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« May 9, 2008 | Today | May 13, 2008 » May 12, 2008Tonight: Laughs at Lupo's in ProvidenceLaugh Monday away in Providence tonight. Comedian Patton Oswalt at 8:30 will perform at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, 79 Washington St. Cal 331-5876, 272-5876, www.etix.com. $18 advance; $20 day of show. For more of what's happening tonight, and this week, see projo.com's calendar of events. Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:00 PM | Comment Update: Shooting near Davis Park in ProvidencePROVIDENCE -- A young man was shot late this afternoon just outside the right field fence of a park near the intersection of Chalkstone Avenue and Raymond Street, City Councilman Terry Hassett said the police told him. Hassett said the police said the male has been taken to a hospital. Providence Police Major Stephen Campbell said one teenager was injured in the attack, according to The Associated Press. He did not immediately identify the victim. Campbell said detectives hope to learn more after interviewing the teenager at Rhode Island Hospital. No arrests were reported. -- With reports from Journal staff writer Bruce Landis and The Associated Press Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:38 PM | Comment One of RIC's own chosen to be school's new presidentWARWICK -- Nancy Carriuolo, a state higher education official and the only internal finalist in a national search, has been selected the ninth president of Rhode Island College. The state Board of Governors for Higher Education announced the selection at a meeting held this evening at the Community College of Rhode Island's Warwick campus. Carriuolo, 59, will replace John Nazarian, 75, who has served as RIC's president since 1990. Nazarian, who has spent 58 years at the college as a student, professor and administrator, announced last fall he would step down when his contract expires June 30. Carriuolo is just the second woman to serve as president of one of the state's three public colleges. She has been RIC's interim vice president for academic affairs and deputy commissioner and chief academic officer at the Rhode Island Office of Higher Education. The Journal reported last month there were three other finalists for the position: John William Folkins, chief executive officer at the Bowling Green State University Research Institute in Bowling Green, Ohio; Alfred J. Guillaume Jr., vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of French at Indiana University South Bend; and Nancy Kleniewski, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Mass. -- Journal staff writer Jennifer D. Jordan Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:30 PM | Comment Owner convicted of doing in his dog, SparkyA South Kingstown man who allegedly told a neighbor he was going to kill his pitbull, Sparky, because “a dog that won’t listen is no good" was convicted today. Edgar Goulet, 60, was found guilty of one count of malicious killing of an animal and one count of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, according to a news release from state Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office. The news release gave this account of the dog's shooting: One of Goulet’s neighbors, Heidi Eklund, was raking leaves at her house on Mautucket Road in May 2006 when Goulet’s dog, Sparky, ran into her yard. Goulet, who lives at 20 Nautilus Drive East, told Eklund to put her own dog away so he could catch Sparky. Goulet said that as soon as he caught his dog, Eklund said, he was going to kill it because “a dog that won’t listen is no good." Goulet led Sparky back into his yard, and Eklund pleaded with him not to harm the dog. A little later, Eklund resumed raking and heard Goulet start up construction equipment, which, police later learned, was a mini-backhoe. Soon after, she heard a gunshot and saw a cloud of smoke. Then she saw Sparky streak past. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Eklund told her mother to call the police. South Kingstown officers questioned Goulet on scene, and he admitted he had shot one of his dogs and they wouldn’t be able to find it. Detectives took Goulet into custody, questioned neighbors and search Goulet’s yard. There was a fresh dirt mound with a dog tag next to it and the butt of a 22-caliber rifle sticking out from an open shed door, according to police. Detectives used a search warrant and unearthed Sparky. A bullet later removed from Sparky’s body was found by the crime lab to be a 22-caliber round. There was too much damage to the bullet to match it to the rifle, the attorney general's office said. Goulet said he killed the dog in self defense, Lynch's office said. A 2006 Journal article covering a court appearance in connection with the case reported that Goulet said Sparky bit him at least a half-dozen times through the years and that he was concerned the dog might harm his neighbor's newborn twin boys or other children. The verdict followed a four-day trial in Washington County Superior Court. Goulet was ordered held without bail and remanded to the Adult Correctional Institutions pending a scheduled July 14 sentencing. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:48 PM | Comment Award-winning author to deliver Brown baccalaureatePROVIDENCE -- Award-winning author Dave Eggers will deliver the May 24 baccalaureate address to Brown University's graduating seniors. Eggers, who received a Brown honorary degree in 2005, will speak at 3 p.m. in the First Baptist Church in America. The speech precedes the university’s 240th commencement on May 25, during which actor and filmmaker Robert Redford is among seven who will receive honorary degrees. Redford is a previous winner of another Rhode Island-based honor -- a 2002 Pell Award for excellence in the arts. Eggers founded McSweeney’s, a publishing house in San Francisco that publishes a quarterly literary magazine. He is the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, a 2000 memoir about raising his younger brother after both their parents died of cancer within weeks of each other. The book was a 2001 Pulitzer Prize finalist. He has since written You Shall Know Our Velocity! -- a work of fiction that won the 2003 Independent Book Award, and What is the What, a fictional tale based on the experience of a Sudanese refugee. During commencement, Brown will award honorary degrees to seven. Besides Redford, they are: author Edwidge Danticat, choreographer Judith Jamison, lawyer and retiring university trustee Matthew J. Mallow, National University of Singapore President Shih Choon Fong, literary agent and retiring university trustee Wendy J. Strothman, and planetary geophysicist Maria T. Zuber. Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:38 PM | Comment Selectman seat, more on Somerset ballot todaySOMERSET, Mass. -- As voters headed to the polls today in Somerset, local political observers said nearly all of the races were too uncertain to call. There are 12,397 eligible voters. The polls close at 8 p.m. Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:47 PM | Comment Alert: Foam makers offer $30M to Station fire victimsPROVIDENCE -- Several polyurethane foam manufacturers have tentatively agreed to pay $30 million to the victims of The Station nightclub fire in settlement of federal civil suits now pending against them in connection with the 2003 West Warwick blaze that killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others. The new settlement offers were filed today in U.S. District Court in Providence. All together, this brings the pool of money offered to victims thus far to $102.815 million. But the settlement offers are only tentative at this point. The fire victims and their families won’t be getting any of the money anytime soon. The foam companies that have offered the new settlements are: Foamex International and General Foam -- a company it acquired in 2001 which lawyers claimed may have manufactured the highly flammable foam that caught fire in The Station; Leggett & Platt; FFNC, Inc., also known as Future Foam of North Carolina; and Wm. T. Burnett & Co., Inc., three other foam manufacturers also sued by the victims. The victims’ lawyers have been conducting tests on the polyurethane foam recovered from the ruins of The Station nightclub in an attempt to determine which company manufactured the foam. They sued several companies they believed could have manufactured it. The settlement agreement as worded does not disclose which of these companies actually supplied the foam that The Station’s owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, installed on the walls and ceiling of their club for soundproofing. All of the companies offering today’s settlement were sued as potential suppliers by the victims. Mark Mandell, a lawyer representing many of the fire victims, said “the settlement documents speak for themselves” and that the only comment the plaintiffs’ lawyers would be making would be in open court. The Derderians bought the soundproofing foam they installed in their club from American Foam in Johnston, another defendant in the civil suits now pending in federal court here. The fire erupted in their nightclub the night of Feb. 20, 2003, when Daniel M. Biechele, the manager for the rock band Great White, set off pyrotechnics at the beginning of the show. Sparks from the fireworks ignited the highly flammable foam that lined the walls and ceiling of the club. The fire spread so quickly that many of the patrons could not escape. Extra: See projo.com's continuing report on The Station fire and its aftermath, including a multimedia piece called Fatal Foam, featuring the results of a burn test conducted for The Providence Journal. -- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton
The suits allege that the foam manufacturers “owed a duty of care to all purchasers and/or ultimate users and/or recipients of the foam product, including plaintiffs, in the design, manufacture, testing, inspecting, producing, selling or distributing of the foam product” but failed to use such care. The victims claim that the foam manufacturers failed to adequately test and research “the effects” of the foam they manufactured; and failed to warn and educate potential and actual users of the foam’s potential hazards. The suits allege that the use and misuse of such foam “is a foreseeable hazard” and that polyurethane foam “used as an interior finish has been the primary fuel load in fatal fires in places of public assembly for decades.” The public, the lawsuits say, is not aware of this and should have been warned. “It was manufactured and sold untreated without any flame-retardant chemicals, ignited too easily, burned too easily once ignited and produced unreasonably dangerous toxic smoke and gases,” the lawsuits allege. Foamex International, a publicly traded company on the OTC exchange, was sued because it took over certain assets of General Foam’s business in 2001. Leggett & Platt is a Fortune 500 company that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The lawsuits allege that Leggett & Platt, doing business as Crest-Hood Foam Company and Crest Hood, manufactured highly flammable and dangerous foam that was installed at the Station. The same allegations were leveled against FFNC, a Nebraska corporation, and Wm. T. Burnett & Co., Inc., a Maryland corporation previously known as Montevideo, Inc. The $30-million settlement offer by the foam manufacturers are contingent on the plaintiffs and Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux agreeing to them. The judge must make a determination that each settlement offer is being made in good faith before any of the money is disbursed. There’s another condition, too: Before any money is put into the pot, the lawyers representing those who want to settle want some assurance that if they pay now, they won’t be on the hook for more money later if the case goes to trial and other defendants who don’t settle are found liable and then try to come after them for part of the verdict. A court-appointed special master is working on a matrix that would be used to determine how much each plaintiff would receive. That also must be approved by the court. Not every plaintiff will share equally in whatever proceeds are given out. The grid being devised by Duke University law Prof. Francis E. McGovern -- who is donating his services to the fire victims -- takes into account such things as severity of injury and number of dependent survivors. Those suing for money damages include those who were injured in the blaze and their family members and the families of those who perished. -- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:38 PM | Comment West Warwick veteran to receive Bronze StarA West Warwick resident and Army Veteran of the Vietnam War is set to receive a host of commendations this afternoon, including a Bronze Star. Joseph B. Machado Jr. will be recognized today “for bravery and valor while serving against an armed enemy of the United States during the Vietnam War,” according to a statement sent from Sen. Jack Reed. Reed, a member of the Armed Services Committee, will present Machado with a Bronze Star Medal, as well as the Purple Heart Medal with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster; the Army Commendation Medal; the Good Conduct Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Vietnam Service Medal with Two Bronze Stars; the Expert Badge with Grenade Bar; the Marksman Badge with Auto Rifle Bar; and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with Device 1960. The ceremony was set for 2 p.m. today at Reed’s office in Cranston, suite 290. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:14 PM | Comment Update: Higher ed chief Warner does not get Pa. jobPROVIDENCE -- Jack R. Warner, Rhode Island's higher education commissioner, will not become chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which announced today it's chosen a Florida university president for the post. John C. Cavanaugh, president of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, will succeed Judy G. Hample as chancellor of Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities, a Pennsylvania higher education statement says today. Warner was one of three original finalists for the Pennsylvania job. The list winnowed to Warner and Cavanaugh after Richard Wells, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh chancellor, withdrew from consideration on May 2, according to The Patriot News in Harrisburg . Warner became Rhode Island's commissioner in 2002 after more than 30 years' teaching and administration work with the Massachusetts public college system. He earns about $135,000 a year. He advises the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education and runs the Office of Higher Education, which manages and supports Rhode Island’s three public colleges: the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island. “I’m very pleased that the agenda we’ve had in Rhode Island was enough to help make me an attractive candidate to such a large and complex system as Pennsylvania’s,” Warner said today. “I have been happy in Rhode Island and am certainly committed to continue to do the work I have been doing here.” Warner, who was recruited to apply for the Pennsylvania position, said he is not looking for another job. Pennsylvania's current system chancellor is paid about $325,000 a year and is leaving to become the University of Mary Washington president in Virginia. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Jennifer D. Jordan and Journal archival reports Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:37 PM | Comment PETA offers free gas, tofu in thinly veiled promotionPROVIDENCE -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, angling for media coverage of their stand on global warming and animal rights, is dangling the promise of two women who will barely be covered at all. Wearing nothing but "strategically placed lettuce leaves," two ladies of animal-rights organization PETA will give out "free Tofurky brand mock-turkey sandwiches" and gift cards for two gallons of gas to the first 50 people at a Providence Shell gas station tomorrow, a PETA news release out today says. It's slated to happen at 457 Benefit St., Providence, from 2 to 3 p.m. But it's not supposed to be about a, um, meat market. PETA is "doing lunch" at the station to let drivers know "the best thing that they can do for the environment is jettison their meat-based diets. Eating meat is a more environmentally harmful habit than driving an SUV," the release states. PETA asserts that eating a pound of meat is the "environmental equivalent of driving more than 40 miles in an SUV" and that University of Chicago researchers found going to a vegan diet is more effective at countering global warming than switching to a Toyota Prius. "In a time of rising gas prices and rising concern for the environment, we're going the extra mile to help Americans fill up on vegan fuel for their tummies and gas for their tanks," Colleen Higgins, identified by PETA as "lettuce lady," said in the statement. The news release offered a Web site for more information. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:17 PM | Comment Lane closures this week on Rte. 95 for more Iway workLanes will be closed on Routes 95 and 195 this week as the state works on the next phase of the relocation of Route 195 in Providence, known as the Iway project. The state Department of Transportation closed one of the Exit 20 ramp's lanes yesterday to make room for a construction zone to build a temporary on-ramp that will bring traffic onto Route 195 East from Hoppin Street. The temporary ramp will replace the Exit 20 ramp, which is scheduled to close later this spring. During the night, today through Thursday, drivers can expect lanes to be closed on Route 95 north and south between Exits 17 and 22, and on Route 195 between Exits 1 and 5, while crews do striping and other work. The DOT says later this month it will announce more Iway construction-related closures. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:30 PM | Comment It's not just gas -- stamps get more expensive tooGas isn't the only thing that got more expensive today. 
The "Forever" stamp
Mailing a letter will now cost you more. That's because the price of first-class mail stamps went up –– again –– to 42 cents. It was just a year ago that prices skipped from 39 cents to 41 cents. The “Forever” stamps, introduced last year for 41 cents, will still work for first-class mail, even after today's rate change. There are rate changes across the board; to see them all, visit the USPS Web site. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:19 PM | Comment Threat spurs backpack searches at Cranston schoolCRANSTON -- An unspecified written threat found in a Western Hills Middle School bathroom at the end of school Friday led to a backpack search of all students and staff entering the school today, according to the principal. Principal Norma Cole would not elaborate on specifics of the threat, but said it had no time element and was in graffiti form typically found scrawled in school bathrooms. Parents on an e-mail list were notified. There have been no problems or incidents today, Cole said. Students were admitted through two entrances, where the checks were done. "Whenever there is anything that is suggestive about a threat we do backpack checks for everybody coming in," Cole said. Students noticed the graffiti at the end of the school day and reported it, she said. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:49 AM | Comment Trial of former CVS executives opens in federal court
Daniel Patelas, a trial attorney from the Justice Department’s public integrity unit in Washington, D.C, said that John R. "Jack’’ Kramer, 75, and Carlos Ortiz, 64, hired Celona as a consultant to draft and influence legislation that would help Woonsocket-based CVS. For more than three years, beginning in the late 90s, CVS paid Celona $1,000-a-month to provide the company with consulting work. "John Celona took actions and deferred from taking actions, in part, because he was being paid by CVS,’’ Patalas said. He said that the government would provide overwhelming evidence that Kramer and Ortiz are guilty of felony charges of bribery, conspiracy and fraud. Kramer and Ortiz were named in a 23-count indictment that charges them with bribery, fraud and conspiring to deprive Rhode Islanders of the honest services of a public official: Celona. Patelas said that Kramer and Ortiz bribed Celona by providing him with choice tickets to Red Sox games at Fenway Park, as well as having CVS pick up the tab for golf trips to sunny resorts in Key Biscayne, Florida, and San Diego. They also are accused of scoring tickets for Celona and his wife to attend the taping of an Oprah Winfrey show in Chicago. Kramer’s lawyer, David B. Fein, of Stamford, Conn., in addressing the jury, said that there was nothing untoward about Celona’s hiring and his relationship with CVS. He said that Celona was hired as a consultant and the professional relationship was above board. "Mr. Kramer did not intend to deceive the public,’’ Fein said. "John Celona told Kramer and Ortiz that he had received approval from the (Rhode Island) Ethics Commission to work for CVS.’’ -- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski Fein also said that Kramer, as senior vice president of corporate and community relations, knew what he was doing when he hired Celona to help promote the company. "Mr. Kramer was not shy in seeking publicity for CVS,’’ Fein said. He said that Kramer directed the annual CVS Charity Golf Classic at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington and the CVS 5K Classic Road Race, the state’s largest road race that attracts some of the world’s top runners each September. Fein said that Celona decided to plead guilty to cooperate with the government and provide evidence against Kramer and Ortiz when he realized that it could shave 12 months off his prison sentence. He pointed out that it took Celona months to offer up the damaging information against the former CVS executives. The trial began at 9 a.m. with Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi welcoming the jury for the criminal case that is expected to last at least three weeks. The third-floor courtroom was crowded with more than 50 lawyers, reporters and family and friends of Kramer and Ortiz. Celona, who is being held at the Donald W. Wyatt Federal Detention Center in Central Falls, is expected to spend several days in the witness stand this week. Posted by Jack Perry at 11:43 AM | Comment Bunnell trial: Toddler's injuries worse than spankingPROVIDENCE –– A pediatrician who examined Thomas “T.J.” Wright the night he was beaten said the three-year-old homicide victim had injuries far worse than commonly inflicted by a spanking when he was admitted to Hasbro Children’s Hospital barely clinging to life. “What we saw on T.J. was not normal to the discipline of a child. This was excessive force,” Dr. Reena Isaac. Dr. Isaac, who now teaches at the Baylor College of Medicine, offered the testimony this morning on the fifth day of Katherine Bunnell’s trial in Superior Court on charges of murder and conspiracy to murder. Bunell, 24 and her boyfriend, Gilbert Delestre, 27, are accused of beating three-year-old T.J. to death after the boy, who had been placed in their care as foster parents, made a mess in the living room of their Woonsocket apartment. They are being tried separately because each is expected to implicate the other in the Oct. 30, 2004, beating. Delestre, who, like Bunnell, is being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions, made a videotaped statement in which he said T.J. was injured by a tumble down the stairs. But Dr. Isaac, a pediatrician with a subspecialty in forensic pediatrics and child abuse, said the injuries T.J. suffered were inconsistent with such a scenario. She said that T.J. had showed signs of multiple blunt force trauma when he came into the hospital -- Journal staff writer John Castellucci Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:26 AM | Comment Lt. governor brings health care proposal to PawtucketThis evening Pawtucket residents can learn about and question the lieutenant governor and proponents of her proposed health care package at a public meeting this evening. In the ninth of such meetings, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and proponents of her proposed eight-bill health-care plan will meet with residents at the library. Roberts has said in a statement that she also wants to hear anecdotes from residents, families or business owners who have had problems dealing with the rising cost of health care. The meeting is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Pawtucket Public Library, at 13 Summer St. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:49 AM | Comment Central Falls park where teen killed gets federal moneyCENTRAL FALLS — Central Falls is receiving thousands of federal dollars to revitalize a park that was the site of a fatal shooting. Sen. Jack Reed was in town today to announce the nearly $200,000 in funding. The money is meant to help clean up and rehabilitate Jenks Park and other areas. Jenks Park is a frequent gathering spot for the city’s teenagers. Nineteen-year-old Helder Tomar was shot to death there on April 26 after he got into an argument with another teenager. Reed’s office says upgrading the park will give children a safer place to play and also could boost the economy by increasing pedestrian traffic and improving property values. -- The Associated Press Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:40 AM | Comment Gasoline, heating oil hit new highs -- againIf you were among those waiting at the gas pumps yesterday, this won't come as a surprise. Gas prices in Rhode Island have increased another 10 cents in the past week to reach another record high, according to AAA Southern New England. The average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $3.709 at the self-service pump, according to AAA's weekly survey. That's 57 cents more than drivers were paying at the beginning of the year. Another survey, by the Rhode Island Office of Energy Recourses, had the average price at $3.739 per gallon, a 13-cent increase over the price their survey found last week. Diesel fuel drivers are paying even more, an average of $4.46 per gallon, according to AAA. The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources' survey found diesel selling for $4.539 a gallon. The price of home heating oil averaged $4.309 a gallon, up 32 cents a gallon, The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. The prices in the state survey ranged from $4.549 a gallon to $4.059 a gallon. Special report: How increasing fuel prices are affecting our daily lives. Posted by Jack Perry at 10:13 AM | Comment Trial of former CVS executives to start/ Photo
PROVIDENCE — Opening statements are scheduled today in the federal corruption trial of two former CVS executives accused of bribing a Rhode Island state senator. John R. Kramer, 75, and Carlos Ortiz, 64, are charged with bribery and conspiracy to deprive Rhode Islanders of the honest services of a public official, former Sen. John A. Celona, of North Providence. Last week, the prosecution and the defense chose a jury of 12 members, plus four alternates, to hear evidence in the trial, which is expected to last four weeks. Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi has scheduled testimony from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the downtown federal courthouse in Providence, leaving the afternoons free for any issues that the lawyers need to argue outside the presence of the jury. Read a special report on Operation Dollar bill. -- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton After both sides present their opening statements to the jury, the first witness will take the stand. While the leadoff witness was not announced, the prosecution’s featured witness, Celona, is sitting in a jail cell at the Wyatt Detention Center, in Central Falls, having been moved there last week from a federal prison in Pennsylvania. Celona, who is serving a 2½-year sentence, pleaded guilty to selling his office to CVS, Roger Williams Medical Center and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and has cooperated with authorities in the wide-ranging State House corruption probe known as Operation Dollar Bill. The CVS charges revolve around Celona’s hiring as a $1,000-a-month consultant by the nation’s biggest drugstore chain, ostensibly to help with community relations, but in reality to do the company’s bidding at the State House, prosecutors charge. One of the issues that has surfaced in pretrial skirmishes between the prosecution and the defense is the government’s proposed use of state grand-jury testimony by Ortiz suggesting that Ortiz was not enthusiastic about Celona’s hiring, and that it was more the decision of Kramer, Ortiz’s superior. Kramer’s lawyers object, saying that they would have no way to cross-examine Ortiz unless he takes the stand in his defense. Posted by Jack Perry at 9:49 AM | Comment 3 to be arraigned in Central Falls stabbingCentral Falls police say there was a non-fatal stabbing in that city yesterday. The stabbing took place near the area of Jenks Park, where two weeks ago, Helder Tomar, 19, was fatally shot. The next day, Edelmiro Roman, 16, was shot and killed at the corner of Dexter and Darling Streets. Police said at the time that the two shootings were likely related. Police say three people were involved in the stabbing and are set to be arraigned in District Court today. Their names were not immediately available. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina
Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:38 AM | Comment New fire chief to be sworn in in CranstonMore than 60 firefighters will share the spotlight in Cranston tomorrow -- including the city’s new fire chief -- at a ceremony for the Cranston Fire Department. James Gumbley will be sworn in as Cranston’s new fire chief and 65 firefighters will be promoted at a ceremony at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet. It’s the first promotions ceremony for the department in five years. The Cranston High School West Choir will perform the National Anthem; the Cranston Firefighters Color Guard will post colors, and additional music will be performed by the Rhode Island Professional Firefighters Pipe and Drum. The ceremony is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Rhodes. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:20 AM | Comment Robots to the rescue (of commuters)Can Legos help the bus pick up passengers on time? A group of middle school students may answer that and other transportation related questions today at a commuting themed robotics challenge. The competition –– sponsored by the state Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center –– is the kick-off event for National Transportation Week, which began yesterday. Fifteen teams from 12 middle schools will be letting loose robots that they built with Lego robotics kits. The machines are charged with carrying out transportation-themed tasks, such as moving disabled vehicles to a garage or picking up passengers at a bus stop. The competition is set to begin at 10 a.m. today in the URI Memorial Ballroom. Click below for a list of participating schools. Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School of Coventry Archie Cole Middle School and our Lady of Mercy School, East Greenwich Barrington Middle School, Barrington Birchwood Middle School and Ricci Middle School, North Providence John F. Deering Middle School, West Warwick Martin Middle School and Riverside Middle School, East Providence Parkview Middle School and Bain Middle School, Cranston Perry Middle School, Providence Winman Junior High School, Warwick Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:02 AM | Comment Request for new trial in smoke-shop case delayedThe Superior Court has put off hearing a request by defense attorneys for a new trial in the case of Narragansett tribe members arrested during a police raid on a tribal smoke shop. The motion hearing was initially scheduled to begin today, but has been rescheduled for June 2. No reason was given for the postponement. The case stemmed from a July 2003 state police raid on a Narragansett Indian smoke shop that was selling cigarettes tax free. The raid on tribal land turned violent, and seven adult Narragansetts were arrested. In addition, the jury found Tribal Councilman Hiawatha Brown of assaulting a trooper and also of disorderly conduct. He was acquitted of resisting arrest. First Councilman Randy Noka was found guilty of disorderly conduct, while being cleared of resisting arrest. The jury cleared four tribal members altogether. Extra: Our full report on the raid and trial Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:19 AM | Comment Trial to start for former CVS executivesPROVIDENCE — Opening statements are scheduled today in the federal corruption trial of two former CVS executives accused of bribing a Rhode Island state senator. John R. Kramer, 75, and Carlos Ortiz, 64, are charged with bribery and conspiracy to deprive Rhode Islanders of the honest services of a public official, former Sen. John A. Celona, of North Providence. Last week, the prosecution and the defense chose a jury of 12 members, plus four alternates, to hear evidence in the trial, which is expected to last four weeks. Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi has scheduled testimony from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the downtown federal courthouse in Providence, leaving the afternoons free for any issues that the lawyers need to argue outside the presence of the jury. Read a special report on Operation Dollar bill. -- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton After both sides present their opening statements to the jury, the first witness will take the stand. While the leadoff witness was not announced, the prosecution’s featured witness, Celona, is sitting in a jail cell at the Wyatt Detention Center, in Central Falls, having been moved there last week from a federal prison in Pennsylvania. Celona, who is serving a 2½-year sentence, pleaded guilty to selling his office to CVS, Roger Williams Medical Center and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and has cooperated with authorities in the wide-ranging State House corruption probe known as Operation Dollar Bill. The CVS charges revolve around Celona’s hiring as a $1,000-a-month consultant by the nation’s biggest drugstore chain, ostensibly to help with community relations, but in reality to do the company’s bidding at the State House, prosecutors charge. One of the issues that has surfaced in pretrial skirmishes between the prosecution and the defense is the government’s proposed use of state grand-jury testimony by Ortiz suggesting that Ortiz was not enthusiastic about Celona’s hiring, and that it was more the decision of Kramer, Ortiz’s superior. Kramer’s lawyers object, saying that they would have no way to cross-examine Ortiz unless he takes the stand in his defense. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment May: Cold and windy?It looks like rain, and may even feel like rain, but the National Weather Service says we'll probably stay dry today. The big news is wind. We'll be breezy all day with east winds between 13 and 20 mph, gusting as high as 30 mph, and higher at the coasts. We can also expect clouds all day and temperatures reaching just 52 degrees -- about 10 degrees below average. We'll have a cloudy night tonight, with the clouds and the the winds keeping up. The sun makes a return tomorrow with high temperatures in the mid-60s and breezy, north winds between 18 and 20 mph. To keep up with the forecast, see projo.com's weather page. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page takes a look at the potential candidates for Rhode Island governor in 2010. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006