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« June 23, 2008 | Today | June 25, 2008 » June 24, 2008Update: Latest thunderstorm warning lifted, sun coming
Live regional radar
A slice of sun is visible in downtown Providence, while a brick church spire stands tall against a gray-blue sky to the east. It's a sign of what the National Weather Service said shortly after 7 p.m.: ...The Severe Thunderstorm Warning for northeastern Kent...extreme southeastern Providence...extreme northeastern Washington and southern Bristol counties in Rhode Island is cancelled... The notice followed a severe thunderstorm warning for the regions below, the latest in a band that swept through the area this afternoon, bringing heavy rain, pelting hail, and lightning. A fisherman was struck by lightning in Bristol, and the rain delayed the CVS Caremark Charity Classic final in Barrington four hours. Tonight, the weather service predicts mostly cloudy with scattered showers with a chance of thunderstorms this evening, then mostly clear after midnight. Low temperatures will be around 60, with northwest winds 5 to 10 mph and gusts up to 20 mph this evening. Chance of rain is 50 percent. But tomorrow -- it sounds like a beach day:. Sunny. Highs in the mid-80s. West winds 5 to 10 mph. Get the latest conditions and forecasts at projo.com/weather -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:30 PM | Comment Tonight: Rock in Providence and NewportIn Providence tonight, the Walrus and the Carpenter, Cuddle Magic and American Hornets play rock at AS220, 115 Empire St., Providence. 831-9327. 10 p.m. $6. All ages. The Hi-Hat Trio with Debra Mann, jazz, The Hi-Hat, 3 Davol Square, Providence. 453-6500, www.thehihat.com. 7 to 11 p.m. The Guest Bartenders play rock at One Pelham East, 270 Thames St., Newport. 847-9460. 10 p.m. See more of projo.com's listings. Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:19 PM | Comment Man struck by lightning while fishing in BristolBRISTOL -- A 42-year-old man was struck by lightning as he was fishing off the rocks near Roger Williams University this afternoon. Rescuing him was a tricky situation. As rain pelted down and lightning flashed overhead, about 20 volunteer firefighters worked their way down the shore to the unconscious man on the rocks along the shoreline, said Fire Chief Robert Martin. They lifted him into a Stokes basket and carefully carried him off the rain-slicked rocks, Martin said. However, they couldn’t bring the ambulance to him because of the location, so one of the volunteer firefighters drove his pick-up truck down to the scene, and the firefighters loaded the man and basket into the back of the truck. The firefighters were performing CPR on the man as they rushed him to Rhode Island Hospital trauma care unit, Martin said. He estimated it had taken the firefighters 10 minutes to reach the man and rescue him. “You call for a rescue in Bristol, we come,” Martin said. --Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:56 PM | Comment Iraqi refugee brings her story to Providence City Hall
PROVIDENCE -- Two years ago, a U.S. jetfighter dropped a bomb into Ghaydaa Ghalum’s kitchen in Baghdad. “I covered up my children and saw my house fall apart,” Ghalum said. “My daughter was shaking all night and my son kept crying and wouldn’t open his eyes. All night we saw dust coming down from the ceiling. The next morning my entire family came to our house to see if we were dead or alive.” That was the last in a series of cataclysmic events that pushed the family into exile, said Ghalum at a World Refugee Day ceremony today at Providence City Hall that was hosted by the International Institute of Rhode Island. The day was established in 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly. In 2003, her husband, Adel, then working for the U.S. Army as a carpenter, “was kidnapped and tortured by the terrorists and almost died,” she said. “… Like many other Iraqis, we left Iraq because we didn’t feel safe there anymore. Everybody lives in fear; there were gunfights in the streets. My children saw dead bodies on the streets.” Last December, Ghalum, her husband and their children, Miriam and Ahmed, were resettled by the International Institute of Rhode Island. The children attend school, Adel works, and Ghalum said she hopes to earn a nursing degree. Today, Ghalum told an audience that she feels “like a newborn,” and thanked both the Rhode Island community and the Institute “for helping us make Providence our new home.” -- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:33 PM | Comment The day ice fell from the sky -- in JunePAWTUCKET -- If it's late June, it must mean patches of hail all over downtown. Not what you were expecting? Pawtucket appeared to have been hit pretty hard by the severe thunderstorm that passed through the region this afternoon, delivering rain and hail, from one reporter's observations. The surge of water from a storm drain was powerful enough to cause buckling on part of Armistice Boulevard, in the area of the Department of Public Works building, near George R. Bennet Industrial Highway. Mayor James Doyle said he expected the asphalt would need replacing. Doyle said he was told the water level on School Street was so high that cars slid into each other. Tree leaves are strewn all over roads. A city Department of Public Works worker said there was flooding on the Roosevelt Avenue Extension, near the Pawtucket River. A couple of cars got stuck on the road where it becomes Pleasant Street. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer John Castellucci Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:48 PM | Comment Watson-Villegas clinch rain-delayed CVS golf tourneyBARRINGTON -- Bubba Watson and Camilo Villegas birdied all three holes of a four-team playoff to win the rain-delayed CVS Caremark Charity Classic today at Rhode Island Country Club. The event was delayed almost four hours by a heavy and at times violent thunderstorm. At the time, the 10 two-player teams all had completed at least 10 holes and had at least five holes to play. Because the course became so wet, it was decided to make it a 28, rather than 36-hole, competition. And, after 28 holes, the teams of Villegas-Watson, Paul Goydos-Tim Herron, Billy Andrade-Davis Love and Rocco Mediate-Brandt Snedeker all were at 15-under-par. Officials opted to have those four teams go out in a three-hole playoff, playing the final three holes on the RICC layout. Villegas birdied both 16 and 17, then Watson clinched it with a five-footer for still another bird on the final hole. The three other teams had only one birdie in the wet conditions, that by Mediate on the 16th hole. First place was worth $150,000 each for Watson and Villegas. --Journal sportswriter Paul Kenyon
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:42 PM | Comment Providence, Local 1033 reach pact covering 4 yearsPROVIDENCE -- The city’s unionized municipal workers have reached contracts with the city covering a four-year period that protects them from rumored layoffs, provides roughly 2 percent wage increases annually, and doubles the amount they pay towards their health care over the life of the contract. A well-known city benefit allowing outside workers to go home with pay on hot days, known as the “90 degree rule,” has also been negotiated out of the deal. The roughly 900 municipal employees represented by Local 1033 of the Laborers International Union of North America have been working under the terms of their old contract since it expired last June 30. This deal covers that period with one contract, and the next three years with another. The contract was ratified by employees by a vote of 811-0 over the last two days, said Local 1033 business manager Donald S. Iannazzi. The City Council must still ratify the deal. Local 1033 represents approximately 900 employees, or the bulk of the city's workforce other than teachers, police officers and firefighters. The employees do a variety of jobs, from issuing licenses, to operating the water system, to helping schoolchildren cross the street, to assessing and collecting taxes. The contract offers employees a 1 percent wage increase on June 1 of this year, and a 1 percent increase on July 1. It then builds in 1 percent increases in January and 2 percent increases in July in both 2009 and 2010, which over the four years covered by the deal works out to roughly a 2 percent increase per year. -- Journal staff writer Daniel Barbarisi The contract offers little retroactive pay -- retroactive payments only date to June 1 of this year, and continue until the contract is approved by the City Council. The contract will also double the amount that employees pay for their health care over the life of the deal. At the moment, employees on an individual plan pay $400 per year, and employees on a family plan pay $1,000 annually. After several gradual increases over the course of the contract, they will pay $900 for an individual plan and $1,900 for a family plan by the time the contract expires in June of 2011. Those increases will mean a savings of $1.2 million over the course of the deal, city officials said. Cicilline’s Chief of Administration, Richard I. Kerbel, said that thanks to the health care savings and the savings from eliminating the 90 degree rule, the cost increases to the city should be negligible over the next four years. The previous Laborers contract was ratified in the fall of 2004. In that three-year deal, the Laborers agreed to pay a portion of their health benefits for the first time -- 10 percent -- and received a 7.5 percent raise over the life of the contract. The Laborers are now the only major city union with even a tentative contract agreement. The city’s contract with the Providence Teachers Union expired last summer, and negotiations are ongoing. Roughly 1,000 school department employees, most represented by Local 1033, are also still operating under the expired contract. The city is also still in arbitration with the city’s police and firefighters. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:36 PM | Comment Man, 23, who hit police car while driving drunk, pleads
Roman A. Dodd, of 61 Inkberry Drive, was driving drunk July 14, 2007, when the car he was driving north on Route 1 swerved and hit a police cruiser that had just pulled over another vehicle for speeding. The patrol car spun around, striking Lt. Gerald Richard, who had left his car for the traffic stop. The impact hurled Richard 33 feet into a ditch, where he lay with leg, shoulder and arm injuries. Dodd, who had just graduated from the University of Michigan, had been drinking beers and rum and Cokes at Amalfi’s restaurant in Narragansett before the collision, according to court records. Richard, 43, told today of lingering pain in his left shoulder and arm that awakens him four times a night, but worse he said is the realization that he might not work as a police officer again. “The fact that there’s a good chance I won’t go back to work as a police officer is emotionally crippling,” Richard said as his girlfriend wept. Dodd, too, once a high school track star who was debilitated in 2002 after being struck in the head by a hammer thrown by another student, addressed the court. “I know I can’t take it back,” he said. He vowed to do his time, come out and be a productive member of society. -- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney Under the plea agreement reached by Dodd’s lawyer, Richard Humphrey, and Special Assistant Attorney General Mark Trovato, Dodd received 10 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions, with two to serve and eight years suspended with probation for driving under the influence, serious bodily injury resulting. He got five years at the ACI, all to be suspended with probation, for driving to endanger resulting in serious bodily injury. His license will be suspended for three years beginning the day of his release. He must undergo substance abuse counseling and pay all Richard’s medical expenses that are not covered by insurance. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:12 PM | Comment Storm left 1,900 customers without power at peakThe afternoon's heavy rains, lightning and hail left about 1,900 National Grid customers without electricity at the height of the storm-related power failures. The peak came around 3:15 p.m., with the largest number of reported failures in Richmond, at 515 customers, according to David Graves, a National Grid spokesman. Graves cautioned that the number of power failures may fluctuate as some customers arrive home this evening to find power out and report it. "They could bump up slightly after 5 and 5:30," he said. "We are down to about 1,600 customers [without power] at this point," he said shortly before 4 p.m. Power failures peaked at the following number of customers in these communities: * South Kingstown, 305 Around 3 p.m., Tiverton had 88 power failures, Graves said. The storm, which dumped rain and even hail in some areas, led to some reports of flash flooding in Pawtucket. It also delayed the second and final day of play of the CVS Caremark Charity Classic golf tournament, chasing players and spectators off the course in Barrington. "It was hailing on the 18th fairway,'' said Darren Lee, who was in the Edwards & Angell suite on the 18th. "It looked like golf balls were falling from the sky.'' -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:25 PM | Comment Playoff today will determine CVS Classic championsBARRINGTON -- The patience of CVS Classic organizers apparently is going to pay off with more golf. It has just been announced that the four teams tied at 15-under-par through 28 holes will hold a three-hole playoff, beginning at 4:05 p.m., for the title. It will be telecast live by The Golf Channel. Play has been delayed since 12:10 p.m. because of a major electrical storm. The Rhode Island Country Club course is still waterlogged, but what apparently is the last of the rain is now falling, thus the playoff has been set. It was determined to use 28 holes as the measuring stick for each team's finish since all teams played at least 28 holes. That means the teams of Billy Andrade-Davis Love, Rocco Mediate-Brandt Snedeker, Paul Goydos-TIm Herron and Bubba Watson-Camilo Villegas will be in the playoff. Two other teams also were at 15-under when play was halted, the duos of Dana and Brett Quigley and Nick Price-Charles Howell. However, those teams had played more than 28 holes to get to 15-under. Howell and Price were 14-under through 28 holes and the Quigleys at 13-under. Check a live scoreboard on the CVS Caremark Charity Classic Web site.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:59 PM | Comment Secretary of State's site tracking candidate filingsAs tomorrow's 4 p.m. deadline nears for filing declarations of candidacy, you can see some of those who are running for Rhode Island's local, state and federal offices on the Secretary of State's Web site. The information is being posted on the secretary of state's "Election 2008"page. at the "2008 Candidate Status" link: www.sec.state.ri.us/candidates/, according to Chris Barnett, spokesman for the Secretary of State's office. But a heads up: The declarations will not show up online immediately. The site's database does not refresh until 4 a.m. the next day. So, today, all filings are available online that were entered before then yesterday. Tomorrow around 4 a.m., all filings entered today will be available. According to Barnett, the Secretary of State's office posts filings for the candidates for federal offices. For state and city/town candidates, the office is networked with each board of canvassers in Rhode Island's communities. So when a board of canvassers enters candidates' filings, the Secretary of State site gets the information. Projo.com plans to obtain all the filings shortly after tomorrow's 4 p.m. and post them as soon as possible after that. All forms and a calendar with every key date leading up to Rhode Island’s primary and general election are posted at http://www.sec.state.ri.us/elections/election08.html. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:59 PM | Comment Two more beaches closed due to bacteriaNot that you were planning a trip to the beach today, but the state has recommended closing three beaches today because of high levels of bacteria. Today, the state’s Department of Health recommended closing the Atlantic Beach Club Beach in Middletown; Conimicut Point Beach in Warwick; and Oakland Beach, also in Warwick. And two beaches that were closed in the past two weeks because of high bacteria levels –– Camp Grosvenor in North Kingstown and Gorton Pond Beach in Warwick –– are still closed. Check the Health Department’s Web site or call 222-2751 to find out when these beaches re-open and what beaches are closed around the state. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:41 PM | Comment Flooding closes lanes on Route 95 in Pawtucket
Flooding has caused a lane closure on Route 95 in Pawtucket. The Transportation Management Center is reporting flooding on the southbound side of the highway at Exit 27/US-1/Pawtucket. The right and right-center lanes are blocked. Traffic is stop and go. See for yourself on the TMC’s Web cameras. Your turn: Send us your storm reports here. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:35 PM | Comment Rain wreaks havoc on second day of CVS / Photo
BARRINGTON -- Give the organizers of the CVS Caremark Charity Classic an ``A’’ for determination. And the players, too. As of 2:15 p.m., the tournament remains in delay. A powerful storm has blown through, flooding much of the course as it brought hail, thunder and lightning. Play was halted at 12:10 and the storm arrived about 12:40. It lasted for about an hour. ``It was hailing on the 18th fairway,'' said Darren Lee, who was in the Edwards & Angell suite on the 18th. ``It looked like golf balls were falling from the sky.'' Some of the suites had damage to their roof. The wine pavilion apparently did not survive. It was taken down by the storm. Many of the fairways were flooded. Weather reports indicate one more storm cell could be on its way soon. Despite all that, hope remains that play will resume. Peter Jacobsen, whose production company organizes the event, just spoke with reporters and said everything is on hold for the time being. Many of the players have flights scheduled today. The only one with a major problem is Justin Rose, who has a commercial flight to Scotland scheduled for 4 p.m. During the storm, spectators were allowed to go to the clubhouse, Champions Club and suites along the 18th hole, all areas normally reserved for sponsors. At least from what has been seen around the clubhouse, few people got caught in the storm. Buses became a shelter more than a source of transportation. There was one report that lightning had hit a building at St. Andrew’s School, where some of the parking is for the tournament. Through it all, the players have cooperated fully, Jacobsen said. ``I think one reason they want to stay is because they have this ice cream bar up there (in the players area),’’ Jacobsen related. ``They have vanilla and chocolate and oreo and heath bar. They’re saying they’re doing fine there.’’ ``Our first priority is to finish out the tournament and all 20 professional are on-site and available to do so,'' CVS officials said in a statement. ``If a complete finish is not an option our next step would be to initiate a playoff between the four teams tied for the lead through 28 total holes.'' -Sports Writer Paul Kenyon Posted by Mike McDermott at 2:31 PM | Comment Cicilline, municipal union agree on labor contractPROVIDENCE -- Mayor David N. Cicilline says he has reached a tentative agreement with the city's largest union. Cicilline and Laborers International Union of North America Local 1033 Business Manager Donald S. Iannazzi will announce details of the four-year labor deal at 3 p.m. in the mayor's office. The membership of Local 1033 is scheduled to vote on the tentative pact today, they've been negotiating with the city since April of last year, according to Iannazzi. The union represents about 900 employees in Providence; the majority of municipal employees, such as workers at City Hall and the Department of Public Works, but it doesn't represent teachers or uniformed personnel such as police officers. The contract includes some losses and some gains for union employees and, Cicilline said in a statement, the contract will significantly rein in costs. "Most significantly," Iannazzi said, "we're safeguarding the employment of all 900 members." Click below for an outline of some of the other changes to the contract. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson According to Donald Iannazzi, the business manager and legal council for Local 1033, the new agreement provides: - An 8 percent increase in wages over the next 37 months - An increase in the cost of health care for employees - Adds contributions from employers to the union benefit fund - Eliminates a provision that automatically lets outdoor workers go home if the temperature hits - Gives workers an additional two floating holidays. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:24 PM | Comment Weather alert: Severe thunderstorm warning / Radar
Live regional radar
The National Weather Service in Taunton has issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for minor flooding of poor drainage areas in... Bristol County in Rhode Island... this includes the cities of...Bristol...Barrington... eastern Kent County in Rhode Island... this includes the city of Warwick... Newport County in Rhode Island... this includes the city of Newport... eastern Providence County in Rhode Island... this includes the city of Providence... eastern Washington County in Rhode Island... this includes the city of South Kingstown... west central Barnstable County in southeast Massachusetts... Bristol County in southeast Massachusetts... this includes the cities of...Taunton...North Attleborough...New Bedford...Fall River...attleborough... Plymouth County in southeast Massachusetts... this includes the city of Plymouth... At 12:47 PM: An airport weather warning for lightning for the Providence area has just been sent out by the National Weather Service: At 12:45 PM a strong thunderstorm was over Narragansett Bay between Prudence Island and Quonset Point...drifting slowly to the northeast. While the storm will likely remain southeast of TF Green Airport...there will be a specific threat of cloud to ground lightning in TF Green/S airspace from this storm until 1:30 PM. Check the latest conditions, live radar and forecasts -- and sign up for your own e-mail weather alerts -- at: projo.com/weather Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:42 PM | Comment Old remains uncovered in Cranston now being re-buried
They were remains from graves dating to the late 1800s, exposed by soil erosion. Two years ago, some employees were walking around at lunch hour and found bones that had washed into the parking lot from a Route 37 embankment, behind the former Davol building in the Sockanosset Cross Road area. Investigation determined they were remains of men, women and children who died at the State Farm -- a place for those who lived in poverty known as the state potter's field -- at the turn of the 20th century. The state burial ground was used by the State Farm from 1875 to 1918. Digging found grave after grave, showing that Route 37 was built over a potter's field cemetery. The DOT decided to remove the 67 graves' remains found to be in danger of being disturbed by embankment erosion caused by drainage pipes and culverts and water coming off Route 37. The remains have been stored in a climate-controlled facility at Public Archeology Lab in preparation for the work that started about 8:30 this morning. The state Veterans Cemetery provided equipment to carry out the digging and re-burials, estimated to take three days. The remains will be re-buried at land at corner of Knight Street and Pontiac Avenue on the Cranston-Warwick line. Michael Hebert, the Department of Transportation archaeologist who has worked on the investigation of the remains, and Public Archaeology Lab, in Pawtucket, are doing the project. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Barbara Polichetti Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:39 PM | Comment Coming tonight: HSGameTime All-State boys lacrosseTonight at 6, we continue our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State boys lacrosse team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division and SENE All-League teams, at HSGameTime. Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day. Online now: Boys tennis, golf, boys volleyball, softball, girls lacrosse Posted by Mike McDermott at 12:54 PM | Comment Update: Storm delays CVS Classic / Photo: Rocco blasts outThe horn has just sounded, shortly after noon, stopping play in the CVS Caremark Charity Classic. The stoppage comes just as rain is beginning. Fans are now filing back to safety under overcast skies. However, there are cells in the area that are producing electrical storms. Thunder has been heard several times in the last few minutes. The halt comes with the players between the 11th and 14th holes _ and with six of the 10 teams tied for first at 15-under-par. Two teams, Billy Andrade-Davis Love III and Paul Goydos-Tim Herron, have gotten to 15-under with the help of eagles on the par-5 eighth. Also in the deadlock for the top spot are the teams of Camilo Villegas-Bubba Watson, Rocco Mediate-Brandt Snedeker, Nick Price-Charles Howell and Dana and Brett Quigley. Read more tournament coverage. Follow the action through this live scoreboard. -- Journal staff sports writer Paul Kenyon
Posted by Jack Perry at 12:31 PM | Comment Defendant on video: 'I didn't do anything for her to die'WARWICK -- Jurors in Brian Mlyniec's murder trial this morning watched video of West Warwick police questioning Mlyniec about the acts he and Kelly Ann Anderson engaged in at his house before she was found dead there two years ago. Mlyniec, on the tape, did not really want to talk about the sexual activities. He said that at one point he tied her ankles and wrists but did not want to go into it because "that makes me look like an animal or something." Mlyniec and Anderson had left Kennedy Plaza in Providence and gone to his home on June 22, the day before she was found dead. The police questions kept coming on the tape and Mlyniec ended up describing what he said the two did. At various points in the questioning, he said he did not remember. "I didn't do anything for her to die," said Mlyniec, referring to their sex acts. "I mean, I love that girl." Mlyniec is charged with first-degree murder in the 2006 death of Anderson. West Warwick firefighters found the body of Anderson, 41, inside Mlyniec’s home on the afternoon of June 23, 2006, after getting an anonymous call about a possible overdose. Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene and had face, throat and neck injuries. Mlyniec has denied killing Anderson and told police the two had engaged in consensual, violent sex activities that resulted in the bruises and bleeding. Mlyniec repeated on the tape seen by the jury today in Kent County Superior Court that what they did together was consensual. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Nandini Jayakrishna Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:47 AM | Comment Jury weighs Entwistle's fateWOBURN, Mass. — A jury has begun deliberations in the trial of a British man accused of killing his wife and baby daughter. Neil Entwistle is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Rachel, and their 9-month-old daughter, Lillian, in their Hopkinton home in January 2006, then fleeing to his native England. A jury of six men and six women began deliberating murder charges this morning in Middlesex Superior Court. Prosecutors said Entwistle killed his wife and daughter after sinking deeply into debt and becoming dissatisfied with his sex life. Entwistle told police he found their bodies after returning home from running errands. His lawyer said in closing arguments yesterday that Rachel Entwistle shot the baby and then killed herself, and her husband covered up her actions to “protect her honor.” -- The Associated Press Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:59 AM | Comment Update: Carcieri defends immigration statement on radioGovernor Carcieri responded on the radio this morning to criticism that he had undermined the work of Providence police officers and their enforcement of immigration policy. In a statement released yesterday, Mayor David Cicilline said that the governor had unfairly blamed the police for Marco Riz –– a Guatemalan living illegally in Rhode Island who is accused of kidnapping and rape –– being able to walk the streets. “This is no criticism,” Carcieri said this morning on WPRO. Instead, he said, he was “giving (the police) a tool to do their job even better and, by the way, to protect themselves.” Carcieri issued an executive order in March urging state and local law enforcement officers to take steps to enforce federal immigration law. “Had the Providence Police Department been working with ICE,” the way they should be , Carcieri said, “this man might have been taken off the street.” In a statement released yesterday, Carcieri said that had the police used the NLTS telecommunications system to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement after Marco Riz was arrested, in 2007, he would not have had the opportunity to rape and kidnap a woman. Carcieri also touted his Executive Order, which was passed after Riz’s 2007 arrests. In yesterday’s statement, Cicilline said Carcieri was unfairly blaming Providence police for the failures of federal agencies, and that the police followed a decades-old protocol by faxing information about Riz to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Carcieri told WPRO's John DePetro that if “what happened to that woman,” happened to a member of the mayor’s family, “he might view it differently.” Riz has been arrested and faces charges of rape and kidnapping for allegedly carjacking a woman at a grocery store, robbing her, then driving her car to Roger Williams Park and raping her. His trial has not yet begun and he’s being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.
Your turn: React to the Assembly's handling of immigration issues this year Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:56 AM | Comment R.I. recognizes World Refugee Day todayThe United Nations recognizes World Refugee Day on June 20, but in Rhode Island, the event, which highlights the plight of refugees around the world, takes place today. The state’s 4th Annual Rhode Island World Refugee Day Celebration is sponsored by the International Institute of Rhode Island, which provides education and legal and social services to immigrants and refugees in the state and through southern New England. Speakers will include the former U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Mauritania and Nigeria, William Taddell; Ghaydaa Ghalum, a former refugee and recent arrival from Iraq; and Bill Shuey and Baha Sadr, both of the International Institute. Expect music, refreshments and a celebration of the spirit and courage of refugees, as well as efforts to help refugees across the world. The event will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the Alderman’s Chambers, 3rd floor in Providence City Hall. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:06 AM | Comment Jogging with John, RISD's running presidentJohn Maeda, the newly installed president of the Rhode Island School of Design, has scheduled the first “Jogging with John” for this morning from 6 to 7, starting in front of his temporary residence, the Hilton Providence, 21 Atwells Ave., Providence. Maeda said that during and after the loop of about 1.5 miles, he plans to talk to his colleagues about Web 2.0 leadership and other innovative ideas. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:14 AM | Comment Today in history: A European spots North AmericaOn this day in 1497, the first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place as explorer John Cabot, on a voyage for England, spotted land, probably in present-day Canada. Read more from today in history. Watch video about today in history. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Sunny, muggy but dry so farWhat is with this weather? It's sunny and muggy at 6:30 a.m., but the National Weather Service says there's a slight chance of more isolated showers an thunderstorms late this morning, and again later in the afternoon. The NWS is even predicting a chance of hail, frequent lightning and winds gusting up to 21 mph. Temperatures should reach 81 degrees. And it's the same story tonight, with isolated showers and storms possible until about 9 p.m. Skies should begin to clear as the night goes on, and the temperatures should drop to about 58 degrees. But it looks like we're in for a rain-free Wednesday, with sunny skies and temperatures reaching near 84 degrees and breezy north winds. Check projo.com's weather page for the latest forecasts Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front page: Why the immigration bill failedToday's front page features a look at why a bill to crack down on illegal immigration failed in the General Assembly. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006