Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

The latest phase of the 195 relocation project -- the opening of the new Exit 20 connecting Route 95 south to Route 195 east -- means a major shift in traffic habits in and around Providence.

Overnight tonight, as the Rhode Island Department of Transportation closes the old, left-hand exit 20, and opens the new, right-hand exit 20 about 1,000 feet to south of its predecessor, the DOT says, there will be some congestion until drivers become more accustomed to the new traffic pattern.

Our interactive graphic takes a multimedia look at some of the changes related to the opening of the new exit and the closure of the corresponding portion of Route 195.

By PHIL MARCELO
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- The Arcade, the nation's oldest indoor shopping mall, closed to the public this morning as its owners are preparing to transition the downtown landmark, which in recent years had been home to a handful of small, independent businesses and eateries, into a space for a single company or retailer.

But Evan Granoff, a managing partner at Granoff Associates, the Providence firm that owns the Arcade, says that a planned $8 million renovation announced in May has been challenged by the recent troubles in the national economy.

"It's gotten a lot scarier out there," he said in his offices today. "There are not a lot of people thinking of expanding. Retailers are just trying not to have to hold onto a lot of inventory on their shelves, and other businesses are just trying to survive in this climate."

Granoff said that the firm would not move forward with renovation work until a new tenant is identified for the 37,000-square-foot space.

"No new tenant has been identified, though we are still actively looking and developing alternative plans for its use," he said. "We will make renovations to fit the needs of the tenant."

>> Continue reading: Arcade closed, owners still seeking single new tenant

Richard M. Oster, who rose to the top of the business world as chairman of the London-based Cookson Group PLC, a multinational company, died Monday at Providence's Miriam Hospital. A resident of Barrington, he was 73.

"He was a man of action and a great pride to our community and our people," said state Treasurer Frank Caprio, a longtime friend. "He's going to be dearly missed."

A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Oster began his business career while in high school working at A. J. Oster Co., a metals supplier founded by his father, Aaron. He eventually became president of the firm, which he sold to Cookson in 1979. Oster joined Cookson at that point.

Oster was active in a variety of civic affairs and philanthropic causes and raised money for Rhode Island Special Olympics and the American Diabetes Foundation, among other groups. In 1987, then Gov. Ed DiPrete named him chairman of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, which oversaw construction of one of the largest public-works projects in Rhode Island history. The Convention Center opened in 1994.

Oster was awarded honorary degrees from Brandeis University, Bryant University, Rhode Island College and New England Institute of Technology.

Among Oster's non-business passions were breeding Labrador retrievers -- two of his dogs won best of breed at New York's Westminster Kennel Club show -- and fishing. He won the Rhode Island Tuna Tournament several times.

Oster is survived by his wife, Sandra; five children, and seven grandchildren. Services will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Temple Emanuel in Providence.

-- Journal staff writer G. Wayne Miller

Are you bound for Thanksgiving away from home, by car, bus, train or plane?

Before you go, check the latest weather conditions and forecasts, road conditions, flight cancellations and more.

Here's a helpful list of links projo.com has compiled with holiday travelers in mind.

Be careful out there, and have a Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are.

The cause of death for a Warwick woman, 88, whose body was found in her bed Sunday, was burns, with heart disease as a contributing factor, the state Medical Examiner's office ruled today.

Margaret Hayden of 3357 West Shore Rd., in Warwick, died Sunday, according to acting spokeswoman Helen Drew, the R.I. Department of Health's associate director of policy.

Warwick police said Hayden may have been warming herself at her gas stove when her nightgown caught fire. She apparently put it out and went upstairs to lie down, not realizing she had been badly burned, Capt. Matthew Costello said this morning. Her son, Kevin Hayden, who lives next door, found her later that day.

Hayden's son, Kevin, found her body in an upstairs bedroom at around noon on Sunday, according to police Capt. Thomas C. Snow.

Kevin Hayden, who lives next door, said he last saw his mother on Friday, and she had been warming her hands in front of the stove that day, according to a police report.

Hayden's daughter, Jacqueline Gaskell, told the police that her mother often warmed her hands over the gas stove top and, on occasion, kept the oven door open with the oven on, according to a police report.

The state fire marshal and the Warwick Fire and Police departments were investigating Hayden's death.

Arrangements are being handled by Barrett & Cotter in Warwick.

-- Journal staff writers Kate Bramson and Donita Naylor

Don Imus will be not just broadcasting live tomorrow in Providence as he does every weekday morning on 790 AM, he'll be broadcasting in person, from Providence.

He's bringing his nationally syndicated radio show to the Rhode Island Convention Center from 6 to 10 a.m. to benefit the Groden Network, which focuses on helping adults and children with autism, a favorite cause of Imus, a philanthropist also known for starting the Imus Ranch for kids with cancer in New Mexico.

Imus will be on site in Providence with sidekick and newsman Charles McCord, co-host Karith Foster, sportscaster Tony Powell, and executive producer Bernard McGuirk.

Imus has had a 30-year run as a national force in radio, and is known for mixing an irreverent style with serious interviews, conducted with a casual twist, with national figures. He's come to Rhode Island before, and over the years, had Vincent "Buddy" Cianci Jr. on as a frequent guest while he was still mayor.

Tickets -- all proceeds go the cause -- can be purchased online

-- Journal columnist Mark Patinkin

PROVIDENCE -- The heavy rains of during the last two days gave the Narragansett Bay Commission its first opportunity to put its newly completed, $359 million combined sewer overflow project to work gathering contaminated runoff from the city's sewers. The conclusion: it worked!

From the time the sewer line gates were opened late Wednesday night, some 39 million gallons of contaminated overflows were collected in the new, 3-mile tunnel under downtown Providence. No contaminated sewage was allowed to overflow into the city's rivers or Narragansett Bay, according to the commission.

During the day today, a battery of massive pumps transferred the overflows from the pipe, 300 feet underground, to the Fields Point Sewage Treatment Facility, where it is receiving full secondary treatment.

"It caught everything, which was great. Everything got full treatment all around," Bay Commission spokesperson Jamie Samons said.

Nearly an inch of rain (.83") fell on Providence during the storm, according to the National Weather Service. Following its protocols, the state Department of Environmental Management closed much of the upper Bay to shellfishing until Nov. 15. DEM officials say it will take some time to assess the effectiveness of the new CSO, so it can reduce the number of closures following rains.

-- Peter B. Lord, environmental writer, Providence Journal

Watch the video: Phase I complete: Combined Sewage Overflow project

By RICK MASSIMO
Journal pop music writer

The University of Rhode Island's Songs of Social Justice series was one of the highlights of the 2006 musical calendar. Performers who had devoted not only their careers but their lives to social change, sharing songs and stories of struggle with an audience composed largely of university students who were getting an education they could never have gotten anywhere else.

Now highlights of that series are available on a double-disc set that benefits a scholarship fund at URI.

Songs of Social Justice contains music and stories from Utah Phillips, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tom Paxton, Rosalie Sorrels and more (unfortunately, Public Enemy's Chuck D doesn't make it on) and is available for $25, all of which goes to the Stephen Myles Social Justice Scholarship at URI.

>> Continue reading: URI Social Justice music series now on CD

NORTH PROVIDENCE -- John J. Whiting, the chief of the criminal investigative division of the Pawtucket police and the department's senior ranking major, has been named the new chief of police in North Providence.

Mayor Charles Lombardi said Whiting, 55, is exactly the kind of leader he believes can move the department forward and that Whiting can command respect from the time he walks through the door. He will be sworn in on the evening of Nov. 16.

A three-member panel headed by former state police Supt. Stephen Pare reviewed the qualifications of 14 applicants and, earlier this month, forwarded to Lombardi the names of three finalists and one alternate. Lombardi said choosing from the top contenders "was not an easy decision." Included among the finalists was State Police Lt. David Palmer who, through arrangement with State Police Supt. Brendan Doherty, has been serving as acting chief since former chief Ernest Spaziano's surprise resignation in February.

Whiting has been a member of the Pawtucket Police Department for 29 years, and part of the command staff there for 12 years. He played a key role in a joint investigation into North Providence police Sgt. Michael Ciresi that began when the officer's gun was found at the scene of a home invasion on East Avenue in Pawtucket in December 2004. Ciresi was ultimately convicted on 9 of 10 counts, and is currently at the Adult Correctional Institutions while he appeals his 20-year sentence to the Supreme Court.

In his letter of application for the North Providence post, Whiting said he does not shy away from difficult decisions or assignments" yet at the same time he believes he tries to handle situations in a "just and fair manner."

"There are a lot of fine men and women in the North Providence police department and I am looking forward to working with them," he said.

Whiting has a varied background. He is a cum laude graduate of Bryant College, where he received degrees in criminal justice and business management. He also holds a juris doctorate from the New England School of Law.

Det. Sgt. David Drezek, president of the North Providence lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, commended the selection of a permanent chief of police, saying it will help to move the department forward. He also thanked Lt. Palmer for helping to bridge the gap to permanent leader.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Dujardin

By RICK MASSIMO
Journal pop music writer

The first Rock the Ink Festival, the three-day bonanza of tattooing and hard rock that took over the Dunkin' Donuts Center and the Rhode Island Convention Center last weekend, drew more than 9,000 people, according to Cheryl Cohen, the Dunk's director of marketing.

The festival, headlined by Killswitch Engage on Friday night, Godsmack on Saturday night and former Poison frontman Bret Michaels on Sunday, was an ambitious program that brought - well, let's just say it wasn't a Boat Show crowd (thank goodness). But really, on Sunday afternoon at least, it looked more than anything like any other convention of like-minded devotees.

Even though there appeared to be a larger police presence than at most Dunk shows, Cohen said there were no security problems.

"They were quiet, nice -- they just wanted to do their own thing."

Harold Reissner, 85, of Barrington, a survivor of the Holocaust, spoke today to West Warwick High School English and history students who had read "Night" by Elie Wiesel. Providence Journal photo / Kathy Borchers

Until he was 13, Harold Reissner had what he describes as an "active, happy" childhood. He played sports, he was a boy scout, he attended the local public school.

Then the Nazis began their campaign of persecution against Jews.

"Things changed very quickly," the 85-year-old Barrington resident told about 100 students today at West Warwick High School.

Reissner was no longer welcome at school. Friends ignored him. Some taunted him or spit on him.

By age 17, Reissner had been shipped with his parents and younger brother to a concentration camp in Latvia. It was the first of many he would be see as Hitler pursued his mad plans to conquer Europe and kill off an entire race.

He was eventually separated from his mother but managed to stay with his father and brother until April 1945, when he came down with typhoid fever.

Because of his illness, he missed a final death march that killed his father and brother, just days before American soldiers arrived.

Reissner said he and a few others who were left behind hid in the dirt under floor boards of a camp building until the sound of heavy equipment drew them out.

The sound was from the Americans.

He said he started talking publicly about his experiences eight years ago because he was concerned that some people were denying that the Holocaust happened.

"There are few survivors left," he said.

-- Journal Staff Writer Randal Edgar

Rhode Island's unemployment rate now ranks highest in the country, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Rhode Island's jobless rate in September climbed to 8.8 percent, nudging it ahead of Michigan's rate of 8.7 percent, the report shows.

For the last three months, Michigan had reported the highest unemployment rate in the country, with Rhode Island in second place. In September, though, Rhode Island's unemployment rate ticked up two-tenths of a percentage point, from 8.6 to 8.8 percent, and Michigan's rate edged down two-tenths of a percentage point, from 8.9 to 8.7 percent.

Rhode Island's unemployment rate of 8.8 percent is at the highest level in 16 years, according to the state Department of Labor and Training. The number of unemployed residents last month rose to 50,200 the highest on record.

The national unemployment rate last month remained unchanged at 6.1 percent.

Federal labor officials reported the September unemployment rates for the other New England states as follows: Connecticut, 6.1 percent; Maine, 5.6 percent; Massachusetts, 5.3 percent; Vermont, 5.2 percent, and New Hampshire, 4.1 percent.

The full list of states can be viewed at: http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm

Is your house "under water" ?

If you bought your house within the last 5 years, you may be among those Rhode Islanders who now owe more on your mortgage than your home is worth. Falling house prices are leaving more homeowners with mortgages they can no longer refinance -- and houses that they can't sell for enough money to pay off their loans.

Reporter Lynn Arditi is looking to interview Rhode Island residents who are facing this problem for a story. Please contact her at larditi@projo.com or call (401) 277-7335.

A Brown University professor who was active in the early stages of the nation's manned space travel program will be one of a handful of featured speakers next week at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the National Aviation and Space Administration.

James W. Head III, a planetary geologist who joined the Brown faculty in 1973, will be among four noted scientists on hand Oct. 14 at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia to talk about how space exploration triggered advances in the study of this planet's origins.

Since the Soviets stunned the world in 1957 with the successful launch of the satellite Sputnik, NASA has sent manned and unmanned spacecraft to explore the moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, comets, the asteroid belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and many planetary satellites, Head has noted.

"Together," Head said in a Brown news release, "the results of this exploration have unveiled stunning planetary vistas and revealed the missing chapters of Earth history."

Head himself figures in history as one of the scientists recruited to work on NASA's Apollo Lunar Exploration Program during the years of preparation for astronaut Neil Armstrong's arrival on the moon in what he called a "giant step for mankind." Among other jobs, Head helped NASA to select the lunar landing sites. Today his research focuses on processes that form and modify planetary surfaces.

-- John Mulligan, Journal Washingotn Bureau

By John E. Mulligan
Journal Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- While the financial rescue bill that passed the Senate last night faces uncertain prospects as the House returns to work on it today, members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation point to signs that opposition to the package may be softening back home.

Nevertheless, Rhode Island's congressmen and senators -- all of whom have supported the federal rescue effort -- reported yesterday that public anger and worry over the need to stabilize the financial markets remain at high levels.

"I've had more calls and contacts on this than on any other single issue -- immigration, energy prices, or as far as I can remember, even the war,'' Rep. James R. Langevin said in an interview yesterday. But Langevin said the word from his constituents in the Second Congressional District suggests a modest shift in favor of a major federal rescue effort since Monday, when the House shocked the stock market by defeating the first economic stabilization bill.

Speaking in rough estimates about hundreds of calls, e-mails and other contacts, Langevin said that for the week or so preceding Monday's dramatic House vote, a commanding majority of the constituents who checked in were either flatly opposed to any such rescue plan, or else "very scared, very nervous, wondering why this was necessary and what was going on." He said "maybe 20 percent were saying 'yes' " and even that fraction tended to express demands for such provisions as a ban on "golden parachutes" for officers of firms that might need rescuing.

>> Continue reading: Langevin favors bailout, says RI voters beginning to, too

If you want to vote in this year's general election and you haven't registered yet, you still have three days.

Saturday is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 4 general election.

To register, you must be 18 by Nov. 4, be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Rhode Island, and have a valid Social Security number or Rhode Island driver's license. There is no charge to register.

Even if you don't register by Saturday, you can still cast a vote for president / vice president, but not in any other race.

Unregistered voters who wish to vote for president / vice president may cast a ballot through their local board of canvassers -- not at the polls. However, since the turnout for the Nov. 4 election is expected to be large, alternative locations may be in effect.

For example, unregistered voters in Providence who want to vote in the presidential race will cast their ballots in the lobby of the Dunkin' Donuts Center, not at the Providence Board of Canvassers, according to Rhode Island Board of Elections planning specialist Miguel J. Nuñez .

Unregistered voters are encouraged to contact their community's board of canvassers to confirm the location for voting in the presidential race.

Rhode Island law does not permit voters to register online. For more information, contact your community's board of canvassers or visit the R.I. Board of Elections voter registration page.

WARWICK -- A meeting this afternoon of the state's Public Utilities Commission deteriorated into a one-way shouting match, with some members of the audience yelling at the three commissioners not to delay a decision on a proposal that would make it easier for thousands of customers without heat or electricity to get their service restored.

The prosposal would allow all utility customers to reconnect their gas and electricity service by paying 10 percent of their balance, and agree to a schedule to pay the remaining balance. Current rules require a payment of 25 percent to 50 percent.

"This 10-percent down is the least of what you should do," said Jann Campbell, a Cranston resident, her voice rising to a shout.

"On top of that, it should be done today! Not Thursday, not 10 years from now. People have waited long enough!"

Campbell, one of several speakers who appeared before the commissioners, then peppered PUC Chairman Elia Germani about why the panel couldn't make a decision immediately.

Many in the packed room hearing room joined in, chanting "Now! Now! Now!"

Germani tried to respond, only to be cut off by Campbell and other audience members.

At that point, the chairman and the two other commissioners, Mary Bray and Robert Holbrook, called for a recess, got up from their table and left the hearing room. They were followed by more shouts from the audience: "Greed! Greed!"

The scene reflected the growing anxiety about how people will afford to heat and power their homes this coming winter at a time of record-high utility costs.

>> Continue reading: Shouting utility customers overwhelm PUC meeting

If you want to vote in this year's general election and you haven't registered yet, you're cutting it kind of close.

Saturday is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 4 general election.

To register, you must be 18 by Nov. 4, be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Rhode Island, and have a valid Social Security number or Rhode Island driver's license.

There is no charge to register.

Rhode Island law does not permit voters to register online. For more information, contact your community's Board of Canvassers or visit the R.I. Board of Elections voter registration page.

Tina Pelit, a third-grade teacher at the Harry Kizarian Elementary School in Providence, was honored today with the No Child Left Behind American Star of Teaching award at a surprise gathering at the school. The U.S. Department of Education annually selects one teacher from every state to exemplify the best teaching practices. Providence Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski

Paul Cardullo, 83, left, of Lakeland, Fla., and Anthony Balasco, 78, right, of Cranston, talk about the bailout during lunch at Warwick Mall. Providence Journal photo / Bill Murphy

Providence Journal MoneyLine columnist Neil Downing asked people having lunch at Warwick Mall today what they thought of the federal bailout plan.

"I agree there needs to be some sort of bailout, but for the person that's losing their home too," said Janice Pires, 58, of East Providence. "They need to be helped."

Watch the video

Your Turn: React to the defeat of the bailout

Governor Carcieri plans to recognize several summer Olympians with Rhode Island ties this afternoon in the State House's State Room.

At least three athletes will be on hand, including 15-year-old North Kingstown swimming star Elizabeth Beisel, soccer standout Michael Parkhurst, and Providence welterweight boxer Demetrius Andrade.

The public event is scheduled from 4 to 5 p.m.

The governor's spokeswoman, Amy Kempe, said that Brown University gymnast Alicia Sacramone won't be attending. Neither will accomplished tennis player and East Greenwich native Jill Craybas, although her family is expected to be on hand.

-- Steve Peoples and Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau

The historic auction of carbon credits for power plants in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states raised more than $38 million on Friday, according to reports released this morning. The sponsors said it was a "strong start" for the innovative new program. Rhode Island's share will be more than $1.3 million.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is the first to create a mandatory market for the right to emit air pollution. Power plants buy "allowances" for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit. The concept is that if power plants have to pay to emit pollution, they will have an incentive to reduce their emissions.

No one knew for sure what would happen when bids were opened Friday. But according to a report this morning from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative -- or RGGI, pronounced "Reggie" -- 59 entities from the energy, financial and environmental sectors took part in buying allowances for Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The auction set a price of $3.07 per ton for carbon dioxide. Rhode Island's share of the proceeds is more than $1.3 million, which by law must be spent on renewable energy or energy conservation programs for businesses and individuals in Rhode Island.

"This is a very encouraging launch to the RGGI program, which is working as designed: using the market to provide incentives to efficiently reduce global warming pollution, and at the same time providing funds to reduce consumer bills and improve efficiency," said Cynthia Giles, head of the Rhode Island office of the Conservation Law Foundation, a major backer of the program.

-- Journal environment writer Peter Lord

BOSTON -- The man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller is scheduled to be arraigned today on a variety of charges.

Rockefeller is in Suffolk Superior Court today to face charges of parental kidnapping; assault and battery; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a motor vehicle; and giving a false name to police in connection with the alleged snatching of his 7-year-old daughter off a Boston street in July.

Investigators say Rockefeller is really Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter -- pronounced "GAYR'-hahrtz-ry-tur" -- a German citizen who has been living under aliases since coming to the United States in 1978. Authorities have identified him as a "person of interest" in the 1985 disappearance of a California couple.

Defense attorney Stephen Hrones says he will enter pleas of not guilty, and likely will seek bail.

-- The Associated Press.

By PETER LORD
Journal environment writer

Rhode Island today joined nine other Northeast and mid-Atlantic states in an unprecedented auction of the rights of local power plants to generate pollution.

The auction is being called historic, but to the average electric customer, it should also be unnoticeable -- at least for awhile.

The so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is historic because it's the first to mandate that power producers must pay for the right to emit air pollution, in the form of carbon credits. Europe has carbon credits, but they were given away, creating a windfall for power companies.

Here's how the program will work: Power producers will be audited periodically and will have to demonstrate they have purchased credits to cover the amount of carbon their plants emit. So dirtier plants will need more carbon credits or allowances, which they will have to pay for.

The idea is that by monetizing the cost of the carbon, power plants will have an incentive to innovate and find ways to reduce emissions.

>> Continue reading: Credits mean regional power plants pay for air pollution

PROVIDENCE -- An employee at a Pawtucket storage facility accused of illegally storing a highly toxic metal and failing to notify authorities that the toxin had been dumped at the site said in court today that he was instructed by his supervisor not to notify the police of the October 2004 mercury spill at the facility.

On the second day of the criminal trial in U.S. District Court against the Southern Union gas company for its role in the mercury spill, federal prosecutors this morning called on the second Southern Union employee to arrive at the scene, as well as one of the employees of the firm hired to clean the spill.

Gary C. Sunday, a former facilities manager, testified that on the day the spill was discovered, on Oct. 19, 2004, he was the first to respond to maintenance worker David Gendron's report of a possible mercury spill at the former Southern Union facility on Tidewater Street in Pawtucket.

Southern Union Co. is charged with two counts of illegally storing mercury, a highly toxic metal that attacks the central nervous system, and one count of failing to notify authorities when vandals apparently broke into the facility and dumped the toxin on the property and the nearby Lawn Terrace Apartments.

Upon observing the spilled mercury outside some of the buildings, Sunday said this morning he called his supervisor, Joseph Jackson, telling him "it was a bad situation."

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Philip Marcelo

>> Continue reading: Southern Union trial: Worker testifies about mercury spill

Becky Gulsvig plays Elle Woods in the national tour of Legally Blonde. She was understudy in that role in the Broadway production.

PROVIDENCE -- The Legally Blonde tour, starring Broadway understudy Becky Gulsvig, gets under way in a preview performance Sunday at the Providence Performing Arts Center. The show starts its run Sept. 23.

The opening of a national tour here is something of a coup for the theater and the city, which has been hosting the cast and crew for most of the month as they prepared to take the show on the road for the next year.

The show, about sorority sister Elle Woods who enrolls in Harvard Law to try to win back the boyfriend who dumped her, runs through Sept. 28.

Read The Journal's recent story on the musical: Legally Blonde a bombshell for PPAC and watch a behind-the-scenes video

Ohmigod, can't wait for the musical to get here? Get ready to bop -- and snap -- with this audio preview from the musical's official site.

Samantha Zacks, a.k.a. "Barbie Biturate," left, collides with Charlotte Thomas-Davidson, a.k.a. "F'Shizzy Borden," right, during a spring bout downtown. Providence Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson

Providence Roller Derby's championship bout -- Shake, Rattle and Roll -- kicks off at 8 tonight.

The final bout of the season pits the Mob Squad of Providence against the Old Money Honeys of Newport.

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the bout begins at 8 p.m. at the Bank of America Skating Center, at 2 Kennedy Plaza, downtown Providence. Tickets are $13 at the door.

Music is provided by DJ's B.I.Z. and the COUNT, according to the web site. Music at halftime will be by the Providence Morons. And an after party will be held at Local 121, at the corner of Matthews and Washington streets.

This week's financial crisis may remind Rhode Islanders of the banking crisis of 1991. Providence Journal MoneyLine columnist Neil Downing explores how this crisis is different in significant ways.

Watch the video: Although Wall Street woes bring RI banking crisis to mind, it's different, Downing says

Read today's story: Current crisis is different from R.I.'s credit union debacle

Chat: How do these latest Wall Street developments affect you? Downing will host a live chat with projo.com readers at noon on Friday. To submit questions for Downing in advance, go to projo.com/chat, click the red launch chat button, select a user name (you don't need a password), enter the MoneyLine chat room and follow the instructions there.

Read more on this week on Wall Street and its impact on Main Street at projo.com/yourmoney

Neil Downing is the MoneyLine columnist at the Providence Journal.

Watch the video: Providence Journal MoneyLine columnist Neil Downing talks us through the difference between investment banks like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, and deposit-taking "regular banks" like Bank Newport and Washington Trust.

CENTRAL FALLS -- The police are looking for a man in connection with a robbery at the Navigant Credit Union on Broad Street this afternoon.

Police Chief Joseph Moran said the incident occurred at around 1:16 p.m., when a man walked into the credit union, handed a teller a note demanding money, and made off with an undetermined amount of cash. Moran said the man did not display a weapon.

No one was injured during the incident, Moran said. He said police are still working on a description of the man and other information about the robbery.

-- Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina

The Twin River slot machine parlor this afternoon said its lenders extended their financing arrangement with the Lincoln gambling venue until Jan. 31.

The slot parlor will suspend interest payments to some of its lenders until then, an action Twin River said is needed to conserve its finances.

"However, the suspension of interest payments to the junior secured lenders allows them to take certain actions under their agreements that could result in a bankruptcy filing shortly after the expiration of the forbearance period."

The slot-parlor's owner, UTGR Inc., has negotiated for months with its lenders to rework $577 million in financing. The two sides entered into a pact, known as a forbearance agreement, which allows the company time to work out payment plans with its lenders and creditors. The agreement expired Aug. 29 without a new deal being reached.

State officials have hired two consultants to advise them on operations at Twin River, because gambling is the third-largest source of state revenues. Negotiations over Twin River's debts came after the slot-parlor's owners missed a loan payment in March.

Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

In The Journal newsroom, retiring Journal political columnist M. Charles Bakst watches Senator Whitehouse's tribute from the floor of the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., paid tribute this morning on the floor of the U.S. Senate to Journal political columnist M. Charles Bakst and reporters Scott MacKay and Mark Arsenault, who are leaving The Journal today in a voluntary separation plan.

Whitehouse's tribute was broadcast on C-SPAN 2. It had been planned for 11:30 a.m. but began earlier.

"Journalism was in Charlie's blood," Whitehouse said in remarks on the floor.

Bakst, in trademark red suspenders, sat in a chair a few feet from a Journal newsroom television. He watched the broadcast while about 15 Journal employees gathered around.

Whitehouse recalled Bakst writing about political figures, social issues, and what's on the menu at various baseball parks wherever his beloved Sox were playing.

The senator tracked Bakst's career. "He became editor of the Brown Daily Herald. He became State House bureau chief for the Journal. He became political columnist.

"Charlie's writing betrays a sense of wonder at the pageanty of politics," Whitehouse said.

The senator remembered Bakst expressed outrage at government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

"Charlie told it like he saw it," Whitehouse said. "And when he saw a public servant abusing the public trust, he said so."

"I hope," Whitehouse said, "Rhode Island will find a way not to lose Charlie's unique voice."

Watch the video / Read the speech

Read Journal columnist Bob Kerr's column about Bakst's departure

By Maria Armental
Journal staff writer

HOPKINTON -- A single-family home that caught on fire yesterday in Hopkinton's Rockville village will have to be demolished, Hopkinton Building Official Brad Ward said today.

The fire, which drew firefighters from Hopkinton, Richmond and Exeter, has been deemed suspicious and is under investigation by the state Fire Marshal's Office. The Hope Valley-Wyoming Fire District and Hopkinton Police are also investigating.

The house is owned by Gerald and Carol Theberge, of Warwick, and occupied by their son, Jason Theberge, as well as Joanna M. Gears and four children.

Firefighters were dispatched to the fire last night at 8:09, said Fire Chief Frederick A. Stanley, of the Hope Valley-Wyoming Fire District, which serves parts of Hopkinton and Richmond.

Within four minutes, he said, a ladder truck and two engines were on scene.
By then, the house was alrealdy fully engulfed, with flames shooting out all the windows on the first and second floors.

Firefighters drew water from nearby Wincheck Pond.

The house was not occupied at the time of the fire.

Neighbors originally believed a woman and her three young children, ranging in age from 7 months to 6 years, were in the house, based on the cars parked in front of the house, Stanley said. The woman's eldest daughter, who also lives in the house, later located her mother and three children at a friend's house in Exeter, Stanley said.

A Hope Valley firefighter, Thomas Neves, sprained a knee. He was treated and released.
Ashaway Fire District provided mutual aid, sending a tanker to the fire and an engine to the Hope Valley-Wyoming fire station for backup. Exeter also sent a tanker, and Richmond-Carolina sent an engine and a special hazards team.

Stanley said the family had shut off the electric power and apparently had been using candles for light. Candles, he said, do not appear to be the cause of the fire, which seems to have started in the stairway area leading to the second floor.

Firefighters returned to the station at 12:21 a.m.

They were back at the scene this morning digging through the ruins of the house as part of the investigation and to help stabilize the remains.

The final -- though still unofficial -- tally is in in the race for mayor of Cumberland.

Daniel J. McKee has won out over his regular political rival, David S. Iwuc, after all precincts have reported in, according to unofficial returns from the state Board of Elections.

The tally is McKee, 3,349, and Iwuc, 1,840, according to Journal staff at the elections board office. All mail-in ballots have been counted.

McKee didn't wait that long to declare victory; he did so at at 9:20 p.m.

At that time, according to his campaign's poll runners, he had won at every poll.

Though a primary, the result tonight could effectively decide the next Cumberland mayor -- unless the primary's loser successfully mounts a write-in campaign for the November elections. It's the third time these two have vied against each other for the office.

Paulette D. Hamilton, director of the North Smithfield Prevention Task Force, is leading against incumbent Robert B. Lowe in the four-way non-partisan primary for North Smithfield Town administrator.

With 436 of 440 precincts reporting, according to unofficial returns from the state Board of Elections, the tallies are:

Hamilton: 545
Lowe: 464
Donald P. Gagnon: 370
Ernest H. Alter: 255

Mail-in ballots have not yet been counted.

Republican Robert A. Watson has won the right to seek his bid for a ninth term in the state House of Representatives, defeating primary challenger Robert B. Bolton, according to unofficial returns from the state Board of Elections.

With all precincts in the district reporting:

Watson: 508

Bolton: 264

Watson is currently the House minority leader. His District 30 includes East Greenwich and West Greenwich.

In the District 36 Senate race, with all precincts reporting, according to unofficial returns from the state Board of Elections:

James C. Sheehan: 1,953

Philip F. Fiore: 569

It is not clear whether mail ballots are included.

District 36 includes Narragansett and North Kingstown.

By Steve Peoples
JOURNAL STATE HOUSE BUREAU

PROVIDENCE -- Barely two months have passed since Governor Carcieri signed a state budget packed with controversial cuts he said would close Rhode Island's largest deficit in nearly two decades.

But already, another painful budget process has begun.

The governor's office is projecting an $83 million deficit for the budget year that begins July 1, 2009. And tens of millions of dollars in current-year cuts have yet to be implemented, suggesting that the hole may grow substantially in the coming months.

Carcieri has issued formal instructions to department heads outlining across-the-board 8 percent cuts in state spending. And he is planning to freeze local aid - including education aid - to cities and towns at this year's level.

"None of this is going to be happy news to the citizens and taxpayers of cities and towns," said Dan Beardsley, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, adding that many municipalities are already dealing with "dismal budget forecasts and school deficits."

Each fall, the governor issues formal budget instructions to department heads outlining spending targets. The instructions are the first step in a long process that will end with the passage of a new state budget by the General Assembly next June.

But Carcieri has never before announced his intention to freeze local aid this early in the process, according to the governor's Budget Officer Rosemary Booth Gallogly.

"This is a departure from past practice," Gallogly wrote in an Aug. 20 letter to cabinet members. "The governor's decision to level fund local aid is a further indication of his belief that local governments need to take similar actions to achieve lower expenditure growth."
In a subsequent interview, she said it was important to be direct with municipal leaders.

"It didn't seem prudent to show that we could afford local aid," she said. "This is an early warning sign that we're still not in a position to give a significant amount of aid to locals."

For those of you whose attention was caught by our blog post on the PETA protest of KFC officials in Newport Harbor yesterday, you may wish to watch our video.

Read the full story

On a sweltering summer day, Carrie Blanton and her son, Tyler, of Westerly, walk to the laundromat and the grocery store. Blanton's car was repossessed and she had to get her errands done on foot. Providence Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl

In a matter of months, Carrie Blanton fell from a lifetime of being self-sufficient to dirt poor. Divorced and caring for a sick infant full-time, she's dependent on the government, churches and charities to survive.

Read Journal staff writer Paul Davis' story Sunday on projo.com, and in the Providence Sunday Journal

Watch the video: 'It feels like every day's the last.' In the days before Mathew's surgery, Blanton has him baptized

The Providence Journal/Mary Murphy
One of the 16 houses in the old Rocky Beach neighborhood adjacent to Rocky Point Park is partly demolished. The City of Warwick began demolition of the old beach cottages, preparing to preserve the coastline open space it was just granted clear title to last week in U.S. District Court.

Video: Watch the video

One way or another, Elizabeth Beisel's remarkable journey to Beijing will culminate tonight, when she swims in the finals of the 200-meter backstroke. Beisel, who had the second-fastest time in last night in the semifinals, will jump off at 10:03 a.m. (10:03 p.m. Eastern) -- it's the first of four swimming finals scheduled tonight.

Immediately after Beisel's event, Michael Phelps will go for his seventh gold medal in these Olympics, this time 100-meter butterfly. That will be followed by the finals of the women's 800-meter freestyle and the men's 50-meter freestyle.

Outside the pool tonight, there will be live coverage of elimination-round men's beach volleyball from 9 to 10, as Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser take on Martin Laciga and Jan Schnider of Switzerland. There will also be live coverage of the preliminary non-beach volleyball match between the United States and China, which begins at 10.

You can catch all these events on NBC -- Cox Channel 10.

-- projo.com sports producer Mike McDermott

USA's Demetrius Andrade reacts after defeating Andrey Balanov of Russia during a men's welterweight 69 kilogram preliminary boxing match at the Olympics in Beijing, Thursday. / AP photo

Providence boxer Demetrius Andrade, 20, the world amateur welterweight champion, is one of the shining stars of the U.S. Olympic boxing team. He proved just how far he's come with a dominating 14-3 victory over Andrey Balanov of Russia in the quarterfinals on Thursday night in Beijing (Thursday morning Eastern time).

With the win, he became the first American boxer to reach the quarterfinals. He'll fight again Sunday morning Eastern time at 8:46 a.m. against South Korea's Kim Jung-joo.

Of the American boxers still alive in the tournament, he has, perhaps, the best shot at a gold medal.

Read the story

Watch a video of Andrade's girlfriend, Sherly Garcia, their daughter, Autumn Andrade, other family and friends cheering him on at Stickyfingers in Providence, during the fight

Your Turn: Send messages of good luck to Demetrius Andrade

Elisabeth Beisel of the United States reacts after finishing second in a heat of the women's 200-meter backstroke during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing Summer Games, Thursday. / AP photo

Meanwhile, North Kingstown Elizabeth Beisel finished first in her heat and second overall with a time of 2:07.90 in the semifinals of the 200-meter backstroke last night in Beijing's Water Cube.

If Beisel is to win a medal in the final in that event tonight, she will have to do it against a difficult field that will feature Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe and current world-record holder Margaret Hoelzer of the United States.

Coventry, swimming in the second group, finished with the top overall time -- 2:07.76.

The final is at 10:03 tonight, Eastern time.

Read the story

Video: For video of Beisel's swim, click here and fast forward to 11:42

Your Turn: Send messages of good luck to Elizabeth Beisel

The advice for egg toss participants at this week's 42nd annual Washintgon County Fair is to shake the eggs beforehand. We're not sure how this helps, but persistence does seem to pay off. The fair continues through Sunday, off Route 112 in Richmond. More fair information
Providence Journal video by Ruben W. Perez

Watch the video

Michael Phelps will not win a gold medal tonight. That's because he's not participating in any medal events. But he will swim, and he's expected to easily qualify for the finals of the 200-meter individual medley. Phelps has already won the gold with a new world record in the 400-meter individual medley. The 200 IM semifinals are at 11:16 p.m.

Also tonight in the pool, it should be a good battle in the men's 100-meter freestyle. French swimmer Alain Bernard set a world record in this morning's semifinals, only to see it quickly broken by Australia's Eamon Sullivan. The two will go head-to-head tonight at 10:49.

The U.S. women's 4x200-meter relay team will try to defend its Olympic gold against a French team that set a new world record in qualifying. That event takes place at 11:32.

Elsewhere, Americans Sasha Artemev and Jonathan Horton will be among those competing in the men's individual gymnastics final, tonight at 11.

Tomorrow morning, locals Elizabeth Beisel and Demetrius Andrade are both scheduled to compete. Beisel swims at 8:37 to qualify for the 200-meter backstroke finals, and Andrade boxes Russia's Andrey Balanov at 9:30. You can check how their doing tomorrow morning, at projo.com's sports blog.

-- projo.com sports producer Mike McDermott

With a dire warning about how global warming might damage the Ocean State, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has organized a local session of the Senate committee in charge of such environmental issues.

"This issue is real, time is of the essence, and action is called for," Whitehouse said in a news release announcing that he will convene a panel of experts on global warning at the University of Rhode Island later this month. If it is "left unchecked," Whitehouse said, global warming will change Rhode Island and the entire world "in ways we are only beginning to understand."

Democrat Whitehouse is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which produced a global warming bill -- based on a complex system of anti-pollution taxes known as "cap and trade" -- that died in the Senate this year. He will act as chairman of what he bills as a "field briefing" of the panel, featuring an all-Rhode Island group of state officials, academics and environmental activists.

The session will begin Aug. 21 at 10:30 a.m. at URI's Corliss Auditorium on South Ferry Road in Narragansett.

-- John Mulligan, Journal Washington Bureau

Providence Journal photos / Glenn Osmundson
Firefighters from as far away as California and England, are expected to attend the funeral tomorrow morning for Tiverton firefighter Gerald R. Leduc, who died from apparent cardiac arrest Sunday while diving in Stafford Pond, in Tiverton, in search of a missing boater. The wake was held this afternoon at Auclair Funeral Home, 690 South Main Street, Fall River, Mass.

Today's Journal story: Fireman’s funeral expected to draw 15,000

Read Leduc's obituary || Sign the guest book

Boater Joseph Traficante's funeral Saturday

Read Traficante's obituary || Sign the guest book

State Rep. Ray Sullivan has been hired to lead Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama's Rhode Island operations.

The campaign released a statement Thursday afternoon naming the 31-year-old Coventry Democrat as the campaign's state director. Sullivan becomes the first paid staffer in the Ocean State working for the Obama camp since the primary election.

When reached Thursday, Sullivan said there would be more paid staff joining him at a campaign headquarters that will soon be established.

"The campaign has never really left the state; it's just not had a formal office and organization on the ground," Sullivan said. "This is a big day for Rhode Island."

Sullivan said he would temporarily leave his position as communications director for the state Democratic Party to focus on the new job, which he officially started Wednesday night. He said the new assignment would not deter him from running for a third term in the Assembly.

Meanwhile, presumed Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, has no plans to establish a Rhode Island headquarters or bring in paid staff. They have only a New England headquarters, which are based in New Hampshire, according to Rep. Robert A. Watson, the House Minority Leader, who also serves as McCain's local chairman, a volunteer position

"We have no plans to start hiring polticians and pay them for their support," Watson said. "We expect to do fine with a volunteer base."

Democrats dominate the Rhode Island political landscape. In the 2004 presidential election, John Kerry received a higher percentage of the vote in Rhode Island than any other state aside from Massachusetts.

"We're going to run a real aggressive race," Sullivan said. "We're not going to take anything for granted."

Obama's Chicago headquarters issued a statement announcing Sullivan's hiring.

"Rhode Islanders are ready for real change in Washington, D.C., not more of the same petty politics of the past," Obama's national campaign manager David Plouffe said. "We look forward to organizing our grassroots supporters in Rhode Island as we build Senator Obama's campaign to turn the page on Bush's failed policies so we can tackle the tough challenges Rhode Islanders face."

Sullivan's previous jobs include: project coordinator for the Providence Community Health Centers, director of legislative and government affairs for former Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, communications director for the York for Governor Campaign, and press secretary for the Rhode Island Secretary of State.

Asked whether he hoped the state director job may lead a position in Washington should Obama win, Sullivan responded: "That's not even remotely in my mind right now. Not even close. I've got a job to do. We've got a race to win."

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

The bail hearing for 24-year old James A. Soares Jr., who is accused of murdering his parents James A. Soares Sr., 60, and Marian Soares, 53, formerly of Warren, that had been scheduled for tomorrow morning has been postponed until Aug. 15, according to the state Attorney General's Office.

Soares Jr. remains held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions, in Cranston.

-- Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims

Providence Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Anna DiMonica, 10, of Cumberland, can't wait for the ball to be placed on the tee during the Bank of America Youth Baseball Workshop at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket today. About 200 boys and girls, ages 8-12, from across Rhode Island learned the fundamentals of the game, from hitting to base running to fielding, from professional coaches and from Sam Horn, former first baseman for the Boston Red Sox.

By Tracy Breton, Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Lawyers for the victims of The Station nightclub fire are hoping to distribute the large pool of settlement money that has been offered to their clients by the end of this year, according to letters some of the victims have received in recent weeks.

Although some of the parties that lawyers consider most culpable have yet to enter into settlements, lawyers for those killed and injured as a result of the fire are anticipating that the civil lawsuits pending in U.S. District Court can be wrapped up during the next several months, without a trial. They've told clients that their "goal" is to distribute the proceeds by the end of December.

To date, close to $155 million has been tentatively offered to settle the fire victims' claims. This includes $1 million that the court is holding from the rock band Great White -- whose pyrotechnics sparked the deadly fire -- and many millions offered by other parties, including corporations that allegedly made the foam that lined the walls as well as sponsors of the Great White show, among them, the beer manufacturer Anheuser-Busch.

Lawyers for the fire victims say that Duke University Law Prof. Francis E. McGovern, the court-appointed special master who is devising a formula to determine how much each plaintiff will get from the settlement proceeds, is almost done with the grid. Exactly what he will propose remains a secret because McGovern has denied requests for interviews.

But the fire victims, in letters from their lawyers, have been told that for the victims who died, McGovern's grid will consist of "a point system" which will factor in such things as the victim's age, marital status, education, number and ages of children and annual income. As for the victims who suffered physical and/or psychological injuries, the amounts will probably vary, based on severity of injury, days of hospitalization and amount of unreimbursed medical bills, predicted Kenneth R. Feinberg, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who served as special master in the taxpayer-financed 9/11 Compensation Fund and more recently for the compensation fund set up for the Virginia Tech shootings.

In a federal court hearing last November, Providence lawyer Mark Mandell, who represents more than 100 of the fire victims, told U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux that McGovern planned to meet with every plaintiff who is part of the lawsuit, either individually or in small groups. He will review each person's medical records and treatment received for both the living and the dead, consider the number of surgeries, percentage of body burns, length of hospitalization and whether he or she suffered first-, second- or third-degree burns. He'll develop "categories of injuries" and "severity differentials," Mandell told the court.

Read our full story on the work of the special master Sunday on projo.com and in The Providence Sunday Journal

Journal photographer Kris Craig was out in the storm.

A man crosses Mathewson Street, downtown Providence.

A vehicle hits a wall of water at West Exchange Street.

Leah Kelley of Barrington and Zack Rowden of Bristol wait out traffic trying to cross the intersection of West Exchange Street to get to Providence Place mall.

A man runs across the street through a deep wall of water.

Your Turn: Storm report: What are you seeing?

Storm shots: View the slideshow and upload your photos

WEST GREENWICH -- A West Greenwich man was jolted by lighting this afternoon while using an electric skill saw in his garage on John Potter Road, the police said.

Michael Petrarca refused medical treatment after the jolt hit him, Chief Ronald Lepre said.

The lighting, coming from this afternoon's surprise thunderstorm, must have traveled "through the lines and through the electric saw and into his arm. It zapped him a little bit,'' Lepre said.

Petrarca's wife called the police. The officer and rescue personnel who were sent out hydroplaned en route to the home, knocking over some mailboxes along Route 102, Lepre said. No one was injured.

-- Journal staff writer Lisa Vernon-Sparks

Many parts of the state are seeing severe weather right now.

We want to hear from you.

Your turn:What are you seeing?

Storm shots: Upload your photos and view others'

Meal and beverage tax collections were down 9 percent in May, compared to last year. People are still going out to eat, they just are spending less. Watch the video

Read the story

Providence Journal video by Paul Edward Parker

Journal photo / M. Charles Bakst
Media trucks line up outside McCoy Stadium, waiting for Big Papi to appear tonight. He'll be on the field for batting practice before the game. Several hundred people had also gathered outside the gates before being let in around just before 5 p.m.

PAWTUCKET -- Although McCoy Stadium has hosted its share of big events -- baseball's Longest Game, the Triple-A All-Star Game, numerous rehab stints of other major-league stars -- nothing compares to the phenomenon that is Big Papi.

The first three games of the four-game set against Toledo in which Red Sox slugger David Ortiz will appear sold out in one business day.

Originally, Big Papi, who is on Boston's disabled list with a wrist injury, was scheduled to play only three games -- tonight, tomorrow and Saturday -- in Pawtucket. Now, he has asked the Red Sox medical staff if he can play Sunday, too. There are only a limited number of general-admission seats remaining for Sunday's game. But, because of his injury, Ortiz does reserve the right not to play Sunday.

Tonight's game starts at 7:05 p.m. But if you haven't got your tickets, you're out of luck to watch in person. The game is sold out. However, projo.com and Journal staff will be there, to report on the event, in stories, photos and video.

For more details, read the full Journal story.

-- Journal sports writer Joe McDonald

Have you seen any gas stations in Rhode Island or Massachusetts selling gasoline for cash at a lower price than what customers would pay using a credit card?

If so, e-mail Providence Journal staff writer Timothy Barmann at tbarmann@projo.com or call (401) 277-7369.

Gasoline is more expensive than it has ever been, and some commuters have begun carpooling to share expenses.

Do you have any stories about carpooling? What's it like? What should commuters consider before carpooling? Any horror stories? Any happy endings?

If you're willing to be interviewed for a story on carpooling, e-mail Providence Journal staff writer Tim Barmann at tbarmann@projo.com, or call 401.277.7369

A federal judge in Providence ruled this morning on motions in the corruption case against Robert Urciuoli and Frances Driscoll, former Roger Williams Medical Center executives charged with bribing former state Sen. John Celona.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi also took under advisement other motions by the defense, which is seeking to limit the evidence that the government can present in its second trial of Urciuoli and Driscoll, which is scheduled to begin in September. The pair was convicted in 2006, but a federal appeals court in Boston earlier this year ordered a new trial, saying that the judge, Ernest Torres, had improperly instructed the jury.

This time, Celona, the government’s star witness against Urciuoli and Driscoll, has been so discredited that prosecutors have said that they don’t intend to call him to testify in the second trial, provided that the defense agrees to allow the introduction of certain documents, including faxes between Celona and the former hospital executives about his State House efforts on their behalf.

Urciuoli is the former CEO of Roger Williams; Driscoll was a vice president. Celona worked as a consultant to the hospital and its affiliated assisted-living center. The defense says that he performed legitimate senior outreach; the prosecution says that was a sham and that Celona was paid for political favors.

The government and the defense are also squabbling over what instructions Lisi should give the jury in this case.

In the recent acquittal of two former CVS executives charged with bribing Celona, Lisi’s jury instructions were much different than those issued in the first Urciuoli-Driscoll case. In the CVS case, Lisi told jurors that it was permissible under Rhode Island ethics law for a company to hire a part-time Rhode Island lawmaker and even communicate with him or her on legislation affecting that company.

The instructions, combined with Celona’s lack of credibility, led to a swift acquittal of the two former CVS executives, John Kramer and Carlos Ortiz.

Judge Lisi today also denied Urciuoli’s motion to pursue allegations that Roger Williams improperly fired him and cut off his legal fees under pressure from prosecutors. The government has said that the deferred prosecution agreement it reached with the hospital did not require Urciuoli’s firing.

The judge also denied Driscoll’s motion for a separate trial. Although Driscoll was acquitted of conspiracy in the first trial, and cannot be retried on that charge, she was convicted of a single count of honest-services mail fraud.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Sept. 3, with opening arguments set for Sept. 8.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Extra: Our continuing report on Operation Dollar Bill

PROVIDENCE -- Gen. Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who served as secretary of state during President George W. Bush’s first term, will deliver the keynote address for the U.S. Scholar-Athlete Games -- already under way at the University of Rhode Island -- tonight at the Providence Performing Arts Center.

Powell will speak at 7 p.m. and later take questions from the audience. Tickets, on sale at the PPAC box office, are $20 for adults and $15 for students 18 and younger.

Schedule permitting, Powell may also lead the games’ first "peace walk" by about 1,000 competitors and their coaches in downtown Providence this afternoon. The walk is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. from the park on South Main Street near the Licht Judicial Complex and proceed along the river walk to Burnside Park.

Since the games began, in 1993, the goal has been to eventually hold a "peace summit," said Dan Doyle, the games’ founder and executive director of the Institute for International Sport, which sponsors the games. The peace walk is the first in a series of events meant to lead up to the summit, Doyle said.

The U.S. Scholar-Athlete Games began Saturday and continue through Saturday at URI; it includes high school students from almost every state and 20 nations.

Read Mike Szostak's column: For 1,000 athletes, Scholar-Athlete Games are more than just sports

In the state Senate where debate is rare – and dissent even rarer – Sen. Leonidas “Lou’’ Raptakis, D-Coventry, has done the unusual.

He has launched a political grenade aimed at taking out Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport.

In a statement that he began circulating on Thursday, Raptakis said he “can no longer support’’ Paiva Weed as majority leader because she “failed to live up to her word in terms of promoting’’ several of his pieces of legislation, including a bill to increase the penalties for drunken drivers who drive with suspended and revoked licenses.

Raptakis also blamed her for the end-of-session pileup that he said forced Senate votes on “150 bills in the final two days of the session.’’

“To me that’s a sign of ineffective leadership and a willingness to push through bills with little or no public input,’’ Raptakis said. “I had hoped for much better from Sen. Paiva Weed and I think the time has come to give someone else a chance to run the Senate floor in a manner more consistent with the public interest.

He didn’t say who he felt would do a better job.

-- Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau

>> Continue reading: Senator takes aim at his party's majority leader

Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton have come to the small rural town of Unity hoping to unify the party. Providence Journal photos by Gretchen Ertl

Obama, Clinton appeal together for party unity

UNITY, N.H. (AP) -- Rivals turned allies, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton made a display of unity Friday in a hamlet named for it, their first joint public appearance since the divisive Democratic primary race ended. "Unity is not only a beautiful place as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it? And I know when we start here in this field in Unity, we'll end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president," Clinton said just after she and Obama took the stage together.

>> Continue reading: Photo essay: A big day for a small N.H. town

Governor Carcieri is scheduled to hold a ceremonial signing at the State House at 3 p.m. today for legislation designed to improve consumer protections against the risks of "reverse" mortgages.

Reverse mortgages allow cash-strapped homeowners age 62 or older who have paid off their houses to borrow against the equity. The loans do not come due until the homeonwer sells the house or dies.

The legislation passed by the General Assembly mandates greater disclosures of fees charged by the lender, and requires that borrowers receive financial counseling prior to obtaining a reverse mortgage that is not government-insured. (Federally insured reverse mortgages already require additional protections.)

The legislation approved by state lawmakers stops short of banning pre-payment penalties, which allow lenders to charge additional fees to borrowers who pay off the mortgage early. The AARP Rhode Island, a lobbying group for the elderly, had opposed any pre-payment penalties, the group's associate director of advocacy, Stephen Jennings,said.

"Our position is that pre-payment penalties trap people in loans that they may have decided weren’t a good thing for them,'' Jennings said, "but we supported the bill because we think other things in it are important.''

The legislation requires, among other things, that borrowers receive financial counseling from a government approved agency prior to entering the loan agreement, creates a three-day waiting period before the closing is finalized, and prohibits lenders from offering or requiring that borrowers also purchase an annuity until after the closing.

The House version of the legislation (H-7723 Sub A), which was signed by the governor on June 6, was sponsored by state Rep. Richard Singleton; state Sen. David Bates sponsored the Senate version (S-2598 Sub A).

-- Journal staff writer Lynn Arditi

Are you a cash-strapped student at Rhode Island College or the Community College of Rhode Island who can barely make ends meet and are worried about how you will cover all your college bills this fall?

Contact education reporter Jennifer D. Jordan with your story: e-mail her at jjordan@projo.com or call (401) 277-7254

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, will face several challengers for his congressional seat heading into election season, according to candidate filings.

Christopher Young, of 184 Angell St., Providence, has filed a declaration to run as a Democrat, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Vernon D. Craig, of Newport, also filed a declaration of candidacy to run as a Democrat.

Republican Robert Tingle, of Westerly, filed as a Republican to run against Reed.

Today was the deadline to file declarations of candidacy with the Secretary of State's office.

-- with reports from Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE -- For those wondering why Governor Carcieri has not yet signed the new $6.9 billion state budget, this is the answer: He can’t, because as of late this morning, he still didn't have it.

The bill cleared its last legislative hurdle on Thursday, but Senate Democratic leaders have not yet “transmitted’’ the bill.

Budget graphic: A snapshot of spending cuts

The fiscal year does not end until June 30, so the delay has not yet caused any financial problems.

Lawmakers adopted most of Carcieri's cost-saving proposals, including $67 million in Medicare “reforms’’ and $90 million in personnel savings that have yet to be fleshed out. The new budget preserves the income tax cuts lawmakers promised the state’s wealthiest taxpayers in a rosier year, while cutting hundreds of people from the state’s health and welfare rolls, and millions of dollars from the state colleges and university and a tuition scholarship program.

Said Carcieri last week: “This budget represents a watershed moment in the recent history of Rhode Island state government. In the face of a severe fiscal crisis, we have worked together to reduce spending and balance the budget without raising taxes. In particular, the House of Representatives has approved most of the spending reduction plans I and the House Republicans proposed earlier this year. As a result, it’s a huge win for Rhode Island taxpayers.”

-- Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau

-- Brandie Jefferson, projo.com

Fans stood packed, shoulder to shoulder, face to sweaty back, for a glimpse of their heroes in the "rolling rally" celebrating their NBA victory.

-- Words and photos by Brandie Jefferson, projo.com

---

June 6

There are 67 high school commencements this weekend 5:23 PM Fri, Jun 06, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

It's high season once again for high school graduations.

Between today and the end of the weekend, 67 of the area's 88 high schools will grant diplomas to some 11,000 students.

Not sure where or when your soon-to-be grad will be walking?

Check the schedule.

On Sunday, we'll have a story on the Class of 2008 valedictorians. For a sneak peak, here's a short video.

And for more on high school graduations, keep checking projo.com

Comments (1)
Charlie wrote, There's been a change in schedule for Beacon Charter High School in Woonsocket. Due to a scheduling conflict at the Stadium Theater, Beacon's commencement has...

Read the rest, write another...

---

June 5

Presidential counsel on governor's tribal land case team 3:18 PM Thu, Jun 05, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Governor Carcieri's office will rely on the legal acumen of former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson in its fight to keep control of 31 acres owned by the Narragansett Indian Tribe.

Olson, a partner with the Washington, D.C., firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, will join a legal team of Assistant Attorney General Neil F. X. Kelly; Joseph S. Larisa Jr., Charlestown’s solicitor on Indian affairs; and Claire J.V. Richards, Carcieri’s former deputy legal counsel, in arguing the Indian land case before the U.S. Supreme Court this fall, according to a U.S. Supreme Court docket.

Olson served as the government’s top lawyer before the high court under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2004.

As an appellate lawyer, he successfully argued the disputed 2000 election case in favor of George W. Bush before the Supreme Court. He represented President Ronald Reagan during the Iran-Contra affair as assistant attorney general during the 1980s.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

>> Continue reading: Presidential counsel on governor's tribal land case team

Comments (4)
henry wrote, give the land back, make the govener give up his...

Danny P wrote, O.K. NOW ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Carceri is costing this state big time in tax dollars just to keep the indians from building a casino.If he...

paul vincent zecchino wrote, Why can't one shake the belief this is really about protecting state sponsored gambling from Indian competition? Is it true what they said in "L.A....

Read the rest, write another...

---

June 4

Hospital campuses to go smoke free Nov. 20th 5:10 PM Wed, Jun 04, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

On Nov. 20, the Great American Smokeout will take on extra meaning for nine Rhode Island hospitals. Today they announced plans to become smoke free on that date.

The hospitals already restrict smoking throughout most of their buildings. But starting Nov. 20, they will also forbid it on their grounds and in their parking lots. Hospitals that provide “smoking shelters” now, will remove them by then.

The goal is to have a healthier workforce and workplace. To assist smokers, the hospitals plan to offer free medication and smoking cessation clinics.

At the same time, they will not force any employees to quit.

“As health care organizations, hospitals have a responsibility to take a leadership role on this important issue,” said Kathleen C. Hittner, president and CEO of The Miriam Hospital and chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island.

The ban is being imposed by the Landmark Medical Center, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center, St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island, South County Hospital, and The Westerly Hospital.

-- Journal environment writer Peter Lord

Your turn: Do you support the hospitals' smoke-free campus policy?

Comments (2)
Linda wrote, Why not all the hospitals? What about Kent?...

Las Vegas Hospital wrote, Will employees have to sign a contract not to smoke on hospital property anymore? How much Nicotine gum and treatment are the employees going to...

Read the rest, write another...

---

Top R.I. Clinton supporters swinging over to Obama 4:54 PM Wed, Jun 04, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Several high-placed Rhode Island supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign said today they are ready to support Sen. Barack Obama, who clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday.

Three major Clinton supporters, William Lynch of Pawtucket, the Democratic state chairman and brother of Attorney General Patrick Lynch, an Obama supporter; Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, and Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, all showed up Tuesday night at an Obama victory event attended by more than 100 supporters of the Illinois senator at the Local 121 Restaurant in downtown Providence.

"We are all good Democrats,'' said Lynch. "We have to put the good of the country before personal feelings.''

Lynch said he and other Clinton supporters are ready to begin working for Obama in an attempt to forge a unified Democratic campaign.

"It isn't as easy as switching on a light switch, there are feelings involved,'' said Lynch. ``It was a hard-fought race. But for most of us this will be a seamless transition. I intend to work as hard as I can for him.''

-- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

>> Continue reading: Top R.I. Clinton supporters swinging over to Obama

Comments (1)
Follow the money wrote, Whether it's a good Democrat or a good German, you can be sure of one thing: follow the money. And Obama can be sure of...

Read the rest, write another...

---

May 29

Reporter's query: Staying home on vacation this year? 12:57 PM Thu, May 29, 2008 | Permalink | Write the first comment By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

The Providence Journal is looking to interview readers who have dropped their typical summer travel plans in favor of a “staycation,” a stay-at-home vacation.

If you are among these people, e-mail Journal staff writer Mark Arsenault at marsenau@projo.com.

---

May 23

Reporter's query: Planning a Sex and the City party? 1:11 PM Fri, May 23, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Any Sex and the City fan worth her Manolos knows that the long-awaited movie version of our favorite HBO series opens on Friday.

What are you doing to mark the occasion? Gathering your girlfriends for pre-screening Cosmopolitans? Buying a(nother) pair of impossibly high heels? Hiring a limo with your plus-ones and walking down your own pink carpet?

E-mail your fabulous plans to sendus@projo.com. We’ll include the best in our Sex and the City package, coming Thursday.

Comments (1)
Adam Jackson wrote, If any ladies are having a Sex and the City party, I'd love to come. Wink wink, nod nod....

Read the rest, write another...

---

May 22

CVS Trial: Celona testimony concludes 1:25 PM Thu, May 22, 2008 | Permalink | Write the first comment By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Journal illustration / Frank Gerardi

Former state Sen. John Celona, left, answers questions from Scott D. Corrigan, center, defense lawyer for former CVS executive John Kramer. In the foreground, former CVS executive Carlos Ortiz, center, is flanked by two of his attorneys. Judge Mary Lisi presides.

After four days on the witness stand in the CVS corruption trial, former state Sen. John A. Celona has concluded his testimony.

Scott Corrigan, a lawyer for the defense, wrapped up his questioning at 11:30 a.m. with several questions about false statements that Celona provided to a federal prosecutor and FBI agent earlier this year.

It was clear that Celona was uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

"You told them that you couldn’t remember all the lies you told them, correct?" Corrigan said.

"I don’t know if that was the terminology," Celona said.

"Did you tell them that you didn’t want to lie to them about lying?" Corrigan asked.

Mark Smith, a lawyer for Carlos R. Ortiz, was next. He spent an hour and 15 minutes cross-examining Celona about his cable television show and a meeting in the office of former CVS spokesman Todd Andrews in January 2001. Celona said that Ortiz called the meeting in Andrews’ office to discuss his $1,000-a-month consulting contract.

Ortiz talked about coming up with an official title and duties for the former legislator, 11 months after he began his consulting job for CVS.

Andrews is expected to be the government’s next witness when the trial resumes at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Extra: Our continuing report on this trial and Operation Dollar Bill

---

May 19

DMV clerk indicted on fraud, ID theft, conspiracy charges 11:39 AM Mon, May 19, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

A 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.

Comments (7)
Dan wrote, She will be happy to know she will now be living with all the nice people she was "helping" get fraudulent Identifications while employed at...

linda wrote, Are you Kidding! What happened to a additional charge of being illegal herself? What of charges to be filed against the HR person who hired...

kammamsim wrote, Can we traced these fraudulent drive license and revoke them? This is why many people driving one-way road because they can't read the sign....

Read the rest, write another...

---

April 24

projo.com will host Senator Reed for live chat Monday 10:42 AM Thu, Apr 24, 2008 | Permalink | Write the first comment By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Sen. Jack Reed will answer questions from projo.com readers during a live chat from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday, April 28.

You can submit questions now: go to projo.com/chat, click "launch chat", choose a display name (you don't need a password) and enter the chat room "senator reed." The senator will see your questions when he logs in on Monday morning, and he may not be able to answer every question.

When sending in a question, do not press enter or click send until you have completed your thought; doing so will cause us to receive an incomplete question. The questions will display to the room as Senator Reed answers them on Monday.

---

April 22

Reporter's query: How do higher gas prices affect you? 12:00 PM Tue, Apr 22, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Gasoline is officially more expensive than it has ever been. Wages are stagnant. Houses are worth less. It costs more to heat our homes, feed our families, and pay our medical bills.

How are you coping? What are you doing differently, and what are you doing without?

The Journal wants to talk to individuals and families about their day to day costs, the challenge of making ends meet, and what happens when they no longer do.

If you're willing to be interviewed for a story on coping with higher costs during this economic slowdown, e-mail The Journal at pjnews@projo.com. Please put "high costs" in the subject line, and include a phone number and a good time to call.

Comments (1)
Maria wrote, We will be traveling this weekend to upstate New York for a Christening, and with a six-hour drive, the price of gas certainly hurts. However,...

Read the rest, write another...

---

April 14

Reporter's query: Looking for college rejection stories 12:20 PM Mon, Apr 14, 2008 | Permalink | Write the first comment By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Are you a high school senior or a parent of one who has received depressingly thin envelopes from colleges this spring, containing rejection letters, not the acceptance letters you'd hoped for?

We want to hear from you. Due to a population surge this year, many colleges accepted fewer applicants than in previous years, leaving a lot of stressed out and sad high school seniors.

Please e-mail or call Jennifer D. Jordan to share you college rejection (and acceptance!) stories: jjordan@projo.com; (401) 277-7254

---

January 29

Audio: Bakst interviews Rep. Kennedy on Obama choice 2:20 PM Tue, Jan 29, 2008 | Permalink | Write the first comment By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

AP photo
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, talks with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., shakes hands as they all arrive for President Bush's State of the Union address before Congress last night.

Journal political columnist M. Charles Bakst interviewed U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy this morning, a day after the Rhode Island Democrat joined family members to back U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for president.

The congressman, his cousin, Caroline Kennedy, and his father, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts lent the power of the Kennedy political dynasty to Obama, despite a closer personal and political relationship with fellow presidential contender, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Listen to two audio clips from the interview:

Audio: Hear Patrick Kennedy describe speaking with Sen. Clinton for the first time since his family endorsed Obama, after the State of the Union address last night. 2 min., 16 secs.

Audio: Hear why Patrick Kennedy believes Obama will be a better candidate in the general election when it comes to the issue of the war in Iraq. 2 mins., 37 secs.

Your turn:
React to the Kennedys' backing of Obama

---

January 24

Reporters' query: Senior projects 4:22 PM Thu, Jan 24, 2008 | Permalink | By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

This year, for the first time, high school seniors have to complete two of three options to receive their diploma: end-of-course exams, a portfolio, or a senior project.

We want to hear from students, parents and teachers about their experiences with the new system. Are students feeling overwhelmed, or well-prepared? Do parents understand the new system and think the portfolios and projects are meaningful? Do teachers think they have received enough support to create the new assessment tools and grade them?

Please send your comments and concerns and whether you would be available for an interview to education reporter Jennifer D. Jordan by Jan. 30, (401) 277-7254, jjordan@projo.com

Comments (6)
Stephanie wrote, I think the whole process of a Senior Project is utterly ridiculous. The teachers, who are supposed to help the students along are not only...

Jean wrote, I am the parent of two children and two step-children in the Warwick school system. Two in elementary and two at the high school level....

latifah wrote, I am a junior at my highschool and I happen to have an english 4 class however it is a block period and that means...

Read the rest, write another...

---

January 23

Reporter's query: Has economic downturn hit you? 12:02 PM Wed, Jan 23, 2008 | Permalink | Write the first comment By maria caporizzo    Email this author |   Email this entry

Rhode Island’s middle class is hurting.

Wages are stagnant. Houses are worth less. It costs more to fill our gas tanks, heat our houses and pay our medical bills. Some have lost their homes to foreclosure.

The pain of the economic slowdown has spread to people with four-year college degrees; people who always expected they would have good paying jobs.

If you are one of these people, Providence Journal Reporter Lynn Arditi wants to hear your story. Please contact her at larditi@projo.com or (401)277-7335.

---