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August 11, 2006

State closes two South Kingstown beaches

The State Health Department today closed two South Kingstown beaches today Matunuck Beach on Matunuck Beach Road and the Willow Dell Beach Club 156 Card's Pond Road.

The state tested the beaches yesterday. The state cites unacceptable levels of enterococci bacteria on its web site.

The bacteria, associated with human sewage, can most commonly cause urinary tract and wound infections, according to several medical sites on the internet.

No date is given to reopen the two ocean beaches, which are next to each other.

Posted by Peter Phipps at 6:01 PM | Comment

Coming tomorrow: the million-dollar weather vane

From 1882 to 1971, a five-foot long copper weather vane topped the Woonsocket train depot. The craftsmanship of the 19th century-style locomotive and its coal car was unmistakable.

Through storms and every change of the wind, it was an unofficial symbol of the city. And now for an eye-opening $1.2 million, Woonsocket's treasure belongs to Pawtucket antiques dealer Richard Kazarian Jr.

Get the full story on Kazarian's recent purchase, and the weather vane's travels since 1971, tomorrow in The Providence Journal and on projo.com.

John Hill, Journal staff writer

Posted by Peter Phipps at 5:44 PM | Comment

Royal visitor to get star treatment at Newport jazz fest

NEWPORT -- When it comes to mingling in high society, the presence of a royal is, shall we say, the creme de la creme.

And that's what will happen this weekend, when the City by the Sea hosts Prince Albert II, ruler of Monaco, as a special guest of the Newport Jazz Festival.

The prince's personal connections add to the cache. He's the son of the late Grace Kelly, who starred in the 1956 movie High Society, filmed here with a story line that tied into the early days of the jazz fest.

He's scheduled to attend tonight's opening of JVC Jazz Festival-Newport to see singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli and his big band perform a tribute to Frank Sinatra at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, following an invitation-only cocktail reception at The Elms.

Tomorrow and Sunday, the festival's setting will be the shorefront grounds of Fort Adams State Park.
Click here for more information about the festival.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:23 PM | Comment

Narragansetts hold annual pow-wow this weekend

CHARLESTOWN -- The Narragansett Indian Tribe is planning to hold its annual pow-wow this weekend.

The tribe says the event numbers its 331st annual recording August meeting, dubbed the Green Corn Thanksgiving.

It will be open to the public, on tribal lands on Route 2. Gates are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. each day, with the major ceremonies planned for 1 p.m.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:21 PM | Comment

Carcieri asks Bush to boost taxes on big oil

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri says the United States needs to stop subsidizing oil companies and increase taxes on their profits.

Carcieri sent a letter to President Bush today asking him to support a windfall profits tax on the oil industry, which earned more than $110 billion last year.

He also says Congress must repeal subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies.

Carcieri's letter says he is asking the president to take action because rising gasoline prices have created a national crisis.

John Bisney, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, says more taxes won't solve the problem. He says a windfall profits tax passed under President Jimmy Carter resulted in a drop in oil production, not prices.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:47 PM | Comment

Photo: Out of the shadows

Journal photo / Bob Thayer
Men and women line up on the Battleship Massachusetts today before a naturalization ceremony in Fall River. Thirty-four people were administered the oath of citizenship by Superior Court Judge Judge Frances A. McIntyre. A citizenship ceremony is held on the battleship each year as part of Fall River Celebrates America, which continues through the weekend with concerts, carnival rides and other activities.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:49 PM | Comment

Beacon to reduce rates by 16 percent

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri announced today that state regulators have approved a plan by Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. to reduce workers’ compensation insurance rates for Rhode Island employers by an average of 16 percent, less than half the reduction requested by the state’s attorney general.

The rate cut is to be effective for all new or renewed policies as of Oct. 1.

State Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch last month called on Beacon to slash its rates by 34.5 percent, citing the company’s large market share, its financial success and its mission to serve as the "insurer of last report.’’

The state Department of Business Regulation said that the issues raised by the attorney general "require further review and analysis,’’ so regulators had decided to allow the 16 percent reduction pending a full investigation at a further rate hearing, according to an Aug. 10th letter from the agency’s director, A. Michael Marques, to Beacon’s acting chief executive officer, Clifford Parent.

-- Journal staff writer Lynn Arditti

Beacon, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is the state’s dominant workers’ compensation insurance carrier, providing coverage to about 90 percent of all Rhode Island employers.

The company has been the subject of an investigation by independent auditors, the state attorney general and a statewide grand jury about allegations of mismanagement and favoritism in pricing. State regulators are also in the process of conducting a "market conduct" examination of the insurance company.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:51 AM | Comment

Green travelers getting accustomed to new restrictions

WARWICK – T.F. Green Airport has been busy this morning -- but not as busy as yesterday -- in the wake of the thwarted terrorist plot in London.

Airline passengers appear to have gotten the message about what they can and cannot bring on board, Green spokeswoman Patti Goldstein said this morning.

Security lines snaked through the airport early yesterday morning as people dealt with the new travel restrictions. There was some confusion about whether lipstick and lip gloss were allowed on flights, Goldstein said. They are not.

“The best thing to do, whenever in doubt, is to pack it in your checked bags,” Goldstein said.

That way, you won’t have to throw it away, she said, as many people did with all kinds of health care products they had left in their carry-on bags after checking luggage.

During peak travel times -- 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. -- Goldstein recommends that passengers arrive 90 minutes to two hours before their flights.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:44 AM | Comment

Update: DOT kicks off Providence River Bridge movement

Rhode Island Department of Transportation officials will hold a kickoff press event today as they gear up to tow the 5.5-million-pound Providence River Bridge up Narragansett Bay and into place.

The bridge is the signature structure of the Interstate 195 relocation project.

The DOT initially planned to begin lifting the bridge into place tomorrow. However, due to some materials being held up in customs, they now plan to lift the bridge into place next Tuesday and actually move it to Providence on Aug. 21 or Aug. 22.

Today’s event is set for 1 p.m. at Pier 2 at Quonset Point.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:23 AM | Comment

Runners seeking world harmony in R.I. today

They’ll run into Rhode Island today carrying a torch and the message of harmony.

They’ll meet with children from the Pawtucket YMCA and the mayors of Cumberland, Pawtucket and Providence as they run a 44-mile route through Rhode Island.

They are about a dozen runners participating in the U.S. leg of the World Harmony Run, which seeks to strengthen international friendship and understanding.

The nonpolitical volunteer group of runners isn’t seeking donations. They’re just sharing their message, local coordinator Khipra Nichols said this morning.

“It’s more about making people aware of the spirit of harmony and how harmony begins within each individual and can be shared from person to person,” Nichols said. “So when we run with the torch, the torch symbolizes that inner harmony we can pass from person to person.”

The group expects to enter Rhode Island at 12:10 p.m. on Route 121 in Cumberland, from Wrentham, Mass. They’ll stop in Cumberland at 2:15 p.m. on the Broad Street Bridge, in Pawtucket around 2:45 p.m. on the Main Street Bridge and in Providence around 3:30 p.m. on the steps of City Hall.

Read more ...

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:50 AM | Comment

Sales-tax holiday this weekend in Massachusetts

While it's a holiday weekend for Rhode Islanders, Massachusetts hopes to entice Ocean Staters to cross the border with its annual sales-tax weekend.

Tomorrow and Sunday, the Bay State will give consumers a break on selected items, including back-to-school items and clothing. In general, the law provides for the break on non-business purchases under $2,500.

While 14 other states have sales-tax holidays, Rhode Island is not among them -- although the pressure to do so appears to be mounting.

Politicians here introduced competing tax-holiday proposals this year, spurred by the popularity of the annual tax holiday in the neighboring Bay State, and the Rhode Island Retail Federation backed the idea. But it failed over concerns about its impact on tax revenues -- a projected loss of more than $5 million over a two-day holiday.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 9:37 AM | Comment

A three-day weekend for Rhode Islanders

Rhode Island asserts its independence again this weekend, as it continues to mark Victory Day as a holiday.

That means, for many of us, this Monday is a day off. State offices are closed, though federal business goes on as usual.

Some businesses will remain open, others will decide to shut down. Most retail establishments are open, while most banks are closed.

No other state observes the day, which marks the United States' victory over Japan in 1945 and the end of World War II. It is commemorated on the second Monday in August.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 9:05 AM | Comment

'Big Papi' to get big Maine lobster feast

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Forty-one Maine lobsters -- one for each of his home runs this season -- will be delivered to Red Sox slugger David Ortiz before the start of today's game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.

Maine Gov. John Baldacci says he is sending "Big Papi" the lobsters and an invitation to visit the state because Ortiz loves seafood but says he's never been to Maine.

Baldacci's invitation followed a Maine Day interview at Fenway last month. He said he wasn't sure how far away Maine was or even how to get there.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:59 AM | Comment

A comfortable day on the way, unusually cool tonight

The National Weather Service is forecasting a dry, partly cloudy day with a high temperature of 77 degrees for the Providence area.

The temperature tonight will be unusually cool and could approach record lows, dropping into the 50s and even the 40s in some areas, the weather service says.

The weekend looks great, sunny with highs in the upper 70s.

For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment