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« June 13, 2008 | Today | June 17, 2008 » June 16, 2008Tonight: Learn to design with waterYou can learn to turn water into an art tonight. Dave Marchetti will give a free talk and slideshow presentation, “Designing and Building Backyard Ponds and Waterfalls,” at 7 at the Weaver Library, 41 Grove Ave., East Providence. The talk will cover such things as the appropriate size of water features for properties and information on appropriate plants and fish. For information, call the library at (401) 434-2453. For more of what's going on tonight, see projo.com's calendar page. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:56 PM | Comment Photo: 100 citizens for 100 years
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:53 PM | Comment Update: Entwistle jurors see bloody nightclothesWOBURN, Mass. -- Jurors in the trial of a British man accused of killing his wife and 9-month-old daughter were shown an undershirt and polka-dot sleeper caked with dried blood Monday -- a sight that drew gasps in the courtroom. State police chemist Deanna Dygan testified that she determined that the gunshot to chest that killed Lillian Rose Entwistle was a "contact shot," with the gun pressed directly against the baby. Neil Entwistle, 29, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the January 2006 killings of his daughter and his 27-year-old wife, Rachel. Dygan identified the "onesie" undershirt and footed "sleeper" pajamas worn by Lillian when she was killed. The clothes caused some in the courtroom to gasp. Entwistle looked away and later dabbed his eyes with a tissue. His mother, Yvonne, sobbed as she sat in the front row of the courtroom, and was comforted by Entwistle's father, Clifford. A small hole was visible in the upper left chest area of both the pajamas and the onesie. Jurors were also shown the green nightshirt Rachel had been wearing. It was also stained with dried blood. -- The Associated Press Prosecutors allege that Entwistle shot his wife and daughter on Jan. 20, 2006, after becoming despondent over mounting debt and dissatisfied with his sex life. The suspect flew to his native England the day after the killings and was arrested in London three weeks later. Entwistle told police he came home from running errands and found his wife and daughter fatally shot in their bed in the master bedroom of their rented house in Hopkinton, where they had moved 10 days earlier. Entwistle's lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, aggressively cross-examined Dygan about work she and other scientists did at the crime scene. In his questions, he tried to undermine investigators' credibility by highlighting the fact that police initially did not realize that Rachel Entwistle had been shot in the head. At first, police noticed a wound above her left breast, but an autopsy later revealed that she died of a gunshot wound to the head. The post-mortem examination showed that Lillian Entwistle died of a gunshot wound to the chest; investigators said that bullet passed into Rachel Entwistle's chest. "You didn't notice that she had been shot in the middle of her forehead at first?" Weinstein asked. "This was the careful and meticulous work, and yet nobody saw that that evening, did they?" "That's correct," Dygan replied. Another state police chemist, John Drugan, testified that no gunshot residue was found in the family's car, a BMW that Neil Entwistle left at Logan International Airport when he flew to England the day after the killings. Gunpowder residue also was not found on the car keys or on a blue sweater found in the car, Drugan said. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:44 PM | Comment Suspicious fire damages vacant Providence triple-deckerPROVIDENCE -- A fire of suspicious origin early this morning heavily damaged an unoccupied triple-decker at 380-382 Smith St., said city Fire Marshal Anthony DiGiulio. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it may be arson because the house was unoccupied and because the pattern of the burn suggests it was aided by an accelerant, the fire marshal said. “It appears to have started in two rooms at the front of the first floor and it extended up the wall to the second and third floors and the loft, where it burned through the roof,” he said. “When the firefighters arrived, the second and third floors were heavily involved in the fire.” The house, which is near the intersection of Esten Street in Smith Hill, apparently had been vacated in the past couple of days. Firefighters were called to the site at 2:42 a.m. One firefighter suffered a back injury and another, a cut on his hand, and both were treated at a hospital, DiGiulio said. The fire marshal said firefighters did “a fantastic job” in containing the blaze to the building. -- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:28 PM | Comment Dice-K slated to pitch for PawSox tonight in PennsylvaniaBoston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has been out due to a strained right rotator cuff, is slated to start for the Pawtucket Red Sox tonight in Lehigh Valley, Pa., against the Iron Pigs. The Journal reported that Dice-K will probably throw 70 to 80 pitches -- an arm rehabilitation assignment of five innings or so. Get a refresher on Dice-K's stats. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:10 PM | Comment Photo: Raising the flag her way
Posted by Peter Phipps at 4:47 PM | Comment In Coventry, water service could be restored by 7 p.m.COVENTRY -- The Kent County Water Authority expects to restore water service by 7 p.m. to about 30 homes and businesses along Main Street -- including the Coventry Police Department -- that have been without water after a water main broke this morning. Crews from D’Ambra Construction had been digging and installing a sewer-lateral line under Main Street between Sandy Bottom Road and Station Street when they hit an old hydrant base, connected to about ½-mile stretch of pipe, about 7:30 a.m., according to authorities. The hydrant is at least 80 years old, said water authority general manager Timothy J. Brown, who said he was surprised it didn’t leak sooner. Workers from the water authority so far have replaced the pipe, removed the hydrant and replaced it with a valve and a couple of clamps. -- Journal staff writer Lisa Vernon-Sparks Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:16 PM | Comment Struggling to pay the bills at historic homes, tooHARTFORD, Conn. -- Mark Twain, Edith Wharton and other boldfaced names among the dead have something in common with living Americans in these hard financial times: Their homes are in jeopardy. For scores of historic house museums, simply keeping the lights on has become a challenge. The Mount, Wharton's home in Lenox, Mass., is trying to stave off foreclosure with a feverish fundraising campaign. The Twain House in Hartford can't even afford to buy energy-saving light bulbs that would slash its electric bill. Experts say this summer may make or break some sites, many of which already have cut their hours and staff and are struggling for donations in today's troubled economy. "The jury's really still out on how summer visitation will be, how people will respond to gas prices and what it will mean for us," said Susan Wissler, acting president of The Mount, which needs $6 million by Oct. 31 to avoid foreclosure. The Twain House and Museum is in similar straits, trying to repay a $4.9 million bank loan from earlier expansions and meet its $2.9 million yearly budget. They already cut two-thirds of the staff and made other reductions, but had barely enough money to pay three weeks' worth of bills before recent publicity generated a spate of donations. Many house museums, especially smaller sites, get little or no government help. Tourist dollars, donations, interest earned on endowment funds and corporate gifts -- all highly dependent on the economy -- help keep the doors open. -- The Associated Press The National Trust for Historic Preservation estimates there are between 9,000 and 10,000 historic home museums nationwide. Some, like the Twain and Wharton homes, are established landmarks run by nonprofit groups. Thousands of others are homesteads of early settlers, birthplaces of noteworthy Americans or other modest sites run by local historical societies and volunteers. "Many of them are operating on a shoestring, but they're very important to their communities and people put in a lot of volunteer time and effort just to keep them going," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "It's a complex financial situation out there for a lot of museums, and there's no question that house museums are facing some unique challenges these days," he said. Even government ownership isn't a guarantee of security. As states and municipalities cut their budgets, many have reduced the hours at the historic homes they operate or turned the sites over to private groups. The tiny northern Vermont birthplace of President Chester A. Arthur reduced its hours from five days weekly to two this summer to reflect state budget cuts. The Ohio Historical Society this spring increased admission fees for the first time in four years. It also cut jobs and sliced hours at many sites, including the Marion home where Warren G. Harding launched his 1920 presidential campaign. For the Twain and Wharton houses, yesterday's improvement projects are today's financial burden. Jeffrey Nichols, the Twain House and Museum's executive director since April, says officials now recognize that a $19 million visitor center that opened in 2003 was too ambitious and costly. The gingerbread Gothic home was built in 1874 by the author and humorist who, coincidentally, often struggled with debt and had to sell the home in 1903. "The museum saw a great opportunity to expand and to better preserve and spread Mark Twain's legacy, but in retrospect, it did overreach," Nichols said. In that regard, the Twain House is like private homes throughout America where residents expanded during heady economic times or used home equity credit lines, subprime mortgages and private loans they now struggle to repay. The Mount finds itself in similar straits. The restoration of its mansion and gardens is lauded in architectural and historical circles, and its 2005 purchase of Wharton's personal library for $2.6 million was even singled out by first lady Laura Bush for special praise. But the seller is British, so payments skyrocketed as the British pound's value has pummeled that of the dollar. The group has received $900,000 in donations since February, but needs $3 million by Halloween to secure a promise of matching money from an anonymous donor and avoid foreclosure. Wharton designed and built the 1902 home, where she later finished "The House of Mirth" and got the inspiration for "Ethan Frome." She lived there until 1910, when her marriage collapsed and she moved to France. Wissler said the organization that runs the home reduced its staff, negotiated fixed rates on some utility bills and is working with the bank to restructure the loan terms. "No one has faulted the quality of the restoration or what we did with every dollar," she said. "We've expanded our facilities very carefully. What's occurring now is a timing issue as much as anything." First-time visitor Jocelyn Ramella of Charlestown, Mass., said she toured The Mount after reading of its plight and realizing she knew very little about the property. "I think it's definitely worth preserving," she said as she headed toward the gardens on a recent afternoon. "It's a very special place and now that I know how beautiful it is, it'd be so sad if we lost it." Visitors to Hartford's Twain House had similar feelings. "I am surprised there would be any question about whether it could continue," said Adrian Reddall, who toured with his wife, Elizabeth. "I would hope the idea of preservation, which we're very hot on in England, would be catching on enough in America that this (site) stays protected," Reddall said. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:08 PM | Comment Judge designates con man Kluth a 'habitual' criminalPROVIDENCE -- At a Superior Court hearing today, Judge Netti C. Vogel declared convicted con man John P. Kluth Jr. to be a habitual criminal. Attorney General Patrick C Lynch had asked for Kluth be designated such under a Rhode Island statute. The designation carries with it two ramifications: at Kluth's sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday, Vogel will be obliged to add additional jail time on top of the sentence. The statute also requires her to impose a minimum number of years that Kluth must spend in prison before is is eligible for parole. The question of parole is -- except for under the habitual criminal statute -- almost exclusively the concern of the state Department of Corrections and the parole board. At Kluth's hearing today, Lynch selected six of the 30 swindles that Kluth was convicted of to illustrate that Kluth was a repeat offender. Victims who testified at Kluth’s trial said he would tell them that his lobster truck had broken down and he needed a quick loan to fix it before his lobsters went bad. He promised to return money and to thrown in some lobsters to say thanks. But there was no truck, there were no lobsters and there wasn’t any repayment. -- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Multimedia: Hear what John Kluth says he did with the money Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 3:31 PM | Comment Diocese faces another suit alleging child abuse by priestThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence is facing yet another lawsuit alleging child molestation by a former priest. Jeffery Thomas, 47, a contractor from Massachusetts, alleges in a civil lawsuit filed today that he was molested by the Rev. Brendan Smyth when Thomas was a second grader at Our Lady of Mercy School in East Greenwich during the 1960s. The suit alleges that the diocese as well as Smyth’s supervisors in the order of Norbortine Fathers should have known, if they didn’t already, that Smyth was a pedophile and a danger to children. "They have known about this guy and [his] pedophile behavior for five decades," Thomas’ lawyer, Jeffrey R. Anderson, said this afternoon. "This isn’t about Brendan Smith," who died in an Irish prison in 1997, "but the ones he answered to," said Anderson. Those supervisors "could have controlled him and they chose not to. This suit is about…those who allowed the crimes to continue." Smyth, who left Rhode Island in 1968, was sentenced to four years in a Belfast prison after admitting in 1994 that he molested five girls and three boys in Belfast over a 24-year period. The sexual assaults figured prominently in the collapse last fall of Ireland's coalition government. Anderson said the diocese had received at least one complaint about Smyth prior to the alleged attacks on Thomas. A spokesman for the diocese said he would comment after he had read the complaint filed today. -- Journal staff writer Tom Mooney Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 2:57 PM | Comment Troubled Landmark wants Assembly to lift rigid reviewLandmark Medical Center says it’s on the brink of financial collapse and will close by the end of this year unless it merges with another hospital. The hospital is asking the General Assembly to allow it make a quick deal by exempting it from the intense scrutiny that such mergers normally require. The Woonsocket hospital has had longstanding financial problems. Now its debts exceed its assets by $7.2 million, spokesman Bill Fischer said this morning. Landmark has been trying for a number of years to find another hospital to acquire it, and is in discussions with Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, in Pawtucket. But if Landmark and Memorial were to attempt to merge, under current law they would have to undergo a lengthy review by the state Department of Health and the attorney general, a process sure to take at least a year. Landmark can’t survive that long, Fischer said. Legislation filed last week would exempt any hospital that is in a “negative net asset position” from the terms of the Hospitals Conversion Act, the law governing hospital mergers. Instead, such a hospital be would subject to the far less rigorous review that occurs when any health care entity changes hands. Dr. David R. Gifford, director of health, said that the bill as written could have unintended consequences and that there are other options for Landmark, including receivership. The Health Department will probably recommend changes to the bill when it comes before the House Corporations Committee tomorrow afternoon, Gifford said. The legislature will have to work quickly, however, because it plans to adjourn at the end of this week. Fischer said that it was merely “a confluence of events” that led to this legislation being filed in the last days of the session. -- Journal medical writer Felice J. Freyer In a response to the request, Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued a statement today saying that although he would like to preserve "Landmark as a viable presence and employer, in Northern Rhode Island," he opposed the "fast-track" merger approval. "Therefore, although I’m firmly committed to saving Landmark Medical Center, I’m committed to doing so in a way that’s consistent with state law," Lynch said in the statement, "that protects the charitable assets that are the very foundation of Landmark, and that doesn’t have unintended consequences that may, in the long run, prove harmful to the very people and health-care services we’re trying to safeguard.” Lynch said he doubted that Landmark would be able to "preserve itself" after being absorbed by Memorial. He also expressed concerns about proper expenditure of Landmark's charitable donations in the event of a "fast-track" approval. Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:13 PM | Comment Update: Accused rapist held without bail / Photo
Riz, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, is accused of raping a 30-year-old woman on June 8 in Roger Williams Park. Magistrate Joseph T. Ippolito made the ruling as Riz, handcuffed and shackled, listened to the charges through an interpreter. Six sheriffs stood in the small courtroom, along with members of the victim’s family, who did not speak. Riz, who showed no emotion, did not speak, either. Riz is accused of kidnapping the woman from the parking lot in a Stop & Shop on Route 2 in Warwick, then driving her –– in the Ford SUV in which she was sitting, waiting for her mother –– to the park. The police say Riz -- who has used at least a dozen aliases, including Saul Pizzarro-Aviles, the name police first made public -- had just been fired from his job Sunday when he saw the woman in the idling vehicle. Riz also faces a kidnapping and robbery charge in Warwick. -- With reports from Journal staff writer G. Wayne Miller. Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 11:24 AM | Comment Coventry P.D., some homes, businesses have no waterCOVENTRY -- Several homes and businesses, including the Coventry Police Department on Main Street, between Sandy Bottom Lane and Station Street, have no running water this morning, due to a water main break between 7 and 8 a.m., authorities said. The break occurred at 1043 Main St., where construction crews are installing a sewer lateral line, and mistakenly hit an old hydrant that was not marked, according to Ken Owens, a private consultant hired to help promote the town’s continuing sewer project. Kent County Water Authority, local police and others are on the scene. They are now pumping the water out of the ditch and off the street, with repairs expected to last about 5 hours before service is restored, Owens said. -- Journal staff writer Lisa Vernon-Sparks Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:17 AM | Comment Gas prices increase for the 12th week, hit $4.11Gasoline prices have gone up for the 12th straight week in Rhode Island, increasing three cents, according to AAA Southern New England. The average price for regular, unleaded gasoline is $4.109 per gallon at the self-service pump, according to AAA's weekly survey. Rhode Island drivers are paying about $1.15 more per gallon than they were at this time last year. The price of gas has increased about one dollar since the beginning of the year. Here's AAA's fuel saving tip of the week: Don’t idle your car unnecessarily. Drivers can find up-to-date local gas prices and tips for saving gas at the AAA Web site. (Correction: An earlier version of this blog said prices had increased for 11 straight weeks.) Posted by Jack Perry at 10:54 AM | Comment Update: Electric cross sparks fire that damages church
Cranston fire Chief James Gumbley said the call came in at about 4:15 p.m. When fire crews arrived at the Celestial Church of Christ, at 628 Dyer Ave., they found an unoccupied building and heavy fire, he said. The blaze was under control in about 10 minutes, Gumbley said, but firefighters were on the scene for about an hour. The contents and furnishings were destroyed, Gumbley said, but the building itself wasn’t lost and no one was hurt. The state Fire Marshal joined the investigation, and the fire was determined to have been caused by a cross that was plugged into the wall. It overheated, sparking the fire. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 10:41 AM | Comment Budget a priority as Assembly aims to finish by FridayThe harried state budget season may be down to the final stretch. As they race to pass a budget and a slew of other bills, lawmakers have their fingers crossed that they’ll finish business and adjourn for the session as early as Friday. For that to happen, they’ll have to buckle down and get moving with the floor debates and late night-sessions that mark the final days in the un-air-conditioned General Assembly chambers. The schedule as it stands now looks like this, according to House and Senate spokesmen: Today at 4 p.m. is the deadline for House members to submit amendments to the budget plan. Legislative staffers worked all day Saturday, drafting amendments that representatives think could improve the budget released by the House Finance Committee last Wednesday. Tomorrow, the House fiscal staff will brief members on the 39 budget articles. Wednesday will be the first big decision-making day. That afternoon at 2 House members will begin debating the budget plan, article by article, in what is expected to be an hours-long session, according to House spokesman Larry Berman. To give you an idea, last year’s floor debate in the House lasted more than 11 hours. Two years ago, it stretched on for nine hours. Assuming the House passes a version late that night or early Thursday, the tax-and-spend plan will go before the Senate Finance Committee that afternoon and be rushed to the Senate floor on Friday. Out of breath yet? Back on the House side, representatives will continue tackling the final stack of bills that still require action. Berman said the leadership has “expressed a goal,” of finishing up Friday evening and adjourning for the session. No word yet on whether the Senate hopes to finish then. It could be a very, very long night. Back to today -- the General Assembly is not in session. The House and Senate are scheduled to start up again tomorrow at 4 p.m. Keep track -- or try to -- of the House and Senate calendars via the General Assembly's Web site. -- Cynthia Needham, Journal State House bureau Posted by Andrea Panciera at 10:21 AM | Comment Sen. Kennedy preparing to "do battle" vs. cancerSen. Edward M. Kennedy is considering a pill form of chemotherapy that would allow him to stay home on Cape Cod during treatment for a brain tumor, his son U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy said this weekend. Kennedy said his father enjoyed the Father’s Day weekend surrounded by family at his home in Hyannisport, Mass., and preparing to “do battle,” undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments for his brain cancer two weeks after surgery in North Carolina, Rep. Kennedy said. He would not say when the radiation and chemotherapy treatments would begin. Read a full story from the Associated Press Posted by Jack Perry at 10:20 AM | Comment Raccoons found drowned in trash canThe East Providence police and state environmental officials are investigating the drowning of three baby raccoons, which were found Saturday night in a trash barrel on Second Street. Nobody has been arrested, but whoever drowned the raccoons could face a felony charge of malicious injury or killing of an animal, Lt. Stephen J. Enos said. The owner of the Second Street building, who does not live there, had been having problems with raccoons in an attic space in the building, Enos said. The owner went to the building on Saturday night and found the raccoons in a barrel in the back yard, he said. Enos would not release the exact address of the building. The state Department of Environmental Management is working with East Providence police detectives on the matter, Enos said. The dead raccoons have been seized as evidence, he said. -- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 9:39 AM | Comment Weight limit lowered on Sakonnet River Bridge
The weight limit for the Sakonnet River Bridge has again been lowered after an inspection showed increased deterioration. Vehicles weighing more than 18 tons are now prohibited from traveling across the bridge. The previous weight limit was 22 tons. And vehicles and trailers with more than two axles per unit are also prohibited from crossing the bridge, which connects Tiverton and Portsmouth. According to the state Department of Transportation, the bridge, built in 1957, supports more than 40,000 vehicles per day. In a statement released this morning, the DOT said it plans to begin advertising the replacement project late this summer and open a new bridge by 20011. Motorists with concerns or questions can contact DOT customer service at 401-222-2450, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 9:35 AM | Comment Hearing today for convicted flimflam manA hearing is scheduled today for a convicted con man who used fake stories of woe and despair to trick at least 30 people into giving him money. John Kluth, a former Newport lobsterman, was convicted in March of obtaining money under false pretenses. He is scheduled for sentencing later this week. But today he is scheduled for a habitual-offender hearing, when the judge could add up to 25 years to Kluth’s sentence for repeated unlawful acts. Kluth has been convicted of at least 54 crimes in three states, varying from passing bad checks to drug possession. Victims who testified at Kluth’s trial said he would tell them that his lobster truck had broken down and he needed a quick loan to fix it before his lobsters went bad. He promised to return money and to thrown in some lobsters to say thanks. But there was no truck, there were no lobsters and there wasn’t any repayment. Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 9:02 AM | Comment Severe thunderstorms possible, high near 76 degreesThe National Weather Service warns that severe thunderstorms are possible between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. today with large hail and damaging wind gusts. The greatest threat is in western and central Massachusetts and northern Connecticut but the storms could strike as far east as Boston, Fall River and Lawrence, Mass., the weather service says. The weathers service says people should pay attention to the latest weather information and be prepared to get to a safe place as soon as the first sign of threatening weather. Otherwise, today should be mostly cloudy with a high near 76 degrees. For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Today in historyOn this day in 2004, rebuffing Bush administration claims, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said no evidence existed that al-Qaida had strong ties to Saddam Hussein. Read more from today in history. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page looks at the impact of cuts in RIteCare, the state-run health plan for poor families. Download a copy of today's front page in .pdf format.
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006