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April 11, 2006

Updated: 7 to 7 at Fenway: The messy back story of victory

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Wondering what our projo.com correspondent Steve Peoples actually looks like? Here's a shot of him phoning in his blog reports today, in the Sox' dugout, before the game and all its leftovers.

Here's the detritus on the dugout floor after the Sox' first home win this season, from the perspective of our correspondent at the game, Steve Peoples:

Dozens of crushed blue paper cups, sunflower seed shells everywhere, a couple bags of unopened David's sunflower seeds, an empty tin of chewing tobacco, melting ice dumped onto the floor, a half-eaten plastic container of Mott's apple sauce (we think Josh Beckett was eating it), six Bazooka Joe gum wrappers with cartoons (and one unopened piece), and some medical tape.

And on the walls, detailed statistical breakdowns of the Sox' relievers, and how Boston's hitters have performed against Toronto starter Josh Towers.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 7:55 PM | Comment

Brown study details die-off of Bay mussels in 2001

Summer after summer, algae blooms and fish kills in Narragansett Bay have lined beaches with dead marine life and tainted the coast with foul odors. Now, a Brown University study has detailed more damage -- the loss of billions of mussels that died largely out of sight on the Bay's bottom.

Researchers estimate 4.5 billion mussels were killed in nine reefs largely around Prudence Island. The mussels had been so prevalent they could filter the waters of the Bay in 20 days, but after the die-off, the filtering capacity dropped by 75 percent.

The mussel deaths occurred in the summer of 2001, when heavy rains and hot weather caused algae blooms more prolific than some observers had seen in years. Oxygen is drawn from the water when algae dies off, creating low oxygen or hypoxic conditions that kill additional marine life.

-- Journal environment writer Peter B. Lord

The obvious results in 2001 were foamy, brown, sludge-like material washing ashore around the Bay and fish kills in Greenwich Bay and off Cranston. Most of the dead mussels did not wash ashore.

The loss of mussels was made public today, following publication of a paper on the die-off in Ecology, the scientific journal of the Ecological Society of America. Authors are Andrew H. Altieri, a recent Ph.D. graduate from Brown's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Jon D. Witman, an associate profession in the department.

The study coincides with renewed efforts by the Carcieri administration to revive a new Narragansett Bay management program that was kick-started by a massive fish kill in Greenwich Bay in 2003.

More to come in tomorrow's Journal and on projo.com ...

-- Journal environment writer Peter B. Lord

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:03 PM | Comment

Photo: Airy perch for Sox fans has touch of street

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Red Sox fans can now dine while overlooking Yawkey Way, through the open-air windows in the new EMC Club at Fenway Park. While patrons might pay $35 for a 12-ounce New York sirloin strip, they can still experience a more pedestrian atmosphere. The smoky aroma of sausages and hotdogs wafted in from the street today at the team's home opener, while a saxophone played and the peanut vendors sang out from below.

-- With reports from projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:52 PM | Comment

7 to 7 at Fenway: Price has chilling effect on hot coffee

The weather for the home opener remained true to its heritage today, turning chilly, windy and overcast as the game progressed, our correspondent Steve Peoples reports.

Fans put on their sweatshirts, ducked for cover into the halls of Fenway and stood in line for hot drinks.

Sheryl Birenbaum, of Framingham, Mass., was among those waiting for coffee at one of the new Dunkin' Donuts stands at the ballpark.

"I'm really cold, and I really want coffee, " she said, after finally finding the shop in a tunnel off the third-base side of the field.

The line was about five minutes long, and the coffee had a higher pricetag than Rhode Islanders may be used to: $3.50 for a regular-sized coffee, and $4.25 for a large. Hot chocolate was $3, and, for the hardier souls, $4 for ice coffee.

Birenbaum almost gave up when she saw the price. But she got her cup, then headed off in another direction – to wait in the beer line.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:35 PM | Comment

Jury: Doctor not guilty of sexually assaulting patient

WARWICK -- A Superior Court jury today found a former Kent Hospital anesthesiologist not guilty of second-degree sexual assault of a patient.

Dr. Russel J. Aubin, of Jamestown, had been accused of fondling a 21-year-old woman during her knee surgery at Kent Hospital in December 2004.

The jury reached its verdict just before 4 p.m. today, its first day of deliberations.

-- Journal staff writer Zachary Mider

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:06 PM | Comment

7 to 7 at Fenway: This Hummer's got Papi's number

Our correspondent Steve Peoples shares this scene from the players’ parking lot behind Fenway Park today:

Amid the Mercedes and the Cadillacs, sits the big white Hummer belonging to Sox' clutch hitter David Ortiz.

It’s not just any Hummer. It’s got chrome trim, tinted glass and the number 34 inside each of its custom wheel rims.

And just in case you don’t know who you’re dealing with, Ortiz has signed the passenger’s door with his name, his number and his nickname, Big Papi.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 3:42 PM | Comment

Rhode Island to consider divesting from Sudan

Rhode Island should stop investing in companies that do business in Sudan, two Providence legislators are urging their colleagues.

As genocide continues in Sudan’s Darfur region, Sen. Rhoda E. Perry and Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, both Providence Democrats, have sponsored legislation that would require the state to divest from Sudan.

The legislation follows similar action by Brown University and the city of Providence.

The university’s governing board voted unanimously in February to stop investing in companies whose business activities support genocide in the Darfur region. The Providence City Council last week approved an ordinance to divest any city investments in Sudan. The ordinance bans the city from investing in any companies that do business with the Sudanese government.

At the state level, Perry and Almeida said in a statement that they don’t know how much, if any, of Rhode Island’s investments – mainly its retirement pension funds – are invested in companies that do business in Sudan. The legislation would require the state’s financial managers to find out.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:57 PM | Comment

Children's Defense Fund president at Brown tonight

The founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, will speak at 6:30 tonight at Brown University.

Edelman’s address, titled “Stand up for Children Now,” is free and open to the public. It will be in the Salomon Center for Teaching, located on the College Green. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

The award-winning author and children’s advocate will deliver Brown’s sixth annual Casey Shearer Memorial Lecture, which was established in memory of a promising young writer and Brown student who died in May 2000, days before he was to graduate from the university.

Prior to Edelman’s address, the winners of the annual Casey Shearer Memorial Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction will be announced, including a first prize of $1,000.

Edelman plans to sign copies of her books before the lecture, from 6 until 6:30 p.m., in the lobby of the Salomon Center.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:51 PM | Comment

Perry students meet the astronaut from undersea / Photo

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, who grew up in Massachusetts, speaks to students at Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School in Providence.

PROVIDENCE -- Navy Cmdr. Stephen G. Bowen is hardly your typical astronaut. For starters, he has spent most of his career in a submarine, and he has never been up in space.

But, with his boyish good looks and winsome smile, he looks every inch the astronaut.

No question was too silly or too personal today for Bowen, who visited Perry Middle School in Providence, the state's only NASA Explorer School.

Through Perry's partnership with NASA, students will have access to thousands of restricted Web sites and top scientists from NASA and the Goddard Space Flight Center, in addition to field trips. Each grade will also incorporate NASA experiments into its curriculum.

-- Journal staff writer Linda Borg

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:42 PM | Comment

7 to 7 at Fenway: Even the last row is great today

At least seven Rhode Islanders made it -- really, just made it -- into Fenway Park for today's home opener.

Our correspondent Steve Peoples found David Wyman and his wife, Diane, of Warwick, sitting in the 40th -- and last -- row of the bleachers. They were with Tom Partington of Pawtucket and Shawn Bazinet of Warwick.

Diane got the tickets for David's 37th birthday on March 10. She paid $125 through a broker.

"You don't get further back than this, I think," said Daivid, an electrician. "Hey, there aren't any poles in the way."

"You're always driving down the road, thinking 'I'd love to be there on opening day...Now I am.' "

Sitting a row in front of them was another group of Rhode Islanders. Andy Peterson was accompanied by two friends from Bristol and another friend from New Bedford.

Peterson, a land surveyor, bought his tickets for the $12 face value.

"I wouldn't care if I was on top of the (light) tower, as long as I'm inside" the park, " Peterson said.

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:37 PM | Comment

Photo: A glad hand for a former teammate

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Red Sox hitting coach Ron Jackson, left, greets former Red Sox hitter Shea Hillenbrand, who now plays for Toronto, as the two teams prepare for the Sox' home opener this afternoon.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:23 PM | Comment

Trot Nixon helping raise money for the Jimmy Fund

Red Sox right fielder Trot Nixon wants to visit your workplace.

Yes, you heard that right. Nixon has joined forces with the Jimmy Fund, which supports the fight against cancer at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Nixon plans to visit the workplace that raises the most money today for the Jimmy Fund, which has created “Rally Against Cancer Day” in honor of the Sox opener and to help fight cancer.

Organizers have asked businesses throughout New England to encourage their employees to wear Red Sox apparel to work and contribute $5 to the Jimmy Fund to participate in the effort.

The Jimmy Fund wants all donations to be made online.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:04 PM | Comment

Caritas gets $200,000 from feds for drug treatment

PAWTUCKET -- An adolescent substance-abuse treatment program, Caritas, has received $200,000 in federal funding to expand its drug-treatment services, according to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island.

The money will support new programs to help opiate-addicted and opiate-using adolescents get counseling and medically assisted treatment, according to an announcement from Reed’s office.

Caritas operates a number of treatment services throughout the state, including Corkery House for boys in Richmond, Caritas House for girls in Pawtucket and five out-patient programs throughout the state.

Reed presented Caritas with the federal money today.

“I am proud to have helped Caritas secure this vital federal funding,” he said in a statement. “Caritas doesn’t just treat substance abusers. They help entire families deal with the problems of drug addiction.”

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:54 PM | Comment

Photo: What's a ball game without peanuts?

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Nick "Peanuts," the legendary peanut salesman on Yawkey Way in front of Fenway Park, was up packing his wares at 6 this morning to get ready for today's home opener between the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:47 PM | Comment

7 to 7 at Fenway: A big cheer for Beckett

Taking the field at about 1:22 p.m., Red Sox starter Josh Beckett drew a huge cheer from the Fenway crowd, according to correspondent Steve Peoples.

The park was only about one-third full, but just about everyone to cheered as Beckett went out to do his pre-game stretching.

Beckett, obtained in a trade during the offseason, won his first game as a Sox starter Wednesday against the Texas Rangers.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:39 PM | Comment

7 to7 at Fenway: A big feed before the big game

When you go to Fenway as a member of the press for the Red Sox home opener, the fare expands well beyond franks.

Our correspondent Steve Peoples discovered a room, just down the hall from the press box on the fifth floor of the stadium, where an all-you-can-eat buffet was spread out, for just $9.

The place was jammed at about 12:40 p.m., Steve reports, with sportswriters and photographers choosing from pizza, pasta, rare roast beef, lobster bisque, fruit salads and vegetables, and, of course, hot dogs and hamburgers.

For dessert, there were apple pie, white chocolate chip cookies, Rice Krispie treats, and buttered popcorn from an old-fashioned, movie theater-style machine.

"It was as good as any wedding food I've had," Steve said, revealing that he particularly liked the pasta with an Alfredo-style cream sauce.

One surprise, he said, was to see so many members of the press actually choosing veggies with their meals. All washed down with choice of milk, juice, water or other non-alcoholic beverage.

"A nice, light lunch" before the big game, Steve concludes.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:00 PM | Comment

7 to 7 at Fenway: Ortiz impressive as usual

A day after signing his contract extension, David Ortiz was impressive in batting practice, knocking at least three shots out of Fenway Park this morning, projo.com correspondent Steve Peoples reports from the field.

But then, Ortiz seems to hit all the time, anyway. Doesn't he?

And center fielder Coco Crisp is still smiling despite a broken finger that will keep him out of the lineup for at least 10 days.

Wearing a silver splint on his right index finger, Crisp watched as Ortiz, Trot Nixon and other players took batting practice.

As helicopters flew through the clear sky overhead and his teammates took their rips, Crisp also joked with members of the large media contingent gathered record the Sox 95th home opener. Crisp apparently has as much charm as the guy he replaced.

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:31 PM | Comment

Providence library may close 6 of 10 branches

Facing level funding, the Providence Public Library is considering closing six of its 10 branches temporarily and increasing the hours of operation at three of the remaining branches, spokeswoman Tonia Mason said this morning.

The library board’s executive committee meets this afternoon at 4 to consider the proposal, along with other agenda items that include the library’s governance structure. The proposal is a recommendation from library administrators, and it has already won the approval of the library’s finance committee, which met yesterday, Mason said.

Open to the public, today’s meeting is at the central library in downtown Providence, 150 Empire St., in the Barnard Room on the third floor.

The proposal would need the approval of the full library board, which must meet this month before forwarding its budget for the next fiscal year to the city of Providence, Mason said. That meeting has not yet been set.

The library has an overall budget of about $8.5 million, Mason said. It is expected to be about the same for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The library is poised to receive the same $3 million next year that it has received from the city for five years now, Mason said.

The library-closure proposal is an effort to work within the proposed budget, Mason said.

“We fully recognize the city’s funding challenges in these economic times, so this is not an effort to seek more money from the city,” Mason said. “This is an effort to do the best we can with the funding that we have from the city and the state.”

The library is in the midst of a strategic-planning process that it hopes to wrap up by May, Mason said. Library leaders are examining ways to shift funding away from caring for aging buildings and provide services as efficiently as they can with the money they have, she said.

The branches that would close are: Fox Point, Knight Memorial, Olneyville, Smith Hill, Wanskuck and Washington Park (which has already been closed due to some facility problems).

Although Mason said the proposed new hours at the remaining branches have not been finalized, she said they would include evenings and weekends. The branches with increased hours would be the central library and the Rochambeau and Mt. Pleasant branches. The South Providence branch would operate on a schedule similar to its current one, Mason said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:46 AM | Comment

7 to 7 at Fenway: BP under a microscope

With the news media and the Sox brass watching closely, the 2006 Boston Red Sox took the field for batting practice at 11 a.m. today, our correspondent Steve Peoples reports from Fenway.

Players took their cuts and shagged flies and grounders as a horde of media lined up along the field with cameras and notebooks, trying to capture some of the first images of the home opener.

High in the stands, principal owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino looked down at their players.

With the stands mostly empty, security guards also took the opportunity to watch the show.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:26 AM | Comment

7 to 7 at Fenway: Parking premium

Our dedicated correspondent has arrived in Boston, and he's discovered that lucky Sox fans are paying a premium for the privilege of parking near Fenway.

A gasoline station on Boylston Street, about a block from the park, is charging $60. Still, it's apparently not difficult to find fans willing to pay the price. As of 11 a.m., the lot was half full.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:14 AM | Comment

Entwistle pleads not guilty to killing wife, baby

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A British man accused of killing his wife and nine-month-old daughter pleaded not guilty to murder charges today during his arraignment in Superior Court.

Neil Entwistle, 27, is charged with two counts of murder and firearms charges in the Jan. 20 slayings of his wife, Rachel, 27, and their baby daughter, Lillian Rose.

He stood silent and somber as a court clerk read the murder charges. His lawyer told the judge they would waive the reading of the weapons charges and asked him to enter a not guilty plea on Entwistle's behalf to all counts.

Entwistle has been held without bail in a Cambridge jail since he was originally arraigned in Framingham District Court on Feb. 16. His indictment on March 28 moved the case to Middlesex Superior Court, where he was arraigned today.

Rachel Entwistle's mother and stepfather, Priscilla and Joseph Matterazzo, and about a dozen other friends and family members watched the proceedings, which lasted only five minutes. The women wore pink roses in honor of Lillian Rose, who would have turned 1 on Sunday.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:19 AM | Comment

Wake is today for W. Warwick Marine killed in Iraq

The wake for West Warwick Marine Cpl. Brian St. Germain, who died in Iraq on April 2, is today.

Visiting hours will be from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Robert A. Iannotti Funeral Home, 415 Washington St., in Coventry.

St. Germain’s funeral will be tomorrow at 8:15 a.m., from the funeral home, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 in Holy Apostles Church, 800 Pippin Orchard Rd. in Cranston.

St. Germain, 22, died in a truck crash in Iraq that killed at least five Marines. A flash flood toppled their 7-ton truck on a logistics convoy in the Anbar Province in western Iraq, according to his family.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:29 AM | Comment

Check projo.com today for reports from Fenway

Stuck at work for today's Red Sox home opener at 2:05 p.m. against the Toronto Blue Jays?

We are, too, but one of our projo.com colleagues, Steve Peoples, managed to convince the bosses that he was needed today at Fenway Park. ("Hey, kid, Crisp is hurt. Can you play center field?")

If he isn't pressed into duty, Steve promises to file regular reports for the SoxBlog and 7 to 7 Blog between trips to the hot dog stand and souvenir shop. Steve will have access to the field and locker room before the game, as well as the press box and stands during the game.

Of course, Steve isn't the only member of The Journal team at Fenway. He will join Journal sportswriters and photographers in providing coverage for projo.com and tomorrow's Journal.

Stay with projo.com today for regular updates and photographs.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:23 AM | Comment

British man to be arraigned for killing wife, daughter

A former Hopkinton, Mass., man charged with killing his wife and nine-month-old daughter is scheduled for arraignment at 9 this morning in Middlesex Superior Court, Cambridge, Mass.

Neil Entwistle, 27, has been indicted on two counts of murder, and one count each of illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

The police say Entwistle shot his wife, Rachel, and their daughter, Lillian. Their bodies were discovered Jan. 22 in their Hopkinton home after family and friends became concerned and contacted the police.

Entwistle was arrested Feb. 9 in his native England and brought back to the United States. He is being held without bail. He pleaded innocent to charges in District Court and was indicted March 28, shifting the case to Superior Court.

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:05 AM | Comment

Report says R.I. economy shows improvement

Rhode Island’s economic performance was stronger in February than it was for much of 2005, according to a new report released by University of Rhode Island economics professor Leonard Lardaro.

The creator and author of the Current Conditions Index, Lardaro analyzes the state’s economy by tracking 12 key economic indicators pertaining to housing, retail sales, fiscal pressures, employment and labor supply.

The Current Conditions Index for February, the latest data available, was 67, with eight of the 12 indicators improving, according to a report issued by the URI news bureau.

In February, single-unit permits, which measure new home construction, rose by 2.6 percent over the value last February. Retail sales fell, by 1.8 percent, a decline that Lardaro reports is good since U.S. consumer sentiment remained weak, falling by 8 percent compared with last February.

The CCI ranges from 0, when none of the indicators improves compared to the levels from a year earlier, to 100, when all 12 show improvement. Values above 50 indicate that the Rhode Island economy is expanding, while values below 50 are indicative of contraction.

The index has been as low as 8, in April 1991, as the state’s banking crisis, a recession and major defense cutbacks took their toll on the economy, according to Lardaro’s Web site. The index reached a high of 100 on several occasions in 1984 and 1986.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:45 AM | Comment

Brooks' owner reports higher revenues, lower profits

Jean Coutu Group, the Canadian company that owns the Brooks drugstore chain, today reported slightly higher revenues, but lower profits, for the latest quarter.

Revenues increased to $2.87 billion from $2.8 billion for the same quarter last year. Profits, however, fell to $31.6 million from $39.9 million.

The company said sales grew “despite a milder flu season in all of our markets.’’ Jean Coutu will have a conference call at 9 a.m. to discuss its results. To listen, go to Jean Coutu's Web site.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:33 AM | Comment

Carcieri to push for anti-drunken driving legislation

PROVIDENCE - - Governor Carcieri plans to ask the House Judiciary Committee today to support legislation aimed at cracking down on drunken driving.

The governor is scheduled to speak at the Putting the Brakes on DUI conference at the Rhode Island Convention Center this afternoon.

Carcieri and Attorney General Patrick Lynch have submitted a bill to close a loophole in the state's Breathalyzer refusal law. Their legislation would toughen penalties for drivers who refuse to take a Breathalyzer test.

The Senate has already passed the bill.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:11 AM | Comment

Nice enough to 'play two' on this opening day

It's a great day for a ballgame.

The Red Sox will play their home opener today under mostly sunny skies with a high around 61 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

For those of us stuck listening or watching the game in Providence, the temperature should climb a little higher, to 66 degrees, with partly cloudy skies, the weather service says. The wind will come from the southwest at 4 to 7 mph.

As Hall of Famer Ernie Banks once said, "Let's play two."

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment