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April 7, 2006

Weekend starts wet, winds up warm

Wet, cold weather will persist through much of tomorrow, with the National Weather Service predicting periodic showers until 9 p.m. and temperatures in the high 40s.

But spring is expected to return dramatically by Sunday. The forecast calls for clear, sunny skies throughout the day with highs reaching 56 in Providence.

Nice weather is expected to last through the middle of next week.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts here ...

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:52 PM | Comment

Sox' Wells to start tonight in Pawtucket

PAWTUCKET -- Boston Red Sox pitcher David Wells is in Rhode Island tonight, preparing to start tonight's Paw Sox game.

McCoy Stadium is scheduled to be the 42-year-old left hander's last stop before rejoining the professional club next week in Toronto. Wells is working his way back from off-season knee surgery.

Tonight's game starts at 7:05 p.m.. Despite wet conditions, the game will be held, according to a Paw Sox representative at about 6:15 p.m.

Tickets are available.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:22 PM | Comment

9 nabbed in probe into Fall River gangs

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Authorities have arrested nine people, including a man believed to be the head of the Mafioso gang, following a year-long investigation into local gang activity.

Local, state and federal authorities collaborated to make the arrests -- five of which were made this morning. The charges vary, but are related to drug distribution and possession of illegal firearms.

Authorities -- including the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms -- held an afternoon press conference in Fall River to announce the arrests.

Two gang members remain at large, they said.

-- Journal staff writer Kia Hayes

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:54 PM | Comment

R.I. waters aswim with trout for season's start

Get your hooks, lines and sinkers ready -- the 2006 trout and general freshwater fishing season in Rhode Island starts in less than 13 hours.

State environmental officials expect more than 20,000 anglers to turn out at the state's lakes, streams and ponds when the season opens at 6 a.m.

The Department of Environmental Management has been busy stocking more than 80 ponds and streams with about 70,000 two-year-old brook, brown, and rainbow trout, with an average individual weight of about one pound.

About 10 percent of the fish are two-pound brown and rainbow trout.

DEM has set up a Web page with opening day information, including a list of trout-stocked waters, freshwater boat ramps, kids-only ponds, and freshwater fishing regulations.

For more, visit projo.com's fishing and hunting page ...

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:27 PM | Comment

1-0-0-1 adds up to $249,409 in lottery payouts

The Rhode Island Lottery awarded $249,409 worth of prizes based on last night's Daily Number drawing.

Yesterday's winning number was 1-0-0-1.

The payout was three times more than the state took in from sales -- $76,533.50.

"This unusually high payout has brought in dozens of happy customers this morning to the validations office, including one player who claimed a $5,000 Daily Number prize," reads a statement released by the state lottery.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:41 PM | Comment

Glocester man pleads guilty to killing wife

PROVIDENCE -- A Glocester man has pleaded guilty to a series of charges related to the murder of his wife last year, the state Attorney General's Office announced today.

Ralph E. Racca, 47, of 49 Echo Road, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder, one count of committing a crime of violence while armed, and one count of possession of a firearm after a previous conviction for a crime of violence.

His sentencing will take place June 1.

In making the plea, Racca admitted to shooting his wife with a .22-caliber rifle at their home, following a day of drinking and arguing about finances and the state of their marriage.

Racca has been held without bail since the July 16 shooting.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:02 PM | Comment

Photo: Celebrating 25 years of learning at Dorcas Place

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

Chamrouen Mom, center, talks to Connie Parker, of Barrington, a former Dorcas Place board member, about Cambodia, his native country, at the Dorcas Place 25th anniversary celebration today. Behind him is Sochettra Yieng, also a student with Mom at the literacy center. They are Buddhist monks from Cambodia. Dorcas Place provides low-income people a range of services from basic literacy instruction to career guidance.

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:32 PM | Comment

Providence man dies in Johnston crash

JOHNSTON -- The police have identified a 65-year-old Providence man who died yesterday after losing control of his car, striking the rear of a trailer and veering into woods off Shun Pike.

A police officer found Teodocio Marino, of 20 Greenwood St., about 10 feet away from the damaged Mazda sedan, lying on the ground in a fetal position, said Deputy Chief Gary Maddocks.

Marino was taken to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Maddocks said.

The police are waiting for the state Medical Examiner to determine the cause of the man’s death, he said.

A patrolman who went to the scene yesterday at 5:41 a.m., Officer Jeffrey Cicchitelli, reported “moderate to heavy damage” to the front end of the Mazda, said Maddocks.

Maddocks identified 33-year-old Kermit Guilliams as the driver of a truck that was towing a trailer on the road ahead of Marino before the crash.

Guilliams told the police he heard a bang to the rear of his trailer and saw Marino’s vehicle leave the road and enter a wooded area. An investigation of the incident continues.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:22 PM | Comment

Photo: The sky's the limit

Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Jim Feeney of Providence lets one fly today at the Seekonk Drive Range off Route 6 in Seekonk, Mass. "I'm legally blind, but I love hitting balls at the driving range. I get a ride over twice a week and spend a few hours out in the fresh air," he says, adding, "Pretty soon I'll be out on the bay fishing with friends."

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:51 PM | Comment

Brown a top 10 "Dream College"

Brown University is a top 10 "Dream College," according to the results of a national survey released today.

The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company, released the rankings as part of its annual "College Hopes and Worries Survey."

Nearly 4,000 high school students applying to colleges ranked Brown University sixth in the nation. They were asked, "What would be your 'dream' college?"

The full list is as follows:

1: New York University; 2: Harvard University; 3: Princeton University; 4: Stanford University; 5: Yale University; 6: Brown University; 7: Columbia University; 8: Duke University; 9: Cornell University; 10: University of California Los Angeles.

More than 1,000 parents who were asked what school they'd most like their child to attend ranked the schools slightly differently, but Brown remains in the top 10:

1: Princeton University; 2: Stanford University; 3: Harvard University; 4: University of Notre Dame; 5: Duke University; 6: Yale University; 7: Boston College; 8: Brown University; 9: Cornell University; 10: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:35 PM | Comment

Judge drops Roger Williams from corruption case

PROVIDENCE -- A federal judge today dismissed a 36-count indictment against Roger Williams Medical Center, accepting a deferred prosecution agreement that the hospital struck with federal prosecutors in January.

Under the agreement, the venerable Providence nonprofit hospital took responsibility for "criminal misconduct’’ of two of its former executives, president Robert A. Urciuoli and Frances P. Driscoll.

Urciuoli, Driscoll and Peter Sangermano remain under indictment for allegedly stealing the ``honest services’’ of a state senator, John A. Celona.

But the hospital itself, the first Rhode Island nonprofit to face federal corruption charges, is now out of the case.

More to come on projo.com ...

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:19 PM | Comment

Antiwar activists plan anti-Hillary Clinton rally tomorrow

Antiwar organizations in Rhode Island plan to protest tomorrow against U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton when she speaks at Brown University.

They plan to have an Iraqi Kurdish human rights and anti-occupation activist publicly confront the senator, according to the Rhode Island Community Coalition for Peace, one of multiple organizations sponsoring the protest.

A Kurdish woman born in Iraq, Sureya Sayadi, plans to speak at 4 p.m. tomorrow in Wilson Hall on the Brown campus and then march with protestors over to Meehan Auditorium, where Clinton is slated to speak at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for Clinton’s talk were scooped up quickly after the university offered one each to holders of a valid Brown ID.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:44 AM | Comment

3 teens injured in early morning Warwick crash

WARWICK -- Three teens were injured, one of them seriously, when a Jeep Wrangler they were riding in lost control on Post Road and struck a utility pole shortly before 1 this morning, the police said.

None of the three was wearing a seat belt, but alcohol and speed were not thought to be involved, Maj. Joseph H. Tavares said.

Back-seat passenger Joseph Paquette, 19, of Warwick, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition, Tavares said. As of 10:15 a.m., the hospital listed him in serious condition.

The driver, Natalia R. Moretti, 19, of Zinnia Street in Warwick, and her front-seat passenger, Peter Carbone, 19, of Groton, Conn., were taken to Kent Hospital with minor injuries, Tavares said.

-- Journal Staff Writer Zachary R. Mider

The collision was at the intersection with Ocean Point Drive, where Post Road bends slightly.

Inattention to the road may have played a role, though the investigation continues and Moretti has not been cited, Tavares said. It appears the open-top Jeep drifted and lost control after Moretti overcompensated, he said.

None of the occupants was thrown from the vehicle, Tavares said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:57 AM | Comment

Law and Order star Thompson to be at Chafee fundraiser

Former U.S. senator and Law and Order star Fred Thompson plans to attend an East Greenwich fundraiser tonight for U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee’s re-election campaign.

“Everyone’s welcome, and we’d love to see them,” said Ian Lang, a campaign spokesman for the Rhode Island Republican.

Price of admission: A $250 ticket for the event at the home of Al and Lauren Greer. Call (401) 921-1920 to buy a ticket for tonight’s reception, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The race for Chafee's Senate seat -- considered one of a handful in the country that is vulnerable -- is attracting national attention, as well as money.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:59 AM | Comment

Photo: Glazing over GTECH's new building

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

A glazier works on the windows of the east facade of the new GTECH world headquarters this morning in downtown Providence. At the end of this year, the company plans to relocate about 700 people from its current West Greenwich headquarters to its new headquarters under construction at the corner of Francis Street and Memorial Boulevard.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:58 AM | Comment

Celtics' Szczerbiak done for the season

Boston Celtics forward Wally Szczerbiak needs surgery on his left knee and will miss the final seven games of the regular season, the Associated Press is reporting today, dealing another blow to the team's fading playoff hopes.

The Celtics acquired Szczerbiak, who is 29, in a multiplayer deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 26. Since coming to Boston, he has averaged 17.5 points over 32 games.

The team expects Szczerbiak to be ready for the start of training camp in October, the AP reports.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 9:57 AM | Comment

Clouds and rain in store until Sunday

The blue skies and beautiful sunlight glinting off downtown Providence buildings early this morning are supposed to fade as clouds roll in and rain takes over. Expect rain off and on through Saturday night.

If you were hoping for sunny weekend weather, plan to cram all your outside activities into Sunday, which is expected to be mostly sunny with a high of 54.

The National Weather Service has posted a strong small craft advisory for East Coast waters today and tonight.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:13 AM | Comment

Iraq invasion to be subject of Brown lecture

A former director of the National Security Agency plans to argue at a Brown University lecture today that the invasion of Iraq has effectively paralyzed the United States, both diplomatically and militarily.

Lt. Gen. William E. Odom, retired from the U.S. Army, is speaking at 4 p.m. today in Smith-Buonanno Hall, Room 106.

He argues that a military withdrawal is merely the first step toward regaining mobility, according to the university’s Watson Institute for International Studies.

Odom’s lecture, part of a Watson series on contemporary international affairs, is free and open to the public.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 6:58 AM | Comment