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March 6, 2008

Weather update: Flood watch already set for tomorrow

With heavy rains in the forecast for tomorrow night and Saturday, the National Weather Service has already issued a flood watch for the area.

Widespread rainfall of 1 to 2 inches -- and in places up to 3 inches -- is predicted between late tomorrow and into Saturday evening.

It's expected to combine with melting snow moving downstream from southern New Hampshre through north-central Massachusetts to the eastern Berkshires.

This could mean minor flooding of rivers, streams and crooks. Urban and poor-drainage areas could also experience overflow.

The wet weather has led to the postponement of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Providence, which had been set for this Saturday. It's now on for March 29.

But never fear, the change to Daylight Saving Time is still here -- rain or no, push those clocks ahead one hour after midnight Saturday. Remember, the time change was moved up last year to the second Sunday in March. But that's thanks to the government, not the weather.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:59 PM | Comment

Tonight: Open mike at AS220; 'Voicestra' in New Bedford

Tonight, people will exercise some free speech.

At AS220 in Providence, it's Free Speech Thursday with a program beginning at 8 p.m. of open-mike material, poetry slams, hip-hop, and more. AS220's Web site says the night is open to writers, poets, musicians, comedians, and more.

AS220 is at 115 Empire St.

Or you can head to New Bedford, Mass., where Bobby McFerrin and the Voicestra play jazz at Zeiterion Theatre, 684 Purchase St. (508) 994-2900, www.zeiterion.org. 7:30 pm. $38-$48.

Check out more of The Journal's listings for things to do.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:55 PM | Comment

Teens charged in connection with Pawtucket robberies

PAWTUCKET -- Five teenagers were arrested this afternoon in connection with the February robberies of a general store and a liquor store in the city.

The police say some of the teens carried out the robberies while others were allegedly conspirators and look-outs. The police said they are also charging a sixth person, a 16-year-old, with one count each of first-degree robbery and first-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, but that he "has not been apprehended as of yet."

The first robbery, which took place at gunpoint and which was carried out by one person, occurred at the Lil General Store, 600 Main St., on Feb. 6 at about 7:30 p.m. The other, carried out by two people, also at gunpoint, occurred at the Star Wine liquor store, 318 West Ave., at about 8 p.m., the police said.

The police said all of the arrests were without incident. All those arrested are juveniles and, therefore, were not named by the police.

A 15-year-old is charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery.

A 14-year-old is charged with one count of first-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.

A 17-year-old is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery.

A 16-year-old is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.

A 15-year-old is charged with one count of conspiracy.

The police said they used a search warrant earlier today at one youth's residence in an effort to find a gun used to commit the crimes, but did not find it.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:25 PM | Comment

Rainy forecast postpones Providence's St. Pat's parade

PROVIDENCE -- A prediction for heavy rainfall this Saturday has led the city to reschedule its St. Patrick's Day parade to March 29 at noon -- 12 days after the actual observance of the saint's day.

"We are obviously disappointed that the parade has been postponed, but believe the best decision was to reschedule based on the weather forecast," Patrick Griffin, the parade committee president, said in a news release today announcing the day change. A flood watch is on statewide from tomorrow night to Saturday night.

"It was important to the committee that the rescheduled date did not interfere" with Newport's parade on Saturday, March 15, or the Roman Catholic observance of Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday, March 23.

This year marks the first instance since 1940 that St. Patrick's Day -- March 17 -- arrived during Holy Week. Some cities have planned their parades earlier than usual to avoid falling within that time. Other cities in the country are not planning any such change.

In Rhode Island, a West Warwick parade is slated for March 16, which is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, while other local parades are taking place earlier. Pawtucket held its St. Patrick’s parade on March 1. If Providence’s parade had happened this Saturday, it would have been March 8.

Providence's parade, in its 15th year, is on Smith Hill and will step off at intersection of Elmhurst Avenue and Smith Street.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:24 PM | Comment

Pedestrian struck on East Main Road in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH -- A pedestrian was struck by a car about 4 p.m. today on East Main Road at Patriots Drive, near Portsmouth High School.

That section of the busy thoroughfare on Aquidneck Island is expected to be shut down for at least an hour as the police investigate. No further details on the accident are available at this time.

-- Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:20 PM | Comment

Giro's, a spaghetti house with history, closing / Photo

Journal photo / John Freidah
Dan Driscoll, the latest owner of Giro's Restaurant, says the costs of running the business can no longer cover the expenses in an eatery once known for its low prices.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- After a 75-year run, Giro's restaurant in the village of Peace Dale will close its doors Saturday.

Owner Dan Driscoll said increasing competition, rising costs and an expanding regulatory burden have combined to make business untenable for him.

"I just don't have the capital to compete with the chains," Driscoll said. "All the items I need to run a restaurant have gone through the roof."

Founded in 1933 by Giro Ferraro as Giro's Spaghetti House, the establishment parlayed the end of Prohibition and heaping plates of Italian food into a winning recipe for the Ferraro family. The restaurant, with its horseshoe bar, became a regular stop for local millworkers and students from nearby University of Rhode Island.

Giro's children took over the restaurant after World World II and ran it until 1983 when they sold it to James P. McNamara and Jeffrey O'Hara, a URI grad and a South Kingstown native, respectively. Things in the gray-shingled, brown-brick building stayed much the same for 20 years, when McNamara sold the business to Driscoll, a South Kingstown native.

Driscoll added some new touches, opened up the building's front with new windows and brought in a cook who once worked at Capriccio's. But he couldn't overcome operating costs far above what they were when Giro Ferraro charged 60 cents for a plateful of spaghetti.

'It's tough to run a small business in Rhode Island," Driscoll said. "I gave it a shot."

Read more about Giro's closing later today on projo.com/business and in tomorrow's Journal business section.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:50 PM | Comment

Plans for boaters' visitor center in Newport on horizon

NEWPORT -- Federal and state officials are announcing plans to develop a $1.46 million center for visiting boaters in this historic port city.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy and other local and state officials will release plans for the center on Monday.

The transient boating facility will be located at the Newport Harbor Center and will include bathrooms and showers, washing and dryers and office and meeting space.

The center will be partially paid for by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The 1884 building was once owned by the state and used as an armory. Now it's owned by the Newport Redevelopment Agency.

Read Journal coverage of the project.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:50 PM | Comment

Photo: Fire-damaged bakery in Johnston reopens

Journal photo / Bob Thayer
SpongeBob SquarePants greets customers arriving at D. Palmieri's Bakery in Johnston today during its grand reopening. The bakery burned nearly to the ground in a devastating fire in July 2007. Pastries that look the the cartoon character are among the treats the bakery offers.

Posted by Pam Cotter at 2:33 PM | Comment

Witnesses again contradict video in smoke-shop trial

PROVIDENCE -- Detective Staci Shepherd continued testimony today about the arrest of tribal member Adam Jennings during the 2003 state police raid on a Narragansett Indian smoke shop.

Jennings, 40, was placed under arrest after acting erratically and bursting toward the shop door in an uncontrolled manner, she said in response to questioning from special assistant attorney general Pamela Chin.

Defense lawyer William P. Devereaux, however, used video footage to show that she stood directly next to four officers as they took Jennings to the shop floor in making the arrest, not behind the counter as she testified earlier.

Devereaux will continue to cross-examine Shepherd this afternoon.

Jennings and six other Narragansetts are on trial in Providence County Superior Court for misdemeanor charges related to the state police execution of a search warrant in July 2003.

Extra: See the Journal's extended coverage of the 2003 raid, including photos and video

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:47 PM | Comment

Man, 26, is charged with Fall River murder

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- A Fall River man has been charged with the murder of 47-year-old Frederick Thompkins, whose body was found on Feb. 15.

Rene Gosselin, 26, of 29 Blaine St., was arrested around 4 p.m. yesterday, Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter announced. He pleaded not guilty today and is being held without bail at the Dartmouth House of Corrections.

Thompkins’ body was found in his third-floor apartment at 215 Whipple St., Fall River.

The two men were “known to each other,” but Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the Bristol County district attorney’s office, would not comment on a motive. Gosselin allegedly bludgeoned Thompkins to death.

In a news release, Sutter lauded the work of the Fall River police, the state police detectives unit assigned to the district attorney's office and assistant district attorney Pat Bomberg, who helped coordinate the probe.

“As I have said every time we have brought charges in a homicide, it is through the tremendous cooperation and skill of the local police department, our state police unit and my prosecutors, that we are able to achieve our goals," Sutter said in the statement.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:52 AM | Comment

Montalbano to unveil alternative energy bills

Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano will unveil renewable energy legislation today at a news conference at 3 p.m., his spokesman announced yesterday.

Senate leaders plan to gather in the State House in room 313 to discuss the bills.

Part of the legislation would "consolidate and coordinate state policies, priorities and investments designed to promote renewable energy," according to a statement released by Montalbano's spokesman, Greg Pare.

-- Journal business writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Related bills would encourage private investment in the state’s renewable energy sector; address municipal renewable energy projects; define a method of selling small amounts of renewable energy; and promote small scale projects.

Montalbano, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere and Sen. William A. Walaska plan to attend the announcement. They will be joined by Matt Auten, an advocate for Environment Rhode Island; Daniel C. Beardsley Jr., executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns; and Michael F. Ryan, National Grid’s president of Rhode Island distribution.

Montalbano first announced the bills last month at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon, The Providence Journal reported.

Governor Carcieri has been promoting the development of wind farms off the Rhode Island coast. And there has also been talk of using waves to generate energy.

Today, however, The Providence Journal reported that the agency that regulates Rhode Island’s coastline, the Coastal Resources Management Council, has proposed a one-year moratorium on wind farms and wave generators so it can develop a special management plan that will determine where such projects will be allowed.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:42 AM | Comment

CVS Caremark applies to open MinuteClinics in Mass.

Woonsocket-based CVS Caremark Corp. has applied for licenses to open the first 10 MinuteClinics at retail sites in Massachusetts. The state recently adopted regulations to allow the medical clinics in retail locations.

MinuteClinic, which runs 500 clinics nationwide, said it plans to open 30 sites in Massachusetts by the end of the year. The first ten would be located in Ashland, Beverly, Bridgewater, Danvers, Medford, Medway, Stoughton, Taunton, Tewksbury and Westford.

The for-profit clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants trained to give customers quick and inexpensive care for common illnesses.

CVS wants to open the medical clinics in its stores in Rhode Island, but during previous hearings before state regulators, the proposal has encountered stiff opposition from primary care doctors, who say visits with doctors provide more complete health care and that the clinics would strip away routine patient visits and leave them with only more chronic cases.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

-- Journal Business Editor John Kostrzewa

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:08 AM | Comment

Traffic Alert: Rollover in Barrington

Police and rescue crews are on the scene of a single car accident on Route 114 in Barrington.

The driver said she was headed southbound on the road when she thought she was a car swerving into her lane, according to Barrington Police Lt. Lee Soito.

The driver then said she swerved, jerked the wheel and crossed the median, rolling 3/4 or the was over

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:49 AM | Comment

Brazilian Film Festival at Brown

The first edition of Brown University’s Brazilian Film Festival, CineBRASIL, is in full swing.

The event, in collaboration with the Brazilian Cinemateca Brasileira, is bringing films from and about Brazilian culture and traditions to Rhode Island.

In addition to films, students and faculty, local officials, special guests and the public will get a chance to get together for Q&A sessions and panel discussions.

Tonight, Entreatos, a documentary about Brazil's president; and Santiago, a documentary about the director's childhood butler, will be screened at Lower Salomon Hall, room 001. The director, João Moreira Salles, will be on hand for a Q&A session as well.

Tickets are free for University students and faculty; $5 for the public. See the full schedule online.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:32 AM | Comment

Cicilline to launch 'green' housing design contest

Is there a way to encourage contractors and builders to create houses that leave less impact on the environment?

Competition is always good.

Today, Mayor David N. Cicilline plans to launch the city’s first Sustainable Housing Design Competition. One of the competition’s goals is to show that “green building” can be affordable.

Another aim is to help developers understand how to integrate energy efficient designs into the construction of affordable houses.

The competition will be launched at 1:30 p.m. at 17 Gordon Ave., in Providence.

After the launch, there will be a tour of the Gordon Street building, the first commercial facility in the state with a green roof, solar power, a rainwater recovery system and other energy efficient technologies.

The competition winner will be announced at the city’s 3rd annual Celebration of Housing breakfast in May.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:52 AM | Comment

URI to celebrate International Women's Day

Today’s the day to celebrate about half of the world’s population.

The University of Rhode Island is celebrating International Women’s Day today at its Kingston campus.

And around the world, women will celebrate IWD through the weekend.

Today’s program is presented by a coalition of women’s studies and activist groups and includes talks on sex trafficking, politics, gender and questions that at least the two keynote speakers ponder.

Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards will deliver a a lecture at 5:30 p.m. titled “Can I be a Feminist and .. Shave My Legs, Love My Boyfriend, Make Money, Get married, Be Pro-Life?”

There will also be dancing, music, films an international fashion show and an exhibit about cultural perceptions of beauty.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, and most events will be at the Memorial Union, 50 Lower College Rd.

A detailed schedule of all the events are available on the University’s Women’s Studies Department Web site.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:16 AM | Comment

Sunny skies with a high near 52

We're getting clear, sunny skies today, but with chillier temperatures. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high temperature near 52 degrees and a mild, north wind.

Yesterday the temperature reached 61 degrees in the Providence area.

Tonight the temperature drops to about 30 degrees with mild south winds calming as the night goes on.

The sun slips away tomorrow when clouds and winds increase and the temperature hits about 51 degrees.

To keep track of the weather throughout the day, see projo.com's weather page.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story reporting that the federal Highway Administration is seeking $3.2 million from the state for failing to adequately test concrete on the Route 195 relocation project.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment