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« May 16, 2008 | Today | May 20, 2008 » May 19, 2008Tonight: Red Sox in Boston, bands in ProvidenceThe Boston Celtics are taking a break, after winning the Eastern Conference semi-finals last night in seven games against the Cavaliers. But there's another Boston team on deck tonight. The Red Sox, leading the American League East by one game over Tampa Bay, take on Kansas City at 7:05. Jon Lester pitches for Boston. Check out projo.com's Sox Blog for the latest by Journal sportswriters on the game. For those whose plans don't include baseball fandom, there are live tunes in Providence. At AS220 in Providence, Cowgirl, Sleep Bellum Sonno, Stay in the States, and Chinabadge play rock, blues and country. Head over to 115 Empire St. Call 831-9327. 9 p.m. $6. All ages. Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:05 PM | Comment Photo: How much they'll cut for Locks of Love
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:56 PM | Comment RIPTA raises its fares as it faces sea of red inkPROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority board raised its fares today, but before the decision was made, the agency had already suffered financial setbacks that far exceed the added revenue the fare hike will produce. The increases, effective July 1, will raise the fare for a single ride 16 percent, from $1.50 to $1.75, and the price of a monthly pass 22 percent, from $45 to $55. RIPTA officials need to generate $662,000 in extra revenue, but say the increases will probably drive away 5 percent of its riders who can’t afford to pay. The fare increase generated no outcry from riders, but it has been sharply criticized by transit advocates as exactly the wrong move when fuel costs are rising and riders are flocking to the bus system. "We can’t grow the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority with fare increases," Chris Wilhite of the Rhode Island chapter of the Sierra Club told the board today. Meanwhile, the financial significance of the fare hike seemed to wash away in a tide of red ink. What RIPTA officials had said looked like a balanced, $89.5 million budget in March has since turned into $5.3 million in budget deficits projected for this fiscal year and next, they said today. After the meeting, Chairman Robert Batting said he has no immediate idea how the agency will close that huge gap. -- Journal staff writer Bruce Landis Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:51 PM | Comment Curbs on sex offenders before Somerset voters tonightSOMERSET, Mass. -- Level 2 and 3 sex offenders will be prohibited from doing everything from sunning on the town beach to voting at a future town meeting if a controversial proposal is approved at tonight's Annual Town Meeting at the high school. The proposal bans offenders, who already have to be registered with police, from setting foot on any public park, school, playground or library. It would also restrict the time they could spend in other town offices to 15 minutes, which would affect their ability to attend meetings of the Board of Selectmen and other bodies. Selectman Lorne Lawless is pushing the proposal, saying it is needed to protect children and has passed constitutional muster in other cities and towns. But the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts says it opposes such laws because they impose additional punishment after someone has complete their sentence and such measure "may actually increase the likelihood of sex offenses." Voters will also decide whether to buy Taser guns for all police officers. -- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:06 PM | Comment A conversation with actor Robert Redford at BrownPROVIDENCE -- Sure, actor, director and conservationist Robert Redford will be in town to pick up an honorary Brown University degree this weekend. But he'll also hold a conversation that's open to the public on the university's Lincoln Field. A 30-minute conversation with Redford, who starred in such films as All The President's Men , is slated for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lincoln field tent. The conversation is scheduled on a day of forums -- free and open to the public on a space-available basis -- given by various people on topics. "Every great actor is called upon to play many parts, to reimagine himself again and again, and to communicate in every role new possibilities and an openness to the unknown," says a university description of the talk titled "A Tempered Radical: A Conversation with Robert Redford." "Robert Redford has applied this principle of reinvention and creative dialogue across political divides and artistic disciplines. Actor, director, producer, and environmental activist, Redford will talk about his recent projects and plans for the future, the art of politics, and the politics of art." -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Ellen Rooney, a Brown professor of modern culture and media, will moderate the discussion. Redford is one of seven people getting honorary degrees at the university’s 240th commencement on Sunday. Redford previously received another Rhode Island-based honor -- a 2002 Pell Award for excellence in the arts. Award-winning author Dave Eggers will deliver Saturday's baccalaureate address to graduating seniors, speaking at 3 p.m. in the First Baptist Church in America. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:44 PM | Comment Grass-cutting robot gone AWOL in Barrington?BARRINGTON -- Jason Partridge’s grass-cutting robot is no mower. Partridge, of Columbus Avenue, reported to police Friday that he returned home from work to find that his $2,500 robotic lawn mower was gone, missing from its recharging station, where it rests between cuttings. It is not known whether the robot wandered off or was clipped. Partridge told officers that the device is designed to sense when the grass is long, turn itself on and start mulching. It is constrained by a wire along the perimeter of his yard that tells the robot when it’s at the property line. When the cutting is done, it returns itself to the charging station. Police checked neighboring lawns in search of a rambling robot, but turned up nothing. -- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:44 PM | Comment New N. Kingstown 'party patrol' uncovers 2 gatheringsNORTH KINGSTOWN -- A new police "party patrol" uncovered two drinking parties attended by dozens of under-age teens this past weekend, police said today. One of the gatherings led to the arrest of a 26-year-old North Kingstown woman under the state's "social host" law in connection with drinking they say happened at her Chaucer Drive residence on Saturday. Christine Whiteley of 182 Chaucer Drive is the only one charged, according to police. Whitely was issued a District Court summons. Some 30 young people, mostly 17 and 18 and primarily from North Kingstown, with some from Jamestown, were at Chaucer Drive where a beer keg, a tap and numerous cans full of beer were seized, the police said. Adults were also there, and "some of the juveniles and adults were intoxicated," a police news release said. There were "indications that some present were smoking marijuana," the police added, although none was seized. The police broke up the gathering about 11:30 p.m. Also Saturday night, the police said another drinking party -- at which about 30 juveniles were present -- happened at 730 North Quidnessett Road. The party patrol discovered it about 9:30 p.m., police said. No adults were present. Beer was seized, and "it was evident that drinking games had been played with numerous empty cups, beer cans and ping pong balls present." The police set up the party patrol about two weeks ago using a $15,000 grant from the Working Together for Wellness Task Force. Two officers in a car carry out 8 p.m. to midnight patrols. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Maria Armental Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:36 PM | Comment CVS trial: Celona: I 'took a walk' on pharmacy choice
PROVIDENCE -- John Celona testified today that he "took a walk’’ on pharmacy choice legislation within weeks of becoming a CVS consultant, and that he concealed his financial ties to the drugstore chain "because I wanted to give myself some cover.’’ The former North Providence senator was explaining why he skipped a committee vote on pharmacy choice legislation in 2000 after actively supporting it the previous two years. CVS opposed the legislation. And once Celona became a $1,000-a-month consultant in February 2000, he stopped supporting it. "I didn’t want to publicly change my position because I had been so adamant against it,’’ Celona told jurors as he continued his testimony today in the federal corruption trial of two former CVS executives. This morning, Celona began by testifying about his plea agreement with prosecutors in 2005 to admit to corruption charges and cooperate with the investigation. In return, he received a 12-month sentence reduction. Contrary to expectations that he would appear in his prison garb, Celona strode into the courtroom in a black suit and red pattern tie. His head was shaved, his trademark dark toupee absent. He looked about 30 pounds lighter than at his last public appreance, when he was sentenced Jan. 31, 2007, to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for selling his office to CVS, Blue Cross and Roger Williams Medical Center. In his words, Celona said this morning, his crime was "getting paid in exchange for votes." His obligation to the government now, he testified, is to provide "total cooperation and truthfulness." Later today, Celona testified that he was asked to "take a walk’’ by then-Sen. William V. Irons, the chairman of the committee. Irons, an insurance broker, had his own financial ties to Woonsocket-based CVS, collecting commissions on health insurance for CVS employees in Rhode Island. Irons is also good friends with CVS CEO Tom Ryan. Those matters remain under investigation by federal authorities as part of Operation Dollar Bill, the wide-ranging State House corruption probe. The prosecution did not follow up on Celona’s recollection of his conversation with Irons. Celona also testified that he never did anything he was supposed to do under his consulting agreement with CVS, such as educating senior citizens about health care issues. And after his first year, he testified, co-defendants John Kramer and Carlos Ortiz agreed to extend his consulting job, which was initially for one year –– at the same time that Celona became chairman of the powerful Senate Corporations Committee, which oversaw legislation of interest to CVS. -- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton Around the same time that CVS extended his consulting agreement, Celona testified, he also had discussions with Ortiz and CVS’s then-public relations person, Todd Andrews, about his job description. "Now that I was chairman of the committee, I needed to have a title in case anything came up,’’ said Celona. Asst. U.S. Atty. Stephen G. Dambruch produced an e-mail exchange between Ortiz and Celona in January 2001. "If anyone asks what you do for CVS,’’ wrote Ortiz, "you should identify yourself as a Community Service Consultant. How does that sound to you?’’ The defense argues that CVS hired Celona not for any political favors but for help promoting the drugstore chain’s charitable endeavors, including the CVS Charity Golf Classic, on his cable-access television show. But Celona testified that that was never discussed when he was hired, and Dambruch pointed to his consulting agreement, which made no mention of that. Instead, Celona testified, he took the initiative to have Kramer on his show twice in 2000 to talk about the CVS golf tournament and also its Downtown 5K road race in Providence. Celona said that he did so to justify the $1,000 a month he was being paid –– "because I wasn’t doing anything else.’’ Celona testified that Kramer first broached the possibility of the senator working for CVS at a political fundraiser for Sen. Michael McCaffrey, D-Warwick, at a Knights of Columbus in Warwick, in the spring of 2000. "`We sat down and started talking,’’ said Celona. "We discussed CVS and how I was active in the community with seniors and that CVS could use another consultant,’’ testified Celona. That led to a meeting at CVS headquarters on July 8, 2000, with Kramer and Ortiz, during which the two CVS executives talked about him becoming a consultant. Ortiz mentioned Celona’s work among senior citizens and said "that I could be an asset to CVS,’’ testified Celona. Celona followed up with a written proposal, which he said Kramer requested, and that led to another meeting at CVS headquarters on Jan. 7, 2001, at which Kramer said, "We’d like to have you on board,’’ according to Celona’s testimony. Celona said that Ortiz asked him whether he had received an opinion from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission regarding the propriety of the senator working for CVS. As a result, Celona said that he contacted someone at the commission –– he didn’t remember who –– and received a verbal okay. But he added that he didn’t identify CVS as his prospective employer. "I didn’t want to publicize my change in position (on pharmacy choice) so quickly from being an adamant opponent to supporting it overnight,’’ said Celona. ``I thought it would hurt my credibility. The public might feel that it was because I was being paid.’’ Celona also testified about a luncheon he attended at CVS with about eight other senators in March 2000, shortly after becoming a CVS consultant. The government introduced the senator’s calendar to show the noontime meeting. The Senate normally meets later in the afternoon, but not on Mondays. Instead, Celona had another appointment written in after the CVS lunch –– a stress test. The trial has wrapped up for the day. Celona, considered the prosecution's star witness, will return to the stand tomorrow and is likely to continuing testifying for several days. -- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:31 PM | Comment Shooting victim: Firefighter, mayoral aide, Sox fanCRANSTON -- Former mayor Michael A. Traficante said he couldn't believe it when he heard it. James A. Pagano -- a man who had been an aide to Traficante for a few years, who came from a large Cranston family and left a wife and two children -- was shot dead yesterday, according to police, in a neighborhood where roads bear names like Daisy Court and Lily Court. "This hits hard," Traficante said today. Traficante, now the Cranston School Committee chairman, said Pagano was "a very bright young man, a guy who was very enthusiastic about getting the job done, very dependable." Paul Valletta Jr., the local firefighters union president, said of Pagano: "We're a family here, and all families have their spats sometimes. But he never got in a spat with anyone." Firefighters with whom Pagano worked at Station 3 on Cranston Street said he was a well-liked, happy-go-lucky guy, a big Red Sox fan who would watch games at the fire house. And Pagano made his opinions known during games when something happened on the field -- Valletta recalled humorously that sometimes he thought the Sox could hear Pagano through the television set. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer David Scharfenberg Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:14 PM | Comment In Cranston, on Daisy Court, yellow crime scene tape
A police officer walked slowly, pointing a camera along the curb's edge this morning. Another raked debris away from the curb. And dirt appeared to have been overturned in the yard. On this short cul de sac with the tranquil name Daisy Lane, a ribbon of yellow tape today cordoned off a neighborhood. Yesterday, the police arrested former Providence police officer Nicholas Gianquitti, 40, of 16 Daisy Court in the shooting death of his neighbor, James A. Pagano, a Cranston firefighter who resided at 10 Daisy Court. Earlier today, Gianquitti, a graduate of Cranston High School West, was ordered held without bail following his arraignment on a murder charge. He was arraigned this morning in Kent County District Court, Warwick. Cranston Fire Chief James Gumbley said Lt. Pagano, a city firefighter since 1991, was a well-liked and well-respected member of the department, according to the Associated Press. An autopsy on Pagano is scheduled for 2 p.m. The police say the shooting took place at Gianquitti's house. They would not discuss the shooting's circumstances, but neighbors said Pagano had been hosting a party at his own 10 Daisy Court house. Neighbors said it was a birthday party for one of his own children, according to the Associated Press. Paul Gebhart, a neighbor, yesterday said he was stunned by the shooting. “Quiet little neighborhood,” he said. “Not so quiet anymore.” -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Tom Mooney and David Scharfenberg. Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:59 AM | Comment Update: 3 pulled from fishing boat off Pt. Judith / Photo
“I was coming back from a security round of the station when I just happened to see the Blue Sea really close to the station,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Gagnon, a watch stander at Station Point Judith. “I walked over to the waterline, and I could hear the boat hitting the rocks, so I went inside and hailed the vessel on the radio. They came back and said they were aground and taking on water.” Shallow water prevented the 27-foot Coast Guard boat from coming alongside. The Blue Sea’s crew, Michael Fallon, 47, Trevor Knight, 26, and a 17-year-old boy, were instructed to board their lifeboat, which was pulled to the Coast Guard boat. They were taken to Station Point Judith. No injuries were reported. -- Journal staff writer Donita Naylor, with Associated Press reports A slight sheen was seen around the boat by a Coast Guard Falcon jet that flew out of Cape Cod. A petty officer on scene reported the pollution was a small amount and non-recoverable. Coast Guard officials say the owner of the Blue Sea is working with authorities to salvage the vessel. The Blue Sea is registered to Barbara Joan Fisheries Inc. The Blue Sea is the second boat to hit the rocks off Narragansett within a week. On Friday, a 48-foot Newfoundland schooner sailing out of Wickford lost its rudder just after 11 a.m. and broke up on the rocks behind 290 Ocean Road, north of Black Point. Salvage diver Bob Cherenzia, 51, reported that by 7:45 p.m. Friday, the Truant was unrecognizable as a boat and by 9 p.m. it was gone. The Truant, a 1940s-era wooden schooner that languished unsold in Wickford for months, was being moved by its new owner, Peter Maack, 54, who wanted to restore it. When the rudder broke, the waves pushed the vessel up against the rocks. A rising tide and storm kept away boats that could have, in calmer waters, towed it off the rocks. Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:57 AM | Comment Update: Coventry man, killed in car crash, ID'dA Coventry man driving to work was killed yesterday morning when his car crashed off Route 95 in East Greenwich, the state police said today. James Madigan, 22, was on his way to his job at a fast-food restaurant in North Kingstown when his Hyundai drove off the highway just north of Exit 7 in East Greenwich, said state police Capt. James Swanberg. The car drove down the embankment and into some trees, where it rolled over, Swanberg said. Madigan was not wearing a seat belt, and he was partially thrown from the car, Swanberg said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Accident reconstruction investigators from the state police are still determining the cause of the crash. -- Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:53 AM | Comment Sen. Kennedy undergoing more evaluation at hospitalBOSTON -- U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy is undergoing further evaluation at a Boston hospital, two days after the 76-year-old Democrat suffered a seizure. Kennedy's spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter says it is unclear when doctors will release information on Kennedy's condition or on the cause of his seizure Saturday. Cutter said today the senator had a restful night at Massachusetts General Hospital. He spent Sunday watching sports and movies and visiting with family. One of his sons is U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat. President Bush had been notified of Kennedy's health just before he went to a Saturday night dinner meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Cutter says Bush called Kennedy's wife, Vicki, today to check on the senator's progress and asked her to take care of his friend. -- Associated Press Posted by Andrea Panciera at 11:51 AM | Comment Simulator drives home importance of seat beltsDrivers who have never seen the aftermath of a rollover crash may not understand the difference a seat belt can make. This morning, students at Hope High School in Providence saw, first-hand the value of a seat belt, courtesy of a demonstration of the state’s new rollover simulator. Today’s event kicked off the two-week “Click it or Ticket” campaign, sponsored by law enforcement to encourage the use of seat belts to prevent injury and death on the roads. As part of the demonstration, about 40 students watched what happened to four crash-test dummies, representing a family, in a rollover crash. None were belted into the vehicle. The two children in the back seat were ejected. -- With reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith The rollover simulator, purchased with $25,000 from the federal government, will be used in schools and brought to public gatherings to help the police drive home the point of the importance of seat belts. Col. Brendan Doherty, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, said in the "Click it or Ticket" campaign, there will be 'zero tolerance' for mototrists who do not buckle up." In Rhode Island, failure to wear a seat belt is a secondary offense for people over 18 years of age. That means a police officer cannot pull over an adult driver for not wearing a seat belt, but can cite an adult driver who's stopped for another offense such as speeding or running a stop sign. A police officer can pull over a car if the officer spots somebody under the age of 18 who isn't wearing a seatbelt. Today's demonstration was presented by the state Department of Transportation, the Rhode Island State Police and local law officials. Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 11:39 AM | Comment DMV clerk indicted on fraud, ID theft, conspiracy chargesA federal grand jury has indicted former registry clerk Dolores Rodriguez-LaFlamme on charges of conspiracy, fraudulently producing drivers' licenses and identity theft. The 12-count indictment, jointly announced in a news release today by U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente and Rhode Island State Police Superintendent, Col. Brendan P. Doherty, was returned by the grand jury May 14 and charges LaFlamme with producing fraudulent licenses that were sold to individuals ineligible to legally obtain them. LaFlamme, 40, who worked in the Pawtucket office of the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles, pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 15 before Magistrate Judge David L. Martin, who ordered her detained. According to the indictment, other participants in the conspiracy met with prospective license applicants, who paid them between $700 and $2,500 for Rhode Island drivers’ licenses. Also according to the indictment, LaFlamme was, in turn, paid, and then she and another unindicted coconspirator produced the fraudulent licenses, the news release states. The indictment charges one count of conspiracy, six counts of fraudulently producing identification documents affecting interstate commerce, and five counts of fraudulently using another person’s identity. The maximum penalites for these charges are: 15 years imprisionment and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy and fraudulently producing identity documents; and two years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for fraudulent use of identity, according to the news release. LaFlamme, of Providence, who is well-known in the politically active Latino community in the city, was arrested Oct. 10, along with her friend and DMV coworker Soraya Santiago, 42, of Pawtucket. Posted by maria caporizzo at 11:39 AM | Comment CVS trial: Celona: My crime was getting paid for votesPROVIDENCE -- John Celona is on the stand. The long-awaited appearance of the corrupt ex-senator from North Providence -- and now the prosecution's star witness in the Operation Dollar Bill investigation -- came in federal court this morning at 10:20. 
Journal file photoFormer state Sen. John Celona, as he appeared Feb. 20, 2007, while leaving Superior Court in Providence, where he pleaded no contest to two state criminal charges. He had previously pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges of selling his office to Roger Williams Medical Center, the CVS drugstore chain and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Contrary to expectations that he would appear in his prison garb, Celona strode into the courtroom in a black suit and red pattern tie. His head was shaved, his trademark dark toupee absent. He looks about 30 pounds lighter than at his last public appreance, when he was sentenced Jan. 31, 2007, to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for selling his office to CVS, Blue Cross and Roger Williams Medical Center. Celona is testifying in the government's case against former CVS executives John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos Ortiz, who face 23 counts of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud. Prosecutor Stephen Dambruch began by walking Celona through his plea agreement with prosecutors in 2005 to admit to corruption charges and cooperate with the investigation. In return, he received a 12-month sentence reduction. In his words, Celona said, his crime was "getting paid in exchange for votes." His obligation to the government now, he testified, is to provide "total cooperation and truthfulness." Click below for more on Celona's testimony today ... -- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton Celona testified that in 1998 and 1999 he supported pharmacy choice legislation that was opposed by CVS, the giant drugstore chain based in Woonsocket. "I was very vocal in the community and around the state," testified Cleona. "I tried to garner supprt in the Senate and I talked to seniors and my constituents." Although defendant Ortiz and CVS lobbyist Joseph Walsh and Patrick C. Lynch -- now the Rhode Island attorney general -- lobbied Celona to oppose pharmacy choice, he voted for it. Then, in 1999, he not only supported pharmacy choice but cosponsored a bill to allow it. And he issued a news release in 1999, introduced in court today as an exhibit, in which he wrote, "It is simply unfair to the people who pay for their health care to have an HMO tell them who and where to go for their prescriptions." In 1999, Celona said, he was also lobbied by defendent Kramer, as well as Ortiz and Walsh and Lynch. Earlier today, a CVS employee who worked as Ortiz's assistant, tesified that her boss did not seem thrilled that Celona was on the payroll. The employee, Robin Seeley, testified that when she asked Ortiz what Celona did for CVS, he gestured with both hands, palms up. "Then he told me that John Celona went into the community, specifically North Providence, that he had a good rapport with seniors," testified Seeley. Prosecutor Daniel Petalas asked Seeley what Ortiz meant by his hand gesture. "I interpreted it to mean that what John Celona was doing didn’t have much ... sorry, I can’t find the word,” replied Seeley.
Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:18 AM | Comment Young male killed in rollover crash on Route 95A young male was killed yesterday in a single-car rollover on Route 95 north, just north of exit 7 in the Coventry-West Warwick area, according to state police today. The crash happened at about 8 a.m. -- With reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:07 AM | Comment It's another record: Gas prices jump 10 cents -- againFor the second week in a row, gas prices in Rhode Island increased another 10 cents per gallon, according to AAA Southern New England. And it's yet another week of breaking the record for highest gas prices ever. This time, te average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $3.809 at the self-service pump, according to AAA’s weekly survey. The price has increased 67 cents since the start of the year. Rhode Island is one cent above the national average. Special report: How increasing fuel prices are affecting our daily lives. Posted by Jack Perry at 10:50 AM | Comment French Navy ship visits NewportA French Navy ship that assisted troops in Afghanistan has come to Newport. Le Cassard, a 5,000-ton, 456-foot ship, will be officially welcomed today by state and U.S. Navy officials at a lunch in Newport. While in Newport, students from the French-American School of Rhode Island will be able to take a tour, and the ship’s crew will face students at the Naval War College –– on the sports field. The ship, which was launched in 1985, has been working to support coalition ground troops in Afghanistan. Le Cassard monitored area waters to prevent suspected criminals –– such as Taliban or Al-Qaeda leaders –– from escaping by sea. Crewmen and women also worked with the navies of Saudi Arabia, India and the United Arab Emirates, taking part in training exercises. The ship is armed with torpedoes, anti-air missiles, EXOCET (anti-ship) missiles, and decoys. Its crew is 240 strong, with 20 officers. Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 10:34 AM | Comment Reporter's query: Seeking Classical teachers for reaxEmily Perry is a senior at Classical High School in Providence who gave a speech before alumni at an awards dinner on April 30. In her speech, Perry took aim at the quality of many teachers at the school, saying there were "far too many" teachers who "operate on cruise control," and saying that the administration needed to "demand more" from its teachers. Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 10:32 AM | Comment Ex-cop held without bail in neighbor's death / Photo
WARWICK -- A Cranston man, who served briefly as a Providence police officer, is being held without bail following his arraignment today on a murder charge in the shooting death of his next-door neighbor, a Cranston firefighter. Nicholas Gianquitti, 40, of 16 Daisy Court, was arraigned this morning in Kent County Courthouse, Warwick. The police say the shooting took place yesterday at Gianquitti's house. The police would not discuss the circumstances of the shooting, but neighbors say the man who was shot had been hosting a party at his own house at 10 Daisy Court. Neighbors said it was a birthday party for one of his own children, according to the Associated Press. Neighbors identified the deceased as James A. Pagano, of 10 Daisy Court, a Cranston firefighter with a wife and two children. An autopsy is scheduled for 2 p.m. today. Cranston Fire Chief James Gumbley said Lt. Pagano, a city firefighters since 1991, was a well-liked and well-respected member of the department, according to the Associated Press. Gianquitti joined the Providence police on July 9, 1991, and was injured six months later during a foot chase off North Main Street when he jumped off a wall and fractured a knee, according to Providence Deputy Police Chief Paul Kennedy. He was granted an accidental disability on Jan. 23, 1993, Kennedy said. Read today's Journal story for an early report on the shooting. -- With reports from Journal staff writers Tom Mooney, Gregory Smith and Amanda Milkovits. One day after a shooting shattered the peace in this "quiet little neighborhood," police investigators continued trying to figure out what went wrong. A police officer walked slowly, pointing a camera along the curb's edge this morning. Another raked debris away from the curb. And dirt appeared to have been overturned in the yard. On this short cul de sac with the tranquil name Daisy Lane, a ribbon of yellow tape today cordoned off a neighborhood. Paul Gebhart, a neighbor, yesterday said he was stunned by the shooting. “Quiet little neighborhood,” he said. “Not so quiet anymore.” Posted by Jack Perry at 10:17 AM | Comment Celona expected to testify at trial of former CVS execsThe government’s star witness, former Sen. John Celona, is expected to testify today in the trial of two former CVS executives accused of bribing Celona to gain favor at the Rhode Island State House. Former CVS executives Carlos Ortiz, 64, and John R. "Jack" Kramer, 75, are charged with 23 counts of bribery, fraud and conspiracy for hiring Celona to help promote the drugstore chain’s legislative agenda at the State House. Celona is expected to be escorted into court by federal marshals. He has been serving a 2½-year sentence in a federal prison in western Pennsylvania for selling his office to CVS and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. The trial began last week in U.S. District Court, Providence. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Thunderstorms possible this afternoonThe National Weather is warning of possible thunderstorms with hail and high winds this afternoon. Otherwise, there's a slight chance of showers after 2 p.m. It should be partly with a high of 64 degrees, the weather service says. For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features a story on graduations at Providence College, Salve Regina and the University of Rhode Island. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006