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January 26, 2007

Appeals court rejects relaxing power-plant rules

Prompted by a challenge from Rhode Island and five other states, a New York appeals court has overturned federal changes to the Clean Water Act that allow power plant operators to use cost considerations in deciding what clean-water technology to use, a decision that may force the industry to spend more to protect the environment.

The U.S. Second Court of Appeals in New York City said yesterday in an 80-page decision that the Environmental Protection Agency was wrong when it issued a rule relaxing environmental standards for power plants like Brayton Point Station in Somerset, Mass. Brayton Point is adjacent to Mount Hope Bay on the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border.

The ruling may force power plants like Brayton Point, which uses millions of gallons of water a day as a coolant, to add costly new cooling systems that rely on less water and kill fewer fish, according Alex Matthiessen, president of Riverkeeper, a Tarrytown, New York-based environmental group that was part of the lawsuit.

“This is going to force the old dinosaur plants across the country to use this technology,” Matthiessen said. “No question -- it’s going to impose a cost on the companies.”

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued a statement today praising the court ruling, which came in response to a suit filed in 2004 by Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Delaware, along with environmental groups including Riverkeeper.

"With yesterday’s ruling, we have prevailed over regulations that were contrary to the goals and purposes of the Clean Water Act, contrary to the plain meaning of the Clean Water Act, and contrary to common sense," Lynch said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples, with reports from Bloomberg

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule in 2004 that made it easier for existing power plants to avoid installing the best technologies to help reduce the large amounts of water currently being withdrawn from oceans, bays and rivers by older power plants.

The rule governs existing power generating facilities — like Brayton Point — that withdraw more than 50 million gallons of water per day and use at least 25 percent of the water withdrawn exclusively for cooling water purposes, according to Lynch's office.

The rule violated the intent of Congress by enacting regulations that rejected closed-cycle cooling as the best technology based on cost considerations, a move that essentially encouraged existing power plants to avoid technology upgrades and pollute more, according to Lynch.

Referring to Brayton Point, Lynch said, “I have an obligation to make sure the company operates in a manner that protects Rhode Islanders’ rights to use and enjoy Mount Hope Bay and in a manner that is consistent with federal law.

"In this case, EPA wrote a rule that undermined federal law and jeopardized the state’s interests in Mount Hope Bay," Lynch said. "I am elated by the outcome of this case, for what it means for the nation’s waters and for what it means for the waters right here in Rhode Island.”

The federal court has ordered the EPA to correct the rule consistent with its findings.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:07 PM | Comment

Photo: Looking sharp on ice

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
The Munchkins of the Warwick Figure Skaters compete today at the 2007 Eastern Synchronized Team Skating Sectional Championships, being held through tomorrow at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence. Teams from all over the eastern United States were expected to take to the ice. Thankfully, we're sure, inside at the Dunk' and not outside at the Bank of America City Center skating rink.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:14 PM | Comment

Update: AG to seek stiffest sentence for Martinez

Journal photo / Bill Murphy
Gerardo E. Martinez, left, listens as Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. gives final instructions to the jury this morning. With Martinez is his defense attorney, Mark Smith.

WARWICK -- The guilty verdict in the murder trial of Gerardo E. Martinez will allow prosecutors to recommend he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole -- the severest penalty under state law -- according to Attorney General Patrick Lynch.

A jury this afternoon convicted Martinez of first-degree murder for the 2005 slaying of his former girlfriend, Lindsay A. Burke. The verdict came about four hours after the 12-member jury began deliberations around 12:30 p.m.

In his closing statement, Martinez's lawyer, Mark L. Smith, did not dispute that his client had killed Burke by slitting her throat with a 6-inch steel knife in September 2005.

But he disputed prosecutors' assertion that the crime was premeditated, and he called on the jury to find Martinez not guilty of first-degree murder. They could have found him guilty of second-degree murder or acquitted him.

“This domestic violence murder of a lovely, accomplished young woman was preceded by one of the most brutal attacks imaginable,” Lynch said in a statement. “My heart goes out to the Burke family for the incomprehensible loss they have suffered.”

The sentencing recommendation will be made to Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr.

-- Journal staff writer Benajmin N. Gedan

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:44 PM | Comment

New Traffic Tribunal to star on R.I. PBS Monday

Courthouse buffs, set your DVR.

Rhode Island PBS is scheduled to air a feature Monday night on Rhode Island's newest courthouse, according to an announcement released this afternoon by the state judiciary.

The new Traffic Tribunal at the John O. Pastore Government Center in Cranston opened for business last week after operating for many years "in a cramped, outdated facility" on Harris Avenue in Providence.

The half-hour program, scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m., features a short video tour of the new facility and a discussion with Rhode Island Chief Justice Frank J. Williams, Steve Aveson of WPRI-TV, Traffic Tribunal Magistrate William T. Noonan and Traffic Tribunal Administrator Kevin Spina.

The show is the latest installment of “Citizens’ Summit,” the Rhode Island Judiciary’s quarterly television show on WSBE-Channel 36. Rhode Island PBS is seen on Channel 8 on both the Cox and Full Channel cable networks.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:31 PM | Comment

Woonsocket police probe rash of violent robberies

WOONSOCKET -- Two men were beaten and one of them was robbed just after midnight this morning in the city’s third robbery in four days.

In the latest, the two victims -- ages 20 and 21 -- were walking down Clinton Street near the Walgreen’s drugstore when they were approached by two men.

One of the suspects punched the 20-year-old, and then followed the victims to a parking lot near the intersection of Social and Chester streets, where the 21-year-old was punched in the face and robbed of his cell phone, according to Detective Lt. Timothy Paul.

There have been no arrests so far.

Paul said additional detectives have been assigned to two separate robberies that occurred on Tuesday, where a 15-year-old boy and a 29-year-old man were beaten minutes apart from each other by a group of up to six teenagers. Paul said those robberies are similar to the one that occurred today, and that they may have been committed by the same people.

Paul stressed that the three Woonsocket robberies are unrelated to a robbery that occurred in Cumberland last week, when two boys were arrested for beating and robbing a mentally disabled man.

-- Journal staff writer Kia Hall Hayes

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:01 PM | Comment

Update: Fire crews save most of W. Greenwich home

WEST GREENWICH -- Fire crews fought through brutally cold temperatures early this morning to save a single-family home from being consumed by flames.

The fire, reported to the fire department at about 3 a.m., started in the stove pipe of a built-in metal fireplace at 8 Fox Run Rd., according to Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Andrews. By the time fire crews arrived, the fire had penetrated the roof.

All three family members were waiting outside for help, Andrews said. There were no injuries.

The temperature was 3 degrees "with a slight breeze," he said. "I can’t imagine how cold it was with the wind chill."

All three fire companies from West Greenwich responded to the scene, as did two companies from Exeter. The firefighters contained the fire in about half an hour and saved most of the home, Andrews said.

"We lost one room," he said, "but there was very little smoke, fire damage in the main house. We had a good stop."

Did the cold temperatures make things more difficult?

"Everybody worked a little harder because of the cold, and we got it knocked down," Andrews said, noting that the weather did create some problems.

"The minute we hit the patio with water, everything turns to ice, you create your own skating rink," he said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Most of the fire crews had left by 4:30 a.m., but one engine was on the scene until about 9 a.m. as the firefighters and engineers had to manually release its brakes, which had frozen.

"We’re still trying to thaw out our ladder truck – it froze up solid," Andrews said at about 3:15 p.m.

The residents spent the rest of the night at a neighbor's house. It's unclear if they'll be able to spend tonight in their home, though Andrews thought it likely.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:12 PM | Comment

Sports this weekend

For the first time in more than five months (if you count preseason), it's a Friday and there's no football to look forward to. The big event tonight is in high school ice hockey. The state's two top boys teams, Bishop Hendricken (6-0-1)and Mount St. Charles (7-1-1), face off at 6:30 at the West Warwick Ice Rink. The two teams skated to a tie in their first meeting of the season. Our GameDay page will have a story and a photo gallery from the game tomorrow. In the meantime, click here to read John Gillooly's hockey column, which includes his take on the game.

The Boston Celtics are in action North of the Border tonight, trying to stop their nine-game losing streak against the Toronto Raptors, who hold the unimpressive title of Atlantic Division leaders. The game starts at 7 on Fox Sports New England.

Tomorrow at 12 noon, the PC Friars (3-3 Big East, 13-6 overall) are in Storrs to take on the UConn Huskies (2-4, 13-6). While always talented, UConn is a far cry from the dominant squad they were last year. You can catch the game on Cox Sports TV (Channel 3).

The red-hot Rhody Rams (6-1 Atlantic 10, 13-8 overall) are back at the Ryan Center tomorrow to take on second-place George Washington (5-1, 14-4). The game, which is not televised, begins at 2.

The Boston Bruins return from the All-Star break tomorrow at 3 p.m. They'll be on the road to take on the Ottawa Senators. Concidentally, that's the team that beat the B's right before the break.

The P-Bruins are on the road for games Friday and Saturday night.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:01 PM | Comment

Cicilline elected V.P. of Democratic mayors group

Mayor David N. Cicilline has been elected vice president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors, which provides a forum for Democratic city leaders to develop, recommend and enact public policy for America’s cities.

Cicilline was nominated to the post by Mayor Dannel P. Malloy of Stamford, Conn., and the election took place last night in Washington, D.C., Cicilline’s spokeswoman Karen Southern said today. Cicilline has been in Washington this week for the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ winter meeting.
“I am deeply honored that my colleagues have elected me to this critically important position on the National Conference of Democratic Mayors,” Cicilline said in a statement issued today. “At this time in our nation’s history with new leadership in Congress, the NCDM is poised to play a pivotal role in advocating for and supporting an urban agenda that strengthens America’s families.”

Today and tomorrow, Cicilline is expected to participate in conferences on urban education, regional growth and urban transportation.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 3:00 PM | Comment

Caravan from R.I. to join Washington protest

PROVIDENCE -- A caravan including three buses, two vans and about 40 cars plans to pull out of the Branch Avenue Stop & Shop's parking lot just after 10 p.m. tonight.

The group, which is expected to include around 300 Rhode Islanders, will drive through the night and likely arrive in Washington, D.C., by 6 a.m. for what will be the largest anti-war rally in this country in more than a year.

The total Rhode Island contribution to the protest -- expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the National Mall tomorrow afternoon -- could reach 1,000, according to Robert Malin, media coordinator for Rhode Island Progressive Democrats of America, one of a number of local groups participating.

"This is just to show the senators and congressmen that there are numbers of people interested in this and we’re watching," Malin said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

And while he said he's been active in protest movements dating back to the Vietnam conflict, Malin said the composition of the group leaving tonight is decidedly different.

"We had to arrange an extra van for elderly people who couldn’t climb up the bus steps," he said. "That’s not your usual planning group."

He said he actually turned away an 85-year-old man, citing the huge crowds and likelihood the man wouldn't be able to keep up. "He's going to a protest in Providence instead," Malin said.

(A peace vigil is scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow on the State House lawn.)

The Rhode Island group plans to be back in the Ocean State by Sunday morning. That means the caravan will leave Washington tomorrow night. That also means two consecutive nights sleeping on a bus, a van, or a car for the protesters.

Malin doesn't seem to mind.

"This is important," he said. "The idea is to keep the street heat going so politicans know we’re serious about this. A nonbinding resolution does not a solution make."

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:50 PM | Comment

Short circuit briefly evacuates Cumberland High

CUMBERLAND – Nearly 1,600 students were evacuated from Cumberland High School earlier this morning after there was a short circuit in the fire panel between the kitchen and the boiler room in the school’s main building.

Two buildings on the school campus were evacuated, and everyone was sent into the campus wellness building, which houses the gymnasium, Assistant Superintendent Susan Carney said this morning.

The students – who were “absolutely superb about being cooperative” – were outside no more than five minutes on the coldest day of the year, Carney said.

The whole incident took about 15 minutes, Carney said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:00 AM | Comment

Photo: Looking cool in the cold

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

Charles Black, of Providence, protects himself from the cold with a ski mask and sunglasses as he heads for his bus in Kennedy Plaza this morning. The National Weather Service's wind chill advisory has expired for Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, but wind chills should linger between zero and 10 degrees below. The weather service advises people to dress in layers and wear hats and gloves.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:37 AM | Comment

Local police get surplus military equipment

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island police departments are equipping themselves with bullet-resistant vests, laptop computers and other items thanks to a Department of Defense program.

It matches secondhand military gear with cash-strapped law enforcement agencies.

An analysis by The Associated Press shows the state received 2,450 items in fiscal year 2005 valued at more than $716,000. Rhode Island was the second-largest beneficiary in New England behind Massachusetts.

Coventry police have used the program to get digital cameras, weapons, helmets, vests and laptop computers.

The program started in 1990. It allows the transfer of surplus military parts to police departments.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:34 AM | Comment

Photo: Providence's finest among its coldest

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

Neither rain, sleet nor cold, cold temperatures apparently prevent Providence police motorcycle officers from their rounds. These two are bundled up against the coldest weather of the season (3 degrees with a wind chill of 12 below zero) as they patrol this morning in downtown Providence.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:36 AM | Comment

Journal Register sells its R.I. newspapers

YARDLEY, Penn. -- The Journal Register Co. announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its three daily community newspapers and its weekly newspaper group in Rhode Island to R.I.S.N. Operations Inc. for $7.6 million in cash, subject to a review of the newspapers’ finances.

Included in the sale are The Call in Woonsocket, The Times in Pawtucket and Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick and the Journal Register’s weekly group, the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper Group, in Wakefield.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

-- Bloomberg

The chairman and chief executive officer of Journal Register Co., Robert M. Jelenic, said: “We thank all of our talented employees at our Rhode Island newspapers for their contributions over the years and wish them all well.”

The company, battered by a plummeting stock price, announced last August that it was exploring a sale of its Rhode Island and Massachusetts newspapers.

Last month, the company announced it was selling its seven southeastern Massachusetts newspapers to GateHouse Media for $70 million in cash. Those papers included The Herald News of Fall River and the Taunton Daily Gazette, as well as three weekly newspapers and two shopper publications.

Journal Register Co. owns 27 daily newspapers and 368 nondaily publications. The company currently operates 239 individual Web sites affiliated with the company’s daily newspapers, nondaily publications and its network of employment Web sites.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 9:27 AM | Comment

Traffic update: Disabled vehicle on Route 95

A disabled vehicle on Route 95 North near Exit 23 in Providence is now affecting the right shoulder, according to an alert from the state Traffic Management Center.

For 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 Jack Perry at 9:21 AM | Comment

Photo: Feeling the cold on Kennedy Plaza

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

Joaquim DeBarros, of Providence, feels the cold as he waits for his bus in Kennedy Plaza this morning. It's just 3 degrees in Providence this morning with a northwest wind gusting to 21 mph and making it feel like 12 degrees below zero.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:15 AM | Comment

It's cold here, but you could be on Mt. Washington

You think it's cold here at 3 degrees and a wind chill of 12 below?

It's relatively balmy compared to the top of Mount Washington in North Conway, N.H., where it's 30 degrees below zero with winds gusting to 74 miles per hour and making it feel like 79 degrees below zero.

That's the morning's report from the Mount Washington Observatory's Web site, which proudly promotes the mountain, 6,288 feet above sea level, as "Home of the world's worst weather." The world's strongest wind gust was recorded there -- 231 miles per hour in April 1934.

The site provides plenty of information, including photographs andWeb cams offering beautiful views of the region and comments from the weather observers.

Check it out. After all, today is a good day to stay inside, keep warm and enjoy this extreme weather virtually from a comfortable chair.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:09 AM | Comment

Update: A busy AAA offers car-starting advice

This is the busiest morning of the year so far for AAA Southern New England.

AAA dispatchers have fielded a couple thousand calls already, shortly before 8 a.m., spokesman Robert Murray said. That’s probably twice the volume they’ve handled in the past few days, he said.

The people with problems today are those who haven’t prepared and gotten their cars in working winter order.

Car batteries die from old age, and if you have a fairly weak battery – say, maybe, one that’s on the older side of its anticipated three- to four-year life span – it would have been ready to go anyway, but today’s cold will push it over the edge, Murray said.

“That battery limps along in warm weather, but in single digits, it will just die,” he said.

So what to do if you wake up and worry that you haven’t replaced that battery but you really need to get to work today? Be patient, Murray said. That’s the “No. 1 starting trick,” he said. On a really cold day, the car has to start itself, so don’t rush it.

Turn the key, let the car crank for 20 seconds and if it doesn’t start, stop. Let the car sit for a minute or so. Turn the key again, let the car crank a little while and stop again. Go slowly.

If you keep going and the first time it doesn’t start you stomp on the gas and flood the engine, there’s no way it’s going to start, Murray said.

“If you try to force it and you panic and step on too much gas, then you do drain the battery,” he said. “With patience, you’ll get it going.”

More winter driving tips from AAA ...

Another common problem reported to AAA on days like today are frozen locks or frozen doors.

You really want to plan ahead to avoid problems like that, Murray said, by getting your car ready for winter around Thanksgiving.

The only real method Murray would suggest on a day like today with a frozen lock is using a lock de-icer – a lubricant with an antifreeze in it -- if you have it. Pouring hot water on the lock or trying to warm up your key before using it just aren’t effective solutions on such cold days, he said.

What you really want to do, though, is spray silicone or a lock de-icer into your locks once a year, before winter. Also, AAA recommends spraying silicone weather stripping around the doors and trunk of your car so they don’t freeze shut.

A car in proper condition should start today – and every day – like it does in the summer, Murray said.

“The greater majority of cars start on a day like today,” he said. “It’s probably 80 percent that start and 20 percent that don’t, and you want to be in the 80 percent that start.”

If your car won't start today, here are some explanations, and, hopefully, a tip to get you started.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:33 AM | Comment

Some school bus delays in Scituate

The Scituate School Department is reporting that some school buses are delayed this morning.

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:03 AM | Comment

Stay warm, stay safe

You've probably heard it before, but in the dangerous cold, stay inside if possible, but if you must go outside, dress in layers and cover the skin.

Here are some tips for dressing and staying warm and safe today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:57 AM | Comment

It's 4 degrees, bundle up against frost bite

PROVIDENCE – It’s a far cry from the record high temp for Jan. 26, which was 64 degrees back in 1916. Now wouldn’t that feel balmy?

As you might have guessed if you’ve ventured outside this morning, it’s cold, cold, cold out there. With an official temperature of 4 degrees this morning at T.F. Green Airport, the official location the National Weather Service uses for Providence and surrounding areas, we’re close to the record low. That was 1 degree back in 1927.

A normal high for today’s date would be 37, and a normal low would be 20, based on 30 years of past history, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook and a wind chill advisory today. Across the entire region, dangerously cold wind chill values of 15 to 20 below zero are expected. Gale warnings are posted for all our waters except Boston Harbor and Narragansett Bay. A wind chill advisory is issued when the wind chill index is likely to reach minus 15 to minus 24 degrees for at least three hours.

Exposing your skin to such conditions can cause frostbite in a very short time, and prolonged exposure can also lead to hypothermia, the weather service warns. So dress in layers. Wear hats and gloves. Cover your face as much as possible. Stay indoors when you can.

Check back with us throughout the day for the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:12 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a local story on the trial of a former traffic court judge for striking another judge's car then driving away without leaving a note, along with stories on Iraq and addiction.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment