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January 10, 2007

Update: Like other Dems, Reed critical of Bush's plan

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a powerful Democratic voice on military matters in the Senate, said today that President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq is "too little and too late."

Bush is scheduled to make a primetime address to the American people tonight in which he will reportedly outline a plan to substantially increase troop levels to battle sectarian violence in Iraq.

"Like most Rhode Islanders and many military leaders, I think the president's plan is going to be too little, and too late," Reed said in a statement released today. "If 20,000 troops is the proposal, it will probably be inadequate, just as this fall’s increase in troop levels in Baghdad was unsuccessful. The president and others can try to paint this as a dramatic and aggressive move, but the key factor in Iraq remains reaching a political resolution among sectarian factions."

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Reed is a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Yesterday, Rhode Island's two congressmen dismissed Bush's reported plan as inadequate. A Gallup poll released yesterday shows that most Americans agree.

Sixty-one percent of the nation is opposed to an escalation in Iraq, while 36 percent supports the president's plan. The poll found that support for a troop surge mirrors the president's approval rating, which stands at 37 percent.

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., released a statement yesterday dismissing the president's proposal as "misguided."

"While our armed forces have heroically pursued their mission in Iraq, I don't believe any objective observer thinks that a gradual escalation of 20,000 troops will fundamentally change the unfortunate realities on the ground in Iraq. Indeed, we have tried this strategy in the past and it has failed each time," Kennedy said. "The president's proposed escalation is not a change, it's just another chapter in his stubborn refusal to base policy in reality. It's time to begin transitioning the mission and bringing our troops home, not sending even more into harm's way."

Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I., feels the same way.

"I have long stated that the time for U.S. military involvement has run its course and must come to an end. I firmly believe sending 20,000 more troops into Iraq will do little to strengthen Iraqi security and help to bring peace to the region," Langevin said in a statement released today.

He continued: "As I have stated in the past, it is time to make a significant shift away from combat activities while continuing to train and advise the Iraqi military. The Iraqi government must understand that we do not plan to be in Iraq indefinitely, and they must step in soon to ensure their own security."

Reed said that a surge in American troops would prevent the Iraqis from playing a more serious role in their own security.

"The president has to get the Iraqis to step up," Reed said. "And if they are going to step up, then the size of our force is less important than the commitment of the Iraqi government to fundamental changes in their approach to sharing power and resources as well as addressing the militias."

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:24 PM | Comment

Sports tonight: URI takes act on the road

The Rhode Island Rams look to win their third straight Atlantic 10 game when they play at Saint Louis. The Billikens are 0-2 in conference play. The game begins at 8; it is not on TV, but you can catch it on the radio on WJZS-FM (99.7), or WHJJ-AM (920).

Staying on the hardwood, the Celtics are back in Boston tonight to take on the Indiana Pacers (19-16). The game begins at 7:30.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 4:31 PM | Comment

Update: N. Kingstown woman found in Providence

Authorities have located a 69-year-old local woman who had been missing from her North Kingstown residence since about 7:15 last night.

The Providence Police found Irene McMann in downtown Providence this afternoon, in the area of 58 Weybosset St., after responding to reports of a woman who appeared to be disoriented, a North Kingtown Police news release stated.

McMann was taken to a hospital as a precaution, according to the police. She appears to be in good health.

The police did not suspect foul play in McMann's disappearance. They had spent much of today searching for the North Kingstown woman with rescue dogs.

"Police hope to speak with her in the near future in order to determine how she managed to get to Providence," the news release stated.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:50 PM | Comment

Prosecutors in Cape slaying deny racial bias on jury

BOSTON -- Remarks allegedly made by several jurors who convicted a black trash collector of killing a white fashion writer may have been "insensitive," but did not show racial bias on the part of the jurors, prosecutors said.

An attorney for Christopher McCowen last month submitted sworn affidavits from three jurors who claim three other jurors made disparaging racial remarks about black people during deliberations.

McCowen was convicted in November in the 2002 rape and murder of Christa Worthington, a fashion writer who was found fatally stabbed in her Cape Cod home, with her 2-year-old daughter clinging to her body. The girl was not harmed.

McCowen, 34, who was Worthington's trash collector, claimed he had consensual sex with her but said a friend of his killed her.

McCowen's attorney, Robert George, is asking a judge to hold a hearing on the allegations as part of his bid for a new trial, arguing the three jurors were biased against McCowen and their remarks may have influenced other jurors.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:57 PM | Comment

Lunchtime was quiet outside DOT office/strip club

PROVIDENCE -- Shortly after noon, a Department of Transportation employee puffs on a cigarette outside the front door of her One Franklin Square office.

She pays little attention as a middle-aged man parks his black SUV next to a white DOT truck in the parking lot in front of her. The man tucks his shirt into his slacks as he walks in her direction.

He doesn't ring the buzzer to enter the DOT special projects office. Instead, the man rounds the corner and heads for the main door marked, "Desire ENTRANCE."

The strip club, which occupies the first floor of the state-owned building, opened at noon. Inside the small club, "lovely Sarah" dances on a small stage in a black thong as Desire employees set up the complimentary lunch buffet.

Led Zeppelin's D'yer Mak'er blasts through the sound system.

A club employee says he hasn't seen the front page story in today's Journal, which details terms of the club's agreement with the State of Rhode Island.

You can't hear Led Zeppelin at the DOT entrance. And there's no sign of the security detail provided by the club "to keep parties away from DOT personnel from noon to 5 p.m. each afternoon."

The DOT worker, who wouldn't give her name because she "values her job," said she didn't understand the fuss. The DOT and the club have been sharing the three-story brick building on Allens Avenue just off Eddy Street for years.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:49 PM | Comment

R.I. Guard members returning Friday

CRANSTON -- About three dozen airmen from the Rhode Island National Guard will return home Friday -- after spending four months overseas.

The airmen from the 143rd Airlift Wing were deployed in September and served in various locations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Qatar.

Maj. Gen. Robert Bray, the state adjutant general, says this has been the sixth tour of duty for some returning airmen.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:33 PM | Comment

School chief: Adults need to learn nonviolence

The Woonsocket schools superintendent said today she plans to take an aggressive stance against the feud between two 13-year-old girls that led to the arrest of the girls, their mothers and two other female students.

At tonight’s School Committee meeting, Supt. Maureen B. Macera plans to ask parents in the school district to speak with their community leaders – at local churches, housing corporations and health centers – to explore how everyone can work together “to help educate the adults on nonviolent behavior.”

“I want everyone at the table,” she said.

The school has nonviolence programs – for its students – but it’s not enough, Macera said.

Although the district had involved a social worker, counselor and school administrators to mediate between the two girls who fought on Monday, Macera said it hadn’t worked.

If students are going home and the nonviolent message isn’t enforced – “and very much the opposite is enforced” – more must be done, she said. “Home and community pressures or parental pressures” were too strong, in this case, for the school intervention to work, Macera said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

“Now this is an isolated incident,” Macera said of the Monday afternoon fight that broke out when one mother drove her already suspended daughter to the school to fight another girl. “But I’m going to take a much more aggressive stance with it because I don’t want even the slightest opportunity for this to occur again.”

Macera said the two mothers will attend a hearing sometime this week before a disciplinary officer for the Woonsocket School District before the case goes before the School Committee. The superintendent doesn’t typically attend such hearings, but Macera said she’s making an exception in this case and plans to be there.

Tonight’s School Committee meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Center, 400 Aylesworth Ave., in Room 303. The superintendent typically offers her report at the end of the meetings, but she said she’ll ask the committee chairman if she can address the community before the meeting starts.

Macera said she doesn’t know what prompted the fight.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:22 PM | Comment

Bus companies to pay for violating clean air rules

Three bus companies in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts have agreed to pay $237,000 in penalties and to install new filters on most of their buses to settle violations of federal clean air and clean water rules.

The companies that reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are Bonanza Acquisition in Rhode Island, Arrow Line Acquisition in Connecticut and Peter Pan Bus Lines in Massachusetts – all of which are owned by Peter Pan Bus Lines Trust of Springfield, Mass.

In announcing the settlement today, the EPA said all three companies violated Clean Water Act storm water permit requirements and violated federal oil spill prevention regulations and associated spill prevention plan requirements. In addition, the EPA said, Peter Pan violated the vehicle idling limitations in Massachusetts.

In addition to monetary fines, Peter Pan also agreed to perform an environmental project. The company will equip nearly its entire New England passenger bus fleet with new filters to minimize storm water pollution from bus oil leaks.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:05 AM | Comment

Original Christmas Tree Shops store closing

YARMOUTH, Mass. -- The original Christmas Tree Shops store in Yarmouth is closing at the end of the month when its lease is up because it is too cramped and out of date, the store's parent company says.

The layout of the facility is too cumbersome and difficult to maintain, the company said. The store has inadequate parking and has difficulty competing in the current retail climate.

The store's 18 employees will be transferred to the chain's other six stores on Cape Cod, company spokesman William Gilooly told the Cape Cod Times.

The store was opened in 1971 by Charles and Doreen Bilezikian. The chain has expanded to 34 Christmas Tree Shops stores in New England, New York and New Jersey selling discount housewares, knick-knacks, paper products, books and almost everything else.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:06 AM | Comment

Police seek missing woman in North Kingstown

NORTH KINGSTOWN – Police and firefighters have been searching with dogs for a 69-year-old local woman who was last seen at her North Kingstown residence about 7:15 p.m. last night.

Irene McMann was reported missing last evening, the police announced in a statement early this morning. She is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a green turtleneck, dark slacks and possibly a brown coat.

The police do not suspect foul play, according to the statement issued by Patrol Commander Lt. Joseph Hart. Anyone with information about McMann is urged to call the police department at (401) 294-3311.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:22 AM | Comment

High near 39 degrees, partly cloudy

Today will be a little cooler with a high near 39 degrees under partly cloudy skies, according to the National Weather Service.

Look for the clouds to clear tonight, and the temperature to drop into the teens. Winds from the northwest will blow between 10 and 16 mph.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment

Download today's front page

On today's Journal front page, staff writer Katherine Gregg reports that the state of Rhode Island is the owner of a Providence building that houses a strip club. And staff writer Kia Hall Hayes reports on a brawl at Woonsocket Middle School that led to the arrests of two girls -- and their mothers.

Download a copy of today's front page in .pdf format.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment