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January 17, 2008

Tonight: CCRI on PBS

Rhode Island's PBS will air a documentary about community colleges, in particular, the Community College of Rhode Island. The program Discounted Dreams: High Hopes and Harsh Realities in America's Community Colleges is on at 9 p.m.

The program is followed at 10 p.m. by a half-hour discussion program that includes comments by Ray Di Pasquale, the CCRI president. State Commissioner of Higher Learning Jack Warner and state Sen. Juan M. Pichardo are also featured.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:00 PM | Comment

URI, PC men's basketball teams hit the road tonight

University of Rhode Island and Providence College men's basketball teams both have away games tonight.

URI is at St. Louis at 8 p.m. while Providence plays UConn at 7 p.m., the latter to be televised on ESPN-FC.

Keep up with score and stats for both games, and talk about the results, on projo.com's PC and URI sports pages.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:57 PM | Comment

Photo: On a roll at Gillette

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Members of the New England Patriots grounds crew cover the Gillette Stadium field with a tarp this afternoon after the team finished its practice. The field's been painted with the logo of the AFC Championship, which will be decided Sunday between the undefeated Pats and the San Diego Chargers. Tonight's weather may be a little snowy and damp, but looking ahead to the weekend, it should be cold and crisp. Get the latest Foxboro forecast here.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:20 PM | Comment

Update: W. Warwick officer accused of assault arraigned

CRANSTON -- A West Warwick police officer charged with domestic simple assault stemming from a Christmas Eve argument with his girlfriend was allowed to remain free after his arraignment today in District Court.

Patrolman Jonathan I. Caldwell, 32, of 98 Randall St. in Cranston, was given a pre-trial date of Jan. 28. He remains free on $1,000 personal recognizance bail posted at the time of his arrest Jan. 4. A no-contact order with his girlfriend, Rachel Pineda, 26, remains in effect.

According to police reports, Pineda told Cranston police officers that she tried to keep Caldwell from leaving his house after he had been drinking on Dec. 24.

She said she stepped between Caldwell and the door and that he pushed her into a wall and onto the floor. While she was on the floor, she told the police, Caldwell punched and kicked her before leaving.

Pineda said she sought treatment at Kent Hospital, where emergency doctors told her she had suffered torn cartilage in her knee.

She said she did not report the incident immediately because she did not want Caldwell to lose his job but that she eventually went to the police at the urging of family members who noticed her bruises.

Caldwell, who joined the force in 2001, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.

-- Journal staff writer Talia Buford

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:09 PM | Comment

Coast Guard flies R.I. fisherman from boat to hospital

After complaining about chest pains, a Rhode Island fisherman was flown by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter yesterday to Cape Cod Hospital for treatment.

The 45-year-old fisherman, Barry Clapt, was in stable condition today at the Hyannis, Mass. hospital, a spokesman said.

Clapt was taken from the Narragansett-based trawler Mary Elena after 11:30 a.m., said Petty Officer Lauren Downs. Downs said she did not know where Clapt lived, but said he was a Rhode Island resident. He was part of a crew fishing 180 miles southeast of Cape Cod, she said.

The Canadian Coast Guard contacted the U.S. Coast Guard’s First District Command Center after U.S. radios failed to pick up the calls for help from the 77-foot trawler, Downs said.

The U.S. Coast Guard launched two jets and a helicopter, said Lt. Engrid Elso.

A Falcon jet based at the Air Station in Cape Cod was diverted from a nearby patrol to communicate with the crew aboard the Mary Elena. A second jet also flew to the spot. A helicopter from the air station took the ailing crewman to Hyannis Airport where emergency workers took him to the hospital.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Davis

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:01 PM | Comment

Fire reported in 3-story building in Providence

PROVIDENCE -- Firefighters are at the scene of a third-floor fire in a three-story wood-frame building at 169 Princeton Ave., according to James Taylor, chief of communications at the Providence Fire Department

The call came in at 4:01 p.m. No other information was available shortly before 4:30 p.m.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:55 PM | Comment

Update: Man, sought by Westerly police, is arrested

WESTERLY -- The police have arrested a Westerly man they had been looking for as a suspect in the robbery of a 7-Eleven store, the police said late this afternoon.

Jason P. Bolduc, 29, of Pearl Street was arrested today by Westerly officers about 4 p.m. without incident at a relative's apartment on Marriott Avenue, according to the police. The police had received a tip about his whereabouts.

Bolduc will be held overnight and appear in Washington County District Court in the morning on charges of robbery.

The Westerly police were looking for Bolduc, who they suspect of robbing the store with a man who they allege went on the next day to rob and assault an elderly couple in Connecticut.

-- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Brandie M. Jefferson and Journal staff writer Paul Davis

Earlier today, the police said they considered Bolduc to be armed with a knife, and dangerous.

The police said they got an arrest warrant for Bolduc yesterday after obtaining physical evidence and a witness identification linking him to the burglary, according to Det. Sgt. Mark Carrier earlier today.

The police allege Bolduc robbed the Route 1 convenience store on Monday with 45-year-old Gregory Whiting of East Providence.

The next day, an elderly Stonington, Conn., man called the police and said he and his wife had been choked and assaulted, and robbed.

The police spotted a car matching the caller’s description and followed it into Westerly, where it crashed into a tree, Westerly Police Chief Edward A. Mello said earlier today.

The police say they found Edward Northup, 37, of Westerly in the car, and Whiting, who had fled, at a nearby home.

Both men were found yesterday to be in violation of probation for previous sentences and are being held without bail.

Bolduc has “a lengthy record with us,” according to Carrier, and had previously been involved in high-speed chase with local authorities.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:51 PM | Comment

Carcieri's budget plan calls for furloughs, state aid cuts

Governor Carcieri released a sweeping budget proposal today that would make dramatic cuts and changes affecting all state employees, cities and towns, several thousand low-income health-care recipients -- and even cell-phone users.

Carcieri’s plan, known as a supplemental budget, would revise the 2007-2008 state spending plan the General Assembly passed in June. Both the legislature and the governor agree there is urgency in adopting the revised budget in the coming months to close a current-year deficit projected at $151 million.

The proposals released today may help in closing next year’s projected $450-million budget deficit, but Carcieri plans to release a separate 2008-09 budget in the coming weeks.

The legislature ultimately needs to approve the governor’s plans, which State Budget Officer Rosemary Booth Gallogly says should be passed by March to achieve all of the proposed savings. Assembly leaders weren’t immediately available to comment.

The governor’s 119-page supplemental budget includes a provision that would cut $10 million in state aid to cities and towns for the current year, in addition to reducing their reimbursements on the motor vehicle excise tax by $2.7 million.

Asked why the governor would take money away from municipalities in the middle of a budget year, Gallogly said that many communities have healthy budget reserves that could make up the cut.

Urban areas will be hit particularly hard by the plan, including Providence (which would lose around $2.9 million), Pawtucket (more than $1 million), Cranston (more than $1 million) and Woonsocket (more than $700,000).

Carcieri also outlined a plan to require all of the Rhode Island 15,000 or so state employees to take six unpaid days before the end of June. Gallogly said the days off would be flexible, adding that she hoped to work out an agreement with labor unions in the coming weeks.

-- Steve Peoples of the Journal State House Bureau

AFL-CIO Treasurer George Nee earlier reiterated organized labor’s opposition to a similar furlough plan proposed by the governor last year.

"If people have those kinds of proposals … they have to do that through the collective-bargaining process," he said, "otherwise you’re reducing people’s waging unilaterally."

Gallogly said the governor may asked the General Assembly to pass a law mandating the furloughs, and she suggested “another option” that would allow the governor to act unilaterally if necessary. The furloughs would save approximately $14.8 million, Gallogly said.

Meanwhile, a separate proposal would allow the state to cut state subsidized health insurance, known as RIte Care, for approximately 2,000 immigrant children living in Rhode Island.

Department of Human Services Director Gary Alexander said that facing a severe budget deficit, the state needs to prioritize its benefits for citizens.

The governor has backed off plans to cut health-care for another 8,000 low-income children, but included a measure to cut benefits to more than 7,000 adults on RIte Care.

Among the more unusual proposals outlined today, the governor suggested changing state law to ban “hand-held mobile telephones while driving.” A new $50 fine would be created for the offense, which has previously failed to pass the Assembly.

In all, the revised spending plan would cut state expenditures by $83.2 million by the end of June, while raising approximately $68.8 million in new revenues.

The revenue changes include capping the tax credits allowed by the state’s historic tax program at $20 million in the current year and $40 million in subsequent years. Historic preservationists have credited the program with helping to revitalize dilapidated mills and crumbling buildings around the state.

In a press release advancing the budget release, Carcieri said his staff has already reached out to Democratic and Republican legislative leaders to talk about the options and some of the plans his office is considering.

“Based on those meetings, I believe that the General Assembly recognizes the severity of the budget problem and is willing to work with my administration to craft a solution," Carcieri stated.

Carcieri said the shortfall mainly came about because of a fall-off in state revenues such as taxes and lottery proceeds and in projected caseloads in some state financed programs.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:06 PM | Comment

Black Storytellers festival gets funds from bank

The Rhode Island Black Storytellers festival is getting a boost from Citizens Bank for its week-long festival.

This year marks the 10th “Funda Fest: A Celebration of Black Storytelling,” and Citizen’s Bank is donating $2,500 for the storytelling, workshops and concerts taking place Jan. 20 through Jan. 27.

The festival kicks off this Sunday with two events in South County, a choir performance at the Westerly Public Library and a family storytelling concert at the Cornerstone Playhouse at True Blue Café in South Kingstown.

It ends in Newport with another family storytelling concert at the Martin Luther King Center on Sunday, Jan. 28.

Click below for a complete listing of events, or visit the RIBS Web site.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Sunday, January 20
Teju Ologboni and the Pleasant Street Baptist Children’s Choir perform at the Westerly Public Library, 44 Broad Street, Westerly, at 2 p.m. Free.

RIBS and Teju present a Family Storytelling Concert at Cornerstone Playhouse at True Blue Café, 213 Robinson, Street Wakefield, 6 p.m. Tickets $10.00 adults $5 under 12.

Monday, January 21
Valerie Tutson and Rochel Coleman are back with three performances of MLK Amazing Grace at the Providence Children’s Museum, 100 South Street, Providence. Show times are 11 a.m., 1 and 2:30 p.m. Free with Museum admission. This program brings the people of the civil rights movement to life through stories and song.

Friday, January 25
6:30 p.m.: A family storytelling concert at Kevin K. Coleman Elementary School, 96 Second Ave in Woonsocket. Donations requested.

8 p.m.: Spoken word at Trinity Restoration, INC., located at Trinity United Methodist Church, 393 Broad Street, Providence. Riders Against the Storm, Spittin Images, and more share their storytelling styles in rhythm and rhyme. Tickets $8.00.

Saturday: January 26
FAMILY FUNDay: 10 a.m. -.3 p.m. at the Providence Public Library, 150 Empire Street in Providence. Jamaican storyteller Amina Blackwood Meeks leads an interactive, intergenerational workshop from 10 -11: 30 a.m., followed by a story swap from 12.p.m. -1p.m., which is an opportunity for anyone to share a tale. 1:30-3 p.m.: A family storytelling concert. Free and open to the public.

Saturday Night: Not just for kids. Join RIBS and guests for a night of stories at the RISD Auditorium, 17 Canal Street, Providence. Tickets $10/advance. $15/door. Available at www.arttixri.com. Doors open at 7pm.

Sunday, January 27
Family storytelling concert at 2 pm, at the Martin Luther King Center, 20 Marcus Wheatland Boulevard in Newport. Donations requested.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:38 PM | Comment

New England Tech to acquire Brooks-Eckerd building

The Brooks-Eckerd building, under contruction in 2006.
Journal photo / Bob Thayer

New England Institute of Technology said today that is has entered into an agreement with Rite Aid Corp. to acquire a 25-acre property on the former Rocky Hill Fairgrounds and a 285,000-square-foot building once intended to house the Brooks-Eckerd corporate headquarters.

“In a surprising and unanticipated development just before Christmas, we renewed discussions with Rite Aid regarding the sale of the former Brooks building," said Richard Gouse, New England Tech's president. "Rite Aid reconsidered an offer from the college and a purchase-and-sale agreement has been negotiated and was signed today.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Last July, the college announced a long-term plan to move from its present location on Post Road in Warwick to a new 200-acre campus in East Greenwich.

“We are extremely excited about this new development and have asked our professional campus planners to immediately incorporate this site into our proposed campus plan," Gouse said. "As we have stated from the beginning, we have every intention of working closely with town officials to ensure that our campus development protects the high quality of life enjoyed by East Greenwich residents.”

Residents of a nearby condominium have complained about the proposed campus.

Brooks-Eckerd never occupied the building because the drugstore company was acquired by rival Rite Aid Corp.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

Posted by Benjamin N. Gedan at 1:27 PM | Comment

Update: Police must testify on smoke-shop documents

Journal Photo/Mary Murphy
Bella and Randy Noka, two members of the Narragansett tribe charged in the July 2003 smoke shop raid, listen in Judge Susan E. McGuirl's court at a hearing on dismissing the charges against the members of tribe

A judge has ordered members of the state police to testify about why documents were withheld relating to the trial of Narragansett Indians arrested during the 2003 raid on a tribal smoke shop.

The trial is delayed until Feb. 25.

Judge Susan E. McGuirl ordered Maj. Steven G. O'Donnell and other high-ranking police officials to testify while she weighs the defendants' motion to have the case against them dismissed.

The documents in question are undated witness statements by O'Donnell, then-captain and in command at the time of the raid. An eight-page statement was submitted to Superior Court, Providence, on Jan. 4.

An 11-page document was submitted as part of a packet that the state police gave the court Friday after being subpoenaed to release all raid-related documents.

Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and six other Narragansetts are charged with misdemeanor offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to assault.

Prosecutors say the defendants missed similar deadlines to share information and will have plenty of time to review the new material before trial.

The trial has been delayed pending resolution over the documents. Jury selection had been scheduled to start yesterday.

The arrests happened when police raided the newly opened smoke shop on tribal land in Charlestown, which was not collecting state taxes. A federal appeals court later ruled the shop was operating illegally.

Extra: More about the raid and its aftermath.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:10 PM | Comment

Bacteria found at Mass. milk plant linked to deaths

BOSTON -- Listeria has been found in 16 of more than 100 tests done at a Shrewsbury milk processing plant that was identified as the source of a deadly outbreak of the bacteria.

Public health officials say one environmental swab, one skim milk sample and seven flavored milk samples from a Whittier Farms dairy tested positive for the same strain of listeria found in four of the five cases linked to this outbreak. Seven samples tested positive for a different strain.

Three elderly men have died since last June after drinking bacteria-contaminated milk from the plant.

The test results do not pinpoint where the contamination of the milk occurred, but suggest it took place during the production process.

The environmental swab that tested positive was taken from the floor near a homogenizer.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:26 PM | Comment

Update: Funds focus on foreclosures and heating aid

Providing good shelter -- in the form of keeping warm and decent housing -- are two matters drawing funding right now.

Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline this morning announced a new program to offer zero-interest loans to help people buy properties out of foreclosure.

The city is setting up a $1 million fund for loans designed to help pay for repairs and improvements to dilapidated properties. The $1 million is part of the city’s Housing Trust Funds, which are used, among other things, to build affordable housing and assist borrowers with closing costs, said Ken Schadegg, housing coordinator for the Providence Department of Planning and Development.

The fund, which has been in existence since the early 1990s, is self-generating; the money from repaid loans is used to make new loans, Schadegg said.

The loans for foreclosure properties would not have to be repaid until the owner sells the property.

The funding is also aimed at encouraging banks to provide mortgages for such properties by assuring funds are in place to fix them up.

Providence has been especially hard hit by foreclosures. Last month, 176 of 308 properties in Rhode Island advertised for foreclosure were located in Providence.

Yesterday, U.S. Rep James Langevin, D-Rhode Island, applauded the release of $450 million in federal energy assistance fundsto help people keep the heat on this winter.

Of that money, $4,477,366, which includes $12,686 for tribes, has been slated for Rhode Island to help eligible low-income homeowners and renters in Rhode Island meet home energy costs.

-- Journal staff writer Lynn Arditi and projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:19 PM | Comment

Anonymous donor hopes to help nab cabbie killer

CENTRAL FALLS — An anonymous donor is offering a $4,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the person who shot and killed a cab driver in Central Falls last year.

Forty-two-year-old Jose Rodriguez was found in his cab in July after he was shot in the head. He died the next day.

The Victim Support Center, which helps families of those who are victims of violent crime, says it’s also helping look for the killer by posting fliers throughout the state.

Center director Sheila Capece says the killing happened in broad daylight, so someone must have seen something.

Central Falls police are urging anyone with information to come forward.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:50 AM | Comment

State to businesses: It's time to follow recycling rules

Rhode Island businesses recycle just about three percent of their waste, according the state Department of Environmental Management, yet they’re responsible for about 60 percent of the waste currently in the landfill.

The DEM has announced a renewed push to enforce its commercial recycling regulations, beginning with the Feb. 15 launch of an online program that will allow businesses to report their waste and recycling efforts.

The program will also help businesses develop programs that will maximize waste recycling.

Businesses will have one year to come into compliance before the department begins enforcing the recycling regulations.

In the second phase of the program, the DEM will work with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation to educate businesses and help them come into compliance.

Read the recycling statutes here, or find all DEM regulations here.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:30 AM | Comment

City fund aims to help purchase of foreclosed properties

PROVIDENCE -- Mayor David N. Cicilline announced a new program this morning to offer zero-interest loans to help people buy properties out of foreclosure.

The city is setting up a $1 million fund for loans designed to help pay for repairs and improvements to dilapidated properties. The money is being made available from housing trust funds, according to the mayor's office.

The loans would not have to be repaid until the owner sells the property.

The funding is also aimed at encouraging banks to provide mortgages for such properties by assuring funds are in place to fix them up.

Providence has been especially hard hit by foreclosures. Last month, 176 of 308 properties in Rhode Island advertised for foreclosure were located in Providence.

-- Journal staff writer Lynn Arditi

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 10:56 AM | Comment

Defense: Dismiss smoke shop charges

PROVIDENCE -- Seven Narragansett Indians accused of scuffling with state police who raided a tribal smoke shop want the charges dismissed.

Defense lawyers accuse prosecutors of failing to turn over dozens of documents related to the 2003 raid. As a result, they'll ask Superior Court Judge Susan McGuirl to dismiss the case during a hearing scheduled for this morning.

Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and six other Narragansetts are charged with misdemeanor offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to assault.

Extra: Read the Journal's special report on the 2003 raid.

Prosecutors say the defendants missed similar deadlines to share information and will have plenty of time to review the new material before trial.

The arrests happened when police raided a tribal smoke shop that was not collecting state taxes. A federal appeals court later ruled the shop was operating illegally.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:00 AM | Comment

Photo: The view from an igloo

Journal photo/ Bill Murphy
Michele Zager, of Providence, walks Cody, her Wheaton Terrier, past an igloo on South Water Street along the Providence River this morning.

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:49 AM | Comment

Morning fire on historic Benefit Street

An early morning fire on Benefit Street sent residents out in the cold.

Occupants of the three-story, wooden house at 377 Benefit St. were already on the sidewalk when firefighters arrived, according to Providence Fire Department Chief of Communications James Taylor.

The problem apparently started in the second-floor bedroom, along a heating duct, he said. No one was injured, and the scene was under control within a half hour.

The incident is under investigation.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:47 AM | Comment

Photo: A golden glow across downtown Providence

Journal photo/ Bill Murphy
The early morning sunlight casts a glow on the office towers of downtown Providence this morning. The National Weather Service calls for increasing clouds and a high near 33 degrees today in Providence.

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:31 AM | Comment

AG Lynch addresses hospital merger

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch is talking about the proposed merger between hospital groups Lifespan and Care New England this morning.

Lynch is addressing the executive board of the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.

The proposed merger would produce a seven-hospital corporation controlling two-thirds of hospital services in Rhode Island.

The merger needs approval from Lynch and Dr. David Gifford, director of the state Department of Health.

Lynch plans to discuss the review process and responsibilities that must be fulfilled before the merger can be approved.

The address is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. at 3288 Post Road, Warwick.

If approved, the merger would bring together five of the hospitals affiliated with Brown University: Rhode Island Hospital, Miriam Hospital, Butler Hospital, Bradley Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital. It would also include Newport Hospital and Kent Hospital, in Warwick, which are not teaching hospitals.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Cold enough to take your breath away

Step outside and it's obviously cold, but it may not be that bad.

Give it 45 seconds.

It's only about 16 degrees outside, and it doesn't take long for the cold to make it uncomfortable to breathe. The temperature is expected to rise about 20 degrees to 36 with a calm south wind around 6 mph.

Snow and rain will likely return late tonight, when the temperature drops to 29 degrees and winds about 8 mph.

Precipitation continues into tomorrow -- some snow, some rain --tapering off in the early evening. The temperature should reach 40 degrees and an east wind becomes west, reaching about 11 mph.

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

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story about a new affordable health-care plan in Rhode Island.

Download a copy of today's front page.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment