Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By Katherine Gregg and Cynthia Needham
Journal Staff Writers

Text of the Governor's speech

PROVIDENCE - A cigarette tax hike, more than $74 million in municipal and education aid cuts and a rollback in pension benefits for state workers and teachers who wait until after April 1 to retire are key pieces in Governor Carcieri's proposal for averting a potential $357.4 million current-year deficit.

The deficit-avoidance plan he unveiled during a televised address from his office tonight was a patchwork of tax and fee increases, state-spending cuts and one-time revenue boosters, such as the sale of three state-owned pieces of land - including a Cranston parcel eyed as the new home of the state motor-vehicle registry - to Rhode Island Housing for a quick infusion of cash. He is also banking on $27.5 million in Medicaid bonus money from the Obama administration.

"Tonight, I've taken the unprecedented step of speaking to you directly, because we are facing extraordinary circumstances,'' Carcieri said in a speech he prepared for a 7 p.m. address from his office, broadcast live on local television and radio.

"How we decide to cure this deficit will have long-lasting consequences for Rhode Island's future. We can avoid the tough decisions and drift into more troubled waters, or we can set a new course that leads to sustainable spending and a brighter, more prosperous future for us all,'' he said.

"I know there are some out there who believe we need to increase taxes to solve this budget problem. I am firmly convinced that raising broad-based sales or income taxes would be disastrous for our state's future -- it will merely prolong the economic decline, hasten job losses, and hurt more of our families.''

>> Continue reading: Carcieri outlines plan to plug $357 million deficit

By Karen Lee Ziner and W. Zachary Malinowski
Journal staff writers

CENTRAL FALLS -- Seven staff members of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility are facing punishments ranging from reprimands to firing in connection with the death of Hiu Lui Ng last August while in Wyatt custody.

Ng, 34, a computer engineer from New York, died as a result of complications from advanced cancer; he also had a fractured spine. His lawyers said Ng's pleas for medical care were ignored.

The disciplinary actions result from a just-completed internal investigation that exonerates the Wyatt facility with regard to Ng's medical care.

The seven unnamed staff members are being punished for "specific failures to comply with facility policies and procedures during Mr. Ng's 25-day detention at the Facility," according to a statement from the Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation, which operates Wyatt.

"The CFDFC stands by its initial statement that Mr. Ng was provided appropriate and timely medical attention to diagnose the late-stage cancer which ultimately caused his death, both in-house and through the use of outside hospitals," according to the statement.

Neither the facility nor its staff, according to the statement, learned that Ng was suffering from late-stage cancer "until after Mr. Ng. was diagnosed at Rhode Island Hospital on or about Aug. 1, 2008. Mr. Ng remained in hospital care from the time of his cancer diagnosis until his passing on Aug. 6, 2008."

The statement says, "The CFDFC reiterates that the actions of the Facility's staff, including the actions of those staff members that have been disciplined, did not contribute to the cause of Mr. Ng's death." It noted that the state medical examiner's office determined that Ng. died of natural causes associated with metastatic liver cancer.

>> Continue reading: Wyatt staff face punishment in immigrant inmate's death

projo.com photo / Andrea Panciera
The icicles look pretty but make for a chilly seat this morning in a Richmond backyard. (Never mind the wooden porch step that the photographer took extra care not to slip on.) Send in your ice photos for us to post on a projo.com gallery.

PROVIDENCE -- William Murphy has just been elected to his fourth term as speaker of the R.I. House of Representatives, as the General Assembly begins its new session today.

Murphy, of West Warwick, got the loyal backing of his party, with 67 of 69 fellow Democrats voting for him.

The only opposition came in the form by a bid by House Minority Leader Robert Watson, R-East Greenwich. Watson, too, was backed by his party. The tiny six-member GOP block gave him his only votes.

-- With reports from Katharine Gregg, Journal State House bureau

East Providence Parks and Recreation Department employee Bill Couitt tosses a Christmas tree into a wood chipper at the Looff Carousel this afternoon in Riverside. Watch the video Providence Journal photo / Bill Murphy

East Providence Parks and Recreation employees have the task of collecting used Christmas trees left out with the trash by city residents. They store the trees at different city parks where they await the chipper. Today, trees stored at the Looff Carousel in Riverside were mulched to be used for city plantings.

U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse this afternoon plan to pay tribute to the late former U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell from the floor of the U.S. Senate, according to Whitehouse's office.

At 5:15 p.m., R.I. Democrats Reed and Whitehouse expect to deliver remarks and offer a Senate resolution honoring the life and work of the longtime Democratic lawmaker and diplomat, who died last week at the age of 90.

The two were among the hundreds attending the funeral for Pellyesterday for the former Rhode Island senator. Also attending were former President Bill Clinton, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who each eulogized Pell.

The tribute may be carried on CSPAN2.

By Tom Morgan
Journal staff writer

SMITHFIELD -- A mechanical defect in a car parked in an attached garage apparently sparked the fire that gutted a family's house yesterday, Fire Chief Joseph P. Mollo II said today.

Mollo said the blaze was discovered by a homeowner who lives at 23 Karen Ann Drive when the man went to check on the vehicle about 6:25 p.m. after smelling smoke. He found it ablaze, Mollo said, ushered his family out of the house, and summoned firefighters. Mollo said the names of the family were not available.

The fire chief said that the fire spread swiftly.

"The fire flew through the first floor and went up a stairway to the second story," he said.

It took firefighters about 40 minutes to bring the flames under control. "The house is more than likely a total loss," Mollo said.

The family stayed with friends for the night, he said.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
The body of former U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell is laid to rest today by a Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard, in St. Columba's Cemetery in Middletown, R.I. See projo.com video showing more scenes from today's funeral services for the former longtime senator from Rhode island and his burial.

By Greg Smith
Journal staff writer

The four members of the Ford family of Smith Hill, Providence, are having a run of bad luck.

As the family slept on Dec. 6, a bold thief entered the house and stole a wallet, purse, car and house keys and Christmas presents. Then the thief stole the family car, which contained the daughter's wheelchair.

The police recovered the car, which had been abandoned behind a factory on Hartford Avenue. But the thief, who apparently still had the stolen car keys, returned last night, and took the car again. The culprit then led the police on a chase in which the uninsured car was wrecked.

"I want to move out of here," the desperate mother of the family, Christine Ford, 40, said today. "We were very scared last night. I barricaded my kids and me in my bedroom."

The family members, who occupy the first-floor apartment in a triple-decker at 508 Chalkstone Ave., also include the father, Donald, who works as a security guard and takes the bus to his job; daughter Barbara, 16; and son Benjamin, 8.

The police said they arrested Fernando Lopez, 25, of 30 Pekin St., Smith Hill, who was driving the stolen car, and lodged six charges against him, including auto theft.

Even after the Dec. 6 incident, the family's spirit had been restored for a time. Barbara, an epileptic and special-needs student at the Birch Vocational School, which is housed at Mount Pleasant High School, relied heavily on the missing wheelchair. But an anonymous donor gave the family a replacement wheelchair.

The staff at Roger Williams Medical Center took up a collection and gave the Fords replacement Christmas gifts, according to Mrs. Ford and the hospital staff. The Fords were hosted at a small party at the hospital.

And the police found the car a few days before Christmas, according to Mrs. Ford. That was crucial, she said, because she needed the car in order to take Barbara to doctor appointments and to pick her up at school if she has a seizure.

But misfortune struck again -- hard -- Sunday night.

By John E. Mulligan
Journal Washington bureau

WASHINGTON -- Cementing his status as a congressional advisor to the new administration on foreign affairs, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed will accompany Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. this week on a fact-finding tour of southwest Asia.

Biden's office said this afternoon that he will travel with a bipartisan Senate delegation including Reed, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John F. Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me.; and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

The officials did not release any details of the trip -- including which countries they will visit -- citing security reasons. But several Asian news organizations have reported that Biden and the delegation from Capitol Hill will visit Pakistan.

This morning, Biden, Reed and Kerry attended the Newport, R.I., funeral of Claiborne Pell, the longtime Democratic U.S. senator from Rhode Island, who died last week at age 90.

Rhode Island Democrat Reed has been to Pakistan several times - often on tours that encompassed Iraq and Afghanistan as well. Reed has made 12 wartime tours of Iraq, most recently an internationally-publicized visit last July as an informal guide to then-Sen. Barack Obama.

He has also traveled with Biden. In July, 2006, the Delaware Democrat joined Reed on a tour of Iraq. Much has changed since that visit, when the two men said they had found that the insurgency in Iraq had given way to what Reed called ``a low-grade civil war.'' Since President Bush launched the strategic shift known as the ``surge'' of U.S. combat troops, levels of violence have dramatically declined.

Taken together, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - with its threats to neighboring Pakistan - may constitute the gravest foreign policy challenge facing President-elect Obama.

Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said, "The delegation will make it clear to foreign leaders that they are not there to speak on behalf of the U.S. government or the President-elect. We extend our thanks to the Bush Administration for their cooperation in making this trip possible."

By Tracy Breton
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- All of the people who are seeking money damages in connection with the catastrophic fire at The Station nightclub fire are in favor of a proposed plan that has been devised for distributing $176 million in settlement money, a lawyer for many of the plaintiffs announced in a federal court hearing this afternoon.

More than 300 plaintiffs who suffered injuries or lost a loved one in the Feb. 20, 2003, nightclub fire are expecting to receive money from the settlement fund. Lawyer Mark Mandell, who represents many of the plaintiffs, told U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Martin today that all of the victims' lawyers have reported that there is "100 percent support" for the distribution plan that has been devised by a court-appointed special master, Francis E. McGovern.

McGovern, a Duke University Law School professor, is expected to file his plan for distribution with the court on Friday. On that same date, Providence lawyer William A. Poore, a special master representing the interests of the 181 minors who are slated to receive part of the $176 million, will also file his report with Martin. He is reviewing McGovern's matrix to see whether it seems fair to the minors.

No victims have been given precise figures from their lawyers on what they might actually receive once attorneys' fees and expenses are subtracted. But some have been told that they can expect to receive several hundred thousand dollars, while others may receive less than $20,000. Others are expected to receive more than $1 million.

McGovern's plan operates on a point system and he proposes different point systems for death cases and for injury claims. The system is similar to those used in other large liability cases, such as the settlements in the September 11th attacks.

Last October, The Providence Journal obtained a copy of the proposed distribution plan devised by McGovern. It would give everyone who sued a share of the $176 million, including those who suffered mental trauma but never sought medical treatment.

Under the proposed plan that was circulated to the victims -- which may have been altered since then -- the survivors who were most badly burned and were hospitalized the longest would receive more money than several of the families who lost loved ones in the fire. As long plaintiffs can prove that they were at the club on the night of the fire and can document injuries -- which will be reviewed at a later date by a neutral expert -- they will receive a share of $176 million, according to the plan obtained by The Journal last fall.

The settlement money will be held in a trust until it is distributed to the victims.

Martin scheduled another status conference in the case for Jan. 14 at 10 a.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard's Ceremonial Honor Guard, which arrived in Rhode Island last night from Washington, pauses and for a salute while bringing Senator Pell's flag-draped casket out of Trinity Church after this morning's funeral service in Newport. Providence Journal photo / Mary Murphy

CRANSTON -- The state's third-largest city will swear in a new mayor tonight, passing the executive office reins from Democrat Michael T. Napolitano to Republican Allan W. Fung.

When he is sworn in, Fung will become the first Asian-American mayor in Rhode Island history.

Fung, 38, a former City Council member, won 63 percent of the vote on Nov. 4, defeating Democrat Cindy Fogarty. Both were making their second run for the mayor's office. Napolitano, who served one two-year term, did not seek reelection.

The inauguration is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Cranston High School East, located at 899 Park Ave.

-- Journal staff writer Randal Edgar

The Right Rev. Geralyn Wolf, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, outside Trinity Church this morning before officiating at the funeral of former U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell. She and her husband returned from Sudan last night. Providence Journal photo / Mary Murphy

Nuala Pell, widow of former U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell, is escorted to Trinity Church by her daughter Dallas Pell, behind her, and son, Christopher T.H. Pell. Providence Journal photo / Mary Murphy

The Right Reverend Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island, in red, follows others entering Trinity Church. Wolf will give the blessing. Journal photo / Frieda Squires

Mourners begin to take their seats inside historic Trinity Church this morning. Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

NEWPORT -- The City by the Sea, home to the Gilded Age mansions and their wealthy residents, is no stranger to the funerals and weddings of the rich and famous.

Perhaps the most famous wedding -- the marriage of Jacqueline Bouvier and then U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy, who would later become president of the United States. Jacqueline's family had a summer home in the city, at Hammersmith Farm.

Their 1953 wedding was held in the Roman Catholic St. Mary's Church, only blocks away from the Episcopal Trinity, where the funeral service for former U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell is being held today.

In July 1989, the Colonial-era Trinity Church was the site of the funeral for Jacqueline's mother, Janet Auchincloss Morris, which also featured a turnout by members of the famous Kennedy Democratic political clan.

Today's funeral also maintains the Kennedy connection, with the late president's brother and now scion of the family, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, among the speakers.

-- Andrea Panciera, projo.com

The 7to7 breaking news blog will ring in the new year with a day off.

While we won't be blogging Thursday, New Year's Day, we will return to the job on Friday at 7 a.m.

In the meantime, we will be updating the site as usual with stories from The Providence Journal newspaper, live national and world news, sports reports and any major local news.

We invite you to share your comments on stories, send in your snowstorm or holiday photos and videos, and browse for things to do on the first weekend of 2009.

The lights indeed are bright, as the snow lifts and downtown Providence gets ready for its annual New Year's Eve party. This scene, from projo.com's weather Webcam, shows Kennedy Plaza at left.

Want to see more of New Year's celebrations around the world? Follow this guide, to online and TV coverage, compiled by projo.com's Sheila Lennon, whose blogging on her Subterranean Homepage News from home today.

The late-morning commute from South County to Providence was a slog.

Many side streets in Narragansett were unplowed, and cars slipped and swerved while trying to climb steep hills like Bridgetown Road. Some drivers gave up, fishtailed into the other lane and drove back down the hill.

Fast-moving snow coated Routes 1 and 4 ahead of the plows, creating single lanes heading north and south. The interstate wasn't much better. Traffic on I-95 from North Kingstown to Providence moved at about 20 miles an hour just before noon.

Share your storm reports to projo.com, and send in your photos, too.

See what it's like out on the highways via the R.I. Department of Transportation's Web cams. You may have to try more than once to see the cams; we're finding we're getting a "server too busy" message at times.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Davis

Going somewhere for New Year's Eve where the music will be hot even if the weather is not?

You might try warming up with salsa dancing lessons tonight, at 8 p.m., with Anna Mihalova, at Strictly Salsa Tuesday at Olives bar in Providence.

Or get ready for some snow removal chores tomorrow -- and make sure you can head out of the house or enjoy the eve warmly at home. Here are some tips on prepping for a storm.

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
At L.A. Nails in Cranston, Sharon Nichols was having her nails done this afternoon in preparation for New Year's Eve festivities tomorrow. She was planning to go out for an early dinner. Check out projothebeat.com for more ideas on where to ring in 2009; see projo.com's food page for treats you can enjoy at home; and keep the latest forecasts in mind, as a snowstorm heads this way.

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Rob Taylor, left, and Mark Shakelford, unload pallets of food delivered this morning by Ocean State Job Lot to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank as the annual holiday meal drive comes to an end. Donations exceeded 200,000 pounds, or 100 tons. Today's delivery consisted of cans of vegetables, tomato sauce, rice cereal, pasta, baked beans and fruit. The Food Bank feeds approximately 40,000 Rhode Islanders each month through a network of 285 agency programs.

Video: Watch, and listen, as deliveries are made to the food bank today.

As the wind howled across the Ocean State earlier today, trees and limbs fell, hitting power lines and causing power failures.

But by late afternoon, the wind had lessened, and power was being restored.

In Rhode Island there are still 143 customers around the state without power, but that number is down from roughly 1,700 a few hours ago, said National Grid spokesman David Graves.

"It has started to declined as the wind died down," Graves said "We do anticipate to have all customers restored by the evening,"

No customers were out in southeastern Massachusetts. Previously, customers living in Warwick, which had the most reports, Cranston, Hopkinton, Barrington and South Kingstown lost power.

The National Weather Service had a wind advisory in effect through 1 p.m. today. Northwest winds were expected to average 25 to 35 mph. with gusts up to 50 mph. By late afternoon, winds are expected to diminish to 15 to 25 mph. with gusts up to 35 mph.

In Hopkinton, at least four trees had fallen by midday, around Woody Hill, Tomaquag, Collins roads, and Main Street in the Hope Valley section, according to a police dispatcher.

A rotten telephone pole on Tomaquag Road snapped at the base and caused a small fire in another tree when the transformer fell off. No injuries were reported.

The heavy winds were making the work of restoring power difficult, Graves said earlier this afternoon.

"The winds are blowing and it's a game of catch up," Graves said. "We're trying to stay ahead of it. As soon as we get some customers back up, a limb or a tree will go down and we'll loose another section of customers. As the winds die down, we'll be able to get more customers back up."

-- With reports from Talia Buford and Lisa Vernon-Sparks, Journal staff writers

This time of year, you'll see a lot of lists of "stories of the year."

But there's only one list that's all about projo.com readers.

Remember the room with no view at the Providence Place mall? How about the house in Warwick that got an Extreme Makeover? (Here's how it came out)

And who could forget the DUI suspect with the highest blood-alcohol level ever recorded?

These stories rank among the most-read news stories on projo.com in 2008.

Check out our list. Which gets your vote?

And if there's a story that didn't make the list and should have, let us know.

By Amanda Milkovits
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- Today, his last day as the head of the state judiciary, R.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams was in mediation with the lawyers from the City of Providence and the unions over whether the self-insured city can go ahead with switching its health-benefits administrators on Thursday.

The mediation is one of several complex cases that Williams is taking up on his last day as the chief judge -- but it won't be the last.

Court spokesman Craig Berke said today that Williams will continue to sit on the bench as a retired judge and will continue working on the cases he has pending. Even as chief judge, Williams often took on the same amount of cases, about 25, as the others.

"Any time you make a [reference] to retirement, he keeps saying he's not going anywhere," Berke said.

Already, a small office on the seventh floor of the Licht Judicial Complex on Benefit Street was being cleaned and painted in anticipation of Williams' move as an active retired judge. He has company: Retired chief justice Joseph R. Weisberger also has a small office there.

Williams had abruptly announced his retirement barely three weeks ago, on Dec. 11, after serving nearly eight years as the chief justice. It was a dual role of judge and administrator for the state judiciary, which includes more than 700 employees and a $97-million budget.

If he'd remained two more years, he would have qualified for a lifetime pension equal to 100 percent of his $184,408.38 salary, instead of 75 percent, $138,306. And, in an interview with The Journal after his first year in the position, Williams had said he intended to stay for 10 years.

Things change. Berke said that Williams had accomplished what he'd intended -- the construction of new courthouses, Kent County and the Traffic Tribunal, replacement of the antiquated court computer system, increased funding. He also made numerous public appearances to raise awareness and interest in the state's judicial process.

Under state statute, judges who retire at 100 percent of their pension are subject to being recalled to work. Although Williams is retiring after being vested at 75 percent, he is choosing to remain "on call" for work. If he is called in, Williams will be paid a per diem, which is his pay difference between the 75 percent and the full vested amount, Berke said.

Video: Chief Justice Frank J. Williams discusses his resignation, in a Dec. 11 interview.

PROVIDENCE -- It's getting chillier out there. The kids are on vacation. And you may need to get them, and yourself, out of the house.

So, now's the time. The outdoor Bank of America Skating Center, located in Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence, is open. And not just during the day, but the evening, too.

During the week there are three skating sessions: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 2 to 6 p.m.; and 6 to 10 p.m. Admission is $6, $3 for seniors and children 12 and younger. Skate rentals are $4. For more information, visit www.providenceskating.com.

For more ideas of how to have fun this holiday week, visit projothebeat.com.