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January 8, 2007

Pawtucket toddler killed by falling TV

PAWTUCKET -- A 3-year-old girl died early today after a television that sat on a stand toppled on her as she apparently tried to reach the remote control, the Pawtucket police said.

The death appears to be an accident, but Pawtucket Police are awaiting the results of the medical examiner, said Det. Maj. John J. Whiting.

The child lived at 560 Prospect Heights, Apt. 283, with her mother. Her mother told police that she would sleep on the couch on the first floor of the two-floor apartment with the child out of fear that if she slept on the second floor the child would go downstairs in the middle of the night.

The mother shut off the television and told the child it was time for bed and ran upstairs for a brief moment. While upstairs, she heard a loud crash and ran downstairs. She found the baby with the 27-inch-screen TV on top of her. The toddler sustained several head injuries, according to police.

A neighbor who heard the mother screaming took the child to Pawtucket Memorial Hospital. The toddler was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m.

-- Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:56 PM | Comment

Weather update: Gray skies shifting to sunny start

It was gray -- for a day.

The wet, but mild, weather, is heading out of our area, to be replaced by clearing skies tonight. A flood watch on for earlier today is now off.

A sunny start is expected for tomorrow, followed by partly cloudy skies.

Then, as Wednesday arrives, the National Weather Service says, it will -- finally -- be seasonably cold and dry. "Blustery" west winds will develop, too, making it feel even chillier. Thursday will be cold, too, but with more sun.

And by Friday, mild weather returns to southern New England, at least for a day or two.

On Sunday? Well, if the Patriots were playing their playoff game at Gillette, we might care more, with locally heavy rains possible. But they'll be in San Diego, where the long-range forecast calls for mostly sunny skies, highs 58 to 63.

Flood watch extended
Posted 12:45 p.m.
The National Weather Service has extended its flood watch into the afternoon as heavy rains continue to fall across Rhode Island.

The weather service says that the heaviest rains from today's storm are expected to fall in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts by about 2 p.m. Rainfall totals could reach 2 inches today in some areas.

The heavy rains will likely cause areas of urban and poor drainage flooding, according to the weather service, which also said that an isolated thunderstorm is possible.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:45 PM | Comment

Prudence Island man dies after being found in woods

An 83-year-old Prudence Island man who was reported missing from his home and then found by firefighters last week has died, a Newport Hospital spokeswoman said tonight.

Thomas Swindells died at 10:04 p.m. Saturday, according to hospital spokeswoman Margaret O'Keefe. She said privacy rules prevented her from divulging the cause of his death, but added that he had been suffering from hypothermia, a dangerous lowering of the body's temperature.

Swindells had been found at 10:45 a.m. Friday in a wooded area a half mile north of his home, Fire Chief Jeffrey P. Lynch said. Swindells was first reported missing around 4 p.m. Thursday.

Lynch said Swindells suffered from a medical illness "many elders have" and "just couldn't find his way back home."

Swindells was taken to Newport Hospital for treatment.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker

Posted by Paul Parker at 6:42 PM | Comment

Officials: No new cases of mycoplasma pneumoniae

PROVIDENCE -- State and federal health officials said today that they have discovered no new cases of the mycoplasma pneumoniae that killed a 7-year-old Warwick boy last month.

In an announcement released this afternoon, the state Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control said they are continuing to look at West Bay schools where three students -- including the Warwick boy -- have had illnesses related to the mycoplasma. The schools being monitored include Greenwood Elementary in Warwick; Oak Haven Elementary and Blackrock Elementary in Coventry; and the John F. Deering Middle School in West Warwick.

State officials are also working today to distribute 15,000 hand sanitizing gel dispensers to all elementary, middle and high schools in the state, per an executive order signed by Governor Carcieri last week.

About half the dispensers were delivered this morning, according to the health department. The other half were expected to be delivered by the end of the day.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples and Journal staff writer Talia Buford

It seems the disinfectant gels will have a permanent home in at least the Warwick school system, Supt. Robert Shapiro said today.

“We’re setting up the disinfectant gels in the classrooms as I speak and this is going to be ongoing,” he said. “We will have teachers and health classes encourage students about keeping up with their personal hygiene. That’s the key. That’s what it’s all about.”

Shapiro said school absence levels today across the district were at normal levels - about 7.8 percent in the elementary schools and 11 percent in secondary schools.

In West Warwick, attendance levels this morning were down slightly in at least two elementary schools, said Supt. David Raiche, though final figures were not expected until the end of the day. Still, Raiche said, a "sense of calm" was returning to the schools.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples and Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:55 PM | Comment

Mollis' stepson had October brush with police

The troubled stepson of Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, who was charged with attempted murder last week, had another brush with the police in North Providence last October, but was not charged. Mollis was the mayor of North Providence at the time.

According to the police report, Gian Piscione, 19, was with Seth Beauchaine at a gas station in North Providence when a patrolman smelled marijuana on them. The report says that they appeared nervous and got into the car and crouched down; "it appeared to me that the two subjects were attempting to put something under the seats.’’

The police searched both men and the car, which was operated by Beauchaine and belonged to Beauchaine’s mother, and found a small plastic bag of marijuana in the glove compartment.

According to the report, the interior of the car smelled of marijuana. Police also seized a glass bowl used for smoking marijuana.

Beauchaine told the police that the marijuana was his, and that Piscione was unaware of its presence. Piscione also denied knowledge of the marijuana in the glove compartment, and the police, who patted him down twice, did not find any on his person.

Piscione and Beauchaine both admitted to smoking marijuana earlier that night.

Beauchaine was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana and taken to the police station and booked.

Piscione was not charged, since no marijuana was found on his person and both men said that Piscione was unaware of the marijuana in the glove compartment.

Instead, the police report says that they called a relative of Piscione’s, Ernest Carlucci, who is Mollis’ cousin. Carlucci, who is the chief of staff for new Cranston Mayor Michael Napolitano, came to the gas station and gave Piscione a ride home.

Mollis told The Journal this afternoon that Piscione was not living at home at the time, and that he did not learn of the incident until a few days later. He said that no influence was brought to bear.

Mollis said that he learned of the incident from his chief of staff, John Fleming, whom the police contacted that night. Fleming happened to be with Carlucci, who agreed to go get Piscione.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:35 PM | Comment

Bevilacqua ordered held in prison pending hearing

BOSTON -- Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr. briefly appeared in U.S. District Court here today, bound in shackles and handcuffs, three days after being charged with scheming to collect $150,000 from drug-dealer clients to manipulate the criminal-justice system.

Lawyer John M. Cicilline, the brother of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, was also charged in the alleged scheme and arraigned last Friday. He was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

Bevilacqua, a Rhode Island lawyer disbarred for leaking a confidential FBI videotape to Rhode Island TV newsman Jim Taricani, was ordered today to serve the final days of an 18-month federal prison sentence for the leak. That term will expire on Jan. 17.

The next day, Jan. 18, Bevilacqua is scheduled to appear again in the Boston federal court to be arraigned for the new charges, which include conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

Bevilacqua will spend the next nine days in the Barnstable House of Corrections. He had been serving the final days of his 18-month sentence on home confinement.

Also appearing in Boston federal court today was Lisa Torres, 39, of Cranston, who was arrested at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick about midnight Thursday as she returned home on a flight from the Dominican Republic. Torres is an alleged conspirator in the scheme.

She was ordered held without bail today pending a Thursday hearing.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:13 PM | Comment

Update: Police ID man killed in Hopkinton crash

HOPKINTON – A 27-year-old Connecticut father was thrown from the vehicle and killed and his 2-year-old daughter was seriously injured when the car they were riding in went out of control and flipped on Route 95 South yesterday afternoon.

The police today identified the man as Marquis Polidore of Groton, Conn., an active U.S. Navy serviceman. He was not wearing a seatbelt, State Police Capt. James Swanberg said.

Polidore’s daughter, Marissa Polidore, is in critical condition this afternoon at Hasbro Children's Hospital, according to the hospital. She was in a child car seat, Swanberg said.

The police do not believe drugs or alcohol, excessive speed or reckless driving were factors in the crash, according to Lt. Darren Delaney, patrol commander for the Hope Valley state police barracks.

The driver of the Jetta may be cited for having passengers who were not wearing seatbelts, Delaney said. That is a motor-vehicle violation.

The police continue to investigate whether the other passengers in the car were wearing seatbelts, he said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

The crash occurred shortly after 3 p.m. after a Toyota pickup truck traveling in the left of two travel lanes tried to change lanes into the right lane, after activating its turn signal, Swanberg said.

The 1997 Volkswagen Jetta in which the Polidores were traveling was in the right lane. It’s unclear if the Jetta was in the lane right next to the pickup or was approaching from behind, but the pickup driver pulled back into the left lane after partially moving over and noticing the Jetta, Swanberg said.

The vehicles made no contact, but the driver of the Jetta, 27-year-old Jennifer Stevens, lost control of the car and went into the right breakdown lane, Swanberg said. The car rolled over and came to rest in the right lane of travel.

Also in the car were Polidore’s wife and the mother of the toddler – Joanne Polidore, 24, and the front passenger, 24-year-old Joy Estoqe.

Everyone in the car was from Groton, Swanberg said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:59 PM | Comment

Kids try to build the best LEGO robot

Forty-eight teams of students ages 9 to 14 will be armed with homemade LEGO robots in a competition Saturday at Roger Williams University in Bristol.

Hundreds of students have been working for the past two months to strategize, design, build, program and test robots made of LEGOs.

Their robots will face off in a series of competitions designed to spark a passion for science and technology in children. Hosted by the university’s School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management, this is Rhode Island’s sixth annual FIRST Lego League Robotics Competition.

A Roger Williams faculty member with a Ph.D. in robotics brought the competition to the university, according to spokeswoman Sarah Knapp. Matthew Stein teaches a robotics course and coaches a team from Warwick that includes two of his own children, she said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

This is the second year in a row that Roger Williams has hosted the competition. East Providence High School hosted it for three years in a row, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center hosted the first competition, in 2002.

The competition is sponsored by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League International, an international partnership between FIRST and The LEGO Group, the company that makes LEGOs.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:54 PM | Comment

No pulse at Club Pulse; Tomasso gives up licenses

Club Pulse is closed forever.

The owner of the club has given up the fight before the city’s Board of Licenses in the wake of the fatal Christmas Day shooting at the South Providence nightclub.

Club owner Alex Tomasso did not appear before the board today.

His lawyer, Joseph A. Keough, told the board: “Mr. Tomasso’s going to permanently surrender … [the club’s] licenses to the city.”

The club had four basic licenses: liquor, nightclub, entertainment and food.

Keough offered no reason for the surrender of the licenses.

Board chairman Andrew J. Annaldo, who had expected today’s hearing on the club’s fate to be postponed, said afterward that he believes Tomasso concluded his case was unwinnable.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

--- Journal File photo

The board had suspended the club’s operating licenses at the request of police after the shooting. Tomasso had been seeking to contest the suspension.

Today, family members of the man who died in the Christmas Day shooting at the club attended the hearing.

“I am so happy and overwhelmed,” said Patrice Martin, the sister of
Kendall Marshall, who died after being shot at the club. “My heart’s
pounding right now.”

The family has been praying for several things, Martin said, including
the permanent closure of the club and a successful conclusion to the
police investigation.

No one has yet been arrested for the shooting of three people at the
club early on Dec. 25. The investigation is ongoing, Providence Maj.
Paul Fitzgerald said today.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:04 PM | Comment

In W. Warwick schools, 'sense of calm' returns

West Warwick Supt. David Raiche said a "sense of calm" is returning to town schools as they re-opened today, after state health officials deemed a case of meningitis in Coventry was not related to earlier cases in Warwick and West Warwick.

Schools had been closed since Thursday while officials waited for the results.

Though final attendance numbers will come in at the end of the day, Raiche said that at two town elementary schools -- Greenbush and Maisie Quinn -- the attendance rate was slightly below normal.

"They're both in the low 90 percent range, which is 2 to 3 percent lower than normal," he said.

Some parents are still keeping their students home at Quinn, Raiche said, though very few.

"I'm not getting calls into my office saying 'I'm going to keep my kid home until you do something else'," Raiche said. "My hope is that is diminishing, too, and that parents, if they are keeping their kids home, will feel comfortable enough to send them back pretty soon."

-- Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:01 PM | Comment

ACLU sues state police for alleged racial profiling

PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court today challenging what it calls the illegal detention of a van of Guatemalans on Interstate 95 in July.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 11 of the 14 immigrants, argues that "the actions by the state police violated the state's Racial Profiling Prevention Act, as well as the driver and passengers' constitutional rights to be free from discrimination and from unreasonable searches and seizures," according to an announcement released this morning by the ACLU.

The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the defendants violated the constitutional rights of the driver and passengers, and an award of unspecified damages and attorneys' fees.

Today's lawsuit stems from a July 11 traffic stop on Route 95 southbound in Richmond.

State trooper Thomas Chabot said he stopped the van, because the driver failed to signal a lane change. When the driver and 13 occupants could not produce immigration documents, Chabot called federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.

The 14, who now face deportation, allege that Chabot threatened to shoot or kill them if they tried to escape the van on its way to ICE headquarters in Providence.

Chabot was cleared of wrongdoing in September after an internal state police investigation, which found that the trooper "acted professionally and appropriately in this traffic stop," including his seeking involvement by federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.

The head of Rhode Island's ACLU said there's no doubt that the incident was a result of racial profiling.

“Since the license and registration papers of the van’s driver were valid and there was never any suggestion of criminal activity, the questioning and detention of the passengers was clearly based on one element: their ethnic appearance," ACLU executive director Steven Brown said. "This is the essence of racial profiling."

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:52 PM | Comment

Club Pulse hearing likely to be postponed

PROVIDENCE – A hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. today over the fate of Club Pulse, the South Providence nightclub rocked by a triple shooting on Christmas morning, is likely to be postponed.

Chairman Andrew J. Annaldo of the city’s Board of Licenses expects the hearing to be continued to a later date, because the lawyers involved in the hearing have not had enough time to confer.

Meanwhile, the club remains closed. Club ownership temporarily returned its licenses to operate and to serve alcohol to the city’s license administrator at the end of December, pending the results of a full hearing before the license board.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:47 PM | Comment

Romney starts presidential bid with fundraising blitz

BOSTON -- Republican Mitt Romney began his drive for the presidency in earnest today, gathering his national fundraisers in Boston and having them call their network of friends and colleagues in a push to raise the first of an estimated $100 million this year.

The former Massachusetts governor, just four days after leaving office, aimed to establish himself as a credible challenger for the 2008 GOP nomination with a glitzy event far different from the hot dog-and-soda fundraisers that were a staple of President Bush's two White House campaigns.

A four-screen projection TV system hung from the center of a ceiling at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, displaying pictures that included Romney in the Oval Office and at the presidential lectern.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:30 AM | Comment

Gas prices drop another penny

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have fallen one cent for the second consecutive week, according to AAA Southern New England.

The average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $2.409, one cent less than last week, according to AAA's weekly price survey.

The price dropped last week after increasing for seven straight weeks.

The average price at this time last year was $2.379.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:51 AM | Comment

R.I. woman dies in Connecticut crash

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- A 46-year-old Rhode Island woman has died in a two-car crash on Route 95 in New London.

The state police say Stephanie Gallup of Wakefield was driving south on the highway when her car hit the median guardrail, crossed into the northbound lanes and was struck by another car.

The accident occurred about 5:30 a.m. and shut down the northbound lanes for a few hours in the area of exit 82A.

The driver of the other car and a passenger in that car were taken to a New London hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The accident remains under investigation.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:45 AM | Comment

Children go back to school after health scare / Photo

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Students empty off the school buses and head in to Greenwood Elementary School for the start of school today.

WARWICK – At Greenwood Elementary School this morning, many children rode the buses to school and some arrived with parents for their first day back at school since the December holiday break.

The school was closed all last week after two students in the same second-grade classroom developed encephalitis caused by the mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria. One of those students died from the illness.

This morning, the students at Greenwood are among more than 20,000 children in Coventry, Warwick and West Warwick expected back at school after being kept home for two days last week. Those three districts closed all of their schools last Thursday when a Coventry child displayed symptoms of meningitis, which can also be caused by the mycoplasma bacteria.

Test results over the weekend showed the Coventry student's illness was not related to the mycoplasma bacteria that caused the other illnesses.

At Greenwood today, the Parent-Teacher Association president walked her 12-year-old son, Nathan Johnson, up to the school’s front door before classes began at 8:40 a.m. He was heading back to sixth-grade today.

“The whole situation has been stressful, but I think that the principal has done a wonderful job calming everyone down and keeping us aware,” Tracie Johnson said.

Also at the school, a medical doctor with an office in East Greenwich dropped off his 5-year-old son.

“My child is well, so I knew it was not a risk to have him be at school,” Dr. Chad Lamendola said. “We know enough to watch for symptoms, and we’re happy to have him back at school.”

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:44 AM | Comment

Traffic: Hope you're not traveling on Route 195 West

On a 10-point scale, with 10 being the worst, congestion on Route 195 West heading from the Massachusetts state line to Route 95 is hovering at 8.1.

Cars are moving at an average speed of 15 miles per hour.

That’s just one of the many roadways tied up during this morning’s commute.

Check out congestion mapping -- i.e., how heavy the traffic is -- here for your morning traffic needs.

Also, check out the state roadways, via the Department of Transportation's online traffic offerings.

You can find any traffic alerts describing accidents here, browse traffic cams to see real-time photos of the highways and check out the DOT’s road construction schedule here.

To report a traffic incident, call the Transportation Management Center at (401) 222-5826 and choose option #2.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:27 AM | Comment

Caremark prefers CVS offer over rival bid

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Good news for CVS in its attempt to acquire prescription benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc.

The Nashville-based Caremark says today it does not believe that a rival bid by Express Scripts is in the best interests of shareholders, and it will continue pursuing a tie-up with Woonsocket-based CVS Corp.

CVS, the nation's largest operator of drugstores, offered $21.2 billion in stock for Caremark.

Express Scripts offered $26 billion in stock and cash.

Analysts say Caremark managers prefer the CVS offer, while shareholders like the Express Scripts deal better.

A pension company with Caremark stock has gone to federal court to try to stop the CVS deal.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:37 AM | Comment

Rainy but mild

PROVIDENCE – It’s a dark and stormy morning.

The rain just keeps falling, on the heels of a flood statement and hazardous weather statement for the area issued this morning by the National Weather Service.

Heavy rain on Long Island – falling at the rate of one-half inch per hour – began moving toward southeast New England about 4 a.m.

Wind advisories are in effect until 11 a.m. for Block Island and until 9 p.m. for Cape Cod. Gale warnings are in effect for all Massachusetts and Rhode Island coastal waters.

Rainfall totals today of 1 to 1.5 inches – with 2 inches in some areas – may cause minor flooding in urban areas and spots with poor drainage.

Expect a high of 56 today, on this January day. And remember, this could all be snow if we weren’t having such a warm departure from normal winter temps.

Snow actually shows up on the weather outlook for Wednesday of this week.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:08 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's Journal front page includes a story about students returning to school in Coventry, Warwick and West Warwick after a health scare and a photograph of Asante Samuel celebrating his fourth-quarter interception in the Patriots' 37-16 playoff win over the New York Jets.

Download today's front page in .pdf format.

Posted by Jack Perry at 6:54 AM | Comment