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January 19, 2007

A day after rescue, Coast Guard braces for storm

The Coast Guard plans to use military planes and radio signals to warn mariners of a powerful weekend storm along the New England coast.

The storm, set to peak Saturday, is expected to generate 20-foot seas and 40-knot winds. Locally, a gale warning is in effect for Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound through tomorrow evening.

The Coast Guard will broadcast warnings to boats on the water via VHF/FM radio, according to a statement released this afternoon. Authorities also plan to use HU-25 Falcon jets to provide storm information to off-shore mariners.

Check the latest conditions and forecasts for mariners along the East Coast here.

Should there be any emergencies tomorrow, the Coast Guard won't be rusty.

Yesterday afternoon, the Coast Guard learned that a Rhode Island fishing boat was taking on water roughly nine miles off the Newport coast. There were three fishermen aboard the the Seamus Liam, owned by Kevin Sullivan, when it went down in 43-degree water, according to Coast Guard spokesman Richard Uronis.

The boat sank before its occupants could put on survival suits. But they quickly inflated a life raft to escape the chilly water. Uronis said the fishermen waited in the raft for about 20 minutes before another fishing boat, responding to a Coast Guard emergency broadcast, rescued them.

Uronis did not have the names of the rest of the boat's occupants. He said he didn't know what caused the Seamus Liam to sink.

The fishermen were escorted to their home port of Sakonnet Harbor (believed to be Little Compton, though neither local authorities nor Uronis could confirm the exact location), where they were transported to the hospital. Uronis did not know their condition.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:50 PM | Comment

Update: Wrong-way driver attracts attention - and police

A Providence man attracted police attention -- and lots of it -- as he swerved erratically between all lanes of travel on Route 95 north this morning, eventually going the wrong way before colliding with a state police cruiser.

Michael Liggins, 37, of 242 Indiana Ave., was taken into custody after 25 state troopers and additional Warwick officers surrounded the Courtyard Marriot in Warwick, where, the police say, he fled after the collision.

Around 9 a.m. today, Liggins' erratic driving caught the eye of a state trooper on Route 95 north on the Warwick-Cranston line, between the Jefferson Boulevard exit in Warwick and Route 10 in Cranston, Lt. Joseph DelPrete said.

The trooper turned on his lights in an attempt to pull over the gold Chrysler sedan, but the driver kept going, DelPrete said.

Liggins spun out of control and ended up traveling south – in the northbound 95 lanes. At that point, the state police stopped pursuing the car because of the hazard involved with driving the wrong way, DelPrete said.

The vehicle struck the left rear of a state police cruiser that had just arrived to help the first trooper, DelPrete said. The driver continued south, not stopping despite the accident, according to the police.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Around then, state police dispatch lines started lighting up with other drivers calling in what they were witnessing, DelPrete said. They had seen the Chrysler swerving back and forth between lanes and taking a U-turn to get off the Jefferson Boulevard exit.

The car parked in the back of the lot at the Motel 6 on Jefferson Boulevard. People saw the driver and two others flee into the Courtyard Marriot nearby and told the police.

At that point, the troopers surrounded the hotel, DelPrete said. They apprehended Liggins and his two passengers.

The whole incident lasted maybe five to six minutes, DelPrete estimated. Liggins probably drove about a half mile in the wrong direction of the highway, at a “very busy” time of day.

The trooper whose cruiser was struck, Daniel O’Neil, was not injured, DelPrete said.

“He’s doing well,” DelPrete said. “And we’re also very fortunate there were no other accidents of civilian vehicles as a result of his reckless operation.”

Liggins appeared at Kent County Superior Court this afternoon and was ordered held without bail by Judge Vincent A. Ragosta, who said of Liggins: "This man is no newcomer to the criminal justice system."

Liggins has been convicted twice in the last 10 years for drug-related crimes. He is serving a 5-year suspended sentence for a 2002 drug conviction.

Also arraigned today were Liggins' two passengers, Catie Potter, 22, and Ricy Campbell, 26, who were charged with obstruction.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:42 PM | Comment

5 rape, 2 murder cases among indictments

PROVIDENCE -- A Providence County grand jury today handed up indictments charging a total of 18 people -- including five for rape, two for murder, one for arson, one for child molestation and another for attempted murder. The grand jury also found insufficient evidence to charge anyone in the homicide of a man who was stabbed in the neck in a Providence apartment.

Among those charged with murder was John Duffy, the 31-year-old Massachusetts man who police allege killed Ronald Leone in an argument outside a Pawtucket methadone clinic in October.

The police said the two men were standing in the line that forms every morning outside the Addiction Recovery Institute, at 31 North Union St., when they got into an argument over whether a woman who left the line had the right to reclaim her place.

When the woman tried to step back in, Duffy objected and Leone told him it was customary to allow someone who leaves the line briefly to reclaim his or her place, Detective Maj. John J. Whiting said.

The police say that the argument escalated and Duffy stabbed Leone at least twice, once in the head and once in the side.

Duffy is set to be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court on Feb. 7.

In a separate case, the grand jury found insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime in the death of John Neary, who was stabbed in the neck inside a Providence woman's apartment.

The woman, Lucille Williams-Sanford, 47, of 4 Cathedral Square, was initially charged with the murder. Authorities said that Neary was stabbed several times inside Williams-Sanford's Cathedral Square apartment, and that he collapsed in the hallway, a few feet from her door.

Williams-Sanford had been on home confinement bail since the September stabbing, according to Michael Healey, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.

But the grand jury investigated the death and declined to indict anyone in the case. The move effectively dismisses the case against Williams-Sanford, Healey said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

The other man indicted for murder today is Juan Rivera, 19, of 69 Hendricks St., Providence, who the police say is responsible for the shooting death of 21-year-old Michael Goncalves in October. Authorities believe Rivera shot Goncalves, just a block from Goncalves' home.

Regarding the sexual assault indictments, three men were charged with first-degree sexual assault in connection to a case in which the victim was deemed "physically helpless."

While details of the March incident are not currently known, the defendants are: Spencer Ward, 24, of 76 Petteys Ave., Providence; Kenneth Sakor, 21, of 197 Garden St., Pawtucket; and Alaba Sobowale, 46, of 79 Ivan St., North Providence.

Another Providence man was charged with first-degree sexual assault in relation to another case. Lonnie Stallworth, 33, was also charged with second-degree robbery for a crime committed on Feb. 22, the same day as the alleged sexual assault.

In a third rape indictment handed up today, Michael Lee, 49, of 547 Post Rd., Warwick, is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault in connection with a June incident in Providence.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:25 PM | Comment

Rally to call for keeping Portuguese consulates open

PROVIDENCE -- Portuguese organizations, General Assembly leaders and state office-holders plan to rally Sunday in hopes of convincing the Portuguese government not to close the Providence Portuguese consulate.

The recent proposal by the Portuguese government to close both the Providence and New Bedford, Mass., consulates has unsettled the local Portuguese community and has already led to protests in New Bedford. The two local consulates are among 11 consular offices worldwide that the government proposed closing last month.

On Sunday at 11 a.m., the rally is set to start in front of Providence City Hall in Kennedy Plaza, with a march planned from there to the Portuguese consulate, at 56 Pine St.

U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy -- all Rhode Island Democrats -- plan to speak at the rally. State Rep. Helio Melo, D-East Providence, and state Sen. Daniel Da Ponte, D-East Providence, plan to attend as well, according to a statement issued today by Melo and Da Ponte.

The General Assembly last week passed a joint resolution, sponsored by Melo and Da Ponte, urging the Portuguese government to continue operating the Providence consulate, according to the statement.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 4:50 PM | Comment

On deck: Pre-Patriots sports offerings

The struggling Celtics take to the court tonight for the first time since Monday, when they're at home against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings come in limping themselves, in last place in the Pacific Division. Boston is expecting to have guard Delonte West back in the lineup.

Saturday is, as usual, a full day in college hoops. For the second Saturday in a row the URI Rams are in Philadelphia, this time to take on the Temple Owls. URI will go into the game all alone in first place in the Atlantic 10, with a 4-1 conference record. Temple, struggling in the post-John Chaney era, is just 1-3 in the conference. The game starts at 2.

The Providence College Friars will look to regroup from two straight losses when they play host to Rutgers (1-4, 8-10) at 7:30 tomorrow night. Neither the Rams nor the Friars are on TV.

In hockey, the Boston Bruins are at home tomorrow at 7 to take on the Ottawa Senators.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:56 PM | Comment

Coming up: Patriots playoff coverage on projo.com

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady stretches with a smile as he looks up at Coach Bill Belichick, at the start of practice in the indoor facility at Gillette Stadium today, the team's last practice before leaving for the AFC Championshop game in Indianapolis.

Projo.com will have full coverage before, during and after Sunday's AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis.

Shalise Manza Young will begin filing PatsBlog reports before kickoff, and we'll also have John Freidah's photo gallery of the pregame scene from the Circle City (that's what they call Indianapolis, if you didn't know).

Once the game starts, we'll have reports on the blog and photos from the field. And in the hours following the game, we'll have a complete postgame report, including more photos and your chance to talk about the game.

It will all be on our Patriots page Sunday evening.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:28 PM | Comment

Research vessel could be heading to Ocean State

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., says Rhode Island has taken an important step in bringing a second major research vessel to the Ocean State.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is evaluating Quonset Point/Davisville in North Kingstown as the home port for Okeanos Explorer, which will be the nation's first federal ship dedicated solely to ocean exploration, according to NOAA's Web site.

In 2005, Reed worked with Sens. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Chris Dodd, D-Conn., to secure $18 million for NOAA to convert a former Navy vessel, the Capable, into the Okeanos Explorer, according to Reed's office.

The conversion is expected to be completed by the spring 2008. After that, the 224-foot ship is expected to spend 250 days each year exploring oceans throughout the world.

Leading researchers, including Dr. Robert Ballard, an oceanography professor at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography, will use the ship to conduct research and discovery expeditions, using sophisticated ocean mapping, deepwater remote-operated vehicles and real-time data transmission, according to information from Reed's office and NOAA's Web site.

NOAA is expected to complete a pro forma environmental review of the Quonset Point/Davisville site by this spring, according to Reed's office.

Okeanos would join the research vessel Endeavor, which has been based at the pier at URI's Bay campus in Narragansett for many years, in giving Rhode Island two major research vessels.

“I am pleased that NOAA intends to homeport the Okeanos Explorer in our state,” said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. “This new vessel, the first of its kind for NOAA, will provide us with fascinating new information about our oceans and help keep Rhode Island on the cutting edge of ocean exploration and research. Home-porting Okeanos in Rhode Island could have a profound impact on the future of oceanography and a positive economic impact on our state.”

On its Web site, NOAA notes that Quonset Point/Davisville is close to many laboratories and universities associated with the ship’s ocean exploration mission. It says the site was identified as "best able to facilitate and enhance critical ocean research partnerships and to spur technological innovation in ocean research."

It also notes the port's proximity to a new telecommunications center to be constructed on URI's Narragansett campus, called the Inner Space Center. NOAA says it will be the "ocean equivalent to NASA's space center in Houston."

The Inner Space Center will be able to link to Okeanos Explorer via a high bandwidth satellite system and make it possible for scientists and educators to participate in ocean exploration cruises real-time without ever stepping foot on the ship, according to NOAA.

The $18 million in federal funding secured by Reed, Inouye and Dodd also provided command and control equipment for URI’s Inner Space Center, according to Reed's office.

Governor Carcieri has joined Reed in asking NOAA to home-port Okeanos in Rhode Island.

“I’m very pleased that NOAA has agreed to seriously consider basing the Okeanos Explorer in the Ocean State,” Carcieri said in a press release. “I have long argued that Rhode Island can and should be one of America's leading centers of oceanic research."

Bringing the ship to Rhode Island "will enable our state to build on the research capacity we’ve already developed at URI, while also exploiting the potential of Quonset Point/Davisville as a launching point for exploring the ocean's untapped and largely unknown resources," Carcieri said.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:33 PM | Comment

Men sentenced for bank robbery

PROVIDENCE -- Two men who admitted robbing a Providence bank last June have been sentenced to several years in federal prison, according to an announcement released today by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Duwayne Womack, 29, of Providence, and Scott Hill, 35, of Boston, had pleaded guilty to robbing the Coastway Credit Union branch on Greene Street. U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi sentenced Womack last month to 10 years and Hill yesterday to 151 months, or about 12-and-a-half years.

The prosecution said that Hill, wearing a bandana over his face, entered the bank on June 24, 2006, indicating that he had a gun. Hill threatened to harm a pregnant woman at the counter and demanded money. The teller gave him $1,180, along with a concealed dye pack.

A witness outside the credit union told police that the robber had walked toward Cathedral Square, where Dexter Manor is located. A review of Dexter Manor surveillance tape showed Hill and Womack in an elevator shortly before the robbery as Hill put on the bandana and Womack adjusted it for him.

Police arrested both men later that day. Hill’s hands were stained with a reddish dye, evidently from the exploded dye pack.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:22 PM | Comment

Final testimony heard in Fall River murder trial

TAUNTON, Mass. -- A Superior Court jury heard its final witnesses this morning in the trial of Karen Cordeiro, the 22-year-old accused of murdering 19-year-old Courtney Sau, who died nearly two years ago in a Fall River streetfight over a boyfriend.

The case will go to the jury Monday.

None of today's testimony directly involved Cordeiro. With the Fall River woman claiming self-defense, her lawyer has been trying to show that Sau had a history of attacking other women.

Yesterday, Nicole Silva of Taunton, testifying for the defense, described an incident where Sau punched her in the face, kicked her once in the belly and kicked her again after she had fallen.

But this morning, prosecutor Steven Gagne produced two other witnesses to the altercation, both friends of Sau, who claimed that Silva threw the first punch, giving Sau a bloody nose.

Sau died after being stabbed at least twice after she drove to Fall River to confront Cordeiro and her roommate. Cordeiro was left bruised and bloodied by the fight.

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:52 AM | Comment

Morning fire injures 1, displaces 3 in S.Providence

PROVIDENCE – The Red Cross was called early this morning to assist one adult and two children displaced from their apartment after a fire at the Lockwood Plaza housing complex in South Providence.

A 10-year-old girl was taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for smoke inhalation, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department.

The fire at 60 Prairie Ave -- in apartment 45 and building 8 -- was reported at 12:36 a.m. The fire was contained to that apartment and was under control by 1:31 a.m., Taylor said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:50 AM | Comment

Report: Trot Nixon Cleveland-bound

Trot Nixon, the Red Sox' regular right fielder since the 1999 season, has signed a one-year, $3-million deal with the Cleveland Indians, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons. Nixon, a fan favorite in Boston, has been nagged by injuries in recent years. His production was also limited by his poor success against left-handed pitchers.

Yet Nixon seemed to have a penchant earlier in his Red Sox career for big home runs, including a couple of memorable shots off Roger Clemens when the Rocket was with the New York Yankees.

Click here to read the ESPN report.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 10:57 AM | Comment

Download today's front page

The CVS indictments lead today's Journal.

Download file

Posted by Peter Phipps at 9:19 AM | Comment

Like R.I., Mass. facing drop in gambling revenues

BOSTON -- Like Rhode Island, Massachusetts is facing a drop in gambling revenues, and officials are concerned about the impact on government budgets.

The highly successful Massachusetts State Lottery experienced a $71 million decline in revenues in the first five months of the fiscal year, according to figures filed with the governor's office, sparking concern among municipal officials.

Most lottery money is funneled back to the state's communities.

"The lottery right now is extraordinarily important to cities and towns," said Geoffrey Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. "We're hoping that the lottery sales rebound. It's something we're watching very closely."

Rhode Island faces a similar concern since revenues from video-slot machines at Lincoln Park and Newport Grand have dropped for the first time since they were introduced in 1993.

The state, which is already facing projected budget deficits, gets about 60 percent of every dollar gamblers lose at the two slot parlors.

But Rhode Island's take this year is down by 4.9 percent. State budget analysts had originally predicted that the state would take in $292 million - a 13.9-percent increase - from slot machines during this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

But when they last met on Nov. 10, the analysts from the House, Senate and governor's office decided that their prior prediction made in May was unrealistic. They came up with a new estimate of $255 million. Now it appears even that target might be unattainable. Last year, the state took in $256.4 million from 4,672 slot machines.

House Finance Committee Chairman Steven M. Costantino, D-Providence, earlier this month said he is concerned that the drop in gambling revenue will compound the state's budget problems.

"Certainly," he said, "you have to be concerned that there hasn't been growth at Lincoln" which accounts for more than 80 percent of the slot play.

-- From Journal and Associated Press reports.

In Massachusetts, sales through November were down for all lottery games except Keno, which was up 3.5 percent from the same time last year. The steepest decline was in MegaMillions sales, which were off nearly 48 percent.

Sales of instant scratch tickets, the lottery's biggest seller, were down 3.6 percent, or about $46 million. The Numbers Game was down 1.2 percent and Mass Cash was down 6.3 percent.

Sales slipped to $1.801 billion from $1.872 billion through the first five months of the fiscal year, a 3.8 percent decline, compared to the year-ago period.

A week after the November figures were released, State Treasurer Timothy Cahill changed leadership at the lottery.

Many communities are already counting on this year's lottery aid, but Beckwith said the towns shouldn't assume the lottery will continue to grow indefinitely.

"The lottery is one of the most successful, if not the most successful, in North America," Beckwith said. "I don't think we can continue to count on it ranking number one and always hitting its growth target.

"This is one of the reasons we're advocating for diversified local aid, for example, a local options meals tax and revenue sharing," he said.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, called declining lottery sales "a serious short- and long-term problem facing the state and cities and towns."

Massachusetts trailed only New York in total lottery sales in each of the past three years and was fifth in per capita sales in the last fiscal year, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.

The decline in lottery revenues comes at a time when Gov. Deval Patrick is trying to close an estimated $1 billion deficit in the next fiscal year's budget.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:19 AM | Comment

Traffic: Tractor-trailer moved, no more delays

A tractor-trailer that broke down on Route 95 North in Warwick after 7 a.m. today has been moved to the side of the road, according to the state police.

Just before the airport connector, the break-down caused some traffic delays but shouldn’t be too problematic now that it’s off the road, a police dispatcher said.

For other traffic needs, 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.

Also, check out congestion mapping -- i.e., how heavy the traffic is -- here.

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

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:51 AM | Comment

Wind and snow on tap for the weekend

PROVIDENCE – The National Weather Service has issued a gale warning for the region’s coastal waters, starting later this afternoon, and a high wind watch, in effect from tomorrow morning through evening for much of southern New England.

We’ll see a high of 41 degrees today. Northwest winds should be between 8 and 16 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 33 miles per hour.

At the weather service, meteorologist Charles Foley said the expected precipitation for this morning is clearing a little earlier than expected and is now just about over. There could be some rain and maybe occasional flurries until noon, but the main feature to watch out for is the winds predicted for tomorrow.

With winds expected to be 25 to 35 miles per hour, with possible gusts to 50 miles per hour, wind chills will be down in the single digits – “so it will be kind of a brutal day as far as cold,” he said. There's no precipitation predicted for tomorrow, Foley said.

And what about that white stuff? Is winter really here? Well, Foley said there's another chance for snow on Monday.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:10 AM | Comment

Today's Sports page

Today's Sports page includes stories on the upcoming AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Colts and a story about the Bruins beating the Buffalo Sabres on a shootout goal by rookie Phil Kessel.

Download today's sports page in .pdf format.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment