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« January 31, 2008 | Today | February 4, 2008 » February 1, 2008Tonight: Music of North Africa, France and Middle EastThere'll be traditional music tonight from North Africa, France and the Middle East, plus jazz and improvisational works, when Trio Actuel performs at University of Rhode Island's Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, 105 Upper College Rd., Kingston, at 8 p.m. The performance is part of the University Artist Series. Admission is $8, with the box office opening at 7:15 p.m. Seating is on a first-come basis. For information, call (401) 874-2431. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:45 PM | Comment Lottery machine determines ballot order of candidatesPROVIDENCE -- Here's how the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates' names will appear on the March 4 Rhode Island primary ballot -- courtesy of a borrowed lottery machine that's more often used to determine a jackpot. "Uncommitted" will appear first on the Democratic ballot, followed by Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama. John McCain will be first on the Republican ballot, followed by Ron Paul, Hugh Cort, Mitt Romney, Uncommitted, Alan Keyes and Mike Huckabee. Today at 5 p.m. in the state room of the State House, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis used a borrowed lottery machine to determine the order. A Rhode Island Lottery representative removed "specially calibrated, numbered white plastic balls as they floated to the top of the lottery machine," Mollis' office said in a news release. Each candidate was represented by a ball. Mollis announced the candidates' names in the order the balls appeared. Mollis' office said about 20 people attended. In other action, the Secretary of State’s office also used the machine to figure out ballot position for the 184 Rhode Islanders competing to attend the Democratic or Republican National Conventions as a delegate. Some of the names on the ballot are Governor Carcieri, former Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, House Minority Leader Robert Watson, former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Myrth York. The Secretary of State's office added that tomorrow is the deadline for registering to vote in the state’s presidential primary. City and town officials have made arrangements to register applicants, despite the deadline falling on a Saturday. For information about the primary or registering to vote, go to www.sec.state.ri.us. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:48 PM | Comment Computers with worker info stolen from diocese schoolsDesktop computers holding information about current and former Catholic school employees were stolen from the Diocese of Providence's Catholic Schools Office, according to a release sent by the office today. Someone shattered a window in the school office and broke through two locked doors to steal the computers, according to a news release. The office has sent letters to current and former employees of Rhode Island Catholic schools about the thefts. The State Police have been notified and the Providence police are investigating. The news release said the office "follows appropriate recommended security measures, which include restricting access to all computers with passwords. The information was not stored on a laptop." The stolen computers have not been recovered. The Providence police fraud unit recommends that anyone who could be affected to contact one of the three major credit-reporting bureaus to tell them of the possible theft of their personal information, the release said. The Catholic Schools Office has also set up information on the diocese's Web site -- www.dioceseofprovidence.org -- that offers answers to questions, links to resources and contact information for credit bureaus and diocesan officials. Inquiries can also be made by calling (401) 278-4678, a number that will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and through the coming week. The schools office apologized for any inconvenience the incident may have caused current and former employees. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:37 PM | Comment Burrillville woman, 23, dies in Glocester collisionGLOCESTER -- A 23-year-old Burrillville woman was killed in a vehicle collision today on Route 44, west of Jackson School House Road. The police did not identify her pending notification of her family. The police said the woman was driving her car west on Route 44, appeared to lose control while negotiating a curve, skid sideways on the ice- and sleet-covered road, and crossed into the east lane. A truck heading east was unable to stop, the police said, and the vehicles collided. The accident happened at 11:36 a.m. Chepachet and West Glocester fire departments used extrication tools to get the woman, who was alone in the car, out. She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Office of the State Medical Examiners, according to a Glocester police news release. The truck, a 2000 International car carrier, was driven by Michael Sobczak, 33, of Lincoln, the police said. The investigation continues by Glocester police, the State Police Commercial Truck Unit and the Office of the State Medical Examiners. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:04 PM | Comment Intense fire in Seekonk home kills 6 pets / photo
Susan Saucier, a first-floor resident at 239 County St., told firefighters that she was in the kitchen at about 8:45 a.m. when she heard a popping sound in a bedroom and spotted the fire, which apparently ignited near a bed. Saucier and second-floor tenants Fred and Carolyn Haney escaped before firefighters arrived. Homeowner Russell L. Governo Sr. and his teenage daughter were not home at the time. The heavy fire smashed windows and quickly spread to a front enclosed porch, where it was fueled by combustibles including packing boxes and furniture, Seekonk Fire Chief Alan R. Jack said today. “There was just so much damage,” Jack said. “Doors were burnt of their hinges. It was pretty dramatic. There were bright orange flames.” Jack pegged the damage at more than $200,000. “They lost pretty much everything,” Jack said. Fire crews cut a hole in the roof to ventilate and attack the fire, Jack said. It took about 10 minutes to contain the blaze. The cause of the fire is being investigated. It was the latest in a series of fires in the region over the last 48 hours, two of which were fatal.
Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:50 PM | Comment Carcieri speaks about "historic" state budget proposal
“The budget that I am submitting today is historic,” Carcieri said. “It proposes a fiscal year 2009 general revenue spending of $3.272 billion which is a decrease of 3.8 percent, a decrease, let me repeat that, from the ‘08 budget that was enacted by the legislature. This is historic. Nobody can recall … a time when our state has had to do this." The governor added: "You heard me say we’re at a tipping point. History will be written about Rhode Island at the beginning of the third millennium as either a tale of struggle and decline or a story of hard work and success. I intend it to be the latter and we begin with this budget.” Carcieri also acknowledged that his budget submission “is just the beginning of a long conversation,” regarding next year’s spending. “The Legislature will conduct hearings and deliberations on what I have proposed,” he said. “There will be many voices in that conversation.” Carcieri's 2008-09 budget proposal calls for, among other things, cutting millions from the state’s public college system, diverting hundreds of elderly, disabled and neglected children away from residential programs on a voluntary basis, and freezing state education aid to cities and towns. -- With reports from staff writers Cynthia Needham and Steve Peoples of the Journal State House Bureau Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:50 PM | Comment Child hit by vehicle on Atwells AvenuePROVIDENCE -- A child has been taken to Hasbro Children's Hospital after being struck by a vehicle in the area of 847 Atwells Ave., according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department. The call came in about 3:23 p.m. The area of Atwells where the accident happened is near the intersection with Sears Avenue. No other information was available. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:45 PM | Comment Computer records a sticking point in smokeshop casePROVIDENCE -- State police and defense experts are at odds about whether potentially deleted e-mail messages related to the 2003 raid on a tribal smoke-shop can be retrieved from the force’s computer system. A computer expert working on behalf of the seven Narragansett Indians awaiting trial for criminal charges stemming from the raid say it’s “highly likely” they can, Judge Susan E. McGuirl said in Providence Superior Court. State police experts say it’s “not likely.” McGuirl will hear arguments next Wednesday on whether she should order an expert to try to recover deleted messages from the state police computer system, and, if so, who should pay for it. William P. Devereaux, who represents six of the tribal members, asked the court today to order prosecutors to do so at an estimated $20,000 to $50,000 cost. He is basing the request on retired state police Inspector Gary S. Treml’s testimony last week that he believed he stored some witness statements from 51 officers who participated in the raid in a file on his computer. Treml retired shortly after the 2003 raid and was replaced by Inspector Stephen Bannon. “The state has an obligation to give us that evidence,” Devereaux said. But prosecutors argue that Treml could not recall exactly how he collected the reports he used to complete his investigation into the raid. Retired Col. Steven M. Pare asked him to conduct the internal investigation, at Governor Carcieri’s request. He found the police used appropriate force. The purported evidence, said Special Assistant Attorney General Pamela Chin, “is clearly not in our possession -- if indeed it exists.” Even so, she said, “this isn’t a case where they’ll find a smoking gun in these records.” The defendants were captured committing their crimes on video, she said. Extra: See the State Police video of the raid, and more about its aftermath. -- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney The defense contends that the cases should be dismissed because of the state’s failure to produce documents. Prosecutors by law are required to turn over any evidence that could prove a defendant’s innocence. Prosecutors argue they have made every effort to disclose evidence and that in some cases they were not aware of documents until they were turned over by state police in response to a subpoena this month. State police turned over hundreds of pages of documents on Monday after being ordered by McGuirl to ensure that all evidence had been disclosed. The documents included two new witness statements from officers at the scene, and others already in the record. In addition, there were e-mails from Pare supporting troopers’ conduct during the raid, injury reports, and messages from Sgt. Donald Devine updating his superiors on court proceedings. Other e-mails detailed conversations leading up to the raid, including comments by Devine that the state police would seek a federal restraining order. Another 70 pages were either privileged, or McGuirl found they were not relevant to the case. The state police released 92 more pages today that are being examined by the court. State police executed a state search warrant on a smoke-shop the tribe opened on its land in Charlestown on July 14, 2003, to stop the Narragansetts from selling cigarettes without charging Rhode Island taxes. The raid turned violent, leaving at least eight people injured. Seven adult Narragansetts, including Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, were arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. McGuirl has set the trial start date for Feb. 25 in Providence County Superior Court, if it proceeds. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:26 PM | Comment Update: Appeals court upholds Hatch's tax convictionBOSTON -- A federal appeals court has upheld the tax evasion conviction of "Survivor" reality TV star Richard Hatch of Newport, who was convicted in 2006 for not paying taxes on more than $1 million he got as winner of the blockbuster show's first season. Hatch was sentenced on May 16, 2006, to 51 months in prison -- a sentence the appeals court decision upholds -- after a jury found him guilty of tax evasion and filing a false return for not reporting to the IRS the winnings and other income earned. His lawyer appeared before the appeals court in March 2007 to have the conviction overturned, asserting the trial judge prevented him from asking about alleged cheating on the show that Hatch said prompted him to confront the producers -- discussions that led Hatch to think CBS would pay his taxes if he won the jackpot. The lawyer argued the jury wouldn’t believe there was a deal to pay Hatch's taxes without hearing about the alleged cheating that led to it. But in its ruling made public today, the three-judge First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected Hatch's appeal, in which he made several arguments in claiming the show's producers were to have paid his taxes. The ruling said that the U.S. District Court in Providence was "well within its discretion to insist" Hatch "first supply specific evidence" of what "Survivor" show creater Mark Burnett "or others actually said that might have led Hatch to believe" the show's production company would pay the taxes. And the ruling says District Court several times gave the defense lawyer "full opportunity" to elicit from Hatch whether or not he was saying executives of "Survivor" had agreed to pay Hatch's taxes "and, if so, what it was he was told at the time." But Hatch failed to present evidence that such conversations happened, which, the appeal courts says, "strongly suggested that no actual promises were made, and no such 'deal' actually existed." -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:11 PM | Comment Update: Smoke inhalation caused East Side man's deathPROVIDENCE -- An East Side man died from smoke inhalation at a fire at his home this morning, according to a Health Department spokeswoman. The spokeswoman said the state Office of Medical Examiners had found the cause of death for Gerald Shapiro, 54, who had been identified by family members. Shapiro -- Jerry to those who knew him -- was legally blind and was involved with a state association for the blind. "The synagogue was his life," said a cousin, Roberta Rodman of Canton, Mass., at the scene on Lauriston Street. She added: "He was a wonderful, wonderful person who was loved by everyone. He was very religious." It was the second fatal fire in Rhode Island in the past two days. The cause of the fire is under investigation. According to Fire Chief George Farrell, firefighters found the victim in the front doorway. He was the only person in the house. Shapiro's mother, Charlotte, who had also lived at the address, died about a month ago. The fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. today at 75 Lauriston St. -- projo.com staff writers Brandie M. Jefferson and Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:09 PM | Comment Tax evader sentenced to 46 monthsTax season is upon us and, as if to make it perfectly clear that it’s not OK to evade taxes, a federal judge today sentenced a Rhode Island man to almost 4 years in federal prison for failing to pay his income taxes. Neil Stierhoff, 52, was also ordered to bay the back taxes -- more than $450,000, according to an IRS agent who testified in U.S. District Court. Prosecutors said Stierhoff sold electronic testing equipment by mail, in person and through eBay, concealing his income by using several aliases and mail drops in New York, and always working in cash and mail orders. A state police detective testified that he found more than $100,000 cash in Stierhoff’s room and evidence presented at the trial showed he withdrew nearly a quarter of a million dollars from ATM machines between 1999 and 2002, the years he did not pay taxes. Stierhoff was found guilty in June and has been in federal custody since. In addition to paying his back taxes, Stierhoff was ordered to pay interest, fined $40,000 and sentenced to 46 months in prison. Find out how to pay your taxes at the IRS Web site. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:39 PM | Comment Alert: Appeals court upholds Hatch's tax convictionA federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch of Newport for filing false tax returns, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente's office announced this afternoon. Extra: Read the ruling here. More to come ... Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:37 PM | Comment Budget plan: Carcieri relies on cuts, fees to close deficitPROVIDENCE – Governor Carcieri released a $6.88 billion spending plan today that seeks to close the largest budget deficit in nearly two decades by cutting millions from the state’s public college system, diverting hundreds of elderly, disabled and neglected children away from residential programs on a voluntary basis, and freezing state education aid to cities and towns. The governor’s 2008-09 budget also dramatically reduces eligibility for the state’s welfare and subsidized health care programs, replaces hundreds of state employees with private contractors, and allows more than 200 prisoners to leave the Adult Correctional Institutions early. Facing a deficit estimated by the administration at $384 million, the governor’s budget officer Rosemary Booth Gallogly said every effort was made “to share the pain.” Virtually every state department was targeted. And Carcieri stood fast by his pledge not to raise taxes. The spending plan relies heavily on spending cuts to balance the budget, which is required in the state constitution. Carcieri rolled out a handful of proposals to raise fees like creating tickets for drivers who talk on hand-held cell phones, but avoided oft-discussed moves such as selling the Ocean State’s bridges, privatize its lottery system, or expand gambling at the state’s slot parlors. The release of the Republican governor’s budget marks the beginning of a process that will unfold over the next five months as the Democrat-dominated General Assembly debates the spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Ultimately, the legislators have the constitutional power to decide whether to accept Carcieri’s proposals or not. Separately, the Assembly will debate a mid-year budget revision aimed at closing a $151-million deficit by the end of June. That proposal would require all state employees to take off six unpaid days in the next five months and includes a mid-year $12.7 million cut in non-school municipal aid for cities and towns. The 2008-09 budget released by the governor today, however, doesn’t include specifics like furlough days, but assumes $60.6 million in “personnel savings that are currently being discussed with union leadership.” Carcieri’s staff would not be more specific. EXTRA: Read the 180-page executive summary of the governor's proposed spending plan for 2008-9. (Note: PDF file, may take time to load in.) Click below to read reaction to the proposal. -- By Steve Peoples, Cynthia Needham and Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau A glum Dan Beardsley, director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, described a budget briefing held yesterday as “sadder than a wake at Nardolillo’s funeral home.’’ Staring at aid cuts for the second year in a row, he said: “The governor is again proposing the same, and in my opinion, outrageous fiscal policy of transferring the state’s fiscal problems to the cities and towns.’’ A handful of lawmakers who had been briefed on the budget said they had serious concerns about whether the governor’s plans were realistic, as many require cooperation from federal authorities, the court system, labor unions, and even the elderly and disabled people who would be affected. “[The governor] puts out numbers that aren’t facts,” said Rep. Thomas Slater, D-Providence, a member of the powerful House Finance Committee. “I don’t think they’re real.” More to come ... Posted by Andrea Panciera at 2:03 PM | Comment Photo: The Super Bowl trophy draws a crowd
Posted by Jack Perry at 1:06 PM | Comment R.I. Hospital picks ex-firefighter as emergency chiefPROVIDENCE -- John O’Reilly, a Lincoln resident who retired from the Providence Fire Department, has been appointed Rhode Island Hospital's emergency preparedness director. O’Reilly's duties will include coordinating medical response to all types of terrorism and mass casualty by "allocating resources within the hospital community," the hospital news release said. O’Reilly retired from nearly 29 years in the fire department, where he was last a battalion chief. For the past three years, he was safety and compliance manager for Orion Retail Exhibit Display. O'Reilly succeeds Peter Ginaitt, now director of emergency preparedness for Lifespan, the company that owns Rhode Island hospital. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney “We are incredibly fortunate to have John in this vital role at the state’s largest acute care facility and only Level I trauma center," Ginaitt said in the statement. "His experience and training will provide the vital experience that this role demands and will help to ensure that we are able to be prepared for any and all emergencies that Rhode Island Hospital may face.” O’Reilly graduated magna cum laude from Providence College with a bachelor’s degree in fire science, the hospital said. He has gotten numerous certificates and participated in training courses directly related to his new role, the hospital said, including incident management techniques, incident commander simulation, mass casualty decontamination, weapons of mass destruction detection technologies, and U.S. Justice Department domestic preparedness. He is a National Board-certified safety officer who served as a Providence Fire Academy adjunct faculty member and was an organizing committee member and program originator for the Providence Firefighter Safety and Survival Conference from 1995 to 2001. With the Providence Fire Department, O’Reilly received a meritorious action first class, two commendable actions, two outstanding service awards, seven department unit citations and other recognition. Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:59 PM | Comment Woman charged with fatally stabbing man in PawtucketA 22-year-old man is dead today after a stabbing this morning in Pawtucket. Pawtucket police have not named the victim, but say he and the suspect, Misty Ospina, 21, had been in a relationship in the past, and have a child together. Ospina was dropping the child off with the victim at 19 Thornton St., according to the police, when they got into an argument and then, the police say, Ospina stabbed the victim. He was pronounced dead at 10 this morning at Memorial Hospital. Ospina is scheduled for arraignment on first-degree murder charges in District Court, Providence, this afternoon. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:16 PM | Comment Former solicitor: Oster's campaign ally had officeLincoln’s former town solicitor thought it was odd that a man who didn’t work for the town should set up an office at Town Hall. During his testimony today in the bribery and conspiracy trial against former Lincoln Town Administrator Jonathan F. Oster, former Solicitor Mark Krieger said not only did Robert Picerno not have any duties, “I don’t know if Bob Picerno is capable of operating a computer. He was just generally schmoozing around.” And Krieger said when he asked why Picerno was hanging around in Town Hall, Oster told him: “He helped me on the campaign. He’s helping me on the transition.” In 2004, Picerno pleaded no contest to four counts of taking or trying to solicit bribes and three counts of conspiracy to solicit bribes. The prosecution is trying to prove that Picerno and Oster worked together to solicit bribes from two different buyers in exchange for selling them the H&H Screw property at a “rock bottom” price in 2001. Today is the fourth day of testimony in Oster’s trial in Superior Court Providence. Read about yesterday's testimony here and here. Read about Wednesday's testimony here. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer John Hill Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:13 PM | Comment Update: Victim of East Side fire ID'd
He was legally blind and was involved with a state association for the blind. "The synagogue was his life," said a cousin, Roberta Rodman of Canton, Mass., at the scene on Lauriston Street. She added: "He was a wonderful, wonderful person who was loved by everyone. He was very religious." It was the second fatal fire in Rhode Island in the past two days. The cause of the fire is under investigation. According to Fire Chief George Farrell, firefighters found the victim in the front doorway. He was the only person in the house. Shapiro's mother, Charlotte, who had also lived at the address, died about a month ago. The fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. today at 75 Lauriston St.
Chief Farrell said that a neighbor saw smoke and knocked on the door of the Rochambeau Street fire station to report it. At the same time, Farrell said, someone called 911. In all, about 35 firefighters from several different fire companies responded to the 2 1/2 story building. Six fire trucks were still on the scene at about 7:20 a.m. as friends of the victim began arriving. By 7:30 a.m., firefighters' flashlights shone from inside the house and all of the side and front second-story windows were knocked out. In less than 24 hours yesterday, one person died, two were hospitalized and two firefighters suffered injuries in fires at four houses across the state. In East Providence early yesterday, James Marinelli, 42, died in a fire at 39 Peck Ave. His mother, Theresa, 70, was rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital. Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:54 AM | Comment Globetrotters, Journal partner to promote reading/ Photo
Harlem Globetrotters star “Buckets” Blake visited Warwick's St. Rose of Lima School this morning to congratulate students for their accomplishments in reading. Blake stopped into Jeanne Kelly’s eighth-grade class as a result of the students’ second-place win in the recent Providence Journal’s Newspaper In Education/Globetrotters reading contest. Ms. Kelly’s 11 students read 38,537 pages in the contest. At 11 a.m., Blake heads out to Pawtucket’s Curvin McCabe Elementary School to congratulate the first-place winners of teacher Martha Gomes’ sixth-grade class. Her 25 students logged in 56,493 pages. The Globetrotters are playing two shows in Rhode Island on Saturday, March 22. They play the Dunkin’ Donuts Center at 1 p.m., and they play at The Ryan Center at 7 p.m.
Posted by Jack Perry at 10:02 AM | Comment Family decides not to reopen milk processing plantSUTTON, Mass. — The owners of a milk processing plant linked to a listeria outbreak that resulted in the deaths of three people have decided not to reopen the facility. Wayne Whittier, owner of the Whittier Farms plant in Shrewsbury, Mass., tells the Worcester Telegram and Gazette that he was forced to close the plant because of the high cost of decontaminating it, as well as a drop in business at a retail store there. Public health officials identified various strains of listeria in milk samples and on equipment at the plant. The family will sell the milk from the cows on its Sutton farm to other processors. Three men died of listeriosis contracted after drinking contaminated milk and a pregnant woman became ill and miscarried. -- The Associated Press Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:43 AM | Comment Update: 1 dead in fire on Providence's East Side/ Photo
It was the second fatal fire in Rhode Island in the past two days. The fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. at 75 Lauriston St. According to Farrell, a neighbor saw smoke and knocked on the door of the Rochambeau Street fire station to report it. At the same time, Farrell said, someone called 9-1-1. In all, about 35 firefighters from several different fire companies responded to the 2 1/2 story building. Six fire trucks were still on the scene at about 7:20 a.m. as friends of the victim began arriving on the scene. According Farrell, firefighters found the victim in the front doorway. He was the only person in the house. His name has not been released by authorities. By 7:30 a.m., firefighters' flashlights shone from inside the house and all of the side and front second-story windows were knocked out. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. In less than 24 hours yesterday, one person died, two were hospitalized and two firefighters suffered injuries in fires at four houses across the state. In East Providence early yesterday, James Marinelli, 42, died in a fire at 39 Peck Ave. His mother, Theresa, 70, was rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:31 AM | Comment PC janitors to strike for parents weekendThe Providence College janitors are on strike today after a fruitless evening of contract negotiations with their employer, Hurley of America, Inc. “None of the issues were resolved,” union spokeswoman Sasha Warner-Berry said this morning. The janitors will be joined by PC students, faculty members and others at a news conference today. The weekend strike comes at the beginning of parents weekend and will last through Sunday. At issue are wages, days off and pensions in a newly proposed five-year contract. The press conference is schedule for noon at the Providence College Campus Gates on Huxley Avenue. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:14 AM | Comment Fidelity to lay off 250 workersBOSTON -- Fidelity Investments plans to lay off about 250 people as part of a restructuring and merger of some of the mutual fund giant's units. A spokeswoman for Boston-based Fidelity says about 100 of the jobs being lost are in Massachusetts with the rest spread out across the country. The layoffs are in the company's technologies division and two merging units that handle 401(k) plans, savings accounts and health care arrangements for corporate clients. Spokeswoman Ann Crowey says the layoffs are not part of a companywide policy. Fidelity still has about 46,500 employees, including 12,700 in Massachusetts. The company has about $1.6 trillion in assets under management. Fidelity has Rhode Island offices in Smithfield and Providence. -- The Associated Press Posted by Jack Perry at 9:08 AM | Comment Sleet and freezing rain likelyLook for a chance of freezing rain and sleet before 9 a.m. and then rain possibly mixed with sleet after that, according to the National Weather Service. The rain could be heavy at times and the wind could gust to 29 mph. The high should rech 40 degrees. For more weather and regular updats, see projo.com/weather. Posted by Jack Perry at 9:01 AM | Comment Forbes: Providence is 10th most miserable cityYou should be miserable in Providence today. And yesterday and tomorrow. Just should be. After all, Forbes.com declared Providence the nation's 10th most miserable city. (No, Hartford is not in the top 10). At WaterFires, you are miserable. At rock shows at AS220 and Lupo's, miserable. At plays at Trinity Rep., you're miserable. Laughing at Spamalot at PPAC, you are in fact miserable. At the Farmer's Market, round up a bag full of ripened miseries. Well, no. But your tax bill, well, that may bring misery. And the city has plenty of things that aren't so cheery. According to Forbes.com, it looked at the 150 largest American metropolitans areas' unemployment, personal tax rates, commute times, weather, crime, and "that toxic waste dump in your backyard." Cities were rated in the six areas, then the ranks were added together "to establish what we call the Misery Measure," Forbes.com says in its report, posted on Wednesday. Here are the magazine's Providence rankings: Commute times: 69 The Forbes list rated Detroit most miserable, followed by Stockton, Calif., and Flint, Mich. New York City was fourth, Philly fifth, Chicago sixth, and Los Angeles seventh. Modesto, Calif., got eighth and Charlotte, N.C., came in ninth most miserable. Which brings us to Providence. Rhode Island blog anchorrising.com linked to the Forbes item on Thursday, and others in the Rhody blogosphere later riffed on the list. Here's some reaction: NotforNothing was not so impressed, calling the list "utterly stupid." At providencedailydose.com, the item asked whether Forbes editors had seen The Wire, the HBO series that explores Baltimore's plight from several angles. Baltimore wasn't top-10 miserable, according to the Forbes list. In past months, Providence's placement on lists has usually meant a news release on the way from the mayor's office touting it. The fax was miserably quiet on that front Thursday. Let's all take a deep breath and try to get through another day's misery. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 8:00 AM | Comment 1 dead in fire on Providence's East Side/ Photo
It was the second fatal fire in Rhode Island in the past two days. The fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. at 75 Lauriston St. According to Farrell, a neighbor saw smoke and knocked on the door of the Rochambeau Street fire station to report it. At the same time, Farrell said, someone called 9-1-1. In all, about 35 firefighters from several different fire companies responded to the 2 1/2 story building. According Farrell, firefighters found the victim in the front doorway. He was the only person in the house. By 7:30 a.m., firefighters' flashlights shone from inside the house and all of the side and front second story windows were knocked out. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. In less than 24 hours yesterday, one person died, two were hospitalized and two firefighters suffered injuries in fires at four houses across the state. In East Providence early yesterday, James Marinelli, 42, died in a fire at 39 Peck Ave. His mother, Theresa, 70, was rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:33 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features a story about the decline in the deer population on Prudence Island. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006