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January 21, 2008

Tonight: Blues, jazz and 9 Chains to the Moon

Here's a sampler of bands playing tonight.

Mark Taber plays blues at The Hi-Hat, 3 Davol Square, Providence. 453-6500, www.thehihat.com. 7 to 11 p.m.

The John Allmark Big Band plays jazz at Bovi's Town Tavern, 287 Taunton Ave., East Providence. 434-9670. 9 p.m.

Bent Left and Leiana plays rock at Club Hell, 73 Richmond St., Providence. 351-1977. 8 p.m. $5.

Nine Chains to the Moon, Seis, Milo Greene and Akinola play rock at AS220, 115 Empire St., Providence. 831-9327. 9 p.m. $6. All ages.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:50 PM | Comment

URI men's basketball drops out of AP's Top 25

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- University of Rhode Island’s men’s basketball team has dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25.

Rhode Island was ranked 23rd in the country, but was upset Thursday, losing 68-61 to Saint Louis.

The Rams received just 17 points in Monday’s poll.
Rhode Island has a 15-3 record, but is 1-2 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The Rams next play George Washington on Wednesday at home.
The team had been nationally ranked since December 24, when it cracked the poll for the first time in nine years.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:49 PM | Comment

New efforts to prevent carbon monoxide deaths

The state Department of Health plans to require hospitals to buy carbon monoxide screening equipment as part of a campaign to prevent deaths from the toxic and odorless gas.

The effort, scheduled to be announced tomorrow, comes two weeks after a woman, her boyfriend and her 14-year-old son died in their Providence home after their boiler apparently began leaking carbon monoxide.

Health Department Director David R. Gifford has proposed an amendment to hospital licensing regulations that would compel the purchase of carbon monoxide screening instruments, such as a type of a pulse oximeter that measures carbon monoxide levels in addition to the oxygen content in a patient’s blood.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Benjamin N. Gedan at 6:45 PM | Comment

Shoot for "Hachiko: A Dog's Story" begins in Bristol

BRISTOL -- Richard Gere was in town today for the first day of shooting of the film “Hachiko: A Dog’s Story.”

The film crew was at 18 High St., a private residence in the historic downtown that is to be the home of Gere and co-star Joan Allen in the movie. It was the start of what’s projected to be several weeks of shooting in Bristol, Woonsocket and other parts of Rhode Island for the film based on a true story about a loyal canine companion.

For Gere fans in Bristol, the big day will come Feb. 25 when the production closes down a portion of Hope Street between Constitution and Bradford streets for a full day of filming.

-- Journal staff

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:36 PM | Comment

Traffic advisory: Accident in Bristol may affect traffic

BRISTOL -- Drivers may encounter traffic at this hour in the area of Route 136 at Tupelo Street, where Bristol police dispatch said responders are clearing an accident.

Details of the accident were not yet available.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:16 PM | Comment

Update: One suffers minor injuries in Lawrence fire

AP/Photo
Spectators watch a pre-dawn fire that swept through more than a dozen buildings this morning in downtown Lawrence, Mass. Fire Chief Peter Takvorian said only one person was injured.

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- A massive seven-alarm blaze that started in an empty downtown nightclub quickly spread through 16 buildings today, destroying homes and businesses and forcing residents to flee in their pajamas into bitter cold.

One person suffered minor injuries in the blaze at Market and South Union streets in Lawrence, Mass., that engulfed apartment buildings and a home for the mentally disabled.

Extra: See footage of the blaze as it spread through Lawrence.

The fire was first spotted by an ambulance crew on an unrelated call about 2:30 a.m., state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said.

Coan said the fire started in the nightclub, which was being renovated. The club had no walls, and that "gave the fire an opportunity to take hold very quickly," he said.

Freezing winds quickly pushed the blaze through the block, which included early 1900s triple-decker wood frames, a hair salon and three buildings being rehabilitated by Habitat for Humanity. Firefighters were hampered by wind chills that dropped to 2 below zero, freezing the water used to fight the blaze and covering buildings and streets in ice.

Zulma Borgos, 49, said she was awakened by calls of "Fire! Fire!" from her boyfriend, Elias Riverra. Borgos said when she looked out the window, "I couldn't believe what I saw."

"It was a ball of fire," said Riverra, 21. He didn't even have time to grab a pair of socks before waking Borgos' three girls in the apartment and running.

-- The Associated Press

The girls, ages 5 to 12, were wrapped in blankets when they arrived at a shelter the Red Cross set up in a local school. Other people arrived in bathrobes and slippers.

Police Lt. Scott McNamara said about 150 people were evacuated from the area. By this afternoon, 54 were at the Red Cross shelter, he said.

Bill Meagher, a Red Cross volunteer, said many of those displaced by the fire already were struggling financially.

"A lot of these people who were burned out today don't have anything," he said. "They're not going to be able to find housing right away.

"With the freezing cold weather ... all the shelters are full," Meagher said.

Gov. Deval Patrick toured the site and met with displaced families today and said work remained "to close in on what the cause of the fire is and most especially to help the families get back on their feet."

"But one step at a time," he said.

Fire officials said the cause was suspicious. Coan said state and city fire officials were investigating the blaze with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The nightclub owner, Geraldo Torres, 45, of Methuen, said the last time he was in the building was about 7 p.m. Saturday. He told the Eagle Tribune of Lawrence that he had no idea how a fire started because he turned off the power whenever he left.

"There's no way the fire can start there," he said.

Torres said he bought the nightclub for about $250,000 intending to open a restaurant and bar with an Italian or Mexican theme. Renovations began about two months ago and he put $300,000 into the building.

Torres said he didn't buy insurance.

"We lost everything," he said. "All my hard work is in there."

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:35 PM | Comment

Carcieri to deliver 'state of the state' tomorrow

PROVIDENCE -- With state government facing a sea of red ink, Governor Carcieri will stand before a joint session of the House and Senate at 7 p.m. tomorrow and deliver what could be his bleakest “state of the state’’ address yet.

Carcieri is expected to focus on the short- and long-term fiscal challenges confronting state government, according to his office.

He plans to discuss the broad outlines of the decisions necessary to balance the budget deficit in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and next fiscal year.

The state faces a projected $151 million revenue-spending gap this year, and a potential deficit of up to $450 million in the new budget year that begins on July 1.

Under state law, Carcieri's budget proposal for the next fiscal year was due last week, but he asked lawmakers to give him until the end of the month to present it.

Other governors in the region have, in recent weeks, used their own state of the state addresses to talk about the strain national economic trends have placed on their own economies. Republican Carcieri is expected to do likewise while attempting to rally public and legislative support for cost-cutting measures -- such as the $12.7 million mid-year cut in municipal aid he proposed last week -- that have already evoked howls out of the cities and towns.

-- Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau

Rhode Island is not alone.

In Maine earlier this month, Governor John Baldacci said: “Home heating oil and gasoline prices are at record highs. Winter, just a few weeks old, has already shown its teeth. The national economy is struggling under the weight of declining home values. State revenues are not immune from the national condition and are falling short of expectations…We are forced to make hard decisions and set priorities. ‘’

In Vermont, Gov. James Douglas said: “We must seek efficiencies…stretch resources while protecting the most vulnerable; and treat precious taxpayer dollars as if we earned them ourselves…Today, I lay out a series of proposals to achieve prosperity through affordability and to rethink, revitalize and reform the way our state approaches its most pressing challenges.’’

Fresh from reelection a year ago, Carcieri told the Democrat-dominated legislature here that Rhode Island’s “ship of state,” having righted itself, was “heading in a new and exciting direction,’’ but threatened by a continuing penchant for over-spending.

At that time, he said: “This has been the most difficult budget since I took office.’’

“As in recent years, ‘’ he said then, “Rhode Island is benefiting from continued growth in revenues. However, each year our appetite to spend exceeds our resources. Every family watching tonight knows that if they’re only getting a 2% pay raise this year, they can’t spend 9% more…’’

A year ago, he also said: “The combined, two year projected excess of expenditures over revenues (is) almost $360 million…Balancing this budget will require sacrifices everywhere. We must further reform our entitlements, demand more cost-effective services from our vendors, develop new service models, and reduce our personnel costs. ‘’

Immediately following the governor’s speech, House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence, and Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, will “offer the perspective of the General Assembly’s Democratic Party on the condition of the state and share their vision for Rhode Island’s future.’’

The address is expected to be broadcast live on television by NBC 10, WPRI 12, and by Capitol Television (which can be viewed on Channel 15 of both Cox Cable of Rhode Island and Full Channel Cable). It will be broadcast live on radio by WPRO 630 AM, WHJJ 920 AM and WRNI 1290 AM.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:41 PM | Comment

Martin Luther King Day: prayer, song and a history quiz

NEWPORT -- Participants in today’s local celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day prayed, sang, gave speeches, and even held a history quiz to honor the legacy of the civil rights leader.

Following a morning performance at Thompson Middle School by the school’s Select Chorus, Joyce Williams, president of the Newport County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, asked, “Do you hear the harmony in their voices? That’s what Martin stood for.”

She noted that King will have been dead 40 years this April, longer than he lived. But his life continues to serve as a powerful reminder for people to strive for equality and to give of themselves for the cause.

“We need your help,” she said, urging everyone in the audience to volunteer themselves as she and others who were alive during King’s time have done. “A few of us are getting old.”

The guest speaker at the annual birthday program was Army Lt. Col. Lester Knotts, a professor at the Naval War College and graduate of West Point Academy. He began by telling the audience of about 80 that he could cite endless “grim” statistics that reflect how, even after King’s death, “equal opportunity is not here yet.” But he said he wouldn’t do that.

“I’m a happy guy,” said the married father of two young children.

A Sunday school teacher and former infantryman now seeking his third master’s degree, he went on to deliver a message of how everyone can improve their own lives -- not to enrich themselves -- but to better the lives of those around them.

“I want to encourage you to arise and do something,” he said. “My message to you is not one of woe but one of hope.”

While not everyone is a famous civil rights leader, he said, most possesses either physical, political, financial or social power -- even the power of love.

“Get up and use it!” he repeated over and over. “Share what you have. It would be selfish to do otherwise.”

Repeating some of his favorite adages, he said, “You can talk and talk but nothing gets done until someone picks up a wrench,” and “Do not be afraid of hard work; be afraid of laziness.”

Other speakers included Mayor Steven Waluk, Supt. John Ambrogi and School Committee Chairman Charles Shoemaker. In the audience were members of the City Council and Newport’s delegation to the General Assembly.

An hour into the program, 18 runners, including one carrying a torch, arrived in the auditorium in sweatsuits and yellow T-shirts commemorating MLK Day. They were volunteers from Naval Station Newport continuing the annual tradition of carrying the torch from Portsmouth to Newport in tribute to King.

The winner of the annual essay contest, Lauren Thibeault, a seventh-grader from Charlestown, read her entry.

Between speakers, the audience sang “Lift Ev’vy Voice & Sing” and “We Shall Overcome,” two popular civil-rights anthems.

In the afternoon, following a luncheon at the Atlantic Beach Club, the 14th annual black history bowl was held at Thompson, testing the knowledge of students from area schools.

The documentary “American Blackout,” about the historic suppression of black voters in America, is being shown today at 5 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King. Center. That will be followed by a worship service at the Community Baptist Church, the second of the day. A prayer breakfast was held earlier at St. Paul’s Methodist Church.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:30 PM | Comment

ACLU commends Corrections on media policy revision

The Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Unions says "the public's right to know" scored a victory when the state Department of Corrections modified regulations that it had proposed concerning the news media's access to inmates for interviews.

The Department of Corrections proposed the changes last year, but it drew criticism from civil liberties activists, journalists and former inmates at a September hearing.

After the hearing, the DOC took another look the proposed changes.

Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU, said the DOC responded to most of the major issues that were raised at the meeting.

For example, the DOC has revised a proposal that would have required the presence of a DOC public information officer at all interviews. The rule now allows the reporter to demand that the officer leave.

The DOC has also changed language that would have made reporter's notes, recordings and videotapes subject to review by the DOC.

"The revised regulations will better promote transparency in an agency where openness is particularly crucial. Ultimately, it is the public’s right to know that benefits from these changes,” Brown said.

The resulting revised media policy shows “the public hearing process works,” said Corrections Director A. T. Wall.

“We try hard to balance our need for proper security and the availability (of inmates) for the media.”

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Thomas Mooney.

Brown was disappointed that the DOC wouldn't change its policy on access to out-of-state prisoners.

Wall said, “We need to defer” to the wishes of the “home” department of corrections where the inmates originated."

“If those officials have no problem with a Rhode Island reporter interviewing one of their inmates, ACI prison officials will allow it.”

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 3:10 PM | Comment

Local Pulitzer-winning playwright takes Yale post

Paula Vogel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who has served as Brown University's director of master's and undergraduate playwriting since 1984, has been appointed chairwoman of the playwriting department at Yale University's drama school.

Yale's Web site says that Vogel has been named Eugene O'Neill professor (adjunct) and department head and will take on full-time duties at Yale on July 1.

“The appointment of Ms. Vogel reflects our commitment to attracting not only the most talented students, but also the world’s leading practitioners to serve as their teachers," Yale president Richard C. Levin said in the statement.

Vogel has written several plays, won awards including the Pulitzer in 1998 for drama for "How I Learned to Drive," and has had several fellowships.

Vogel "has distinguished herself as a unique and profoundly accomplished playwright and teacher,” the dean, James Bundy stated. “Her extraordinary artistic achievements are matched only by her tireless commitment to, and remarkable track record in, the training and mentoring of young writers. I am certain that her vital creative intelligence and generous collaborative spirit will inspire not only the playwriting department, but also the entire Yale School of Drama community, and I look forward to her influence on our program for years to come.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:40 PM | Comment

Providence homicide victim survived shooting in 1995

Journal photo/ Andrew Dickerman
The city's first homicide victim of the year was shot in the parking lot of Club Desire, Providence, early yesterday morning.

PROVIDENCE -- Providence police have identified the 32-year-old man who was shot and killed in the parking lot of a strip club early yesterday morning.

The city's first homicide victim of 2008, Michael Holston, was a resident of the city. He was shot outside Club Desire at 1 Franklin Square, off Allens Avenue, shortly after 2 a.m. yesterday.

Newspaper clips identify Holston as an All-State basketball player for Hope High School in the early 1990s, leading the team in 1993 with 22 points a game.

Two years later, Holston was cleaning up after a party at the Boys and Girls Club in South Providence when he was shot in the abdomen.

Police said the shooter, 19-year-old Nikittey Brown, was seeking revenge against Holston, who had argued with Brown's cousin about money.

Club Desire was in the news last year for being a tenant in a state-owned building that also housed state Department of Transportation offices.

The police asked that anyone with information about the slaying call detectives at (401) 243-6406.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:30 PM | Comment

People in R.I., Northeast rescue unwanted dogs

COLUMBIANA, Ala. -- Dogs lovers in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and other Northeast states are running to the rescue of unwanted dogs from other parts of the country.

While many states in the Northeast have strict leash laws and encourage spaying or neutering, other states like Alabama have been less successful in keeping down the number of unwanted dogs.

That’s led animal activists in those states to link up with potential dog owners in northern states, sometimes transporting the dogs on 20-hour road trips to be with their new owners.
It’s a life-saving trip for the dogs and a joy for their new owners, some who have been on waiting lists for dogs to adopt.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:43 PM | Comment

Update: Lawrence fire, "I couldn't believe what I saw"

AP/Photo
Spectators watch a pre-dawn fire that swept through more than a dozen buildings this morning in downtown Lawrence, Mass. Fire Chief Peter Takvorian said only one person was injured.

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- A massive seven-alarm blaze that started in an empty downtown nightclub quickly spread through 14 buildings today, destroying homes and businesses and forcing residents to flee in their pajamas into bitter cold.

One person was injured in the blaze in Lawrence, Mass. -- about 30 miles north of Boston -- that engulfed apartment buildings and a home for the mentally disabled. The extent of the injuries is unknown.

Extra: See footage of the blaze as it spread through Lawrence.

The fire was first spotted by an ambulance crew on an unrelated call about 2:30 a.m., state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said.

Coan said the fire started in the nightclub, which was being renovated. The club had no walls, and that “gave the fire an opportunity to take hold very quickly,” he said.

Freezing winds quickly pushed the blaze through the block, which included early 1900s triple-decker wood frames. Firefighters were hampered by wind chills that dropped to 2 below zero, freezing the water used to fight the blaze and covering buildings and streets in ice.

Zulma Borgos, 49, said she was awakened by calls of “Fire! Fire!” from her boyfriend, Elias Riverra. Borgos said when she looked out the window, “I couldn’t believe what I saw.”

“It was a ball of fire,” said Riverra, 21. He didn’t even have time to grab a pair of socks before waking Borgos’ three girls in the apartment and running.

-- The Associated Press

The girls, ages 5 to 12, were wrapped in blankets when they arrived at a shelter the Red Cross set up in a local school. Other people arrived in bathrobes and slippers.

The Red Cross said it expected about 35 to 40 people at the shelter. Bill Meagher, a Red Cross volunteer, said many of those displaced by the fire already were struggling financially.

“A lot of these people who were burned out today don’t have anything,” he said. “They’re not going to be able to find housing right away.

“With the freezing cold weather ... all the shelters are full,” Meagher said.

Fire officials said the cause was suspicious. Coan said state and city fire officials were investigating the blaze with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:35 AM | Comment

Gas prices drop for 2nd week

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island dropped four cents this week, according to AAA Southern New England.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded, regular gasoline is $3.079 at the self-service pump, according to AAA's weekly survey.

The price has dropped six cents in the last two weeks, but the average price in Rhode Island is still six cents above the national average of $3.019, according to AAA.

AAA attributes the drop to lower winter demand.

The average price here was $2.289 at this time last year.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:32 AM | Comment

All-night effort: Printing Pats' T-shirts in Pawtucket

Like a lot of New Englanders, Jessica Bahl followed yesterday's Patriots' game closely. She's a fan, but wasn't straight this morning when it came to her feelings about the team's win.

"I'm not the person to ask," she said laughing over the industrial noise that bled in through the phone.

"I'm exhausted."

Exhausted because as soon as the clock ran down in Foxboro, she got to work in Pawtucket

Bahl is the general manager of Mirror Image, Inc., a screenprinting company that prints Patriots' T-shirts for the area.

She's exhausted, to be sure, "but we get pumped with adrenaline," she said.

Being fans helped the three-dozen employees make it through the night and finish up the "thousands and thousands" of AFC Championship T-shirts by about 8 a.m. today.

(Bahl said she's not allowed to say exactly how many T-shirts they print).

It's not over for the Patriots, and it's not over for Mirror Image. The Patriots are going to the Super Bowl and Bahl and company will be glued to their radios.

And if things go well, there won't be a party, Bahl said.

"We won't have time for that."

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:08 AM | Comment

Photo: Tapping the keys at the King breakfast

Journal photo/ Bill Murphy
Ernest Carr, of Providence, musician emeritus at the Olney Street Baptist Church in Providence, plays the piano this morning for the Ministers Alliance of Rhode Island's 24th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship Breakfast at Rhodes on-the-Pawtuxet, Cranston.

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:37 AM | Comment

Blaze in Lawrence, Mass., engulfs 14 buildings

LAWRENCE, MA. -- A massive seven-alarm blaze in downtown Lawrence has engulfed 14 buildings, including some apartment buildings.

Fire officials say no injuries have been reported in the fire at Market and South Union streets that was called in at about 2:30 a.m. today.

See a local fire official describe the scope of the blaze.

The blaze started in an empty nightclub that was being renovated, then spread quickly through a hair salon, and other buildings, including a home for the mentally disabled.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:17 AM | Comment

State celebrates legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King

PROVIDENCE -- Rhode Island is celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King with events across the state this holiday weekend.

It's a holiday on the federal and state government level, meaning those offices will be closed. Municipal offices and public schools in Rhode Island are also closed Monday, as well as banks.

From 7:45 to 10 a.m., the Ministers Alliance of Rhode Island will hold its 24th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast at Rhodes on-the-Pawtuxet, 60 Rhodes Place, Cranston.

Here's a list of more events in the area marking the day.

The program will also feature awards for local activists who have made contributions to their communities like Lorraine Ramos, founder of the Beehive Childhood Center in East Providence.

The state also held a forum on Saturday at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, including workshops on youth leadership, community leadership and nonviolence.

-- projo.com and Associated Press reports

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

A bright day but bitterly cold

The wind will make today's bitter cold feel even worse.

Although today should be sunny, the high should reach just 26 degrees in the Providence area and the wind of 7 to 14 mph. will, at times, make it feel like 3 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service.

Tonight's low will be about 13 degrees.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a photograph of Patriots' linebacker Junior Seau holding the trophy awarded to the winner of the AFC Championship game. A column by sports columnist Bill Reynolds accompanies the photograph.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment