Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE -- The American Civil Liberties Union's Rhode Island affiliate has filed a complaint alleging that a North Kingstown ship construction and repair company discriminated against employees with disabilities.

According to the complaint, which was filed yesterday with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights, Senesco Marine's employment application form, which is also posted on its Web site, requires all job applicants to attest that they are "physically and mentally capable of performing the essential job duties of the above position for which [they] have applied" and that they "have no need for changes or adjustments in the essential duties of the job in order to allow me to meet the demands of the position."

However, the ACLU complaint notes, "By well-established law, an employer must provide an employee with disabilities 'reasonable accommodations' that would allow the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. In purpose and effect, Senesco's attestation operates to bar persons with disabilities from applying for a job unless they first waive their legal right to request reasonable accommodation."

The complaint also alleges that Senesco's application form falsely warns applicants that if it turns out that they do require reasonable accommodation due to a disability, they will forfeit their right to workers' compensation benefits if they are injured on the job. The complaint calls this warning a "deliberate and blatant misrepresentation of applicable law [that] is intended to deter persons with disabilities from applying for a job if they would require reasonable accommodation."

But Senesco said in a statement today that it is "an equal opportunity employer which has always followed state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring and employment, as is attested to by the richness of diversity of Senesco's Quonset Point, Rhode Island workforce."

The statement adds that Senesco, "having been alerted to potentially ambiguous wording, in its employment application acted quickly and responsibly to clarify it" to accurately state what was intended all along. Senesco says it did so upon advice of employment counsel.

Senesco is "confident that it acted professionally, responsibly, fairly and in accordance with the spirit of all applicable laws, and that at no point did it engage in unlawful discrimination."

-- projo.com staff

PROVIDENCE -- The East Providence Education Association, which represents the city's more than 500 teachers, is heading back to court this afternoon.

The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. before Judge Mark A. Pfeiffer.

The teachers' union is asking the judge to bar the School Committee from unilaterally cutting salaries and imposing payroll deductions to recoup 20 percent of the cost of health-insurance premiums. East Providence teachers currently do not contribute to the cost of health insurance.

The School Committee has voted to scale back the teachers' base salaries nearly 5 percent to their levels more than two years ago and reduce longevity and advanced-degree bonuses. The teachers are also to pay 20 percent toward health-insurance premiums. Also, the district will eliminate a buyback clause that had paid teachers up to $5,100 for not taking the city's health insurance.

Pfeiffer said he would rule on the issue before the changes hit teachers' pocketbooks on the next payday, Jan. 16.

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police have identified a woman who died Saturday in a train accident as Clio Chafee, 37, of Providence.

Chafee was hit by a New York-bound train at about 3:35 p.m. on Jan. 3 at the South Attleboro train station. She was pronounced dead at the scene..

The police say they are investigating whether it was an accident or suicide.

The Massachusetts Medical Examiner's Office had not yet issued a report on her death, according to Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the MBTA.

By Peter Lord
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- The proceeds from last year's $20-million settlement over potential corruption charges against Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island are going to help fund a key part of the state's health care system that insurers are often accused of underfunding -- the doctors, nurses, dentists and others providing primary care; the routine medical exams; and initial visits designed to prevent illness or send patients to medical specialists.

Neil Steinberg, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, announced at a press conference this morning that more than $800,000 will be distributed annually to doctors and clinics providing so-called primary care.

Also, to help encourage more medical people to enter the field, about one quarter of the fund's annual proceeds will anchor a first-in-Rhode Island program to cover school loans for doctors and other medical practitioners specializing in primary care.

Steinberg said the new medical programs were recommended by a consultant and medical experts across the state.

The $20-million settlement from Blue Cross was invested in securities whose value has dropped to $15 million, Steinberg said. But Steinberg said the remaining funds should be helping Rhode Islanders for decades to come.

Joining him at the press conference were U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, who negotiated the settlement, and Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts.

Some 1,600 National Grid customers are without power this morning in Rhode Island, particularly in the South County area, according to a National Grid spokesman.

Additional power failures have been reported in Massachusetts, said David Graves, the spokesman.

The utility company blames the power failures on the weather.

Graves said the company expects to restore power to all customers within the day.

At its peak, around 8:30 a.m., some 5,000 customers in the Rhode Island area lost power. That number was down to 1,600 by 10:44 a.m., Graves said.

Among the communites affected are:

• Coventry, 55 customers without power
• Exeter, 150
• Glocester, 525
• Hopkinton, 290
• North Kingstown, 20
• Richmond, 238
• Scituate, 42
• West Greenwich, 184

PROVIDENCE -- We may be getting better at this icy weather stuff -- or just smarter, and opting to play it safe and take public transportation, or go to work later.

This morning, with ice-coated roads and sidewalks making for a treacherous morning commute, area hospitals reported a minimal increase, if any, in the number of residents seeking emergency medical treatment due to ice-related accidents.

Rhode Island Hospital saw the most activity, treating three patients who had fallen on the ice and two hurt in car accidents. Still, a spokeswoman noted, just the other day the hospital had treated 21 people for ice-related injuries.

PROVIDENCE -- Providence residents can talk to their mayor tonight at the Elmwood Community Center, located at 155 Niagara St.

The meeting will start at 5 p.m.

Mayor David N. Cicilline will meet for 10 minutes with each person or group. The private meetings take place on a first-come, first-serve basis.

"Mayor's Night Out" events are held in different neighborhoods to improve communication between residents and town officials.

By Katherine Gregg
Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri will unveil the details of his plan to close a $357-million current-year deficit in a live televised address tonight.

Carcieri will deliver the address at 7 p.m. on all three local network affiliates: WJAR Channel 10, WLNE Channel 6 and WPRI Channel 12.

"Theses are truly extraordinary times. Rhode Island is facing unprecedented budget challenges that will require many difficult decisions to resolve," Carcieri said in a statement.

"My supplemental budget plan will include many hard choices necessary to bring the budget back into balance and to put the state backon the right path," the governor stated.

The proposal, which will represent a significant rewrite of the current-year budget, is expected to affect tens of millions of dollars in local aid. Beyond that, it remains unclear.

Journal photo/ Steve Szydlowski
Icy roads and sidewalks were a problem for folks on their way to work in downtown Providence this morning.

PROVIDENCE -- "Horrible" is how the Rhode Island State Police are describing this morning's road conditions, as ice has coated roads throughout the state.

Sand and salt trucks were out early this morning on the main roads, but they cannot keep up with a continuous rain that turned into ice as soon as it hits the ground, creating very treacherous conditions, the state police said.

Even walking can prove perilous.

Spinouts and minor accidents were reported all through the state. The state Department of Transportation's Traffic Management Center reported at least one car abandoned on the right lane of Route 6, by the Hartford Avenue exit to Providence.

No traffic backups have been reported. Check out the DOT's traffic cameras.

Most schools report a one- to two-hour delay with morning pre-school cancelled in many cases. Check projo.com for school and business closing advisories.

A winter weather advisory will remain into effect until 9 a.m.

By 7:30 a.m., temperatures on the coastal areas have begun to break the freezing point, turning freezing rain into regular rain and, as the day progresses, that should help to melt some of the standing ice.

In the Providence metropolitan area, temperatures are expected to hit 32 degrees around 9 a.m. The wind chill, however, will still make it feel about seven degrees colder.

For the latest weather conditions, visit projo.com/weather.

By Randal Edgar
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- With a new session of the General Assembly set to open this afternoon, lawmakers received some added support from Rhode Island's faith community.

More than 300 gathered at the State House rotunda for a prayer vigil, praying for the state's lawmakers and leaders to govern "with wisdom and compassion."

The vigil was organized by the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition formed this past summer to serve as a faith-based voice to fight poverty.

About 40 religious leaders attended. One by one, some spoke and prayed, while others read the names of the state's elected leaders.

"You must make a decision at this time whether you are going to cooperate," said the Rev. Dr. Liliana DaValle, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island. "If not, God will do so with another generation."

Coalition leaders said their next step will be to ask all churches, temples, mosques and places of prayer to invite their local elected leaders to attend a service and for them to be prayed for.

They sent their messages between 3 and 4 o'clock. As 4:30 p.m. neared, bells could be heard ringing to call legislators to session.

By John E. Mulligan
Journal Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- With the traditional pomp and circumstance, the hails and farewells, Rhode Island's newly re-elected Sen. Jack Reed and Representatives Patrick J. Kennedy and James R. Langevin were sworn in this afternoon as members of the 111th Congress -- the first since 1995 that will serve under a Democratic President with Democratic majorities on both sides of the Capitol.

Langevin, so far, is the only member of the Rhode Island delegation to make a major change in his committee assignments. Shortly after the members of the House were sworn in, Langevin announced that he will resume his position on the House Armed Services Committee, making a substantial leap in seniority after taking a leave from the panel at the request of Democratic leaders in 2007.

Under his new assignments, Langevin will also take a leave from the Homeland Security Commitee and his chairmanship of a subcommittee in charge of threats from biochemical weaponry and other sources.

Meanwhile in the Senate, Reed was sworn in to serve his third six-year term.

In keeping with tradition, senators new and old walked down the center aisle in small groups to be sworn in by the presiding officer, Vice President Dick Cheney.

Reed took the oath with another Democratic veteran, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, and two Republicans, the newly re-elected Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas and newly elected James E. Risch of Idaho.

Reed was accompanied by fellow Rhode Islander Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.

>> Continue reading: 111th Congress sworn in; Langevin assignments change

Editor's Note: A club employee was hit in the elbow during the altercation. An earlier version of this item incorrectly reported that he had been shot in the elbow.

PROVIDENCE -- The Providence police are investigating a Sunday shooting outside the Cadillac Lounge that left at least two people injured, the police said.

Maj. Thomas F. Oates III, commander of the investigative division, said the police were called to the Charles Street gentleman's club around 2:10 a.m. Sunday and found a bloody sneaker, a T-shirt and bloody spots on the ground.

Witnesses told officers the shooter had left in a white van.

Club employee Leonard Macari, 24, of Providence, was hit in the elbow with a crowbar, Oates said. Macari told the police he was involved in a fight with as many as six people and heard a shot, but did not see who had fired it.

At about 6:30 a.m., the Providence police got a call from Brockton, Mass., detectives about a second shooting victim who sought treatment at Brockton Hospital.

Luis Rivera, 26, of Brockton, was shot once in the leg, just below the knee, Oates said. Rivera did not cooperate with officers. Another male who was with Rivera at the hospital and who identified himself as Rivera's cousin to officers said he was warming up a car waiting for Rivera and heard the gunshot but did not see the shooter.

The incident has been referred to the Providence Board of Licenses for review.

WARWICK -- National Teacher of the Year Michael Geisen, who teaches science at an Oregon middle school, will address First Lady Suzanne Carcieri and others today during the quarterly meeting of the Rhode Island Retired Teachers Association.

Also in attendance will be Rhode Island's 2008 Teacher of the Year, Barbara Walton-Faria of Newport's Thomson Middle School.

The meeting will be at noon at Chelo's, 2225 Post Road, Warwick.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

In an austere ceremony with no refreshments afterward, Scott Avedisian will be sworn in at 7 p.m. for a sixth term as mayor of Warwick.

The ceremony will be held in Council Chambers, 3275 Post Rd.

The choir of the Buttonwoods Beach Chapel, a community-owned non-denominational church, will perform selections including "America the Beautiful" and the Pawtuxet Rangers, a Colonial militia group, will march with the Police and Fire departments' color guards.

As been his custom since he was first elected, Avedisian will be sworn in by his cousin, Family Court Judge Haiganush Bedrosian. And when he takes the oath of office, his hand will be on the thick leather-bound Bible that has been in his family for years.

Avedisian will then swear in the City Council and the School Committee.

The Lincoln Town Council will also be sworn in tonight with a ceremony at the Lincoln High School Auditorium at 7 p.m.

PROVIDENCE -- The East Providence School Committee and the teacher's union are heading to court this morning over the School Committee's decision to reduce teachers' salaries and make them pay toward health insurance costs.

The hearing has been scheduled for 11 a.m.

The changes, which modify the existing contract, went into effect yesterday.

District officials are trying to close a $4.2-million deficit.

The East Providence Education Association, which represents the city's more than 500 teachers, has filed an unfair labor charge against the School Committee, the second such complaint since negotiations broke down in the fall. In September, the School Committee filed two similar complaints against the union.

PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition will hold an interfaith prayer vigil today -- the opening day of the legislative session -- in the State House's rotunda.

The vigil will start at 3 p.m., one hour before the new session is scheduled to open.

Scheduled to speak at the vigil are:

• Rev. John Kiley, St. Francis of Assisi
• Liliana DaValle, executive minister of American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island
• Iman Farid Ansari, Muslim American Dawah Center
• Rabbi Peter Stein, president of the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis

PROVIDENCE -- A Cranston man charged with killing a Connecticut man outside a Providence nightclub last month is due in District Court, Providence, today for a bail hearing.

Narin Kheng, 27, of 50 Lincoln Ave., has been held without bail in the Adult Correctional Institutions on a first-degree murder charge since his arrest.

The police said Kheng and Antonio DiSano, 19, of 18 Grant St., Cranston, were involved in the fatal assault of Jeremy M. Olearnick, 22, of Norwich.

Olearnick had left Club Hell on Dec. 6 with some friends when Kheng and DiSano, who had left Level II, another dance club on Richmond Street, assaulted them, said Providence police Maj. Thomas F. Oates.

DiSano was charged with felony assault and is out on $50,000 bail with surety.

PROVIDENCE -- A hearing over whether two Rhode Island parents must surrender their computer to investigators seeking proof that their son illegally shared songs online is scheduled for 2 p.m. today in U.S. District Court, Providence.

The hearing had been originally scheduled for Dec. 15. Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond postponed the hearing to make sure all lawyers in the case were authorized to appear in court.

Charles Nesson, a Harvard law school professor, is expected to ask Almond to bar the music industry from forcing the parents of Joel Tenenbaum to surrender the family computer.

In a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts, Capitol Records Inc. accuses Tenenbaum of violating copyright laws by downloading and sharing seven songs while a teenager living at home in Providence. Tenenbaum, 24, now lives in Boston, where he is pursuing a doctorate in physics at Boston University.

His mother, Judith Tenenbaum, has said the family disposed of the computer her son used as a teen years ago.

-- With reports from The Associated Press and Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney.

PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island General Assembly will convene at 4 p.m. today to start a new session.

Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will deliver the oath of office in separate ceremonies in the Senate and the House, swearing in the seven newcomers in the Senate, and the 16 freshmen in the House.

As part of their opening proceedings, state representatives are expected to re-elect current Speaker William J. Murphy to that position. Murphy is expected to address House members following the vote.

Joseph Rodgers, presiding judge of the Superior Court, has been asked to deliver the oath of office to Murphy, assuming he wins reelection to his fourth term at the helm.

Senators are expected to elect Sen. M. Teresa Paiva-Weed as president of the Senate for the new session. Paiva-Weed is expected to address the senators following the formal vote.

Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg, the interim chief justice, is queued up to swear in Paiva-Weed, D-Newport -- assuming no last-minute hitches in Paiva-Weed's bid for election by her Senate colleagues to the post held by defeated Sen. Joseph Montalbano. The judge's husband -- lobbyist Robert Goldberg -- is a former minority leader in the Rhode Island Senate.

During the opening ceremony, senators will also recognize former Sen. John F. McBurney Jr., and his son, John F. McBurney III, D-Pawtucket, for their service. McBurney III is now recognized by peers as the official "Dean of the Senate."

The elder McBurney served in the Senate from Jan.6, 1959 until his son -- the current Sen. McBurney -- was sworn in on Jan. 7, 1975.

With Sen. Jack Revens' decision not to run for reelection last year, McBurney is now is moving into Revens' largely honorary role as Senate President Pro Tempore.

The official duties are few, but the president pro tempore does take over the rostrum --and the gavel -- when the Senate president is absent.

Read a story that includes the list of new General Assembly members.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Katherine Gregg

Are you or your family members receiving medical or dental coverage through Rhode Island's Medicaid program?

If state lawmakers roll back Medicaid benefits to balance the budget, how would you manage?

Let us know. Contact Providence Journal staff writer Lynn Arditi at larditi@projo.com or call (401)277-7335. (Please leave a detailed message about your situation and a daytime phone number where you can be reached.)

SMITHFIELD -- A single-family home sustained severe damage when a fire broke out last night in an attached garage.

The family was home when the fire broke out but managed to get out of the house, Fire Chief Jeff Muto said. No one was injured.

Muto said the garage was engulfed in fire by 6:15 p.m., when firefighters got to the house at 23 Karen Ann Drive, and that flames had begun to spread to the first floor of the two-story house.

"The house was heavily damaged," Muto said last night. "It is pretty well destroyed."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

-- Journal staff writer Jennifer Jordan

PROVIDENCE -- We are starting the day on the cold side, with temperatures in the low 20s, but clear skies. As the day progresses, however, the temperature will rise, topping off at about 36 degrees by mid-afternoon, and clouds will move in.

The difficult commute will come tomorrow, though.

The National Weather Forecast has issued a hazardous weather outlook, citing a combination of ice and snow that is expected to result in "treacherous travel Wednesday morning."

The forecast calls for snow, particularly from 1 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, later turning into a mix of snow and sleet. We'll also get northerly winds, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

More snow showers are expected late Wednesday night, which could prompt an advisory for icy roads. At this point, it's not expected to affect the evening commute as the temperature is expected to remain over the freezing point until about midnight.

The National Weather Service is predicting new precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch.

For the latest weather conditions, visit projo.com/weather.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Nuala Pell greets well-wishers at the reception following the funeral of her husband, former U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell. Behind her is Sister M. Therese Antone, the president of Salve Regina University, where the reception was held at the Pell Center. At right is Kathleen Connell, former Rhode Island secretary of state.

NEWPORT-- About 300 people have gathered at Salve Regina University's Pell Center for International Relations & Public Policy to pay their respects to the family of Rhode Island's late U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell.

A group of people surrounded his widow, Nuala O'Donnell Pell, as she entered the center room after services for the senator this morning at Trinity Church.

Around her, waiters served coffee and hors d'oeuvres, including prosciutto and melon and finger sandwiches of lobster and chicken salad, tomato and mozzarella, and beef tenderloin.

The stately building is alive with voices, as family and friends gathered in a salon featured carved ceilings and a crystal chandelier. Some are looking down at the scene from a second level reached by a grand staircase.

In one room, a revolving video presentation played for the hundreds of mourners, opening with a "Happy 90th Birthday Sen. Pell" image -- Pell had turned 90 in November -- and then recounting his life through family photographs and newspaper clippings.

One of those clippings seemed to perfectly capture the man whose friends and relatives recollected on their eulogies: "Pell: A Gentleman and a Statesman."

Photos showed the senator talking to the late President Lyndon B. Johnson and former President Jimmy Carter, meeting with the Pope, and South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela, among others.

Extra: Take a look at the Pells' life together in a special multimedia report by projo.com in 2005, including personal photos and clippings from family albums.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Tom Mooney and Kate Bramson

NEWPORT -- The funeral services for Rhode Island's late Sen. Claiborne Pell ended at 11:24 a.m. with closing remarks from the Right Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Episcopal bishop of Rhode Island.

As mourners left, they were accompanied by the choir, and the church's famous pipe organ, performing "Onward Christian Soldiers."

A pantheon of New England and Rhode Island politicians, besides those who spoke today, were among those seen in the crowd. They included:

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I.; U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass; U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn; and U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

Rhode Island governors were also represented, including current Governor Carcieri, and former Governors Bruce Sundlun, Lincoln Almond and Edward DiPrete.

And there were other notables attending, from the prince of Lichtenstein to former Rhode Island Congressman Ferdinand St. Germain and former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

Prominent state Democrats were in the crowd, including Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, Attorney General Patrick Lynch, Treasurer Frank Caprio and former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino. Also spotted: Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman.

A reception follows at Salve Regina University's Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. Most of the federal political delegation is expected to head back to Washington and not attend.

-- with reports from Journal staff writer Kate Bramson and projo.com staff

U.S. Senator Jack Reed, D - R.I., delivered a eulogy during the funeral of the late former Sen. Claiborne Pell at Trinity Church in Newport this morning. Providence Journal photo / Freida Squires

NEWPORT, RI -- Sen. Jack Reed followed Vice President-elect Joe Biden in delivering an eulogy at the funeral services of Rhode Island's late Sen. Claiborne Pell, thanking the statesman and his family for their service.

"Claiborne Pell dedicated his life as selfless service to Rhode Island and to the nation," Reed said, crediting the man Reed called the "commanding political presence" in his youth.

In his 36 years representing Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate, Reed said, "Claiborne Pell represented the ideal of what a public servant should be."

Pell, he said, was a "visionary thinker," a man who mixed wisdom and compassion, who mastered many things -- but small talk -- and believed in, and promoted, bipartisanship.

"Your presence here," Reed said, addressing the U.S. senators -- Democrats and Republicans -- in attendance, "speaks volumes about the respect and esteem that Claiborne Pell earned."

NEWPORT -- Former President Bill Clinton followed U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy in delivering an eulogy at the funeral today of Rhode Island's late U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell.

Clinton, mixing history and humor, spoke to Pell's quirkines and accomplishments, particularly his fight for the less fortunate despite his wealthy upbringing.

He referred to Pell's most quoted accomplishment, creating the college grants for underprivileged students that later bore his name, the Pell grants.

"This remarkable man cared about people who unlike him could not afford to go to college without a little help from their goverment," Clinton said.

Moreover, Clinton said, Pell, who died at age 90, never forgot the political lessons of the first half of the 20th century.

"He never thought America could be divorced from the world," Clinton said, referring to Pell's support for the United Nations.

"He was the right kind of ari