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May 6, 2008

Tonight: Third Eye Blind plays Providence

Alternative rockers Third Eye Blind, whose debut album in the late 1990s helped established wide fan appeal, play Providence tonight.

Third Eye Blind perform tonight at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, with Takota opening the show. The club is at 79 Washington St., Providence. Call 331-5876, 272-5876, www.etix.com. 8:30 pm. $25 advance; $28 day of show; $30 reserved.

Over at AS220, performing some jazz are Um with Hal Crook, Bob Gullotti, Dave Zinno and Leo Genovese. It's at 115 Empire St., Providence. Call 831-9327. 10 p.m. $7. All ages.

For more of what's happening around our area tonight, see projo.com's calendars.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:00 PM | Comment

Update: Twin River acts fast on gambling-veto override

PROVIDENCE -- Within minutes of the General Assembly's override of Governor Carcieri's veto of legislation allowing weekend and holiday 24-hour gambling, a spokeswoman for Twin River said the Lincoln facility will begin round-the-clock gambling this weekend.

Spokeswoman Patti Doyle said Twin River will have an announcement tomorrow about promotions and services it will start offering at 2 a.m. this Saturday.

Amy Kempe, representing Newport Grand, said in a statement the only immediate plan is "to meet with the city" to address any of its concerns.

The Senate voted 24 to 8 to override shortly after the House voted 51 to 16 to do so.

The override -- which had been expected -- paves the way for the two video-slot emporiums to begin offering round-the-clock gambling on weekends and during overnight hours before state and federal holidays.

Carcieri, a Republican, vetoed the legislation on Monday that had won approval in the House and Senate of the Democrat-dominated General Assembly. The governor cited opposition by host towns as a key reason.

But the legislature pushed past the veto today.

It's been estimated that expansion in gambling hours will upward of $14 million in new money for the cash-strapped state. Meanwhile, The Journal reported today that the state's tax revenues have seen a sharp decline.

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:55 PM | Comment

Donations sought for Audubon boardwalk repairs

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
Scott Hobson, director of environmental permitting for Caputo and Wick, LTD., Rumford; Scott Ruhren, director of conservation for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, and Brian Bullock, York Bridge Concepts, Tampa, Fl., original builder of the boardwalk at the Audubon Society's Environmental Education Center, look over the fire damage.

The Audubon Society has set up a fund to help pay for restoring a Bristol boardwalk that was damaged in a brush fire last month.

Today, a group that includes members of the Audubon as well as representatives from a Florida bridge construction team is heading out to the boardwalk, which winds through a salt marsh, to assess the damage. The Audubon Society hopes to to complete restoration, with the help of the Florida team, by this summer.

The Audubon Society is asking for donations from members and other supporters to help defray the cost of repairs to the boardwalk after the April 17 fire.

To learn how to help, or make a donation, visit the Audubon's Web site or call at 401-949-5454.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 5:48 PM | Comment

Alert: Assembly overrides Carcieri's gambling veto

PROVIDENCE -- The General Assembly has overriden Governor Carcieri's veto of legislation allowing 24-hour gambling on weekends and holidays at Twin River in Lincoln and Newport Grand.

The Senate voted 24 to 8 to override shortly after the House voted 51 to 16 to do so.

The override paves the way for the two video-slot emporiums to begin offering round-the-clock gambling soon on weekends and during overnight hours before state and federal holidays.

Carcieri, a Republican, vetoed the legislation on Monday that had won approval in the House and Senate of the Democrat-dominated General Assembly. The governor cited opposition by host towns as a key reason.

It's been estimated that expansion in gambling hours would raise upward of $14 million in new money for the state.

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:10 PM | Comment

Alert: House overrides Carcieri veto of 24-hour gambling

PROVIDENCE -- The House voted 51 to 16 late this afternoon to override Governor Carcieri's veto of legislation allowing 24-hour gambling on weekends and holidays at Twin River in Lincoln and Newport Grand.

The override is now going to the Senate, which is expected to approve an override as well.

Carcieri, a Republican, vetoed the legislation on Monday that had won approval in the House and Senate of the Democrat-dominated General Assembly. The governor cited opposition by host towns as a key reason.

It's been estimated that expansion in gambling hours would raise upward of $14 million in new money for the state.

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:59 PM | Comment

Derderians willing to be questioned under oath, but ...

PROVIDENCE -- Jeffrey and Michael Derderian say they are willing to submit to questioning under oath by lawyers representing victims of the disastrous 2003 fire at their Station nightclub. But the brothers say they want to retain their right to refuse to answer questions that might incriminate them.

The two are insisting on being allowed to retain their right against self-incrimination because, their lawyer says, it is not certain that additional federal or state charges won’t be brought against them based on what they tell the victims’ lawyers.

Lawyer Anthony Demarco concedes in the newly filed court papers that “while there has been no indication to date” that any more charges will be brought, “this does not mean that the defendants cannot, if necessary, assert their 5th Amendment right.”

On Sept. 29, 2006, the brothers were sentenced in Superior Court after pleading no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter -- one count for each of the 100 patrons of their club who died from the fire. Jeffrey Derderian was spared a prison sentence. Michael Derderian was sentenced to a four-year prison term and is scheduled to be paroled, on early release, in October 2009.

Extra: Special report on The Station nightclub fire and its aftermath.

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:54 PM | Comment

Attleboro man charged with assault, intent to murder

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- An Attleboro man was charged with assault with intent to murder after the police investigated the case of a male with multiple stab wounds early this morning.

Manuel A. Mendez Jr., 49, of 20 Falmouth St. was arrested at home, a police news release says. He was also charged with home invasion and resisting arrest.

Attleboro police Capt. David Proia said in an interview that the police do not believe it was a random attack; indications are the suspect and victim were acquainted.

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

The police went to Sturdy Memorial Hospital, in Attleboro, to investigate a male with multiple stab wounds at about 4:04 a.m. The police, who did not identify the male, said they learned he was stabbed a short time earlier at his 103 Park St. residence, Attleboro. He was driven to the hospital, where the incident was reported to police.

The male was "undergoing treatment" at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence at the time of the news release, received this afternoon. Proia had no more information on the male's condition.

Mendez is being held at the police station and is slated to appear in Attleboro District Court tomorrow.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:14 PM | Comment

Update: State shuts pharmacy after owner charged

The state Department of Health has shut down Prime Drug Pharmacy in Providence, whose owner is one of two elderly men charged in federal court today with multiple counts of illegally distributing pain killers and expensive HIV drugs.

"Because of the potential impact on public health," a health department news release says, Dr. David R. Gifford, the state health director, today issued suspensions for three pharmacy employees: Domenic Colarusso, pharmacist in charge; Carmine A. DeTomasis, pharmacist; and, Carmine D. DeTomasis, pharmacy technician. A summary suspension was also issued for the pharmacy's license, closing it.

The pharmacy is located at 613 Cranston St. in the city’s West End.

“We have no way of knowing that prescription medications coming from Prime Drug are the correct, prescribed dosage, that they have not expired, or that they have been kept at safe temperatures," Gifford's statement said.

Gifford said pharmacy customers should not take any prescription drugs they have from the pharmacy, even if they look safe.

The state Department of Health has posted information, in English and Spanish, for patients at the pharmacy’s location at www.health.ri.gov. There are also information line staff available to answer additional questions, in English and Spanish, at 1-800-942-7434 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

DeTomasis, 73, a licensed pharmacist and co-owner of the pharmacy, and Louis Romanelli, 81, of Victoria Street, in Providence, were each charged with distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and distributing misbranded drugs.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Adi Goldstein, an assistant U.S. Attorney, said that an undercover agent from the federal Food and Drug Administration sold Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and drugs to combat HIV to Romanelli on several occasions over the past year. In turn, she said, Romanelli sold the drugs to DeTomasis, who peddled them to his customers.

Goldstein told the court that the HIV drugs alone were sold to Romanelli for $16,000. The meetings between Romanelli and the undercover agent were recorded on video and audiotape, she said.

Federal and state investigators raided the drug store last night.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:00 PM | Comment

Clerk: Stroke shouldn't affect Judge Lageuex' caseload

PROVIDENCE -- Despite suffering a minor stroke last week, Senior U.S. District Judge Ronald R. Lagueux is expected to continue handling cases such as a lawsuit alleging widespread abuse of children in state foster care and litigation stemming from The Station nightclub fire, a court official said today.

“At this point, it doesn’t appear it will have an impact on his caseload,” Clerk of the Court David A. DiMarzio said. “If it does, we will notify counsel.”

Lagueux suffered a minor stroke on Thursday and is now “resting comfortably” at home, DiMarzio said. “We were very, very lucky that it was a minor stroke,” he said. “He appears to be making a full recovery.”

Lagueux, 76, of East Providence, was appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 after serving 18 years on the Rhode Island Superior Court. In November 2001, he went into semiretirement, assuming “senior status,” but he has continued to handle high-profile cases such as the civil cases stemming from the West Warwick nightclub fire, which claimed 100 lives in February 2003.

-- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:56 PM | Comment

Rollins, Hancock, Botti among Newport jazz fest stars

Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and Chris Botti are among the headliners of this summer's JVC Jazz Festival Newport, which announced its lineup today.

A lot of musicians are pulling double duty at the festival, the first run by the Festival Network, which took over operations of the Newport folk and jazz festivals last year.

The Friday-night opening concert, Aug. 8 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino, features Botti, with the R&B/jazz singer Ledisi opening.

Then on Saturday, Aug. 9, the festival moves to Fort Adams with a main stage bill of Botti; the Wayne Shorter Quartet; the quartet of Dave Holland, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter and Eric Harland, and Ledisi. The Holland quartet will also headline the second stage, along with a trio including Charlie Haden and Paul Motian; and the dynamite New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott returns to the third stage.

On Sunday, Aug. 10, the festival concludes with Rollins, Hancock, neo-soul singer Anthony Hamilton’s Blues Project and George Wein and the Newport All-Stars (with Anat Cohen, Howard Alden, Esperanza Spalding and Jeff Ballard) on the main stage. Highlights of the side stages include Guillero Klein y Los Gauchos on the second stage and Spalding on the third stage.

-- Journal pop music writer Rick Massimo

Trombonist Fred Wesley, who has worked with James Brown, Prince and more, will do double duty during the festival, sitting in with the funk-jam bands Lettuce on Saturday and Soulive on Sunday.

One band will be chosen to play at the festival’s third stage on Sunday based on a public vote from ensembles submitting tracks to www.ourstage.com/go/newportjazz.

Tickets for the festival will go on sale Thursday at 9 a.m.; prices will be announced. They will be available at www.festivalnetwork.com, by calling (877) 655-4TIX or at the Festival Network Ticketing Offices, at 770 Aquidneck Ave., in Middletown.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:43 PM | Comment

Traffic Alert: Accident on 95

Two lanes on Route 95 are blocked this afternoon after an accident just south of Providence.

The accident is on the northbound side of the roadway at Exit 15/Jefferson Boulevard. See updated photos of traffic throughout the state on the Transportation Management's Center's Web cameras.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:53 PM | Comment

The other race in Indy

AP/Photo

Race driver Danica Patrick prepares to practice today for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. –– For a key demographic in the heartland this election year, how about NASCAR kids?

At lunchtime on Election Day a boisterous 3rd grade class was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, far from its studies at Winchester Elementary School in Perry township outside the city.

Instead, they marched behind the stands overlooking Gasoline Alley and chanted in solidarity for the first lady of American racing. No, not Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.

Rather the multi-racial field trip group chanted, “Danica! Danica!” for the leading woman in an equally urgent drama hereabouts: race car driver Danica Patrick in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.

The big race is not until May 25, but the pre-race festival is in full swing. Checkered flags adorn the yards in surrounding neighborhoods, with banners declaring “Welcome, race fans.”

Hundreds of carloads of fans rolled onto the infield parking lots to take in the practice day laps, which yesterday featured rookies but today brought big shots like Patrick to the Yard of Bricks.

As for the kids on field trips, one group from another school in another outlying town, was able to answer a tour guide’s challenge to name all of the females who competed in the Indy 500 before the redoubtable Patrick.

-- John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:29 PM | Comment

Photo: Business on Broadway

Journal Photo/Brandie M. Jefferson

Sometime Tuesday morning, this banner was secured to the Broadway Street overpass in Providence.

Journal Photo/Brandie M. Jefferson

Just after 1 p.m. today, the sign was taken down by a Department of Transportation official. According to the DOT, overpass signs are prohibited.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:24 PM | Comment

Former bank chairman to run R.I. Foundation

The Rhode Island Foundation today announced that is has named Neil Steinberg, a former bank chairman and current chief of Brown University's money-raising campaign, to be president and chief executive officer.

A foundation news release said the the board of directors picked Steinberg after a four-month national search by an eight-member committee.

Steinberg takes up duties on Aug. 15.

Steinberg has been vice president of development and campaign director at Brown since 2004 and is a former chairman and CEO of Fleet Bank-Rhode Island. During the past three years, Steinberg has headed up Boldly Brown, a campaign that raised almost $1.2 billion toward a $1.4 billion goal.

He was also on the transition teams for Governor Carcieri and Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline and was chairman of the group that reviewed Providence Public Library’s financial situation in 2006, according to the news release.

The Rhode Island Foundation was founded in 1916. It has assets of $600 million and distributed $25.4 million in grants last year. Housing, economic development, health care, public eduction and the arts are among the areas it has supported.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:01 PM | Comment

Pharmacist, 73, Providence man, 81, face drug charges

PROVIDENCE -- Two elderly men, including an owner of Prime Drug, were charged in federal court today with multiple counts alleging that they illegally distributed pain killers and expensive HIV drugs from the pharmacy on Cranston Street in the city’s West End.

Carmine DeTomasis, 73, a licensed pharmacist and co-owner of the pharmacy at 613 Cranston St., and Louis Romanelli, 81, of Victoria Street, in Providence, were each charged with distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and distributing misbranded drugs.

Adi Goldstein, an assistant U.S. Attorney, said that an undercover agent from the federal Food and Drug Administration sold Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and drugs to combat HIV to Romanelli on several occasions over the past year. In turn, she said, Romanelli sold the drugs to DeTomasis, who peddled them to his customers.

Goldstein told the court that the HIV drugs alone were sold to Romanelli for $16,000. The meetings between Romanelli and the undercover agent were recorded on video and audiotape, she said.

The state police arrested Romanelli on similar charges last November. He is awaiting trial on those felony counts.

U.S. District Court Magistrate ordered Romanelli to have an electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle as he awaits trial on the new federal charges. He also said that no one other than his wife and children are allowed to visit his home. Goldstein expressed concern that Romanelli ran an illegal drug operation out of his home and several of the people named in the sealed indictment could continue to visit him.

Bail for DeTomasis was set at $150,000 with surety, meaning that he must post $15,000 to gain his release. His lawyer, James Howe, told the court that the state Department of Health had shut down Prime Drug and it had revoked DeTomasis’s pharmacy license.

-- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:44 PM | Comment

Bunnell trial: Placing blame for toddler's death

PROVIDENCE -- Three-and-a-half years after a 3-year-old boy was brutally beaten to death in Woonsocket, a prosecutor sought today to blame the beating on his 24-year-old aunt and her boyfriend.

In his opening statement at Katherine Bunnell's murder trial, prosecutor Scott Erickson said Bunnell dragged Thomas "T.J." Wright, a child in her care, out of bed, slapped him, and struck him repeatedly because she was angry about the mess he had made in the living room of her Diamond Hill Road apartment.

"What is this mess? What is going in on in my house?" Erickson said Bunnell said as she dragged the crying toddler around the first floor.

Bunnell repeatedly pushed T.J. to the floor, picked him up and pushed him down again, Erickson said. She hit him over and over again, then dragged him into the kitchen and poured a container of milk over his head.

The beating took place in front of T.J.'s 15-year-old babysitter after Bunnell, her boyfriend, Gilbert Delestre, and Delestre's cousin, Jose Santiago, returned to the apartment after a night at a Milford, Mass., bar.

T.J., one of three children placed in Bunnell's care after her sister -- T.J.'s mother -- was imprisoned for marijuana possession, was taken by ambulance to Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, then to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence.

Erickson said T.J.'s injuries were so severe a day and a half after the beating that he was found to be brain dead, taken off life support and allowed to die.

Bunnell is being tried separately from Delestre who, like her, is being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. Each is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

But in his opening statement, Bunnell's lawyer, Gerard H. Donley, said that while Bunnell did push, drag and slap T.J., Delestre caused the injuries that led to the toddler's death.

"The evidence will show that the slaps, the pulling, the dragging, and the pouring of the milk, however objectionable that was, wasn't the cause of the death of this child. A vicious beating was, and the evidence will show who did it," Donley said.

The first witness to take the stand was a Fire Department rescue worker, Lt. Edward Bertholic, who administered first aid to T.J. He is scheduled to return to the stand this afternoon.

-- Journal staff writer John Castellucci

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:36 PM | Comment

Wind farm site off Fairhaven, Mass., scrapped

A company proposing an offshore wind farm in Buzzards Bay is dropping one of three locations it was considering.

Patriots Renewables said it’s no longer proposing a cluster of wind turbines off the Fairhaven shoreline because of the area’s high boat traffic and population of endangered roseate terns.

The company, associated with Jay Cashman Inc., of Quincy, says it’s still studying locations off Dartmouth and Naushon Island.

Patriot Renewables said the project’s goal still is to generate 300 megawatts of electricity.

-- Journal Business Editor John Kostrzewa

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:19 PM | Comment

Ambulances get meds, equipment to protect vs. attack

The state Emergency Management Agency, partnering with the state Department of Health, has begun delivering $533,000 worth of equipment and medications for licensed ambulances to protect patients and emergency workers in an attack or hazardous materials incident.

Equipment includes powered air purifying respirators, chemical protective clothing, gloves and boots, and tape. Medical supplies include 280 cyanide antidote kits and 2,250 nerve agent antidote kits.

Federal grants are paying for the equipment/supplies and the EMA is delivering the materials in partnership with the state Department of Health, according to an Emergency Management Agency news release,

The materials "provide a significant upgrade to our Homeland Security Program" in Rhode Island, the release says, adding that the materials are "critical to protect responders and patients" were there an attack using weapons of mass destruction or an industrial hazardous materials incident.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:16 PM | Comment

Trial starting for woman accused of killing nephew, 3

PROVIDENCE -- Opening statements are expected to begin shortly in the conspiracy and murder trial of Katherine Bunnell, the 24-year-old Woonsocket woman accused with her boyfriend of beating to death a 3-year-old foster child in their care.

Bunnell and Gilbert Delestre are being tried separately and are each charged with murder and conspiracy to murder in the death of Thomas J. Wright, who was Bunnell's nephew. They were serving as guardians for Thomas, whose mother was in prison.

Potential jurors were asked by prosecutor Stacey Veroni during the process known as voir dire whether they could remove from their minds any speculation when reaching a verdict.

Bunnell's lawyer, Gerard H. Donley, asked potential jurors whether they could return a fair verdict.

A potential jury of six men and eight women was sworn in after a day of selection before Judge Gilbert V. Indeglia in Providence County Superior Court.

Both Bunnell and Delestre have been held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston since their arrests.

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:01 PM | Comment

Visit Journal's booth at Business Expo

PROVIDENCE -- Free, expert business advice. That’s what you’ll get when you visit The Providence Journal’s booth at this year’s Business Expo, today and tomorrow, at the Rhode Island Convention Center, downtown Providence.

From how to finance a small business to taking great pictures with your digital camera, you’ll find a wide assortment of informative and engaging seminars at the projo’s booth – right on the Business Expo show floor.

Here's what's on tap today.

12:30 p.m., How to Finance Your Small Business: Expert advice on funding your business

2:00 p.m., Taking Great Pictures With Your Digital Camera: Learn to shoot better business photos with help from a veteran photo editor.

The projo’s booth also features giveaways valued at $100 after each seminar, and an opportunity to enter a random drawing for a framed, keepsake projoSports poster signed by the projo sports writers and photographers who covered the Red Sox 2007 Banner year.. Stop by

The Providence Journal booth (#617) and get in on the action. For more information, go online to projo.com/businessexpo.

Posted by Jack Perry at 11:54 AM | Comment

Crews on scene at Central Falls fire

Fire crews from Central Falls and a rescue team from Pawtucket are on the scene at a Central Falls Fire.

The scene, at 36 Clay St., was described as a “small fire” by Central Falls police.

More information to come.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:52 AM | Comment

Too early, too close to call in Indiana

SPEEDWAY, Ind. –– Indiana’s crucial Democratic presidential primary is too close to call –– at least if there’s any trend to be gleaned from random chats with the voters of this relatively conservative town, the home of the famous auto-racing track, inside the city limits of Indianapolis.

A sampling of Democratic voters at St. Christopher’s Roman Catholic Church was split down the middle early this morning. That leaves much suspense as to whether Sen. Barack Obama can effectively wrap up his party’s presidential nomination with big victories in Indiana and North Carolina –– or alternatively, whether Sen. Hillary Clinton will score another in her string of wins in big, industrial states in the nation’s heartland.

Click below to read what two voters have to say on primary day –– a sunny spring day of blooming lilacs and red buds with high temperatures expected in the low 80s and high turnouts expected.

-- John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau

Vicki Jarrett, 54, who is white and a junior high school science teacher: “I voted for Hillary because I’m a teacher and I’m for doing away with No Child Left Behind” – or at least for retooling the federal program of mandatory testing in public schools.

Jarrett allowed that she thinks Obama’s position on the education issue is similar to Clinton’s, “but he hasn’t said a whole lot about it.” From that specific issue, Jarrett drew the general observation that “Hillary is being down to earth on the issues and she’s being professional,” whereas “Obama has done a lot for the theatrics.”

“It’s like he’s the second headliner for a rock concert when he’s got all these people here to see Stevie Wonder,” as the presidential front runner did last night at a mass rally that drew thousands to downtown Indianapolis. But Jarrett questioned whether Obama’s star power can translate into practical, political action.

Wayne Bosman, 45, who is black and a fast food restaurant worker: “I was for Clinton but I just changed my mind and went to Obama because he is really going to get the troops home from Iraq.”

Bosman said he believes that Clinton takes a similar position on the war, “but she didn’t really talk too much about it. I think he wants to do something and I’m not sure about her.” Bosman said he agrees with an Obama argument that the nation’s anti-terrorism focus should have stayed on the threat of al-Qaeda and Afghanistan and never should have strayed into Iraq.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:12 AM | Comment

At the Expo: A showcase of Hispanic businesses

Local businesses in the Ocean State are owned by Rhode Islanders who’ve settled here from around the world. The annual Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce's Business Expo is partially reflecting that this year, with the Hispanic Business Showcase.

More than 10 set to participate in this year’s showcase, sponsored by Sovereign Bank and Rhode Island Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce.

Guatemalan natives Densil, Byron and Ronan Lurssen own this year’s featured business, La Paz Wholesale, which sells foods from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to local markets.

Other confirmed participants include Alicia’s Art; Hispanic Technology and Education Programs; Izulec Beauty Salon; Xzito Creative Solutions; RI Marketing & Advertising; Directorio Hispano: Hispanic Yellow Pages; PC Repair Software and Network; JM Painting and Plastering; and Erick R. Photography.

The Showcase is set to begin today at 10 at the Rhode Island Convention Center. It will be at destination booth 101 of the Business Expo. Download a .PDF flier to get information about special events, including a 1 p.m. meet and greet special guests.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:18 AM | Comment

Trial continues for woman accused of killing toddler

PROVIDENCE -- The trial is set to continue today in Superior Court for Katherine Bunnell who is accused of killing her 3-year-old nephew Thomas J. Wright more than three years ago.

Bunnell, who is being represented by Gerard H. Donley, was in court yesterday.

Judge Gilbert Indeglia told potential jurors not to draw conclusions about guilt or innocence because Bunnell had not been able to raise the funds to post bail.

Bunnell and her boyfriend, Gilbert Delestre, face one count of murder and conspiracy to commit murder while serving as guardians for Thomas J. Wright, whose mother was serving time in jail.

Prosecutors say that Bunnell and Delestre beat Thomas so viciously in their Woonsocket apartment, they cracked his skull and femur, killing him in the early hours of Halloween day of 2004.

-- Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina, with reports from Journal archives.

The couple was initially charged together but soon split up as lawyers for each of them blamed the other for the attacks on the boy. Delestre is in prison, awaiting his trial.

The defense had asked for postponements of Bunnell's trial on several occasions. It's anticipated her trial will take about two weeks.

Assistant Attorney General Stacey Veroni and Assistant Attorney General Scott Erickson are prosecuting the case for the state.

From its beginning, the high-profile case raised questions about the state’s system of screening prospective foster parents, putting the Department of Children, Youth and Families in the spotlight. An independent investigation launched by the Office of the Child Advocate determined that DCYF missed as least five opportunities to rescue Thomas from the couple’s Woonsocket home.

The advocate issued another report in 2006, saying the state had failed to make some of the most important changes that a review panel called for following T.J.’s death. Mostly notably, the state had not held caseloads to recommended levels.

Then, last June, Child Advocate Jametta O. Alston filed for class-action status on behalf of the 3,000 children now in state custody, aiming for an overhaul of Rhode Island’s child-welfare system, which the suit portrays as overburdened and mismanaged.

That suit is still in U.S. District Court.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:51 AM | Comment

More info on federal drug raid to come

PROVIDENCE -- More information will be released today on last night's raids by federal and state officials on a Providence drug store and a Cranston home, according to a U.S. Attorney's office spokesman.

The target of the investigation was Prime Drug, a pharmacy at 613 Cranston St. The operation occurred between 7 and 8 p.m.

Tom Connell, the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said that two people had been arrested in connection with the raid but would not release their names. He said that all details connected to the federal case being investigated are under a court seal.

The lead investigator in the case is the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation. The primary local contact is the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Postal Inspection Service and the Rhode Island State Police are also assisting.

After the operation, a man in handcuffs was led out of the drug store while investigators in DEA and state police jackets stood by. Connell said that more details on the case will be forthcoming today.

-- Journal staff writer Alex Kuffner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:49 AM | Comment

Today: Business Expo 2008

The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce's 2008 Business Expo is hosting more than a dozen workshops and lectures with local and international appeal to help business owners thrive.

From CNN Financial News correspondent Susan Lisovicz to Jack Templin, co-founder of the Providence Geeks, help will be on hand to help your business attract more clients, expand outside of your neighborhood or sell your wares around the world.

And the Providence Journal will be on hand, too, with Food Editor Gail Ciampa offering tips to save money at the dinner table and Michael Delaney, managing editor, photography and graphics, sharing tips to take better digital photographs.

The Expo begins today at 10 a.m. and events are free with a business card. Register for specific events throughout the two-day expo online, or you can download a .PDF file of events sponsored by the Journal.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:02 AM | Comment

Nearly perfect weather, times two

Look out for a bit of fog this morning before 9, aside from that, we can expect a nearly perfect day with mostly sunny skies, calm south winds and a high temperature near 72 degrees.

Clouds are set to roll in tonight, with a low temperature near 47 degrees and mild south winds becoming northwest as night goes on.

Tomorrow, nearly perfect, again, with partly sunny skies, mild southwest winds and a high temperature headed toward 75 degrees.

For updates, check 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 a sharp decline in state revenue and coverage of the Democrat primary in Indiana by John Mulligan of the Journal's Washington Bureau.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment