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May 23, 2008

Weekend: Memorial Day events and first WaterFire

There's plenty happening around Rhode Island this Memorial Day weekend -- whether it be a solemn ceremony, a weekend escape or a mix of both.

In historic Bristol, a wreath-laying ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow at the Veterans Home, 9 Court St., at noon. On Monday, Bristol's formal Memorial Day ceremony will include a parade on Hope Street. There will be a plaque and wreath-laying for Bernard "Butch" Almeida, whose status was recently changed from Missing in Action to Killed in Action.

In Cranston tomorrow, a ceremony will be at Pocasset Cemetery, Dyer Avenue, Cranston, at 10 am. Coffee will be served after the ceremony at Sprague Mansion, Cranston Street.

On Sunday in Charlestown, the parade forms at noon and steps off at 1 p.m. from the intersection of Route 1A and Ridgewood Road, traveling down Old Post Road to Fort Neck Road, where participants board buses to Ninigret Park for a ceremony there.

See projo.com's full listing of Memorial Day ceremonies.

It's also the weekend that begins beach season. Check out projo.com's guide and map for that.

In Providence, meanwhile, the season's first WaterFire is slated for tomorrow night.
Tradition holds that each WaterFire begins at sunset. Tomorrow that's 8:08 p.m.

Can't witness WaterFire tomorrow night? Ten more lightings are scheduled over the summer.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 7:00 PM | Comment

Carcieri vows to seek ethics opinion on hiring of niece

PROVIDENCE -- With a television news report resurrecting controversy around Governor Carcieri’s hiring of a niece five years ago -- and state Democratic chairman William Lynch alleging an ethics violation -- Carcieri today promised to seek an advisory opinion from the state Ethics Commission.

As first reported in The Providence Journal in January 2003, one of Governor-elect Carcieri’s first hires was Stephanie Accaputo of Kingston, the daughter of his wife’s brother. Initially hired in late 2002 as a $37,781-a-year staffer in the governor’s "constituent-affairs office,’’ the 40-year-old Accaputo currently makes $52,119.90 as an “administrative support specialist’’ in the executive department.

When first asked about her hiring in 2003, Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said Accaputo "very clearly earned" the position, by doing "glowing service" during the 14 months she worked on the Carcieri-for-governor campaign. "The governor was familiar [with] and confident in her ability and therefore was happy to hire her on," Neal said.

Amid budget cuts and threats of further state employee layoffs, Accaputo’s job has drawn renewed attention.

-- Katherine Gregg of the Journal State House Bureau

In the wake of a Channel 10 report Thursday night about her position, state Democratic Party chairman William Lynch accused Republican Carcieri of violating the state’s anti-nepotism law.

The Democratic party issued a press release headlined: “Don’t you wish you had an Uncle Don too? ‘’ State Republican Party Chairman Giovanni Cicione called it “laughable for Chairman Bill Lynch, whose politically connected family has a long history of employment in government posts, to try to press a nepotism charge against the Governor...when no violation exists.’’ (Lynch’s family includes his brother, Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch.)

And what does the law say?

The state’s ethic law has for decades banned public officials from using their public offices to benefit themselves or members of their families. In 1991, the first in a series of regulations was adopted that defined family as a spouse, dependent child and a select group of relatives “by blood, marriage or adoption,’’ including “parents, grandparents, adult children, siblings, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and first cousins.’’

In February 2007, the Ethics Commission adopted a new nepotism regulation aimed at clarifying any possible confusion around the disparate pieces of the earlier law and regulations. It says, in part: “No person subject to the Code of Ethics shall participate in any matter as part of his or her public duties if he or she has reason to believe or expect that any person within his or her family, or any household member…will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss, or obtain an employment advantage.’’

The definition of family was extended to include: step-niece and niece-in-law.

Carcieri would not respond to Journal inquiries today, but went on Dan Yorke’s WPRO radio talk show to announce his intention to seek an ethics opinion. While spokesman Jeff Neal would not say if Carcieri asked for the air time or made the time in response to a request for an on-air interview, he said: “I do not expect the Governor to grant any additional interviews today.’’

In the meantime, the governor’s office issued a statement in which Carcieri “disputed a suggestion by WJAR Channel 10 that he violated the state Ethics Code,’’ but said he would seek an advisory opinion on Accaputo’s “continued employment in state government.’’

Based on his reading of the law, “neither the statute nor the regulation in place at the time (of her hiring) clearly barred the employment of a public official’s niece-in-law. No such provision was enacted until 2007.’’

In a brief interview today, Lynch said he had not decided whether to file a formal ethics complaint against Carcieri, but the governor’s pledge to go to the Ethics Commission on his own for an opinion might mitigate the need.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:48 PM | Comment

Fire crews respond to incident in Exeter

EXETER -- Fire crews are on scene at an "incident" in the Horsemen's campground area, fire dispatch said.

Further details are not yet available.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:11 PM | Comment

Electricity and natural gas rate hikes proposed for R.I.

Just as consumers are facing higher food and gasoline costs, it appears that Rhode Islanders are about to get hit with significant increases in their electricity and natural gas bills.

National Grid this afternoon has proposed raising electricity rates by 15.6 percent and natural gas rates by 10 percent, both as of July 1.

Both increases would be the largest since the huge jumps in 2006 when rates were pushed higher as a result of the effects of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

A typical customer that has both gas and electricity would pay an extra $22 a month if both increases are approved by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, according to National Grid.

“In both cases … it’s a direct result of increases in the costs of natural gas and oil,” said David Graves, a spokesman for National Grid. “That’s what’s driving it.”

National Grid is Rhode Island’s dominant utility company, providing electricity service to 477,000 customers in 38 communities, and natural gas to about 245,000 customers in 33 communities. The company filed its rate increase proposals with the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission earlier today.

-- Journal staff writer Timothy C. Barmann

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:58 PM | Comment

Former Johnston police officer sentenced to 60 days

JOHNSTON -- A former Johnston police officer was sentenced to 60 days in prison earlier today by a Superior Court judge.

Marc Zaccagnini was found in violation of his five-year deferred sentence for vandalism and trespassing after he was convicted of committing simple assault in a separate case.

That conviction last month led Judge Gilbert Indeglia to impose prison time, emphasizing that Providence police arrested Zaccagnini only a short time after he had worked out his deferred sentence with the court last October.

Indeglia also said that Zaccagnini is “not the man on the street.” “He’s a law enforcement officer who’s taken an oath to enforce the law and abide by the law,” Indeglia said.

Zaccagnini was not led away in handcuffs because Indeglia opted to let him wait for the state’s Supreme Court to rule on an appeal in the case.

In April, Zaccagnini’s lawyer, Gary G. Pelletier, asked Indeglia to vacate Zaccagnini’s original plea on the trespassing and vandalism charges. The plea dates back to last fall.

Pelletier’s argument was that a Supreme Court ruling had later clarified the understanding of a deferred sentence and eliminated Zaccagnini’s chances for expunging his record.

Indeglia denied the request at the time. Today, he said Zaccagnini’s sentence would be imposed after the higher court decides the appellate matter.

Indeglia also sentenced Zaccagnini to an additional 10-month suspended sentence on the trespassing charge. After serving that sentence, he must serve another one-year suspended sentence on the vandalism charge.

Prosecutor Maureen Keough had asked Indeglia to send Zaccagnini to prison for six months, but he found 60 days to be “more appropriate.”

“He’s going to learn from that or he’s not going to learn at all,” Indeglia said.

“It will give him a taste of incarceration,” the judge said.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:35 PM | Comment

FAA sets flight restrictions over Kennedy compound

BOSTON -- Federal aviation officials have imposed a restricted flight zone over parts of Hyannis after intense media coverage of Sen. Edward Kennedy's diagnosis of brain cancer.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said the FAA began restricting air traffic on Wednesday. That was the day Kennedy returned to the compound in Hyannis Port after being released from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Peters said the restriction was put in place for safety reasons.

"We are aware that there might have been news organizations who wanted to operate in that space continuously," Peters said today. "It's a very small airspace."

Only unauthorized aircraft are being kept away, he said. Any aircraft landing or taking off from the Barnstable airport can go through the air space. Federal, state and local medical helicopters are also allowed, as are military aircraft.

The restrictions will remain in place until Tuesday.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:28 PM | Comment

CVS trial: Ortiz told grand jury he 'had a bad feeling'

PROVIDENCE -- When John Celona asked CVS to hire him as a consultant, one of the defendants in the CVS corruption trial says that he had ``a bad feeling’’ because ``it didn’t smell right’’ and ``I didn’t think it was right.’’

Those are the words of Carlos Ortiz, who is on trial in federal court with another former CVS executive, John R. ``Jack’’ Kramer, for bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud for hiring Celona.

Meanwhile, with the prosecution set to rest on Tuesday, the defense has called for a mistrial or, barring that, asked Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi to disallow ``false and misleading’’ testimony by Celona.

Ortiz didn’t take the stand in his defense today, and he may not next week. Still, the jury will consider his words in the form of sworn testimony that Ortiz gave in 2004 to a Rhode Island state grand jury that investigated Celona’s consulting agreement.

Ortiz gave the grand jury his recollection of a conversation he had regarding Celona with former CVS corporate communications director Todd Andrews, who testified this morning.

``Both he and I had some concerns about the, what the perception would be if it ever became public, that . . . it was going to smell the way it smelled,’’ Ortiz testified.

The transcript was introduced by the prosecution, over the pre-trial objections of defense lawyers for Kramer. Judge Lisi instructed the jurors that they could only consider it as evidence regarding Ortiz, not Kramer.

Read Journal coverage of testimony from earlier today, including from a former CVS communications director.

Read more on the trial and the Operation Dollar Bill corruption probe.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Ortiz described for the grand jury a meeting he had with Kramer and Celona at CVS headquarters before Celona was hired. Ortiz said that he asked Celona if his working for CVS would be okay with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission.

``I had a bad feeling about what he was proposing,’’ Ortiz testified. ``It just didn’t, it didn’t smell right.’’

Mirroring prior testimony in this trial, Ortiz told the grand jury that Celona responded that he had spoken to the Ethics Commission, and it would be ``no problem.’’ Ortiz said that he never pursued the matter further, and went ahead and drafted and signed a consulting agreement with Celona.

Ortiz said that Celona never gave him any formal reports on what he was doing for CVS, other than occasional e-mails mentioning a particular newspaper article or asking if Ortiz had seen Celona’s cable-access television show. Celona never mentioned any visits to talk to senior citizens about CVS services, Ortiz testified.

Ortiz also testified that he was concerned about Celona’s hiring because the senator served on an important committee that heard pharmacy-related legislation affecting a large part of CVS’s business.

The state prosecutor asked whether Ortiz was troubled just by ``the fear of bad publicity’’ or also ``that this might just be wrong?’’

Ortiz responded that ``everything about it, it was, you know, the bad publicity, but, you know, I didn’t think it was right.’’

Ortiz also testified that he never asked Celona to sponsor legislation benefiting CVS, although he didn’t know whether CVS’s lobbyists ever had. That testimony has been contradicted by evidence in this trial, including e-mails between Celona and Ortiz regarding legislation.

When court resumes next week, Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi will also have before her a defense motion, filed Wednesday, seeking a mistrial based on assertions that prosecutors knowingly solicited false testimony from Celona this week. Barring that, the defense asks that the judge disallow Celona’s testimony on a crucial point: his purported conversation with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission.

Celona testified this week that he didn’t identify CVS as his prospective employer when he spoke to someone at the Ethics Commission prior to his hiring, and that he didn’t subsequently discuss that conversation with Kramer, but just Ortiz. The defense motion cites Celona’s prior testimony in the Roger Williams Medical Center corruption trial that he did identify CVS to the Ethics Commission and that he told Kramer as well as Ortiz.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:15 PM | Comment

Grand jury indicts Bristol men on molestation charges

PROVIDENCE -- The Providence County Grand Jury has indicted two Bristol men on multiple child molestation charges in connection with incidents involving a 14-year-old boy.

Raymond Grenier, 53, and Sedonio Rodriques, 57, a gay couple who have served as foster parents, were arrested by the Bristol police in February after the state Department of Children, Youth and Families received an anonymous tip.

Grenier was indicted on three counts of first-degree child molestation, two counts of first-degree child molestation, and one count of indecent solicitation of a child. Rodriques was indicted on two counts of first-degree child molestation, one count of second-degree child molestation and one count of indecent solicitation of a child.

The incidents are alleged to have occurred in Bristol between Sept. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2006.

DCYF began its investigation after receiving the tip in late November. The tip concerned the licensed foster home of Rodriques and Grenier, who had two adopted children and two foster children.

A preliminary investigation concluded that the children were in "immediate peril," according to a DCYF spokesman. On Nov. 30, DCYF workers, escorted by Bristol police, removed the four children from the home at 26 Sampson St., Bristol.

The men were taken into custody Feb. 22.

Rodriques and Grenier will be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court on June 18.

-- Journal staff writer Alex Kuffner

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:02 PM | Comment

Update: Toddler taken to hospital after car accident

PROVIDENCE -- A toddler was taken to Hasbro Children's Hospital today after her brother lost control of the vehicle in which she was a passenger on Route 95, just north of the Exit 19/Eddy Street ramp, the state police said.

Daryn Jones, 18, of Providence was driving south on the highway, according to the police. The car swerved left and overturned, according to Lt. Steven Lefebvre of the State Police Lincoln barracks. It was not clear how Jones lost control of the vehicle.

The vehicle driven by Jones made contact with another vehicle, with minor damage resulting. The driver of the second vehicle was not injured, according to the police.

The child sustained some facial lacerations and was in stable condition, Lefebvre said. The child was in a car seat, he said.

The police are looking into whether speed played a role in the crash.

Authorities closed two lanes for a time, while other lanes remained open.

Traffic was backed up to Branch Avenue, and commuters on Route 195 were also affected. The accident happened shortly after 8 a.m.

-- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:55 PM | Comment

Providence/Newport ferry slated to resume tomorrow

In time for Memorial Day weekend, the ferry running between Providence and Newport is scheduled to resume trips tomorrow after being out of action for two days, according to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority.
The ferry has undergone mechanical work and did not run yesterday or today, said Karen Mensel, a RIPTA spokeswoman. She said she did not know what the mechanical work was, as the vessel is owned and operated by New England Fast Ferry.

The scheduled that resumes tomorrow will be in place until Oct. 16.

The ferry is set to run a regular weekday schedule on Monday, Memorial Day.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:04 PM | Comment

Blithewold offers $500 reward in theft of fountain / Photo

BRISTOL -- Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum is offering a $500 reward to anyone who can help in the recovery of an antique copper fountain that was stolen from the nonprofit organization’s property earlier this week.

The 1908 Art Nouveau fountain is original to Blithewold’s North Garden, part of the mansion’s picturesque grounds that are open to the public. It was stolen Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, the same time someone smashed an honor box on the property and stole an undetermined amount of cash from inside.

The organization reported the thefts to the police.

Karen Binder, executive director of Blithewold, said the handcrafted fountain will be impossible to replace.

“It is really a shame as we had just spent tens of thousands of dollars restoring and refitting our three historic fountains in the last year,” she said. “We’re celebrating our centennial year, so it’s especially unfortunate.”

At a minimum, she said, the fountain is valued at $3,000-$5,000.

Anyone with information about the fountain’s whereabouts can call Binder at 253-2707, ext. 12, or contact her by email at kbinder@blithewold.org.

-- Journal staff writer Alex Kuffner

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:00 PM | Comment

Bryant's U.S.-China Institute launches quake relief fund

The U.S.-China Institute at Bryant University has launched a China Earthquake Relief Fund aimed at helping schools and students recover from the May 12 earthquake.

All of the money raised will be used for educational purposes in the Sichuan province via the province’s education department. The institute will also work directly with the Sichuan government to monitor how the money is used.

“China’s media have reported that more than 7,000 schools in the province were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake,” Hong Yang, associate professor of science and technology and director of the U.S.-China Institute said in a statement. “As an educational institution with academic and cultural ties to several Chinese universities and organizations, we feel a special calling to assist in this way.”

Contributions –– which are tax deductible –– can be made out to Bryant University and sent to the school at 1150 Douglas Pike, Box 40, Smithfield, RI 02917. Donations are also being accepted online.

A group of local Chinese and Chinese-American organizations has also set up a relief fund.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:09 PM | Comment

CVS Trial: Prosecution may have wrapped up

The prosecution appears to have finished presenting its case against former CVS executives John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos Ortiz.

After hearing today from two former CVS employees and a current employee, Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi turned to prosecutors at 11:30 this morning and said that it appeared the government had no more witnesses for the day. She then sent the jury home about 90 minutes early for the long holiday weekend.

The early ending came after jurors heard brief testimony from Susan DelMonico, a lawyer who works in the Woonsocket-based CVS’s regulatory compliance division.

DelMonico testified that starting in the late 1990s, she spent a lot of time touting CVS in visits to senior citizens centers around Rhode Island as the company’s manager of community relations. She also said that she met former state Sen. John Celona at political fundraisers she attended with co-defendants Kramer and Ortiz, who are both facing charges of bribing Celona for favors at the State House.

But the prosecution didn’t get to another point it apparently wanted to highlight –– a conversation that DelMonico said she had with Kramer about Celona.

A defense lawyer for Ortiz objected to the prosecution’s question. That led to a sidebar conference between the lawyers and the judge, and after that, there were no further questions from the government and none from the defense.

Judge Lisi told the jurors to return to court next Tuesday at 9 a.m., at which point the government is expected to rest and the defense will have its turn to argue motions seeking dismissal of the charges and, barring that, to present its case.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:37 PM | Comment

Beer companies offer to settle Station suits for $21M

Anheuser-Busch Inc. and McLaughlin & Moran Inc. have agreed “in principle” to pay a total of $21 million to settle civil suits stemming from The Station nightclub fire, which killed 100 people, according to federal court documents filed today.

Anheuser-Busch, the world’s second-largest brewer, has reached a $5 million settlement, and beer distributor McLaughlin & Moran Inc. has reached a $16 million settlement, according to notices of settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Providence.

Anheuser-Busch, based in St. Louis, issued a statement from its vice president of legal and government affairs, Gary L. Rutledge.

“Our sympathies are with those impacted by the events at The Station nightclub. Anheuser-Busch had no responsibility for this tragedy, but is sensitive to the needs of the families. As a result, we wanted to direct the resources we would have committed to defending these lawsuits to the families.”

McLaughlin & Moran, based in Cranston, issued a statement saying its insurance carriers have tentatively accepted an offer from victims’ lawyers that calls for the insurance companies to pay $16 million.

“There has been no suggestion in the case that McLaughlin & Moran caused the fire,” the statement said. “Claims have been made that the company was liable in part for ‘sponsoring’ the event. The company has vigorously defended those claims, but we are pleased that a conditional settlement has been reached, and we hope that the case can be concluded quickly so that the funds can be distributed.”

John P. Barylick, a lawyer representing many of the victims, said plaintiffs lawyers “will only comment in court and will rely on our pleadings.”

Lawyers representing plaintiffs in all pending Station fire cases have agreed to the settlements, but the settlements hinge on the approval of all plaintiffs, the approval of the court, the filing of documents that would preserve claims against other defendants, and court approval of the plan for divvying up the money, according to the notices of settlement.

The new settlement offers bring the pool of money offered to victims to nearly $122.8 million, including the $30 million that several polyurethane foam manufacturers tentatively agreed to pay earlier this month.

The fire was sparked by pyrotechnics that the manager of the Great White rock band set off at the outset of a Feb. 20, 2003, show at the West Warwick nightclub. Sparks from the fireworks ignited highly flammable foam that was used as soundproofing, and the flames spread so quickly that many patrons could not escape.

-- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick

Read the Journal's continuing coverage of the Station nightclub fire and its aftermarth.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:16 PM | Comment

Reporter's query: Planning a Sex and the City party?

Any Sex and the City fan worth her Manolos knows that the long-awaited movie version of our favorite HBO series opens on Friday.

What are you doing to mark the occasion? Gathering your girlfriends for pre-screening Cosmopolitans? Buying a(nother) pair of impossibly high heels? Hiring a limo with your plus-ones and walking down your own pink carpet?

E-mail your fabulous plans to sendus@projo.com. We’ll include the best in our Sex and the City package, coming Thursday.

Posted by maria caporizzo at 1:11 PM | Comment

ACLU challenges Narragansett party penalties

The ACLU's Rhode Island chapter today filed a lawsuit calling unconstitutional Narragansett's regulation that lets police charge renters/tenants and landlords for "unruly gatherings" in residences and put orange stickers on the homes.

An ACLU suit in Superior Court against the South County coastal town is on behalf of the University of Rhode Island's Student Senate and four students and three landlords who, according an ACLU news release, have been affected by the ordinance enforcement.

The ordinance violates the plaintiffs’ rights to "procedural and substantive due process, privacy and freedom of association," the ACLU asserts. The ordinance “gives sole discretion to the police department” to put stickers on houses where alleged unruly gatherings happened, “without any opportunity for a hearing or appeal by owner or renter.”

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

Plaintiffs David Keach, Timothy DeMerchant and Michael Spatcher face pending charges in district court of violating the ordinance, the ACLU says. Two other plaintiff URI students, Warren Byrne and Ben Cuddy, were evicted after the police put an orange sticker on the house they were renting and, the ACLU says, had to pay rent for the rest of the school year for both that residence and their new one.

Landlord plaintiffs Walter Manning and Steven and Karen Jedson own houses that received an orange sticker. They assert it adversely affected their ability to rent the houses, the ACLU says.

Read Journal coverage of a recent Narragansett\URI Coalition meeting that included various sides on this issue.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:00 PM | Comment

Priest, family friend, remembers Pagano 'cherished life'

CRANSTON -- The Rev. Thomas McGonigle told hundreds today at the funeral Mass for slain firefighter Lt. James A. Pagano that Pagano lived on, and in mysterious ways, would continue as a source of love and support for all who knew him for the rest of their lives.

People filled the pews. Firefighters lined the walls. And McGonigle, a Pagano family friend, gave the homily at the Church of St. Mark for Pagano, who the police say was shot and killed by a next-door neighbor in Cranston Sunday.

"In the mystery of our journey as human beings, both life and death are with us," McGonigle said.

He continued: "We did not choose the time and place when we came into this world and, in most cases, we do not choose the time and place in which we leave this world."

McGonigle said that "God knows how to bring good, even out of tragedy itself."

He added that Pagano was "a source of love, life and support for his family, his friend, his neighbors and the firefighters" with which he served.

Pagano "would have laid down his life for another," McGonigle said, "because he cherished life."

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Tom Mooney

Pagano funeral: One last trip through the neighborhood

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:12 PM | Comment

Update: Medicaid cap plan could affect 186,000+ RIers

PROVIDENCE -- More than 186,000 Rhode Islanders may be affected by a Carcieri administration plan to overhaul the state’s Medicaid system, which includes programs for tens of thousands of elderly, disabled and low-income Rhode Islanders.

But the proposal, which is already being negotiated with federal officials, must survive the General Assembly, which has expressed concern that the ambitious plan may cause a “catastrophe” for the state’s most vulnerable citizens down the road.

A spokesman for the House of Representatives, Larry Berman, said this morning that lawmakers will spend the coming weeks deciding whether to endorse the plan as they craft a state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

“Now it’s just a question of what they’re going to do when the budget is put together,” Berman said this morning. “The budget will probably be released in the next two or three weeks.”

In a series of recent public hearings devoted to the issue, advocates for seniors have warned of waiting lists for the elderly, reduced access to in-home care, and cuts to transportation programs for medical appointments. Parents of disabled children made emotional pleas to lawmakers to block the cap, fearing they’d lose funding for part-time in-home aides. And others fear the move would force lawmakers to cut thousands more off the state’s health-care program for the poor, RIte Care.

“It alarms us to think of frail 80- and 90-year-olds in need of assistance with activities of daily living on waiting lists for care,” said Maureen Maigret, former Department of Elderly Affairs director, and current policy director for the Senior Agenda Coalition.

Administration officials, meanwhile, argue the current system is already facing substantial risk as costs continue to climb and the state’s financial health worsens.

“I understand the risk involved and I understand the concerns of the community, but right now we are past the risk point,” said Gary Alexander, director of the state Department of Human Services. “We may be at a point where, just to balance the budget, we’ll be taking 30,000 to 40,000 people off our current programs for [fiscal year] 2010 because we don’t have any more money.”

Read a description of the Medicaid proposals in Article 19 of the governor's proposed fiscal 2009 budget.

Your turn: In a tight budget year, would you spend tax money to maintain current Medicaid spending on the elderly, poor and disabled?

-- Steve Peoples of the Journal State House Bureau

There are still many questions as to how the Carcieri administration would execute the plan. Details are being ironed out behind closed doors between the state Department of Human Services and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

But what is clear is that Rhode Island is negotiating something that has never been done in the United States.

The plan calls for Rhode Island to agree to limit spending on all its Medicaid programs -- at a rate yet to be determined for the next five years. In exchange, the Carcieri administration would have greater flexibility to change the programs -- in ways that have yet to be determined, in many cases.

The stakes are high, not only in terms of the people affected, but in the potential impact on the state’s financial health. Rhode Island’s Medicaid spending totaled more than $1.8 billion, one quarter of the total state budget, in fiscal year 2006, the most recent annual data available. (The federal government currently pays 52 cents out of every dollar spent on Rhode Island’s Medicaid program.)

There is concern that the agreement being negotiated, known as a “global waiver,” would lock Rhode Island into spending levels that are based on unrealistic assumptions. If actual costs exceeded the negotiated cap, the state would have no option but to cut people off services or pay for the additional programs on its own without a federal match.

Among the likely changes, the state would set strict new criteria for elderly residents wishing to enter nursing homes (the department has yet to finalize the specific criteria). But, “a second new group of persons with lower care needs, who under today’s standards would be eligible for nursing home care, would now be limited to home and community care services, but they would only get services if funding is available,” Maigret said.

The General Assembly, which largely controls the state budget, has the power to block the plan.

House Finance Committee chairman Steven M. Costantino this week expressed serious concern over the global waiver. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about this. Maybe we need a year. Maybe we need a year to do this global waiver and start working on it where it’s fully flushed out,” he said. “I don’t want to put the state at so much risk that in the third year, we’ve got a major catastrophe for the state of Rhode Island.”

Vermont is the only state to have arranged something close to what the Carcieri administration is seeking.

In 2005, Vermont secured two broad federal Medicaid waivers to restructure its Medicaid program, becoming the first state in the nation to agree to cap its Medicaid spending. In exchange, the state received greater flexibility to use the federal dollars on non-Medicaid health programs and to reduce benefits, increase co-pays and cap enrollment for some programs.

The agreement has worked out well for Vermont so far. But a report issued by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2006 warns other states of potential risks.

“As a small state that was willing to set the precedent of accepting an aggregate cap on federal Medicaid funds, Vermont secured a relatively generous financing arrangement and significant fiscal relief,” reads the report. “If other states were to seek similar waivers, they would likely receive more limited financing, making it more likely that they would fall short of federal funding and face pressure to reduce coverage.”

Senior advocates such as Maigret generally support the administration’s plans to reduce the dependence of nursing homes in Rhode Island. The global waiver simply isn’t the best way to get there, she said.

“There’s enough uncertainty on this proposal that we can’t tell seniors that they will have access to services they currently have access to,” Maigret said. “A global cap presents risks to the state. It also puts elders at risk for service denials. This is a risk we do not support.”

-- Steve Peoples of the Journal State House Bureau

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:59 AM | Comment

Pagano funeral: One last trip through the neighborhood

CRANSTON -- The funeral procession came through Jimmy Pagano's old neighborhood in Garden City and it brought the neighborhood to a standstill as his casket was led and surrounded by Cranston firefighters and the Rhode Island Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drums Corps.

As the procession came to the church it passed by the Garden City Barbershop, where people stood quietly and watched them pass.

Outside the Canston-Johnston Catholic Regional School, students and teachers stood in silence, some of the children had their hands over their hearts.

The police have charged Nicholas Gianquitti, 40, with murdering Pagano after the neighbors allegedly had a dispute. A District Court judge Wednesday ordered Gianquitti held without bail.

As the procession neared the Church of St. Mark, firefighters from all over the state stood at attention. Cranston firefighters lined either side of the walkway into the church.

As the casket was brought in by six Cranston firefighters who'd been closest to Pagano, the Cranston firefighters on either side of the aisle raised their white gloves in a salute. Pagano's family walked behind the mahogany casket, some of them bursting into tears. Pagano was a married father of two.

"What's the worst is seeing the family," said retired Providence fire investigator Bob Jarvis, a drummer in the pipes and drums corps. "The whole thing is just tragic. It was senseless."

Outside an old friend watched in awe. Greg Mancini, of North Kingstown, had grown up with Pagano as one of the "Garden City boys," their homes only a few streets away.

Mancini said he had stood in line at the wake last night for his old friend for two hours. Pagano's death has brought together many people. Some of his old friends had flown in from all across the country to be here.

"The whole thing is unfortunate and unecessary," Mancini said.

Firefighters from Cranston, Providence, Bristol, Coventry and elsewhere paid respects yesterday at Pagano's wake.

From The Journal: More about Pagano and the shooting.

-- Journal staff writers Amanda Milkovits and Tom Mooney

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:53 AM | Comment

CVS trial: Ex-PR chief recalls preparing 'talking points'

PROVIDENCE -- CVS's former communications director testified today that when he learned John A. Celona was a paid consultant of the giant Woonsocket-based drugstore chain, he devised a title and prepared "talking points" to explain Celona's duties in case a reporter ever called to ask about it.

Todd Andrews, now vice president of alumni relations at Brown University, testified in federal court that defendant Carlos Ortiz told him about Celona early in 2001, about one year after the then-North Providence senator went on the CVS payroll as a $1,000-a-month consultant.

Andrews said that Ortiz raised the issue during a "gripe session" about his boss, John R. "Jack" Kramer.

Ortiz and Kramer are on trial on charges of bribing Celona -- who is now serving a 2½-year prison sentence in Pennsylvania and is the government's star witness -- to push the drugstore chain's legislative agenda at the State House.

"He told me that Mr. Celona was acting as a P.R. consultant for CVS, that he was going to senior centers and talking to seniors about services they were getting from CVS," Andrews said of Ortiz.

Ortiz also told Andrews that Celona helped prepare Kramer for appearances on Celona's cable access television show.

"He told me that Celona had an Ethics Commission ruling that made that work permissable," Andrews said.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Extra: Our continuing report on this trial and on the Operation Dollar Bill corruption probe

Ortiz also said, according to Andrews, that Celona was providing reports "accounting for what he was doing for the company."

At the end of the conversation, Andrews said, Ortiz asked him: "please don't tell anyone."

Andrews testified that he went back to his office and developed written talking points, later approved by Ortiz, that described Celona's duties. Andrews said that he also gave Celona a title -- community outreach specialist.

Earlier today, a former CVS vice president, Jim Smith, testified that when he took over the CVS government affairs department in spring 2003, he conducted a budget review and asked Ortiz about Celona's consulting agreement.

"I asked Carlos, 'Are we getting any value for that?' and he said no. So I recommended that we terminate him," Smith said.

Celona was terminated later that summer.

Ortiz and Kramer are accused of 23 counts of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud for allegedly hiring Celona as a consultant from 2000 to 2003 to do the company's bidding. The defense, however, says Celona did legitimate community outreach, promoting CVS and its charitable endeavors to senior citizens.

Read Journal coverage of yesterday's trial developments, as Celona spent his fourth and final day on the witness stand.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:39 AM | Comment

Gas goes up a lot, travel declines a little

High gasoline prices are convincing some people that closer is better when it comes to Memorial Day plans.

For the first time since 2002, AAA is forecasting a drop in the number of Memorial Day travelers that drive 50 miles or farther from home during this long weekend.

AAA attributed the 2002 decline to anxiousness from the terrorist attacks of the previous year. This year, the organization blames close-to-$4-a-gallon prices for a a 0.9 percent decrease in people traveling 50 miles or farther from home. Of those 37.8 million, 31.7 million are expected to drive –– a one percent decrease from last year.

Are gas prices affecting your Memorial Day weekend plans?

“Many Americans are feeling a financial pinch this holiday weekend from record high gasoline prices and other factors in the economy,” Lloyd P. Albert, of AAA Southern New England said in a statement.

“Despite the small national decrease, we will still see a significant number of people traveling over Memorial Day. More than 12 percent of the U.S. population will be celebrating the holiday weekend away from home.”

Air travel is also is also expected to be down from last year –– about 0.5 percent to 4.3 million travelers. About 1.8 million are expected to travel this Memorial Day by train, bus or other mode of transportation according to a survey done by the Travel Industry Association.

The Internet abounds with tools to help drivers navigate the costs of driving. AAA has a daily fuel cost calculator and fuel gauge report online. And gasbuddy.com also lists costs at different stations. For more general information on retail gas prices across the country, the Department of Energy keeps tabs. The DOE also has a brief primer on oil and gas prices, to help consumers figure out just why the soupy remains of plants and animals from millions of years ago cost so much money.

Check Rhode Island traffic.

Check Cape Cod traffic.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:36 AM | Comment

Update: Two transported, overturned car cleared

Two people were taken to nearby hospitals after an accident on Route 95 this morning.

A car overturned in the high-speed lane of the southbound side of the roadway. Debris led authorities to close two lanes on the highway, near the Exit 19/Eddy Street exit ramp.

Rescue officials say one person was taken to Hasbro Children's Hospital, another to Rhode Island Hospital.

Traffic was backed up to Branch Avenue, and commuters on Route 195 were also affected.

See how traffic clears upTransportation Management Center's Web cameras.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:50 AM | Comment

Memorial Day commemorations

A wreath laying is scheduled for this morning in advance of Memorial Day.

The event, at the Garden of Heroes at the southwest lawn of State House, will honor Rhode Island servicemen and women.

Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, Maj. Gen. Robert T. Bray of the Rhode Island National Guard will lay the wreath at 10 a.m. today at the park, which was officially dedicated in 2005.

See a list of scheduled Memorial Day events across the state.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:02 AM | Comment

CVS trial: Former company spokesman to testify

Todd Andrews, a former spokesman for CVS, is expected to take the witness stand today and offer testimony about a January 2001 meeting in his office with Carlos R. Ortiz, a former CVS executive, and John A. Celona, the ex-senator from North Providence, who the drugstore giant hired as a paid consultant.

Testimony has surfaced that Ortiz called the meeting to draw up a job description and duties for Celona, 11 months after he began consulting for the drugstore giant.

Ortiz, 64, and John R. ``Jack’’ Kramer, 75, another former CVS executive, are charged with multiple counts of bribery, fraud and conspiracy. They are accused of hiring Celona to help promote CVS’ legislative agenda at the Rhode Island State House.

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. in U.S. District Court.

Read about yesterday's trial testimony.

-- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Weather this weekend, at home and far from home

How's this for a change? Crummy weather during the week, and a sunny, mild weekend. I think we've earned it.

Today there is a low chance of rain late this afternoon, and we'll see some clouds, but the temperature is set to reach 72 degrees with breezy northwest winds.

Tonight should stay partly cloudy, with a low temperature near 49 degrees.

Tomorrow is looking good, with clear sunny skies, northwest winds gusting up to 23 mph. and temperatures reaching 68 degrees. Saturday night will remain clear, with temperatures dropping to about 48 degrees and mild, west winds.

As the weekend goes on, the weather just gets better. Sunday will bring blue skies, sunshine and a high temperature near 74 degrees with mild northwest winds.

And even though Monday is Memorial Day, a group in Arizona will hopefully begin their celebrations early when the Mars Phoenix Lander touches down on the Red Planet in search of organic materials. Just for reference, the average temperature on Mars is -81 degrees.

See where the lander is right now.

Skies should remain clear Sunday night, with a low temperature near 50.

And Memorial Day may actually feel like summer, with a high temperature approaching 80 degrees and clear, sunny skies.

Make sure the forecast is as good as it sounds on projo.com's weather page.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features continued coverage of the bribery trial of two former CVS executives and, with the Memorial Day weekend upon us, a look at the increasing costs for a summer barbecue.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment