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December 17, 2007

EPA, Brayton Point plant reach pact on cooling water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has reached a settlement in which the owner of the coal-burning power plant in Somerset, Mass., Dominion Energy Brayton Point, LLC, has agreed to install a new cooling system that will significantly reduce the amount of heated water discharged by the plant into Mount Hope Bay.

The settlement, which was reached late this afternoon, brings to a close several years of efforts by state officials in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and environmental groups, such as Save The Bay and the Conservation Law Foundation, to address the dramatic drop in fish population that has occurred in Mount Hope Bay.

As part of the agreement, Dominion has agreed to drop lawsuits it filed to fight a permit the EPA issued in 2003 that called for the Brayton Point power plant to dramatically reduce its intake of water from Mount Hope Bay and significantly reduce the amount of heated water discharged.

The company has now agreed to abide by the terms of that permit, as well as a timetable for constructing building the new cooling system: within 36 months of the company getting all the necessary permits. The EPA said that the new system could be in place as early as the spring of 2012.

The company intends to install a “closed cycle” cooling system in which it will continually reuse the same water to cool steam produced by the power plant. That will cut the plant’s total water intake from Mount Hope Bay to an average of 56 million gallons per day, and reduce the amount of heat it discharges into the bay by 96 percent.

-- Journal business writer Timothy C. Barmann

The facility now withdraws up to 1 billion gallons of water a day, heats the water by about 30 degrees and discharges it back into the bay. The amount of water the plant uses each year is equal to seven times the volume of Mount Hope Bay. Scientists have concluded that the process of sucking water in from the bay kills small fish and fish eggs. And the plume of warm water kills or drives away fish as well, they say.

But officials are already conceding that one part of the agreement may not be popular with people who live near the power plant.

The new towers will resemble cooling towers often associated with nuclear power plants. Two hour-glass shaped structures will be up to 450 feet high, the height of the existing smoke stacks at the plant, the EPA said.

“As is the case with all settlements, this settlement comes with a cost,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch.

“There is no question that the height of the towers will be aesthetically unpleasant for the people who live in communities on Mount Hope Bay. In our analysis, however, the benefit of literally ‘saving the bay’ outweighs this cost.”

But overall, state officials and environmental groups hailed the agreement.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 7:04 PM | Comment

Packing it up, but not in, at the post office / Photo

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
Dot Speakman, sales and service associate at the main U.S. Post Office, Corliss Street, Providence, puts mailing labels on a package for a customer this morning.

Last-minute holiday cards and packages have almost three-quarters of a million people working to get them delivered.

Nearly one billion pieces of mail are entering posts offices across the country today, the busiest day of the year for the U.S. Postal Service – that’s about 300 million more items than a typical day.

To help move the holiday parcels along, 700,000 postal workers and more than 200,000 trucks are on the job.

“Our employees are working tirelessly to make sure cards and presents arrive on time for the holidays,” Pat Donahoe, deputy postmaster general and COO of the USPS said in a statement.

If you want to get cards out by Christmas, First Class and Priority mail should be sent by Dec. 20 – that’s this Thursday – and Express Mail by Saturday.

For more options, visit the USPS Web site.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 7:02 PM | Comment

Carcieri: 'Poor job of communications' during snowstorm

PROVIDENCE – Governor Carcieri today acknowledged that his administration did “a poor job of communications’’ during last week’s snowstorm.

Today’s press conference marked his first public comment on last Thursday’s epic traffic jam, which choked most of the state’s major arteries, stranded children on school busses until late at night, and left motorists struggling to get home three to six hours on gridlocked roadways in the nation’s smallest state.

Carcieri, who returned from a weeklong visit to the Middle East on Saturday, acknowledged he didn’t learn of the story until it was over because he was flying from Kuwait to Afghanistan while the storm played out, and would not in any event have expected his staff to call him “for a 6- to 10-inch’’ snowstorm and what, he was told, was largely a Providence issue.

Had he been here, he said, he would have been a more visible presence. Next in line when the governor is incapacitated or otherwise unable to serve is the lieutenant governor, according to the state Constitution. But Carcieri said he saw no need to cede authority to the lieutenant governor, Democrat Elizabeth Roberts, in his absence.

Asked who was in charge during the snowstorm in his absence, he pointed to his State Police Superintendent Brendan Doherty and his Department of Transportation Director Jerome Williams.

“All the issues that we needed to deal with at that point were the accidents, the breakdowns, clearing the highways. That’s what was happening. That’s their job,’’ he said.

In terms of who was responsible for communications, he named Maj. Gen. Robert Bray, commander of the state National Guard and head of the state Emergency Management Agency. But when asked if he blamed him for the breakdown in communications, he said “not necessarily.’’

He said his staff was looking at various ways to smooth communications with schools and businesses in the future.

Carcieri returned from Afghanistan, via Germany, on Saturday night after a week-long trip to the Middle East, sponsored by the Department of Defense, that also took him Iraq and Kuwait. He said he did not regret the trip, and the show of support for the troops was important.

-- Katherine Gregg, Journal State House bureau

Bray said Friday that the Providence Emergency Management Agency was in control during the Thursday storm -- a storm that he said did not warrant a "multi-jurisdictional event" that would have activated the state Emergency Operations Center.

But Lt. Gov. Roberts, at a separate briefing earlier Friday, said officials should have triggered the Emergency Operations Center. "We had no ability in the absence of the EOC to respond," Roberts said.

Roberts took Republican Carcieri to task, adding, "It's the governor's responsibility to pull the trigger" on the emergency operations center.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:21 PM | Comment

Update: Tiverton teachers change picketing site / Photo

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
Lynn Nicholas, guidance counselor at Tiverton High School, was among teachers and coaches who picketed for about two hours today outside the superintendent's office behind the school.

Teachers had initially planned to picked outside the School Committee Chairwoman Denise deMedeiros' workplace in Fall River, Mass. Why they changed the venue was not clear at this time.

Last week, Judge Vincent Ragosta denied a School Committeee request for an injunction to halt the picketing after a conference with lawyers for the School Committee and the union, the NEA-Tiverton.

The picketing was intended to call attention to stalemated contract negotiations to try to force the School Committee to the bargaining table, the union president has said.

DeMedeiros has said the union is trying to harass her and affect her ability to do her job.

The committee declared an impasse in court-ordered mediation in October and filed for nonbinding arbitration. That court order, issued in early September, means teachers must work without a contract.

-- With reports from Journal staff

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:04 PM | Comment

Alert: Main runway at T.F. Green re-opens / Photo

Journal photo / Sandor Bodo
The US Airways Express plane that slid off the main runway at Green Airport last night was being moved off the runway area today.

WARWICK -- The main runway of T.F. Green Airport reopened at 1:30 p.m. today, a day after a US Airways Express flight carrying 31 passengers slid off the runway. No one was injured.

The aircraft came to rest alongside the runway and required the runway to be closed until the aircraft could be removed. Cranes had been working to move the aircraft, apparently to a hangar where it will be examined.

While the main runway -- known as 5-23 -- was closed, Patti Goldstein, an airport spokeswoman, said flights were using runway 16-34 -- the crosswinds runway -- and while certain wind conditions can affect when a plane can and can't use that runway, she said it had not affected any flights today.

"While normal operations resumed last evening around 7:30 p.m., the reopening of the primary runway provides aircraft additional options for arrivals and departures as the weather changes throughout the day," says an afternoon news release from Rhode Island Airport Corporation. "Airline flights are operating normally today. However, if passengers have any questions, they are encouraged to contact their air carrier directly."

The airport's Web site showed most departures and arrivals have not been delayed or cancelled. The cancellations the airport has seen have been because of weather conditions in other parts of the country, Goldstein said.

The plane, Flight 3758, was arriving at Green from Philadelphia early last evening when the incident happened.

"We will be cooperating with the [National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration] to find out every detail we can about what happened," Barb Jones, spokeswoman for Air Wisconsin, a regional carrier for US Airways, said today.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:30 PM | Comment

Prov. elementary, middle school activities cancelled

PROVIDENCE -- All elementary and middle school after-school activities have been cancelled today because of concern about bus delays and icy/snowy roads, the Providence school district announced this afternoon.

High school activities will go on.

This morning, about 30 city school buses were delayed, leaving some students waiting, after they could not make it up an icy hill near the school bus depot.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:29 PM | Comment

Carcieri to address storm response, trip to Iraq

Governor Carcieri will meet the press at 3:30 p.m. to discuss the state's response to Thursday's snow storm and the governor's trip last week to the Middle East, his office has announced.

Thursday's storm left many travelers stuck on the roads for hours and complaining about government's response.

The governor met this morning with his staff and some cabinet officials to discuss the state's reponse to the storm. Those attending the meeting included Maj. Gen. Robert Bray, adjutant general of the Rhode Island National Guard; Jerome Williams, director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation; Col. Brendan Doherty, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Robert Warren, executive director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:40 PM | Comment

Flight passenger: Hard landing, leftward drift and snow

The US Airways Express plane landed "hard" at T.F. Green Airport last night, and passenger Richard Clark could begin to hear other passengers' fear turn into words:

"Oh dear."

"This is not good."

Then, instead of the panic or the screaming seen in disaster movies:

"Everyone," he said," got quiet."

Moments before, the plane with 31 passengers aboard had popped out of cloud cover. Clark, who said he served in the Air Force and has done private piloting, saw something unusual in at most 20 seconds: the runway.

Unusual, because on the many flights the 57-year-old Cranston man said he has taken to T.F. Green, the plane would "pop" out of clouds and head toward the runway from what seemed a higher distance and for a longer time. He normally sees houses and other sites before a runway.

There'd been no hints of any trouble on the way to Rhode Island, Clark said. He was returning from Manchester, England, and had landed in Philadelphia, where the weather was fine, and boarded his flight to Rhode Island on time.

With the hard landing behind them, the plane headed down the runway, and it seemed very smooth. But the plane seemed to have tilted left, Clark recalled, and "we started slowly veering to the left." He said the pilot did his best to keep the plane on track and not to overcompensate.

"We started getting snow kicked up over the wing," said Clark, whose seat was 11F, which was just behind the wings. "Several people are saying, 'This is not good, this is not right.' "

Clark said it seemed that landing gear had collapsed and the plane was riding on a wing or wings as the plane made a slow, long leftward turn. The plane eventually ended up in what he estimated was a 90-degree angle from the course of the runway.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Clark could feel the tension, but said the scene inside the plane never became one of loud panic. Lights did not flicker inside.

After the plane came to a stop, Clark said there seemed to be several disconcerting minutes before the pilot or crew made contact with passengers. He said a passenger told everyone things were all right. The pilot eventually did come on and say in an apologetic voice that there had been a bad landing and that he'd been in contact with emergency responders, whose trucks passengers saw approaching.

"We could see the left wing was resting on the snow," Clark said.

There were what felt like many waits, Clark said, particularly for responders doing head counts and making sure people were all right, before passengers got to the terminal.

The runway was still closed this morning, and the plane today was being moved to a hangar. Federal authorities are investigating. The airport itself is open and operating.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:43 PM | Comment

Fire quickly dealt with at Burrillville restaurant

BURRILLVILLE -- Firefighters quickly dealt with a fire at the MillHouse Restaurant in the town's Harrisville section, authorities said today.

Apparently sparked by an electrical problem, the fire damaged a meeting room in the restaurant at 35 East Ave., according to an employee.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:26 PM | Comment

Ex-Pawtucket committee member pleads no contest

Everett 'Ed' Dunn, the former Pawtucket School Committee member and licensed practical nurse accused of embezzling more than $200,000 from an elderly woman in his care, pleaded no contest this morning in return for assurance he would not have to spend time in jail.

Superior Court Judge Mark Pfeiffer said he would sentence Dunn to a one and a half years of home confinement as part of a 10-year sentence with 8 1/2 years suspended.

In addition, Dunn, 58, will be required to make restitution to the 91-year-old victim, reimbursing her for $140,000 of the $200,000 he was alleged to have embezzled that was never recovered.

A co-defendant, Gilbert Blais, 59, pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of receiving stolen property under $500, a misdemeanor reduced from a felony charge of receiving stolen property over $500. The charge will be filed after a year, according to Blais's attorney, Christopher Gontarz.

Dunn and Blais have been living in Florida since 2004, when a civil lawsuit alleging the embezzlement prompted Dunn to drop out of the race for the Pawtucket School Committee.

Dunn's lawyer, former Attorney General Jeffrey Pine, said Dunn plans to move back to Pawtucket, as part of the sentence, rent an apartment and work to pay off the debt.

-- By Journal staff write John Castellucci

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:15 PM | Comment

ACLU files civil rights complaint over interpreter layoffs

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal civil rights complaint against the state Department of Human Services, claiming that the state has violated federal law and a consent agreement by cutting interpreter jobs.

The ACLU says its filing follows "both controversial comments recently made by Governor Carcieri denouncing state-funded interpreters for DHS clients, and layoffs of all the agency’s Southeast Asian interpreters."

The ACLU complaint alleges that the state is violating a 1997 consent agreement requiring, in part, that the state schedule interpreters or bilingual staff when necessary to communicate with clients with limited English-speaking ability.

The agreement came in the face of eight civil rights complaints brought under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

In its filing to the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boston, the ACLU is asking the office to ensure the state complies with the agreement.

-- With Journal archival reports

Governor Carcieri has previously defended cutting the interpreter positions, a move made with other state job cuts as part of an effort to trim a budget deficit. He issued a statement last month saying the DHS “is fully in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and with a 1997 agreement requiring that the state make available language interpretation services for those seeking welfare and other benefits.”

Of the four interpreters who received layoff notices, two are Cambodian, one is Hmong and one Portuguese. The state has retained all of its Spanish-language interpreters, as well as one Portuguese interpreter, and 12 other contract employees who routinely perform similar services.

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:13 PM | Comment

Plane that left Green runway being moved to hangar

WARWICK -- The US Airways Express aircraft that slid off a T.F. Green Airport runway last night is in the process of being moved to a hangar where federal authorities will investigate the mishap.

Patti Goldstein, an airport spokeswoman, said today that she believed cranes may be out there.

She said the airport's main, longer runway is currently closed. Flights are using runway 1634 -- the crosswinds runway -- and while certain wind conditions can affect when a plane can and can't use that runway, she said it has not affected any flights today.

When the aircraft is moved out of that location, Goldstein said, the airport will get approval at some point to reopen the runway.

The airport's Web site shows most departures and arrivals have not been delayed or cancelled. The cancellations the airport has seen have been because of weather conditions in other parts of the country, Goldstein said.

The plane, Flight 3758, was arriving at Green from Philadelphia early last evening when the incident happened. No one was hurt.

"We will be cooperating with the [National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration] to find out every detail we can about what happened," Barb Jones, spokeswoman for Air Wisconsin, a regional carrier for US Airways, said today.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:51 AM | Comment

Icy hill by bus yard delays some city school buses

PROVIDENCE -- Thirty city school buses were delayed this morning for up to 60 minutes because the buses had a tough time getting up the hill next to the bus yard at 3 Ricom Way.

School spokeswoman Christina O’Reilly said that all students were in school by 10 a.m., adding that elementary and middle school students were affected by the delays.

Supt. Donnie Evans, she said, was in touch with both the bus company and the city’s public works department yesterday and this morning to assess the condition of the roads, which were icy in the wake of yesterday’s northeaster.

At 5:30 a.m., Evans decided to open the schools on time, after consulting with city officials.

O’Reilly said that the school department learned that buses were running a bit late at 7:30 a.m., but didn’t realize how late they were running until 8:45 a.m. Shortly thereafter, the school department sent out a computer-based phone message to all middle and elementary school parents notifying them of the delays.

Meanwhile, the DPW sent out trucks to re-treat the hill in front of the bus yard.

The school department is considering whether to cancel after-school programs this afternoon.

-- Journal staff writer Linda Borg

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 11:35 AM | Comment

Gas prices up by one cent

Gas prices in Rhode Island increased by a penny last week, according to AAA Southern New England.

The average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline here is $3.079, according to AAA's weekly survey.

Gas prices haven't varied much for the past month, AAA says.

The average price in Rhode Island is eight cents higher than the national average of $2.999.

Rhode Islanders were paying $2.349 at this time last year.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:16 AM | Comment

Most T.F. Green flights on time in aftermath of incident

The morning after a U.S. Airways Express flight slid off a T.F. Green Airport runway, the airport's Web site shows most departing flights on time.

Several, including flights to Newark, Las Vegas, Orlando, Baltimore and Philadelphia, have departed, but two flights to the Midwest were canceled.

Earlier in the morning, the site showed canceled departures to Chicago and Cleveland. Just one canceled departure is now listed, to Charlotte, N.C. A 9:28 a.m. flight to New York City is listed as delayed.

The flight that slid off the runway carried 31 passengers and three crew members from Philadelphia. It slid after landing shortly before 5 p.m., a spokeswoman for Air Wisconsin, a regional carrier for US Airways, said yesterday. No injuries were reported.

While the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board investigate, the plane was to remain where it came to a stop and a runway was to remain closed until the investigation finishes.

Reporter's query: Were you on the plane that skidded at Green Airport?

Projo.com and The Providence Journal are seeking passengers aboard US Airways Flight 3758 from Philadephia to Providence last night We'd like to talk to you for a followup story.

If you'd be willing, please contact The Journal newsroom at (401) 277-7303, or pjnews@projo.com with your name and contact information.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 9:31 AM | Comment

Were the school buses on time this morning?

Have any parents experienced trouble with the Providence buses this morning?

If so, e-mail lborg@projo.com. Please include your name, phone number and address in your e-mail.

--Linda Borg, Journal staff writer

Posted by Peter Phipps at 9:26 AM | Comment

Fire damages North Kingstown home this morning

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Fire damaged the home at 166 Juniper Drive this morning, but the two people who were inside got out safely.

It was believed the occupants' pets also made it out.

The fire was reported at 4:13 a.m., and the majority of it was in the garage, but fire also spread to the home's attic, said Deputy Fire Chief John Pierson. He said the fire did "considerable damage" to the home.

A challenge in fighting the fire was getting hydrant access, because a hydrant nearby was inaccessible due to snow and ice, said Pierson.

Pierson says people should clear snow and ice away from a hydrant or hydrants in front of their property. He said fire personnel can not get to all hydrants in a day on their own and urged the public to help out.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:59 AM | Comment

Providence mayor hosts party for military families

PROVIDENCE -- The winter storm heading to New England has forced Providence Mayor David Cicilline to postpone a tribute to the Rhode Island military personnel serving abroad.

Cicilline will host holiday celebrations tomorrow for families of Rhode Islanders serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The event will include free skating and rentals, a figure skating demonstration as well as donated pizza and hot chocolate.

Families of military personnel will also receive special season passes that will entitle them to free skating and rentals at the Bank of America City Center throughout the entire winter season.

The event was originally planned for Sunday, but was rescheduled due weather.

The mayor says the event is a way for Providence to thank members of the armed forces for their dedication, patriotism and bravery.

It is also intended to thank their families for the sacrifices they have made.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:14 AM | Comment

Union set to picket School Committee chair's workplace

The Tiverton teachers union is slated to picket this afternoon at the workplace of the town's School Committee chairwoman, Denise deMedeiros.

Union members have said they will picket at St. Anne's Hospital in Fall River, Mass.

Last week, Judge Vincent Ragosta denied a School Committeee request for an injunction to halt the picketing after a conference with lawyers for the School Committee and the union, the NEA-Tiverton.

The picketing, at 2 p.m., is intended to call attention to stalemated contract negotiations to try to force the School Committee to the bargaining table, the union president has said.

deMedeiros has said the union is trying to harass her and affect her ability to do her job.

The committee declared an impasse in court-ordered mediation in October and filed for nonbinding arbitration. That court order, issued in early September, means teachers must work without a contract.

Two teachers who were suspended with pay for printing an anonymous letter critical of deMedeiros in the union newsletter were notified last week that they will have disciplinary hearings before the School Committee on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

-- With Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:11 AM | Comment

Wind advisory in effect and watch for icy patches

A wind advisory is in effect until noon today, with west-wind gusts of more than 30 mph. possible.

The National Weather Service said the strong winds follow the departing storm that hit the state over the weekend. "Winds will diminish later this morning as the storm moves off," the weather service advisory said.

The weather service also cautioned people -- particularly those heading out early -- that there could be icy patches on untreated roads. Given the cold temperatures that moved in overnight, slush and standing water have frozen quickly.

The forecast says it will be sunny with a high near 31 degrees, but the wind will make it feel much colder.

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story about a plane sliding off the runway at T.F. Green Airport and a photograph from the Patriots' 20-10 win over the New York Jets.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment