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« December 11, 2007 | Today | December 13, 2007 » December 12, 2007Tonight: Outlaws play tunes in ProvidenceTonight, some outlaws are playing in Providence while some jazzers are performing in Newport The Acoustic Outlaws play acoustic rock at Olives, 108 North Main St., Providence. 751-1200. 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. No cover. George Leonard plays jazz at The Hi-Hat, 3 Davol Square, Providence. 453-6500. 7 to 11 p.m. Loaded Dice and DJ Swing Daddy play swing at The C.V. Club, 329 Grosvenor Ave., East Providence. 434-9612. 7 to 11 p.m. Dance lesson, 7:15 pm. $7 (special events $8-$10). 2nd Avenue play rock at Pitcher's Pub, 80 Manville Hill Rd., Cumberland. 658-0058. 9 p.m. John Souza, Greg Wardson and Dick Lupino play jazz at Sardella's Restaurant, 30 Memorial Blvd., Newport. 849-6312. 7 to 9:30 pm. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:47 PM | Comment Police chase ends in accident on East SidePROVIDENCE: A car being chased by police struck two cars and a pedestrian this evening. Jean Pine said she was driving south on Hope Street around 5 p.m. when she saw another car and three police cruisers coming at her on Doyle St.
Pine said she was not hurt. But she said, the pedestrian was taken away in an ambulance. The pedestrian's condition is not known. The police officer at the scene would not say at around 5:30 if any arrests were made. After the accident at Doyle and Hope, there was talk on the police scanner about a suspect running away from the intersection.
Posted by Peter Phipps at 6:25 PM | Comment State demolishing last Navy barracks at QuonsetThe Quonset Development Corporation is demolishing the last Navy barracks at the Quonset Business Park, removing buildings that housed sailors for three decades beginning before World War II. In all, the state agency has spent $5.9 million tearing down 213 buildings at the former Navy base. That work, paid for by a 2004 bond, will clear 2.33 million square feet to sell or lease to businesses. (43,560 square feet equals one acre.) The last three unoccupied buildings — two 20,000-square-foot barracks identified as buildings #42 and #44 and a 6,400-square-foot former library known as building #380 — are scheduled to come down this week. Buildings #42 and #44, are the last of more than 20 barracks that housed enlisted men from 1940 until 1974 at Quonset. The two-story buildings, with 49 double occupancy rooms apiece, were used for office space in the 1990s by nuclear submarine maker Electric Boat, according to the QDC. The state has already razed a mess hall adjacent to the barracks, on Conway Avenue. Posted by Benjamin N. Gedan at 5:55 PM | Comment Update: Suspicious package or morning blend? / Photo
According to Providence police Maj. Monty J. Monteiro, the small, wrapped box may have been intended as a Christmas gift that fell out of someone's bag or backpack. According to police, a call came in at about 7 a.m. from someone inside the building at 2 Exchange Terrace reporting the box near the south door. It was about 12 hours after police had blanketed downtown Providence after a report of a man being seen carrying a rifle. Officers blocked the roads in front of the building and part of the plaza. A federal marshal was called in, and the city's bomb squad -- Sgt. Robert Boehm and Patrolman Lincoln Sisson -- responded. They checked it out with an X-ray camera, and had a dog sniff it, too. The intended receiver? Unknown. The box wasn't addressed. The contents -- tea bags.
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:55 PM | Comment Carcieri says he sees military progress in IraqPROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri said today that U.S. troops are making military progress toward a safer Iraq, but that political reconciliation is a ``huge challenge.’’ Carcieri, in his first trip to Iraq, visited with Rhode Island National Guard troops, met with military and diplomatic officials and had dinner with Army General David Petraeus. He was part of a delegation with two other governors, Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado and Michael Rounds of South Dakota. He said he was impressed with the mission and morale of the 169th Military Police unit of the RI National Guard that he met in Ramadi. ``They are out there using their skills,’’ said Carcieri, whose remarks came in a conference telephone hookup this afternoon with Rhode Island reporters. After meeting with troops, Carcieri said their mood is ``cautiously optimistic.’’ Violence appears to be down and U.S. troops are gaining the cooperation of Iraqis who want peace, Carcieri said. He said Iraqi citizens have become allies of the American forces and local ``neighborhood watch groups.’’ The Marines in Ramadi, Carcieri said, ``are actually holding a 5k road race.’’ ``I think the surge has been very successful,’’ in tamping down violence, said Carcieri. Iraqis ```are beginning to work with our people.’’ Before leaving Iraq, the delegation of governors met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Carcieri had dinner with the political officials in Ramadi. ``The troops have been doing a great job,’’ Carcieri said. ``On the other hand there are huge challenges here,’’ said Carcieri, referring to the political reconciliation among the various ethnic and political factions that make up Iraq. Political improvements, Carcieri acknowledged, have ``been slow slogging.’’ Carcieri’s trip was paid for by the federal government and came at no cost to Rhode Island taxpayers, said Jeff Neal, Carcieri’s spokesman. -- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:26 PM | Comment Body found dead in burning car is identifiedThe woman whose body was found in a burning car in South Kingstown has been identified as Katherine Helweg, 59, of the town's Wakefield section, the state Medical Examiners office said late this afternoon. The cause of death is "pending further studies," the medical examiner news release said. The woman was found "unresponsive inside a vehicle after a car fire" yesterday evening. Firefighters from the Kingston and Union Fire districts responded to a the car fire on Berry Hill Lane at about 5:40 p.m., according to a statement released by the police department. The car was parked in the driveway of a house at 86 Berry Hill Lane, toward the end of the cul-du-sac street. According to South Kingstown Police Capt. Jeffrey Allen, a married couple lives in the home. The fire was extinguished quickly. When it was out, firefighters found a body in the car. The Fire Marshal’s office is working with local authorities to determine what caused the fire. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Randal Edgar Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:15 PM | Comment Tiverton teachers will picket committee chair's workplaceTIVERTON -- The 200-member teachers union plans to take its contractual dispute with the School Committee to the workplace of the committee’s chairwoman -- St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Mass. The union membership has voted to conduct informational picketing at the hospital next Monday at 2 p.m., according to a notice sent the hospital president by a union official. In a labor stand-off that has become increasingly nasty on a personal level, the School Committee chairwoman, Denise deMedeiros, an emergency room nurse, issued a statement today accusing the teachers union of harassment. She said that one union official, Patrick Crowley, “specifically intends to disrupt my ability to carry out my work as a nurse at the hospital, and to otherwise disrupt my employment there.” Patrick Crowley is the deputy executive director of the Rhode Island Education Association, the state affiliate of the local union, NEA-Tiverton. “It is indeed a sad day for school negotiations in Rhode Island when a teachers union -- which ostensibly is made up of professionals dedicated to the service of others -- must stoop to tactics such as this.” Amy Mullen, president of the union, said deMedeiros has been “impacting us where we work, so we thought that we would impact her where she works.” “We have no intention of disrupting hospital business,” she said. Crowley, meanwhile, sent a letter late last week to the hospital president, Robert E. Guyon, Jr., informing him of the union’s intent to picket on the 17th. Today, he said the letter was sent “out of an abundance of caution” in light of one legal interpretation of precedent-setting cases before the National Labor Relations Board which indicated that any organization planning to picket a health care facility must give ten days’ notice. He declined further comment except to say that the union membership voted to conduct the informational picketing. -- Journal staff writer Gina Macris deMedeiros said, “Mr. Crowley’s tactics, which are obviously designed to undermine my relationship with the hospital and its patients, are inherently destructive to the educational system.” She also said that Crowley’s “campaign of harassment does nothing to resolve the issues surrounding the contract. “Instead, he distracts from the negotiations and in the end prolongs them, to the benefit of no one and the detriment of all,” deMedeiros said in the statement. deMedeiros said the Committee is committed to negotiating a “fair, equitable and fiscally responsible teachers’ contract,” but Mullen scoffed at that assertion. It is the committee that “won’t sit down and negotiate,” Mullen said. The informational picketing is intended to put public pressure on the Committee to return to the bargaining table, she said. In October, the Committee declared an impasse in mediation and filed for non-binding arbitration. It rejected the union’s latest proposal for a two-year contract containing raises of 3.5 percent and 3.75 percent in the first and second years, respectively. The two sides also cannot agree on health care costs. Two months after the Committee declared the impasse, no arbitration sessions have been scheduled, an indication of the slow pace of the process, Mullen said. Meanwhile, teachers are working without a contract under court order. “Morale is in the toilet,” Mullen said. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:00 PM | Comment Group protests proposed RIte Care cuts / Photo
The group’s grievance is that more than 10,000 children are estimated to lose coverage under the state’s RIte Care program. “We’ll respond to the outrageous proposal to warn Rhode Islanders about the unacceptable economic and human cost this type of wholesale attack on RIte Care will have on our state,” Dawn Wardyga, director of Family Voices at the R.I. Parent Information Network, said in a statement before the press conference at the Capital Hill Health Center. Carcieri’s spokesman, Jeff Neal, has said that the choice to cut RIte Care was difficult, “but the governor is focused on resolving the current budget crisis and preventing future budget problems by making these types of structural changes.” Carcieri is in Iraq today, where he has been visiting R.I. National Guard troops as part of a larger delegation. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 3:56 PM | Comment Update: Facing deficit, bridge authority explores revenuePROVIDENCE -- Investment bankers have approached the state Turnpike and Bridge Authority about the possibility of buying the Pell and Mount Hope bridges, officials said today. Meanwhile, the authority made public a consulting study saying it faces a long-term $200-million-plus deficit, brought on by the likelihood that its principal revenue source, tolls, won't keep up with the costs of maintaining the bridges. Authority Chairman David A. Darlington said the two developments aren't related, and that the authority has no intention of trying to cover the deficit by selling the bridges. He also said that the possible sale of the bridges "don't appear to be realistic projects." But he said that if the right proposal came up, he would put it before the governor and the General Assembly. To deal with the deficit, which would add up over 20 years, the authority is also facing a decision on whether to raise its tolls for the first time in nearly 40 years. -- Journal staff writer Bruce Landis with reports from Journal staff writer Steve Peoples Darlington said that major investment banking companies have approached the authority, and that authority officials have met with representatives of several of them. However, he said, those discussions never went beyond one meeting with each company before the companies lost interest, apparently because the authority's revenues and other financial factors made the potential deals unattractive. In the consulting report, the authority discussed financial difficulties it is likely to experience during the next 20 years in paying for the upkeep of its bridges. The authority has been able to keep its bridges in good condition because it has a steady stream of revenue from tolls. But the study, by PB Consult Inc., says that unless it finds new revenue, its income will fall behind its revenue, requiring an extra $223 million between now and 2027. The study's suggestions range from toll increases to farming out all of the authority's operations and maintenance work to private companies. Posted by Jack Perry at 3:49 PM | Comment R.I. records first case of rabies in a coyoteRhode Island has its first recorded case of rabies found in a coyote, but an investigation has found "no human health exposure" to the animal. The Department of Environmental Management got a report last weekend of the dead coyote on a Warwick private property. The state public health veterinarian, Scott Marshall, and Warwick animal control investigated, the DEM news release said. The news release did not say on which property the coyote was found. A DEM spokeswoman said the DEM receives the information from the state Health Department, which releases information by community and does not specify address. Coyotes are "not target species for rabies," the DEM said, but the disease has been found in coyotes on rare occasions. For instance, in 2005 rabies was found in one coyote in Massachusetts. Since 1991, four coyotes in Connecticut tested positive for rabies -- compared to 4,300 raccoons that tested for rabies in that state during that time. Last week, before the dead coyote was found, Warwick's animal control department received a report of an incident involving two pet dogs and a coyote -- the coyote was seen limping away injured. However, the dog owner, after looking at photos of the dead coyote, said the coyote that confronted the dogs was a lighter color and not the same one tested for rabies. The DEM advises the public to avoid encounters between their pets and wildlife and to avoid feeding outdoors if possible. "The positive rabies finding serves as a reminder to all Rhode Islanders that rabies remains prevalent throughout the state and that residents should continue to undertake sensible precautions," DEM said. "Those include: vaccinating pets, staying away from wildlife, securing garbage, and not leaving pet food outside." -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:26 PM | Comment Report: R.I. drops to 43rd in anti-tobacco spendingA new report by advocacy organizations ranks Rhode Island 43rd in the nation in the amount of multi-state tobacco settlement money that it uses for programs that try to cut tobacco use -- a drop, the report says, from 35th in the country the previous fiscal year. "Funding for Rhode Island's tobacco prevention and cessation program has been cut every year since [fiscal 2002], when it was funded at $3.1 million, or 33 percent of" the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended use of settlement on anti-tobacco programs, the report says in its section devoted to Rhode Island. The state's spending on anti-tobacco programs most recently was 9.5 percent of the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention's minimum rcommendations, according to the report out today from Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and other organizations that ranks states for fiscal 2008. Rhode Island state recently sold future rights to payments it expects to get from the 1998 settlement between tobacco companies and states to help narrow a budget deficit. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney The organizations said in the latest report that "we find that the states have made important progress by increasing funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs by 20 percent to a total of $717.2 million in fiscal year 2008, which is the highest level in six years." But most states are not meeting minimum financing for anti-tobacco programs recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, combined, the states spend less than half of what CDC recommends, according to the report. Massachusetts was 31st in the while Connecticut finished last -- at 0.0 percent of the CDC's recommendations. Maine was tops, exceeding the CDC spending recommendations by more than 50 percent The other organizations that issued today's report are American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:00 PM | Comment Shareholders approve Dow Jones saleDow Jones shareholders have approved the company's sale to News Corp., according to a count of proxy votes cast in advance of tomorrow's shareholder meeting. The Wall Street Journal, the company's flagship property, published the results on its Web site today. The acquisition is expected to result in the sale of several Dow Jones-owned newspapers in New England, including the Cape Cod Times and The Standard-Times in New Bedford. Rupert Murdoch, the News Corp. chairman, has been open about his plans to sell the local newspapers, part of the Ottaway group, since he began his effort to acquire Dow Jones. Last month, Dow Jones said it was "exploring strategic alternatives for its Ottaway group of community newspapers and media franchises." -- Journal staff write Benjamin Gedan Posted by Benjamin N. Gedan at 2:31 PM | Comment Board suspends Providence liquor store's licenseThe city has suspended a liquor store’s license after police watched a man who had been drinking right outside the store walk inside and purchase more liquor from the store’s owner. Hernandez Liquors, at 1032 Broad St., will not be able to sell alcohol on Dec. 20 and 21. “We need to send a clear message out to all liquor establishments,” Andrew Annaldo, chairman of the Providence Board of Licenses, said at the hearing. Prompted by a WPRI-TV news report, police began investigating the store. On Nov. 5, officers watched a man who appeared to be intoxicated drinking form a bottle of vodka in front of the store. The man then went inside to buy another bottle from the store’s owner, Felix Hernandez, according to police. The man made his way across a busy Broad Street unscathed, and the police brought Hernandez to answer to the Board of Licenses. Selling alcohol to an intoxicated person is a criminal violation, but police instead brought Hernandez to the board for action against his license. In a unanimous decision, the board decided to suspend Hernandez’s license for two days. Hernandez Liquors has not had any disciplinary problems that influenced the board’s decision. Hernandez’s lawyer, Gregory Hazian, asked the board to sentence Hernandez to undergo education about dispensing alcohol, saying that the sale was “nothing done maliciously,” and that it wouldn’t happen again. -- with reports from Journal staff write Gregory Smith Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:27 PM | Comment Costantino detailing plan to merge human service agenciesPROVIDENCE -- With both welfare and subsidized health care on the potential budget chopping-block, House Finance Chairman Steven Costantino today suggested a less dramatic -- but not necessarily less controversial -- way to possibly save money. At a press conference this afternoon, Costantino, D-Providence, was slated to announce his proposal for merging into one the five huge state agencies that provide financial aid and services today to the very young, the old, abandoned and troubled youth, the poor and disabled Rhode Islanders. That reflects budgeted state spending this year by the five big agencies, the $6.6 million a year office of health & human services that oversees them and the operations of several offshoots, including the mental health advocate’s office, the child advocate’s office and the human rights commission. A recent hearing on a state budget office proposal to place the advocates’ offices under one umbrella together drew protests. In a statement issued moments before his press conference was to get under way, Costantino said his bill would by Oct. 1, 2008, eliminate the separate Department of Children, Youth and Families; the Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals; the Department of Health; the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Elderly Affairs. Each currently has its own director, with DHS director Gary Alexander making $115,837, DCYF director Patricia Martinez, $127,501, MHRH director Ellen Nelson, $126,582, DEA director Corinne Russo, $95,387 and state health director David Gifford, $134,975. Overseeing them all now is a director of the health and human services, a job with a starting salary of $123,329 a year. Under Costantino’s proposal, each of these agencies would be replaced with a new “division’’ within the new super-agency for “children and family services,’’ “behavioral health,’’ “developmental disabilities,’’ “public health, ’’ “elderly and long-term care.’’ Added to these familiar rubrics would be a brand-new “division of veterans affairs,’’ for which veterans’ advocates have long lobbied. Each new division would have its own chief, appointed by the new secretary of health & human services who, in turn, would be appointed – subject to Senate confirmation – by the governor. -- Katherine Gregg, Journal State House bureau Costantino voiced hope the “centralization would provide more efficient and coordinated care,’’ and “help the state provide a continuum of care to its citizens, who now deal with separate agencies depending on their age and what type of help they need from the state.’’ Said Costantino: “Right now, Rhode Island serves children and families through DCYF, people with mental health issues through MHRH, and elders through the Department of Elderly Affairs. Our health care infrastructure operates on a micro level, with small, independent organizations doing the best they can to help underserved Rhode Islanders deal with health issues. The result is low operational efficiency, more barriers to information sharing, higher costs, and greater risk that some critical department, in a tight budgeting year, will be cut into functional oblivion.’’ “Additionally,’’ Costantino said, “the change would result in cost savings for the state, since administrative functions would be consolidated and health and human services would be better coordinated.’’ He has not yet pinpointed how much he believed the state might save by “centralizing’’ legal services, purchasing, personnel, licenture and regulation and other back office functions, including the administration of the huge Medicaid program by “one department-wide office.’’ But he suggested the effort “would represent a major opportunity to cut administrative costs, achieve greater economies of scale and make the system as a whole more client-centered.’’ Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:17 PM | Comment E.G. officer pleads not guilty to sobriety test chargeAn East Greenwich police officer pleaded not guilty today to refusing to submit to a chemical test after a West Warwick police officer pulled him over for driving erratically. According to a police report, a patrolman got a call on Nov. 1 from a driver complaining about an erratic driver on Church Street. Bryan McManus, 35, was driving in a pickup truck about 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, according to the report. The officer administered three sobriety field tests. According to the report, McManus’ performance gave the officer enough suspicion to arrest him for suspicion of driving under the influence. During questioning, the police report said, McManus identified himself as an East Greenwich police officer. He refused to take a chemical test and was released to the care of a friend. His next court appearance is scheduled for January. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Talia Buford Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:13 PM | Comment Teen linked to fatal Barrington crash sent to counselingAn 18-year-old accused of buying alcohol that wound up at party with a 16-year-old who died in a car accident was ordered to attend substance-abuse counseling. Judge Michael A. Higgins in District Court, Providence, today also ordered Benjamin W. Geldmaker to return to court on Jan. 31 for a pre-trial hearing and a review. Geldmaker allegedly used a fake ID to buy a 30-pack of beer and gave it to a group of teenagers. The police say the teenagers were drinking at an informal party on Nov. 5 where a teenage driver allegedly got drunk. Later that night the group decided to drive to Taco Bell in Seekonk. A teen driver, who allegedly drank six beers, lost control and crashed into a tree while speeding down New Meadow Road, according to the police. Passenger Jonathan Converse, 16, was killed. -- with reports from Journal staff writer Gene Emery Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:08 PM | Comment Governor visits troops in Iraq, meets Petraeus/ Photo
According to the statement, Carcieri arrived in Iraq, via Kuwait, yesterday with Governors Bill Ritter (D-CO) and Michael Rounds (R-SD) on a trip arranged by the Department of Defense. The governors were briefed by Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force Iraq, and by U.S. Ambassador Patricia Butenis, Carcieri then met with members of the Rhode Island National Guard. “I’m very excited by the opportunity to meet with members of the Rhode Island National Guard and to learn firsthand about their mission in Iraq,” Carcieri said in a statement. “Since 2001, hundreds of Rhode Island National Guard members have been deployed in Iraq. As Governor, I want to better understand the hardships our soldiers are enduring.” He then went on to Ar-Ramadi, where he met with local officials and the Rhode Island National Guard 169th Military Police Company, before returning to Baghdad. In the statement released today, Carcieri said he wanted to personally thanks the troops “for their willingness to endure so many sacrifices for the benefit of all Rhode Islanders and America.” I also want to thank them personally for their willingness to endure so many sacrifices for the benefit of all Rhode Islanders and all Americans. We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to these outstanding men and women.” Carcieri may conduct interviews with local via satellite later today. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:18 PM | Comment 4 top executives out at Blue Cross & Blue ShieldThere’s been a purge at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Four top executives are out – and a company spokeswoman refuses to say whether it’s connected to Operation Dollar Bill, the long-running federal corruption probe that has focused in part on the Rhode Island General Assembly’s ties to the state’s dominant health insurer. The spokeswoman, Kim Keough, did confirm the departure yesterday of executives Lynne Urbani, Matthew T. Brannigan, Scott A. Fraser and Brian Jordan. Urbani, who joined Blue Cross in 1986, was senior vice president of external services – a new title that she received just a few months ago. Brannigan, hired in 1996, was senior vice president for sales and marketing. Fraser, who joined Blue Cross in 1984, was vice president for government relations. Jordan, hired in 1986, was assistant vice president for government relations, joining Fraser as a longtime lobbyist at the State House. After the corruption case became public four years ago, two other Blue Cross leaders left – Blue Cross president Ronald A. Battista and Thomas Lynch, a former state senator who was Blue Cross’s vice president for legislative affairs. A spokesman for U.S. Atty. Robert Clark Corrente declined to comment on the departures, or what it might mean in terms of forthcoming developments in the case. Operation Dollar Bill, a wide-ranging corruption case involving at least seven politicians and seven corporations, began late in 2003, following a Providence Journal story that questioned the ties between Blue Cross and John A. Celona, a powerful state senator who oversaw health-care legislation. -- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton Blue Cross helped finance a cable access television show on health care that was co-hosted by Celona. The investigation quickly expanded to Celona's role as a paid consultant for the CVS drugstore chain and Roger Williams Medical Center. Celona pleaded guilty to selling his office, agreed to cooperate with the government and is currently in prison. Another focus of the probe has been the financial ties between the former Senate president, William Irons, an insurance broker, and Blue Cross and CVS. And last month, another political figure, ex-House Majority Leader Gerard Martineau, pleaded guilty to selling his office to CVS and Blue Cross in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars of plastic and paper bag contracts. According to the court papers, Martineau initially solicited the Blue Cross bag business from a Blue Cross lobbyist at the State House. According to people familiar with the investigation, Fraser was the lobbyist, who then referred Martineau to someone else at Blue Cross ``to facilitate the formation of a business relationship.’’ Urbani’s name surfaced during a previous corruption trial. Battista testified that it may have been Urbani, who negotiated reimbursement rates with hospitals, who informed him of a State House meeting involving Battista, Celona and Roger Williams Medical Center president Robert Urciuoli to discuss the hospital’s efforts to increase its payments from Blue Cross. Last year, Urciuoli and another former hospital executive were convicted of hiring Celona to use his political clout, including helping pressure Blue Cross to increase its reimbursements to the hospital. Their convictions are under appeal. Brannigan’s name surfaced in a 2004 Journal story regarding Irons and hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance commissions that Irons received on a Blue Cross health-insurance policy for employees of CVS in Rhode Island. The Blue Cross sales executive who negotiated the policy said that he questioned paying Irons a commission, because Irons, an insurance salesman, hadn’t done any work on the policy. The sales executive said that Brannigan, his boss, initially agreed, then told him later that Blue Cross would pay Irons. CVS and Blue Cross declined to comment at the time, citing the ongoing investigation, and Blue Cross refused to let Brannigan talk to The Journal. Both companies joined Irons in asserting that there was nothing inappropriate about the arrangement; Irons’ lawyer said that the commissions were for Irons’s work servicing the account. -- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton Posted by Jack Perry at 12:17 PM | Comment Traffic advisory: Lanes reopened on Rt. 95, WarwickTwo lanes on Route 95 in Warwick have been reopened after bridge work, according to the state Transportation Management Center. The lanes are on Route 95 north in the exit 12A area -- Route 113 east. Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:55 AM | Comment Film crew is shooting movie in PawtucketPAWTUCKET -- A film crew is shooting in Pawtucket for an upcoming movie about two women who decide to murder past boyfriends who have wronged them. On Tuesday, crews filmed a scene inside the Broadway Pub for a movie tentatively titled ``Boston Girls.'' Line producer John Waterman says he's also selected other Pawtucket sites including McCoy Stadium and the Modern Diner. The movie stars Shay Astar and Camille Solari. -- The Associated Press Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:44 AM | Comment Body found in burned car in South KingstownSouth Kingstown police are working with state officials to identify a body that was discovered in a burning car yesterday evening. Firefighters from the Kingston and Union Fire districts responded to a car on fire on Berry Hill Lane at about 5:40 p.m. yesterday, according to a statement released by the police department. The car was parked in the driveway of a house at 86 Berry Hill Lane, toward the end of the cul-du-sac street. According to South Kingstown Police Capt. Jeffrey Allen, a married couple lives in the home. The fire was extinguished quickly. When it was out, firefighters found a body in the car. Police are working with the state Medical Examiner’s office to identify the body and the Fire Marshal’s office is working with local authorities to determine what caused the fire. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Randal Edgar Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:35 AM | Comment Investigation continues into Woonsocket apartment fireThe state fire marshal will join the Woonsocket fire marshal and arson investigators this morning to continue the probe into a fire at a three-story apartment building last evening. Woonsocket Fire Chief Kenneth Finlay said officials have interviewed the occupants and have some “potential leads … it starts out being an arson investigation until investigators can rule that out.” They are expecting to return to the scene at 10 a.m. All of the residents of the apartment building at 112 Earle St. escaped to safety, and a firefighter who was taken to the hospital has been treated and released, Finlay said. The building itself appeared to have been destroyed. The Red Cross was called in to help the families who, as one resident put it last night, “have joined the ranks of the homeless.” -- projo.com staff Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:16 AM | Comment Suspicious package prompts police response/ Photo
PROVIDENCE -- The police have apparently wrapped up their investigation of a suspicious package at the Post Office in downtown Providence. The police, who had gathered outside the building, left at about 7:45 a.m. According to police, a call came in at about 7 a.m. from someone inside the building at 2 Exchange Terrace reporting a small, wrapped box near the south door. Officers blocked the roads in front of the building and part of the plaza. The report came less than 24 hours after the police blanketed downtown Providence after somebody last night reported seeing a man carrying a rifle. -- With reports from Journal photographer Bill Murphy and projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Jack Perry at 7:36 AM | Comment Finance chair to unveil plan to restructure governmentPROVIDENCE -- The chairman of the House Finance Committee will unveil legislation that he says will restructure state government. Representative Steven Costantino, a Providence Democrat, has scheduled a news conference at the State House for this afternoon. He says his legislation would reorganize and streamline parts of state government. He says he'll introduce the bill in the upcoming legislative session. -- The Associated Press Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Don't be fooled; winter weather on the wayNo need to start your car early this morning. It's already in the mid-40s, and the National Weather Service is forecasting a high temperature in the mid-50s and a west wind gusting up to 26 mph. But winter cold is moving in overnight when the temperature drops to 19. And a winter storm watch is in effect for tomorrow. The high temperature should barely reach freezing with the Weather Service calling for a 6-hour period of moderate to heavy snow -- with 3 to 5 inches accumulating -- in the late afternoon, just in time for the evening commute. Keep up with the storm watch on projo.com's weather page. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features a story reporting on a Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council's analysis of where the state spends its money. Download a copy of today's front page in .pdf format. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment Johnston accident closes part of Shun PikeAn accident in Johnston has part of the Shun Pike closed to morning commuters. Police in Johnston are just arriving on the scene, but say a portion of the road, near the landfill, is closed. No further details about the exact location of the accident, or the vehicle involved, was readily available. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006