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March 12, 2008

Tonight: Celtic Woman's final Providence performance

Celtic Woman, an Irish singing group, performs its final Providence show tonight at 7:30 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St.

Tickets are $43 to $65. For information, call (401) 421-2787 or go to www.ppacri.org

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:55 PM | Comment

Update: Tony Marcella, former aide to Kennedys, dies

Tony Marcella, a longtime Democratic Party figure who served a father and son from the Kennedy dynasty, had a hand in congressional redistricting and managed a newcomer's secretary of state campaign, died last night. He was 43.

"Tony was always at the center of Rhode Island politics," U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, said in a statement today, "working behind the scenes on my campaigns and for Democrats around Rhode Island, always staying steps ahead of the issue of the day.

"Politics was truly in his blood and he loved every detail.”

Kennedy added that "it is with a heavy heart that I bid goodbye to my dear friend" and offered his sympathies to Marcella's parents, Angela and Anthony Sr., and his sister, Kim, and brother-in-law, Chris, "who have stayed by his side throughout his lengthy illness. Tony will be sorely missed by me, my family and all his many friends he spent time with over the years.”

Marcella died from complications from ALS, according to Robin Costello, press secretary for Kennedy.

Calling hours are Friday 4 to 8 p.m. at Frederick Cafasso & Sons, 65 Clark St., Everett, Mass. A funeral service will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 487-489 Broadway, Everett, Mass.

Marcella served as a staffer for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and later became Patrick Kennedy's chief. After leaving Kennedy's staff, Marcella and another former Kennedy staffer, Rick McAuliffe, started Mayforth Group.

In 2006, Marcella managed Guillaume de Ramel's failed bid for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state, losing to A. Ralph Mollis.

In the 2000s, Marcella served for a time as executive assistant to Rhode Island House Majority Leader Gordon Fox.

In a statement today, Fox said Marcella's political instincts were "second to none."

"But what I will always remember the most about Tony was his ability to laugh and have fun. There is a very social aspect to politics and Tony thoroughly enjoyed planning and attending events and functions, or just going out to dinner with a group of his Rhode Island political friends. He was truly one of a kind."

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:48 PM | Comment

Wickford Gourmet shutters its doors

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- There’s a typewritten “Closed” sign on the door of Wickford Gourmet. Inside, a chalkboard still offers a 30-percent discount on the entire stock -- between Feb. 21 and 24.

But the cupboards that once held gourmet spices and crackers are bare, and the owners of the yellow building at 21 West Main St., long known for its specialty cheeses and gift baskets, say the store they sold in 2005 to Ugur Yilmaz has been closed for two weeks.

“He just didn’t make a go of it, I guess,” said Donna Dube, who with her husband, Joe, still owns the building that housed the store. “It’s kind of sad. I think he was a little overwhelmed.”

Telephone calls to Wickford Gourmet do not connect, and a recording says the number has been suspended. Telephone numbers for the business on file at North Kingstown Town Hall also do not connect.

A Web site still lists Wickford Gourmet as being home of the Wickford Brownie, a place where cooking classes are held and gift baskets sold. But less than a year after that brownie was featured on TV’s Rachael Ray Show, the store has gone dark.

Karla Driscoll, director of the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce, said she has fielded inquiries asking if the shop was going to reopen, “but we really have no information.” The store was no longer a chamber member, she said, having suspended its membership “a few months ago.”

-- Journal staff writer Arline Fleming

“It’s very surprising,” said Karen Lucas, owner of the Hour Glass, next door at 15 West Main St. “I’m hoping they’ll reopen it,” because with the loss of Wickford Gourmet, and with the shop G. Willakers relocated to Ten Rod Road, there’s less foot traffic at her end of town.

“But there are a lot of positive things going on in the village,” she said. “We have 22 merchants who pooled a lot of money to market it,” and there are upcoming tourist guides and advertising.”
Recalling the Wickford Gourmet that the Dubes operated, Lucas added, “[they] ran such a nice store.”

The Dubes, founders of Wickford Gourmet and Wickford Gourmet Kitchen and Table, sold the two stores to Yilmaz in 2005. Last fall, Yilmaz sold off the kitchen-and-table end of the business to Christopher and Ann Cobb.

Wickford Gourmet was launched in 1982 as a specialty foods, kitchenwares and cheese store that eventually added takeout foods, along with a café offering soups, salads and sandwiches. The store also offered croissants, pastries, pates, breads, and cured meats.

In July 1984, a fire that started in a food freezer destroyed much of the shop’s interior, but the Dubes re-opened by October of that year.

In 1994, Rhode Island Monthly listed Wickford Gourmet as the best place to buy cheese, and a picnic to go, saying it had “everything you could ask for, fabulous food with a big dose of class.”

Last spring, Wickford Gourmet made the news when its Wickford Brownie was introduced on the syndicated Rachael Ray Show as the Snack of the Day, and samples were given out to audience members. But yesterday, the store was shut tight, though chalkboards overlooking an outdoor patio still listed an albacore melt sandwich and curried chicken salad, along with chocolate truffle bomb, apple macaroons, and that Wickford Brownie.

Donna Dube said she hopes to have a new food business in the building, which sits low and close to the sidewalk, by spring.

Behind the meat counter at nearby Ryan’s Market today, Dolores Hannan said Wickford Gourmet had been closed for almost a month.

“I was disappointed that the gourmet shop was closed, because I loved that place,” Hannan said. “They had some fine stuff in there. Different. [Things] you couldn’t get anywhere else. Cheeses, and their mousse. “But a lot of businesses are going down.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:45 PM | Comment

Kluth trial: 84-year-old describes how she lost $100

John Kluth talks with his lawyer at the start of his trial on 32 counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.
Journal photo Andrew Dickerman


PROVIDENCE -- An 84-year-old woman, who shuffled into the courtroom using a metal cane, told a jury today that two years ago a man knocked on her car window, told her his lobster truck "conked out" and asked for $1,000 so he could save the load of lobsters from perishing.

Eileen Dropkin of Warwick, one of three witnesses testifying in Providence County Superior Court today, said at first she thought he was a fellow from her neighborhood.

But Dropkin later picked him out of a photo array for police, who say it was John P. Kluth Jr., now on trial after 32 people in Rhode Island accused him of scamming them by asking for money for what police say was a fictional broken-down lobster truck.

Dropkin testified that she was parking her car at a Warwick Stop & Shop that day in 2006 when the man tapped the driver's side window. Dropking was looking at her bank statement at the time.

"I thought it was someone I knew," Dropkin said, mistaking him for a Billy Archer from her neighborhood. "I said, 'Well, hello, Billy.' "

The man she has identified as Kluth asked her if she could give him $1,000 to get the truck repaired. Dropkin said she told him she did not have that much money, but could give him $100 and went back into the supermarket to get that amount from an ATM.

The man promised to pay back the money that night at her house.

Dropkin never saw him again.

For each of the 32 complaints, he faces 20 felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses from a person over the age of 65 involving a sum of $500 or less; 4 felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses from a person over the age of 65 involving a sum of more than $500; 7 misdemeanor counts of obtaining money from a person 65 or younger of $500 or less; and one felony count of obtaining money from a person 65 or younger, more than $500.

Correction: A headline on an earlier version of this item reported an incorrect dollar amount for what Dropkin gave Kluth. The correct amount was $100.

Extra: Hear Kluth talk to Journal staff writer Gregory Smith
-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Peter Phipps at 5:28 PM | Comment

Latino ministers protest 'discrimination' by store owner

A group of Latino ministers today demanded the state investigate a Providence storeowner’s demand to see the Social Security card of one or both of two Spanish-speaking customers, and threatening to call immigration authorities on them.

Standing outside the Providence heating and cooling supply store owned by David C. Richardson, some three dozen pastors – one of whom flew in from Washington – demanded the Attorney General’s Department “investigate and prosecute what is consider a hate crime and discrimination against Latinos.” The group based its protest on a story in today’s Providence Journal and projo.com.

The article described a recent encounter inside the store between Jose A. Genao, a state worker, and Richardson. Genao said – and Richardson concurred – that when Genao’s friend declined to show a social security card, Richardson said he could call Immigration and Customs Enforcement “at any time.”

The Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, said the group will stage protests outside Richardson’s business and try to “shut him down,” either if no investigation goes forward or if Richardson “refuses to apologize.”

Rivera and the Rev. Eliseo Nogeuras of the Hispanic Pastors Association of Rhode Island said they had already contacted the Attorney General’s office and had written a letter to the FBI.

Afterwards, Richardson said, “I didn’t intimidate anybody. I apologize if they felt intimidated.” He also said he did not mean to break any laws.

Posted by Peter Phipps at 4:07 PM | Comment

Update: Seekonk High takes steps after finding 'hit list'

SEEKONK, Mass. – A teacher at Seekonk High School found a “hit list” yesterday that prompted a 15-year-old student to be removed from class.

Principal Marcia F. McGovern would not say this afternoon what grade the student is in, whether the student is a boy or girl, or if the student faces suspension or expulsion.

But she said the student “is not in school right now.”

After finding the notebook and removing the student, McGovern said she notified the families of the students named in the list and then sent an e-mail out to parents who are signed up to the school's e-mail list service.

The school day went on without interruption yesterday and today. There was no significant drop in attendance, McGovern said, and all of the students who were named on the list were at school.

“We wouldn’t have had school today if we felt students were at risk,” McGovern said.

All students will be going home with a letter today explaining the situation.

Seekonk Police Capt. Craig Mace said earlier today that the today that the police department was following up on the school’s report. “That’s the best source of information,” he said.

Ultimately, he said the school “acted immediately and efficiently to mitigate any potential threat to Seekonk High School students.”

McGovern said it was the first incident of its kind that she could recall in her three years as principal.

But the school still takes steps to prepare for emergencies. Yesterday morning, it just so happened, the students had a practice lock-down drill.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 3:29 PM | Comment

Panel will look at transportation, eye money sources

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri announced a 12-member panel today that will examine Rhode Island's transportation needs and stake out possible money sources for them for the coming four or five years.

Most heavily used roads and bridges were built between the 1950s and 1970s, Carcieri said in a statement. "That means that we are facing a period where we must undergo major highway and bridge repair in Rhode Island. We have concerns about future reductions in federal highway spending," he stated.

“As is the case in states throughout our nation, Rhode Island’s transportation needs far outweigh available resources,” Carcieri added. “With a projected deficit of the federal highway trust fund in 2009, there is a national concern that the federal government will reduce transportation funding to all states. We could see a 30- to 40-percent decrease in federal transportation funding. If that happens, Rhode Island could stand to lose $60 to 70 million in transportation funding each year.”

At the end of a news conference today, Carcieri said the Department of Transportation has identified the need, during the five-year period, for “approximately $600 million in bridge repair and replacement projects.’’ Even if the list is pared to high-priority projects, he said, the state faces a potential $210 million shortfall in available funding.

With the potential for major cutbacks in federal aid, Carcieri said: “Unfortunately our current revenue streams will not provide the funds we need,’’ and “unless we take measures now, many of the higway projects that we’ve commited to will be delayed.’’

Neither Carcieri nor his out-going DOT director, Jerome Williams, committed to a new funding strategy. But the governor cited steps other states have taken as possibilities here, among them: the sale of portions of Rhode Island’s roadways to private investors and what he called “user-fees,’’ which is another term for a toll.

But while saying everything is on the table -- and he could not rule out hikes in the state’s gasoline tax -- he indicated he was not especially keen on that idea.

Among those appointed to the panel: Williams, whom Carcieri has chosen after his year-long stretch at DOT, to head the Department of Administration; Lloyd Albert, AAA; Bob Cusak from the investment industry; John Gregory, Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce; Maureen Gughigian, First SW Securities; DOT director-nominee Michael Lewis, the former head of Massachusetts’ Big Dig project; Peter Osborn, regional administrator, Federal Highway Administration; state Department of Revenue director Gary Sasse; East Greenwich town manager Bill Sequino; Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council director John Simmons; Keith Stokes, Newport Chamber of Commerce and former Congressman Robert Weygand, Robert A. Weygand, URI’s vice president for administration at the University of Rhode Island.

-- With reports from Katherine Gregg of the Journal State House Bureau

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:13 PM | Comment

Photo: A somber visit to the Irish Famine Memorial

Journal photo/ Bob Thayer
Joe McClintock, Jr., part of an 18-member delegation of Irish dignitaries visiting Rhode Island, looks at the Irish Famine Memorial in Providence. McClintock says he was moved by the statue, symbolic of the Irish people's suffering during the famine from 1845 to 1851. The famine, caused by failure of the potato crop, decimated the nation.

Posted by Jack Perry at 3:06 PM | Comment

2 alleged abduction tries put Woonsocket on alert

WOONSOCKET — The police are investigating the attempted abduction of a 15-year-old girl as she walked to school yesterday morning.

Acting Chief Eric. L. Croce said the girl was forced into a car on Elm Street -- not far from Landmark Medical Center and Woonsocket High School -- at about 8:30 a.m. but was able to get out of the car when it slowed for traffic near Wood Street and run for help. She was unhurt.

Yesterday's attempted abduction followed an incident Monday, when an unknown motorist allegedly asked a girl to get into his car. Schools Supt. Maureen Macera says the girl went inside a nearby school instead.

Yesterday morning, the 15-year-old girl was walking down Elm Street when the car approached her near Jervis Street, Croce said. The man started a conversation, asking her questions and when she responded, he stopped the car near Jervis, got out and forced her inside.

The girl was not in the car long enough to have a significant conversation with the man, Croce said. She was able to provide a general description of the man and the car, but didn’t have time to get specifics on the vehicle.

Detective and patrol officers were fanning out over the neighborhood today in an effort to find more information about the man, Croce said. The police are particularly interested in talking to anyone who might have been in the vicinity at the time and seen something. The school department sent a letter home with students that urged parents to talk to their children about the dangers of getting into cars with strangers.

“We ask that all parent/guardians discuss the serious nature of this situation and that if their children are walkers, we ask that the children walk in groups to and from school,” Supt. Maureen Macera said in her letter.

In May 2006, an 8-year-old Woonsocket girl was found dead after prosecutors say her neighbor picked her up in his car and took her to Cranston.

Joshua Davis is set to appear in court next month to face murder charges in the death of Savannah Smith.

-- Journal staff writer John Hill with reports from the Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:15 PM | Comment

Update: Judge denies venue change for Kluth trial

PROVIDENCE -- The defense lawyer for a former Newport fisherman accused of swindling people each out of up to $5,200 asked a judge today for a venue change, suggesting New Hampshire, due to what the lawyer said was prejudicial pre-trial publicity.

Besides charges in Rhode Island, John P. Kluth Jr., 48, is also facing similar charges in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

But Providence County Superior Court Judge Netti C. Vogel said no to the venue-change request.

"I am satisfied that the jurors in this case have not been infected by pre-trial publicity," Vogel said in court. She added that the extent of publicity is "not even close" to justifying a venue change.

The jury was sworn in, and opening statements are set for today.

Thirty-two people in Rhode Island have accused Kluth of scamming them by asking for money for what police say was a fictional broken-down lobster truck.

For each of the 32 complaints, he faces 20 felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses from a person over the age of 65 involving a sum of $500 or less; 4 felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses from a person over the age of 65 involving a sum of more than $500; 7 misdemeanor counts of obtaining money from a person 65 or younger of $500 or less; and one felony count of obtaining money from a person 65 or younger, more than $500.

Extra: Hear Kluth talk to Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith and Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:42 PM | Comment

Rocco Baldelli sidelined with unknown medical condition

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli will begin the season on the disabled list because of a condition that the 26-year-old outfielder says leaves him extremely fatigued after short workouts.

Baldelli has been sidelined since last May because of lingering hamstring problems and has appeared in just 127 of 486 games the past three seasons because of an assortment of injuries. He has played in two games this spring, going 0-for-4 as a designated hitter.

Baldelli will be sidelined indefinitely, but said he is not retiring. He said there hasn't been an exact diagnosis but that doctors have told him he has "some type of metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities."

Posted by Mike McDermott at 1:26 PM | Comment

NORAD to begin exporting truck cabins at Quonset

Journal archive photo / Bill Murphy
Car importer NORAD is the main user of the port at the Quonset Business Park.

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Automobile importer North Atlantic Distribution plans to start exporting truck cabins from the pier at the Quonset Business Park, a major shift for the company that could boost employment.

Until now, NORAD has concentrated on importing cars, sending away empty, hulking vessels after they unload their cargo.

On Monday, the company plans to load 100 truck cabins, known as cabs, into a ship headed for Emden, Germany, according to Dyana Koelsch, spokeswoman for the Quonset Development Corporation, the agency that runs the state-owned park. The used cabs, which have already begun arriving in Rhode Island, originated in Baltimore, Maryland and were transported on trailers.

"It's definitely a milestone for Quonset," Koelsch said this morning. "It opens that whole activity channel, establishing it as an export port."

NORAD expects to export 300 cabs every month. (The cab is the enclosed space in a truck where the driver sits.) If it reaches that level, the company would likely add employees and hire additional longshoremen at the pier.

NORAD has about 250 employees in North Kingstown. Thirty longshoremen work at the pier unloading more than 100,000 cars from about 120 ships that supply NORAD. The company is the only major user of the port.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog.

The new exporting will also boost QDC revenue. The agency, a division of the state Economic Development Corporation, charges ships a daily dockage fee to remain at port, and it bills NORAD a wharfage fee for storing vehicles on state-owned land.

The pier recently celebrated another NORAD expansion, when the company received its first delivery of cars by rail, instead of sea.

That was made possible by a $6-million rail improvement project by the QDC and a $225-million effort by state and federal governments to upgrade tracks from the border of Quonset to Central Falls. Following those improvements, NORAD agreed to spend more than $5 million to clear and pave 14 acres by the pier for a private railhead.

"This is a major expansion for us," NORAD president Michael Miranda said in October. "It opens us up to the whole North American market."

NORAD was founded in 1985 with about 75 employees and 40,000 cars imported annually. It now accounts for 95 percent of all shipping at Quonset, and it has made the port the country's 14th busiest for auto imports.

The rail shipments are expected to increase NORAD auto imports by 200,000 cars annually and increase its workforce by 40, Miranda has said.

That growth and other expansions at Quonset won praise from several lawmakers who toured the park in December.

But the QDC is under pressure to speed the port's development. Last month, the state Senate passed legislation that would create a commission to study ways to intensify shipping activity at the Quonset port, The Providence Journal reported.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Paul E. Moura. It would create a 10-member House and Senate commission that would have a broad mandate to “study economic activity relating to port development.”

Posted by Benjamin N. Gedan at 12:48 PM | Comment

Cicilline: City seeks HUD loan to help with foreclosures

PROVIDENCE -- Providence will apply for $10 million in federal loans to purchase, rehabilitate or demolish foreclosed properties which have become a blight on city neighborhoods, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline announced today.

The city is seeking approval from the Providence City Council to authorize the city's redevelopment agency to apply for the Section 108 loan from the federal Department of Urban Development, or HUD.

The federal money could be used to help buyers of foreclosed properties with downpayments and closing costs, as well as to pay for the cost of boarding up foreclosed properties, Cicilline said.

The city would acquire, renovate and re-sell forecelosed homes through zero-interest and low-interest loans, Cicilline said.

The city would also use the money to improve the system that tracks information on ownership, foreclosures and vacancies, improving "the city’s ability to get foreclosed properties" back into homeowners' hands, according to the mayor's office.

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

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development loan would be repaid using future Community Development Block Grant money, according to a news release from the mayor's office.

“We’ve worked hard over the past five years to strengthen our neighborhoods by bringing in new investment and creating safer neighborhoods through community policing,” Cicilline said in the statement. “Now we have to work even harder to protect those investments by using all of the resources at our disposal to ensure that the national foreclosure crisis does not take a greater toll on our neighborhoods."

Cicilline said the loan “will not only give us the tools we need keep our neighborhoods strong and encourage home ownership, it will also act as an economic stimulus by creating employment opportunities for construction workers, sub-contractors and others in the building trades and real estate industry."

The announcement came in city's West End, on a block of Ford Street "where families are forced to live next to six foreclosed houses," the statement said.

The mayor's office said foreclosures increased in Providence to 745 over the past year.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:17 PM | Comment

Former RWU chairman Papitto gives $1.63M in gifts

PROVIDENCE — A foundation created by the former board chairman at Roger Williams University has announced $1.63 million in gifts.

The Papitto Foundation, created by Ralph R. Papitto in 1986, will give $1.3 million to The Miriam Hospital in Providence to modernize the hospital’s heart surgery program. It also will give $300,000 to St. Mary Academy-Bay View, an all-girls Catholic prep school.

The remaining $30,000 will go to a memorial fund established by the Rhode Island Foundation.

Papitto resigned from the Roger Williams board last summer after admitting to using a racial slur at a board meeting. He apologized and his name was taken off the university’s law school, the only law school in Rhode Island.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:13 AM | Comment

Opening statements today in Kluth flim-flam case

Opening statements are set for today in the trial of a former Newport fisherman who prosecutors say swindled more than 30 people each out of sums up to $5,200.

Thirty-eight people have accused John P. Kluth, 48, of scamming them by asking for money for what police say was a fictional broken-down lobster truck.

One accuser has since died, one is sick, one retracted his allegation and two will not return to the state for trial according to the prosecutor. In all, 32 people are accusing Kluth of scamming them.

For each of the 32 complaints, he faces 20 felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses from a person over the age of 65 involving a sum of $500 or less; 4 felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses from a person over the age of 65 involving a sum of more than $500; 7 misdemeanor counts of obtaining money from a person 65 or younger of $500 or less; and one felony count of obtaining money from a person 65 or younger, more than $500.

Extra: Hear Kluth talk to Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:12 AM | Comment

Smoke-shop trial: Sgt. testified about arrest

PROVIDENCE -- The trial of seven Narragansett Indians arrested after a state police raid on a tribal smoke shop continued in Superior Court this morning with testimony from a state police sergeant.

Sgt. Wilfred K. Hill testified about the arrest of Adam Jennings, one of the smoke-shop workers. Hill testified that Jennings resisted troopers before he was taken down to the floor of the shop to be handcuffed.

More than 40 state troopers executed a search and seizure warrant July 14, 2003, to stop the Narragansetts from selling tax-free cigarettes. The raid erupted into a scuffling match as customers and news crews watched. Seven Narragansetts, including Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, are on trial for misdemeanor charges that include resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and assault.

The trial is in its ninth day of testimony.

Read today's full story.

Extra: See photos and video of the raid on projo.com

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:10 AM | Comment

Seekonk High investigating discovery of 'hit list'

SEEKONK, Mass. -- Parents of Seekonk High School students are being notified that the school is investigating the discovery of a “hit list” developed by a student.

According to an e-mail sent to parents last night by Principal Marcia F. McGovern, all families of students whose names appeared on the list have been notified.

She also wrote that "the district has taken appropriate steps to ensure the safety of all students." But, citing confidentiality requirements, she wrote that "no additional information can be provided at this time."

This morning, McGovern reiterated that she could not provide any more information about the incident. But, she said, the school has been active since discovering the list yesterday.

The school has already notified some families, she said, and is sending a letter out to all parents today. “It’s our job to notify parents,” McGovern said, “and that’s what we’re doing.”

Seekonk Police Capt. Craig Mace said today that the police department is following up on the school’s report. “That’s the best source of information,” he said.

“It sounds like the school is doing exactly what it has to do,” he added, “and they’re doing a good job.”

Classes were not dismissed ahead of schedule yesterday, and school is open today.

“We’re very comfortable with what we’ve done,” McGovern said, “and feel very positive as we move forward.”

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:46 AM | Comment

Ex-Conn. DMV worker guilty in illegal license scam

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A former state Department of Motor Vehicles employee has pleaded guilty to supplying dozens of illegal immigrants with Connecticut driver's licenses.

Twenty-nine-year-old Kimyatta Lynn Little of Bridgeport had been charged with racketeering, bribery and forgery.

The prosecutor says she will recommend that Little serve a five-year prison term when she is sentenced Aug. 1.

Little is the seventh Bridgeport branch employee to either plead guilty or be convicted of selling driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and convicted felons.

Authorities have tracked down nearly 2,000 illegal licenses that were sold by Bridgeport DMV employees since 2003.

Similar schemes have been uncovered across the country, according to the FBI.

In Rhode Island, two Registry clerks were arrested in October last year and charged by the state police in a wide-ranging scheme of falsifying dozens of Rhode Island driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants and people involved in drug dealing.

Dolores Rodriguez-LaFlamme, 40, of Providence, and Soraya Santiago, 42, of Pawtucket, are accused of working with two middlemen, who were paid about $2,500 to $3,000 by each person who wanted a valid Rhode Island license with a fake identity.

They've been fired from their jobs. Their criminal cases are pending, and they're due back in court March 24.

-- The Associated Press with projo.com reports

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:44 AM | Comment

Green living, beer brewing on tap at R.I. home show

The 2008 Home Show kicks off today and this year it’s got tips for homeowners who want to make their homes more energy efficient and leave less of a mark on their surroundings.

Think Green is the theme, but there will be tips and demonstrations on all aspects of home life, from advice for older homeowners who want to be sure they can grow old in their homes, to a beer brewing demonstration.

And of course, there will be designers -- landscape architects, contractors, feng shui experts, home stagers – to help attendees make the most out of their space.

The show runs today through Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. See a schedule of events online; tickets run from $3 to $10.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:04 AM | Comment

Governor to announce panel to study DOT money needs

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri and the state Department of Transportation director today will announce a panel to study Rhode Island's transportation money needs for the coming five years.

The panel is expected to make recommendations to the governor in six months, Carcieri's office said in a news release yesterday.

Carcieri and DOT Director Jerome Williams are scheduled to hold the 1 p.m. State House news conference in the State Room.

The governor is expected to talk about the panel’s mission and make-up, Rhode Island's challenges as it works to rebuild aging roads and bridges, and the money necessary for those challenges.

In just-released documents, according to a Journal story today, the FHWA has made public a second notice to the DOT that it would not be reimbursed for some Route 195 relocation costs, this time for $679,399 of the cost of metalizing steel for the new Providence River Bridge, or coating it with zinc to protect it from rust. The federal agency said the zinc coating wasn’t thick enough to meet minimum standards and is therefore ineligible for federal reimbursement

Federal officials recently demanded that the state repay $3.1 million because the DOT didn’t adequately test concrete on major sections of its flagship Route 195 project, which it calls the Iway.

The department is also dealing with bridge repairs, such as the Pawtucket River Bridge which carries a stretch of Route 95.

And the DOT will soon have a new boss: Michael P. Lewis, whom Carcieri hired last month. Lewis is fresh from running a mega-transportation project - Boston’s Big Dig.

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

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 8:04 AM | Comment

2 Irish mayors bring greetings from the Emerald Isle

An 18-member delegation of Irish dignitaries, including the mayors of two Irish cities, will visit Providence today as guests of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick’s Providence chapter.

The delegation will include Drew Thompson, the Protestant mayor of Derry in Northern Ireland and Paul Bradley, the Roman Catholic mayor of Buncrana in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Also participating are members of the New Bedford chapter of the Friendly Sons.

Organizers say the joint visit by Protestant and Catholic leaders reflects the progress made in recent Irish peace accords and “marks a major moment in Irish and Irish American political history.”

The mayors, their spouses and several other Irish dignitaries will attend a reception at 11 a.m. at Providence City Hall, hosted by Mayor David N. Cicilline and the City Council. The group will then visit the Irish Famine Memorial on the Providence River. Later in the day, the group will tour the State House and meet separately with House Speaker William J. Murphy and Governor Carcieri.

The Friendly Sons’ Providence chapter will hold its 108th-annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner Monday at Patrick’s Pier One, 200 Allens Ave., Providence. For information, contact Ned McCrory at (401) 621-6200 or James Cooney at (401) 826-3600.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Snow, rain possible this morning

The northern area of the state may see some precipitation this morning, snow, then rain, until noon. The National Weather Service forecasts a high temperature of about 44 degrees with west winds up to 15 mph.

Tonight the sky should clear and the temperature will take a dive to about 22 degrees with northwest winds up to 15 mph.

Tomorrow's high should be in the lower 40s with increasing clouds through the day and a mild north wind.

To check up on the weather throughout the day, visit 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 about federal officials finding that the state neglected to test the strength of concrete in at least 64 structures that support the bridge for the Route 195 reconstruction project.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment