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« December 6, 2007 | Today | December 10, 2007 » December 7, 2007Richie Havens in Fall River tonight; Jake's' benefit tomorrowTonight there' are big guitar sounds in Bristol, and the man who opened three days of peace and music at Woodstock -- the real 1969 one -- playing in Fall River. The latter is Richie Havens, playing folk at Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan St., Fall River. Call (508) 324-1926.www.ncfta.org. 8 pm. $35 day of show. Dirty Deeds pays -- and plays -- tribute to hard-rockers AC/DC at Gillary's Tavern, 198 Thames St., Bristol. Call 253-2012. 9:30 p.m. Gwar, 3 Inches of Blood and Mensrea play rock, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, 79 Washington St., Providence. 331-5876, 272-5876, www.etix.com. 8:30 pm. $18 advance; $21 day of show.
Tomorrow night, Jakes Bar & Grille is hosting a fundraiser for an employee who was displaced this morning. For $5, you can see the bands Black Clouds, the Hospital Rats and the Ones (pronounced ‘owns’). Proceeds go to the couple, and their two-year-old son, who were forced out of their apartment at about 3:30 this morning, losing their clothes, car, furniture and home. Jakes Bar & Grille is at 373 Richmond Street, Providence. The bar is also taking donations by phone at 453-5253. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:00 PM | Comment Police respond to accident involving RIPTA busPAWTUCKET -- There was an accident involving a RIPTA bus and a pedestrian on East Avenue, believed to have happened between 4 p.m. and 4:30, according to the police. No other details were yet available as police were speaking to witnesses. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:42 PM | Comment Westerly man sentenced in scheme to defraud FCCA Westerly man today was sentenced to nine months in prison by a Connecticut federal judge in connection with a scheme that prosecutors say aimed to defraud a program that provides money to school districts for Internet access improvements. Keith J. Madeiros, 41, was sentenced in Hartford by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny, U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O’Connor's office said in a news release. The prison time will be followed by three years' supervised release, with Madeiros spending three months of that in home confinement. Madeiros, formerly a Southwestern Bell Communications account manager, pleaded guilty on Feb. 13 to one count of mail fraud "related to a scheme to defraud the Federal Communications Commission in connection with a program that provides money to school districts nationwide to upgrade their Internet access," the release said. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:05 PM | Comment 20 presidential candidates file papers for R.I. primaryPROVIDENCE -- Twenty presidential candidates have filed papers to run in Rhode Island's presidential primary on March 4. Secretary of State Ralph Mollis says the pack is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. All the major candidates met Friday's deadline. Now each candidate must collect signatures from 1,000 Rhode Island voters to earn a spot on the ballot. The Republicans are Hugh Cort, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson. The Democrats are Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Ray Stebbins, and Rosemary Turner.
Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:05 PM | Comment Gay-rights organization 'dismayed' at R.I. court decisionThe state Supreme Court has ruled that a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts may not divorce in Rhode Island because, the court says, the General Assembly has not given the state's Family Court the authority to grant such a divorce. The court was split, 3-2, on the decision. In the case, the court was asked by the Rhode Island Family Court whether Margaret R. Chambers and Cassandra B. Ormiston, two women who were married in Massachusetts, could divorce in Rhode Island. "We are dismayed that the Court has gone out of its way to make an apparent gay exception to the rule and tradition of respect for valid out-of-state marriages, and has opted to place obstacles before this couple that other Rhode Island couples do not face," Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) said in a statement. The GLAD statement adds: "As stated in the dissenting opinion in today's decision, this ruling 'places the parties, and those similarly situated, in an untenable position. They are denied access to the Family Court and thus are left in a virtual legal limbo." GLAD goes on to state "it is clear that this decision is limited to an interpretation of the Rhode Island divorce jurisdiction statute and should not be read more broadly to disrespect the valid marriages of same-sex couples." The organization also said it "must now call on the Rhode Island legislature to move marriage equality forward." Governor Carcieri said in an afternoon statement that he believes "altering our marriage laws" is such a significant question that the Rhode Island public should make the decision, not the courts, the state legislature or the governor. "This is the appropriate result based on Rhode Island law," Carcieri said of the court's decision in a statement. He added: "It has always been clear to me that Rhode Island law was designed to permit marriage -- and therefore divorce -- only between a man and a woman.” -- With reports from projo.com staff writers Brandie M. Jefferson and Michael P. McKinney and archival reports The governor said that while he understands the high court's statement that the legislature is the proper place for the public policy matter to be decided, “I strongly believe that this type of fundamental change to the laws that govern our society should only occur with the approval of the people of Rhode Island at a referendum."
Read the decision in .pdf format. The case has received national attention because it’s believed to mark the first time any of the same-sex couples married in Massachusetts have sought a divorce in another state. The Rhode Island Supreme Court weighed this question: “May the Family Court properly recognize, for the purpose of entertaining a divorce petition, the marriage of two persons of the same sex who were purportedly married in another state?” In the majority opinion, authored by Justice William P. Robinson III, the court said that “well-established principles of statutory construction would lead us ineluctably to conclude that the General Assembly has not granted the Family Court the power to grant a divorce in the situation described in the certified question.” The statute that empowers Family Court to “hear and determine all petitions for divorce from the bond of marriage” was enacted in 1961. But what did its authors mean by “marriage”? Trying to determine the intended meaning of the word, the justices did what most people would do, they consulted a dictionary – albeit one 45 years old – to figure out what the authors of the law were trying to say. “With respect to the case at hand, there is absolutely no reason to believe that, when the act creating the Family Court became law in 1961, the legislators understood the word marriage to refer to any state other than ‘the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex,’” the opinion reads, quoting the definition of marriage in the 1961 edition of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. According to a press release, the court wrote, “The role of the judicial branch is not to make policy, but simply to determine the legislative intent as expressed in the statutes enacted by the General Assembly. In our judgment, when the General Assembly accorded the Family Court the power to grant divorces from ‘the bond of marriage,’ it had in mind only marriages between people of different sexes.” Later in the 30-page opinion, the court wrote, “We are cognizant of the fact that this observation may be cold comfort to the parties before us. But, if there is to be a remedy to this predicament, fashioning such a remedy would fall within the province of the General Assembly.” The majority consisted of Chief Justice Frank J. Williams, Justice Francis X. Flaherty and Justice Robinson. Justice Paul A. Suttell and Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg dissented. In a dissenting opinion, according to the press release, Suttell wrote that the certified question was extremely narrow in scope, and that it sought recognition of a same-sex marriage for the limited purpose of divorce and no other purpose. Suttell wrote that the question did not address the eligibility of same-sex couples to marry under Rhode Island law. The couple were lawfully married in Massachusetts, and had satisfied the applicable domicile and residence requirements for divorce in Rhode Island. “The subject matter jurisdiction of the Family Court does not turn on the gender of the parties; rather it turns on their status as a married couple,” Justice Suttell wrote. “We are in complete agreement with the majority on one critical point, however. The legal recognition that ought to be afforded same-sex marriages for any particular purpose is fundamentally a question of public policy, more appropriately determined by the General Assembly after full and robust public debate.” Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:10 PM | Comment Cranston dealer charged with improperly selling gunsA Cranston gun dealer who was charged by the police and federal agents with selling firearms without proper recordkeeping was released by U.S. Magistrate David L. Martin on $10,000 unsecured bond today. Anthony Mancini sold handguns on three occasions to a man but documented that a woman companion of the buyer was the purchaser -- and both customers were undercover federal agents, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente's office alleged in a news release. The male agent on one occasion allegedly told Mancini that he couldn’t legally buy a gun because he was a felon, the U.S. Attorney's office alleges. On Oct. 22, the U.S. Attorney's office said, a male and a female undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent went to Mancini's dealership, Continental Gun Engraving, on Park Avenue in Cranston. The male agent picked out a .357 caliber handgun, a box of ammunition and paid Mancini $283. The female agent signed a form stating she was the actual buyer. On Nov. 1, the same female undercover agent went to Continental, accompanied this time by a male undercover DEA agent. The DEA agent selected a 9mm pistol, but the ATF agent signed a form stating that she was the actual buyer. The pair returned to the dealership on Nov. 9 to pick up the weapon. The male agent paid Mancini $316 and the female agent again signed the form stating she was the buyer. The male agent later talked with Mancini about buying another weapon and paid him $202 for it. The agent said that he was “reduced to bow hunting” because of “bad legal advice.” The undercover DEA agent went alone to Mancini’s store on Nov. 26 and allegedly told Mancini that he had a past felony conviction but wanted to buy a gun. He later returned to the store with the female undercover agent, who signed a federal form stating she was the buyer, and the DEA agent asked Mancini to place a “sold” sticker on a .357 revolver. On Dec. 5, the male undercover DEA agent paid Mancini $347 for the .357 magnum revolver that he had previously selected. Mancini allegedly gave him the gun and a receipt in the female agent’s undercover name. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:50 PM | Comment 2 R.I. men plead not guilty in murder of Central Falls manTwo Rhode Island men pleaded not guilty in Massachusetts today to murdering a Central Falls man who was shot multiple times and whose body was found in Foxboro, Mass. Ariel Morales, 32, of 43 Sheridan Rd., Central Falls, and Jose Perez, 29, of 573 Central Ave., Pawtucket, were ordered held without bail at today's Wrentham District Court arraignment, according to a spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney William R. Keating. They were arrested in the murder of Carlos Gomez, 29, whose body was found on Oct. 15 along a remote area of Route 106 in Foxboro. Both men were transferred to Massachusetts authorities after appearing in District Court, Providence, yesterday on fugitive warrants. Neither contested transfer to Massachusetts, known as rendition or extradition. Luis Lopez, 24, of Cross Street, Central Falls, was arrested on Nov. 8 in connection with the murder and has pleaded not guilty. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:15 PM | Comment Governor: Public should decide same-sex divorce lawThe state Supreme Court has ruled that a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts may not divorce in Rhode Island because, the court says, the General Assembly has not given the state's Family Court the authority to grant such a divorce. The court was split, 3-2, on the decision. In the case, the court was asked by the Rhode Island Family Court whether Margaret R. Chambers and Cassandra B. Ormiston, two women who were married in Massachusetts, could divorce in Rhode Island. Governor Carcieri said in an afternoon statement that he believes "altering our marriage laws" is such a significant question that the Rhode Island public should make the decision, not the courts, the state legislature or the governor. "This is the appropriate result based on Rhode Island law," Carcieri said of the court's decision in a statement. He added: "It has always been clear to me that Rhode Island law was designed to permit marriage -- and therefore divorce -- only between a man and a woman.”
The governor said that while he understands the high court's statement that the legislature is the proper place for the public policy matter to be decided, “I strongly believe that this type of fundamental change to the laws that govern our society should only occur with the approval of the people of Rhode Island at a referendum."
Read the decision in .pdf format. Chambers and Ormiston married in Fall River in May 2004, shortly after Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Chambers filed for divorce last year in Rhode Island Family Court, and Ormiston filed a counterclaim, with both citing “irreconcilable differences.” The case has received national attention because it’s believed to mark the first time any of the same-sex couples married in Massachusetts have sought a divorce in another state. The Rhode Island Supreme Court weighed this question: “May the Family Court properly recognize, for the purpose of entertaining a divorce petition, the marriage of two persons of the same sex who were purportedly married in another state?” In the majority opinion, authored by Justice William P. Robinson III, the court said that “well-established principles of statutory construction would lead us ineluctably to conclude that the General Assembly has not granted the Family Court the power to grant a divorce in the situation described in the certified question.” The statute that empowers Family Court to “hear and determine all petitions for divorce from the bond of marriage” was enacted in 1961. But what did its authors mean by “marriage”? Trying to determine the intended meaning of the word, the justices did what most people would do, they consulted a dictionary – albeit one 45 years old – to figure out what the authors of the law were trying to say. “With respect to the case at hand, there is absolutely no reason to believe that, when the act creating the Family Court became law in 1961, the legislators understood the word marriage to refer to any state other than ‘the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex,’” the opinion reads, quoting the definition of marriage in the 1961 edition of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. According to a press release, the court wrote, “The role of the judicial branch is not to make policy, but simply to determine the legislative intent as expressed in the statutes enacted by the General Assembly. In our judgment, when the General Assembly accorded the Family Court the power to grant divorces from ‘the bond of marriage,’ it had in mind only marriages between people of different sexes.” Later in the 30-page opinion, the court wrote, “We are cognizant of the fact that this observation may be cold comfort to the parties before us. But, if there is to be a remedy to this predicament, fashioning such a remedy would fall within the province of the General Assembly.” The majority consisted of Chief Justice Frank J. Williams, Justice Francis X. Flaherty and Justice Robinson. Justice Paul A. Suttell and Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg dissented. In a dissenting opinion, according to the press release, Suttell wrote that the certified question was extremely narrow in scope, and that it sought recognition of a same-sex marriage for the limited purpose of divorce and no other purpose. Suttell wrote that the question did not address the eligibility of same-sex couples to marry under Rhode Island law. The couple were lawfully married in Massachusetts, and had satisfied the applicable domicile and residence requirements for divorce in Rhode Island. “The subject matter jurisdiction of the Family Court does not turn on the gender of the parties; rather it turns on their status as a married couple,” Justice Suttell wrote. “We are in complete agreement with the majority on one critical point, however. The legal recognition that ought to be afforded same-sex marriages for any particular purpose is fundamentally a question of public policy, more appropriately determined by the General Assembly after full and robust public debate.” Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:41 PM | Comment State House tree lighting tonight, City Hall's tomorrowGovernor and Mrs. Carcieri will light the State House Christmas trees at 6 p.m. tonight. The public is invited to gather at 5:30 p.m. Because there's a chance of rain and snow, the event will be inside the State House. Refreshments will be served. Tomorrow night Mayor David N. Cicilline will host a 6 p.m. tree lighting ceremony on the steps of Providence City Hall. The date was incorrectly reported in today's Lifebeat section. The City Hall lighting will include performances by the Lincoln School Bells, the 18 Wheelers from the Wheeler School and the Ebenezer Combined Choir. Posted by Jack Perry at 3:04 PM | Comment 2 R.I. men indicted for murder of Fall River manTwo men were indicted today for murder and attempted robbery after prosecutors say they killed a Fall River man in a robbery gone bad. Sylvester Moses, 20, and David Mello, 20, both of Providence, are charged in the Aug. 15 death of Marc Quintal, according to a statement from Michael Healey, spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch. The police say Quintal was in the city looking to buy drugs, but was set up by Moses and Mello to be robbed. Quintal was shot in the back, the police said. Officials have not yet said which man is believed to have pulled the trigger. Mello was arrested Aug. 24, in a North End tenement, hiding under a bed. Moses turned himself in Aug. 30. The two are scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 2 in Providence Superior Court. Each faces one count of 1st-degree robbery; one count of conspiracy to commit robbery; one count of discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence, death resulting; one count of using a firearm while committing a crime of violence; and one count of using a firearm while committing or attempting to commit a crime of violence. Both men also face a charge of carrying a pistol without a license. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:30 PM | Comment Alert: R.I. Supreme Court says no to same-sex divorceThe state Supreme Court has ruled that a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts may not divorce in Rhode Island because, the court says, the General Assembly has not given the state's Family Court the authority to grant such a divorce. The court was split, 3-2, on the decision. In the case, the court was asked by the Rhode Island Family Court whether Margaret R. Chambers and Cassandra B. Ormiston, two women who were married in Massachusetts, could divorce in Rhode Island.
Read the decision in .pdf format. Chambers and Ormiston married in Fall River in May 2004, shortly after Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Chambers filed for divorce last year in Rhode Island Family Court, and Ormiston filed a counterclaim, with both citing “irreconcilable differences.” The case has received national attention because it’s believed to mark the first time any of the same-sex couples married in Massachusetts have sought a divorce in another state. The Rhode Island Supreme Court weighed this question: “May the Family Court properly recognize, for the purpose of entertaining a divorce petition, the marriage of two persons of the same sex who were purportedly married in another state?” In the majority opinion, authored by Justice William P. Robinson III, the court said that “well-established principles of statutory construction would lead us ineluctably to conclude that the General Assembly has not granted the Family Court the power to grant a divorce in the situation described in the certified question.” The statute that empowers Family Court to “hear and determine all petitions for divorce from the bond of marriage” was enacted in 1961. But what did its authors mean by “marriage”? Trying to determine the intended meaning of the word, the justices did what most people would do, they consulted a dictionary – albeit one 45 years old – to figure out what the authors of the law were trying to say. “With respect to the case at hand, there is absolutely no reason to believe that, when the act creating the Family Court became law in 1961, the legislators understood the word marriage to refer to any state other than ‘the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex,’” the opinion reads, quoting the definition of marriage in the 1961 edition of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. Later in the 30-page opinion, the court wrote, “We are cognizant of the fact that this observation may be cold comfort to the parties before us. But, if there is to be a remedy to this predicament, fashioning such a remedy would fall within the province of the General Assembly.” The majority consisted of Chief Justice Frank J. Williams, Justice Francis X. Flaherty and Justice Robinson. Justice Paul A. Suttell and Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg dissented. In a dissenting opinion, according to the press release, Suttell wrote that the certified question was extremely narrow in scope, and that it sought recognition of a same-sex marriage for the limited purpose of divorce and no other purpose. Suttell wrote that the question did not address the eligibility of same-sex couples to marry under Rhode Island law. The couple were lawfully married in Massachusetts, and had satisfied the applicable domicile and residence requirements for divorce in Rhode Island. “The subject matter jurisdiction of the Family Court does not turn on the gender of the parties; rather it turns on their status as a married couple,” Justice Suttell wrote. “We are in complete agreement with the majority on one critical point, however. The legal recognition that ought to be afforded same-sex marriages for any particular purpose is fundamentally a question of public policy, more appropriately determined by the General Assembly after full and robust public debate.” -- With reports from projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson and archival reports Posted by Jack Perry at 1:31 PM | Comment Budget request would cut healthcare for thousandsThe Department of Human Services has plans to cut health benefits for thousands of low-income Rhode Islanders, according to the budget proposal for the coming fiscal year released today. The lengthy proposal includes several cuts affecting many programs, institutions and childcare providers, but the area hit hardest appears to be RIte Care, the state’s subsidized healthcare program. New co-payments would be required for some, while RIte Care eligibility would be cut altogether for almost 16,000 people (including 8,500 children), and another 2,000 children of undocumented immigrants. Adults earning more than 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($22,836 for a family of three) would lose coverage. Current law allows coverage for those making less than 150 percent, or $25,755 for a family of three. Nursing homes and hospitals may also be hit hard, as the proposal calls for reduced reimbursement rates. The cuts also include the elimination of exceptions that allow welfare benefits for longer than 60 months. Roughly half of Rhode Island’s 10,755 welfare recipients have been on the rolls for more than five years. The governor has yet to endorse the changes, but, given the state's fiscal situation, dramatic cuts are likely. The proposed cuts are part of the state’s effort to close a deficit for the coming year projected as high as $450 million, or more than 13 percent of current state expenditures. The hole is blamed largely on flat income and sales tax receipts due to a weak regional and national economy. And while Governor Carcieri hopes to shave $100 million from the deficit through a sweeping work-force reduction plan, the bulk of the $450-million hole will be made up by cuts to state departments and human service programs. The governor has pledged not to raise taxes to help balance the budget. “It is…important to note that the governor has made no final decisions regarding specific proposals included in individual department budget requests,” said Carcieri’s spokesman Jeff Neal. “Final decisions will be included in the budget plan that the governor submits in January.” The General Assembly spends the next several months reviewing and debating the governor’s budget and ultimately approves its own budget in early summer. -- Steve Peoples of the Journal State House Bureau Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:10 PM | Comment Roger Williams University gets $1-million giftBRISTOL -- Roger Williams University will get $1 million from the Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation for a new foreign-language center. The money will be used to create the Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Foundation Language Center in a new building slated to be finished in fall 2009. A news release said Roger Williams University has seen a more more than 60 percent increase in the last five years among students studying Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish. The center will be an "immersion classroom" where students can "interact virtually with students in the countries they’re studying," such as through a video conference in China, that will put Roger Williams students in a Mandarin class face to face with peers in that country. Robert F. Stoico, who founded the foundation and is on the university's board of trustees, announced the gift in a news release today. “Education is power,” Mr. Stoico said. “We wanted to honor the colleges in our area while paving the way to a brighter future for our communities’ young people through scholarship support. And we especially wanted to give back to the local schools that trained so many successful FIRSTFED employees.” The foundation will make "comparable donations" to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Bristol Community College in Massachusetts. “Bob Stoico has been a tremendous supporter of higher education in our region, and Roger Williams University is grateful for his generous commitment,” said University President Roy J. Nirschel. “The Language Center will be an integral tool in helping us fulfill our mission of educating students to become global citizens and to bridge the world both personally and professionally.” -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:59 PM | Comment Update: Police bust 'bunking party,' send kids to classPROVIDENCE -- Forty to 50 middle and high school students from Providence and Cranston who were skipping school and having a party were rounded up by the Providence police this morning and brought back to their schools. Acting on a tip, the police went to the party in a multi-family house at 19 Corinth St., Providence, at about 10 a.m., according to the police. The police say they didn't find drugs or alcohol. Some of the party goers were able to escape, but most were taken back to school in police cruisers or vans. One teen said they were having a "bunking party." Just one student was arrested, charged with disturbing the peace. The students were from several Providence schools, including Central High School, the Health & Science Academy, Roger Williams Middle School, and also Cranston High School East Providence Schools Supt. Donnie Evans said in a statement that the district’s student affairs office is working with principals at each of the schools involved in this morning’s house party to determine the appropriate disciplinary action. “The school district and school leadership will be working closely together to address today’s events and to prevent any future school-hours gatherings in the future,” Evans said. School officials said they didn’t know how the party began but a police officer said that the police were notified by a tip, possibly from a student. -- Journal staff writer Linda Borg School spokeswoman Kim Rose said that the students were returned to their respective schools because getting students back in class was the district’s top priority. “We don’t want to blow this out of proportion,” she said. “Whenever there are children not in school it concerns us and certainly there will be discussions to make sure we’re being as effective as possible in keeping students in school.” She also said that the fact that 40 to 50 students bunked school while not acceptable, has to be seen within the larger context of a total high school enrollment of 7,500 students. Kim said that to her knowledge, the students hadn’t gone to school and then left. They went directly to the house on Corinth Street. Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:57 PM | Comment Coventry woman gets 10 years in drunken, fatal crash
PROVIDENCE -- Despite her apologies, a 29-year-old Coventry mother with a history of volunteer work -- and no previous criminal record -- was sent to prison for 10 years today after she was sentenced for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and killing a 17-year-old Warwick boy in a crash on Hartford Avenue in Johnston. Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. said he doubted Dawn M. Simas was a potential repeat offender, but he told her she needed to go to prison for a significant amount of time due to the seriousness of the crime. On Dec. 15, 2006, a highly intoxicated Simas, under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, turned down a friend who volunteered to take her home. She got behind the wheel and prosecutors say she was driving more than 70 miles per hour when she hit a vehicle driven by Anthony Gemma. He was killed. Afterward, Simas tried to hide her marijuana from authorities. “It is in this court’s court’s discretion to attempt to fashion a sentence that is reasonable and appropriate to the crime and to the profile of this defendant,” Darigan said. He sentenced her to 15 years in prison, 10 to serve followed by five years probation, on the first count of driving under the influence, death resulting. -- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:21 PM | Comment Accident shuts down Route 10A serious accident on the Providence/Cranston line has Niantic Avenue closed from Dupont Road to Cranston Street. Based on a statement from the Transportation Management Center, an earlier report incorrectly said the accident was on Route 10. Rescue crews from Cranston and Providence responded, and at least two people were taken to Rhode Island Hospital. James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire department said a car drove into a pole at the corner of Dupont Drive and Niantic Avenue, nearly "snapping it in half." Electricity was turned off. National Grid employees were called to the scene. There is no word on the extent of the injuries. Authorities are still at the scene, investigating. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:00 PM | Comment One child molester stays in jail; another gets new trialOne convicted child molester will remain in prison, but another man's second-degree child molestation conviction has been vacated and he will get a new trial, under separate state Supreme Court decisions made public today. In the first case, the court has upheld the first-degree child molestation conviction of Keith Schloesser, who sexually assaulted a boy. Asserting the jury verdict was "against the weight of the evidence presented at trial and failed to do substantial justice," the high court decision says, Schloesser, who is 43 according to voter and other records, argued the judge improperly analyzed evidence in deciding the motion for a new trial. "We are satisfied that the trial justice appropriately discharged his responsibilities in considering the motion for a new trial," said the opinion written by Justice Paul Suttell for the court. In the other case, however, the Supreme Court concluded the prosecution violated a rule of the discovery process when it did not disclose a victim-impact statement ahead of trial to defendant Joseph Stravato, who was convicted in Superior Court of three counts of second-degree child molestation of a girl. A "deliberate discovery violation" of the rule requires reversing a conviction and awarding a new trial. The state did disclose other evidence, such as a tape recording and transcript of a confrontation between the defendant and alleged victim, who was an adult when she testified to sexual abuse by Stravato, 44, whose last known address according to records was Richmond. The woman said the abuse happened during a two-year period beginning when she was 11. She testified she kept secret the molestations for years, mainly because she thought no one would believe her and to not disrupt her family, the high court opinion said. In 2002, the alleged victim recorded the confrontation with Stravato without his knowledge, the high court opinion said, and also told her mother about the alleged abuse. Stravato had sought a new trial on other grounds in the past and in this high court appeal, but none were found to warrant it aside from the discovery process violation. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:00 PM | Comment Medical examiner re-visits cause of deathThe state medical examiner has changed its determination of the cause of death of an 85-year-old man whose body was found in Narragansett Bay. Robert Forloney, of South Kingstown, was reported missing on the morning of Nov. 15. His body was found a few hours later, off the ferry docks where he often walked. Two weeks later, the medical examiner reported the cause of death as “multiple traumatic injuries,” which suggested that he may have been hit by the ferry or a boat. Today the medical examiner issued a statement that reclassified the death as “undetermined.” “Although injuries were observed, it is not known if they were sustained before or after death,” the statement reads. “There is no suspicion of foul play in connection with Mr. Forloney’s death.” -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with Journal archive reports Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:55 AM | Comment Fired Pawtucket dispatchers ask to be reinstatedPAWTUCKET -- Two fire department dispatchers fired after a woman bled to death while waiting for an ambulance have asked to be reinstated to their jobs. Pawtucket dispatchers Sean Mooney and Christopher Jeffrey were fired in early October, after Maria Carvalho died when she began bleeding through a shunt used for dialysis. Her husband spoke limited English and ran to a neighbor's house to call 911. But emergency recordings show they refused to send help, saying the call had to come from Carvalho's own house. They sent an ambulance nearly 15 minutes later, after Carvalho's husband called 911 again. Prosecutors said it was impossible to determine if the delay caused Carvalho's death, and did not bring charges. The firefighters union has filed a grievance seeking to give the men their jobs back, according to the Pawtucket Times. -- The Associated Press Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:55 AM | Comment GTECH Center gets first office tenantThe Koffler Group, a real estate developer and property manager, has moved into the GTECH Center, the first tenant for the office space on the ninth and tenth floors. In all, about 57,000 square feet of office space has sat vacant since the high rise opened a year ago. Details of the lease have not been disclosed, but CB Richard Ellis has been marketing the space for $39 per square foot. Learn more about the Koffler Group: http://www.thekofflergroup.com/koffler_master_framset.html For more business-related news, visit: http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/bizblog/ Posted by Benjamin N. Gedan at 10:34 AM | Comment Probation hearing for Cape lottery winner postponedBARNSTABLE, Mass. -- A probation hearing has been postponed for a convicted bank robber who won a $1 million lottery prize despite being prohibited from gambling. Timothy Elliott was in Barnstable Superior Court today for the hearing, which was rescheduled for January 18. The state probation commissioner's office set the hearing to determine whether the 55-year-old man violated his probation when he bought the winning scratch ticket. Elliott was placed on five years probation after pleading guilty to unarmed robbery for a January 2006 heist at a Cape Cod bank. While on probation, he wasn't supposed to gamble. Elliott has already collected the first of 20 annual checks for $50,000 from the lottery and was told today he's not eligible for a court-appointed attorney. He did not speak in court or to reporters afterward. -- The Associated Press Posted by Jack Perry at 10:14 AM | Comment The Foundry and beyond: A bevy of local craftsThis is the season for local artists. Today marks the first day of the annual Foundry Artists Association Holiday Show. The 25-year-old artists’ group works in the Foundry Building studios in Pawtucket and includes artists and craftspeople from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. From ceramics and jewelry to organic food and body products, stop by the Holiday Show if you’re looking for local, handcrafted good to give during the holidays. Donations from a silent auction will go to the Pawtucket Armory Association, a volunteer association formed to raise capital to complete the transformation of the Pawtucket Armory into a center for arts education. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson In Providence, Craftland is in full swing, through Dec. 22,: Wed. – Sun., 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Th. and Sat., 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. And tomorrow more than 200 exhibitors will sell their creations at the Rhode Island School of Design’s Holiday Alumni Art Sale. The sale is on from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m.at the Rhode Island Convention Center; admission is $7 for the general public – it’s free for children younger than 14 and, of course, RISD students. If you're feeling crafty, get inspiration from the projo.com holiday blog. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:59 AM | Comment Westerly school committee member to be arraignedA Westerly School Committee member is scheduled for arraignment today to face two felony counts of fraud. An elderly couple told police they wrote Dominic DiFazio's company -- Dom DiFazio Contracting -- two checks totaling more than $2,700 to replace the windows in their house. According to a police report, both checks were cashed the day they were written – Sept. 4 and Sept 7 -- but the work was never done. Police Chief Edward A. Mellow described the couple, Harold and Florence Plympton, as "more than patient" and DiFazio as "less than patient," refusing to turn himself in. DiFazio was arrested during a budget retreat on Nov. 17th. He is scheduled to be arraigned in District Court, Wakefield, this morning. The school committee met in executive session this week to discuss "job performance/character" one of its members. As of Wednesday, DiFazio is still a member of the school committee.
Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:55 AM | Comment Firefighters battle morning blaze in Cranston/ Photo
Cranston firefighters are cleaning up the aftermath of an early morning fire. Fire officials say a call came in just after 3:40 this morning for a fire at 78/80 Norwood Ave. The three-story, wood-frame house was occupied at the time, according to Chief Donald Roberts. No one was injured, but the Red Cross was called in to assist the displaced people. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:22 AM | Comment Woman, who was driving drunk and high, to be sentencedA Coventry woman who pleaded no contest to charges related to the death of a 17-year-old is scheduled for sentencing today. Prosecutors say 30-year-old Dawn Simas was drunk, and had marijuana in her system on Dec. 15, 2006, when she was involved in a crash that killed Anthony Gemma, of Warwick. In October, Simas pleaded no contest to driving under the influence, death resulting; driving to endanger, death resulting; and posession of marijuana. The maximum penalty for the first count is a prison term of 15 years, a fine of $15,000 and the loss of a driving license for up to five years, according to Michael Healey, spokesman for Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch. Unedr a plea agreement, Simas cannot serve more than 12 years in prison; prosecutors will ask Providence Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. to impose a 10-year prison term, Healey said. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with Journal archive reports Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:00 AM | Comment Cold but less windyIt's cold, yes, but unlike yesterday, a lack of wind should keep the weather from feeling painful. The National Weather Service forecasts a high temperature near 39 with chance of snow or rain showers this afternoon and cloudy skies into the night. The snow may continue into the night, when the temperature should drop to about 30 degrees. Tomorrow will start off cloudy, but the sun should make an appearance in the early afternoon and the temperature should reach the mid 40s. Saturday night skies are looking partly cloudy. The overnight low will be in the low 20s. Sunday afternoon may bring more snow and sleet. Expect cloudy skies and a high temperature in the high 30s. Overnight could bring freezing rain and sleet. The overnight low will reach the mid-20s. For more weather, see projo.com/weather. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features a story about people who've left Rhode Island because of the cost of living. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006