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April 18, 2006

Mass. wants more before backing Fall River LNG plan

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Massachusetts' Secretary of Environmental Affairs has ruled that Weaver's Cove Energy must provide new information before the state can endorse a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in the city.

Stephen R. Pritchard said Weaver's Cove "has not sufficiently addressed significant concerns about the impacts from dredging on water quality and marine fisheries habitat,'' or offered adequate ways to mitigate potential environmental damage.

The dredging is necessary to allow large tankers to come up the Taunton River to deliver the supercooled and superflammable fuel.

The Weaver's Cove project has sparked passionate opposition from just about everyone in the region, particularly along the route the tankers would have to travel to get to the storage tank just north of Route 195.

Fall River Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. said the demand for more information means other state agencies will not be able to grant permits for the project.

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

"We felt that Weaver's Cove's final report was deficient in a number of areas and in the comments we submitted to the secretary we pointed out those deficiences,'' said Lambert. "The secretary agreed with our analysis and for that we are grateful.''

The 11-page decision notes that most opponents to the project are concerned about the safety and security of LNG. Pritchard says that "while I would prefer a stronger state jurisdictional role by which to address concerns regarding public safety and security,'' those issues are controlled by the federal government.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has endorsed the project.

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:29 PM | Comment

Inmate dies at ACI; drug overdose suspected

CRANSTON -- A prison inmate is dead and another has been hospitalized after apparent drug overdoses.

The Corrections Department said today that John Lamantia died yesterday at a medium security facility at the Adult Correctional Institutions. He was 36 years old and serving a 15-month sentence for obtaining money under false pretenses.

A drug overdose is suspected as the cause of death, but the state medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy to determine the exact cause.

Another inmate, 28-year-old Richard Garneau, has been hospitalized for an apparent drug overdose.

Corrections officials and the Rhode Island State Police are investigating the death -- and trying to determine how the inmates obtained the drugs.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:56 PM | Comment

Brown president: Learning is key to empowerment

PROVIDENCE -- Brown University President Ruth Simmons today defined empowerment as the ``accumulation of self-confidence and fearlessness'' that flows naturally from learning. With it, people have created societies and solved the most intractable of problems.

But children today are not being given an equal chance to learn, an equal chance to know that sense of empowerment, Simmons said. In fact, the gap between those who learn and those who don't is widening along socioeconomic lines, she said, a reality that threatens everyone.

``My God, that was the reality I grew up in decades ago,'' Simmons said, speaking to about 300 people at the annual corporate luncheon of the Urban League of Rhode Island, ``and we're talking about it again.''

Simmons said it is commonly understood ``that empowered people will move ahead, will lead, will innovate, will help build and repair society. It is a commodity that everyone wants. Parents want it for their children.''

Read Simmons' entire speech.

-- Journal staff writer Tom Mooney

Posted by Mike McDermott at 4:44 PM | Comment

Suspect dies in confrontation with Pawtucket officer / Photo

Journal photo / Bill Murphy
A Pawtucket police officer holds up a tarp to shield the scene as medical personnel prepare to remove the body of a robbery suspect from his crashed car this morning.

A man fleeing the scene of an apparent convenience store robbery died this morning after he was shot by a Pawtucket police officer and crashed his car.

Patrolman Jeff Allen used his cruiser to block the suspect's car from leaving the parking lot of the Cumberland Farms at the corner of East and Pidge avenues, near the Providence line, about 10:20 a.m.

The suspect then rammed the cruiser, according to police reports.

Shots were fired, according to the Pawtucket police, who would not say whether the suspect was armed.

The police would not release the man's identity.

Allen hit the suspect with at least one shot, according to Harvey E. Goulet Jr., director of administration for Pawtucket Mayor James E. Doyle, who was at the scene for much of the morning.

It is not yet known whether the crash or the shooting killed the man.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer John Castellucci

Posted by Mike McDermott at 4:07 PM | Comment

Bridge Blog: The reaction from a front-row seat

From projo.com's demolition correspondent Kate Bramson:

Esther Eberly of South Kingstown had a front row seat for the explosion today.

She recalled being afraid as a youngster while traveling over the bridge to visit relatives in Jamestown. Driving over the grates made a loud noise. "But we still stuck out heads out the window so you could see the water" under the bridge, she said.

She was among hundreds who showed up during public school vacation for the show.
Some were here with solid memories of the old bridge, some brought their children and their friend – many of them boys who wanted to see a good explosion. Others were URI students from out of state who had no childhood memories of this bridge, but wanted to join others for what would be a memorable day.

In the end, people seemed impressed.

"It was pretty cool, " Eberly said. "It Looked like, at night, a bridge lit up, and I was surprised how long it took for the sound to travel."

Maybe a couple of seconds, she and I agreed. What I do know is that the explosion rumbled in my chest, as drums do when you listen to a marching band. But what we didn't feel was any movement on the ground.

P.S. I can't leave Eberly behind without thanking her for faithfully watching my computer and a colleague's camera while we roamed the beach, talking to the crowd.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:01 PM | Comment

Photo: The blast from this projo.com's visitor's view

Projo.com visitor Filosofia Cheltenham of Providence was the first today to send in her photo of the demolition of the old Jamestown Bridge.

View more photos uploaded by our visitors, and add your own.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:29 PM | Comment

Photo: Zoo's new addition shows its stripes

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers

The newest addition at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence was announced today: a male zebra colt, born April 7, and weighing 90 pounds. Here he romps with his mother, Samantha, at the Plains of Africa exhibit. The young zebra has yet to be named.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:28 PM | Comment

Special Mass today to honor Cardinal O'Malley

The Fall River Diocese will hold a special Mass of Thanksgiving later today to honor Sean P. O'Malley, the former local bishop who was chosen by Pope Benedict XVI in February to join the College of Cardinals.

"It should be a joyous event,“ current Bishop George W. Coleman said in a statement. "The celebration is planned...to offer thanksgiving and prayers in the context of a Mass as he begins this new ministry of service to Pope Benedict and the universal church.”

The Mass will be at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 3 p.m. Because of the cathedral's limited capacity, admission will be by ticket only.

A public reception is planned for Cardinal O'Malley after the Mass at White’s of Westport, beginning at 6 p.m.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:09 PM | Comment

Lynch seeks maximum penalty for band manager

PROVIDENCE -- Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch is recommending that the former Great White band manager be sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for setting off pyrotechnics that caused the catastrophic fire at The Station nightclub -- the maximum he can be ordered to serve based on a plea-agreement the defendant entered into with prosecutors two months ago.

In a memo submitted late yesterday to Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr., Lynch recommends that Daniel M. Biechele, who has pleaded guilty to 100 charges of involuntary manslaughter, be given a 15-year sentence with 10 years to serve, and that he be placed on five years' probation upon release from prison. Biechele is scheduled to be sentenced May 8.

Lynch, in a press statement released today, said that even though Biechele has accepted responsibility for his actions and has no prior criminal record, he should be ordered to serve the maximum sentence allowed in the plea agreement.

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

"I recognize that the court faces the difficult task of fashioning a sentence for a defendant who -- but for the unconscionably reckless and irresponsible act of igniting pyrotechnic explosives in a tiny, overcrowded nightclub --has no prior criminal history, has accepted criminal responsibility for his actions, and has cooperated with law enforcement, beginning almost immediately after the tragic fire began."

However, said Lynch, "It is the reckless and irresponsible nature of the defendant's conduct...that I believe should drive the court's ultimate sentencing decision. Mr. Biechele's actions contributed to the deaths of 100 unsuspecting and innocent people. He acted callously, carelessly, irresponsibly and criminally. The extent of harm that his conduct caused is incalculable and everlasting. Those left behind will never again experience the lives, laughter, wisdom and love of their loved ones. For these reasons, Mr. Biechele should serve the maximum prison term that could be fashioned in this case."

In his statement, Lynch said expressed sorrow for all of the victims' survivors but said "our resolve to see this case, and the cases of Mr. Biechele's co-defendants through to justice, remains deeper."

Biechele's co-defendants, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, the owners of The Station, have each pleaded not-guilty to 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter and are to be tried separately, beginning July 31.

The Feb. 20, 2003, fire at the West Warwick club killed 100 people and injured about 200.

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 12:26 PM | Comment

Body removed from Pawtucket shopping center

PAWTUCKET -- Authorities were extracting a body from a crashed vehicle around noon today in a shopping center off East Avenue, near the Providence line.

The site was the scene of a shooting this morning.

Police have blocked the area from the Blackstone Boulevard to Pidge Avenue.

More to come on projo.com ...

-- With reports from Journal staff writer John Castellucci

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:16 PM | Comment

Police investigating shooting on East Side/Pawtucket line

PAWTUCKET -- Local police are investigating a shooting this morning on the edge of Providence's East Side.

Authorities are not immediately releasing any information, but they have blocked part of East Avenue from the base of Blackstone Boulevard to Pidge Street.

Several bullet casings were left in the parking lot of the Cumberland Farms on the corner of Pidge Street and East Avenue, and a car involved in the incident has crashed and is lying on its side in front of a nearby auto repair shop, Tomasso Auto, on East Avenue.

The police have not released any information about the driver of the car. One ambulance is on the scene.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Cynthia Needham

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:33 AM | Comment

Bridge Blog: Nobody blinked

From projo.com bridge demolition correspondent Kate Bramson:

If you blinked, you missed it.

And nobody wanted to miss it. They stood on the beach staring toward the doomed Jamestown bridge as the strong wind made their eyes water.

When it was over, there wasn't a lot of cheering. Just talk. Spectators quickly cleared the beach and headed to cars parked at the URI Bay Campus in Narragansett.

Then they waited again -- in traffic.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:23 AM | Comment

Bridge blog: Orange sparks, gray smoke -- and it's gone

From our projo.com demolition correspondent Kate Bramson, at the University of Rhode Island's Bay campus, as she watched the old Jamestown Bridge explode:

Orange sparks

Gray smoke

There goes the boom

And a real big rumble

It's like a big parade

Everybody's cheering and smiling

A light mist left behind

It's all gone

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 11:02 AM | Comment

Bridge Blog: Bridge blown up

The bridge has been blown up, and it's fallen into the Bay, leaving behind clouds of black smoke.

After a countdown, the deck was demolished, dropping into the water with a big splash.

It was over in seconds.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:59 AM | Comment

Bridge Blog: This crowd is ready for the show / Photo

Journal photo / Kris Craig
The crowd was gathering at the University of Rhode Island's Bay campus in Narragansett, one of the few public viewing locations to see the bridge come falling down.

From Journal demolition correspondent Kate Bramson:

As the sun beats down on the beach from clear blue skies, the crowd boos a little with word from DOT officials that the demolition time has been pushed back to 11 a.m.

They're ready for this explosion.

It's a mixed crowd here -- locals with strong memories of the bridge and young boys and URI students who want to see a great explosion.

Some young boys in jeans have wandered into the water and are now wet up to their knees.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:52 AM | Comment

Bridge Blog: Shivering, singing and waiting

From projo.com's demolition correspondent Kate Bramson:

On the small public beach at the end of South Ferry Road, hundreds of people are sitting on beach chairs, on blankets and braving the wind.

The wind is strong and loud -- so loud that the people here may not hear the explosion, according to DOT experts, said Dick Horn, the executive director of the URI Transportation Center.

At 10 a.m., Horn had just finished counting cars on campus. He said there were just under 300.

"Those cars," he said, "were just full of people."

"The age range was really impressive, from really young to quite old," he said.

The last Horn heard from DOT officials, the explosion is set for 10:45 a.m. -- as long as all goes as planned. The wind is heading in the right direction -- away from the new Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge,and south toward this beach, where people are shivering, talking and singing.

Sitting under a blanket, Tanner and Emily Buterbaugh are practicing their songs for the North Kingstown Recreation Department's upcoming Sound of Music perfromance.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:25 AM | Comment

Bridge Blog: 'I just want to see it blow up.'

From projo.com's demolition correspondent Kate Bramson:

As the projo.com correspondent dedicated to covering the demolition of the old Jamestown Bridge, I set out this morning to get a sense of who's interested in this bridge explosion.

Is it just native Rhode Islanders, or is it anyone interested in watching a good show?

I haven't really determined the answer to that yet, because the folks I've met are from around here -- Newport, Saunderstown, Aquidneck Island.

Linda Gatewood is here with her two sons and a couple of friends. They live just up the road from the URI Bay Campus in Saunderstown, but Linda grew up in Massachusetts.

They brought a couple of folding chairs, and they're ready for the show.

"You go through life trying to prevent things from blowing up," said this mom with her 5-year-old and 10-year-old sons in tow.

So today, she's excited to see this "controlled explosion" they've been hearing so much about.

The boys are ready, too.

"I just want to see it blow up," 10-year-old Drew told me.

And later, he was really interested about whether he would also show up on projo.com today.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:02 AM | Comment

Mass. residents must file taxes by midnight tonight

Massachusetts residents have until midnight tonight to file their tax returns, but the deadline has passed for Rhode Islanders.

Residents of most states had until yesterday to file, because April 15 fell on a Saturday, but Bay State residents were given even more time, because the Patriots' Day holiday was celebrated in Massachusetts yesterday.

For helpful information and links, check out projo.com/business/taxes.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:16 AM | Comment

Rain showers expected today

Rain could fall on spectators lining up today to watch the demolition of the old Jamestown Bridge.
The National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., calls for a chance of rain, mainly before noon today, with a high near 57 degrees. Wind will blow from the north at 14 to 18 mph, with gusts up to 32.

The bridge demolition is scheduled for between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation's Web site this morning does not indicate any change in that plan because of the forecast.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment