fired. Rookie firefighters Sean Mooney and Christopher Jeffrey were let go last Friday, a week after they were suspended with pay following the Sept. 20 death of Maria A. Carvalho, 53. City Director of Administration Harvey E. Goulet Jr. confirmed the firing, but declined to give the reason, saying that the matter remains under investigation and all information related to the incident is being forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for review. In an interview last week, Mrs. Carvalho’s husband, João, and son, John, said that, despite frantic telephone calls to 911, there was a delay dispatching an ambulance to their home at 101 Gooding St. While she was waiting for the ambulance, Mrs. Carvalho, a kidney patient, bled to death. The state Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that the bleeding was from a shunt inserted for dialysis treatment. John Carvalho said his mother dialed 911 as soon as the bleeding started. When she told his father that no one was helping her, João Carvalho got a neighbor to call 911 as well. Police are reviewing the calls to determine if there was a indeed delay dispatching a rescue truck and, if so, who was responsible. -- Journal staff writer John Castellucci Goulet, the top aide to Mayor James E. Doyle, said Doyle ordered that the investigation be conducted by the Police Department’s internal affairs division. At the same time, he said, Fire Chief Timothy P. McLaughlin and the Fire Department’s training officer are conducting a review of Fire Department’s training and procedures. “They’re looking at every aspect of this incident,” Goulet said. “We certainly don’t want this happening again." Neither Mooney and Jeffrey could for reached for comment. Both men were probationary employees who had been firefighters less than a year. Lt. Robert Neill, the president of the Pawtucket firefighters union, said neither Mooney and Jeffrey have been in to tell him they were terminated. “If that is the case, and they have been terminated, then we will probably be filing a grievance,” Neill said, adding that he will be discussing the matter with the union’s executive committee. “Our position is that, if they started paying dues the day they were hired, then they’re entitled to all their rights under the collective bargaining agreement,” Neill said. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:21 PM | Comment Bomb threat evacuates Woonsocket HighWOONSOCKET -- Woonsocket High School evacuated 1,910 students today after the Police Department received notice around noon that there was a bomb at the high school. No device was found after a search of the school. High School Principal Lourenco Garcia said that police told him they had been notified that there was a bomb at the high school and that it would go off at 12:30 p.m. Garcia said that students were asked over the public address system to go to their classrooms where their teachers were, and the teachers led them out of the school and away from the building. The students were out by 12:20 p.m., he said. The students were dismissed early, and the buses came to pick them up. Woonsocket Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle said that 12 officers went to the high school and the state bomb squad was called. “We had them go through the school with negative results,” he said. The police are investigating the bomb threat, he said. Garcia said the school followed procedures to get students out of the building as quickly as possible. He said that students had specific instructions to wait for their buses but some took off. “Everyone was trying to do the best they could under the circumstances. When something of this nature happens it is impossible to have things run the way you want, but we will learn from it.” -- Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:12 PM | Comment Online giving to schools makes push in Providence
PROVIDENCE -- A social studies teacher in Brooklyn wants 22 tickets to take her girls to The Lion King. A biology teacher in Flushing, N.Y., wants to buy a set of carnivorous plants for her 10th grade science class. A fifth-grade teacher wants to introduce her students to farm-fresh food at the Union Square Farmer’s Market in Manhattan. What do all of these projects have in common? They were paid for by one or more “citizen philanthropists,” individual donors who don’t have the resources of a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffet, but who want to make a difference in small but meaningful ways. Today, the founder of DonorsChoose.org, Charles Best, announced the arrival of this Web-based giving program at the Fortes Elementary School, where he was joined by Mayor David N. Cicilline, Supt. Donnie Evans and Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith. Best, a Yale University graduate, was a novice social studies teacher in the Bronx when he dreamed up the idea of using the Web to connect small donors to worthy public school projects. “It was my first year of teaching,” Best said, “and we were all griping about not having enough money to do our projects. I figured there must be some way to fund a classroom project and then see how the money was being spent.” Inspired by requests from around the country, DonorsChoose decided to go national, which means that the Web site is now open to any public school in the United States. Best selected Providence to announce the program’s national push because Cicilline was so enthusiastic about the project after hearing about it from City Councilman Cliff Wood. -- Journal staff writer Linda Borg Best, who was living at home with his parents at the time, used his students to brainstorm how the program would work. A donor logs onto the Web site and then uses keywords to identify a project of interest. Perhaps, the donor loves gardening. Using the words, gardening and Providence, the site will pull up a list of school projects that involve both keywords. DonorsChoose volunteers screen each proposal before it is posted online and verify that the teacher and the project meet the program’s eligibility requirements. The organization buys the materials and ships the items to the school along with a disposable camera and a stamped envelope in which to enclose student feedback. Students write thank-you notes to the donors and DonorsChoose develops the photos, compiles the letters and mails them to the donors.
The Rhode Island Foundation has already promised $30,000 to get the program off the ground, and Best said that one way the seed money might be spent is to buy gift certificates and give them out to potential donors as a way to jump-start the effort. “I encourage people in the business community to go this Web site,” Cicilline said. “You can choose to support a class, a school, a field trip, even a book. You can make a pledge of $10 and up. Every donor gets a camera with pictures of the project. What you get in return is a vivid image of what your donation bought.” Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:34 PM | Comment Salve soccer suspension tied to hazing incidentNEWPORT -- The men’s soccer team at Salve Regina University has forfeited five games as a result of a hazing incident which led to a confrontation and an assault on a sidewalk about 10 days ago. She said the university has an “an ongoing internal investigation” concerning the actions of “a number of students,” not only in connection with the hazing on Sept. 23 but with regard to “a number of incidents at different times and different dates.” “It’s not the soccer team as a whole,” Hendrickson said. She said the forfeiture makes a “strong statement about the men’s soccer coach,” Brian O’Rourke II. His “swift reaction” emphasizes the “point that in Division 3 athletics, you win as a team, and unfortunately, you also lose as a team,” Hendrickson said. Apart from the five-game suspension announced yesterday, Hendrickson declined to discuss any sanctions which have been imposed against individual students or elaborate on the internal investigation. Early in the morning of Sept. 23, witnesses at Jimmy’s Saloon at 37 Memorial Boulevard told police they had seen three Salve students and several other people involved in a scuffle over a racial slur written on the back of one student’s T-shirt. The student wearing the shirt reported he hadn’t known about the writing on the back, according to police Lt. William Fitzgerald. He believed the slur had been written on the shirt earlier in the evening while he and the other students were drinking at a party on Spring Street, Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald said Romani was punched in the face and then kicked in the head after he fell to the sidewalk, according to witnesses’ accounts. Police charged Luis Viruet, 19, from 20 Chapel St., with simple assault. The suspension began Sept. 27, when the Salve Regina Seahawks were scheduled to play at Western New England College. Competition will resume Oct. 13 at New England College. NCAAHazing is dedicated to exposing hazing in college athletics, according to spokesman William Schut. In one of the photos, a young woman -- her face blacked out -- is shown inside a dog cage while another woman kneels to the side. Today, Hendrickson denied Schut’s contention that the university took no action. The students involved have already graduated, Hendrickson said. “They are all aware they will suffer the consequences if they engage in that type of behavior,” she said. The only incident of hazing that is part of the current ongoing investigation is the one that occurred Sept. 23, Hendrickson said. She declined to release any other details of the investigation or the number of students involved, citing federal privacy laws. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:25 PM | Comment State seeks to dismiss suit against DCYFLawyers for the state today filed a motion to dismiss the class-action brought against the state Department of Children, Youth and Families by state Child Advocate Jametta O. Alston, arguing that Rhode Island Family Court, not U.S. District Court, is the best place to review cases of children in DCYF custody. Acting for Governor Carcieri and two state agency directors, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch and lawyers for agencies named in the lawsuit filed the motion in federal court, Lynch's office announced this afternoon. Alston's lawsuit "involves many things relating to children that are confidential under state law," so the state asked the federal court to "accept parts of the motion and accompanying memo under seal." In another memo, filed publicly, Carcieri’s lawyers, including Lynch, described the lawsuit’s definition of the proposed class of children who are allegedly being harmed as “ambiguous." The civil rights lawsuit, which became public in June, alleges that children in state foster care are being beaten, molested, neglected, burned with cigarettes and, in one instance, killed. Since word of the lawsuit became public, a state legislative committee has held hearings on the issues at DCYF. After launching a review, Governor Carcieri announced there were no findings of intentional wrongdoing by DCYF. Read the original lawsuit here. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:11 PM | Comment Providence man critical with electrical burnsPROVIDENCE -- A Providence man is in critical condition this afternoon after sustaining burns to his body after coming into contact with an electrical transmission tower yesterday. Kenneth Soltys, 36, of 36 Manhattan St., was taken to Rhode Island Hospital after personnel responded to Stanhope Street at 11:48 a.m. for a report of an explosion with a man injured, according to the police incident report, which identifies Soltys. Early indications suggested the injured man may have been trying to cut through two heavy-gauge guy wires that support a transmission tower off Stanhope Street. A witness told the police that he heard a loud explosion and then saw a large ball of flames coming from electrical wires on Stanhope Street, the report says. The witness said he walked in the direction of the wires and saw a man on the ground, apparently burned. The witness called for help and was met by fire and rescue responders. The police report said officers saw a wire dangling from the utility pole and two sections of wire, "rolled up and held together by electrical tape at the entrance to the field." Detectives at the scene seized burned clothing and a cell phone. National Grid is conducting its own investigation, David Graves, a National Grid spokesman, said today. One wire apparently broke free, shot upward and came into contact with the transmission line above. That connection sent 115,000 volts down the second guide wire, burning the man. Standard voltage in a U.S. household socket is 120 volts. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:32 PM | Comment Lt. Gov. Roberts to head panel visiting TaiwanPROVIDENCE -- Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and a group of New England legislative leaders head to Taiwan on Friday in part to "foster economic ties between Taiwan and Rhode Island," her office said today. Taiwan's government invited Roberts to head the delegation of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine legislative leaders, according to a news release. The delegation will learn about Taiwan's health care system, meet with Taiwanese economic development officials and work "on strategies for regional economic growth based on the lessons learned in Taiwan, focusing on biotechnology." Roberts and the delegation will meet with the vice minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the vice president and chief financial officer at the Bureau of National Health Insurance, the secretary general of the Taiwan Provincial Government, and the vice superintendent of National Taiwan University Hospital. The delegation will also visit Taipei World Trade Center and the Taipei International Electronics Autumn Show, meet with the director general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and with the Taiwan Importers and Exporters Chamber of Commerce. They will "explore the economic development potential" of Taiwan's high-speed rail and meet officials at technology and biotechnology companies. Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:28 PM | Comment N.Y. Times reporter to speak on China at URISOUTH KINGSTOWN -- David E. Sanger, reporter in The New York Times' Washington bureau, tonight will talk at the University of Rhode Island about security issues regarding China and Northeast Asia. Part of the fall honors colloquium "China Rising" at the university, it starts at 7:30 p.m. in Chafee Auditorium. Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:06 PM | Comment Photo: First four wheels roll off the rails at Quonset
Posted by Jack Perry at 1:54 PM | Comment Body of Providence woman found in CoventryCOVENTRY -- The police said today that the body found last week off Trestle Trail was that of Marian H. Edmonds of Providence, who had been reported missing. The body of Edmonds, 52, of 5 Cathedral Square -- the Cathedral Square Apartments -- was found in the western section of Coventry. She had been reported missing by her brother on Sept. 18, the Coventry police said. The cause of death is pending, the police said in a news release, "however, it is not considered to be suspicious." The Providence police have said that Edmonds left home on Sept. 3 and had not been heard from. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:29 PM | Comment Alert: National Grid drops bid for Providence LNG siteNational Grid announced this afternoon it has dropped its pursuit of establishing a major LNG marine terminal in Providence. The decision ends a years-long effort by the company's KeySpan subsidiary to re-vamp its existing storage facility on the Providence River into a terminal that would receive LNG deliveries by tankers. And it is apparently a victory for the citizens, organizations and public officials who fought the proposal. Though KeySpan's proposal was rejected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2005, the company had appealed that decision in federal court. The company was scheduled to make oral arguments on Oct. 26 at the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. In a brief statement, National Grid said it met with Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, who has been among the most vocal opponents of the KeySpan proposal. After that meeting, the company said it announced it was dropping its appeal. "National Grid announced that it has dropped its appeal of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision not to approve proposed changes to the company’s Field’s Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility in Providence," the statement says. "National Grid Executive Vice President of Business Development, Steve Zelkowitz, advised the Attorney General that the company would continue to evaluate natural gas needs in the region," the statement said. " The company believes LNG will continue to play a critical role in both energy reliability and price. National Grid committed to work with public officials prior to any future decision impacting the facility." The statement did not say why the company had decided to drop its appeal. Lynch issued his own statement in which he hailed National Grid's decision. “The public safety issues surrounding this plan were always clear to me," Lynch said. Those issues, he said "were confirmed by the experts I retained, including Richard A. Clarke, who prepared an extensive report detailing the perils of locating an LNG terminal in an urban area.” Lynch added, “I fully recognize the need to address our region’s energy needs. I am confident that National Grid, which has a history as one of our state’s most responsible corporate citizens, will continue to play a leading role as government, business, and other interested parties work together to find safe, efficient, environmentally responsible, and economical solutions to meeting those demands.”
Posted by Tim Barmann at 12:27 PM | Comment Man dragged by train in ProvidencePROVIDENCE -- A man who was dragged about 100 feet by a train this morning was taken by rescue to Rhode Island Hospital, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department. The call came in at 7:18 a.m. and personnel responded to a report of an injured male in the area of 100 Gaspee St., the Amtrak station. The man's identity or condition was not yet known. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:14 PM | Comment Seekonk man arrested after landing at Cape air baseBOURNE, Mass. -- State police have arrested a Seekonk man who made an unauthorized landing of a small plane on a military runway at Otis Air Force Base. State police say 26-year-old Brian Dedrick landed a single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawk early yesterday afternoon and was detained by officials at the base. Clifford McDonald, a spokesman for the 102nd Fighter Wing, tells The Standard-Times of New Bedford that Dedrick told security officers he landed because he was lost and low on fuel. McDonald said they called police after the questioning "deteriorated." Dedrick was arrested on charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct, and two counts of possessing a dangerous weapon, double-edged knives. Dedrick was being held at the state police barracks in Bourne. A telephone message at a listing for Dedrick wasn't immediately returned. McDonald said that civilians make unauthorized landings at the base a few times a year, usually because of mechanical problems. -- The Associated Press Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:36 AM | Comment Traffic Update: Accident on I-295 cleared
The driver of the 18-wheeler was able to walk away from the wreck. For up to date information about traffic conditions, and to see videos from the Department of Transportation's highway cameras, check the TMC Web site. -- With reports from Journal staff photographer Bill Murphy. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:20 AM | Comment R.I. Guard general scheduled for arraignment todayThe assistant adjutant general of the Rhode Island National Guard is scheduled to be arraigned this morning in Providence. Brig. Gen. Brian Goodwin was charged with disorderly conduct on Sept. 4 after allegedly yelling at and threatening police officers who were interviewing his son about an assault that took place on the lawn of his North Smithfield home. In a police report, an officer said he thought Goodwin was going to physically attack him. Police said Goodwin became upset when they questioned his son, 18-year-old Pvt. Brian Goodwin, Jr., about apparent discrepancies in his statement about a Sept. 1 fight where the teenager’s jaw was broken. Goodwin is scheduled to appear in District Court, Providence. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:03 AM | Comment Download today's front pageA story about a group of artists who lived in a secret corner of Providence Place mall and more om former Sen. John Celona lead today's Journal. Posted by Peter Phipps at 7:32 AM | Comment There's a primary in Central Falls todayCentral Falls residents vote today in a three-way primary for a city-council seat. After three terms, Ricardo Patino is not running for reelection. He has said he needs to care for his elderly parents. Kevin N. Bryan, of 15 Darling St., Carmen A. Mirabal, of 35 Rand St., and Patrick J. Szlashta Jr., of 385 Dexter St. are running to replace Patino, who was often the lone dissenter on some of the mayor’s proposals. The top two vote-getters will meet in the Nov. 6 election. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:30 AM | Comment Operation Holiday Cheer benefits soldiers overseasCRANSTON -- State officials want to make sure that members of the Rhode Island National Guard who are stationed overseas are remembered during the holidays. Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts is among the officials planning to attend a kickoff event today for Operation Holiday Cheer, a program that sends care packages to soldiers serving abroad. The program is in its seventh year, and organizers expect more than 300 Guard members to benefit. Major Robert Bray, the commanding general of the National Guard, and corporate sponsors are also scheduled to attend the event at the National Guard Command Readiness Center. -- The Associated Press Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick speaks tonight at BrownMassachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is coming to town. The Democrat will deliver the Frank Licht Lecture on Contemporary Issues tonight at Salomon 101, on the main Green, off Waterman Street. The lecture, titled “An Evening with Deval Patrick,” will be free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Taubman Center for Public Policy. Patrick has recently made news with his plan for three full-scale gambling casinos in Massachussets, which has left some wondering what the impact would be on neighboring Rhode Island, where voters have defeated proposals for such operations. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment More sun on the horizonAnother sunny day. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high temperature of 71 degrees. Tonight's low will be in the high 50s with patches of fog in the early morning. That should clear by 9, and the day should be sunny with a high in the mid 70s. For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006