|
|
« December 7, 2007 | Today | December 11, 2007 » December 10, 2007Tonight: Music played on strings on PBSMusic played on stringed instruments -- from rock to jazz to classical -- will air on Rhode Island PBS, Channel 36, at 7 tonight. Bowfire, offering the music of string players, was taped last May in Canada in high-definition using multiple camera angles that highlight each player’s style and genre. The group will perform on Feb. 2 at Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford, Mass. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:45 PM | Comment Update: Lincoln store opens after evacuation
LINCOLN -- A department store full of early morning holiday shoppers had to be evacuated for almost three hours today, after a smell of natural gas was detected in the store’s vestibule, fire officials said. Albion Fire Chief Richard G. Petrin said a malfunctioning heating unit atop the Target department store at Lincoln Mall was the cause of the problem. Firefighters were sent to the store at Lincoln Mall after receiving a call at 9:02 a.m. about the smell of natural gas that had prompted an evacuation of the store. When firefighters arrived, Petrin said sensors showed elevated levels of carbon monoxide. The store, he said, had “a lot” of customers -- it advertises an 8 a.m. opening time for holiday shopping. Workers and customers were allowed back in at about 11:25 a.m., a store employee said. Brian Correia, store team leader, said the stores’ management contractor was taking care of the heating unit repairs. He praised the Albion Fire Department members, saying they “did a great job.” No one reported feeling any ill effects from the morning incident, Petrin said. After the heating unit was turned off, eliminating the source of the carbon monoxide, eight large fans were set up in the building to blow fresh air into the store and decrease the carbon monoxide level so it would be safe to enter. -- Journal staff writer John Hill Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:45 PM | Comment Man, refused ride, dies after falling under RIPTA busPAWTUCKET -- A man who was not allowed on a Providence-bound RIPTA bus because he appeared to be drunk was fatally injured when he fell under the bus’s rear wheel last Friday. Domenick R. Paola, 57, died about an hour after being taken to Memorial Hospital, Sgt. Roy Clary of the Pawtucket Police Department’s traffic division said. The accident occurred around 4:15 p.m. Friday on East Avenue near Harvey Street. Police withheld details while they tried without success to contact Paola’s next-of-kin. Clary said the preliminary results of an investigation by the detectives and the traffic division showed Paola fell backward under the bus after the driver, Raymond Belanger, 54, of Cranston, refused to let him on. In a witness statement, Belanger told detectives that he believed Paola to be drunk because he was stumbling and could barely get up the steps, Magill said. A companion, Daniel Serrano, 59, of Providence, who was allowed on the bus, told police he and Paola had been drinking before they tried to board. Detective William Magill said Belanger couldn’t see Paola out of the rearview mirror of the bus when he pulled away from the bus stop. The bus driver took the accident “pretty hard,” Magill said, even though when he was interviewed he was unaware that Paola had died. Clary said Belanger isn’t being charged in the accident. Karen Mensel, director of marketing and communications for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, said RIPTA policy allows drivers to refuse service to passengers who appear to be intoxicated. “It’s a policy, yes,” Mensel said, in response to a reporter’s question yesterday: For the driver’s safety and the safety of passengers, RIPTA bus drivers are allowed to refuse service to passengers they perceive to be drunk. -- Journal staff writer John Castellucci Paola, whose last known address was 120 Phoenix Ave., Cranston, was apparently homeless. Magill said an autopsy being conducted by the state Medical Examiner’s Office should determine whether Paola was in fact intoxicated. A spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner’s Office said the autopsy results weren’t available this afternoon. Anne Nolan, president of Crossroads Rhode Island, a private nonprofit social service organization in Providence formerly known as Travelers Aid, said Paola had been staying at Crossroads since last month. Paola's death is the second fatal involving a RIPTA vehicle this year. A 23-year-old man crossing Fulton Street in Kennedy Plaza in Providence was struck and killed by a RIPTA trolley last April. Police said he had been hit and that the left rear tire of the trolley passed over him. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:41 PM | Comment It's not 'I, Robot,' but Robot U at Bryant
Well, not exactly. But the contraptions put together by Prof. Brian Blais’s students did capture attention while strutting their stuff in the rotunda of the school’s Unistructure. Blais, whose field is science and technology, said one of the objects of the exercise was to demonstrate artificial intelligence, or AI in robotics parlance. His students assembled 10 robotic examples, all created from Legos, the children's engineering kit. While robots have been employed for decades in such fields as assembly-line manufacturing, there was a time even before the harnessing of electricity when people watched in awe as a mechanical device apparently performed a complex task flawlessly. One of the wonders of the 18th-century Western world was The Turk, a chess-playing automaton that mowed down nearly all challengers. When opponents made their move, the beturbaned gizmo would whir and reach out a metal hand to move its chess pieces. Alas, no great robotic frontier had been crossed. The Turk sat at one end of a cabinet, on which reposed a chessboard. Inside the cabinet, cunningly concealed, crouched a very small but very expert chess player, who could observe the chessboard through a narrow slit. He operated various controls to trounce the patzers who had forked over coins for the experience. Today’s demonstration was literally centuries removed from that swindle. The devices were powered by rechargeable batteries, for example. Blais said no remote controls were permitted. The robots had to figure out tasks by themselves. -- Journal staff writer Thomas J. Morgan The device created by sophomore Christina Ho, for example, was a sugar dispenser. “A sensor decides whether it’s looking at a black or a white sheet,” she said. “Then it decides which one it wants to eat.” Blais said other robots included one that had to make its way through a cardboard maze. Another conducted a search-and-rescue mission. “It had to find its way down a meandering path and come back and report,” he said. Yet another tossed Ping-Pong balls into a basket. “They’re all very different,” Blais said. Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:30 PM | Comment Coast Guard rejects LNG company's appealThe Coast Guard has upheld its finding that the waterway approach to the proposed Weaver's Cove liquefied natural gas terminal in Fall River, Mass., is "unsuitable" for tanker traffic because of navigational safety, rejecting the company's appeal. Weaver's Cove Energy asserted in a Nov. 20 letter that the Coast Guard did not fairly examine all of the supporting documentation when it determined a portion of the route posed major safety challenges. The Coast Guard had announced its original findings on Oct. 24. In a news release today, the Coast Guard reaffirmed its finding. "After a thorough review of your request, including its exhibits and other documents referenced therein, I find no substantive issue, nor new information, that would suggest my recommendation of unsuitability was incorrect or made without due consideration of the record," Capt. Roy Nash, of the Port of Providence, said in the letter. While officials in the region have cast the Coast Guard finding as potentially spelling doom for the project -- a project that many of them and residents oppose -- the company has maintained that it does not. The Coast Guard said the waterway is unsuitable for the proposed tanker trips because vessel masters would face "extraordinary challenges during approaches to Weaver's Cove." -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney The main concern is the limited maneuvering room between the old and new Brightman Street bridges, which run nearly parallel and are about 1,100 feet apart. The old bridge's opening is 98 feet wide and is not aligned with the new bridge opening. The proposed tankers are more 700 feet long, more than 80 feet wide and have drafts up to 37.5 feet, the Coast Guard said. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the main agency for permitting the building of terminals. The Coast Guard helps FERC by doing a waterway suitability assessment and making safety recommendations based on those findings. Last summer, the FERC voted 2-1 not to revisit its earlier decision to approve the Weaver's Cove site for an LNG facility. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:57 PM | Comment This year, charity begins at the State HouseMost Decembers, the cups at the State House runneth over this time of year, as legislators, lobbyists and their friends flock to the Capitol for a holiday bash featuring drinks and fancy food. But not this year. With Rhode Island mired in an estimated $450-million deficit, legislative leaders this year have decided to forgo the traditional holiday merriment in favor of donations to charity. This missive came in the mail today, signed by House Speaker William Murphy, D-West Warwick; Senate President Joseph Montalbano, D-North Providence; House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, D-Providence; and Senate Majority Leader Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport. "The holiday season is upon us. This is a time during which we give thanks for our blessings. During the past several years we have been pleased to invite you to celebrate the season together with us at the State House during our annual holiday party. While we continue to extend to you our warmest wishes for a happy holiday season and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2008, we have decided to forgo the annual State House holiday gathering this year," read the letter. "Instead we plan to donate the money that we normally would have spent on this gathering to several worthy causes, including the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Rhode Island Good Neighbor Energy Fund and Crossroads Rhode Island." The letter goes on to note that no public money was ever used for the holiday parties. "We are mindful of the desperate plight of many Rhode Islanders, who are struggling with record high energy costs and other financial strains this holiday season. We hope that this gift will bring holiday cheer to those less fortunate Rhode Islanders who need a helping hand in a time of giving.’’ -- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:20 PM | Comment Update: R.I. home prices dropped again in OctoberThe median price of single-family homes in Rhode Island in October was $236,000, the lowest price recorded in any month in almost three years, according to a report released this morning by The Warren Group, which tracks real estate sales across New England. There were 643 homes sold in Rhode Island in October. October’s median price was 10.3 percent below the median price in October 2006, which was $263,000. The median price in the first 10 months of the year was $258,000, 4.4 percent below the median price of $270,000 recorded during the same time period in 2006. Sales of single-family homes in October fell by 18.3 percent from 787 in October 2006 to 643 this year. That followed a 27 percent drop in sales in September 2007. Year-to-date sales are down 9.7 percent from 8,202 in 2006 to 7,403 this year. The downward trend for both home sales and prices is also reflected in The Warren Group's report for neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut. -- Journal Business Editor John Kostrzewa In Massachusetts, single-family home sales in October dropped by a double-digit percentage for the second month in a row, after a couple months of nearly flat sales. The median home price also continued to fall, when compared to the same time period in 2006, according to The Warren Group report. The median price dropped 6.5 percent from $310,000 in October 2006 to $290,000 this year. The last time prices fell by more than 6.5 percent was in December 2006, when they declined 8.1 percent. In neighboring Connecticut, single-family home sales continued their steady drop in October, reaching the lowest number of sales during that month since 1993. The median price of single-family homes also fell slightly, marking the fourth month of 2007 in which prices have dropped, according to The Warren Group. Sales of single-family homes fell 17.5 percent, from 3,198 in October 2006 to 2,640 this year. The last time sales fell below that level during October was in 1993, when there were 2,590 sales. Connecticut at that time was in the midst of one the worst recessions in its history.
Posted by Jack Perry at 3:11 PM | Comment Slipping and sliding on the sidewalks of ProvidenceThe roads around Providence apparently weren't so bad today after a storm that brought rain and sleet overnight, but the sidewalks and driveways have proved treacherous for a lot of walkers, according to the Providence Fire Department. Between 6:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., Fire Department personnel helped 23 people who were injured after falling in the city, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Fire Department. The injured ranged in age from 12 to 87, and the injuries included two broken legs, three broken ankles and two broken wrists, according to Taylor. The calls for help came from "all through the city," Taylor said. "It hasn't been one area." Taylor had expected a busy day because of the storm, but that's because he thought there would be a lot of car accidents. As it turns out, the department responded to just two car accidents, both with minor injuries. Taylor advises people to salt their driveways and sidewalks, which melts ice. Sand can also be helpful to prevent slipping, according to the Centers for Disease Controls winter safety tips. As of 3 p.m., ice pellets were possible, with the temperature in Providence at 30 degrees and expected to drop to 24 degrees tonight, according to the forecast. There's another chance of rain mixed with sleet after noon tomorrow. Posted by Jack Perry at 2:59 PM | Comment Hammer murderer denied fourth request for paroleCRANSTON -- Convicted murderer James “Jamie” Hughes III will remain behind bars for at least another three and a half years, the state Parole Board ruled today. The board rejected Hughes’s request for parole because of the “heinous nature” of his crime. The 55-year-old inmate received a life sentence in 1983 for beating North Kingstown furniture dealer Howard “Zeke” Harris to death with a hammer. The 79-year-old shop owner collected Bibles, befriended children and sold used beds, chairs and couches to Navy families and others. At today’s parole hearing, Kay Cutting said Hughes showed a “callous disregard for human life” when he took her father’s life. On that day her family also received a life sentence, she said. The board rejected Hughes’s request for freedom – his fourth since 1992 – but also noted that Hughes has “taken steps” toward his rehabilitation. The inmate, the board said, is “significantly more forthcoming in the admission of his guilt.” He also told the board he has a place to live outside prison, the board said. But Cutting and others remained unconvinced of Hughes’s rehabilitation. Krista Brown reminded the board that Hughes left her grandfather “in a pool of blood.” Brown, who was 14 at the time of the murder, said she can’t stop the grisly scene from playing “over and over” in her mind. “I just wish it would go away,” she said.
Two law enforcement officials also spoke in support of Cutting’s plea that Hughes remains behind bars. “We don’t oppose every parole request,” said Deputy Attorney General Gerald J. Coyne. But the killing of Harris was “an absolutely senseless murder,” Coyne said. “This was a true random violent act.” North Kingstown Police Chief Edward A. Charboneau also asked the board to deny Hughes’s request. Charboneau said he saw Hughes after he was charged with the murder of Harris. “I looked into his eyes in 1982,” he said. “Those are the eyes of a killer.” Hughes is now imprisoned at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Mass. Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:35 PM | Comment Pats-Dolphins Dec. 23 matchup moves to later startThe NFL has just announced that the New England-Miami game in Week 16 has been moved back to a 4:15 p.m. start, to be aired on CBS. That means that this week's game with the Jets will likely be the final 1 p.m. game of the season for New England. NBC has selected the Minnesota-Washington game as the Sunday Night Football that week. -- Shalise Manza Young Posted by Pam Cotter at 1:31 PM | Comment CVS to pay safety fines involving minors, back wagesCVS Pharmacy, the Woonsocket-based national chain, has agreed to pay fines totaling $226,598 and back wages of $38,151 to 51 employees after a federal investigation turned up wage violations and dozens of minors who were exposed to job hazards. The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it probed 63 CVS stores in nine states, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and found: * Seventy-eight minors had been exposed to the "hazards of loading/unloading/operation" of cardboard compactors/balers at various CVS stores. * Seven minors had been employed in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's time standards. * Fifty-one employees were owed the back wages, "mostly because of the improper editing of their timecards by store managers," the Labor Department said. Of the 63 stores investigated, 43 had Fair Labor Standards Act wage and/or youth employment violations. The youth employment violations account for $215,378 in fines and the wage violations account for $11,220 in fines. The other states in which stores were investigated are New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. CVS will pay the back wages and penalties and "make efforts to achieve full compliance with the [federal act] at its more than 6,000 stores nationwide," the Labor Department said. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:24 PM | Comment Quiz: Which presidential candidates suit you best?As presidential hopefuls know, it's never too early to start thinking about the next election. But it can be tough keeping up with which candidate suits you best. Want to get a jump on which candidate you may favor in the 2008 presidential contest? Try our new candidates' quiz, which aims to match your opinions with candidates' positions. Go here: http://www.projo.com/sharedcontent/washington/quiz/ Posted by Andrea Panciera at 12:56 PM | Comment After fire, Motiva reopens berth at Providence terminalPROVIDENCE -- More than a year after massive fire damaged its pier, Motiva Enterprises is reopening the south berth at its terminal. The tanker New England arrived this morning. The tanker docked at Motiva’s new berth and will off-load 2.3-million gallons of gasoline and 1.5-million gallons of diesel to terminal storage tanks. The off-loading is expected to take about 18 hours. A July 18, 2006, fire damaged the pier's south side where tankers normally dock to off-load to terminal storage tanks. The north side was opened to barge traffic on October 13, 2006. Motiva said its terminal has been fully supplied by tanker barges since the fire. “We are very pleased to announce the arrival of the ‘New England’, the first ocean tanker to berth at our new facility since the fire last year,” Michael Sullivan, Motiva’s New England complex manager, said in a statement. “It is especially important considering the onset of winter weather here in the Northeast," he added. "This new dock facility will ensure continuous and reliable supply of products to meet the energy needs of consumers in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts for years to come.” -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:10 PM | Comment Lincoln store reopens after evacuation /Photo
The store was closed for about two hours this morning during the busy Christmas shopping season. Fire officials detected high levels of carbon monoxide, a deadly gas, and aired out the building after it was evacuated, according to Albion Fire Chief Richard G. Petron. Nobody was injured, and no other stores were affected. Fire officials were called at about 8:45 a.m. after a smell of gas was detected inside the store, according to Petron. He said the store was crowded with shoppers and employees before the evacuation, but he didn't know exactly how many people. The problem was apparently caused by a malfunctioning gas heating unit. National Grid was called to work on the unit. The store's parking lot, normally full with shopper's cars during the Christmas season, was nearly empty this morning except for fire trucks. -- With reports from Journal staff writer John Hill Posted by Jack Perry at 11:49 AM | Comment Would-be convention delegates face deadline todayPROVIDENCE -- Rhode Islanders who want to serve as delegates at this summer's Democratic or Republican presidential conventions have until 4 p.m. today to register to vote in order to run in the March 4 presidential primary, according to Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis. Would-be candidates must register with municipal elections officials in the city or town that is their legal residence, according to Mollis. Declarations of candidacy for delegates must be filed from Jan. 7 to Jan. 9. According to Mollis, people who want to run as delegates must be registered to vote at least 30 days prior to the date of filing their declarations of candidacy. Rhode Islanders who register to vote today can only file their declarations of candidacy on Jan. 9, he says. For more information, including key dates leading up to the primary, check the Secretary of State's guidebook. Posted by Jack Perry at 11:03 AM | Comment Gas prices drop by a pennyGasoline prices in Rhode Island have dropped one cent this week, according to AAA Southern New England. The average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $3.069 at the self-service pump, according to AAA's weekly survey. The price had been steady for three weeks before this week's slight drop. The price in Rhode Island is six cents above the national average. Posted by Jack Perry at 10:38 AM | Comment What's up with Bill Belichick's new look?
Some Patriots' fans might have looked twice before recognizing the guy in the headset directing the Patriots from the sideline during yesteday's game. Sure, that was the same Bill Belichick who has guided the Pats to an undefeated season so far, but where was the customary -- maybe even lucky -- hooded sweatshirt? Survey: Tell us why Belichick replaced the sweatshirt for yesterday's game. Posted by Jack Perry at 8:41 AM | Comment R.I. groups to join today's lending protest on Wall StreetSeveral Rhode Island groups concerned with the rights of minorities will be traveling to New York City today for a Wall Street protest against predatory lending by financial institutions and the devastation caused by subprime mortgages. A bus left Providence from the Urban League in time to reach Wall Street for the demonstration, which will run from noon to 2 p.m. The local groups expected to participate include the Providence Branch and the Greater Newport Branch of the NAACP, the Narragansett Indians and the Urban League. The NAACP national office, Rainbow PUSH and the National Urban League are coordinating the event. The NAACP New England Area Conference is providing the transportation and other support. “Predatory lending is clearly a civil-rights issue: predatory lenders target African-Americans and other minorities,” said a statement from the NAACP-Providence Branch. “Furthermore, disparities in lending between minority and white families actually increase as income increases, refuting the argument that subprime lending and predatory features are introduced solely to mitigate risk.” Posted by Peter Phipps at 8:26 AM | Comment Dancing cop returns to the beat today
Journal file photo
Tony Lepore PROVIDENCE -- The dancing cop returns to his holiday beat today. Since 1987, dancing Tony Lepore has been a popular attraction in Providence during the holiday season for the stylish way he directs traffic. He starts his tour from noon to 1:20 p.m. today at Weybosset and Dorrance streets. Here's where he'll be after that: * Dec. 12 and 13 -- Broad and Sackett streets. * Dec. 14 and 17 -- Thayer Street and Waterman Avenue. * Dec. 18 and 19 -- Smith Street and Academy Avenue. * Dec. 20 and 21 -- De Pasquale and Atwells Avenue. * Dec. 24 -- Dorrance Streets and Westminster streets. For this one, Lepore will don a Santa Claus suit and pass out candy canes.
Posted by Jack Perry at 7:58 AM | Comment Man convicted of killing shop owner wants paroleThe state Parole Board this morning will hear a request for parole from a man convicted in 1983 of murdering a North Kingstown furniture dealer. James "Jamie" Hughes III, now 55, used a hammer to beat to death Howard "Zeke" Harris, 79, during a robbery in his store on September 15, 1982, according to trial testimony. The inmate was convicted of killing Harris after Harris refused to hand over more than $20. Hughes, a drug user, took $70 from Harris and fled to New York, the police testified. Hughes was convicted to life in prison with parole. Family of Harris say Hughes should remain behind bars, but Hughes' family members say he has changed and deserves parole. This is his fourth bid for parole. Read more from yesterday's Journal and projo.com. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:36 AM | Comment Storm delays some school openingsSeveral schools have delayed opening this morning because of slippery roads resulting from a storm moving through the region. For a list of schools, check projo.com/weather/closings. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Watch out for icy roadsWatch out for ice on the roads this morning. The National Weather Service is warning of the potential for icy roads and says the region can expect periods of freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet, primarily before 9 a.m. After that, there's a slight chance of rain between noon and 3 p.m. with a high near 36 degrees. It should be mostly cloudy with a low around 24 degrees. For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features a photograph of New England Patriot receiver Randy Moss scoring on a 63-yard touchdown pass in yesterday's 34-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's also a story about a hot-air balloon landing in an Attleboro back yard. |
|
ADVERTISING |
|
|
|
|
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006