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October 18, 2007

Tonight: Film fest at Providence's Cable Car Cinema

The Africana Film Festival, this week at Providence’s Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main St., shows two films tonight: Colonial Misunderstanding at 7 p.m., and Tsietsi, My Hero, at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $8. Information: www.brown.edu/aff or (401) 272-3970.

The festival, which began yesterday, runs through Sunday.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:35 PM | Comment

Tocco fined for failing to file campaign finance report

PROVIDENCE -- Smithfield Town Council President Stephen G. Tocco is being fined daily by the state Board of Elections for failing to file a quarterly campaign finance report by a July 31 deadline.

Richard E. Thornton, director of campaign finance for the board, said today that a certified letter was dispatched Aug. 21 notifying Tocco that he had to pay a onetime fine of $25. Because Tocco still did not file the report after this initial fine was levied, he was also fined $2 a day. Thornton said it is not uncommon for office-holders to fail to file on time.

“On a quarterly basis, where we may expect to receive 800 to 900 reports, there may be 100 not filed on time,” he said.

He said if an official continues to balk, the matter could be referred to the attorney general’s office for prosecution. He said that as of today Tocco owes $101 in fines.

“I’m just finishing up the paperwork now,” Tocco said today when reached for comment. “Obviously, with all the duties and responsibilities I’ve been quite busy. I’m very involved in the recall drive. It will be filed in a very timely manner.”

-- Journal staff writer Thomas J. Morgan

Tocco is the target of a recall campaign aimed at ejecting him from the council because of revelations by The Providence Journal that he was involved in wrongdoing in the 1980s and 1990s. The election is scheduled for Nov. 13.

James W. Archer, chairman of the Republican Town Committee, who raised the issue of Tocco’s failure to comply with the campaign finance law, said, “These campaign finance reports are the people’s only way of insuring that there are no illegal funds received and that there is no improper use of the cash and checks given to a political campaign.”

He added, “Considering all that Mr. Tocco has been through, and all that he is presently going through with regards to his being recalled, I find it astonishing that he has not filed his most recent campaign finance report. To see his arrogance as he defies the Board of Elections order to comply with the law is stunning. This is yet another example of Mr. Tocco disregarding any law he finds inconvenient. You would think that he would have learned something from his past or at least that he would behave while he is subject to recall and is being investigated for violating our Town Charter.”

The council on Tuesday, with Tocco sitting silent, appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Tocco’s alleged violations of the Charter. If the prosecutor finds sufficient evidence, Tocco could be removed from office after a public hearing.

Thornton said the missing report covers the period from April 1 to June 30.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:20 PM | Comment

Photo: Whitehouse to nominee -- define 'torture'

WASHINGTON -- In an intense exchange today with three Democrats, President Bush's nominee for attorney general left the door open for allowing an interrogation technique on terrorism suspects that simulates drowning.

Michael Mukasey, a retired federal judge, issued highly-conditioned statements that so-called waterboarding violates the U.S. Constitution only if it is defined as torture.

The answer is unclear.

In an executive order this summer, Bush allowed the use of some harsh interrogation techniques but his administration refused to say whether waterboarding was among them. Congress has banned waterboarding as part of a detainee treatment law.

During today's proceedings, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin probed for Mukasey's opinion.

"I'm hoping that you can at least look at this one technique and say: That clearly constitutes torture. It should not be the policy of the United States to engage in waterboarding," said the Illinois Democrat.

"It is not constitutional for the United States to engage in torture in any form, be it waterboarding or anything else," Mukasey replied.

Under subsequent questioning by Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Mukasey said the practice of waterboarding, if defined as torture, can't be permitted by the president.

"If it is torture as defined by the Constitution, or defined by constitutional standards, it can't be authorized," Mukasey said.

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a former federal prosecutor, tried again.

"Is waterboarding constitutional?" Whitehouse asked. "It either is or it isn't."

Mukasey again demurred, saying he doesn't know what's involved in the technique.

"If it amounts to torture, it is not constitutional," the nominee replied.

"I'm very disappointed in that answer," Whitehouse said. "I think it's purely semantics."

The president himself has repeatedly said "We don't torture" and argued that intense interrogations are sometimes necessary to elicit information about terrorist plots.

-- The Associated Press

The exchanges were part of what was expected to be the final round of questioning of Mukasey. Later in the day, the panel was set to hear from witnesses that included former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.

So far, Mukasey has told senators he would reject any White House meddling in Justice Department matters and would resign if his legal or ethical concerns about administration policy are ignored.

He also said he's resistant to passing a law shielding reporters from being forced to reveal their sources, saying it would be much easier to fix internal Justice Department practice if need be.

"The system worked passably well up until now," Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved legislation that would establish such a shield. The House overwhelmingly passed a similar bill last week, but President Bush said he would veto it.

Mukasey, a former federal judge who also has represented reporters as a defense lawyer, indicated he would side with Bush against any federal legislation.

"One thing about internal procedures is that if you need to change them they're relatively easy to change," he said at his confirmation hearing. "You can adjust the regulation, you can adjust the procedure, you can put more levels in. You can change standards. It becomes much harder when it's etched in stone in the form of legislation. And that is part of the reason for my unease."

Majority Democrats, aided by some Republicans, have urged passage of a media shield because they say it would protect reporters and government whistleblowers who reveal improper or illegal official activity. Fifty news outlets, including The Associated Press, support the legislation.

The Bush administration has issued a veto threat, saying that subpoenas for reporters are relatively rare and that a shield would make it harder to track down leakers of classified information.

Mukasey said that he has reservations about the legislation because it sets too high a legal threshold for prosecutors to meet to overcome the shield. Proving that the disclosure is needed to prevent an attack is difficult in advance, the nominee said yesterday.

The measure also pending defines a journalist too broadly and might inadvertently protect, for example, bloggers who are also spies or terrorists, Mukasey said.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who supports the shield, asked Mukasey to submit his specific objections to the committee in writing. Mukasey agreed.

On a related topic, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley warned Mukasey that the administration has not been friendly to whistleblowers and urged the nominee to stand up for anyone who exposes government mismanagement.

Grassley, R-Iowa, said he once suggested to Bush that he have a Rose Garden ceremony to honor whistleblowers because "for the most part they are patriotic people."

"And I got some sort of a comment back about if he did that every nut would come out of the woodwork," Grassley told Mukasey. "So with that sort of an attitude at the highest level of government, you know, it's very important that people a little lower down, as you are...make sure that the spirit of the law is carried out as well as the law."

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:58 PM | Comment

State appeals Indian land deal to U.S. Supreme Court

Rhode Island filed an appeal today asking the U.S. Supreme Court today to review -- and consider overturning -- a lower court ruling that allowed the U.S. Department of the Interior to take Charlestown land in trust for the Narragansett Indian tribe.

As trust land, it would be removed from state jurisdiction, meaning the land would not be subject to state taxation or land-use laws and most criminal laws.

The tribe, which bought the land several years ago, has said it wants to use the land for housing.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:55 PM | Comment

Boyfriend details child's collapse in mom's murder trial

WARWICK -- Kimberly A. Mawson told her boyfriend back in December 2002 that she was having a bad day -- and that a jewelry box had fallen on the head of her 19-month-old daughter, Jade.

Later that day, the boyfriend, Daniel Fusco, said he was watching television near Jade while Mawson went out to a Wal-Mart. He said he saw Jade take a couple of steps -- then collapse and fall face forward. He said her breathing was shallow.

Fusco, who testified in Kent County Superior Court today, is a prosecution witness in the trial of Mawson, 37, the former Warwick resident who is accused of killing her daughter in 2002. The prosecution accuses Mawson of inflicting injuries on Jade out of frustration after being alone with the girl for several days.

Fusco said he called Mawson's cell phone, but got no reception in the Wal-Mart. He dialed information, called the Wal-Mart number, Mawson was paged over the store intercom and she called him.

Don't call 911, she will be right home, he said she told him.

Fusco then called his father, who said to call 911.

At some point during the calls, Fusco said he tried to revive Jade, including splashing some water on her arms. He called 911, then talked to Mawson again, who said she was almost home.

Before that scene unfolded, the couple and Jade had spent Thanksgiving with Mawson's family in Connecticut.

They got into a minor car accident on the way back to Rhode Island and had to stay the night with Mawson's Connecticut relatives.

Then, on Dec. 2, Fusco went to try to get the car fixed. Mawson stayed home with the child. Fusco said he'd been gone about an hour when Mawson called and said she was having a bad day.

Earlier today, the jury heard that Mawson would sometimes bring her daughter into work at a local costume shop. One day, the former shop’s owner said from the witness stand today, the girl had a hand-shaped bruise on her face.

Mawson used to work at the shop, owned by Tracy Boughton.

Boughton said Mawson called her in December 2002 worried she was having a “meltdown,” and needed someone to take care of Jade. The baby died on Dec. 2 of that year.

Boughton remembered facts but not always the dates on which events occurred, she told the court. But Boughton added, “What I do remember is what she said, and what transpired.”

-- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Rachael Sarzin, who worked at Hasbro Children’s Hospital as a clinical social worker when Jade died, testified that Mawson asked more than once about donating her daughter’s organs.

She also pointed to what she saw as inconsistencies in Mawson’s description of what happened the day Jade came into the hospital.

According to Sarzin, Mawson said a jewelry box fell off a dresser, onto the baby, and shattered. But during testimony yesterday, Warwick Detective Robert Courtemanche showed pictures of an intact jewelry box sitting on a table at Mawson’s house the day the baby was taken to the hospital.

Sarzin did, at one point, acknowledge the defense’s theory, stated Tuesday, that Fusco may have been responsible for the injuries.

“If she did not do it, yes, it had to be one of them.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:45 PM | Comment

Help for after-school help

A new initiative aimed at garnering support for after-school programs through funding and expanded program offerings will be announced this evening.

The Supporting Student Success in Rhode Island Initiative, announced at Johnson and Wales University by Rep. Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence, will work to include after- school programs in the state education aid formula, create a coordinating office to help allocate resources and pay for a pilot program for summer and other learning opportunities.
The event was sponsored by Rhode Island After school Plus Alliance.

“We know that after-school programs are extremely important to the success of Rhode Island’s children” Fox said in a statement. “We are taking an important first step with the Supporting Student Success project and I hope it will serve as a catalyst for future action.”

Fox will be joined by Senate Majority Leader Teresa Paiva-Weed, D-Jamestown, Newport; Mayor David N. Cicilline; Education Commissioner Peter McWalters; Sue Stenhouse, deputy director of community relations for the Office of the Governor; and Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 3:30 PM | Comment

Providence 17-year-old shot on Hartford Avenue

PROVIDENCE -- A city man was shot at least twice last night in the leg and an arm in the 300 Hartford Ave. area and taken to Rhode Island Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, the police said today.

Carlos Molina, 17, who was shot, told the police he and another man were in that area when what he described as two men wearing black hooded sweatshirts came out of the bushes and shot at Molina.

Multiple shots were fired, though it was not clear how many.

Molina ran away toward Laurel Hill Avenue.

Detectives are investigating the case.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:25 PM | Comment

E. Greenwich post office to be dedicated to veteran

The East Greenwich post office will officially be dedicated to the late U.S. Navy Cmdr. Richard L. Cevoli during a ceremony Sunday.

U.S. Sen Jack Reed authored the law naming the post office after Cevoli and will be on hand for the 1 p.m. dedication. The post office is located at 5775 Post Rd.

Cevoli was an East Greenwich native who received the Navy Cross for bravery during World War II as well as two Distinguished Flying Crosses and eight Air Medals, Reed's office said in a news release today.

Cevoli was born in East Greenwich in 1919 and was a lifelong resident. He graduated from La Salle Academy and Rhode Island State College -- now the University of Rhode Island. He died in 1955 when his plane crashed during a training mission, leaving behind his wife, Grace, and their four children: Steven, Carole, Elizabeth and Richard Jr.

“Naming this post office after Richard Cevoli is a fitting tribute to a man who contributed so much to Rhode Island and our nation,” Reed said in a statement. “The valor he demonstrated as a Naval officer in World War II and during the Korean War will now be recognized not only in his hometown of East Greenwich, but by all Rhode Islanders.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:20 PM | Comment

Johnston educator named R.I. superintendent of the year

JOHNSTON -- The Rhode Island School Superintendents’ Association has selected Supt. Margaret A. Iacovelli as superintendent of the year.

The association made the announcement earlier this morning at a general membership meeting.

Iacovelli has been superintendent since October 2002. Her stint has coincided with budget troubles in the district.

A consolidation of the system’s elementary education program has riled a large group of parents who were against changes that forced their children to move from one school, the Graniteville School, to another.

“She deserves it,” said the chairwoman of the School Committee, Janice Mele. “She takes a lot of grief from the same people.”

“We’re trying to save money and not compromise on the education of the children,” she added.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:15 PM | Comment

Mom accused of murder fretted about 'meltdown'

WARWICK -- Kimberly Mawson would sometimes bring her baby daughter into work at a local costume shop. One day, the former shop’s owner said from the witness stand today, the girl had a hand-shaped bruise on her face.

Mawson, on trial for murdering her 19-month-old daughter, Jade, used to work at the shop, owned by Tracy Boughton.

Boughton said Mawson called her in December 2002 worried she was having a “meltdown,” and needed someone to take care of Jade. The baby died on Dec. 2 of that year.

Boughton’s memory was not always solid; she seemed to confuse dates and the order of events.

But she said, “What I do remember is what she said, and what transpired.”

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Rachael Sarzin, who worked at Hasbro Children’s Hospital as a clinical social worker when Jade died, testified that Mawson asked more than once about donating her daughter’s organs.

She also pointed to what she saw as inconsistencies in Mawson’s description of what happened the day Jade came into the hospital.

According to Sarzin, Mawson said a jewelry box fell off a dresser, onto the baby, and shattered. But during testimony yesterday, Warwick Detective Robert Courtemanche showed pictures of an intact jewelry box sitting on a table at Mawson’s house the day the baby was taken to the hospital.

Sarzin did, at one point, acknowledge the defense’s theory, stated Tuesday, that Mawson’s boyfriend, Daniel Fusco, may have been responsible for the injuries.

“If she did not do it, yes, it had to be one of them.”

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:57 PM | Comment

RIPTA: Ferry use up by 17.8 percent

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority announced today that this season's Providence/Newport ferry service saw a 17.8-percent increase in ridership compared with last season's.

In the season from May 16 through Oct. 16, 47,002 people rode the ferry compared to last year's ridership of 39,551, a RIPTA news release says.

“We’re happy that our residents and visitors took advantage of our service, and that we had great weather this season for it,” RIPTA general manager Alfred J. Moscola said in the statement.

In season, the high-speed catamaran runs seven days a week, including holidays. It makes five roundtrips a day from Monday through Friday and on Sunday; on Saturdays, it made six roundtrips.

In Providence, the ferry docks at Conley’s Wharf at Providence Piers at 180 Allens Ave. In Newport, the ferry docks at Perrotti Park, which is on America's Cup Avenue.

New England Fast Ferry runs the high-speed catamaran “Ocean State,” which is used for the service.

RIPTA’s ferry service began in 2000.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:02 PM | Comment

Whitehouse speaks on lead paint's harmful effects

At a Senate committee hearing today about lead paint's harmful effects, committee member Sheldon Whitehouse said he was proud Rhode Island has been "a leader" in trying to reverse the problem.

"For years, tens of thousands of Rhode Island children have lived in homes contaminated by lead paint, exposed to lead in paint chips or dust," Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, said during the hearing. "More than 30,000 children have been diagnosed with elevated blood lead levels in our state."

Whitehouse serves on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which is slated to take testimony from several health care, government, and industry representatives.

One of them is Bruce Lanphear, the director of the Cincinnati Children’s Environmental Health Center, who was a witness in Rhode Island's suit against companies that made and sold lead paint.

"When I served as Rhode Island’s Attorney General, we brought a public nuisance action against the companies that manufactured lead-contaminated paint, an innovative approach that, after several years and two trials, finally resulted in a jury verdict last year that the paint companies must abate the damage they caused," Whitehouse said.

The effects of lead exposure played out in the trial, in Rhode Island, but the high number of recent toy recalls due to lead contamination has renewed attention on the problem nationally.

Read the Providence Journal's special series on lead poisoning in children.

The hearing was set to start at 10 a.m. and be shown on the Web on the committee's Web site.

-- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Brandie Jefferson

Among those slated to testify in front of the committee are:

James Gulliford, assistant administrator for pesticides, prevention and toxic substances, U.S Environmental Protection Agency

Bruce Lanphear, director of the Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center and professor of pediatrics and environmental health

Tom Neltner, on behalf of Improving Kids' Environment, Sierra Club, and Concerned Clergy of Greater Indianapolis

Mike Nagel, RemodelOne -- Design/Build Construction, on behalf of the National Association of Homebuilders, Remodeler's Council

David Jacobs, director of research, National Center for Healthy Housing

Olivia Farrow, assistant commissioner, City of Baltimore Department of Health

On Monday, Mattel, Inc. withdrew its agreement to testify at the hearing.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:01 PM | Comment

Gang member arraigned, expected to plead guilty

A 28-year-old man who goes by the nickname “Evil K” waived his right to a grand jury hearing related to federal charges stemming from a sting operation in which a federal agent posed as a drug dealer.

Khek Choummalaithong, and three other members of a violent street gang were arrested at gunpoint in April after prosecutors say the men were planning to rob the fictitious drug dealer.

Choummalaithong, who was arraigned in U.S. District Court today, signed a plea agreement and is expected to plead guilty next Wednesday to three charges: conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The maximum combined sentence for the three charges is life in prison, a $750,000 fine and nine years probation.

The U.S. Attorney's office has agreed to recommend a reduced sentence in exchange for the plea.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:41 AM | Comment

19th-century engineering back in action

Some local Industrial Revolution-era engineering has been repaired, re-cast and restored, and will be shown off tomorrow morning.

Representatives of the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park are hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and demonstration of three underwater gates.

The gates, which have been inoperative for the past 20 years, control the flow of water through the canal.

They were initially used to provide power to Moses Taft’s Central Woolen Mill, but can now help improve water circulation and control water levels during floods.

The restoration project – which involved lowering water levels to disassemble the gates – was paid for by the Corridor Commission, the Massachusetts Office of Public Private Partnerships and the Commonwealth’s Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The ceremony will take place at the second Gate, behind the former Stanley Woolen Mill at 146 Mendon St. in Uxbridge, Mass. tomorrow at 10. a.m.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:00 AM | Comment

Sen. Reed proposes new floodplain maps

Legislation proposed by Sen. Jack Reed that would expand information used by the federal government to predict flood risks has passed its first hurdle.

The National Flood Mapping Act of 2007, approved by the Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs yesterday, would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to add to their maps the 100- and 500-year floodplains; areas that would be in danger if a dam or levee failed; and areas that could be threatened by coastal surges.

“Unfortunately, today’s federal coastal flood maps do not reflect the real flood hazard risks,” Reed said in a statement. “New development has significantly altered watersheds and floodplains. Knowing if you need flood insurance can mean the difference between having no money to rebuild and having $250,000.”

FEMA’s maps are used by mortgage lending companies to set insurance rates, community planners, land developers and engineers.

The mapping legislation was included in the committee-approved Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007. There is not date yet scheduled for a vote.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:36 AM | Comment

Update: Accident cleared

The accident on Interstate-95 southbound near Exit 23 has been cleared.

For up-to-the minute traffic information, visit the Transportation Management Center's Web site, and check out the Web cams for recent shots of interstates across the state.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:22 AM | Comment

Third gang member set for arraignment today

The third member of a violent street gang is scheduled for an arraignment today for charges stemming from a federal sting operation in which a federal agent posed as a drug dealer.

Khek Choummalaithong, 28, and three others were arrested at gunpoint in 2007 after prosecutors say the men were planning to rob the fictitious drug dealer.

Choummalaithong is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. arraignment in U.S. District Court, Providence. The maximum combined sentence for the three charges is life in prison, a $750,000 fine and nine years probation.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:00 AM | Comment

New cervical cancer test more accurate

NEW YORK -- A relatively new screening test was about twice as accurate as the traditional Pap smear at spotting cervical cancer, according to the first rigorous study of the test in North America. The new test could replace the 50-year-old Pap in a matter of years, experts say. And there's a bonus for women: They won't need a screening test as often.

The HPV test, which looks for the virus that causes cervical cancer, correctly spotted 95 percent of the cancers. The Pap test, which checks for abnormal cells under a microscope, only found 55 percent, according to researchers at McGill University in Montreal, who published their findings in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

"We've had the Pap test for over 50 years and it's high time it be replaced by technology that's more robust," said Eduardo Franco, director of McGill's division of cancer epidemiology, who led the study.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:46 AM | Comment

Traffic Alert: Accident on I-95 southbound

An accident on southbound has led to a traffic crunch on Interstate-95.

The Transportation Management Center is reporting the accident in Providence near Exit 23, the Charles Street/Route 146 North exit.

The left and center lanes are blocked.

For up-to-the minute traffic information, visit the TMC Web site, and check out the Web cams for recent shots of interstates across the state.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:35 AM | Comment

Hearing on lead poisoning in Washington today

A key witness in Rhode Island’s suit against companies that made and sold lead paint will testify today in Washington about the harmful effects of lead exposure.

Bruce Lanphear, the director of the Cincinnati Children’s Environmental Health Center, is one of several health care, government, and industry representatives scheduled to speak in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at the Lead and Children’s health hearing.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is a member of the Committee.

In Rhode Island, the harmful effects of lead exposure played out in the trial, but the high number of recent toy recalls due to lead contamination has brought the issue into the national dialogue.

Read the Providence Journal's special series on lead poisoning in children.

The hearing, set to begin at 10 a.m., will be Web cast live on the Committee's Web site.

For more information on witnesses, click below.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

James Gulliford, assistant administrator for pesticides, prevention and toxic substances, U.S Environmental Protection Agency

Bruce Lanphear, director of the Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center and professor of pediatrics and environmental health

Tom Neltner, on behalf of Improving Kids' Environment, Sierra Club, and Concerned Clergy of Greater Indianapolis

Mike Nagel, RemodelOne -- Design/Build Construction, on behalf of the National Association of Homebuilders, Remodeler's Council

David Jacobs, director of research, National Center for Healthy Housing

Olivia Farrow, assistant commissioner, City of Baltimore Department of Health

**On Monday, Mattel, Inc. withdrew its agreement to testify at the hearing.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:02 AM | Comment

Mild but cloudy

The morning fog should lift by 9, but the clouds are here to stay. It should be a mild day, with no rain, and The National Weather Service forecasts a high temperature of 74 degrees.

Showers may come in the evening, along with fog after 9 p.m. and an expected overnight low near 60.

Tomorrow is looking like another cloudy day, this time with rain in the afternoon. More mild temperatures are forecast, with a high in the mid 70s.

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

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a column on the Red Sox' 'Daunting, but not impossible' chance of winning the ALCS playoffs against the Cleveland Indians.

There's also more about a Registry worker accused of illegally selling driver's licenses to drug dealers and illegal immigrants.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment