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June 18, 2007

Martines Pina sentenced on 3 drunk-driving charges

NEW BEDFORD — The wife of a former Bristol County district attorney was sentenced today to serve six months in prison on three charges of drunken driving, despite a prosecutor’s call for a longer sentence.

Sheila Martines Pina, 50, pleaded guilty to all three charges in New Bedford District Court before Judge John Julien, who sentenced her, over the objections of district attorney Gregory Tinsworth, to 30 months in prison, with all but six months suspended.

Pina must serve at least five months of the sentence, according to a statement today by the district attorney’s office. The judge also placed Pina on probation for three years and ordered her to pay $1,050 in fines and court fees.

-- Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims

The district attorney’s office had recommended Pina serve mandatory, consecutive sentences totaling 3 1/2 years for the charges, which are her third, fourth and fifth drunken-driving offenses. Pina had been out on bail on two 2006 drunken-driving cases when she was arrested on May 29 near the Davy Jones restaurant in New Bedford on suspicion of driving drunk.

The wife of Ronald Pina, Sheila Martines Pina was previously a Rhode Island television personality. She was fired last January from her 18-year post as president of the Southeastern Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau. She was convicted in 1989 and in 1997 on drunken-driving charges.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:01 PM | Comment

Carcieri: Privatization bill '11th hour sellout to unions'

PROVIDENCE -- This afternoon, Governor Carcieri blasted the House of Representatives for effectively killing his plans to save millions of dollars by expanding the privatization of state services.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the House of Representatives bypassed the standard legislative process and overwhelmingly approved a privatization bill as part of the 2007-08 budget. Privatization is a key a key part of the governor’s plan to close a structural budget hole by cutting 1,000 state jobs.

“It was an 11th-hour sellout to the unions. It’s shameful,” Carcieri said during today's State House press conference. “It essentially turns over the keys of state government to the unions.”

The proposal, which is expected to be approved tomorrow when the Senate votes on the budget, gives the Legislature new oversight by requiring detailed cost comparisons and a Superior Court appeals process for state services set to be replaced by the private sector.

George H. Nee, secretary-treasurer of the state AFL-CIO, said that labor has been fighting for the proposal for more than 10 years. The intent was not to handcuff the governor, Nee said, but “to make it a difficult process, because you're dealing with peoples lives.' For it to be a difficult process I think is a good thing.”

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:58 PM | Comment

Man accused in domestic slaying held without bail

PROVIDENCE – A man accused of stabbing his former girlfriend to death last month in the Federal Hill apartment they used to share was ordered held without bail today.

Hamlet Lopez, 51, remains at the Adult Correctional Institutions, where he has been since his arrest May 21, the day after the police allege he killed child-care operator Miledis Hilario.

The case against Lopez has not yet gone to a grand jury, according to Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office. Healey said the office is preparing to present the case to a grand jury.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Today, Sixth District Court Judge Elaine T. Bucci set a deadline of Aug. 17 for indictment, Healey said. If the state has not presented the case to a grand jury and secured an indictment against Lopez by that date, Bucci will discuss possible bail, Healey said.

The state is prepared to present the case in time to meet that deadline, Healey said.

In court today, Lopez did not contest that the state has enough information to hold him without bail, Healey said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 5:46 PM | Comment

Duke, 3 former lacrosse players reach settlement

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with three former lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, the school said today.

Duke suspended Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans after they were charged last year with raping a stripper at an off-campus party. The university also canceled the team's season and forced their coach to resign.

Seligmann is due to transfer to Brown University this fall and play lacrosse there. The players' former coach, Mike Pressler, is now coaching at Bryant University in Rhode Island.

"We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure," the school said in a statement. "These young men and their families have been the subject of intense scrutiny that has taken a heavy toll."

The allegations were debunked in April by state prosecutors, who said the players were the innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse" by Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong. He was disbarred Saturday for breaking more than two dozen rules of professional conduct in his handling of the case.

The players' families racked up millions of dollars of legal bills in their defense, and appear likely to file a lawsuit against Nifong.

The players said in a joint statement that they hoped the agreement would "begin to bring the Duke family back together again."

Full story ...

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:07 PM | Comment

Update: Fire at Federal Hill apartment building / Photo

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
The fire at the apartment building above was under control in less than an hour.

PROVIDENCE – A Federal Hill apartment fire has displaced at least 10 adults and five children and sent a baby girl to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for trouble breathing due to the fire.

Everyone was out of the three-story building at the intersection of Almy and Tell streets when fire crews arrived this afternoon, Fire Chief George S. Farrell said.

As people begin coming home from work, the fire department may learn of additional people displaced by the blaze, which was reported at 3:55 p.m.

Despite an initial report of children trapped on the third floor, all occupants were safely out of the building, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the fire department.

The two-month-old girl was found at a store nearby and was taken to Hasbro because she was having trouble breathing, Taylor said. She was breathing on her own, Farrell said at the scene.

The fire was under control within about 20 minutes, Farrell said. By 4:30 p.m., fire crews were pouring water on the triple-decker, but no flames were visible.

The department sent eight engines, four ladder trucks and three rescue vehicles to the two-alarm blaze, Farrell said.

The fire is under investigation. Farrell said the cause is unknown at this point, and it’s not even clear yet where the fire started. Most of the damage was to the second and third floors.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson, with reports from Journal staff writer John Hill

Posted by Kate Bramson at 4:55 PM | Comment

CCRI student gets 10 years for DUI double fatal

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- CCRI sophomore Brandy Graff was sentenced this afternoon to 15 years in prison, with 10 to serve, after pleading guilty to two counts of driving under the influence, death resulting, for the 2005 crash that killed two sisters who were taking a scenic drive on Ocean Road.

Graff, 20, apologized in court today to the families of the two sisters, and she addressed Judge Stephen P. Nugent in Washington County Superior Court.

“I never thought my choices would ever hurt anyone but myself,” Graff said to the judge. “There isn’t one minute that passes that I don’t wish I made better choices that day.”

More to come ...

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson, with reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Kate Bramson at 3:57 PM | Comment

Senate panel to meet on legal fees paid by DEM

PROVIDENCE -- The Senate Finance Committee will meet tomorrow to investigate legal fees paid by the state Department of Environmental Management, according to a news release issued today.

The committee is "expanding the scope" of the hearing after reports of "exorbitant amounts" paid to an out-of-state law firm hired by DEM in connection with a case of soil contamination in a North Tiverton neighborhood.

Legislative leaders have said they want to question Carcieri administration officials about the hiring of a Washington law firm that's billed the state $448,000 in a Tiverton environmental case.

Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano told The Journal last week that the Senate Finance Committee would hold a public hearing on the circumstances surrounding the Department of Environmental Management’s hiring of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan at rates of up to $680 an hour.

The commiteee has asked DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan, Department of Administration Director Beverly E. Najarian and DEM executive counsel Patty Allison Fairweather to appear at the hearing, the news release says.

The hearing is scheduled to start at the rise of the Senate tomorrow and be held in the Senate Lounge.

-- With archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:52 PM | Comment

Update: $1M bail for man accused of injuring trooper

PROVIDENCE -- After allegedly punching State Trooper Brendan Doyle so hard Saturday that Doyle is now fighting for his life in a hospital, James Proulx, a former state correctional officer, made a profanity-laced cell phone call to an ex-girlfriend that same morning, the police say.

During the call, Proulx accuses his ex-girlfriend, Erica Geisser, of sending people after him, according to the text of a voice mail message that prosecutor James Baum read in District Court, Providence, this morning. Proulx says he has has given "them" the beating of "their ... life" and says they are "probably all sucking their lunch out of a straw right now," according to the transcript of the message.

"That's so ... not right that you ... sent those guys after me, okay," he continued. "I would never do that to you, okay. But they're not telling -- Trust me when I tell you, they ain't coming after me again, 'cause they're ... hurting right now. All right. But that was really funny."

With the state police superintendent and five state troopers standing in the back of the courtroom, Chief District Court Judge Albert DeRobbio initially talked of setting bail at $500,000 for the felony assault charge but ultimately set it at $1 million with surety.

In any event, Proulx, 36, was ordered held without bail today for violating a no-contact order on a prior charge of domestic violence. Proulx, wearing a green shirt and blue jeans, said little during the arraignment.

Doyle, 25, is in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital after the incident, which happened around 2 a.m. Saturday.

Defense lawyer Michael DeMarco argued that guidelines for a felony assault charge call for $20,000 with surety bail.

"$500,000 is very excessive," DeMarco told the judge.

But the judge said he took a host of circumstances in this case into account, including the text of the cell-phone call.

"High bail is not excessive bail," the judge said.

After the arraignment, State Police Col. Brendan Doherty said outside the courtroom that he was "pleased" with the judge's decision.

DeMarco declined comment, other than to say the bail was excessive, as he left the courthouse surrounded by reporters.

Trooper Doyle's father, Robert Doyle, said his son can hear them, and he has squeezed his mother’s hand. This morning, he gave the family a "thumbs up" when asked to hold up two fingers. His prognosis is still uncertain, his father said.

The doctors say all brain injuries are different and all patients are different, Robert Doyle said.

Trooper Doyle is from a family of athletes — his father is a six-time winner of the Ocean State Marathon and has the fastest time of any Rhode Islander in that race. His uncle is the track coach at Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick. The family had owned Doyle Sporting Goods in Pawtucket years ago.

Doyle himself an avid runner. When he became a state police trooper two years ago, he joined other troopers in benefit runs. He is also part of the family of state police officers — one uncle is a retired state police lieutenant, and another, Lt. Eric LaRiviere, is still serving.

State police, Providence police, the firefighters who first treated Doyle Saturday morning, and his friends and fellow runners from all over the state have been visiting, his father said today.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney and Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits, with reports from projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:27 PM | Comment

Carcieri to 'express dismay' over House budget plan

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri will hold a press conference this afternoon to "express his dismay' over the budget passed by the House of Representatives early Saturday morning.

In a media advisory just issued, his office says Carcieri will address several areas of particular concern, specifically: Aid to local schools, use of the national tobacco settlement, raised taxes and "preventing cost-savings initiatives from privatization from taking place."

The House approved a $6.99 billion budget following a marathon session that spanned more than 11 hours. The plan froze state education aid, closed a series of corporate tax shelters, knocked an estimated 2,400 children off state subsidized childcare, agreed to allow Sunday auto sales, dedicated millions from the sale of tobacco-settlement bonds to balance the budget and required that 17-year-olds be tried as adults for criminal offenses.

The Senate will take up the proposal this week.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 11:42 AM | Comment

Gas prices drop again

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have dropped for the third straight week, according to AAA Southern New England.

The average price is $2.969 for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline at the self-service pump, according to AAA's weekly survey. That's four cents less than last week.

The price has dropped 12 cents in the past three weeks, AAA said.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:38 AM | Comment

R.I. Guard members heading to Iraq

CRANSTON -- Nine members of the Rhode Island Army National Guard's Public Affairs Operations Center are shipping off to Iraq for one year.

They will depart today for initial deployment in Fort Dix, N.J., before forward movement to Iraq.

Their mission will be to develop and deliver internal command and external media messages.

They are expected to depart from the Rhode Island National Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Cranston following a send-off ceremony set for 1:30 p.m.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:33 AM | Comment

Verizon launches cable service in West Bay / Photo

Journal photo / Bill Murphy
The first Verizon FIOS truck hits the streets to bring cable television competition to the West Bay area, which serves 79,000 homes in seven communities.

WARWICK -- Verizon Communications launched its cable television service in the West Bay area this morning, becoming the first new provider of cable TV in Rhode Island in about 20 years.

The company held a launch event at a new Verizon dispatch facility in Warwick that included a ribbon "cutting" ceremony: a convoy of 10 Verizon service trucks rolled off the lot to begin the first installations. The lead truck broke through a red ribbon that officials had stretched between two poles.

The company has permission from the state to offer its FiOS TV service to Service Area 6, which includes 79,600 households in Coventry, East Greenwich, Exeter, North Kingstown, Warwick, West Warwick and West Greenwich.

Its expanded tier will cost customers $42.99 per month plus $4.99 for a cable box and remote control.

The company has also applied for licenses to serve Service Areas 2, 3 and 8, which include 158,000 households in Charlestown, Cranston, Foster, Hopkinton, Johnston, Narragansett, North Providence, Providence, Richmond, Scituate, South Kingstown and Westerly. The company could get final approval for those three areas as soon as this fall, according to a state official.

Posted by Tim Barmann at 10:13 AM | Comment

2,000 sailors converge upon Block Island this week

The population of tiny Block Island will swell by more than 2,000 sailors while marinas fill with an extra 200-plus boats when the Storm Trysail Club arrives to coordinate -- for its 22nd time -- Block Island Race Week.

The event, presented by Rolex, is one of the most popular sailing weeks in America, repeating itself on the island biennially since 1965.

In 2005, through contributions and a raffle, Race Week raised in excess of $18,000 for three charities. Benefiting this year will be Block Island North Lighthouse, BIock Island Rescue Squad and Block Island Early Learning Center.

Highlight of the event happens on Wednesday, when a sea of colorful spinnakers makes its way completely around Block Island.

Posted by Pam Cotter at 9:20 AM | Comment

So far, traffic's moving smoothly on major roads

PROVIDENCE -- It appears to be a mostly smooth ride through the capital city and its adjacent communities this morning on Routes 95 and 195.

The state Transportation Management Center's cameras show no standing traffic on those highways.

Things are moving fine on Routes 10 and 6 as well.

See for yourself: Click here to go to the Transportation Management Center. On the site, click on traffic cameras to see how various stretches of roads are looking. And you can click for the latest report of an accident.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:13 AM | Comment

Temperatures will rise into the 80s, mostly sunny

It's expected to rise into the 80s and be mostly sunny today.

Right now, it's 67 degrees in the Providence area, 65 degrees in Newport, 67 degrees in North Kingstown, 65 degrees in Pawtucket and in Westerly, and 64 on Block Island.

The high in the Providence area is expected to be 84 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

So far, the humidity is above 60 percent in most of the state, with an exception of Newport, where it's 75 percent, and Block Island, where it's 84 percent.

Tonight, the forecast calls for mostly clear skies with lows in the upper 50s.

The forecast's first sign of trouble is tomorrow night, when there is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:03 AM | Comment

Today's front page

It was a busy Father's Day weekend at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence with about 30 babies being born, including Hailee Ava Pomeranz, who is featured in a story and photograph with her mother, Ria, and father, Mike, on today's front page.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment