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July 18, 2007

Update: Cranston girl who fell in N.H. is home safe

A Cranston girl who fell while rock climbing in New Hampshire yesterday is home safe with a few bumps and bruises, according to her mother and grandfather.

Hannah Meharg, 12, fell more than 40 feet from a cliff in the White Mountains yesterday while participating in a weeklong rock-climbing camp operated by the Rhode Island Rock Gym of Lincoln.

Meharg, an avid rock climber who attends the Jewish Community Day School in Providence, had reached the top of a cliff at Rumney Rocks and fell while preparing to descend, landing partially on another child, according to Lt. Todd Bogardus of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The other child was not seriously injured.

Rescuers believe Meharg, one of 10 children on the expedition, fell after mistakenly unclipping herself from her safety gear.

Crews passed her stretcher over steep boulders through rugged terrain to get her to the hospital. John Meharg, Hannah’s grandfather, said X-rays revealed no fractures. But he said she has scrapes and bruises on her head, face and legs and some pain in her back.

Hannah’s mother Ronni Meharg, who drove to New Hampshire last night to pick up her daughter, said she did not blame the camp operators for Hannah’s fall, calling it a “total, total fluke accident.”

She said her daughter loves rock climbing and does not plan to give it up. Hannah’s grandfather did not seem so sure about the wisdom of that decision, but was unwilling to intervene.

“I’m her grandfather,” he said, with a chuckle. “I don’t think I get to have an opinion.”

-- Journal staff writer David Scharfenberg, with reports from The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:45 PM | Comment

Beer, wine to be sold at Newport jazz, folk fests

NEWPORT -- George Wein and The Festival Network, the producers of the Dunkin’ Donuts Newport Folk Festival and the JVC Jazz Festival-Newport, announced today that for the first time since returning to the City by the Sea in 1981, beer and wine will be sold at the concerts at Fort Adams State Park.

The Open Air Café will serve the beverages along with “a classic New England coastal menu,” the producers said in a statement, on the west end of the boat basin at Fort Adams, where festival-goers will be able to drink while seeing the main stage as well as the fort and the harbor.

“Why should people be denied when at every public event, every ball game, they can get a beer?” Wein said today. “In the hot sun, it’s nice.”

Up until now, alcohol was unavailable at Fort Adams, and festival-goers’ bags and coolers were checked for alcohol, Wein said. He added that people have complained about the lack of opportunity to have a drink at the Newport festivals in the past, and he needs to use everything he can to bring people back.

“We have to work to get people there. Our festival is not what they call a hot festival,” Wein said, comparing the fort to rock venues such as the Tweeter Center. “We don’t play the people who draw the biggest crowds. … “It’s just time that we did this.”

The café will be supplied by Constellation Brands, which handles Corona beer and several brands of wine. “We won’t make money off the beer itself,” Wein said -- the festival gets the sponsorship money, and Constellation gets the alcohol proceeds.

Newport Councilwoman Kate Leonard said today that alcohol sales will be restricted to the tented café, and that festival patrons will still not be allowed to bring in their own alcohol. She said that the city and the state Department of Environmental Management, which runs Fort Adams, are still working on the details of policy.

More about the two festivals ...

-- Journal pop music writer Rick Massimo

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:28 PM | Comment

ALERT: Body of teen found in Barrington River

BARRINGTON -- The body of the 17-year-old boy who fell from a kneeboard while being pulled by a motorboat into the Barrington River last night was found this afternoon.

Fire Chief Gerald Bessette announced that the body was recovered at about 2:45 p.m. in the water in an area in the vicinity of Town Hall on County Road after a search that began last night.

Authorities are not yet releasing the boy's name because family is being notified and the family requested time to notify other family. He has been identified as a Barrington High School student.

The state Department of Environmental Management has charged the teen driver of the boat, Ryan A. Greenberg, 17, of 33 Lamson Rd., Barrington, with reckless boating and refusal to submit to a chemical test. Police say alcohol was involved in the incident.

Another 17-year-old was also on board the boat at the time.

Bessette credited the search efforts, which he said involved as many as 100 people, including state police and search dogs.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:49 PM | Comment

Westerly Democrat under investigation for missing laptop

WESTERLY -- A prominent Westerly Democrat is under scrutiny after a laptop computer he reported missing from his state office turned up in his car trunk.

Robert Ritacco leads the Westerly Democratic Town Committee and worked for the state Division of Taxation.

Court documents allege that Ritacco told police that someone stole a state-issued laptop from his office in March. A few weeks later, Ritacco told police he found the computer in the trunk of his vehicle. He said he was trying to fix it.

Prosecutors charged Ritacco with filing a false police report, but later dismissed the case. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch says an investigation is ongoing.

Ritacco says he voluntarily left his state job and that the dismissal of charges speaks for itself.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:19 PM | Comment

RWU chair 'accepts' Papitto's request to drop name

The Roger Williams University Board of Trustees chairman said this afternoon he "accepts" former chairman Ralph R. Papitto's request that Papitto's name be removed from the university's law school.

“On behalf of the board of trustees and the university administration, I accept Mr. Papitto’s request that we remove his name from the University’s law school," said Richard Bready, who recently replaced Papitto as board chairman, said in a statement.

"While we are deeply grateful that Mr. Papitto has chosen a course of action that is unquestionably in the best interest of the school and its community of faculty, students and alumni, there exists a measure of sadness that his long association with the school comes to this end," Bready added.

Bready's statement follows Papitto's apology early this afternoon for a racial slur he made at a Board of Trustees meeting. The remark led to his recent resignation as chairman of that board and calls for his name to be removed from RWU's law school.

Papitto, 80, the board's chairman for 20 years, who has given $2.8 million to the school over the years, stepped down July 9, citing his age and desire to spend more time with his family. On Saturday, The Journal reported that Papitto had been forced off the board after using a racial slur during a May 2 meeting while discussing the need to add more women and minorities to the board. (Of the board's 16 members, 14 were white men.)

Papitto "has served this university for nearly 35 years and has helped to position Roger Williams to be the outstanding institution for higher education that it is today," Bready said. "We specifically appreciate his efforts to amend relations with the minority community.

Bready stated that the new board of trustees will continue to move forward with its plans to ensure a more diverse board and will shortly adopt new by-laws that provide greater transparency of board activities.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:05 PM | Comment

No arrests yet in killing of cab driver, police say

No arrests had been made yet in connection with the shooting death of Providence cab driver Jose Rodriguez, according to Central Falls Police.

Rodriguez was shot Monday, on his birthday, around midday while he was driving three men from Providence to Central Falls. He died the following day.

Evelyn Gonzalez, the manager at Gonzalez Cab Inc. of Providence, where Rodriguez worked, said today that another cabbie just missed a confrontation with two men he had gone to pick up on Nebraska Street in Providence at 9:15 p.m.

Gonzalez said they had requested to go to Central Falls. The cabbie saw one man come through an alley and another man approaching from the other side. He took off in his cab after that man dropped a gun, she said.

Gonzalez said she told him to report it to police but did not know if he did or not. She said sometimes cabbies do not report crimes or potential crimes because police do not respond for hours.

She said she is planning to talk with Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman.

At the home of Jose Rodriguez, his widow Ana (Yvelisse) Rosario Rodriguez and her family made preparations to send his body back to the Dominican Republic, his native country.

-- Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:00 PM | Comment

A North Providence beach closed due to bacteria

NORTH PROVIDENCE -- The state Health Department today recommended closing Notte Park Beach here to swimming because of high bacteria counts.

Officials will monitor water quality and recommend re-opening when the areas are safe for swimming.

"We urge the public to avoid feeding waterfowl at the beach and remind you to remove garbage to help reduce contamination contributed by waterfowl," the Health Department news release said.

To check information about swimming at Rhode Island beaches, go to www.health.ri.gov or call (401) 222-2751.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:57 PM | Comment

Update: Cranston girl, injured in N.H. fall, released

RUMNEY, N.H. -- A 12-year-old girl was treated and released after falling more than 40 feet while rock climbing in New Hampshire's White Mountains with a Rhode Island group.

Hannah Meharg of Cranston, R.I., suffered head and possible back injuries Tuesday when she fell from a cliff at the Rumney Rocks, Fish and Game said.

Lt. Todd Bogardus said Meharg had reached the top of the cliff and fell while preparing to come down, landing at the bottom, partially on another child. The other child was not seriously hurt.

He said rescuers believe the youngster fell after mistakenly unclipping herself from her safety gear.

She was among 10 children, ages 11 to 13, who are part of a weeklong rock-climbing camp operated by the Rhode Island Rock Gym of Lincoln.

Rescuers passed her stretcher over steep boulders through rugged terrain to get her to the hospital.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:51 PM | Comment

Family literacy initative gets $145,000 grant

A literacy collaboration of Providence, Cranston, East Providence, and Pawtucket public libraries is getting a $145,000 grant that will allow classes to continue in English as a second language, citizenship preparation, computer and family literacy.

The state Department of Education grant goes to the Rhode Island Familiy Literacy Initiative, which is based at Providence Public Library. The initiatives is one of 38 community-based agencies in the state that provide adult education programs adn received a Department of Educatipn grant this year.

The grant, to be used during the 2007-08 academic year, is an increase of $54,000 over what the program got from thew state last year, according to a news release from the Providence Public Library.

In 2006-07, the literacy initiative served 376 adult learners and 137 children. Adult learners in the program come from 54 countries and speak more than eight different languages, accordong to the library.

Nineteen students of the initiative earned U.S. citizenship during the past year.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:24 PM | Comment

Update: Papitto apologizes for racial slur / Photo

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Spokesman Mike Trainor, left, and lawyer Joseph Cavanagh talk with reporters about Papitto's apology.

Ralph R. Papitto, the former Roger Williams University Board of Trustees chairman who used a racial slur at a board meeting, issued a statement today apologizing and saying he has asked the Board of Trustees to remove his name from the university's law school.

"I deeply regret the pain that this remark has caused those in the African American community and other minorities," Papitto said in the statement. "This remark in no way reflects my deep respect for the African American community and for the many contributions African Americans have made to our society."

Papitto himself did not attend the press conference called for the purpose of delivering the statement. Instead, it was read by his representative, Mike Trainor. Papitto's lawyer, Joseph Cavanagh, also attended on Papitto's behalf.

Trainor explained that Papitto, 80, is still in recovery from quadruple bypass surgery and is not able to take part in "very stressful situations."

A group of 179 law students, a Roger Williams University professor and, today, the Rhode Island Minority Leadership/Legislative Caucus, have all asked that Papitto's name be removed from the university's law school -- the state's only law school.

In the statement, Papitto says, "A continued public discussion and debate over the name of the law school serves only to further damage the university. Therefore, and as a reflection of the sincerity of my regret and of my deep commitment to Roger Williams University, I have today asked the Board of Trustees to remove my name from the law school."

Papitto's statement also says: "I also wish to state that this is a truly isolated incident. I flatly repudiate allegations that this sort of comment in any way characterizes my conversational traits or behavior."

He added that over the past several days, "I have done much soul searching and reflection. As I have indicated repeatedly, I take full responsibility for this matter and ask for understanding from the community."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Audio: Hear Papitto's spokesman, Mike Trainor, read Papitto's statement at today's news conference

Audio: Hear Trainor and Papitto's lawyer, Joseph Cavanagh, answer questions at today's news conference

PDF: Read Papitto's statement saying his name should be removed from the law school

Your Turn: React to Papitto's apology

Extra: For more on the embattled former RWU chairman and for related links, go to www.projo.com/education

The Journal reported Saturday that Papitto had been forced off the board after using a racial slur during a May 2 meeting while discussing the need to add more women and minorities to the board.

Three trustees who called for Papitto to resign after he uttered the racial slur, including the board’s only two women, say they were wrongfully removed from the board in retaliation.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:54 PM | Comment

North Smithfield couple pleads guilty to tax evasion

PROVIDENCE -- A North Smithfield couple have pleaded guilty to tax evasion, admitting they failed to report $266,861 in income over three years.

Robert Portman and his wife, Candy Portman, made the guilty pleas during separate hearings yesterday in U.S. District Court, Providence, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente announced today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Reich said at the hearings that the government could prove that for tax years 2000 through 2002, Robert Portman failed to report all of the business receipts of his firm, Reliable Builders.

Portan "asked many customers to pay with checks made out to him personally rather than to the business, and deposited those checks into a personal account rather than the business account," a news release states.

Candy Portman maintained the company's books, the U.S. Attorney's office stated. The couple failed to report $42,239 worth of income in 2000, $82,237 in 2001 and $142,385 in 2002. The net tax loss to the government is $74,721.

The Portmans, of Victory Highway, North Smithfield, each pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, the news release states. The maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The defendants are free on bond pending a scheduled Oct. 19 sentencing.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:37 PM | Comment

Cranston girl injured from fall in New Hampshire

RUMNEY, N.H. -- An 11-year-old girl is in the hospital after falling while rock climbing in New Hampshire's White Mountains with a Rhode Island group.

Officials say Hannah Megard, of Cranston, suffered head and possible back injuries yesterday when she fell more than 40 feet from a cliff at the Rumney Rocks.

Rescuers passed her stretcher over steep boulders through rugged terrain to get her to the hospital.

She was among ten children, ages 11 to 13, who are part of a weeklong rock-climbing camp operated by the Rhode Island Rock Gym of Lincoln.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:31 PM | Comment

Minority caucus: Take Papitto's name off law school

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Minority Leadership/Legislative Caucus today condemned former Roger Williams University Board of Trustees Chairman Ralph R. Papitto’s use of a racial slur during a recent trustees meeting.

The caucus called on the university to distance itself from Papitto and make diversity on its board the top priority. The caucus is also calling on the university to remove Papitto’s name from its law school and to reinstate the three now-ousted board members who asked Papitto to step down. The leaders want a reconfiguration of the board of trustees that would reflect more diversity.

Speaking inside the State House in front of the bust of Martin Luther King Jr., caucus chairman Rep. Joseph S. Almeida asked Roger Williams University President Roy Nirschel to be more outspoken about the issue and the importance of diversity on the board.

About 40 people attended, including members of the legislative caucus, various minority groups and NAACP President Clifford R. Montiero. Montiero said if Papitto wants to do something great, he ought to fund an annual diversity program at the school.

-- Journal staff writer Tom Mooney

Your Turn: React to this story

Extra: For more on the embattled former RWU chairman and for related links, go to www.projo.com/education

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:54 AM | Comment

Senate blocks Reed push to remove troops from Iraq

WASHINGTON -- The Senate has again blocked an effort, led in part by Sen. Jack Reed, to force President Bush to begin removing troops from Iraq this fall and to complete a sharp contraction of the American war mission by next spring.

By a vote of 52 to 47, Democratic leadership failed to muster the super majority needed to limit debate on the Reed measure.

The parliamentary test vote appeared to suggest that Democrat Reed, of Rhode Island, and his allies have scored a marginal gain in the bipartisan support for legislation that carries legal deadlines for the U.S. force reductions.

But the vote underscored a reluctance to legislate a change of course in Iraq -- even among Republicans who have grown skeptical of President Bush's war strategy.

-- John Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:49 AM | Comment

Whitehouse to push for war contracts probe

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse will join other freshmen Democratic senators this afternoon in announcing new legislation to create a commission to investigate wartime contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to a news release, Whitehouse and the other senators describe it as an independent commission.

The announcement came just before senators voted on an amendment that would begin pulling troops pout of Iraq 120 days after it became law. The amendment, co-sponsored by fellow Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed, failed to pass at about 11:30 a.m.

Whitehouse spoke on the Senate floor about 7 a.m. today on the troop-reduction amendment.

The news conference on the commission is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:43 AM | Comment

Workforce official to speak to Quaker Fabric workers

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Suzanne M. Bump, the secretary of Labor and Workforce Development in Massachusetts, will speak to former employees of Quaker Fabric Corp. on Friday.

Quaker, a former textile juggernaut, laid off its 900 employees two weeks ago after defaulting on more than $30 million in loans. At least 62 Rhode Island residents lost their jobs when the plant suspended operations.

Bump is scheduled to speak to hundreds of those workers at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at a special job fair at Bristol Community College, organized by the Fall River Career Center.

More than 100 companies and social service organizations will attend the job fair for the displaced workers, many of whom speak limited English and worked at Quaker for decades.

Bump, a former state representative, was appointed to her cabinet post in January.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:22 AM | Comment

Man escapes burning fishing boat south of Newport

The lone man aboard Jamestown-based fishing boat Lucy, which burst into flames about four miles south of Newport, escaped in a life raft today and called Coast Guard Station Castle Hill by cell phone.

Chris Lutyens was taken aboard a 25-foot Coast Guard response boat from Castle Hill to the Jamestown pier and then to Newport Hospital for follow-up treatment, according to a Coast Guard news release.

The Jamestown Fire Department arrived around 7:30 a.m. and fought the fire until the ship sank in about 100 feet of water after Lutyens reported the Lucy was on fire around 6:20 a.m.

Crew of another fishing boat, the Odyssey, had seen the fire and took Lutyens aboard. A 25-foot Coast Guard response-boat and a 41-foot utility boat arrived on-scene around 6:35 a.m.

"Since Mr. Lutyens had a life raft aboard and the knowledge of how to use it, he was able to safely evacuate the vessel and call for help," said Petty Officer Jason Ronin of Station Castle Hill in a statement. "We strongly urge all boaters to ensure they have operable emergency equipment when planning to be at sea."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:12 AM | Comment

Providence to get anti-terror aid

WASHINGTON -- A new round of federal anti-terror grants to cities will send $5.2 million to Providence -- after it was cut out of anti-terror funding last year.

The anti-terror aid is expected to be announced today by the Department of Homeland Security.

An early copy of the national list of grant amounts to the 46 recipient cities was obtained by The Associated Press.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said cities should not compare one year's award to the next. He says the program is designed to provide aid where the need is greatest in order to make the entire country safer from terrorist attacks.

The money can be spent to train, equip, and better protect police, fire, and emergency personnel.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:06 AM | Comment

Search for teen continues, boat operator charged

Journal Photo/Mary Murphy
Barrington Police Chief John LaCross directs the search at Walker Farm on Hundred Acre Cove, north of the White Church Bridge.

BARRINGTON -- As a light rain falls, the search continues this morning on the Barrington River and along its shore for a teen missing since last night.

The 17-year-old boy fell from a kneeboard that was being pulled by a motorboat around 7:30 p.m. He has not been identified by officials.

Four boats were in the water at about 9:30 this morning and a fifth was to soon join the search, according to public safety officials. Trained state police dogs were on two of the boats in the hope that they would pick up the scent of the missing boy.

Barrington Police Chief John M. LaCross said alcohol had been found on the boat, which was occupied by two other 17-year-olds when the teen disappeared.

The operator of the boat, Ryan A. Greenberg, 17, of 33 Lamson Road, Barrington, has been charged by the state Department of Environmental Management with reckless driving of a motor vessel and refusal to submit to a chemical test, according to LaCross.

He was arraigned before a justice of the peace last night and released to his parents.

All of the teens are students at Barrington High School. School Principal John Gray was at the scene this morning.

Anat Cunha, who lives nearby and is the mother of a teenager, was watching the search near a command post officials have set up north of the White Church bridge. She said the currents can be deceptively strong in the river, especially to the south of the bridge.

Read a fuller, continually updated version of this story here.

-- By Kate Bramson, projo.com staff writer, with reports from Journal staff photographer Mary Murphy and staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
A Barrington Fire Department rescue boat plies the waters with a state police dog aboard south of the command post at Walker Farm along the river.

LaCross said searchers were also looking along the shore.

Searchers limited the number of boats used this morning because the trained dogs can work more effectively in a calm environment. Authorities are asking pleasure boaters to stay out of the area.

The town’s fire and police departments searched last night until about midnight and resumed their search this morning. They were assisted yesterday by area law enforcers and fire crews, the Coast Guard and state police. Residents in their boats also joined in the search.

The police are asking anyone with information to call detectives at 437-3933.

See the initial report from today's Journal.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:16 AM | Comment

Up early, Whitehouse addresses Senate on Iraq

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse addressed his colleagues around 7 a.m. today during their all-night session, which can be viewed on C-Span 2 (Channel 32 locally).

Whitehouse outlined ways in which the Iraqi government “has not made satisfactory progress” on issues such as establishing provincial council authorities and preparing for elections.

“It is clear that the Iraqis have not made that progress,” he said.

“We must announce that we will re-deploy our troops,” Whitehouse continued. “This is a necessary step.”

Whitehouse said the United States has “an enormously complex problem, a problem that we have tried to solve by military efforts alone.”

But the country’s efforts have failed, he said, “not because anything was lacking in our troops.” The failure has come because the “strategy was wrong,” he said, and it is up to the Senate to challenge that strategy.

“The Levin-Reed amendment is the new direction Americans have called for,” he said of the amendment co-sponsored by his fellow Rhode Island senator, Jack Reed, which calls for the United States to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq 120 days after enactment of the bill. “I urge my colleagues to let us vote. Let us vote up or down.”

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:24 AM | Comment

Showers likely

Showers are likely and a thunderstorm is possible after 3 p.m. today in the Providence area, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy downpours are possible, which could result in flooding in urban areas.

The temperature should reach 76 degrees, the weather service says.

Tonight should also bring periods of showers and possibly a thunderstorm.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story about the search for a missing 17-year-old boy in the Barrington River.

It also includes photographs and a story about a national campaign to motivate legal immigrants to become citizens.

Download a copy of today's front page.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment

Voter fraud charges fly in East Providence

EAST PROVIDENCE -- The chairwoman of the city’s Canvassing Authority wants the state to send every registered voter in East Providence a mailing to confirm where live.

Dorothy O’Gara’s announcement came today, the morning The Journal reported that Republican Party members have accused O’Gara of aiding and abetting voter fraud.

They say she stalled scheduling meetings so the city couldn’t prosecute residents who illegally voted in the 2006 primary and general election.

The three-member board has not had a meeting since January and by state law, local officials have 12 months to press charges.

The Republicans say the one year expires next month, which is when O’Gara said she will begin her campaign.

The chairman of the state Republican Party, Giovanni Cicione, said East Providence has “one of the most embarrassing records on fair elections” in the state.

During the 2004 election, 13 people were charged with voter fraud after they cast ballots in East Providence.

“There is a small core group of people who have, on the one hand complained about the accuracy of the list and accused me of delaying a meeting of the authority, and all the while have carefully orchestrated a series of situations that have made it difficult for me to carry on with the business of the board,” O’Gara said.

-- Journal staff writer Alisha A. Pina

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:30 AM | Comment