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May 16, 2006

Forecast: Seeking sun? Look to the east

Anyone in Rhode Island who's awake tomorrow at 5:24 a.m. can look to the east and see something that hasn't happened in a while.

The sun will shine.

After several consecutive days of dreary, wet, weather, the National Weather Service is predicting a sunny start for tomorrow with highs in the mid-70s. Mostly clear skies are expected through the morning.

But don't get used to it.

Clouds are expected to return as the day progresses. And the National Weather Service is predicting the possibility of showers.

P.S. Why wait until tomorrow when you can have some sun today? If you're in the Providence area, blue skies have already broken out.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:47 PM | Comment

Senate candidate Whitehouse's TV ads start today

PROVIDENCE -- Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse will appear on television sets across the state today as the U.S. Senate candidate unveils his first televised ads.

The two alternating, 60-second spots trumpet Whitehouse's pedigreed upbringing (his father was U.S. ambassador to Laos and Thailand), political backers (Democratic U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, among them) and professional credentials (former President Bill Clinton appointed him U.S. attorney for Rhode Island).

The Whitehouse campaign has booked a reported $96,990 worth of ads running through May 22 on network television.

The spots are scheduled to run 29 times on WJAR TV (NBC 10) at a cost of $52,500; 14 times on WLNE (ABC 6) at a $6,240 cost; 7 times on WNAC (Fox) at a $7,860 cost, and 30 times on WPRI (CBS 12) at a $30,390 cost.

Whitehouse would face the winner of the Republican primary -- incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chafee or Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey -- in November.

-- Journal staff writer Katherine Gregg

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:27 PM | Comment

Release of arrest record bounced to high court

PROVIDENCE -- State Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg refused to decide this afternoon whether to make public an arrest report for the man police allege murdered 8-year-old Savannah Smith.

Goldberg ordered the full arrest report for 20-year-old Joshua A. Davis of Woonsocket to be sealed until Thursday, at which time the full state Supreme Court could review the matter.

Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Fortunato Jr. ruled yesterday that Cranston police must release the public record. "I think there is an overriding public interest in this," he said.

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch appealed Fortunato's ruling to the Supreme Court, arguing that the release of the report would jeopardize the police investigation.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Mark Arsenault

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:19 PM | Comment

Update: Flood watch off, warm temps on the way / Photo

PROVIDENCE -- The National Weather Service this afternoon cancelled the flood watch for Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and the majority of New England.

Some flooding is still occurring in portions of New Hampshire and northeast Massachusetts, but renewed substantial flooding is not expected during the next two days.

The National Weather Service warns that existing lowland flooding across New England could continue for several days, but that the worst appears to be over.

Skies should turn partly cloudy tonight, with showers. As for tomorrow, some clouds will remain, but no rain is called for, and temperatures could hit -- the lower 70s.

Check projo.com for the latest forecasts.

Posted by Jack Perry at 5:11 PM | Comment

Casino bid tied to Johnston council vote tonight

JOHNSTON -- The Town Council plans to vote tonight on a measure that would move Johnston one step closer to becoming home to a casino owned by Donald Trump.

The council will consider a resolution requesting that the General Assembly enact legislation to allow local voters to vote in November as to "whether a destination resort casino shall be allowed in town."

The meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Johnston Municipal Court, 1395 Atwood Ave.

There is no guarantee, however, that voters will have a chance to weigh in on the measure, even if the Town Council approves it tonight.

Trump's proposal, like a similar proposal to bring a casino to West Warwick, would require the state Constitution to be changed -- something that requires a General Assembly vote and another statewide vote in the November election.

A recent poll found that Rhode Island voters are evenly split on whether to change the constitution to accommodate a casino.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:36 PM | Comment

Supreme Court hears argument to suppress record

PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick Lynch has appealed yesterday's Superior Court ruling ordering Cranston police to release the arrest report for Joshua A. Davis, the 20-year-old Woonsocket man accused of murdering 8-year-old Savannah Smith.

Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg will hear arguments today at 3 p.m. from lawyers for Lynch and The Providence Journal, which sued Cranston police for failing to release Davis' complete arrest report.

Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Fortunato Jr. ruled yesterday that Cranston police must release the public record. "I think there is an overriding public interest in this," he said.

Fortunato ordered Cranston police to release the record by 4:30 p.m. today, pending the outcome of today's appeal.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Mark Arsenault

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:56 PM | Comment

3 teens hospitalized after Newport brawl

NEWPORT -- Three teenagers were hospitalized after being beaten with baseball bats during a street fight involving more than 50 people last night in the Tonomy Hill housing complex.

Two were transferred to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence last night, while the third was treated at Newport Hospital. None of the injuries are considered life threatening.

Police responded to the scene at the intersection of Chadwick and Hillside streets, at about 7 p.m., just after the fight had ended.

Newport Police Lt. Michael Brennan said the violence stemmed from a dispute between two neighborhood families. The “animosity between the two families has grown into physical conflicts over the last several weeks,” he said.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Gina Macris

The police arrested two teens and 19-year-old Keara Taylor, of 19 Evans St., on charges of felony assault. A third teen was arrested for possession of a knife and disorderly conduct.

While police confiscated at least one knife after arriving at the scene of the brawl, there were no stabbings reported.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Gina Macris

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:50 PM | Comment

Update: Hundreds attend Woonsocket girl's funeral

WOONSOCKET -- Hundreds of people gathered this morning in Woonsocket for the funeral of Savannah Smith, the 8-year-old Woonsocket girl found slain in Cranston last week.

Police officers, young schoolchildren and teachers filled the pews at Sacred Heart Church to remember the second-grader. Rev. Ronald J. Bengford told the crowd to remember how much Savannah liked to play in the park. And he reminded them of her "spunkiness."

When the hour-long service ended at about 11:30 a.m., many drove through pouring rain to the burial site in Blackstone, Mass.

Prosecutors say Smith was taken by her neighbor, 20-year-old Joshua Davis, on May 7. The police found her body in Cranston the next morning. Davis is being held without bail on a murder charge.

At the cemetery, heavy rain continued as Savannah's small white casket was moved to the gravesite. The girl's parents, siblings, and extended family attended the burial, as did police officers from Woonsocket and Cranston, where Savannah's body was discovered.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Cynthia Needham

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:20 PM | Comment

Update: Harsh sentence for Hatch

PROVIDENCE -- Survivor star Richard Hatch was sentenced today to serve 51 months in prison for tax evasion and perjury, plus three years of supervised release after his sentence.

U.S. District Court Judge Ernest Torres gave Hatch a harsher sentence after finding that Hatch had perjured himself on the witness stand and had given false information to authorities.

Hatch, of Newport, had been convicted Jan. 25 of two counts of tax evasion and one count of filing a false income tax return. Federal guidelines had called for a sentence ranging from 33 to 41 months on those charges.

After an eight-day trial, a federal jury concluded that Hatch had failed to report multiple sources of income, including the Pontiac Aztec and $1 million he won on the first season of Survivor, the $320,000 he received for cohosting a Boston radio program and $27,000 he collected in rent.

Hatch has been held at the Plymouth (Mass.) County Correctional Facility since his conviction.

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:13 PM | Comment

Fire guts former tavern in Cranston / Photo

Journal photo / Bill Murphy
A Cranston fire fighter examines the back of the former Bowling Green Tavern this morning following an overnight fire.

CRANSTON -- A fire, erupting shortly after midnight this morning, gutted the former Bowling Green Tavern, at 411 Niantic Ave.

The building was apparently vacant, and no injuries were reported.

The city ordered the tavern closed in April 2003 after inspections conducted in the wake of The Station nightclub fire found code violations there.

-- Journal staff writer Zachary R. Mider

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:47 AM | Comment

Carcieri to be briefed on Newport shipwrecks

NEWPORT -- Governor Carcieri will be in Newport this afternoon to discuss the recent discovery of the remains of four Revolutionary War British ships waters off Newport Harbor.

The governor will be briefed by the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project, which has led exploration efforts. The discovery means a total of six Revolutionary War-era shipwrecks have now been found in waters off Newport.

RIMAP officials believe there is a strong chance the ship, the Endeavour, which sailed to Australia under British Capt. James Cook as part of an around the world voyage in 1770, may be among the other shipwrecks remaining in waters off Newport.

Today's briefing will take place at 1 p.m. in the Old Colony House -- a pre-Revolutionary War structure -- on Washington Square.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:45 AM | Comment