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« January 22, 2008 | Today | January 24, 2008 » January 23, 2008Tonight: U2 goes 3D on the big, big, big screenYou can catch U2, arguably the last rock band with wide appeal to stand the test of time, on the big screen -- the very big screen -- tonight. "U2 3D" opens today on the Feinstein IMAX Theater in Providence Place mall, with shows at 9:30 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. There was also a showing at 4:45 p.m. Each showing is one hour, 20 minutes. As of 6:30 p.m., tickets were still available for tonight's showings. Read what Journal arts writer Michael Janusonis had to say about it. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:55 PM | Comment Former Warwick man pleads guilty in $15 million scamA former Warwick man pleaded guilty this morning to federal charges in connection with an Internet sales scheme that bilked nearly $15 million from people across the country. The company claimed to sell electronic supplies and equipment. One Mixitforme customer likened the Providence company’s sales methods as “a pyramid scheme” in which it appears money coming in to the company one day was used to fill some orders from the day before. The customer, from Stony Brook, N.Y., said after receiving some small orders from Mixitforme, he ordered 6,000 PSPs and 5,400 PlayStation 2 video-game units, which he never received. Federal authorities charged Cory Johnson, formerly of 272 Pierce Ave., Warwick, this month with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering for his role in Mixitforme.com, a defunct Providence Internet retailer. Johnson ran the company with a second man, David Whitaker, who has left the state. Some former Mixitforme employees said they told federal authorities that Whitaker would regularly sweep the company’s overnight receipts before they could buy products, using the money to pay for clothing, medical bills and other personal expenses. Johnson faces up to 15 years in prison and fines totaling $500,000 for his part in a 2005 scam that left electronics distributors and others out millions of dollars, according to federal court documents. Appearing this morning in U.S. District Court in Providence, Johnson responded quietly to questioning by Judge William E. Smith, ultimately agreeing to the federal fraud charges. His lawyer, William J. Delaney, of Reavis Cianciolo LLC, declined comment this morning. Johnson has surrendered his passport to federal authorities but remains free on a $50,000 unsecured bond. As a condition of his release, Johnson must limit his travel to Pennsylvania, where he now lives, and New Jersey, where he must sometimes travel for work. He also will be allowed to return Rhode Island to look after a house he owns in Warwick and to attend further court hearings. He is scheduled to return to federal court June 20 for sentencing by Smith. -- Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 6:20 PM | Comment Narragansetts say grim times argue for a casinoCHARLESTOWN -- The Narragansett Indian Tribe used Governor Carcieri’s grim state of the state address to launch its latest casino plans, saying a gaming venture on its land would give Rhode Island a badly-needed financial boost. The tribe plans to ask state leaders this week to support its efforts to persuade Congress to repeal a law that requires the Narragansetts to seek statewide voter approval for high-stakes gaming on its 1,800 acres, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas said. Once the law is rescinded, the tribe could immediately forge ahead with a destination casino, and its backers would promptly reward the state with a cash payment. “We’re looking to help the state immediately,” Thomas said. He would not specify how much the initial payment would be, but promised that the establishment would hire only Rhode Islanders for the estimated 3,500 jobs and buy local goods and supplies from Rhode Island businesses. “We’ll put it in writing,” he said. “The reality is we need a lot of jobs in this state.” The tribe will send letters seeking support to Governor Carcieri, House Speaker William J. Murphy and Senate President Joseph Montalbano by the end of the week.
But most state officials reached today and the Congressional delegation appear reluctant to embrace the tribe’s plans. Carcieri described Rhode Island as teetering at the edge of financial disaster in his address Tuesday night. The state is facing its most ominous deficit since the credit crisis in the early 1990s -- $151 million in the current year and up to $450 million in the budget year that begins July 1. This comes as the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe pursues a casino in Massachusetts with backing from Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman, principals of BLB Investors, the gambling conglomerate that owns Twin River. The Narragansetts’ announcement is the latest step in its nearly two-decade gaming quest. Last year, it pushed plans to open a slot parlor on par with Twin River on its land after voters rejected a proposal to change the state Constitution to allow it to build a casino in West Warwick with Harrah’s Entertainment. The tribe lobbied its Congressional delegation -- unsuccessfully -- to overturn the Chafee amendment, a law introduced by the late U.S. Sen. John Chafee in 1996 that bars the tribe from federal Indian gaming privileges on its 1,800 acres. Chafee said the measure closed a loophole, but critics charge that it strips the tribe of its rights. Thomas said the tribe’s new proposal would save the state from be forced to seek a Constitutional amendment to expand gambling at Twin River, as has been floated in recent months over local opposition. Sixty-five percent of Lincoln voters opposed allowing 24-hour gambling at Twin River, and 60 percent voted against allowing the facility to become a full-fledged casino in a special election last fall. The Narragansetts would construct a casino that would be competitive with Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mohegan Sun and any built in Massachusetts, Thomas said. It would be set on about 120 acres off Route 2 that the tribe cleared for a high-stakes bingo hall before the Chafee amendment passed. “We believe they should take a good look at this,” he said. “Hopefully, the leaders of Rhode Island will work with us.” The tribe will not have the governor’s support. “It’s not clear in what ways a casino would help the state budget,” said Jeff Neal, Carcieri’s spokesman. A private casino would only draw business away from Twin River and Newport Grand, both which pay the state roughly 60 percent of their slot revenue. Once a supporter of the tribe’s efforts to overturn the Chafee amendment, U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy has retreated from that stance in recent years, saying the Narragansetts would need the support of the full delegation. That seems unlikely since Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed and Rep. James R. Langevin yesterday repeated their opposition to changing the Chafee amendment yesterday. Langevin opposes any expansion of gambling in Rhode Island, said his spokeswoman Joy Fox. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:01 PM | Comment Doctors, nurses protest RIte Care cutsPROVIDENCE — Dressed in lab coats and clutching Spiderman Band-Aids, a platoon of medical students fanned out across the State House today, buttonholing legislators to argue against proposed cuts to the RIte Care program. Their guerrilla lobbying followed a protest in the rotunda, where health-care leaders lambasted Governor Carcieri for his attempts to strip nearly 9,000 low-income residents from the state’s health-care rolls. “It is a crisis of fairness,” K. Nicholas Tsiongas, president of the Rhode Island Medical Society, said, drawing applause from doctors and nurses holding placards on the marble staircase. “I am in despair of the recent course set for Rhode Island.” -- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan Posted by Benjamin N. Gedan at 5:40 PM | Comment Company bids $250,000 to operate lace works as isWEST WARWICK -- Palmisciano-Ponte Investment Group LLC was the high bidder, at $250,000, today to continue operating as the Riverpoint Lace Works, the textile dyeing and finishing company that has operated here for more than 80 years, and to preserve jobs for its 50 employees. This morning, receiver Theodore Orson, of the law firm of Orson and Brusini, gathered before about 30 people on the second floor of the mill, at 825 Main St., to discuss the sale terms. The company accepted different bid amounts depending on what the buyer wanted to do with the business. In addition to the $250,000 bid, two other bids came in to buy the assets as scrap. Finally, auctioneer Sal Corio, of SJ Corio Corporation in Warwick, led interested buyers through Lippitt Mill to bid on individual machines and the entire contents of rooms. Orson was to calculate which offer would generate the most money for the ailing textile firm. The winning bidder had until 5 p.m. to provide a check to the company for the full amount. The goal has been to have the business sold as a continuing business, allowing the company's workers to remain employed. Riverpoint Lace boasts that its plant, erected in 1809 as the Lippitt Manufacturing company, is the "oldest continuously operating textile mill in the United States." Its current owners acquired it in 1925. Over the decades, as the privately owned company saw many of its competitors move their operations overseas, it became increasingly difficult for the mill to continue operating. The auction was initially scheduled for last week, but Orson postponed it to give two prospective buyers time to consider purchasing the business and keep it going. -- Journal staff writer Talia Buford Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:35 PM | Comment 15 bridges in R.I. are similar to fatal Minneapolis bridgePROVIDENCE _ State transportation officials have begun recalculating the designs of a small but vital structural part in 15 Rhode Island bridges after a federal warning that a design flaw affecting similar parts may have caused the fatal collapse of the Minneapolis Bridge across the Mississippi River last August. Kazem Farhoumand, the acting chief engineer of the state Department of Transportation, said the bridge at the top of the list for review is the Sakonnet River Bridge, connecting Portsmouth to Tiverton, which already has a reduced weight posting because of deterioration and is to be replaced. The other 14 Rhode Island bridges are scattered across the state, from Woonsocket to Westerly. Farhoumand said the DOT reviews will be completed within 60 days, with an outside engineering company, Commonwealth Engineering, evaluating the Sakonnet River Bridge and DOT staff engineers doing the rest. The National Transportation Safety Board urged the review last week after investigators studying the wreckage in Minneapolis found that 16 gusset plates, at eight joints in its main span, had fractured. Gusset plates are flat, often roughly rectangular, steel plates. They are bolted or riveted to the sides of joints where a steel bridge's beams come together. They reinforce the joints, helping to resist the complex forces that alternately push and pull at them as traffic passes over the bridge and the load on it shifts. The plates are easily visible on the joints on the Sakonnet River Bridge. Farhoumand said there are 250 such joints on that bridge alone. Along with the plates, all but one of the Rhode Island bridges are supported by steel trusses and are considered "fracture-critical," or vulnerable to collapse if key structural elements fail. (The exception, the C.L. Hussey Memorial Bridge in North Kingston, is a concrete arch bridge, not a truss bridge, but has parts like gusset plates, the DOT said. A truss is a structure composed of triangular units built of relatively slender straight members.) The NTSB urged the owners of similar bridges to calculate whether the gusset plates and other structural elements were designed to be strong enough. The Rhode Island bridges were already on a list of 37 "fracture-critical" bridges the DOT put together for inspections last year, also at the urging of federal officials, after the Minneapolis collapse, which killed 13 persons and injured 145. List of bridge on next page. Bridge gusset design to be checked Shippee Burrillville
Posted by Peter Phipps at 5:30 PM | Comment Update: Turnout is light for Coventry bond referendum
Board of Canvassers clerks reported at about 3 p.m. turnout in the high 200s at each of the five polling places; the polling areas have on average a total of about 4,500 eligible voters. "It's very light. We got a lot of phone calls from people asking where do they have to go to vote," said Janis Jendzejec, head clerk of the Board of Canvassers. "I expected to see more than it is, especially with all the hoopla with the School Department." The package proposal includes $9 million for schools, including roof replacement, fire safety upgrades and heating system repairs. An additional $1 million would be used to renovate the athletic complex at Coventry High School. Voters will also be deciding on a $4.8 million plan to turn the former Flat River Middle School into a new Town Hall. The Coventry Senior Center would also go in the Flat River Middle School building. Another $4 million of the $19.8-million bond would go toward police facilities -- either a new headquarters or a thorough renovation of the existing building. Coventry Public Library would also benefit, with $1 million to expand, and the town’s public works department would get $500,000 for equipment and park maintenance. Today’s referendum is an all-or-nothing proposition, something critics have said may turn voters off, because they cannot pick and choose what projects to support. But if the proposal is approved, it would add an estimated 35 cents to the property tax rate – a home valued at $300,000 would see a $105 increase on the annual tax bill. Click below to find your polling place. -- projo.com staff writers Brandie M. Jefferson and Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Lisa Vernon-Sparks These five polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for today's referendum on a $19.8-million capital spending proposal: District 1: Christ Church, 321 Peckham Lane District 2: Town Hall, 1670 Flat River Rd. District 3: Club Jogues, 184 Boston St. District 4: Nino’s Restaurant, 446 Tiogue Ave. District 5: Coventry High School, 40 Reservoir Rd. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:22 PM | Comment Judge hears testimony in suit over foster-care systemPROVIDENCE -- A school psychologist and a foster mother testified about their relationships with two boys who are part of a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging major flaws in the state's foster care system. U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux asked the women to testify to determine if they have close enough relationships with the boys to represent their interests in the lawsuit. Lagueux is considering whether to dismiss the case -- and whether the two adults have standing to bring the lawsuit on behalf of the children. Seven children in foster care are identified as plaintiffs. Mary Melvin, a former foster mother for one of the seven children, says she still has pictures of the boy and cares about him, even though she has not seen him in a decade. The suit was brought by state Child Advocate Jametta Alston. -- The Associated Press Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:15 PM | Comment Fire reported on Central Pike, ScituateSCITUATE -- Responders at this hour have gone to the scene of a fire reported on Central Pike, according to police/fire dispatch. No other information was available. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:09 PM | Comment West Warwick textile mill goes up for auctionThe receiver of Riverpoint Lace Works, a textile dyeing and finishing company that has operated on Main Street, West Warwick, for more than 80 years, auctioned the assets of the company this morning. Receiver Theodore Orson, of the law firm of Orson and Brusini, gathered before about 30 people on the second floor of the mill, at 825 Main St., to discuss the terms of the sale this morning. The company accepted different bid amounts depending on what the buyer wanted to do with the business: They received a $250,000 bid from a company willing to continue operating the business as is. Two bids came in to buy the assets as scrap. Finally, auctioneer Sal Corio, of SJ Corio Corporation in Warwick, led interested buyers through Lippett Mill to bid on individual machines and the entire contents of rooms. Orson will calculate which offer will generate the most money for the ailing textile firm. The winning bidder has until 5 p.m. to provide a check to the company for the full amount. The winner will be announced at a press conference this evening, Orson said. The goal is to have the business sold as a continuing business, which will allow the company's 50 or so employees to remain employed. Riverpoint Lace boasts that its plant, erected in 1809 as the Lippitt Manufacturing company, is the "oldest continuously operated textile mill in the United States." Its current owners acquired it in 1925. Over the decades, as the privately owned company saw many of its competitors move their operations overseas, it became increasingly difficult for the mill to continue operating. The auction was initially scheduled for last week, but Orson postponed it to give two prospective buyers time to consider purchasing the business and keeping it going. -- Journal Staff Writer Talia Buford Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:38 PM | Comment Chang elected to Tennis Hall of Fame in NewportNEWPORT -- French Open winner Michael Chang has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. IMG creator Mark McCormack and Tennis Week magazine founder Eugene Scott were selected posthumously in the contributor category The Hall of Fame made the announcement today. It's planning a July 12 induction ceremony. Chang was only 17 when he won the 1989 French Open -- the youngest male player to win a Grand Slam title. He was the first U.S. champion at the clay-court Grand Slam since Tony Trabert in 1955. McCormack died in 2003 at 72. He was a sports marketing pioneer and created the International Management Group. Scott was a former top 20 player and founded Tennis Week in 1974. He died in 2006 at age 68. Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:06 PM | Comment Retirement board to get opinion on Prignano pensionPROVIDENCE -- A lawyer hired by the Providence Retirement Board is scheduled to give his recommendation today on whether the $64,620 pension of former police chief Urban Prignano Jr. should be reduced or eliminated because of his admitted role in a Police Department promotional test cheating scandal. The lawyer, Vincent F. Ragosta Jr., concluded a hearing on the issue last month. Prignano, 65, who was police chief under former Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr., retired under pressure on Jan. 31, 2001, wrapping up a 34-year career. When he retired, he cashed out his contributions to the municipal retirement system, including accrued interest, and took a reduced pension as a result. He has been collecting his pension for seven years. Prignano has admitted in sworn testimony in federal court and in interviews with the FBI that he helped some subordinates cheat on their promotional examinations during his six years as chief. A municipal ordinance requires an employee to give “honorable service” in order to receive a pension. Mayor David N. Cicilline, and the Police Department, under Chief Dean Esserman, are pressing for revocation of the pension. Posted by Jack Perry at 1:02 PM | Comment Mass. governor builds casino fees into budget proposalBOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick has filed his second state budget, which calls for increases in spending on education and public safety. The Democratic governor says his $28 billion budget, released today, for the fiscal year starting July 1 is "fiscally and socially responsible." Patrick has built in $300 million in would-be fees from casino licensing. Some lawmakers object to that move because the Legislature hasn't passed any casino gambling bill. His budget would increase education spending by $368 million, including for programs to expand full-day kindergarten and pay for extended-day classes. State spending on public safety also would rise by nearly $106 million, including money targeted at the troubled state Medical Examiner's Office and funds for 100 new police officers.
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 12:26 PM | Comment Reporter's query: Has economic downturn hit you?Rhode Island’s middle class is hurting. Wages are stagnant. Houses are worth less. It costs more to fill our gas tanks, heat our houses and pay our medical bills. Some have lost their homes to foreclosure. The pain of the economic slowdown has spread to people with four-year college degrees; people who always expected they would have good paying jobs. If you are one of these people, Providence Journal Reporter Lynn Arditi wants to hear your story. Please contact her at larditi@projo.com or (401)277-7335. Posted by maria caporizzo at 12:02 PM | Comment Sasse, up for confirmation himself, names DMV headOn the day the full Senate is scheduled to vote to confirm Gary S. Sasse's appointment as director of the state's new Department of Revenue, Sasse has announced that Anthony J. Silva, a former Cumberland police chief, has been named associate director, revenue services, and the new head of the state Division of Motor Vehicles. Silva, of Cumberland, is currently director of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy. Ted Dolan recently retired as Division of Motor Vehicles director. Silva will be responsible for planning, directing and managing all motor vehicle functions including registration, licensing, operation, enforcement, operator control and inspections. “Anthony Silva has the background necessary to take charge of this division and coordinate all the diverse elements involved,” Sasse said in the statement. “I am confident that his arrival will signal a smooth transition as the DMV moves from the Department of Administration to the Department of Revenue.” Silva holds a master's in administration of justice from Salve Regina University and a bachelor's in criminal justice from Bryant College. He has spent 24 years as a law enforcement education and in 9 years as police chief in Cumberland, managed a staff of 65 sworn police and civilian personnel. Sasse's confirmation is slated to come before the Senate today. Last Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously endorsed Sasse, who was appointed by Governor Carcieri, to head the Department of Revenue. According to the Senate calender for today, the committee recommends the Senate "give its advice and consent" to Sasse's nomination. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:02 PM | Comment Hawkins Street Bridge work done early; span to re-openThe state Department of Transportation will reopen the Hawkins Street Bridge in Providence at 2 p.m. today to car traffic -- days earlier than expected. Last night crews completed blocking the bridge, which travels over Route 146. Blocking adds additional supports on top of the bridge’s abutments and piers. Materials were available faster than anticipated, the DOT said, and crews worked all night to reopen the span. The DOT, which announced the work yesterday, had not expected it to be done until this Friday. The Hawkins Street Bridge is now posted for use only by vehicles 3 tons and under. This restriction will last approximately 3 weeks. After this phase of construction is complete, the roadway will reopen to all vehicles. The Hawkins Street Bridge repair project began last fall and is expected to be completed by fall 2009.
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 11:53 AM | Comment Coventry bond vote aims at funding renovations / Photo
The package proposal includes $9 million for schools, including roof renovations, fire safety upgrades and heating system repairs. An additional $1 million would be used to renovate the athletic complex at Coventry High School. Voters will also be deciding on a $4.8 million plan to turn the former Flat River Middle School into a new Town Hall, and move the Coventry Senior Center to the old Town Hall. Another $4 million of the $19.8-million bond would go toward police facilities – either a new headquarters or a thorough renovation of the existing building. Coventry Public Library would also benefit, with $1 million to expand, and the town’s public works department would get $500,000 for equipment and park maintenance. Today’s referendum is an all-or-nothing proposition, something critics have said may turn voters off, because they cannot pick and choose what projects to support. But if the proposal is approved, it would add an estimated 35 cents to the property tax rate – a home valued at $300,000 would see a $105 increase on the annual tax bill. Click below to find your polling place. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson These five polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for today's referendum on a $19.8-million capital spending proposal: District 1: Christ Church, 321 Peckham Lane District 2: Town Hall, 1670 Flat River Rd. District 3: Club Jogues, 184 Boston St. District 4: Nino’s Restaurant, 446 Tiogue Ave. District 5: Coventry High School, 40 Reservoir Rd. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:17 AM | Comment RIte Care supporters take to the State HouseMedical professionals, students and academics are meeting today to speak up in favor of the RIte Care program, which is in danger of being trimmed in order to help balance the state's budget. The groups are meeting at the State House, according to the President of the RI Medical Society, Nick Tsiongas, to "highlight the quality of this nationally recognized program." The press conference is set to begin at 33:30 at the State House Rotunda. Afterwards, the group plans to pass out post cards to legislators, advocating for Rite Care. Donna Policastro and executive director of the RI State Nurses Association will speak, along with Northeaster University political science professor David Rochefort, Andrew Snyder, a member of the RI Medical Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Yul Ejnes, of the American College of Physicians. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:12 AM | Comment Foxwoods begins job recruitment for new casinoMASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- Foxwoods Resort Casino is starting to recruit thousands of workers in anticipation of opening its new MGM Grand casino. Foxwoods will kick off its recruitment campaign Sunday with the launch of a new employment Web site. Opening in May, the MGM Grand at Foxwoods will have 2,000 employees and provide an additional 1,000 jobs at the property's restaurants, including Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak, Michael Schlow's Alta Strada, and famed New York eatery Junior's. Foxwoods plans regional job fairs, including efforts to attract minority job candidates. Foxwoods employees will be able to apply for jobs at various kiosks located throughout the property. The new jobs include 350 supervisor/managerial positions and 277 dealer positions. -- The Associated Press Posted by Jack Perry at 10:23 AM | Comment Barrington pair plead no contest to social host chargeA husband and wife charged under the state’s social host law for serving alcohol to minors each pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges. Gabriel A. Pacheco, 48, and Mary Lou Pacheco, 45, of Northwest Passage in Barrington will each have to perform 100 hours of community service at an emergency room, and pay $350 to the victims of violent crimes fund. Both will also be on probation for six months after which, if they stay out of legal trouble, the offense will be removed from their records. The couple’s lawyer, Stephen Rappoport, said the Pachecos had wanted to plead guilty to express their support for zero tolerance. “They wanted to take responsibility,” he said. The couple was arrested after a New Year’s Eve Party with mostly family. The police learned about the party after a dozen pictures of under-age Barrington drinkers, ages 17 to 20, were posted online. In one of the pictures, the Pachecos are in the background. “They understand now,” Rappoport said, “looking back, they made a mistake in judgment.” -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:13 AM | Comment Man accused of revenge by arson faces felonyA man who police say set his Woonsocket apartment complex on fire in late June because he was mad at his landlord is set to be arraigned today on a felony arson charge. When investigators arrived at the building, 52 Blackstone St., firefighters showed them a charred vacuum cleaner and trash bin that looked like they had been set on fire. A witness told investigators that Intha Pathammavong, 25, told her that he was angry with the landlord and wanted to set the building on fire. Initially, according to the police, Pathammavong told the police that he had tried to extinguish the fire. Later he said a friend suggested he start the fire. The police say Pathammavong said he didn’t want to set the fire, but that he did after his friend gave him a lighter. Ultimately, the friend told the police he hadn’t talked to Pathammavong that day. Pathammavong is scheduled for arraignment today in Superior Court, Providence. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:48 AM | Comment Illustration: Will the Fed's rate cut come up lame?
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 8:27 AM | Comment Five arrested in Westerly drug sting due in court todayFive of the seven people arrested during a drug sting in Westerly are due in court today. The arrests Jan. 11 came as the result of a six-week investigation of street-level drug activity in Westerly. Each of the suspects allegedly sold undercover police officers about $50 worth of drugs, according to Police Chief Edward A. Mello. Due in District Court, Wakefield, today for bail hearings are: David Wayne Hazard, 26, of Warwick Also arrested were Arthur G. Colotta, 46, and Robert E. Jordan, 41, both of Westerly. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:51 AM | Comment Judge to hear testimony in foster care lawsuitPROVIDENCE -- A federal judge will hear testimony as he considers whether to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the state's foster care system is broken and fails to protect children from abuse. State child advocate Jametta Alston and national advocacy group Children's Rights filed the suit last year on behalf of the roughly 3,000 children in state custody. Last week, U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux questioned whether the suit is in the best interest of the children. He's asked for testimony today from adults representing seven children in the lawsuit to determine if they have legal standing to sue on behalf of the minors. The state also says some of the issues raised in the federal civil rights complaint are best left to the Family Court. -- The Associated Press Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment Clear and sunny with a high of 36We can expect clear, sunny skies today with the National Weather Service forecasting a high temperature of 36 degrees, just about normal for today. Clouds should roll in later tonight, when the temperature drops to to 20 degrees. Tomorrow we may see snow in the late afternoon. Expect cloudy skies and a high temperature near 30 degrees. For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features coverage of Governor Carcieri's State of the State address. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006