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August 31, 2007

To our readers: 7to7 newsblog off for Labor Day

The 7to7news blog will be giving itself a Labor Day break, as it follows its practice of publishing local breaking news on business days and not holidays.

As usual, projo.com will continue to be updated with news from The Journal as it becomes available, automated wire feeds and reports from several others of our bloggers, especially our sports writers, who feed the main SportsBlog -- especially from this weekend's Deutsche Bank golf tournament, SoxBlog and PatsBlog.

We're sure projo.com's Sheila Lennon will continue to post her eclectic reports at any time of the day or night on her Subterranean Homepage News blog.

And when big local news breaks over the holiday weekend, we'll do our best to get it to you ASAP -- officially on duty or not.

Haven't had a chance to keep up with all the breaking news this week? You can always go back, via the 7to7 newsblog's daily calendar links or its archived headlines, to get a wrapup of past events.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 7:02 PM | Comment

For some R&R this weekend, head to Charlestown

Maybe it's time for a little R & R tonight, as in rhythm and roots.

The 10th annual Rhythm & Roots Festival is at Ninigret Park, 4813 Old Post Rd. (Route 1), Charlestown, through Sunday.

Here's the schedule:

• Tonight, from 5 to midnight: Red Stick Ramblers, Natalie MacMaster, The Pine Leaf Boys, Creole Cowboys, The Racines, The Buddhahood, Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans and Ray Bonneville.

• Tomorrow: Red Stick Ramblers, Susan Tedeschi, Donna the Buffalo, The Pine Leaf Boys, Creole Cowboys, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Los Straitjackets with Big Sandy, Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans and Corey “Li’l Pop” Ledet, noon-midnight.

• Sunday: Red Stick Ramblers, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Pine Leaf Boys, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Johnny Nicholas and the Texas Allstars featuring Joel Guzman & Greg Piccolo, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, James McMurtry and Corey “Li’l Pop” Ledet, noon-midnight.

Call (888) 855-6940 or go to www.rhythmandroots.com. Fees range from $30 to $160 (for a full three-day ticket). Children 12 and under get in free. There's also a senior discount at gate. Parking is free.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:00 PM | Comment

Alert: Tiverton teachers back strike call -- if needed

TIVERTON -- The teachers union membership this evening authorized its negotiating committee to call a strike if it deemed it necessary next Tuesday.

Amy Mullen, the NEA-Tiverton teachers union president, said the members authorized the committee at a 4:30 p.m. meeting to "to take whatever action it deems necessary up to and including a strike on Tuesday."

She said the negotiating committee is making itself available to meet with one or more members of the School Committee over the weekend "in hopes that significant progress can be made" before Tuesday, when students would come back after the Labor Day weekend.

Mullen also said the committee will not continue to meet with the School Committee's current configuration of negotiators.

Teachers did report for the opening of school this past week as scheduled. Their contract is due to expire at midnight tonight. (An earlier report incorrectly said it had expired yesterday.)

Yesterday, the teachers’ union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the School Committee, asserting the committee has bargained in bad faith by failing to appoint a negotiator authorized to reach a tentative agreement.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Gina Macris

And tensions have flared this week. Crowley last night released a copy of a memo Schools Supt. William J. Rearick sent to teachers Tuesday apologizing for telling them to "sit down and shut up" at a district orientation meeting in the high school auditorium earlier that day.

“My intention was to get the meeting started in a timely manner, in retrospect I should have chosen my words more carefully,” Rearick wrote.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone I may have offended,” the superintendent added.

Rearick last night said it happened after he'd tried to call the orientation meeting to order without success.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:33 PM | Comment

Child missing briefly on Lincoln bike path found

LINCOLN -- Police have found a child who had been reported missing late this afternoon on the bike path here.

The report had come in about 4 p.m. of a girl who was on her bike.

No other details are available.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:17 PM | Comment

City won't close El Tiburon after fatal shooting

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski
Club owner Oscar Vaverde, left, and his lawyer, Robert Goldberg, meet with the Providence Board of Licenses today.

PROVIDENCE -- The city will not shut down El Tiburon, the Valley Street restaurant and bar where a leader in the Latin Kings gang was shot and killed last weekend.

But the bar must hire a detail of two police officers to oversee the premises on every night it is open for the immediate future, according to a decision rendered by the city’s Board of Licenses today.

The bar has been closed all week, following the shooting early Saturday of Vidal “Lucky” Rodriguez, 33, a leader in the Almighty Latin Kings Nation street gang. Rodriguez, who had stepped out of the bar to have a cigarette, was shot while standing on the sidewalk outside El Tiburon just before 1 a.m.

The police had requested that the city’s Board of Licenses hold a hearing to consider revoking the bar’s license.

Police have not made any arrests, and have not determined whether the killing was gang related.

Today, Oscar Valverde, and his son, Steven, met with a reporter at a table inside the bar at 370 Valley St. to dispute the Police Department’s characterization of his bar as a hangout for members of the Latin Kings.

The Valverdes said that Rodriguez had been in the bar for only “10 to 15 minutes,” before he was killed. They said that he used to drop in about once a month, and they did not know that he was member of a notorious street gang.

-- Journal staff writer Daniel Barbarisi

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:42 PM | Comment

Tiverton teachers meeting to debate work return

TIVERTON -- In another closely watched contract matter, the teachers union here will begin debating at 4:30 p.m. whether "to report to work" on Tuesday, according to a union spokesman.

The union membership is slated to meet at Green Valley Country Club in Portsmouth, spokeman Patrick Crowley, deputy executive director of National Education Assocation-Rhode Island, said in a statement.

Teachers did report to school this week as scheduled. Their contract is due to expire at midnight tonight. An earlier item reported incorrectly that it had expired yesterday.

Yesterday, the teachers’ union -- NEA-Tiverton -- filed an unfair labor practice charge against the School Committee, asserting the committee has bargained in bad faith by failing to appoint a negotiator authorized to reach a tentative agreement.

And tensions have flared this week. Crowley last night released a copy of a memo Schools Supt. William J. Rearick sent to teachers Tuesday apologizing for tellimg them to "sit down and shut up" at a district orientation meeting in the high school auditorium earlier that day.

“My intention was to get the meeting started in a timely manner, in retrospect I should have chosen my words more carefully,” Rearick wrote.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone I may have offended,” the superintendent added.

Rearick last night said it happened after he'd tried to call the orientation meeting to order without success.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Gina Macris and Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:55 PM | Comment

Montalbano asks judge to intervene in ethics case

PROVIDENCE -- Senate President Joseph Montalbano has asked a judge to intervene in his ethics case.

Montalbano, a North Providence Democrat, is accused of improperly supporting a referendum for a casino in West Warwick at the same time he was doing legal work for the town.

His lawyer, Max Wistow, says the state Ethics Commission shouldn't be allowed to prosecute the Senate president while there are unresolved questions about whether the case is constitutional.

Wistow says the constitution bars lawmakers from being prosecuted based on their votes. The Ethics Commission rejects that argument.

Superior Court Judge Allen Rubine has agreed to hear from both sides on Tuesday about whether the block the prosecution.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:34 PM | Comment

E. Greenwich teacher talks: Long weekend haul ahead?

In East Greenwich, where schools are scheduled to open on Tuesday, mediated teacher contract talks will start again today at 5 p.m.

They are expected to continue through the three-day Labor Day weekend to replace a contract that expires today.

Union representatives say if a new agreement is not reached by Monday, the union is expected to vote Monday night on whether to strike or continue working without a contract.

School Superintendent Charles E. Meyer says he doesn’t really have a plan in place to notify parents in the event of a last-minute decision to strike, other than possible postings on the district's Web site or via listservs.

He said the School Department has been focusing its energies on trying to resolve the contract issue, which he hopes will be by Tuesday.

In Exeter-West Greenwich, a mediation session will be held tomorrow. But lead negotiators are meeting now to outline proposals and discuss terms. If necessary, mediation will continue on Wednesday. School has already begun in Exeter-West Greenwich.

-- Journal staff writer Lisa Vernon-Sparks

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:20 PM | Comment

Judge orders Burrillville to resume teacher talks

PROVIDENCE -- A Superior Court judge today told both sides in the Burrillville teachers' contract dispute to return to collective bargaining talks over the long holiday weekend.

Judge Netti C. Vogel said she would direct teachers back to work, if she deems it necessary, at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Her hope is that both sides would reach a resolution over the weekend so that no such last-minute decision would be necessary.

Vogel made the judgment after the union's lawyer suggested the parties were closer to a contract agreement than either side had previously indicated.

School Department lawyer Benjamin M. Scungio said that if Vogel orders teachers to resume work, school would start on Tuesday after a one-hour delay.

The school wants to compel teachers -- who voted to strike -- to come to work. School in the district had been due to start this past Wednesday. But instead, classes were cancelled for that day, yesterday and today. The teachers' contract expires today.

Between 80 and 100 teachers turned out to see the proceedings today at Superior Court in Providence, which was based on a request and complaint by the School Department. Extra: Read a copy of the school department's complaint.

Teacher contract talks are also on-going in East Greenwich, Exeter-West Greenwich, Providence and Tiverton.

-- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Brandi Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

Exeter-West Greenwich has returned to school, while mediation continues in that district. Mediated sessions are also expected to continue through the holiday weekend for East Greenwich, where school is due to start Tuesday.

The Tiverton teachers’ union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the School Committee yesterday, maintaining that the committee has bargained in bad faith by failing to send appoint a negotiator authorized to reach a tentative agreement.

The teachers’ contract expired yesterday, and the union membership will meet after school today to consider its next steps. The first day of classes in Tiverton was Wednesday.

Providence teachers are also negotiating a new contract, but union leaders there have said they expect schools to open next Wednesday, as scheduled.

Jamestown has a tentative agreement in place that will be considered by its teachers union and School Committee on Thursday, Sept. 6.

New Shoreham ratified a new three-year contract last week. North Kingstown's contract was also due to expire today, but teachers and the School Committee there ratified a new agreement earlier this summer.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:32 PM | Comment

Man gets 15 years after cocaine, gun found under bed

PROVIDENCE -- A Pawtucket man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after a gun and cocaine were found under his bed, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence.

Robert Viruet, 38, was arrested in August 2005 after police found a safe under his bed containing six bags of crack cocaine, one bag of powder cocaine and a loaded .25-caliber pistol.

Viruet initially said a friend had paid him $200 to store the safe, but in 2006, he pleaded guilty to two charges of possession with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

He was sentenced today in U.S. District Court, Providence, to 121 months for the drug offenses and 60 for the gun. Federal sentencing laws mandate a consecutive five-year sentence for having a gun in connection with drug trafficking.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:33 PM | Comment

Update: Victims in fatal Seekonk rollover ID'd

SEEKONK, Mass. -- A 21-year-old woman died and four people were hurt when a SUV car rolled over in the middle eastbound lane of Route 195, just east of Exit 1 in Seekonk early this morning.

Massachusetts state police say Angela R. Sbardella, of Fall River, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred at about 1:40 a.m.

The driver of the 1996 Jeep Cherokee, 21-year-old Kyle R. Whalen, also of Fall River, and a juvenile passenger were taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries.

Two other passengers, 18-year-old Amy L. Garant, of Fall River and 26-year-old Brendan Reagan of San Diego, Calif., were taken to Rhode Island Hospital with minor injuries.

Garant was treated and released. Whalen and Reagan are still being evaluated early this afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman. No information is available on the unidentified juvenile passenger.

The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section is investigating the accident with the State Police Crime Scene Services Section and the Bristol District Attorney’s Office.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:25 PM | Comment

Update: Pursuit of robbery suspect ends in 5-car crash

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski
A police officer takes notes at the scene of the crash on Broadway in Providence.

PROVIDENCE -- An alleged bank robber fleeing in a stolen car crashed into cars on Broadway late this morning, sending four smashed vehicles spinning and debris flying across the road and into a nearby ballfield.

The suspect, who was driving, and his passenger both ran off in different directions, but they were caught moments later by officers rushing to the scene, said Maj. Stephen Campbell.

One of the men was brought to the hospital, as was a person in one of the struck cars, but neither had life-threatening injuries, Campbell said.

The suspect is accused of trying to rob a young man at knifepoint at an ATM outside a nearby Citizens Bank, Campbell said. The victim got away and rushed inside the bank for help.

Officer Joseph Hanley happened to be working a detail inside the bank. Hanley ran outside and saw the suspect toss a knife into the passenger side of a gray Mazda parked near the bank. Another man was in the passenger seat as the suspect jumped into the driver’s side and tried to take off, Campbell said.

Hanley tried to stop him, hitting the driver with his baton and spraying him with pepper spray, but the men sped off, Campbell said. As the officer radioed in that the suspects were heading into the city on Broadway, the car smashed into other cars at Barton Street.

Officers specializing in traffic reconstruction were on the scene trying to piece together how the accident occurred. One SUV with Connecticut license plates was up on the sidewalk next to the walk traffic light. The stolen car was smashed, its engine in pieces, from where it landed into the back of a red Nissan. A Mercury sedan with war veteran plates had been broadsided.

-- Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits

Debris and glass from the cars was scattered across the roadway from one end to the other. Fresh blood was spattered on the sidewalk on Barton Street next to the ball field and across from the Paul Cuffee School, where children in school uniforms were lining up in the playground. Campbell said the blood was from one of the suspects, who was injured in the crash.

Officers seized a black folding knife with a 4-inch blade believed to be the one used to threaten the man at the bank ATM, Campbell said. Detectives were going to review the video from the camera at the ATM, Campbell said.

The names of the suspects or the robbery victim, or the person injured in the crash, were not available.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:23 PM | Comment

Sunny skies, lots of travel predicted for Labor Day

Sunny skies, mild weather and a long weekend.

If you’re thinking this Labor Day weekend is looking like a time to get out of town, you’re not alone.

AAA is estimating more than 36.5 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home this holiday.

About 4 million will travel by air; about 1.6 million will take trains, buses or another mode of transportation.

And about 84 percent of Labor Day weekend travelers – nearly 29 million – will be driving.

They may be pleased to find that, according to AAA, regular gas -- at about $2.67 in the Providence metro area -- is about 25 cents cheaper than it was going into the Labor Day weekend last year.

Compare prices throughout the past year at AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

If you plan on staying in town, remember RIPTA buses and trolleys will be operating on a holiday schedule.

Flex service will be suspended, except for the Kingston/URI line, which will be on a holiday schedule. The RIde program will continue to run uninterrupted.

When the weekend is over, and the buses resume a regular schedule, it will be the new fall schedule, which is different for about a half dozen bus routes and adds service on Route 57 to the new Park n’ Ride lot in North Providence.

For more information, visit the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:39 PM | Comment

After Newport scam: More bomb threats in Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The bomb threats and extortion attempts against stores around the country this week are continuing today.

The FBI says four more threats forced evacuations at stores in northeastern Ohio early today.

The threats were phoned in to a Wal-Mart and three Giant Eagle grocery stores. They were all temporarily evacuated, but each reopened within three hours after being searched by police.

The FBI says it thinks all of the threats are coming from the same individual or group.

Authorities are investigating bomb threats at least 15 stores in more than a dozen states, including one at a Wal-Mart in Newport.

Authorities say the threats appear to be coming from overseas.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:25 PM | Comment

DEM warns of potential for fish die-off

The state Department of Environmental Management warned today that a large school of menhaden, chased into the Blackstone River by predatory fish, may be at risk.

An estimated one million to two million menhaden -- many of them juveniles -- were spotted late yesterday and early this morning in the river near Slater Dam.

Menhaden contribute to Narragansett Bay's health and to the economy: They are bait fish for the lobster fishery and are used to attract striped bass, among other things.

DEM biologists in the fish and wildlfie division are monitoring the situation.

In July, the DEM carried out emergency rules to control harvesting of menhaden to preserve the menhaden stocks.

Adult menhaden are typically in Narragansett Bay from May through September, but juveniles remain throughout the year.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

DEM said its fish monitors noted large numbers of menhaden being chased into the less salty waters of the Providence and Blackstone rivers by bluefish, which can tolerate fresh water.

DEM says that if someone sees a fish die-off, the DEM's law enforcement division should be contacted at 222-3070.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:10 PM | Comment

Teachers turn out for hearing on Burrillville strike

PROVIDENCE -- Superior Court Judge Netti Vogel addressed the court later than expected today at a hearing requested by the Burrillville School Department.

The school wants to compel teachers -- who voted to strike -- to come to work. School in the district had been due to start this past Wednesday. The teachers' contract expires today.

Extra: Read a copy of the school department's complaint.

Vogel announced that she had asked attorneys on both sides to meet in private to work on “preliminary matters.”

She wanted them to come up with a “joint statement of undisputed facts” and exhibits.

It was unclear exactly when the formal hearing in court would begin. Between 80 and 100 teachers turned out to observe the proceedings at Superior Court in Providence.

“I plan on continuing with the matter from day to day until that hearing is complete,” Vogel said.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal writer Mark Reynolds

Teacher contracts are also expiring today in East Greenwich, Exeter-West Greenwich, Providence and Tiverton.

Exeter-West Greenwich has returned to school, while mediation continues in that district. Mediated sessions are also expected to continue through the holiday weekend for East Greenwich, where school is due to start Tuesday.

The Tiverton teachers’ union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the School Committee yesterday, maintaining that the committee has bargained in bad faith by failing to send appoint a negotiator authorized to reach a tentative agreement.

The teachers’ contract expired yesterday, and the union membership will meet after school today to consider its next steps. The first day of classes in Tiverton was Wednesday.

Providence teachers are also negotiating a new contract, but union leaders there have said they expect schools to open next Wednesday, as scheduled.

Jamestown has a tentative agreement in place that will be considered by its teachers union and School Committee on Thursday, Sept. 6.

New Shoreham ratified a new three-year contract last week. North Kingstown's contract was also due to expire today, but teachers and the School Committee there ratified a new agreement earlier this summer.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:31 AM | Comment

Coventry firefighter's funeral procession draws crowd

A funeral procession for Americo DiPetrillo, 53, of Coventry, has brought firefighters out to pay their respects.

The Hopkins Hill firefighter died Sunday after being pulled out of the water at a beach in Narragansett.

Local firefighters waved flags and fire engines lined an overpass north of Exit 6A on Route 95 this morning as a state police-escorted funeral procession for the firefighter headed from Coventry to Cranston.

DiPetrillo was a firefighter for more than 30 years, serving as the assistant training officer for six years.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:26 AM | Comment

Fire sends Providence firefighter to hospital

PROVIDENCE -- A fire at a vacant house this morning sends one firefighter to the hospital with heat exhaustion.

Heavy fire on the first and second floor of the three-story house broke out at about 4:40 a.m. at 92 Veazie Street, and was under control by about 5:30 according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:37 AM | Comment

Water pipe break closes street in Cranston

Bretton Woods Drive in Cranston is closed after a water main break at Woodstock Lane.

According to Providence Water, a main sprung a leak earlier this morning, leading them to turn off water along the residential street.

Police say the disruption was caused by a depression in the road. The leak is not major, however the water will probably be off on Bretton Woods for the rest of the day.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:18 AM | Comment

"Close to identifying suspect" in bomb threats

PROVIDENCE – Federal authorities say the caller or callers who have threatened more than a dozen stores in the past week asked that money to be wired to Portugal.

Although the FBI said the investigation is focused overseas, a spokesman has declined to elaborate or say whether or not an arrest was imminent yesterday.

But FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said the Bureau is close to identifying one or more suspects who have called more than 15 large stores or banks, including a Wal-Mart in Newport, in the past week and threatened to blow up workers with a bomb unless they wired money.

“We certainly have some good leads,” Kolko said. “We’re close to identifying somebody who may be responsible.”

One man has been charged Hutchinson, Kan.in connection with an incident Wednesday that police determined to be a copycat crime.

-- The Associated Press

The FBI has not said how much money was wired to the caller from the Hutchinson store on Tuesday, but police in Newport said workers at a Wal-Mart were so frightened by a bomb threat on Tuesday that they wired $10,000 to the caller.

Large grocery and discount stores as well as banks in roughly a dozen states have received calls from an unidentified man who is able to provide such specific details that employees believe he is inside or somehow watching them.

On Thursday evening, the FBI provided an updated list of stores and banks believed to be traceable to the same suspect or group of suspects. The bureau is also investigating whether other reported threats are connected.

The FBI list includes: a credit union in Albuquerque, N.M.; a Safeway store in Sandy, Ore.,; a grocery store in Buchanan, Mich.; Wal-Marts in Newport, R.I., and Rio Grande City, Texas; bank branches at Wal-Marts in Salem, Va., and Fairlawn, Va.; a Macey's grocery store in Orem, Utah; a Dillons grocery store in Hutchinson, Kan., a bank branch in Milford, Conn.; a Vons in Vista, Calif., near San Diego; a bank in Savannah, Mo.; a bank in Ithaca, N.Y.; and banks in Tampa and Wesley Chapel, Fla.

Authorities in Buchanan, Mich., had earlier said workers at a Harding's Market sent $3,000 to an account in Portugal. But on Thursday, Police Chief William Marx said flustered store employees made a mistake and the money was sent to Paraguay rather than Portugal, as the caller had demanded.

"They got their p's messed up," Marx said.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:52 AM | Comment

MegaMillions jackpot is up to $330 million

Didn't win the PowerBall?

You're not alone. But you may have another shot.

The MegaMillions Jackpot is up to $330 million dollars, that's $16 million more than the last week's Powerball Jackpot, the 4th largest in that game's history.

The odds of winning the MegaMillions Jackpot are about one in 176 million, while the Powerball odds were about one in 146 million -- it's a longer shot, but a bigger payoff.

And there's also the drive. You can buy a MegaMillions ticket in Massachusetts, but not in Rhode Island.

Is it worth it?

See what people are saying they'd do with the money.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:23 AM | Comment

Hearing this morning on Burrillville teachers strike

PROVIDENCE -- A hearing is scheduled for this morning in Superior Court on a teachers strike that's shut down Burrillville schools this week.

Classes have been canceled until at least today, when the current contract expires.

An attorney for the school district has asked Judge Netti Vogel to order the teachers' union back to work.

Extra: Read a copy of the school department's complaint.

The teachers' union voted to strike after both sides failed to reach an agreement during a negotiating session Tuesday night.

Both sides say sticking points include health care costs and class sizes.

Patrick Crowley, a spokesman for the union, says the teachers will obey court orders.

-- The Associated Press and Journal reports

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:22 AM | Comment

Another toy recall

Toys 'R' Us is recalling 27,000 crayon and paint sets made in China because of lead contamination.

This is the second recall Chinese-made products in less than a month.

The first recall prompted Pawtucket-based Hasbro to “redouble its safety reviews,” according to Wayne S. Charness, senior vice president of corporate communications for the nation’s No. 2 toymaker.

Most of Hasbro's toys are manufactured through contracts with factories in China and Asia. The crayons are not made by Hasbro.

See a report here.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:04 AM | Comment

Woman dies in early morning crash on 195, Seekonk

A woman is dead after a car accident early this morning.

Massachusetts state police say the cause of the accident is still under investigation, but at about 2:15 a.m. a car traveling east on Route 195 in Seekonk, just past Exit 1, rolled over.

A passenger was ejected, and died as a result of her injuries.

The other four passengers were taken to Rhode Island Hospital.

Massachusetts state police and Bristol County detectives are investigating.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:02 AM | Comment

Gloomy today, improving for the weekend

The Labor Day weekend will get off to a gloomy start with the National Weather Service predicting a 20-percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and cloudy skies all day and an overnight low of about 60.

But Saturday and Sunday are looking good with clear and sunny with a high of 79 and an overnight low of 60.

And Labor Day should be even warmer, with a high in the mid 80s.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a photograph and story reporting on the $78 million cost of painting the Pell Bridge.

Download a copy of today's front page.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment

August 30, 2007

Tonight: Comedy improv., rock and jazz

There's comedy in Newport tonight and plenty of tunes in the clubs around the state.

At the Firehouse Theater in Newport, starting at 9:09 p.m., the Bit Players comedy improv troupe goes to work. Call 849-FIRE (3473).

Also in Newport, Blockhead plays rock at One Pelham East, 270 Thames St. Call 847-9460. The show begins at 9 pm.

Copperhead plays rock at Newport Blues Cafe, 286 Thames St.. Call 841-5510. 9 pm.

Mark Cutler and Friends play rock and rhythm and blues at Nick-A-Nee's, 75 South St., Providence. Call 861-7290. 9 pm.

Al Deston plays some jazz at Capriccio, 2 Pine St., Providence. Call 421-1320. 7-11 pm.

Also in Providence, East Side Horns and Mac Odom and Chill play rhythm and blues and Motown at The Hi-Hat, 3 Davol Square, Providence. Call 453-6500. Show goes from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:54 PM | Comment

Warwick man indicted on child molestation charges

WARWICK -- A local man was indicted today by the Providence Grand Jury on child molestation charges stemming from a Pawtucket case last year.

Christopher Smith, 26, of 393 Palmer Ave., Warwick, was indicted on three counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of second-degree child molestation.

The charges stem from what police say was Smith’s actions between August and December 2006 when he allegedly molested a preteen girl while her mother was not at home.

Smith was living in the home with the child’s mother in Pawtucket at the time.

Police said they were alerted to the alleged abuse via a hot line and the Department of Children, Youth and Families. Smith was arrested in March and has been held without bail at the ACI.

In April, the case was referred to the grand jury, which handed up the indictment.
Smith will be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court on Sept. 19.

-- Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:43 PM | Comment

FBI chasing overseas leads in Wal-Mart bomb threat

PROVIDENCE -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working on evidence connecting the bomb threat against the Newport Wal-Mart and threats in 12 other states to suspects overseas, a spokesman said.

Wal-Mart this week wired $10,000 to an overseas account after a caller threatened to detonate a bomb.

Spokesman Jason Pack, a special agent in Washington, said today that similar threats have been phoned into businesses in 15 communities in 12 states.

In most of these cases, a caller has threatened to detonate a bomb unless money was wired to him. On Tuesday, the Newport Wal-Mart complied with the demand for $10,000.

Asked about reports that the calls originated in Portugal, the FBI spokesman would not confirm that.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:44 PM | Comment

State campground reservations are coming, for a fee

PROVIDENCE -- The state Department of Department of Environmental Management plans to announce tomorrow that it has hired a company to operate a reservations system for public campgrounds for the first time in state history.

Starting in November, campers will be able to reserve campsites as long as a year before their visit. In the past, it was first come, first served.

“We are excited about this,” Steven T. Wright, acting chief of the DEM’s Division of Parks and Recreation, said. “It’s a long time coming.”

Burlingame State Campground, in Charlestown, Fishermen’s campground, in Narragansett, East Beach, in Charlestown, and the George Washington Campground, in Glocester — will be included in the program, to be operated by ReserveAmerica Holdings Inc.

The state is not increasing the cost of renting a campground, $14 a night for state residents. The out-of-state fee is $20 a night.

But Reserve America, a New York-based subsidiary of Ticketmaster, will charge campers $9 to maker a reservation online or $10 by telephone.

So for a Rhode Island resident the cost of a camp site with an online reservation will increase by 64 percent.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Peter Phipps at 5:14 PM | Comment

Photo: Tiger on the prowl at Deutsche Bank Pro-Am

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Fans of Tiger Woods are eager to take their own souvenir snapshots today as the golfer who may be the most recognized athlete in the world prowls the edge of the 9th green today during the Pro-Am round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. Tournament play starts tomorrow and runs through Sunday. Woods is defending champ. Click over to projo.com's sportsblog for comments on the event.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:04 PM | Comment

Photo: This dog looks after the vet

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Christopher Bergin, center, an inmate at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, gets reacquainted with Lila, the dog he trained for the Canines for Combat Veterans Program. Lila is a service dog for Army Specialist Sue Downes, a 27-year-old mother of two from Tennessee who lost both legs below the knees in Afghanistan. A.T. Wall II, director of the Rhode Island Department of Correction, is on the right.

Posted by Jack Perry at 3:08 PM | Comment

Update: Rubbish fire calls firefighters to Broad St.

PROVIDENCE -- Firefighters are responding to a rubbish fire outside of a building at 1195 Broad St.

According to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department, the fire originated in rubbish piled up against the garage door of the building.

No other information is available at this time.

The area is just east of where Route 95 crosses over Broad Street, and borders the northeast end of Roger Williams Park. See a map.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:12 PM | Comment

Another push for Carcieri's plan for wind farms

PROVIDENCE – Governor Carcieri is pushing forward with his plan to build one or more wind farms off the coast of Rhode Island, even though it’s unclear how the state will go about financing the ambitious project.

Today, the governor’s top energy adviser convened the first meeting of “stakeholders” -- people who represent municipalities, agencies and organizations that want a say in how the project will proceed.

About 35 attended the meeting, held at Save The Bay headquarters.

Their top priority is to tackle what may be the most vexing decision -- where the wind turbines should be located.

Andrew Dzykewicz, chief energy adviser to the governor, said he is aiming for the group to come to a consensus at its third meeting in October.

Extra: Look back at the the state's first conference on wind power last April, and read the governor's wind study on locations for wind farms.

-- Journal staff writer Timothy C. Barmann

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:08 PM | Comment

Providence man sentenced on gun charge

Providence – A 22-year-old Providence man was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison today for being a previously convicted felon with a gun, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Providence.

Prosecutors say Juan Cuthbert was one of four men in a car that Providence police officers pulled over for a traffic violation on New Years’ Eve. When officers told the men to get out of the car, Cuthbert got out, pushed an officer aside, and tried to escape, according to prosecutors.

The police said they saw him toss a handgun, which they later retrieved.

Cuthbert, who has prior convictions involving drug trafficking and gun posession, was arrested and prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative against gun crimes. He was sentenced to 77 months in prison.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:48 PM | Comment

Mentor program for youth will receive federal money

A mentoring program for at-risk children in Warwick and Woonsocket will get $187,537 from the U.S. Department of Education, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's office announced today.

The money will go to the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership for students in grades 4 through 8. The program is meant to recruit, train and help adults to be positive role models for young people "with emotional difficulties, low self-esteem, poor peer relationships, or low academic performance" statewide, according to a news release.

Volunteer mentors serve at least one hour per week for a year.

“When I was attorney general, I saw first-hand the enormous change that supportive, involved adults could make in students’ lives through the after-school and mentoring programs we built at Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School in Providence,” Whitehouse said in the statement. “This federal funding, combined with the tireless work of volunteer mentors, will make a real difference in these young people’s lives.”

Whitehouse said he wrote to the federal education department to support the partnership’s grant application and co-signed a letter with other senators urging $100 million in federal money for mentoring programs in fiscal 2008.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:24 PM | Comment

After big oil spill, new vessel rules for Buzzards Bay

Four years after an oil spill in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, Coast Guard rules announced today will create a bay "vessel movement reporting system" and require that single-hulled tanker barges be accompanied by escort tugs as well as the primary tug.

The new regulations take effect on Nov. 28, according to a news release.

"In creating this resolution, the Coast Guard aimed to strike a balance not only between the stakeholders and interest groups involved in Buzzards Bay, but also, our ultimate duties to protect the public, the environment, and the U.S. economic interests," First Coast Guard District Commander Rear Adm. Tim Sullivan said in a statement.

The goal is to cut down on the likelihood of an incident that might include a collision, grounding of a vessel and a resulting spill of oil or other hazardous materials.

In April 2003, a tanker barge from New York-based Bouchard Transportation Co. became damaged, and thousands of gallons of No. 6 fuel oil spilled into the bay, some of it coating birds initially and raising problems for the shellfish industry.

Among the other new rules are:

* A pilot, separate from the vessel's master and crew and operating under a properly endorsed federal pilot's license, must be aboard the tug towing single-hulled tank barges transiting Buzzards Bay.

* A vessel movement reporting system -- VMRS -- will be monitored by Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers. Vessels that are subject to the "Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge VHF Radiotelephone regulations," including tug/barge combinations, will be required to participate in the movement reporting system.

* Recommended navigation routes will remain recommended, not mandatory, "to allow maximum flexibility for masters to meet unusual or challenging situations," according to the release.

The Coast Guard said the matter was published today in the Federal Register at www.archives.gov/federal-register.

For full text of the regulations, go here.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:07 PM | Comment

Hearing on R.I. waterfowl hunting rules is tonight

There's a public hearing tonight on proposed Rhode Island waterfowl hunting rules and proposed regulations for falconry.

The state Department of Environmental Management will hold the hearing at 7 p.m. at the North Kingstown Community Center, Beach Street, off Route 1A south of Wickford.

Waterfowl rules set up the hunting seasons, bag limits and methods of taking for 2007-2008.

There here are some changes in the federal waterfowl regulations with which the state must comply, according to the DEM.

One change increases the daily bag limit for canvasbacks from one to two birds. And the number of days open for hunting Atlantic Brant has been raised to 30 to 50 days -- Dec. 2 through Jan. 20.

Check out the rules proposed at www.dem.ri.govThey cal also be seen at the Oliver Stedman Government Center, 4808 Tower Hill Rd., Wakefield, or by calling (401) 789-3094 on weekdays.

Comments will be accepted at DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife through today at 4 p.m. They will also be accepted at the hearing.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

The DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife will show a video on the breeding status of waterfowl in the Canadian Provinces.

No "substantial changes" to falconry regulations are proposed -- there are five falconers in Rhode Island.

There will be waterfowl stamps, hats, and early goose permits (for September season) at the hearing. Exact change will be required.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:05 PM | Comment

Another New England store threatened / Video

Another store in New England has been contacted by a male caller threatening to detonate a bomb unless employees wire money.

In at least 11 states, including at a Newport Wal-Mart Tuesday, a caller has threatened to blow up a bomb unless employees wired money.

The Associated Press reports the most recent incident was yesterday, at a Hannaford supermarket, in Millinocket, Maine, population 5,200.

See video taken at the scene here.

No one has been arrested, and no bombs have been found in any of the incidents.

Read a Journal story today following up on the threat at the Newport Wal-Mart and what investigators think of scam.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:25 AM | Comment

RIC launches alert system using cell phones, e-mail

PROVIDENCE -- After a review spurred by the Virginia Tech massacre, Rhode Island College is launching a system that sends alerts of a crisis or disaster by cell phone and e-mail to students, faculty and staff.

A news release on the college's Web site today says it's something new "that the college's administrators hope they’ll never have to use."

The system, offered by Apogee Telecommunications, is free to customers using Apogee technology and allows for up to 24 messages a year. The college has used Apogee technology for about three years.

If there's an emergency, a campus administrator can send a text message through any registered messaging device, such as a cell phone or personal digital assistant, to all users with a cell phone number in the college’s information systems. It could also be sent to e-mail.

The college says there is a one-time, $50 set-up fee for each device that is allowed to send messages through the system. The college plans to program about a dozen devices assigned to certain campus administrators to trigger messages.

“People are very mobile these days, it’s the best way to communicate quickly. Cell phones and text messaging methods are the most favorable,” Richard Prull, the college's assistant vice president for information services, said in the statement.

An advantage of text messaging is contacting people before they arrive on campus if needed, according to the college. The college has many commuter students.

The move follows a 14-member committee's review of its emergency response after the Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 people, including one Rhode Islander. A report out today found that lives could have been saved if the university had sent out warnings sooner.

RIC classes begin again for the fall on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Over the summer, the college’s began collecting cell phone numbers to use in the system.

The college says it told incoming students about he service and asked for their cell phone numbers at freshman orientation. Cell phone information is recorded through the person’s on-line college administrative systems account.

The system tested successfully several times over the summer, the college says.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:19 AM | Comment

Ex-Mass. selectman changes plea in sex-sting case

PROVIDENCE – A former Massachusetts selectman accused of trying to have sex with a minor has changed his pleato guilty today in US District Court.

William J. Christensen, 60, of Southborough, Mass., pleaded not guilty to two charges in March after Prosecutors said he arranged a sexual encounter with someone he met on the internet that he thought was a 15-year-old girl.

Today, Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi accepted a guilty plea in exchange for a sentence recommendation from the US District Attorney.

The first charge, traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct, carries a maximum 30 year prison sentence. The second charge, using the internet to entice a minor, has a five-year minimum prison sentence and a 30-year maximum.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30.

Prosecutors allege that Christensen set up a meeting with the supposed teenager-- actually an undercover police officer -- at an East Providence apartment complex last May.

Christensen was arrested when he arrived at the complex.

Six days later, he was arrested in a separate incident in Massachusetts under similar circumstances. In that case, he was given a 26 1/2-year suspended prison sentence with five years probation.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:15 AM | Comment

Duke lacrosse prosecutor pleads innocent

DURHAM, N.C. -- Disgraced former prosecutor Mike Nifong pleaded not guilty today to criminal contempt charges stemming from his failure to turn over complete DNA testing results during the now-discredited Duke lacrosse rape case.

If found in contempt, Nifong could face up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.

As Durham County district attorney, Nifong led the investigation into a woman's allegations that she was raped at a 2006 lacrosse team party where she was hired as a stripper. He won indictments against three lacrosse players, but eventually recused himself from the case, and state prosecutors dropped all remaining charges, saying the players were innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse."

Defense attorneys for the three falsely accused young men asked a judge to punish Nifong for initially telling the court he had turned over all DNA test results when he knew, and failed to disclose, that genetic material from multiple men was found on the accuser - but none from any lacrosse player.

Reade Seligmann, one of the falsely accused players, has transferred to Brown University and will play lacrosse for the Bears.

The team's former coach, Mike Pressler, became the coach at Bryant University in Smithfield after he was forced to resign from Duke in April of 2006.

-- The Associated Press

Nifong's attorney, Jim Glover, told Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III during the hearing today that it wasn't about whether the statements were true or false but "were they willfully and intentionally false and were they also part of an effort ... to hide potentially exculpatory evidence."

Nifong was disbarred in June for more than two dozen violations of the state's rules of professional conduct during his prosecution of the lacrosse case.

During a hearing last month, he apologized and acknowledged there was "no credible evidence" that the three formerly charged players committed any of the crimes he accused them of. He said then: "It is my hope that all of us can learn from the mistakes in this case, that all of us can begin to move forward."

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:58 AM | Comment

Va. Tech report: Faster warning could have saved lives

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Tech officials could have saved lives if they had quickly warned the campus that two students had been shot to death and their killer was on the loose, a panel that investigated the attacks said.

Instead, it took administrators more than two hours to get out an e-mail warning students and staff to be cautious.

The shooter had time to leave the dormitory where the first two victims were killed, mail a letter, and then enter a classroom building, chain the doors shut and kill 31 more people, including himself.

Even before the killings, the university had failed to properly care for the mentally troubled student gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, the panel found.

Daniel Patrick O’Neil, a 2002 graduate of Lincoln High School in Rhode Island, was among those slain. The 22-year-old O’Neil had been pursuing a graduate degree in environmental engineering.

Read the full story from the Associated Press ...

Extra: Read the complete report.

Video: Watch a scheduled 11 a.m. report on the findings.

Blog: Look back at 7to7 blog reports on the shootings and our local connections.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 10:48 AM | Comment

R.I. inmates train dogs to help injured vets

CRANSTON – Puppies, combat veterans and inmates.

They are coming together at the Rhode Island Department of Correction today, for a reunion of sorts.

The inmates are participants in the Prison Pup Partnership Program, an arm of the National Education for Assistance Dog Services (NEAD).

They’ve been training puppies as assistant dogs for the Canines for Combat Veterans Program.

Today at 11 a.m., 27-year-old Army Specialist Sue Downes of Tennessee – who lost both of her legs in Afghanistan – and 21-year-old Army Cpl. Christopher Strickland of Connecticut – who lost both legs, half of an arm and vision in one eye – will meet their dogs’ trainers.

“What a happy occasion it is when a disabled partner and adult service dog return to meet the inmate puppy raiser,” Sheila O’Brien, executive director of NEADS said in a press release.

“This reunion completes the cycle of training, companionship and love.”

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:26 AM | Comment

20 firefighters battled trailer-park fire in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth and Bristol firefighters spent much of the overnight hours battling a fire that left extensive damage to a mobile home in the Melville Trailer Park.

It took six hours for firefighters to contain the blaze at 15 Scotty Drive, which sparked at about 2:30 a.m. The residents – listed as Lorraine and Theodore Amado – were alerted to the fire by a passerby, Portsmouth Deputy Fire Chief Robert Church said this morning.

The fire started in a front porch and quickly spread to the eaves and the attic, collapsing and destroying the wooden-truss roof, Church said.

Portsmouth sent two engines and a ladder truck to the fire and requested an engine from the Bristol Fire Department. About 20 firefighters were on-scene until about 9:30 a.m. Firefighters were worried that the blaze might spread to nearby units in the densely-occupied mobile home park, but only the one home was burned, Church said.

Officials believe the fire was accidental, though they are still investigating the cause, Church said. No one was injured.

— Meaghan Wims, Journal staff writer

Posted by Peter Phipps at 10:09 AM | Comment

Roger Williams University to welcome Iraqi scholar

WARWICK -- An Iraqi who formerly worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army is set to return to Rhode Island today.

Qussay Al-Attabi will teach Arabic at Roger Williams University while studying English literature at Brown University.

Officials at Roger Williams say Al-Attabi visited the Bristol-based university in 2005 as part of a delegation of Iraqi students. They say they offered to help him when the former Army interpreter decided that Iraq had become too dangerous.

Roger Williams President Roy Nirschel plans to greet Al-Attabi when he lands at T.F. Green Airport this evening.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:56 AM | Comment

Update: Johnston officers on duty day after "sick-out"

JOHNSTON – “Everyone is present and accounted for,” Johnston Police Chief Richard S. Tamburini said today, one day after 10 police officers called in sick across two shifts.

A Superior Court judge later issued a restraining order banning police from taking part in a "sick-out."

At a news conference yesterday, town officials said the officers were protesting an investigation into what Mayor Joseph Polisena called “sweetheart pension deals” for individual officers negotiated by former the former mayor’s administration.

Superior Court Judge Netti Vogel said officers need to present a doctor’s note to call in sick.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:29 AM | Comment

More schools re-opening around R.I. / Photo

Journal photo / Bob Thayer
Jorge Torres, a math teacher at Central Falls High School, encourages students to get to know each others' names and to be friendly with everyone. The theme was also sounded by new school Principal Mario Andrade at orientation this morning, on the first day of school, one of two aimed at helping students adjust socially as they return to class. Andrade has developed several goals to help the low-performing school as part of a partnership with the University of Rhode Island.

More students around Rhode Island are headed to school today.

It's the first day for kids in Central Falls, Foster, Glocester, Pawtucket and Warwick.

Freshmen began school yesterday at William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School in Lincoln; the rest of the students start today.

The Ponaganset regional school district, shared by Foster and Glocester, was still in mediation yesterday, but doors were open at the district's high school and middle school this morning.

Get tips on heading back to school, statewide education coverage, and more information about your district and schools, on our education page.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:15 AM | Comment

Textron wins battle to retain internal tax documents

PROVIDENCE -- Textron, Inc., the world's biggest maker of business jets, has won a legal battle to retain internal tax documents after a U.S. federal judge ruled that the Internal Revenue Service isn't entitled to examine them.

The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres rejected the government's request to enforce an IRS summons and described the papers as protected by "work product" privilege, because they were prepared in anticipation of litigation with the IRS.

The IRS asked Providence-based Textron for all its tax work papers for several years as part of a scrutiny of leasing-related transactions that might have yielded large tax benefits, the Journal added.

-- Bloomberg

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 8:01 AM | Comment

Two firefighters killed in Boston

BOSTON -- Two Boston firefighters were killed and two others critically injured after crews became disoriented in dense smoke and trapped in a restaurant fire in the city's West Roxbury neighborhood, officials said early today.

Killed were Paul Cahill, of Scituate, and Warren Payne, of Canton, who served on Engine 30, Ladder 25, the first unit to respond to the Wednesday evening fire, said Fire Department spokesman Scott Salman.

Eight other firefighters had less serious injuries, and an EMS paramedic was being evaluated for chest pains, he said.

See video shot on the scene here.

-- The Associated Press

"Tonight is a very sad night for the city of Boston," Mayor Thomas Menino said. "Two of our bravest have lost their lives in a fire in West Roxbury. Our prayers and offers of help are extended to the families of those two firefighters and the other firefighters who were injured in the line of duty. This is a dangerous job, and these firefighters answered the call."

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:02 AM | Comment

Sunny and warmer

Look out for a bit of fog this morning which should clear up by about 9 a.m. Then it's another sunny day, warmer than yesterday with a high in the mid-to-high 80s and humidity rising as the day goes on.

The National Weather Service predicts a slight chance of rain and areas of fog after midnight with an overnight low of 64.

Enjoy the sun today; tomorrow we may see rain and thunderstorms with temperatures in the high 70s.

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

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features photographs and a story about the recent rash of shootings in Providence.

Download a copy of the front page.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment

August 29, 2007

Update: A wrapup of teacher contract talks

While teachers took a strike vote and school was canceled in Burrillville, the Tiverton School Committee announced today rejection of its teachers union's healthcare proposal and the sides in East Greenwich continued a marathon negotiation.

The scorecard on teachers' contracts around Rhode Island currently reads: one cancellation, two agreements and five contracts pending.

New Shoreham has reached a contract agreement, and Jamestown has reached a tentative agreement -- which its teachers union and School Committee are expected to separately consider on Sept. 6.

Providence, where school starts Sept. 5, is in negotiations.

The Burrillville School Committee has asked a judge to order teachers to come to work after the teachers' union voted to strike last night, forcing the cancellation of the district's return to classes today. Teachers did not report to their classrooms this morning for what had been the first day of school.

The matter is scheduled for a Superior Court, Providence, hearing this Friday morning at 10:30, Superior Court Associate Justice Netti C. Vogel decided this afternoon after a conference with lawyers from both sides.

In Tiverton, a school district news release this afternoon said the union has proposed a high deductible plan coupled with a health-care savings account. The account allows people to reserve pre-tax dollars for use against medical expenses.

-- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Brandie Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writers Jennifer D. Jordan, Mark Reynolds, Lisa Vernon-Sparks, Gina Macris and Randal Edgar

Denise deMedeiros, the School Committee president, said in the statement that the committee's analysis shows "the suggested savings aren't there and that, in fact, this will increase the cost to the district and therefore to our taxpayers."

But Patrick Crowley, deputy executive director of NEA Rhode Island, said the School Committee has not done the math correctly. He said that the School Committee's own analysis shows there would be a net savings of nearly $24,000.

The committee has asked Schools Supt. William Rearick to ask the union to respond directly to the committee's health-care proposal, which the union has had since May. The committee said it proposed in May that teachers increase premiums on a sliding scale depending on their salaries. They now pay a flat rate, the committee said.

Crowley said deMedeiros and other committee members have not sat down face to face with the union.

The NEA Tiverton teachers union has a membership meeting lsated for Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Green Valley Country Club in Portsmouth, according to Pat Crowley, deputy executive director of NEA Portmsouth.

School in Tiverton began today. The teachers' contract expires Friday.

In East Greenwich, hunkered down in separate rooms, top school administrators and members of the East Greenwich Education Association are in the midst of a mediation session, hoping to come to terms with the three-year-old contract before it expires Friday.

School opens in East Greenwich on Sept. 4.

Both groups have been mediating with their lawyers present since 10 a.m. They were not expected to break until 7:30 p.m., an official said.

The district has been in mediation status since Aug. 10.

Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School District also is in mediation status, with a contact set to expire Friday. School began today.

The sides in Ponaganset (the Foster-Glocester regional district) are in mediation today. School is scheduled to start tomorrow, according to the state Department of Education Web site.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:51 PM | Comment

Man indicted in ex-girlfriend's stabbing death

PROVIDENCE -- Hamlet Lopez, a former teacher's aide, was indicted today on one count of murder in the stabbing death of his former girlfriend.

The indictment alleges that on May 20 Lopez murdered Miledis Hilario, whom the police said was stabbed on the floor of her second-floor apartment at 42 Courtland St. in Providence. Hilario ran her day-care business there.

The police have said her body was found around 10:45 p.m. after one of her teenage daughters, who was at work, asked the police to check on her because of previous threats on her mother's life. The daughter had not been able to reach her by phone.

Arraignment is slated for Sept. 12 in Providence County Superior Court. Lopez is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:36 PM | Comment

Man wielding gun robs Providence store of $195

PROVIDENCE -- A man wielding a handgun robbed $195 from the Academy Farm Mart convenience store, 524 Academy Ave., Mount Pleasant, this morning, the police said.

He got rid of his sunglasses and dark shirt near the store, the police said, and left so hastily that he may have dropped some of his loot. There were three or four witnesses to the getaway, and one said that a woman in a silver station wagon stopped her car and picked up some cash that the robber apparently dropped.

The holdup occurred at about 10:30 a.m. The robber came into the store with a dark shirt draped over his head and part of his face and stole the cash from the drawer of the cash register, clerk Mohama Khadam Aljamea told the police.

He fled west on Whitford Avenue and south on Webb Street, and then jumped into a small red car with Massachusetts license plates at the corner of Webb and Farm streets, according to a witness.

Patrolwoman Rhonda Kessler recovered the shirt and sunglasses in front of 61 Webb.

-- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:29 PM | Comment

Conn. man admits to string of Northeast robberies

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A Connecticut man is sentenced to more than nine years in prison after admitting in a plea agreement that he robbed 28 banks throughout the Northeast.

Michael Gola, 33, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of bank robbery.

Prosecutors say Gola admitted he robbed 15 banks in Connecticut, as well as banks in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

They say Gola netted nearly $55,000 in the robberies during the spring and summer of 2004. He has been ordered to repay the money.

Gola told authorities he was addicted to prescription drugs and wanted the money to help support his disabled daughter.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:26 PM | Comment

Tiverton school panel rejects union's health plan

TIVERTON -- The School Committee announced today it rejected the teachers union's health-care proposal in closed session last night, as the sides attempt to reach a contract deal.

According to a school district news release, the union has proposed a high deductible plan coupled with a health-care savings account. The account allows people to reserve pre-tax dollars for use against medical expenses.

Denise deMedeiros, the School Committee president, said in the statement that the committee's analysis shows "the suggested savings aren't there and that, in fact, this will increase the cost to the district and therefore to our taxpayers."

But Patrick Crowley, deputy executive director of NEA Rhode Island, said the School Committee has not done the math correctly. He said that the School Committee's own analysis shows there would be a net savings of nearly $24,000.

The committee has asked Schools Supt. William Rearick to ask the union to respond directly to the committee's health-care proposal, which the union has had since May. The committee said it proposed in May that teachers increase premiums on a sliding scale depending on their salaries. They now pay a flat rate, the committee said.

Crowley said deMedeiros and other committee members have not sat down face to face with the union.

The NEA Tiverton teachers union has scheduled a membership meeting for Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Green Valley Country Club in Portsmouth, according to Pat Crowley, deputy executive director of NEA Portmsouth. What the meeting will entail is not yet clear.

The union filed last week for compulsory mediation to renogotiate a contract that expires Friday. School in Tiverton began today.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:20 PM | Comment

Amgen uses buyouts to begin cutting R.I. staff

WEST GREENWICH -- Amgen Inc. has begun reducing its Rhode Island staff as the international biotech company prepares to shut down one of the two drug-production facilities at its West Greenwich complex.

A segment of the plant’s 1,600 employees have been offered a buyout package that includes a lump-sum payment, a period of continued health insurance and career counseling, Amgen spokesman Larry Bernard said.

Staff who have worked for Amgen fewer than five years are ineligible. The individual “voluntary transition program” packages, part of a companywide program, are structured based on an employee’s salary and tenure.

Bernard declined to disclose how many, if any, of Amgen’s Rhode Island workers have agreed to retire voluntarily. Their decisions are due early next month.

“We still need Rhode Island,” Bernard said. “We’ll still be big, we just won’t be as big.”

--Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:10 PM | Comment

Rash of phoned-in bomb threats appear related

NEWPORT -- In Vista, Calif., the manager of a grocery store was warned over the telephone that he could be shot at any time and was being watched.

In Prescott, Ariz., a caller said he knew the supermarket manager was sitting down because he could see him, making his violent threats against the store more believable.

And in Hutchinson, Kan., supermarket employees were ordered to get rid of their cell phones and to take off their clothes by a caller who said he could see inside the store. Some actually disrobed.

In each of these recent episodes, as happened at a Wal-Mart in Newport yesterday, the caller threatened to explode a bomb if money was not wired to him. But the Wal-Mart in Newport appears to be the only store that reportedly conceded to his demands by wiring him $10,000 overseas. A manager at a grocery store in Buchanan, Kan., was on the phone with the caller arranging for money to be sent when the line went dead.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is assisting local police, say these and other phoned-in extortion attempts to supermarkets, banks and department stores in nearly a dozen states around the country appear to be related. Most have occurred in just past the week.

“At this point, there are enough similarities that it appears to be one person or one group of folks,” said FBI spokesman Rich Kolko. “Some of the leads have led us to look overseas.”

Some reports have suggested the calls originated in Portugal.

The Newport case, while proving to be the most rewarding to the scammer and the most costly to any business, may actually be the most helpful to authorities. Newport say the foreign money transfer is giving them leads to follow.

“We now know where the money was transferred to. Once the money was wired, it was cashed right away,” he said. “The officials on the other end have been working with us…in an attempt to identify someone. They are closing in on the identity of the individual.”

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman declined to answer questions today.

“It is an open investigation. We’re referring any questions over to the investigation units. I can tell you we are assisting federal and local law enforcement units as they conduct their investigations. And beyond that I wouldn’t have any additional information,” said spokeswoman Sharon Weber.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

Kolko, the FBI spokesman, said the agency could not officially make decisions on whether businesses should make payments: "That’s a decision they have to make.”

He did urge businesses across the nation to “keep your people safe” and to “be a good witness for us.” He suggested that victims immediately take notes of what they have observed and said many companies provide handy tip sheets for employees on how to handle bomb threats.

Kolko said the first reported bomb scam occurred on Aug. 23. But, he said, “it really started going on Sunday.”

He listed the victims as “grocery stores, banks and Wal-Marts” in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Oregon, Virginia, Texas and Utah, in addition to Rhode Island. Media reports also indicated the scam targeted businesses in Indiana, California. Many of these businesses have banks or offer in-house money-wiring services.

Yesterday, an anonymous caller made a bomb threat against a Dillons grocery in Hutchinson, Kan., demanding money and ordering everyone in the store to disrobe, according to the Associated Press. Police said no money was paid. Today, police responded to three more bomb threats against Dillons.

Authorities said the caller yesterday appeared to have visual access to the grocery, although officials were investigating whether the caller was out of state and may have hacked into the store’s security system.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:53 PM | Comment

Update: Judge bans 'sickout' by Johnston police

JOHNSTON -- Ten police officers called in sick across two shifts today, and a Superior Court judge later issued a restraining order banning police from taking part in a "sickout."

At a news conference this afternoon, town officials asserted the calls were in protest of an investigation by Mayor Joseph Polisena over what he called sweetheart pension deals negotiated by predecessor William Macera's administration with individual police officers.

The officials also said the officers called in sick on the second and third shifts, which run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 4 p.m. to midnight, respectively.

Meanwhile, Superior Court Judge Netti Vogel, in her order, said an officer can only call in sick if he or she has a doctor's certificate that details the nature of the illness, the diagnosis, prognosis, and a specific recommendation from the doctor that the person be excused from work.

Five officers individually called in sick for the day shift today and another called in with a family leave illness. As the change toward the 4 p.m. shift came, two patrol officers and two sergeants had called in sick.

The department had to hold over officers from the previous shift and call in people on double time.

The union president took a previously arranged compensatory time; Judge Vogel's order did not apply to that.

Gary T. Gentile, the lawyer for the union, said the union leadership had not known about the action and did not sanction it. Gentile said he did not know until the town's lawyer contacted him this afternoon.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writers Philip Marcelo, John Hill and Mark Reynolds

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:46 PM | Comment

Restaurant owner pleads no contest to shellfish charge

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- The owner of popular Chinese restaurant in East Greenwich pleaded no contest today to charges that he harvested quahogs and oysters from Narrow River’s polluted waters.

Brian K. Cheng, who has owned China Buffet on Division Street for 14 years, pleaded no contest to one count each of taking quahogs and oysters from polluted waters in District Court, Wakefield. Under the plea agreement, the state dropped a charge of harvesting undersized blue crabs.

The state Department of Environmental Management environmental police say Cheng and a couple of friends dug about 12 gallons of quahogs and a few oysters from flats on the west side of the Narrow River, just south of Middle bridge, on Aug. 6. The Pettaquamscutt, or Narrow River, is closed to shellfishing because of pollution.

Officers seized a large Kikkoman soy sauce bucket brimming with quahogs and two other buckets that were partially filled with shellfish.

Cheng, 38, of 110 Scituate Ave., Hope, initially pleaded not guilty.

Judge John A. McLoughlin today ordered that he contribute $100 to the crime victims’ indemnity fund and that the case be placed on file for one year.

Cheng referred all questions to his lawyer Charles N. Redihan Jr., who declined to comment.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:38 PM | Comment

Update: Hearing Friday on Burrillville teachers' strike

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski
These Burrillville students spent the day skateboarding at Eccleston Field, after the teachers' strike action led to the cancellation of the first day of school.

The Burrillville School Committee has asked a judge to order teachers to come to work after the teachers' union voted to strike last night.

That request will be heard in Superior Court, Providence, this Friday morning at 10:30, Superior Court Associate Justice Netti C. Vogel decided this afternoon after a conference with lawyers from both sides.

Benjamin Scungio, a lawyer for the school committee, filed the complaint and a request for an injunction that would compel the teachers back to school. Read the full complaint.

The Burrillville Teachers' Union announced that it had voted in favor of a strike last night, telling the school department in time for it it to handle today like a snow day -- notifying parents and other staff members that there would be no school today.

Today was supposed to have been the district's first day of school for the year.

Classes have also been cancelled for tomorrow and Friday, the school department said.

The union's bargaining agreement expires Friday. The hearing Friday morning will be held in Courtroom 6 on the third floor of the Licht Judicial Complex.

Read more about the contract situation from our report earlier today.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 4:35 PM | Comment

Governor will convene wind-power group tomorrow

Governor Carcieri tomorrow will convene the first meeting of a group that will review plans for possible wind power projects and talk about them with stakeholders from communities involved.

The group is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. at Save the Bay headquarters, 100 Save the Bay Drive, Providence.

The governor has expressed support for wind power, asserting it is an affordable energy source that would be better for the environment.

The Office of Energy Resources was charged with finding a way to increase use of renewable energy, with wind power used to generate 15 percent of the state’s electricity, and another 5 percent from other renewable sources, according to the governor's office.

The community stakeholder group has been created to figure where wind power sructure would go. It's meeting Thursday. Community representatives have been invited from Newport, Warwick, Barrington, Bristol, Charlestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Narragansett, New Shoreham, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Warren, and Westerly.

Also invited are various state agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard, environmental groups, trade and activity associations, university representatives, tourism and chamber of commerce representatives.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:34 PM | Comment

Judge's order bans sick out by Johnston police

A Superior Court judge this afternoon issued a restraining order banning Johnston police officers from participating in a "sick out," after ten officers called in sick today across two shifts in apparent protest over stalled contract talks.

An officer can only call in sick, under the order from Judge Netti Vogel, if he or she is accompanied by a doctor's certificate that details the nature of the illness, the diagnosis, prognosis, and a specific recommendation from the doctor that the person be excused from work.

Five officers individually called in sick for the day shift today and another called in with a family leave illness. As the change toward the 4 p.m. shift came, two patrol officers and two sergeants had called in sick.

The department had to hold over officers from the previous shift and call people in on double time.

The union president took a previously arranged comp. time -- Judge Vogel's order did not apply to that.

Gary T. Gentile, the lawyer for the union, said the union leadership had not known about it and did not sanction it. Gentile said he did not know about the sick out until the town's lawyer contacted him this afternoon.

Ealier today, Mayor Joseph M. Polisena called a 4 p.m. news conference to explain the town’s response to the “sick-out” by town police officers this morning.

Polisena added that some officers had talked with him on Tuesday about various concerns involving their employment.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writers John Hill and Mark Reynolds

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:03 PM | Comment

E. Greenwich in marathon school mediation session

EAST GREENWICH -- Hunkered down in separate rooms, top school administrators and members of the East Greenwich Education Association are engaged in a marathon mediation session, hoping to come to terms with the three-year-old contract before it expires Friday.

School is scheduled to open in East Greenwich on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Both groups have been mediating with their lawyers present since 10 a.m. They are not expected to break until 7:30 p.m., an official said.

The district has been in mediation status since Aug. 10.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 3:43 PM | Comment

Lincoln group home won't close while appeal ongoing

Families of several adults with severe retardation won a reprieve today. The families are fighting an effort to close their Lincoln group home.

The two sides in the matter emerged from a meeting in Superior Court Judge Netti C. Vogel's chambers with an agreement that the home will remain open while the families and their lawyer have a grievance heard by the state Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals.

Today's developments do not yet guarantee the Lincoln home will stay open, but the lawyer for the families cast it as a win.

The adults have lived together for 25 years in the same group home in Lincoln and don't want to be moved to another home in Smithfield.

The judge's message was there is an appeal process, go through it and see what the process produces before closing the home.

Saying it is for budget reasons, the state has again opted to close the Southwick Drive home and transfer the four, who are in their late 40s and early 50s, to the Smithfield home.

In 1995, the state Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals first closed the adults' Southwick Drive home in Lincoln, and moved the group to a home in Smithfield to save $100,000.

William L. Brennan, the father of resident Patrick Brennan, filed suit on behalf of the four adults, asserting it was a traumatic move that negatively impacted their development. Superior Court Judge Patricia A. Hurst ordered the home reopened.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer John Hill and Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:32 PM | Comment

Johnston police call in sick this morning

JOHNSTON – Mayor Joseph M. Polisena has called a press conference to explain the town’s response to a “sick-out” by town police officers this morning.

Police officers on the day shift called in sick today, Polisena said, adding that some officers had talked with him on Tuesday about various concerns involving their employment.

The press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Town Hall.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:59 PM | Comment

The pediatrician's prescription: A dose of reading

In the future, the doctor might prescribe something new for your child: a book.

If it becomes law, a five-year $85-million proposal written by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, would have doctors and nurses give parents a children's book to take home at every wellness visit. Doctors would also advise parents it's important to read aloud to your children and give age-appropriate reading tips.

The Prescribe a Book Act -- S-1895 -- which is cosponsored by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, would set up a federal pediatric early literacy grant initiative based on the long-time Reach Out and Read program.

Reed's office said in a news release that Reach Out and Read is a national, nonprofit children’s literacy program that focuses on children at greatest risk: those 6 months to 5 years old living at or near poverty level.

Each child in Reach Out and Read begins kindergarten with a home library of up to 10 books and a parent who has heard at every well-child visit about the importance of books and reading.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:13 PM | Comment

2nd suspect in Providence murder surrenders

PROVIDENCE -- A second suspect has been arrested in the
shooting death earlier his month of a Fall River, Mass., man during what the police say was a drug deal gone bad.

Sylvester Moses, 20, of Providence, turned himself in this morning and has been charged with murdering Marc Quintal, according to the Providence police.

Moses is the second person arrested in connection with the August 15th murder. David Mello, also 20, was arrested on August 23.

The police have not said which of the suspects is believed to have pulled the trigger on Quintal.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:05 PM | Comment

Update: School bus hit in movie-like crash / Photo

Journal photo / Bill Murphy
Police and rescue crews respond to the scene of the accident.

LINCOLN – In a maneuver more like a movie stunt, a motorist traveling north on Route 99 this morning hit an embankment, went into the air, over a pickup truck and crashed into the back of a North Smithfield school bus.

The car driven by Roland Boutiette, 31, of Woonsocket, then hit a tree and rolled over several times before coming to a stop at the location just north of the Sayles Hill Road exit.

No one was seriously injured, and no children were sitting in the back of the bus, where the car hit, Deputy Chief Brian Sullivan said.

None of the 38 students were hurt, according to North Smithfield Schools Supt. Stephen Lindberg.

The bus was serving students in the Halliwell and North Smithfield elementary schools -- kindergarten through sixth grade, according to Robert Lafleur, the School Committee chairman.

The crash was in the northernmost tip of Lincoln -- an area where a bus route briefly crossed into Lincoln before returning to North Smithfield.

Parents were called and the district will be tracking the students with counselors to see how they are doing and that there are no traumatic after effects, particularly for the youngest who were aboard.

A note will be going home with all elementary school students explaining what happened.

Sullivan said the car, a Mercury, was so damaged, he couldn’t tell what model it was. “It looked like it had been through a car crusher,” he said.

The driver, Boutiette, was taken to a local hospital and has been released.

No charges have been filed, and the accident reconstruction team is investigating with state police.

-- projo.com staff writers Brandie Jefferson and Michael P. McKinney, and Journal staff writer John Hill

"In many ways we are blessed as a community -- it could have been worse," Lindberg said.

Lindberg said emergency responders checked all students thoroughly and found no bumps or bruises. Lindberg said the children ranged in age from five years old to 11 or 12. For the kindergartners aboard, it was just their second day on a school bus.

In the accident's aftermath, students could be seen boarding another bus, from North Smithfield, which then drove away with the students on board.

Lindberg credited the driver and bus monitor with calling central office to keep people apprised of the situation.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:48 PM | Comment

R.I. racing pigeon flys off track

PROVIDENCE - A local pigeon has found its way across state lines.

Gert Iannazzi tells the Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass., that there were a few unusual things about a bird she’d been seeing in her Methuen yard for the past week.

For one thing, the bird was unusually comfortable around humans. She could pick it up without it trying to fly away.

For another, it was wearing a nametag.

The bird, Iannazzi learned, is racing pigeon. According to the band it wears around its ankle, it's a member the Rhode Island Racing Club.

The pigeons typically race in late summer and fall and can find their way back from more than 1,000 miles away. But rather than send this bird off on its own, Iannazzi plans to care for it while she looks for its owner.

Find more information about pigeon racing at the American Racing Pigeon Union.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:47 PM | Comment

RIPTA service changes take effect Saturday

Rescheduled trips on about six bus routes and service on Route #57 to a new park n' ride lot in North Providence are among changes to bus service for the fall, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority announced today.

RIPTA will carry out the changes beginning this Saturday. They are part of regular updates three times a year due to seasonal change and passenger use, a RIPTA news release said.

The new park n’ ride lot is at Smith and Turcone streets in North Providence.

Also, Providence school service and service to Salve Regina University resumes for the academic year.

The following routes will be affected by the service changes:

* 1 Eddy/Gaspee

* 11 Broad Street

* 18 Union Avenue

* 19 Plainfield/Westminster

* 22 Reservoir/Pontiac

* 42 Hope Street

* 54 Lincoln/Woonsocket

* 57 Smith Street

* 60 Providence/Newport

* 62 Thames/Towne Center

* 64 Newport/URI

* 66 URI/Galilee

* 67 Bellevue/Salve Regina

* 211 Kingston Connection

RIPTA advised passengers to check the new printed individual schedules effective Sept. 1. The schedules are at Kennedy Plaza and www.ripta.com. For information, call 781-9400 or go to the Web site.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:10 PM | Comment

Photo: Golfer Sergio Garcia warms up to the fans

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Golfer Sergio Garcia signs autographs for fans before heading to the driving range this morning as he and other players prepare for the Deutsche Bank Championship at the Tournament Players Club in Norton, Ma. The tournament starts Friday and runs through Monday.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:37 AM | Comment

Burrillville schools will ask court to bring teachers back

The Burrillville School Department plans to ask a judge to order teachers to come to work after the teachers' union voted to strike last night and the first day of school was canceled today.

Supt. Steven Welford said the school department is "seeking an order from a judge to have (teachers) come to work."

Benjamin Scungio, a school department lawyer, said he plans to file the paperwork today.

The Burrillville Teachers' Union announced that it had voted in favor of a strike last night, telling the school department in time for it it to handle today like a snow day; notifying parents and other staff members that there would be no school.

The union's bargaining agreement expires Friday.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:04 AM | Comment

Burrillville teachers meeting today

Union representatives are meeting with Burrillville teachers on what was supposed to be the first day of school to discuss how to move forward after teachers voted in favor of a strike.

Spokesman Patrick Crowley said the union representatives won't meet with the school department until Tuesday at 5 p.m.

"The local union has directed everyone not to report to work until further notice," he said this morning.

He added that the teachers do not consider themselves to be on strike today.

The administration called for a snow day after teachers announced they would not go to work today, canceling classes and providing an administrative framework to handle staff that is not part of the teacher's union including secretaries and bus services.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:02 AM | Comment

No school in Burrillville, teachers strike / Photo

Journal photo / Bill Murphy
Despite the sign, schools are closed this morning in Burrillville, as the teachers, with no contract in place, have gone out on strike.

BURRILLVILLE — The town’s teachers will not report to their classrooms this morning for what was expected to be the first day of the 2007-2008 school year.

The teachers’ union leaders announced a strike late last night on the heels of fruitless collective-bargaining negotiations stretching back to late last year.

Schools Supt. Steven Welford confirmed last night that the district had canceled today’s classes.

-- Journal reporter Mark Reynolds

The teachers are dissatisfied with contract proposals that, according to a union official, offer too little money and try to change their roles. They also disagreed with proposals to increase limits on class size.

“We wanted to try and get this resolved,” said the official, Patrick M. Crowley, assistant executive director of the National Education Association of Rhode Island. “We’ve invested the time and effort into trying to get a deal that would work.

“It’s not a matter of one group walking away,” he added. “It’s a matter of two sides that can’t reach a deal.”

The union’s representatives have negotiated with representatives of the School Committee on various occasions since last November.</