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October 25, 2006

House fire displaces 7 in Providence

PROVIDENCE -- A minor house fire broke out this afternoon at a three-story wood-frame house at 131 Wadsworth St.

The fire started at 4:43 p.m. and was under control 20 minutes later, according to the Providence Fire Department. There were no injuries.

Four adults and three children who live at the house are being dislocated for a few days, according to the American Red Cross, Rhode Island Chapter. They are all staying with family and friends, but the Red Cross is helping with food and providing financial assistance.

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:54 PM | Comment

Update: Plunder Dome witness shows up in Senate race

PROVIDENCE -- U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee continued criticizing his Democratic opponent Sheldon Whitehouse today, charging the former attorney general with incompetence and a "continuing pattern of putting his ambition over duty."

The press conference late this morning was the second called by the Chafee campaign to attack his opponent in the last seven days. Two separate polls released yesterday showed Chafee trailing his opponent by at least 5 percentage points, with the election less than two weeks away.

At last week's event -- held on the federal courthouse steps -- Chafee claimed that Whitehouse failed to pursue criminal charges in the Roger Williams Medical Center corruption case.

Today's press conference was held outside the Providence office of JKL Engineering, owned by Antonio Freitas, undercover informant and star witness in the FBI's Plunder Dome case that targeted City Hall corruption.

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Chafee, at a press conference outside JKL Engineering, owned by Plunder Dome star witness Antonio Freitas, displays a 2002 Providence Journal photo of Whitehouse and former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. at the dedication of an assisted-living facility.

Chafee said that Whitehouse has improperly taken credit for the Plunder Dome prosecutions that really came under the watch of Whitehouse's successor, U.S. Attorney Margaret Curran.

Chafee's campaign displayed a 2002 Journal photo showing a smiling Whitehouse next to former Providence Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci Jr., who is now serving time in prison for corruption. In the picture, Whitehouse points to an old Cianci campaign button similar to his own.

Later, Freitas told reporters that he distrusted Whitehouse, and only agreed to work undercover for the FBI in 1998 if his identity was kept a secret from Whitehouse to avoid leaks to Cianci.

But Freitas’s news conference veered off into his domestic-abuse convictions in 2000-01, including unsubstantiated allegations that his subsequent imprisonment was the result of a political deal between Whitehouse and Cianci.

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Sheldon Whitehouse holds a press conference outside the Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Warwick after the Chafee press conference.

After the Democratic party operative filming the Chafee news conference told the Whitehouse camp what was said, Whitehouse held his own hastily called news conference outside the Warwick offices of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“For Senator Chafee to minimize this man’s criminal record, this man’s record of violence against women, is truly atrocious," Whitehouse said. "It is a measure of how desperate Senator Chafee has become and how low he and his campaign will stoop to execute the Republican smear strategy that we are seeing across the country.’’

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples with reports from Journal staff writers Katherine Gregg and Mike Stanton

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:51 PM | Comment

AG asks for release of Station fire grand jury testimony

PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick Lynch has asked the head of the state Superior Court to make public testimony presented to the grand jury that eventually indicted Daniel Biechele and Jeffrey and Michael Derderian for manslaughter in The Station fire case.

A statewide grand jury was impaneled within days of the February 2003 fire at the West Warwick nightclub that killed 100 people. The grand jury conducted an independent, 10-month-long investigation before charging the three. All three pleaded out, averting any disclosure of the testimony during a trial.

Normally, grand jury materials are secret. But in rare circumstances, they can be released with the permission of the presiding judge of the Superior Court, in this case, Joseph F. Rodgers.

Lynch promised to release evidence pertaining to the high-profile case after he announced the plea bargain involving the Derderians.

"Disclosure of the grand jury testimony will serve the public interest because it will provide insight as to the scope and nature of the investigation," Lynch said today in a statement. "This case has generated more public comment and scrutiny than any other case in our state's recent history. If and when the court decides to release this information, the people of Rhode Island can make their own decisions about how and why this tragedy occurred."

Rodgers plans to announce a procedure tomorrow for reviewing Lynch's petition. It's unclear how soon the grand jury testimony could be released if Rodgers agrees with Lynch.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples with reports from Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:44 PM | Comment

Photo: A wolf in the hand ...

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

Magpie, a 4-year-old wolf, visited Archie R. Cole Middle School in East Greenwich today to educate students and teachers about the role wolves play in the environment. Above, the wolf meets Kelly Grennan, a seventh-grade science teacher at Cole.

Magpie, who was born in captivity, traveled with Kent Weber and Tracy Brooks, co-founders of Mission: Wolf, a Colorado sanctuary and education center. They had visited East Greenwich High School the night before, and the wolf met students at schools in Smithfield and Pawtucket yesterday.

-- Journal environmental writer Michelle J. Lee

Posted by Peter Phipps at 5:40 PM | Comment

Harrah's third-quarter profits up on Vegas results

LAS VEGAS -- Harrah's Entertainment says its third-quarter profit rose 5 percent.

Harrah's says an incentives program drove players to its properties in Las Vegas during the third quarter. But it missed analysts' expectations because of poor performance in Atlantic City.

In Rhode Island, the world's largest casino company is looking to operate a casino in West Warwick in partnership with the Narragansett Indian Tribe.

State voters will decide next month whether to approve a proposed constitutional amendment allowing the casino to be built, and Harrah's is spending millions of dollars on its campaign.

Harrah's officials did not make any comments about a buyout bid by two private equity firms. But it did say a special committee of non-management directors continued to appraise the offer.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:07 PM | Comment

Langevin, Driver will debate tonight

U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, a Democrat, faces off against his independent challenger, Rod Driver, in a live debate tonight to be televised on Channel 36, Rhode Island PBS.

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the debate is at 7:30 p.m. It will be re-broadcast on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Read more about Driver and Langevin in Journal profiles.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:37 PM | Comment

Carcieri files complaint against labor's Working RI

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri's campaign filed a complaint with the state Board of Elections today, accusing the union-backed group Working Rhode Island of illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into this year's election.

Carcieri has requested a temporary restraining order to bar Working Rhode Island from contributing to any campaign that opposes Carcieri or promotes the ballot question involving the West Warwick casino.

Working Rhode Island is not registered as a political action committee with the state Board of Elections, although any group that accepts contributions for advocating the election of any candidate or ballot question must do so.

The group received $200,000 in September from the Harrah's-backed Rhode Islanders for Jobs and Tax Relief, according to a Board of Elections filing. In the past, Working Rhode Island has run television ads criticizing Carcieri, though it's unclear what the group did with the latest contribution.

The group did not immediately return a message requesting comment.

“Working R.I. has repeatedly broken Rhode Island election laws by laundering union money to fund political advertisements against Governor Carcieri," said Carcieri campaign manager Kenneth K. McKay in a statement.

"Not only did they produce and send out flyers advocating that Governor Carcieri be fired, but they even ran television ads against the Governor during the last election cycle. The facts are clear: Working RI has been operating as an illegal PAC.”

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:22 PM | Comment

Globe says former GE CEO is looking to buy the paper

BOSTON -- In a story that runs across the top of today's Globe, the newspaper writes that retired General Electric Co. chief executive Jack Welch and advertising executive Jack Connors have been exploring the possibility of making an offer to buy the paper from The New York Times Co.

The Globe story, which called Welch and Connors "two of Boston's best-known businessmen," cited several unnamed executives who have participated in the discussions.

The Globe said neither Welch nor Connors would comment and said its sources have cautioned that the plans are preliminary.

The newspaper said the executives are working with investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. to evaluate a potential deal, and that JPMorgan has valued the Globe at $550 to $600 million, below the $1.1 billion the Times Co. paid in 1993. A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment to the Globe.

The Times Co. has said the Globe, despite its continued weak financial results, is not for sale.

Posted by Peter Phipps at 9:13 AM | Comment

It's going to warm up

PROVIDENCE – It’s just 37 degrees out there at this hour, but temps should climb to the low 50s today.

That’s about the sum of it this week, lows in the mid- to upper-30s and highs in the low 50s.

Looking ahead to this weekend, the National Weather Service is predicting a 70 percent chance of rain on Saturday and a mostly sunny day on Sunday.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:00 AM | Comment