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September 28, 2007

Lynch praises decision on Brayton Point permit

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch today praised an appeals board's denial of what he called Dominion Energy Brayton Point LLC’s request to "delay compliance" with permit requirements at Brayton Point Station in Somerset, Mass.

In a news release this evening, Lynch's office said Brayton Point's operation "under an inadequate 15-year-old permit" has been causing "significant violations" of Rhode Island water quality requirements.

The decision, dated yesterday, was by the Environmental Appeals Board, an administrative court of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Lynch said in his statement that the decision "gives us hope that Dominion will resist pursuing further legal action and implement the technology that must be employed if Mount Hope Bay — two-thirds of which is within Rhode Island — is ever to recover from the harm inflicted by the operation of Brayton Point Power Station.”

On Oct. 6, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office issued a permit requiring Brayton Point’s operator to lower the plant’s thermal output -- how much water can be discharged and at what temperature it can be discharged -- and requires the operator to reduce its intake of water from the bay.

The plant would have to install what are known as closed-cycle cooling towers in its four coal-and oil-fired electricity-generating units, which Lynch's office said would reduce the plant’s intake of water from about 1 billion gallons to 56 million gallons per day.

The plant’s owners appealed the permit.

The Environmental Appeals Board denied Brayton Point Station’s request for a second review, so terms of the 2003 permit must be carried out immediately, Lynch's office said.

However, Lynch's release noted the company may seek an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, in Boston.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:48 PM | Comment

For Hannah Montana, they'll wait in line 15 hours

PROVIDENCE -- Talk about getting an early start.

A line of 15 to 20 people, adults and youths both, has formed this evening outside Rhode Island Convention Center to buy tickets to see Miley Cyrus -- aka Hannah Montana -- and the Jonas Brothers -- tickets that don't go on sale until 10 a.m tomorrow.

They've pulled up chairs outside the convention center to guarantee seats at the Dec. 20 performance of the Disney Channel favs at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

There is a four-ticket limit per family.

Meanwhile, folk-rock icon Bob Dylan is slated to appear tomorrow night at the Ryan Center at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston.

He'll likely attract a different type of audience.

But you can react to his performance, and Journal staff writer Rick Massimo's review, Sunday on projo.com.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:11 PM | Comment

Textron agrees to loans for Las Vegas development

PROVIDENCE -- Textron Financial Corporation, a subsidiary of Providence-based Textron Inc., has agreed to provide loans to Westgate Resorts to pay for the $400-million Planet Hollywood Towers development in Las Vegas.

The 50-story residential development, on the Las Vegas Strip, is expected to open in two years. It will give owners access to the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

“The closing of this deal is testament to the financial strength and the industry and product expertise Textron Financial offers to all our customers,” Jay Carter, president of Textron Financial, said in a statement today.

The loan is the largest ever by Textron Financial's Resort Finance Division, established in 1990.

Westgate Resorts, based in Florida, is affiliated with Central Florida Investments Inc.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:00 PM | Comment

Gathering to mark same-sex marriage ruling

A gathering on the State House steps tomorrow will mark the first anniversary of a Massachusetts judge's ruling that allows Rhode Island same-sex couples to get married in the Bay State.

Rhode Island same-sex married couples, family and friends will attend, and couples and officials from gay-rights organizations are slated to speak.

The gathering, with a group photo planned, is scheduled for 10 a.m., according to a news release from Marriage Equality Rhode Island.

In September last year, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Thomas E. Connolly ruled that Rhode Island law did not expressly prohibit gay marriage. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court already allowed same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.

In February this year, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, whose sister married a woman in Attleboro, Mass., issued an opinion saying Rhode Island would recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in Massachusetts. Lynch has said his sister's marriage had no bearing on his decision.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:28 PM | Comment

Sox keeping promising Buchholz out for season

Right-hander Clay Buchholz, who no-hit the Orioles on Sept. 1 in only his second big-league start, is being shut down for the season by the Red Sox.

Sox Manager Terry Francona said minutes ago that Buchholz's strength and mobility, among other things the organization test for on a regular basis, are not at the levels the Sox would like to see in order to have him continue to pitch.

So rather than risk his promising career by using him over the final three regular-season games and then in the postseason, the organization has decided to err on the side of caution.

Get the latest from projo.com's SoxBlog ...

-- Journal staff writer Steven Krasner

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:06 PM | Comment

State delays new Medicaid co-payments

PROVIDENCE – The state has delayed plans to ask 14,000 impoverished Medicaid recipients to pay a portion of their prescription drug costs.

The policy, enacted as part of the state budget passed by the General Assembly this spring, was set to begin Monday. It would have required $1 and $3 co-payments for generic and brand name medications, respectively.

The new fee structure has been put on hold until Dec. 1 because of federal objections to state regulations associated with the new policy.

The decision has nothing to do with an outcry from social welfare advocates at a public hearing earlier in the month, Department of Human Services Director Gary Alexander said today.

He did not immediately know how the delay would affect the $600,000 in revenue projected from the fees.

Several people testified that the copays unfairly target those least able to afford them, especially those on several medications and those with sick children. Fee-for-service Medicaid recipients affected by the new co-pays are generally adults under the age of 65 suffering from disabilities. Most live on monthly incomes fixed at $680.

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:57 PM | Comment

9 Liberian journalists to speak at CCRI forum

Nine Liberian journalists will talk about matters impacting Liberia's "emerging democracy," including the media's contribution and the media environment there, during a Community College of Rhode Island forum tomorrow.

The noon forum is at the college's Liston Campus, 1 Hilton St., Providence.

At noon there will be a one-hour viewing of a photo exhibit by Liberian photojournalist Gregory Stemn, a former photo editor of such Liberian newspapers as the Daily Observer and Inquirer. "His photos trace the country’s transition from civil war to democracy and peace," the college said in a news release.

CCRI student government members will participate in the forum, which is free and open to the public.

Maureen Sieh, former senior reporter at the Liberian Daily Observer and now urban affairs editor at the Post Standard in Syracuse, N.Y., will moderate.

Print and electronic media journalists as well as journalists from "civic media organizations," the Press Union of Liberia, Female Journalists Association of Liberia, and the Liberia Media Center are slated to speak.

For more information, call Nyekeh Forkpa at (401) 477-4993 or at nyekeh33@ yahoo.com or Sam Togba Slewion at (215) 964-3217 or stslewion@aol.com.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

The visit is through an exchange program by the Center for Democracy and Development at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Liberia Media Support Initiative, described by the college as a media watchdog group, organized the event, working with the Center for Democracy and Development at UMass Boston and Rhode Island's Liberian community.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:43 PM | Comment

Photo: Brown students back protesters in Burma

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Students at Brown University marched on campus today to show solidarity with protests in Myanmar, also known as Burma, against the ruling military government. Former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, now a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown, was among the speakers.

Security forces first moved against the anti-government protesters on Wednesday, when the first of 10 deaths was reported. Images of bloodied protesters and fleeing crowds have riveted world attention on the escalating crisis, prompting many governments to urge the junta in Myanmar to end the violence. Get the latest from the Associated Press.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:39 PM | Comment

Rhode Island gets grant to stop elder-women abuse

Rhode Island has secured a $320,972 federal grant to develop and carry out statewide training that aims to end abuse against older women.

The grant will be used over three years to accomplish the initiative, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed.

The grant goes to Day One -- the sexual assault and trauma resource center -- and includes as partners the state attorney general's office, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, and state Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“The needs of older woman who are victims of violence are different than those of other age groups,” Kennedy said in the statement. “They are very often the caregiver of an extended family and feel a tremendous responsibility to remain quiet, even while the abuse may threaten their personal safety."

Reed stated: "Too often, older women and senior citizens are targeted by criminals. We need to do more to protect our older citizens from abuse and violent crime."

The goal is for the organizations to work with other community and state agencies to create a "statewide systemic response" to women victims of sexual abuse and violence later in life.

From 2001 to 2005, 1,359 incidents of domestic violence against people 60 or older were reported to Rhode Island police, according to estimates from the lawmakers.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:18 PM | Comment

Update: Firefighters will participate in Sunday's drill

The Providence firefighters will be participating in Sunday's Homeland Security drill at the Rhode Island Convention Center, apparently meaning that the statewide drill will go forward as planned.

The Providence firefighters, who have been working without a contract, had planned to picket the drill, leading firefighters from other departments to say they would not cross the picket lines.

That plan was met with fierce objections by city and state officials.

Their Providence Fire Department's union president said in a statement, "It never was our intention to negatively impact the drill."

Anyone who asserts that it was, union president Paul A. Doughty added, "is either misinformed or is consciously misinforming the public."

The statement also says the Providence firefighters union has contacted all other Rhode Island fire departments to assure them their participation "will be as welcome as it is necessary."

Firefighters will stage a "teach-in" on the steps of City Hall after the drill is finished, according to a statement from the firefighters' union. Doughty's statement said the subject of the teach-in is that "Providence is alone among Rhode Island municipalities in its unwillingness to conform to state law regarding cancer benefits for firefighters."

He added that "in Providence, the city charter provides a legal loophole that allows the city to ignore the state law ... So our argument is not legal in nature. It's about morality. It's about right and wrong."

"Providence firefighters will proudly join colleagues from the other 38 cities and towns of Rhode Island and participate in a preparedness exercise of immense importance to the safety of our state," Doughty said.

Doughty was scheduled to give a news conference beginning at 3 p.m. today.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:19 PM | Comment

Zion Bible College, in Barrington, moving to Mass.

BARRINGTON -- Zion Bible College is moving to Massachusetts after all.

The Rev. Otis Stanley, the Board of Trustees chairman, says the Barrington school will move to the former campus of Bradford College in Haverhill, Mass., after the founder of an arts-and-crafts chain purchased the 72.5-acre campus and donated it.

The school last year considered the move, but backed out when trustees decided it wasn't financially feasible.

That changed when David Green of Hobby Lobby Stores bought the campus. Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini says the school will now use the money it was planning to use to buy the campus to rehabilitate buildings.

Stanley says the campus could be ready by next September.

Bradford closed in 2000 for financial reasons.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:37 PM | Comment

Providence appoints a new finance director

PROVIDENCE -- Bruce T. Miller, the Plymouth, Mass. finance director, has been appointed Providence finance director and will begin work Oct. 15, Mayor David N. Cicilline's office announced today.

Miller has overseen a $155-million budget in Plymouth and fills the post left open by former finance director Alex Prignano, who retired last year, according to a news release.

Miller served as finance director for Provincetown, Mass, from 2000 to 2004, overseeing a $30 million budget. And, from 1993 to 1999, Miller managed the finances of Nantucket, Mass.

“Bruce Miller has a strong background in public sector finance and his track record at successfully implementing long-term financial strategies for several municipalities makes him uniquely qualified to manage the City of Providence’s finances,” Cicilline said in a statement. “He takes on the position at a time when Providence has earned ‘A’ grades from all three bond rating agencies and made progress towards implementing meaningful pension reform.”

Miller carried out long-term strategic planning for capital and operating budgets, "revising debt and cash management/investment policies," and restructured back-office operations of the town’s treasury, collector and accounting departments, the mayor's office said.

Miller modernized Plymouth’s financial operations by carrying out a change to new software.

He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from University of Baltimore.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:20 PM | Comment

R.I. Lottery: scratch a ticket, help the arts

Rhode Island Lottery announced today that beginning Monday all proceeds from a new one-dollar scratch ticket game during its first three months will go to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to help the local arts community.

The ticket was designed in part by Tom Roskelly of Roskelly, Inc. in Portsmouth, and features a performer from Fusionworks Dance Company. The RISCA ticket will be available in full distribution. The game will also be sold at certain arts events.

The new Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Instant Game came out of legislation, Rhode Island Lottery said in a news release. The law was spearheaded by Sen. Maryellen Goodwin, D-Providence, and Rep. John McCauley, D-Providence, with co-sponsors Reps. Peter Lewiss, John Shanley, Edith Ajello, and William San Bento.

"We hope that this instant lottery game is successful in raising additional support for the arts in our state, and we thank all those who have made this possible," Randall Rosenbaum, the state Council on the Arts executive director, said in the statement.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:34 PM | Comment

UAW takes step toward forming union at Foxwoods

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The United Auto Workers filed a petition today with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election to form a union for about 3,000 dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Union officials called the move the largest organizing effort in Connecticut in decades. It also would be one of the first unions at a tribal casino.

"This step is epochal, portending huge shifts in the legal and labor landscape at tribal casinos all around the country," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, whose office has supported such efforts. "It would almost inevitably lead to similar union efforts at other casinos."

The move came after UAW officials said a "supermajority" of the 3,000 dealers had signed cards in support of the effort. At least 30 percent of employees of a proposed bargaining unit must sign cards to force a vote, which is supervised by the NLRB.

UAW officials said in June they had started gathering signatures in a bid to unionize workers at Foxwoods. The casino in Mashantucket is owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and has 11,430 employees.

Foxwoods officials have been fighting the unionizing efforts, telling employees they will be required to pay dues and may lose benefits through negotiations. In February, the casino announced 5 percent raises and improved benefits after a New Year's Eve sickout to protest working conditions.

Full story ...

-- Associated Press

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:26 PM | Comment

More officials decry firefighters' plan to picket

The state's Attorney General has added his voice to the list of state officials objecting to the Providence firefighters' decision to picket, threatening to cancel or drastically scale back a statewide mock disaster drill scheduled for Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

Patrick Lynch said in an interview, "There is a time and place for everything, and I don't think firefighters should use an important _ if not critically important _ public safety preparedness drill as a bargaining tool.''

He urged the union to find a way to allow the drill to take place as planned and said he had left a message for union president Paul Doughty to that effect.

In interviews this morning, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and Gen. Treas. Frank Caprio added their voices.

Roberts, who chairs the state Emergency Management Advisory Council, said she was "shocked" when she read the news about the dispute and the refusal of firefighters from several communities to participate in the terrorism drill.

She said firefighters' "primary responsibility" is to respond to emergencies, something "they do very well.'' She said she was "extremely disappointed'' that an argument over disability benefits - which she acknowledged is an important matter - "is getting in the way of having this important drill.''

Caprio said he wants to see the drill go forward with full participation by everyone who was scheduled to be in it.

"The drill is of utmost importance for our region and I would hope the union and the city administration could work out their differences,'' he said.

Caprio said he'd place a call and pass along his thoughts to Doughty.

Minutes later, Caprio phoned The Providence Journal to say he spoke to Doughty and that the union leader "sounded very hopeful" the situation would be resolved. "I think you're going to to see some news from them sometime this afternoon,'' Caprio said.

Republican Governor Carcieri and Democratic Mayor David Cicilline assailed the firefighters' posture yesterday.

-- Journal staff writer M. Charles Bakst

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:00 PM | Comment

Lawyers ask court to affirm Urciuoli, Driscoll verdicts

PROVIDENCE -- Federal prosecutors are asking a federal appeals court to uphold guilty verdicts against two former hospital executives convicted in a corruption case.

They filed court papers today rejecting arguments from Robert Urciuoli and Frances Driscoll that the trial judge gave the jury flawed instructions.

Robert Urciuoli is the former president of Roger Williams Medical Center. Driscoll was a senior vice president. They were convicted last year of paying then-Senator John Celona to advance their agenda at the Statehouse.

Defense lawyers say the trial judge should not have allowed the jury to consider acts that Celona took on the hospital's behalf that were unrelated to his votes in the Senate. But prosecutors say that argument defies common sense.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal has permitted Urciuoli and Driscoll to remain free on bail.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:45 PM | Comment

Judge: Cunha clients can't pursue Station foam claims

PROVIDENCE – A federal judge has ruled that Station fire victims represented by lawyer Brian R. Cunha may not pursue their claims against a publicly-traded company that may have manufactured the highly flammable foam that lined the walls of The Station nightclub because Cunha never properly notified the company that he was suing them.

This means that if a jury were to find foam manufacturer Leggett & Platt liable for money damages at a trial -- or if the company were to agree to an out-of-court settlement -- the 19 fire victims represented by Cunha would not share in any of the money paid by Leggett & Platt.

Cunha, in a hearing on Sept. 19, told Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux that his failure to serve Leggett & Platt had been an oversight. He blamed one of his paralegals for the error. He argued that it would be unfair to punish his clients by throwing out their claims against the foam manufacturer. And he contended that the lawyer here representing Leggett & Platt should have called him on the phone to give him a head’s up that he hadn’t been served.

But Lagueux was not convinced. Cunha had had years since filing his lawsuits to serve notice on Leggett & Platt and the lawyer for Leggett & Platt “continually gave notice in various pleadings that they had not been served and that they were not answering” the Cunha lawsuits, the judge said.

“It’s unfortunate that this has happened, but trying to shift the blame to the defendants doesn’t carry the day in this case. I’m satisfied that the plaintiffs have not shown good cause for this long delay in either making service or presenting the waiver of service to the defendants,” said Lagueux.

The burden, said the judge, was on Cunha “to demonstrate to me there’s good cause for allowing them to make tardy service at this time."

Good cause, said Lagueux, “requires a demonstration of good faith on the part of the party seeking” an extension of time “and some reasonable basis for noncompliance” with court rules.

“And it’s been held that an attorney’s inadvertence, neglect or mistake is not good cause. And here, whether it’s a paralegal, or someone else in a plaintiff’s office has not satisfactorily explained what happened,” said Lagueux.

“Obviously, there was an oversight” but Cunha, said Lagueux, had given no detailed explanation about what had happened, except “a last-minute discussion with a paralegal and the representation made to the court that the paralegal somehow didn’t catch it.”

Cunha, in a telephone interview today, said he would appeal Lagueux's decision to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston by day's end and predicted "I'm gonna win on appeal."

He said, "I was very surprised by the judge's decision," and that "with all due respect it was factually incorrect and I feel strongly, upon appeal, we'll be fine."

Cunha said that Leggett & Platt's lawyer filed an answer to all of the fire victims' claims against it and included him in the list of people served with answers. He said the foam company's lawyer never raised the issue of "insufficiency of process" until just recently.

Lagueux’s ruling does not affect the Leggett & Platt claims of the fire victims who are represented by other lawyers – just Cunha’s clients.

Leggett & Platt, a Missouri corporation, is one of the big-pocket defendants being sued by the families who lost loved ones and those who suffered injuries in The Station nightclub fire on Feb. 20, 2003. The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The fire victims allege in their lawsuits that Leggett & Platt manufactured foam that the owners of The Station, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, bought as sound-proofing for their club.

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

The lawsuits also allege that the highly-flammable polyurethane foam manufactured and sold by Leggett & Platt “possessed extraordinary dangerous and defective qualities” and “ignited too easily, burned too vigorously once ignited and produced unreasonably dangerous toxic smoke and gases.”

The lawsuits contend that Leggett & Platt’s foam “was an immediate cause” of the deadly fire at The Station, which killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others.

Leggett & Platt is vigorously contesting those allegations and contends that it bears no liability for injuries suffered by the fire victims and their families.

Lawyers for the fire victims, including Cunha, also allege that another foam manufacturer, General Foam, and the company that later purchased it -- Foamex -- are also liable to the fire victims for the same reasons.

They allege that both General Foam and Leggett & Platt delivered polyurethane foam to a Johnston distributor, American Foam, around the time that the Derderians bought the foam there that they installed in their nightclub.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 12:26 PM | Comment

Lawyer: Let injured Mexican worker stay in U.S.

PROVIDENCE -- An immigration lawyer is petitioning for Edgar Velásquez to remain in the country beyond Sunday, when his five-day humanitarian visa expires. The government-issued visa allowed Velásquez to travel from Mexico and attend a workers’ compensation pre-trial hearing yesterday against a former employer, for whom Velásquez worked when he slashed his face open with a chain saw last year.

Velásquez was in the country illegally at the time.

Bernard P. Healy, lawyer for the state Department of Labor, told workers’ compensation Judge Bruce Q. Morin today that an immigration attorney has filed a petition for a visa extension that would allow Velasquez to remain until an actual trial is held in his case against William J. Gorman Jr., owner of Billy G’s Tree Care in Warwick.

Velásquez is seeking compensation for medical bills and permanent injuries suffered on March 31, 2006, when a chain saw he was using kicked back from a fence, cut his forehead to the bone, and sliced through his eyelid and nose.

Velásquez testified at a separate trial this morning in the state labor department’s case against Gorman for not having workers’ compensation insurance when Velásquez worked for him. Gorman could face fines of up to $1,000 a day.

Velásquez testified through an interpreter that he was riding in a vehicle Gorman was driving on August 3rd, 2005, that was involved in an accident with another vehicle. He said he had started working for Gorman sometime before then but could not remember exactly when.

He also testified that he worked for Gorman for as many as six days a week, depending on the weather and work availability, until his accident. He did not work during December and January, he said.

The work involved chopping down trees large and small, chopping limbs into firewood-sized pieces, and mowing Gorman’s lawn, he said.

Asked by Healy who decided what work he would do and how, Velásquez said Gorman did.

“Well, how can I put it? We are just mere workers – we come to the United States and they decide what work we do and how we do it,” he said.

Under cross-examination, Velásquez said his uncle arranged the first meeting with Gorman.

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:06 PM | Comment

Documentary screening to benefit homeless shelter

What a weird name, Woonsocket.

If it hadn’t been for that thought, Mark and Normand, two homeless men who lived in the woods of Woonsocket, may not have been any better off today than they were before their lives were touched by two documentary filmmakers. Or maybe they would have.

Find out for yourself how a group of filmmakers who spend their time driving around looking for people help turned a chance visit to Rhode Island into a documentary film-worthy experience.

See the documentary film “Lost in Woonsocket,” tonight at the Blackstone Valley Visitors’ Center Theater at 7:30 p.m.

Director John Chester, and three of the film’s subjects -- Normand Cartier, Joe the Barber and Pastor Brian -- will be there after the movie for a discussion.

Proceeds for the screening, which costs $20, will help fund St. Paul’s Emergency Overnight Shelter in Pawtucket and the Lost and Found in America Foundation.

And if you're curious, find out where the name Woonsocket may have come from.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:58 AM | Comment

Update: Bush sets goal to fight global warming / Video

Representatives from across the world are meeting in Washington, D.C., today to discuss climate change and strategies that major countries, and major companies, can use to develop cleaner technologies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In a speech to the group this morning, President Bush called on the world's worst polluters to come together to set a goal for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing the climate to heat up. He didn't exempt his own country from the list.

"By setting this goal, we acknowledge there is a problem, and by setting this goal, we commit ourselves to doing something about it," Bush said in a speech that capped two days of talks at a White House-sponsored climate change conference. "We share a common responsibility: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while keeping our economies growing."

He said each nation should establish for itself what methods it will use to rein in the pollution problem without stunting economic growth.

The gathering drew representatives from 16 nations, including big producers from the developing world like China and India as well as the European Union and United Nations. Bush's emphasis is on using green technologies and other voluntary efforts to tackle global warming. The president said the reduction goal should be finalized by next summer, along with ways to measure progress toward it.

Watch a video report of Bush's speech.

Closer to home, politicians are still expressing disappointment at some of the administration’s policies toward climate change. According to documents made public by a congressional committee, the Bush administration is working to create opposition to new state rules designed to reduce carbon emissions from cars.

The potential effects of climate change in New England were outlined in a report earlier this summer by the Cambridge-based Union of Concerned Scientists, self described as “the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world.”

The report warns of the decline of lobster stocks, increased drought, increased coastal flooding and conditions favorable for the spread of vector borne diseases.

Read the report here .

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Peter B. Lord and the Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:35 AM | Comment

Pilobolus comes to PPAC

You could talk about the physics of it all, or the physiology. Of course, being dance, there’s artistry to be admired.

And talking about “a collaborative choreographic process and a unique weight-sharing approach to partnering” just doesn’t get the point across.

To understand what the Pilobolus dance troupe does – even if you’ll never understand how – just watch.

See more tomorrow night at 8 p.m., when the troupe comes to the Providence Performing Arts Center.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:24 AM | Comment

Queen Mary 2 in Newport tomorrow

Journal photo / John Freidah
Sharon Amaral and Joe Chaves of Newport watch the arrival of the Queen Mary 2 when it stopped in Newport in September 2004.

It’s the biggest thing in Newport this weekend.

The Queen Mary 2 will be making a stop in Rhode Island during its “Splendours of Fall” cruise which begins in New York and visits Boston, Halifax, Quebec City, and , Bar Harbor, Maine.

The 1,132-foot-long ship took just under 4 years to build at an estimated cost of $800 million.

It's expected to arrive at 8 a.m. tomorrow and depart for Boston at 5.

A document titled “Queen Mary 2 A Ship of Superlatives,” uses comparisons to make the magnitude of the ship comprehensible. For instance, on the ship, “enough toilet tissue is used to wrap the earth almost five times.”

Whether that's a good thing or not, the ship is certainly something to see.

And if you don’t get a chance to see the ship, you may be able to hear it.

The QM2’s whistle can be heard up to 10 miles away.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:29 AM | Comment

From Providence dumping ground to playground

Riverside Mills was once a thriving mill complex, but in recent years it’s become an eyesore.

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council has been working to clean up the sofas, tires, needles and oil drums that littered the area, even buying new soil to make sure contaminants from the industrial mill’s past were all gone.

And now, a playground and community parks are on the way.

It’s been quite a turnaround, but it’s not over yet.

The Council; Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse; the Providence Parks Department and other community groups are sponsoring a James W. Rouse Community Service Day. They’re asking the public to help install playgrounds, plant new trees and clean up the river.

Tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., stop by the park, near Aleppo Street, along the Woonasquatucket River in Providence and lend a hand in exchange for drinks and food – and the chance to be a part of the area’s revitalization.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:01 AM | Comment

Lead content prompts more toy recalls

WASHINGTON -- A Cumberland company recalls children's necklaces made in China because they contain dangerous levels of lead.

The 850 Spinning Wheel Necklace necklaces were produced by Rhode Island Novelty. They were sold nationwide from November 2006 through May 2007.

Under current regulations, children's products should not have more than .06 percent lead.

The government warns parents to make sure children are not playing or using any of the recalled products.

For more information, call the company 800-528-5599 or visit its Web site at www.rinovelty.com.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Rainy today, but nice for the weekend

Your car may be a little damp this morning, and there's more to come.

The National Weather Service is predicting rain and some thunderstorms across the state all day. The temperature should reach 79 degrees.

Rain should continue into the evening, but skies should clear by 9 p.m. The overnight low should be 54.

Saturday is looking nice, with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s.

Saturday night should be clear, with a low around 46.

Cooler Sunday, with a high near 65 and clear skies. Sunday's low is forecast at 44 degrees.

And Monday may be the perfect fall day, clear, sunny skies with a high near 72.

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 a story reporting that some defense attorneys in The Station fire civil cases are raising issues that could delay payments to victims' families.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment

September 27, 2007

Tonight: Benoit's blues and Feldman's artworks

Tab Benoit plays his own blend of blues at Chan's Restaurant in Woonsocket tonight at 8 and 10 p.m. Head to 267 Main St. Call 765-1900. It's $20 to see both shows; $12 for the late show.

Or go to the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Brown University in Providence for the art of Walter Feldman, professor emeritus of visual art. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

And don't forget it's showtime for The Brotherhood at PPAC.

For more ideas, visit projo.com/lifebeat and projo.com's calendar page.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:05 PM | Comment

R.I. man gets probation for Boston drug sales

BOSTON, Mass. -- A Rhode Island man who illegally sold prescription drugs in and around the federal building where he worked has been sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty.

Prosecutors say 45-year-old Anthony Carroll of Warwick, Rhode Island, sold oxycodone and morphine in and around the JFK Federal Building in Boston from October 2005 to February 2006.

He worked for the federal Office of Veterans Affairs at the time.

Carroll faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but received three years of probation with the first six months to be served in electronically-monitored home confinement.

A co-defendant pleaded guilty last year.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:03 PM | Comment

Fire reported in Central Falls' Dexter Street area

CENTRAL FALLS -- Responders are at the scene of a fire this evening in the Dexter Street area.

The Providence Fire Department was asked to send its canteen truck to Central Falls.

No other details were yet available.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:00 PM | Comment

Carcieri asks for teacher contract task force

PROVIDENCE -- Citing concern over the delayed opening of school in several districts because of teacher contract battles, Governor Carcieri asked the new chairman of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education to assemble a task force to study how teacher contracts are negotiated and recommend ways to improve the process.

“…This year the startup of school in our state was marred by labor disputes in a number of our communities,” Carcieri wrote in a Sept. 13 letter to Chairman Robert G. Flanders Jr. “Rather than ensuring students were ready for school … the focus was on such contractual issues as health care benefits and salaries for teachers. This must change.”

Carcieri asked Flanders to select task force members from a wide range of backgrounds -- including teacher unions, school committees, parents, municipal leaders and others, and to report back shortly after the General Assembly convenes in January.

“The governor wants to see if we can avoid strike situations that seem to pop up around the time children go back to school,” Flanders said at a regularly scheduled Regents’ meeting today. Flanders said he will move quickly to assemble the group, begin meetings and present recommendations to lawmakers early next year.

Flanders, a former state Supreme Court justice, was nominated by Carcieri in June to head the board and confirmed by the Senate before its close later that month.

-- Journal staff writer Jennifer D. Jordan

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:30 PM | Comment

Update: All 11 fire departments bow out of drill

PROVIDENCE -- All 11 Rhode Island fire departments slated to participate in a terrorism drill at Rhode Island Convention Center have dropped out, prompted by the Providence firefighters' union plan to picket as part of a protracted contract battle between the Providence firefighters and the city.

Yesterday, East Providence, Cranston and Pawtucket bowed out because of the union picket. This morning, Newport firefighters followed suit. As of this afternoon, all of the other departments dropped out, too, including Coventry, Johnston, North Providence, West Warwick, Warwick, and Central Falls. The 11th department is Providence itself.

Drill organizers, however, say they will conduct the exercise no matter what.

Meanwhile, RIPTA officials are also telling the Providence Emergency Management Agency that their union is concerned about getting involved.

The RIPTA bus drivers were going to transport victims, said Leo Messier, of the Providence EMA. Without them, the drill won’t be able to use its new statewide communications system.

Providence alone was planning to have 80 firefighters involved in the drill, including 40 who are on duty Sunday. There were no volunteers to work overtime.

This morning, the department ordered eight Providence firefighters trained in hazardous materials to come in and work the drill, said Assistant Fire Chief Michael J. Dillon. They are being paid overtime.

Providence Fire Chief George S. Farrell said this morning that he’s hopeful that the controversy can be smoothed over in time for Sunday.

Also today, Governor Carcieri, a Republican, and the head of the convention center authority criticized the union's plan to picket.

The state Republican Party chairman this afternoon said state Democratic leaders need to speak out against the union's planned picket.

Your turn: Are the firefighters justified in picketing a major statewide drill?

-- Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits, with reports from Journal staff writer Michael P. McKinney

“Where are the Democrat leaders speaking out against this? Their silence is deafening and shows they won’t break ranks with the union bosses even when a job action threatens public safety, is an outrageous disruption to a planned anti-terrorism drill, and will waste taxpayers dollars,” GOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione said in a statement.

He added: “The Democratic Party used to stand up for the working class -- now they toss aside valuable training and funding that could save lives just to draw attention to the circus that the unions run for their own gain.”

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:08 PM | Comment

Update: Blue Cross to make cuts; details unknown

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island said today it is cutting staff and eliminating "several programs and functions" to lower its operating expenses.

In a two-paragraph statement, the state's publicly chartered health insurer makes no mention of how many staff members are being cut or which programs -- or how any of that will impact the public.

The corporation said it's "under increasing competitive pressure to provide high-quality health insurance for less. To retain our market share and to ensure the long-term viability and success of the company -- we must operate at the lowest reasonable cost."

The statement adds: "Out of respect and sensitivity to those individuals who are directly impacted, it would be inappropriate for us to provide any more information," the statement says. "We are making every effort to treat those individuals with the dignity and respect they deserve."

Blue Cross is one of the state's two dominant health insurers. The other is UnitedHealthcare, which beat out Blue Cross early this year for the state employees' health insurance contract. Blue Cross is an independent, nonprofit company, while United is a for-profit subsidiary of a national company.

The major news this year from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has been construction plans for a new headquarters in the Capital Center in Providence. It plans a 13-story, 325,000-square-foot building rising 237 feet at the corner of Park Row and Exchange Street and above a parking garage under construction to serve two residential towers.

As of April, the insurer had about 1,100 employees in Providence, in six locations, two owned, four rented. The company has said it plans to sell the two buildings it alreay owns for $20 million and put the proceeds toward the cost of constructing the $114-million building.

Blue Cross has said it hopes to begin constructing the building late this year and occupy the site in early 2010. It is slated to get $25 million in tax breaks from the city, under a plan negotiated in 2004 with Intercontinental when the developer signed its long-term lease on the two-acre Capital Center parcel, Blue Cross officials have said.

In May, Governor Carcieri had expressed concerns about the location in terms of perception: an expensive location.

But Blue Cross & Blue Shield officials have said locating there saves money long term, including because of efficiencies resulting from consolidating in one spot.

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:30 PM | Comment

Brotherhood premieres at PPAC tonight

People can wait until Sunday to catch those Rhode Island standbys of political corruption, criminal shenanigans and friends influencing friends dramatized on Showtime's new season of Brotherhood. Or they can catch it tonight at the Providence Performing Arts Center.

The first two episodes will premiere at 7 tonight. Tickets are free. Pick them up at Cox stores at the South County Commons in South Kingstown, 50 Houghton St. in Providence, and 1999 Plainfield Pike in Johnston and at the Warwick Mall.

It was not clear if tickets were still available at those locations.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:00 PM | Comment

Sex offender, accused again, back in prison

A convicted sex offender, accused of raping a woman in Cumberland while he was on probation, today was ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence from the previous conviction.

Gary P. Lamountain was indicted on two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of larceny in 2003 after attacking a woman he had known for 20 years and stealing stereo equipment. He was given a 20-year sentence with five years to serve and 15 years suspended.

Lamountain was released April 23 of this year after serving three years of his five-year sentence at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

Lamountain, labeled a level three, or “high risk” sex offender, was arrested Aug. 12 after a 27-year-old woman accused him of breaking into her Cumberland apartment and raping her.

At a violation hearing today in Superior Court, Providence, Judge Gilbert Indeglia ordered Lamountain to serve the 15 years that had been suspended as part of his previous sentence.

The police were in the process of putting a notification to let neighbors know a registered sex offender was in the area, but the notice was posted on the police department’s Web site the day after Lamountain's arrest.
.
-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Philip Marcello

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:12 PM | Comment

Guard transportation unit returning to R.I.

CRANSTON -- More than 130 members of the Rhode Island Army National Guard are returning this weekend from a year-long deployment to Iraq.

The 1207th Transportation Company conducted transportation missions in Basra. The Guard members arrived there in September 2006.

The company is scheduled to arrive at Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown.

One soldier in the unit received a Purple Heart in Iraq. Eight were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 31 received the Combat Action Badge.

This morning, 175 Guardsmen departed for Fort Dix, N.J., on their way to Iraq.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:53 PM | Comment

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of R.I. is cutting staff

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island said today it is cutting staff and eliminating "several programs and functions" to lower its operating expenses.

In a statement, the nonprofit corporation said it's "under increasing competitive pressure to provide high-quality health insurance for less. To retain our market share and to ensure the long-term viability and success of the company -- we must operate at the lowest reasonable cost."

The statement made no mention of how many staff members are being cut or which programs.

"Out of respect and sensitivity to those individuals who are directly impacted, it would be inappropriate for us to provide any more information," the statement says. "We are making every effort to treat those individuals with the dignity and respect they deserve."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:35 PM | Comment

Update: Male jumps from Jamestown span

A male jumped off the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge today, according to police.

He was being taken by a Jamestown Fire Department boat to a local hospital.

Coast Guard from Station Castle Hill in Newport responded and helped clear the scene after the incident, which happened around noon.

Police have not found a vehicle on the bridge or immediate area.

The span connects North Kingstown and the island of Jamestown.

No other information is available at this time.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Donita Naylor

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:11 PM | Comment

Mexican gets day in court on workers' comp case

PROVIDENCE -- A day after Edgar Velásquez returned from the mountains of Mexico on humanitarian parole, he got his first chance at seeking justice today against his former employer for a devastating chainsaw injury that sliced his face open.

Though Velásquez was in the country illegally when he worked for William J. Gorman Jr., owner of Billy G’s Tree Service in Warwick, state law allows a person to pursue workers’ compensation regardless of their legal status. Last year when Velásquez tried to pursue against Gorman, however, immigration agents arrested him outside the J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex on the day of a scheduled hearing, and he was sent back to Mexico a month later.

After today’s pre-trial hearing before Judge Bruce Q. Morin, Velásquez said through an interpreter, “I feel very happy to be back in Rhode Island. I hope it’s going to come to a happy conclusion, God willing.”

The case is not over. Lawyers have arranged for Velásquez to give a deposition before his humanitarian parole expires on Sunday. Unless immigration authorities grant an extension, Velásquez must return home that day. It is scheduled to go to trial. It is not clear when.

During the hearing, Velásquez stated that he worked six days a week, between 10 and 12 hours a day for Gorman for more than a year -- except for winter months -- up until the time of the accident. Gorman picked him up and drove him home each day, and he was not free to leave “until the job was done.”

He also said he continues to suffer headaches and dizziness and cannot fully close his left eye since the injury, and he experiences recurring infections along the scar at his hairline.

Michael A. St. Pierre, lawyer for Gorman, argued that his client is an arborist, and as such is exempt from the workers’ compensation statute. He said, however, that Gorman has $300,000 indemnity insurance and as such, there is likely a remedy for Velásquez outside of workers’ compensation.

Maureen Gemma of the firm of Stephen Dennis, argued that Gorman is not a licensed arborist and can better be described as “a woodsman.” She also contended that Gorman “has on one or more occasions, collected workers’ compensation” as an employee of a tree service.

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:08 PM | Comment

Bringing Rhode Island history into the now

The Rhode Island Historical Society is set to go online this evening.

The organization will wave goodbye to the past – its 185-year-old card catalogue system – and enter the modern age with an electronic database that allows anyone with access to the Web to peruse items stored in the Historical Society’s museum and library.

A formal demonstration will be held this evening at 7:30.

The first step is to let users search through about one quarter of the society’s documents, that’s 150,000 items, and determine where they are in the library or museum.

Digital scans or reproductions will not be available online.

The project was paid for with a $75,000 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The society will continue cataloguing its collections as the grants and individual donations become available. Next will be genealogical artifacts, including diaries and 19th-century books.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:16 PM | Comment

Carcieri, convention head criticize union picket plan

Governor Carcieri and the head of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority are criticizing the Providence firefighters union for its plans to picket a statewide terrorism drill this weekend at the convention center.

The union's decision to picket the drill has prompted dozens of firefighters from other departments to say they won't participate.

Your turn: Are the firefighters justified in picketing a major, statewide drill?

Carcieri and David A. Duffy, chairman of the convention center authority's governing board, say they hope the union changes its plans and participates in the drill.

The drill, paid for in part by a $50,000 federal grant, will simulate a terrorist attack at the convention center that leaves hundreds of victims, requires 40 ambulances, and mobilizes seven hospitals to help.

Duffy said the threatened picket could force organizers to scale back, or even cancel, the drill.

Providence firefighters are embroiled in a protracted contract battle with the city. They say they plan an "informational demonstration" for disability benefits.

Carcieri says it's "unconscionable" for the union to even consider picketing the drill.

"In the wake of September 11th and The Station nightclub fire, Rhode Island has worked hard to improve the state’s ability to prevent and respond to emergencies,” Carcieri said in a statement issued this morning. “While we have upgraded our equipment and protocols, the most important thing we can do is drill, practice, and train. In that light, the statewide terrorism drill scheduled for Sunday is a critical part of our ability to protect Rhode Island citizens.”

At this morning's board meeting, Duffy said, "I don't see how this helps anyone. I don't see how this has anything to do with their contract."

"This benefits all the people of Rhode Island," Duffy said. "I hope that common sense will prevail."

Carcieri said he hopes the union does "the right thing" and fully participates in the drill.

-- With reports from Journal staff writers Amanda Milkovits and Benjamin Gedan

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:34 AM | Comment

Someone got lucky in Kentucky

You may have noticed on your way to work today that the big Powerball billboard on Route 95 had a new number.

The prize is down to a measly $15 million, after a ticket bought in Kentucky hit the jackpot in last night's drawing.

The winning numbers were: 25 27 31 44 54 Powerball 8 Powerplay 2

The estimated grand prize -- $61.5 million

For more on last night's winning numbers around the region, and every day's drawings, visit projo.com's lottery page.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 11:29 AM | Comment

Defendants' objections could delay Station payments

PROVIDENCE – A month ago, lawyers for those who lost loved ones or suffered injuries in The Station nightclub fire told a federal court judge that some of the parties they’d sued had tentatively agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle the victims’ claims. They asked the court to allow them to hire a special master who would decide how the settlement money would be divvied up.

But lawyers for two foam manufacturers who are being sued – General Foam and Foamex -- are now objecting to the court’s appointment of a special master. And in a move that may further delay any money getting to the victims, they say in newly filed court papers that they intend to object to the proposed settlements and challenge a law, enacted by the General Assembly in 2006, that is aimed at facilitating pre-trial settlements cases in which there are 25 or more deaths.

Legal experts have said that the new legislation – which lawmakers call The Station fire bill -- could result in monetary settlements with some of the seemingly most culpable defendants who have little insurance and few assets to reach settlements with the fire victims. It was modeled after one that was enacted to pay back credit-union depositors during the state’s banking crisis in 1991.

The new law was enacted despite objections from insurance defense lawyers, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and several local and publicly traded companies. Those lobbying against it included lawyers for some of the large corporations the fire victims are now suing.

More than 300 fire victims and their survivors have lawsuits pending in U.S. District Court in connection with the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station in West Warwick. One hundred people died in the blaze and more than 200 others were injured. The fire began when the tour manager for the rock band Great White set off fireworks inside the club. Sparks from the pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable polyurethane foam that the owners of the club, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, installed on the walls as soundproofing.

Lawyers for the victims have worked out settlements with about a half-dozen defendants and say they are making headway in negotiating with a number of others.

But lawyers James A. Ruggieri and Gerald C. DeMaria, who represent foam manufacturers Foamex and General Foam, assert in papers filed last week that the new law the settlement offers are conditioned upon “is unconstitutional and invalid” and that they “fully intend to object to any proposed settlements on those grounds at the appropriate time.”

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

Up until the new law was enacted, no lawyer representing any of the Station fire victims had entertained any settlement offer because there was a risk that a victim might forfeit millions of dollars in damages if a jury were to find a party that settled primarily at fault for the fire.

But now, with the new law, there would be less risk in a victim accepting pre-trial settlement offers because there would merely be a dollar-for-dollar write-off attached to whatever verdict is rendered at a trial. The degree of culpability will not be a factor in reducing a verdict for this special class of fire victims.

But that is precisely what Demaria and Ruggieri are objecting to.

In a memorandum of law filed with Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, they say that the 2006 law operates to the detriment of deep-pocket defendants in mass tort cases who may have very little culpability. If these large corporations choose to go to trial and have a jury weigh the allegations against them, they could face having to pay for close to 100 percent of the damages awarded, even if they are found to be only minimally at fault.

Demaria and Ruggieri declined to comment further this week when asked what their timetable for contesting the new law would be – and at what point they plan to do so. They could seek declaration of the constitutionality of the act before Lagueux and then appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if the judge rejects their constitutional objections. But the appeals court could decide to wait to take up the issue until after the case is tried and damages are awarded.

While it is anticipated that other defendants who haven’t offered to settle may also join in the fight over the constitutionality of the new law, the defendants who have offered to settle or the victims’ lawyers could also ask Lagueux to take up the issue soon, in an effort to speed the settlement process.

The parties that have agreed to contribute to the proposed $13.5-million settlement are:

* Luna Tech Inc., of Alabama –and two of its European subsidiaries –which the lawsuits contend manufactured the pyrotechnics used by Great White the night of the fire.

* High Tech Effects Inc., a Tennessee company that is alleged to have sold the pyrotechnics used by Great White at The Station the night of the fire.

* Celotex Corp., which manufactured SoundStop board and then sold it for distribution to consumers. According to the lawsuits, the Derderians purchased SoundStop for their club from Home Depot and then installed it in the ceiling of the drummer’s alcove and elsewhere inside The Station.

* Triton Realty and Raymond Villanova, owners of the building on Cowesett Avenue where The Station was located.

* Joseph LaFontaine, of Warwick, owner of New England Custom Alarms, the company that installed the fire alarm system at the club when it was owned by Howard Julian, before the Derderians bought it.

The victims’ lawyers are asking Lagueux to appoint a special master who would devise a grid for apportioning the settlement proceeds among the plaintiffs. They are proposing that the court appoint Francis E. McGovern, a law professor at Duke University who has performed similar duties in mass tort cases more than 50 times.

Lagueux has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 18 to determine whether he will appoint a special settlement master.

DeMaria and Ruggieri say that if the victims’ lawyers want to hire someone as a private mediator to help them come up with a formula to impartially divvy up settlement proceeds, they have no objection. But they don’t want Lagueux to approve the hiring of a special master as an arm of the court or having him involved in the process of sanctioning what he does.

They assert that the court should decide whether the settlements are fair without input from a special master.

And, they say in their court filing that they don’t want to face the prospect of having to pay any of the fees that a special master might charge for his services.

The fire victims’ lawyers, they say, “have not demonstrated exceptional circumstances necessitating a special master.” And Lagueux, they say, has not indicated that he needs any assistance in approving any of the proposed settlements. They contend that “the court should continue its practice of insulating itself from settlement negotiations so that it can more easily conduct trials as they become necessary.”

The court, they say, “should consider the propriety of allocation only at the end of plaintiffs’ internal allocation efforts, when plaintiffs’ work –and presumably that of their internal consultant—is completed. The court need not otherwise be improperly drawn into the internal process of allocation, which could very well be contentious among counsel and/or parties seeking compensation.”

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:15 AM | Comment

DownCity merchants to take to sidewalk

Just in time for fall weather -- the Shop Downcity Fall Sidewalk Sale.

Tomorrow and Saturday afternoon, downtown retailers will be showing off their wares indoors and out, if the weather permits.

Goods from books to furniture will be on sale on Westminster Street between Eddy and Union.

The sale begins tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, shop from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; there will also be live music from noon to 2 p.m.

The downtown Farmers Market is also tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kennedy Plaza.

And Saturday is the Providence Street Painting Festival, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Bank of America City Center, and the Providence Open Market from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the corner of Westminster and Union Streets.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:07 AM | Comment

Sentencing postponed for Mollis's stepson

Sentencing of Gian Piscione, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis’ stepson, has been postponed Oct. 24.

Piscione was scheduled for sentencing today in Superior Court for a January shooting.

He was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder after shooting a shotgun twice into the back of a car with two men seated inside.

Piscione later pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:32 AM | Comment

Workers comp hearing today for Mexican man

PROVIDENCE -- Edgar Velásquez wanted his day in court, and now he will get it.

Velásquez, a Mexican man who slashed his face open with a chain saw while working for the owner of a Warwick tree service, returned to Rhode Island yesterday on a humanitarian permit issued by the U.S. government, so he can to pursue a worker’s compensation case against William J. Gorman Jr., his former employer.

Velásquez had been living in the country illegally and was deported last year after being picked up by immigration agents outside the J. Joseph Garrahy courthouse on the day of a scheduled hearing. By law, Velásquez is entitled to pursue a workers’ compensation claim, regardless of his undocumented status.

"I am not afraid, I’m going to tell the truth as I lived it … of what happened on the day of the accident and how I was treated by Mr. Gorman,” said Velasquez in an interview yesterday afternoon.

Read more about Velásquez
Read projo.com's ongoing series on immigration

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:20 AM | Comment

Bristol Guard unit leaves for N.J. to prepare for Iraq

One hundred seventy five members of the Rhode Island National Guard set out this morning on a bus to Fort Dix., N.J., where they’ll stop for training on their way to Iraq.

The members of the C Battery, 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery Brigade left from the National Guard Armory in Bristol, where friends and family said their last goodbyes. They were accompanied to the Connecticut line by the Patriot Guard Riders, according Lt. Col. Denis J. Riel.

They should arrive in New Jersey by 2 this afternoon.

For many of the soldiers, this is a voluntary second tour in Iraq, where they will act as a security force. The group is expected to return home in October, 2008, Riel said.

With this deployment, 445 Rhode Island National Guardsmen are on active duty.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:07 AM | Comment

U.S. women fall in World Cup

Brazil has defeated the United States, 4-0, in the semifinal of the Women's World Cup in Hangzhou, China. We'll have more coverage this morning on the projo SportsBlog.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 9:56 AM | Comment

Convicted sex offender due in court today

A convicted sex offender now accused of raping a woman in Cumberland is scheduled for a bail violation hearing in Superior Court, Providence, this morning.

Gary P. Lamountain, a level three, or “high-risk” sex offender, was arrested Aug. 12 after a 27-year-old woman accused him of breaking into her Cumberland apartment and raping her.

Lamountain was released from the Adult Correctional Institutions on April 23 after serving just over three years of a five-year prison sentence for raping a 38-year-old Cumberland woman and stealing her stereo in 2004.

Police had prepared a letter notifying neighbors that a high-risk sex offender had moved into the neighborhood four days before he allegedly committed this latest crime. The notice was posted on the police department’s Web site the day after Lamountain's arrest.

Magistrate Joseph Keough will consider violations for each of the three charges Lamountain faces: first-degree sexual assault;, felony assault; and forgery and counterfeiting.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:40 AM | Comment

Bike path opens today

It's been ten years, but the second phase of the Northwest Bike Trail/ Fred Lippitt Woonasquatucket River Greenway is scheduled to open this morning.

The 3.6-mile bikeway runs from Valley Street, Providence, to Lyman Avenue, Johnston. Part of the path is on-road, but 2.9 miles along the Woonasquatucket River is unpaved.

The path connects the 1.5-mile on-road route from Valley Street to Providence Place mall.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 10 a.m. at the start of the off-road section in Riverside Mills Park, off Aleppo Street, in Providence.

Mayor David N. Cicilline, Department of Transportation Director Jerome F. Williams, Department of Environmental Management Executive Director W. Michael Sullivan and Jane Sherman, of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, will be there.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:24 AM | Comment

Funeral for Rep. Paul W. Crowley

A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 this morning for Rep. Paul W. Crowley at St. Augustin Church, Carroll Avenue in Newport. The burial will be at St. Columba Cemetery, Brown's Lane, Middletown.

Crowley, a Newport restaurateur who, in almost 30 years in the General Assembly, championed schoolchildren in the city where he was raised, died Monday after a protracted fight with melanoma.

He was 57.

Read M. Charles Bakst's column on Crowley.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:45 AM | Comment

Lotteries will determine ballot lineups

Three lotteries to determine the layout of ballots will be held tomorrow afternoon.

One will determine the order of names on the ballot to fill the seat of former Rep. Peter Ginaitt, D-Warwick, who resigned to take a job with Lifespan hospital network.

By state law, endorsed Democratic candidate Edgar Ladouceur will be the first name on the ballot for the Democratic special primary election on Oct. 23. A lottery will determine where Frank Ferri and Olin Thompson appear on the ballot.

A second lottery will determine where the winner of the Democratic primary and Republican Jonathon Wheeler appear on the ballot for the Nov. 27 election. A state law requires “recognized parties” to be listed first; independent Carlo Pisaturo will be listed third.

The final lottery will determine whether a Democrat or Republican is listed first on the Nov. 6 ballot in races in Jamestown for town moderator, school committee, and town council.

Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis has invited the public to attend the three lotteries tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at 148 W. River St. in Providence.

“I campaigned for this office on a pledge to make government more transparent," Mollis said in a press release.

"There is nothing that will give voters more faith in the fairness of their elections than the opportunity to see for themselves how the process unfolds."

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:16 AM | Comment

Update: Hillary Clinton cancels Rhode Island visit

Sen. Hillary Clinton has canceled her visit to the Ocean State, according to Susan Weiner, who was set to host the event with her husband, Mark.

A fund-raising lunch was scheduled this afternoon at the Weiners' East Greenwich home, but the Democratic presidential candidate canceled to cast a vote in Washington, D.C., Susan Weiner said.

"That takes precedence," she added.

Lobbyist Gerry Harrington, a top fundraiser for John Kerry’s unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign, was set to chair the event.

Fellow Democrats from Rhode island, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. James Langevin, were scheduled to be there, but Mayor David N. Cicilline, former co-chairman of Clinton’s Rhode Island campaign, had resigned as co-chair and agreed not to attend the event after Providence firefighters pledged to picket the luncheon if he showed up.

In a recently released Brown University poll, Clinton had a lead among other Democratic candidates. If the primary were held today, according to the poll of 380 voters who said they would probably vote in the primary, the New York senator would collect 35 percent of the votes, Sen. Barack Obama would get 16 percent.

Earlier this year former President Bill Clinton appeared at a fund-raising event for his wife at the home of former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:42 AM | Comment

Last day of summer?

Another mostly sunny, summer-like day this September. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 84 degrees with a southwest wind up to 15 mph.

But there may be a change of pace this evening, with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Rain or not, it will be mostly cloudy with an overnight low near 65.

Tomorrow we can expect rain, fog and a high in the mid-70s -- ah, spring!

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 a story and photographs about a Rhode Island National Guard unit that is deploying for Iraq.

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Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment

September 26, 2007

Tonight: Beatles, Plastic People and girls rock

For retro stuff tonight, go across the universe -- well, across the Connecticut line, which might be the same thing -- for The Fab Four, The Ultimate Beatles Tribute, at Mohegan Sun, Cabaret, Mohegan Sun Boulevard (exit 79A off Route 395), Uncasville, Conn. Call (888) 226-7711 or go to www.mohegansun.com.Starts at 7:30 pm. $35

Or stay in Rhode Island and catch Plastic People of the Universe. That band, Suishou no Fune?, Alasehir and Déjà Vu Mountain play rock at AS220, 115 Empire St., Providence. Call 831-9327. Starts at 8 pm. $10 advance; $12 at the door. All ages.

Brickpark plays rock at Olives, 108 North Main St., Providence. Call 751-1200. 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.. No cover. Includes karaoke

Tom Ferraro and Keith Munslow play rhythm and blues at Nick-A-Nee's, 75 South St., Providence. Call 861-7290. Starts at 9 p.m.

John Worsley plays jazz at Capriccio, 2 Pine St., Providence. Call 421-1320. From 7 to 11 p.m.

Chris Gauthier plays rock at One Pelham East, 270 Thames St., Newport. Call 847-9460. Starts at 9 p.m.

In Newport, there's the Girls Rock & Girls Rule Tour. Playing rock, pop and blues tonight are Marisa Mini, RewBee?, Loki the Grump, Beyond Blonde, G-Spot, The Lydia Warren Band and Emiko. It's at the Newport Blues Cafe, 286 Thames St., Newport. Call 841-5510 or go to www.newportblues.com. Starts at 7:30 pm. $10. The shows is a benefit for the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls

Also in Newport, on the jazzier side is Dick Lupino, Yvonne Monnett and Jeff Fountain, playing at Sardella's Restaurant, 30 Memorial Blvd., Newport. Calol 849-6312. From 7:30 to 10 p.m.

At Chan's Restaurant in Woonsocket, there's an open mike blues jam with Ken Lyon and Friends. That's at 267 Main St., Woonsocket. Call 765-1900. Starts at 7 p.m. No cover.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:40 PM | Comment

A.G. investigating whether woman died waiting for rescue

PAWTUCKET -- The Attorney General’s Office is investigating whether a woman bled to death because a Pawtucket Fire Department rescue truck wasn’t dispatched quickly enough to provide her with treatment.

Maria A. Carvalho, 53, died Thursday in her home at 101 Gooding St., after her husband João Carvalho said she began bleeding from a shunt, or bypass, inserted as part of the treatment she was receiving for kidney failure, and Pawtucket fire dispatchers delayed sending a rescue truck, despite several frantic calls to 911.

Speaking through his son, John, João Carvalho described how his wife Maria got on the phone to 911 herself as soon as the bleeding started.

A Portuguese immigrant who speaks little English, and has a foot injury, João Carvalho said he hobbled across the street to the house of a neighbor when his wife told him she was having difficulty getting help.

“My mom said, ‘No one’s helping me,” John Carvalho said.

When the neighbor, 81-year-old Yvette LeBlanc of 96 Gooding St., dialed 911, she was asked for the address of the Carvalho house. “I said it’s a yellow house across the street from my house. I didn’t even know the number,” she said.

Mrs. LeBlanc said João Carvalho was on his way back across the street when the dispatcher told her to have him call for help personally..

“The dispatcher told me he’s got to call up from his house.”

City officials said that the incident is being investigated, and that the two rookie fire dispatchers who were on duty at the time have been suspended, with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Michael J. Healey, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, confirmed that the office has agreed to investigate the matter: “Pawtucket has asked us to review this incident. We have agreed to review it and we’re moving quickly.” he declared.

Healey declined to comment when asked whether the attorney general’s office had taken the case because the alleged delay in dispatching the rescue truck rose to the level of criminal misconduct.

“That’s an absolutely fair question. I just can’t answer it now,” he said.

-- Journal staff writer John Castellucci

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:14 PM | Comment

State closes down Artistic Surgical Center

The Artistic Surgical Center in East Greenwich, which offers "extreme makeovers," "breast enlargement" and "facial rejuvenation" among procedures, must cease all surgical procedures because of license and regulation violations, the state Health Department announced today.

The center, at 1567 South County Trail -- does not have a required license, its physician Curtis J. Perry does not have surgical or hospital privileges and he is letting unlicensed medical assistants administrator Versed and Ketaine without a nurse or anesthesiologist present.

According to a Health Department news release, Perry has been licensed to practice medicine in Rhode Island since 1990 and he is board certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties in Otolaryngology. "Additionally, he claims a certification by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ABFPRS), a board that was created in 1986 to assist ear, nose and throat physicians to obtain additional recognition for 'their knowledge and skills.' "

Along with the aforementioned procedures, rhinoplasty, liposuction and abdominoplasty are also performed at Artistic Surgical Center, the Health Department stated.

Because Perry does not have surgical or hospital privileges at any accredited Rhode Island hospital, the Health Department said, he "is unable to assist patients for post-surgical complications in a hospital."

When Perry is away, he does not have "post-surgical coverage service" with another surgeon. "This lack of identified coverage leaves Kent Hospital and other area hospitals responsible for the respondent's post-surgical complications."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:55 PM | Comment

Exeter-W. Greenwich contract talks set for next week

Negotiators for teachers and administrators in the Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School District will sit down again on Monday, Oct. 1, and possibly Oct. 5, state-appointed mediator Matthew T. Oliverio said today.

The six School Committee and nine teachers union bargainers last met Monday at the National Education Association-Rhode Island offices in Cranston. Next meeting will be at the school administration offices in West Greenwich.

Finding a time when 16 people, including three lawyers, can meet is difficult, Oliverio said. Negotiations are confidential until an agreement is reached.

-- Journal staff writer Donita Naylor

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:20 PM | Comment

New report profiles gays and lesbians in R.I.

There were 27,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual residents of Rhode Island in 2000, according to a study released today.

Drawing on 2000 Census data, the report, by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA, found most of those couples lived in Providence County: 1,600. Kent County was next with 347 same-sex couples.

Twelve percent of the same-sex couples are raising children.

The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy describes itself as a "think tank dedicated to the field of sexual orientation law and public policy. The Institute supports legal scholarship, legal research, policy analysis, and education regarding sexual orientation discrimination and other legal issues that affect lesbian and gay people."

Among other statistics in the report:

* More same-sex couples in the state are female than male, by a 53 percent to 47 percent in 2000.

* Individuals in same-sex couples average 40 years old, compared to 49 years old in married couples.

* "Contrary to a popular stereotype," the report says, men in same-sex couples earned an average income of $37,358, below the $48,769 average for married men.

* Women in same-sex couples earned more, on average, than married women -- $30,695 per year compared to $26,443.

* Same-sex couples in the state have fewer economic resources to provide for their families than do their married counterparts.

* About 7 percent of adopted children in Rhode Island live with a gay or lesbian parent.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:56 PM | Comment

Immigrant returns on humanitarian permit

PROVIDENCE -- Edgar Velásquez wanted his day in court, and now he will get it.

Velásquez, a Mexican man who slashed his face open with a chainsaw while working for the owner of a Warwick tree service, returned to Rhode Island today on a humanitarian permit issued by the U.S. government, so he can to pursue a worker’s compensation case against William J. Gorman Jr, his former employer.

Velásquez had been living in the country illegally and was deported last year after being picked up by immigration agents outside the J. Joseph Garrahy courthouse on the day of his comp hearing. By law, Velásquez is entitled to pursue a workers’ compensation claim, irregardless of his undocumented status.

“I am not afraid, I’m going to tell the truth as I lived it … of what happened on the day of the accident and how I was treated by Mr. Gorman,” said Velasquez in an interview this afternoon.

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:41 PM | Comment

Former Somerset man turns himself in at courthouse

John P. Makuch, a former Somerset, Mass., man who was ordered by a judge to leave the town last June but then became a fugitive this week, for an alleged attack in Somerset on his daughter's boyfriend, turned himself in at Fall River District Court this morning.

Makuch, 50, with a last known address of 45 Malbone St., Lakeville, Mass., was released following a court hearing today and he has a Nov. 14 violation hearing.

The police said that on Monday last week, Solomon Haddad, 25, reported that he had stopped his car at Read Street and Riverside Avenue, with 25-year-old Holly-Lyn Makuch with him. Makuch left his red Ford Explorer, crossed County Street, reached through the window and tried to punch Haddad, according to the police.

He missed, but allegedly tried again, slapping Haddad in the face. Haddad, son of state Rep. Patricia Haddad, went to the police station.

Police Chief Joseph C. Ferreira said this week that although Haddad didn’t want to press charges, his department did.

For the case that resulted in a judge's ruling last June, Makuch had pleaded guilty to four counts of criminal harassment, three counts of witness intimidation, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, five counts of disturbing the peace and one count of disorderly conduct. Since 1998, the police have said, they had been called to his neighborhood about 120 times as a result of various complaints, most involving him.

Makuch has said the charges were part of a conspiracy against him and his family.

Today, Makuch's wife Lorraine said of the assault/fugitive allegation this week: "I think it was something blown out of proportion -- it made him look like a big, bad criminal when there was no need for it."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:21 PM | Comment

Today's high temperature tied a 1930 record

Today's high of 89 degrees tied the record for this day, recorded in 1930 and in years prior to that, the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., said.

The temperature, taken at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick as a benchmark for the area, came around 2 p.m.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:09 PM | Comment

English, math scores for high school juniors stay flat

For the third consecutive year, results from English and math tests administered to high school juniors statewide in March remain flat, a frustrating outcome as the state pursues aggressive reform of secondary education and has targeted several areas -- including math and literacy -- for improvement.

Statewide, 53.3 percent of eleventh graders scored proficient or better on the English portion of the test, and 43.3 percent scored proficient or better in math – roughly the same percentages as 2006 and 2005.

According to the federal education reform law, No Child Left Behind, which requires yearly testing of students in grades 3-8 and one high school year, the goal is to have all students performing at a proficient level by 2014.

State education officials cited several potential reasons for the stagnant scores -- including the fact that juniors have continued to take an eight-year-old test that is not aligned to what students are now learning in the classroom. But they also acknowledged that progress is urgently needed.

“We don’t have any time to waste,” said Peter McWalters, state commissioner of education. “If we really want rapid change, we have to work with teachers to make sure they understand what they need to do. We need to provide them with sample lessons and make sure our grade span expectations are lined up with all subjects -- English, social studies, science and math.”

Scores in the urban districts (Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket) trail the statewide average but showed improvement, with 37.1 percent proficient in English (up 0.3 points) and 24.9 percent proficient in mathematics (up 1.4 points).

Complete results will be available tomorrow on the state Education Department's Web site and on projo.com.

-- Journal staff writer Jennifer D. Jordan

In a national test for fourth and eighth graders, Rhode Island students are making progress in math, but not in reading. State education officials say they are particularly concerned that students lost ground in eighth grade reading scores, which dropped two points since the tests were last administered, in 2005.

The results, commonly referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, were released yesterday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). As in past years, Rhode Island’s scores trailed the five other New England states. The state also lags the national average in all categories. The national group, which conducts research for the U.S. Department of Education, does not rank states but places states into one of three tiers. Rhode Island again placed in the middle tier on all four tests.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:01 PM | Comment

Traffic alert: Accident blocking Rte. 146 south lane

LINCOLN -- Drivers should take care because an accident is blocking the right lane of Route 146 south in the area where it meets George Washington Highway, the state Transportation Management Center advised at 3:52 p.m.

Transportation Management Center estimated the blockage could last 30 minutes.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:54 PM | Comment

R.I. money to help women ex-cons avoid criminal life

The state Department of Corrections is getting more than $294,000 for a program that aims to help women who've been imprisoned make a smoother transition into society and avoid committing more crimes.

The U.S. Justice Department awarded the money, according to a news release today from U.S. Sen. Jack Reed's office. Known as Prisoner Reentry Initiative, it's given to state and local governments to come up with and carry out programs for ex-convicts. A goal is to help prevent them from resuming a life of crime by helping them find work and access to community services

Rhode Island's Department of Corrections will use the money to:

* Enhance vocational training for female inmates by expanding computer literacy and culinary arts training.

* Expand the use of risk/needs assessment to all sentenced women.

* Provide training on "gender-responsive principles" to all staff in the women’s prisons.

* Hire a specialist who will give planning/outreach services to the highest risk women immediately after release from prison. Corrections plans to overhaul its current risk/need assessment method.

“This federal funding will allow the Rhode Island Department of Corrections to overhaul and strengthen its prisoner reentry program for women,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, a member of the subcommittee that oversees federal spending on criminal justice. He added: "Giving these women job-skill training, substance abuse treatment, and other support services will give them the opportunity to successfully transition back into society as law-abiding citizens."

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:24 PM | Comment

Flu pandemic: How prepared are we? / Video

WASHINGTON -- If an influenza pandemic hits, there won't be enough stockpiles of key supplies -- medicine, food and more -- so it is up to individual citizens and communities to prepare as best they can, Rhode Island's chief emergency medical officer told a House panel today.

But the waning of last year's flu threat is itself an obstacle to proper planning for an eventual pandemic because public interest in the topic has waned, Dr. L. Anthony Cirillo told a subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Cirillo, chief of the state Health Department's emergency response center, was one of several federal, state and local officials who testified about the nation's level of preparedness for a flu pandemic.

``I very much fear another Hurricane Katrina situation,'' said Rep. James R. Langevin, chairman of the panel on emerging threats. The Rhode Island Democrat said delays in identifying principal federal officials after the hurricane led to needless losses of life.

Langevin said planning for an influenza pandemic is problematic because it is hard ``to fathom both the potential casualties and the impact.''

Langevin questioned whether the Homeland Security and Health and Human Services Departments have sorted out their role and responsibilities in for fighting a pandemic.

Cirillo said the amount of federal money for pandemic preparedness is decreasing, so the state doesn't have enough money to ensure care of the number of patients expected in a pandemic.

Cirillo also cited trends in the medical system as limiting its ability to respond to a pandemic. For example, he noted that hospitals have cut down on their stockpiles of vital supplies in order to save money.

Nevertheless, Cirillo said government at all levels has taken steps to improve pandemic preparedness. For example, he described how Rhode Island has created a medical emergency command center that would coordinate pandemic response. Some state-level stockpiling of vital supplies has occured, he said.

Cirillo said every citizen has a role in preparing for a flu pandemic in a number of basic ways -- stockpiling food and water, for example. He said citizens can consult a federal Web site, http://www.pandemicflu.gov, that offers checklists for preparedness.

Video: Dr. L. Anthony Cirillo speaks about the country's and Rhode Island's state of preparedness for a pandemic.

-- John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 3:18 PM | Comment

Motorcycle rally to benefit children of fire victims

A motorcycle rally to benefit the children who lost a parent in The Station nightclub fire will serve as the first official fundraiser for a new, nonprofit organization created by Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, the owners of the club, and Jody King, who lost his brother Tracey in the fire.

The ride is the brainchild of volunteers of the Station Education Fund, a nonprofit organization set up to provide educational support to the 76 children who lost a parent or guardian during the deadly blazed that killed 100 people in February 2003.

King, Jeffrey Derderian and Kristina Derderian, Michael’s wife, spoke with a reporter today outside of Tollgate High School in Warwick, where the ride will begin on Sunday.

In September, Derderian and his brother, Michael, pleaded no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for their part in the fire. In exchange, Michael Derderian is serving a four-year term at the Adult Correctional Institutions. Jeffrey, 39, received a suspended sentence and was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service and serve three years' probation.

“Revving Up for Kids" will kick off at 9:30 a.m. at the high school and end at Excalibur Powersports, 20 Excalibur Blvd., Plainfield, Conn., for a finale party. For more information, call (401) 441-7823 or visit www.stationeducationfund.org. Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 7.

-- Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:42 PM | Comment

Mother of boys struck by car thanks supporters/ Photo

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Elizabeth Jimenez speaks with reporters about her son Eric, who remains in Hasbro Children's Hospital after being struck in a hit-and-run incident on Sept. 9 that killed his brother. Providence City Councilman Leon Tejada, D-Ward 8, left, is her interpreter.

PROVIDENCE -- One toll taken on Elizabeth Jimenez isn't measured in dollars, but by a little boy's absence. Every day she grapples with the loss of 8-yea