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May 29, 2008

Tonight: 'Frankenstein Project' is in Pawtucket

The Frankenstein Project continues its run at the Mixed Magic Theatre in Pawtucket, with a 7:30 performance tonight. It's described on the theater's Web site as "a laboratory production of Mary A. Shelley’s novel."

Jim Brown plays Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and Bill Pett is his father in the production.

On a less terrifying note, you can experiment with some music in Providence.

Mark Cutler and Friends play rock and rhythm and blues at 9 p.m. at Nick-A-Nees 75 South St. Call 861-7290.

The East Side Horns and Mac Odom and Chill, rhythm and blues and Motown, The Hi-Hat, 3 Davol Square, Providence. 453-6500, www.thehihat.com. 8 p.m. to midnight.

For more events, see projo.com's list of calendars.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:56 PM | Comment

Senate passes bill toughening DUI penalty

PROVIDENCE -- The state Senate today passed a bill that would make driving with a suspended license a felony when it results from a conviction for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or refusing to submit to a chemical test.

Punishment would be up to five years' imprisonment, up to a $5,000 fine and taking an alcohol and/or drug treatment program, according to a news release.

The bill heads next to the House of Representatives.

“When we talk of zero tolerance for drunk drivers, we have to put plenty of teeth behind it and give police the enforcement tools to make sure our streets and highways are safe," said bill sponsor Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis, D-Coventry, in the statement.

The goal, according to the news release, is to get tougher on repeat offenders.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:52 PM | Comment

Update: Historic Arcade building to get $8M facelift

Journal file photo

The Arcade building in downtown Providence, the oldest indoor shopping mall in the country, will undergo an $8-million renovation, according to owner Granoff Associates.

The building's tenants, primarily lunch counters and retail shops, will have to vacate the building by June 30, so construction can begin, according to Granoff.

Granoff expects the renovation of the Weybosset Street building to take about a year.

"Our goals are to reposition the Arcade so that it can be sustainable in the long term, and to deepen our firm's commitment to the historic preservation and economic vitality of Downcity," Evan Granoff, managing member of Granoff Associates, said in a press release.

The firm says it plans to turn the Arcade, built in 1828, into a "green building," enhancing its early passive-solar design with modern, environmentally sound heating cooling, and ventilation technologies. Twenty five percent of the renovation will be devoted to the heating and cooling system, Granoff said.

-- projo.com staff writer Jack Perry, with reports from Journal staff writer Daniel Barbarisi

Granoff said its application for a historic tax credit was approved by the state on May 15.

Granoff also figured the time was right for renovation because Johnson and Wales University had earlier announced plans to move its Johansson's Bakery to the school's hospitality facility in Seekonk by June 30. The bakery represents 25 percent of the Arcade's revenue, according to Granoff.

The building has 13 tenants. Tenants have been renting on a month-to-month basis since 2005 in anticipation of the project, according to Granoff.

Later today, store owners said that the Granoff never told them they would have to vacate, and that they learned about it today via a report on projo.com, The Providence Journal's Web site.

“Everybody’s shocked that we’ve only been given 30 days notice. How does anyone move a business in 30 days?” said Don Beohner, owner of Copacetic, a jewelry store on the Arcade’s second floor.

Posted by Jack Perry at 6:34 PM | Comment

Change in drug crime sentences goes to Carcieri

PROVIDENCE -- For the second year in a row, a bill to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug crimes is headed to Governor Carcieri, who vetoed similar legislation last year.

The House today approved the bill 52 to 13, with nine not voting. It had gotten Senate backing.

Shortly after, a spokeswoman for Carcieri sent a statement saying that, since the bill is essentially the same as last year's, and the governor vetoed it that version, "it is reasonable to believe it will receive the same treatment this year."

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

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:02 PM | Comment

House backs bill allowing flexible kindergarten entry age

PROVIDENCE -- The House has approved a bill that would let school departments decide whether to admit a child who turns 5 between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 into kindergarten.

The bill would permit individual school districts to create policies for allowing students who have not met the minimum age requirement to attend kindergarten -- if space is available and it's determined that it would be in the best interests of the child to be enrolled in school.

The current law holds that children must be 5 by Sept. 1 of any school year if they are to enroll in kindergarten. In 2002, the General Assembly changed the date of enrollment eligibility date from Dec. 31 to Sept. 1.

“I’ve heard concerns from many constituents whose children are more than prepared for kindergarten but have missed the Sept. 1 deadline by weeks or even days. Then the child has to wait an entire year before being enrolled in school,” bill sponsor Stephen R. Ucci, D-Johnston, said in the statement. "This puts those children who are ready for school at age 4 at a disadvantage.”

It's the second year Ucci introduced legislation to relax kindergarten entrance age requirements. The bill won House approval last year but died in the Senate.

The legislation has been referred to the Senate Education Committee.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:16 PM | Comment

Suspended police officer gets 20 years in prison / Photo

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski
Suspended North Providence police officer Michael Ciresi, center, and lawyers, Richard Corley, left, and John Lynch, right, react to the sentencing.

PROVIDENCE -- Michael Ciresi, a suspended North Providence police sergeant, will serve a minimum of 20 years in prison after being sentenced today for several crimes, including two burglaries.

Ciresi, who had been on home confinement since February, was ordered to the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston by Judge Robert J. Krause.

On Feb. 11, a jury convicted Ciresi on two counts of burglary, one stemming from an armed home invasion in Pawtucket in which his gun was found.

He was also found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, the use of a firearm to commit a crime of violence, attempting to steal money from a stolen ATM after a police raid, receiving a stolen generator, obstructing a police officer and harboring a criminal by hiding a traffic summons in his police locker.

The verdict ended an investigation that started in 2004 when a man caught in an armed home invasion of a drug dealer in Pawtucket told police Ciresi had given him the gun.

Ciresi indicated today to the Providence County Superior Court judge that he wanted to make a brief statement. But, after talking to his lawyer, Richard Corley, he did not on the lawyer's advice. At that point, Ciresi, who has showed little emotion during the course of the trial, got teary-eyed.

On the first count of breaking and entering into the Pawtucket home, he was sentenced to 35 years with 20 to serve. He received lesser sentences on other counts, which are to run concurrently. On a count of using a firearm to commit a crime of violence, he was sentenced to serve 10 years consecutively, but that sentence was suspended.

Lawyer Corley said he would be preparing an appeal for Ciresi.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Richard C. Dujardin

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:28 PM | Comment

CVS trial: Closing arguments end; jury instructions next

Journal graphic / Frank Gerardi

Prosecutor Stephen G. Dambruch, makes closing arguments to the jury in trial of former CVS executives John R. Kramer, far right, and Carlos Ortiz, right. Judge Mary Lisi presides.

PROVIDENCE -- The jurors in the CVS corruption trial will return to federal court tomorrow morning for final instructions and then begin deliberating the fates of John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos R. Ortiz, former vice presidents for the Woonsocket-based drugstore giant.

The trial concluded at 2:15 p.m. today following lengthy closing arguments from the defense teams and prosecution. David B. Fein, one of Kramer’s defense lawyers, spent two hours hammering home the point that the allegations against Kramer and Ortiz did not amount to crimes. He whittled away at the prosecution’s case by zeroing in on "lies" and inconsistencies uttered by John A. Celona, the government’s star witness.

Fein accused Celona of "giving the government what he thinks they want."

Thomas R. Kiley, a lawyer for Ortiz, followed Fein and continued the attack on Celona’s credibility. He told the jurors that Celona talked to government investigators 25 times and spent nearly a week on the witness stand without providing any evidence that he talked to Kramer and Ortiz "about legislation."

"They never asked John Celona to do something against his will, to alter his position," on legislation, Kiley said.

-- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Read more about closing arguments from earlier today.

Extra: More on the trial and the Operation Dollar Bill corruption probe.

Kiley also underscored that it was Kramer, not Ortiz, who wanted to hire Celona as a $1,000-a-month consultant. And, he said, Ortiz asked Celona whether the state Ethics Commission had approved the consulting agreement.

"That’s not an obvious question for a person who is about to engage in a bribe," Kiley said.

Kiley said that Ortiz never saw the John Celona State House Report cable television show where Kramer was a frequent guest, and he had no interest in Celona’s role as a public relations guy for CVS.

In a 10-minute rebuttal, prosecutor Dambruch seized on Kiley’s characterization of Ortiz. He said that Kiley’s statement offered proof that CVS brought Celona on board as a consultant to influence legislation at the State House. He said that CVS is a "billion-dollar corporation," that did not need to hire a public relations consultant for $12,000 a year.

"The one thing, however, he could offer was his position on legislation," Dambruch said.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:13 PM | Comment

Gas hits record high of $4 per gallon in the Ocean State

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Rhode Island has reached the $4 mark, setting a new record along the way, according to AAA Southern New England and the Oil Price Information Service.

The price has jumped 4 cents since the beginning of the week and almost 20 cents in the past 10 days, according to AAA.

AAA surveys gas prices at the start of every week, but the travel club put out a special release today to announce that gas had hit the $4 mark.

In its regular survey released Tuesday -- a day later than usual because of the Monday holiday -- AAA reported the average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline was $3.969 at the self-service pump.

Rhode Island's average price is 5 cents above the national average of $3.95, AAA says.

AAA offers gas saving tips and tools on its Web site.

Posted by Jack Perry at 1:44 PM | Comment

Funeral Saturday for North Kingstown couple

A funeral is scheduled for Saturday for Brad S. and Rosemarie Randall, a North Kingstown couple killed Monday in an accident.

According to Connecticut state police, Brad Randall was driving his motorcycle at 11:30 a.m. with Rosemarie as his passenger on South Canterbury Road, just north of Depot Road in Canterbury, Conn., when a car driven by Lisa Ramos crossed the double yellow line, hitting the Randalls.

Brad Randall was pronounced dead at the scene; Rosemarie Randall was taken to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn., and later pronounced dead. Ramos was taken to the hospital for observation.

Connecticut state police are still investigating.

Saturday's funeral is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. at Nardolillo Funeral Home, 1278 Park Avenue in Cranston. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for 10 a.m. at St. Ann's Church in Cranston. Visiting hours are tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The couple will be buried in Highland Memorial Park in Johnston.

In lieu of flowers, the families have requested contributions to be made in Brad and Rosemarie’s names to Meeting Street School, 1000 Eddy St., Providence, RI, 02909, where Rosemarie worked.

You can read the Randalls' obituary and sign a guestbook on projo.com.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 1:00 PM | Comment

Reporter's query: Staying home on vacation this year?

The Providence Journal is looking to interview readers who have dropped their typical summer travel plans in favor of a “staycation,” a stay-at-home vacation.

If you are among these people, e-mail Journal staff writer Mark Arsenault at marsenau@projo.com.

Posted by maria caporizzo at 12:57 PM | Comment

Dunk to close for summer to complete renovations

PROVIDENCE -- The Dunkin’ Donuts Center will close tomorrow night after its last concert, Hot Night ’08 featuring L’il Wayne, for the third and final phase of renovations.

Sheduled for completion this summer are: finishing the old lobby, a new Providence Bruins store, upgrades to seating areas, exterior work, and creating new seats in the arena bowl.

The three-year phased renovation program is slated to culminate in a Sept. 5 re-opening.

During an abbreviated season that spanned Nov. 14 to May 30, The Dunk hosted 109 events with estimated attendance of 523,800, according to a news release today.

There will be no events at the facility from June 1 through Sept. 5. The box office will be open through the summer.

Scheduled September grand opening events include a ribbon cutting, a Sept. 6 public open house, and several concerts.

The first event after the September reopening will be the American Idols Live Tour 2008 on Sept. 7.

The Rhode Island Convention Center Authority runs the convention center, the Dunkin' Donuts Center-Providence and two parking garages. An 11-member board governs the authority.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:45 PM | Comment

Providence police to test-drive eco-friendly scooters

PROVIDENCE -- The Providence police will become the first New England force to test out electric, high-performance two-wheel scooters -- billed as an eco-friendly alternative to smoke-spewing motorcyles.

Mayor David N. Cicilline and Chief Dean M. Esserman will kick off the program to road test Vectrix electric two-wheel vehicles on Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the public safety complex, 325 Washington St.

A news release out today says the "silent, all-electric Maxi-scooters are virtually emissions free compared to larger traditional motorcycles that emit two tons of carbon dioxide each year."

Four police officers have been tapped to test the Vectrix scooters over a three-month period.

Mike Boyle, president and chief executive officer of Rhode Island-based Vectrix, is slated to be on hand Friday as officers take a test drive.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:10 PM | Comment

CVS trial: Prosecution, defense make closing arguments

PROVIDENCE -- Closing arguments got under way in the CVS corruption trial this morning with a federal prosecutor laying out a trail of legislation, e-mails and memos -- proof, he said, that John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos Ortiz, former CVS executives, are guilty of criminal wrongdoing.

During an hour-long closing, prosecutor Stephen G. Dambruch built his case around the actions and hiring of ex-state Sen John A. Celona, the government's star witness. Celona was hired as a $1,000-a-month consultant for the Woonsocket-based drugstore giant in 2000.

Dambruch provided evidence that Celona reversed his position on pharmacy-choice legislation and became an eager advocate for CVS.

CVS had long opposed pharmacy-choice legislation, and Dambruch today quoted from a document in which Ortiz had said that if the legislation passed, it would cost CVS millions of dollars in sales.

Dambruch also suggested in his closing that Kramer and Ortiz made repeated attempts to hide that Celona was a paid consultant. He pointed out that Ortiz told Todd Andrews, a former CVS corporate communications director, to keep Celona's consulting role quiet.

After a break this morning, David B. Fein, one of Kramer's lawyers, began his closing argument, telling the jurors they are probably wondering why they had to sit through three weeks of testimony. He said the government has not proved its case and there is no evidence of criminal intent by Kramer or Ortiz.

Fein said the hiring of Celona -- whether right or wrong -- should never have reached a courtroom.

"That discussion belongs in a corporate office in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, not a federal courtroom in Providence, Rhode Island," Fein told the jury.

After Fein, Thomas Kiley, a lawyer for Ortiz, will give a closing argument.

Dambruch will have the opportunity to offer a rebuttal.

Extra: More on this trial and the Operation Dollar Bill investigation corruption probe.

-- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:30 AM | Comment

Operator killed after MBTA trains collide in Mass.

NEWTON, Mass. — The operator of a commuter train died and several passengers were injured after the trolley she was driving slammed into the back of another train, derailing both, officials said.

Investigators did not know what caused yesterday's wreck, which killed Terrese Edmonds, 24, and injured about 10 passengers in an aboveground accident near a station in suburban Newton, said Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The two-car train Edmonds was operating struck the back of another two-car train approaching Woodland Station outbound on the D branch of the Green Line at about 6 p.m., Pesaturo said. The trains had about 200 passengers combined.

“The first one was stopped at a red signal and was ready to proceed to the station when it was struck,” he said.

For several hours, firefighters struggled frantically to free Edmonds from the mangled wreckage. She was finally extricated early this morning, about seven hours after the crash.

“It is my unfortunate duty to report the death of one of our employees,” MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas said. He said it was a “miracle” that there weren’t more deaths.

One passenger was flown to a Boston hospital, and the other injured commuters were taken to nearby Newton-Wellesley Hospital. The hospital had eight train-wreck patients, including two who walked in, none with serious injuries, said spokesman Brian O’Dea.

Both trains remained at the crash site this morning, covered in tarpaulins. The MBTA was busing passengers around the crash site.

See video from the scene.

-- The Associated Press

Federal investigators were scheduled to arrive at the scene on this morning to study the scene and interview witnesses, said Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. A full report is not expected for up to 18 months, he said.

Passenger Barry Gallup, standing aboard the train that was hit, told WCVB-TV that the impact threw him to the floor.

“I may have been knocked out for a few seconds. ... The next thing I knew I was lying on the ground,” Gallup told WCVB.

He described a confused scene immediately after the crash, with some passengers screaming and small fires breaking out on the side of the train. Other passengers concurred about the chaos.

“There was a 70-year-old old guy who went ballistic, screaming at the conductor, ’You killed my wife! You killed my wife!’ And the wife is going, ’I’m OK! I’m OK,’” passenger Matt Stone, 46, told The Boston Globe.

Massachusetts transit officials interviewed the surviving three operators Wednesday, Pesaturo said.

Gov. Deval Patrick telephoned Grabauskas at the scene of the accident to offer any necessary assistance, Pesaturo said.

“The governor also expressed that his thoughts are with the passengers, the train crew and the emergency responders who are working to extricate this female operator from the train,” he said.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 10:00 AM | Comment

Gay rights advocates score wins in N.Y., Calif.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gay rights advocates had reason to celebrate on both coasts today, with New York set to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere and California preparing to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on June 17.

Rhode Island does not issue same-sex marriage licenses, but the issue has recently been in spotlight after two women who were married in Massachusetts unsuccessfully tried to get divorced in Family Court. A judge is considering whether to ask the state's Supreme Court if the Superior Court has the authority to grant the couple a divorce.

Hours after California issued a directive yesterday authorizing that date, word came that New York Gov. David Paterson instructed state agencies — including those governing insurance and health care — to immediately change policies and regulations to recognize gay marriages.

For years, gay rights advocates have sought recognition for same-sex marriages so couples could share family health care plans, receive tax breaks by filing jointly, enjoy stronger adoption rights and inherit property.

Many or all of those rights would now appear to be available to New Yorkers who legally wed same-sex partners in other states and countries, according to the memo sent earlier this month from the governor’s counsel. Agencies have until June 30 to report back to the counsel on how, specifically, the directive will change existing state benefits and services for gay couples.

“This is a milestone in the fight for fairness in New York,” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

“Couples in New York who have never known true security for their families will be officially entitled to treatment by our state government that respects their rights.”

-- The Associated Press

The Rev. Duane Motley, director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, which has lobbied against the legalization of gay marriage, declined to comment on Paterson’s directive. State Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Massachusetts is currently the only U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, but its residency requirements would bar New Yorkers from marrying there.

New York residents could instead flock to California, where gay couples will be able to wed beginning June 17 — unless that state’s Supreme Court decides to stay its own ruling same-sex gay marriage. Upon their return home, in the eyes of the state, their unions would be no different from those of their heterosexual neighbors.

Gay couples could also travel outside the country to marry in Canada or one of the other nations where same-sex marriage is legal.

The move by Paterson’s administration does not legalize same-sex marriage in New York. The state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, has said it can only be legalized by the Legislature, which failed to pass a proposed measure last year.

The memo, one of the strongest steps the state can take short of action by the Legislature, cited a Feb. 1 ruling by a New York Appellate Division court in a case involving a woman wed in Canada who was denied benefits by her partner’s employer.

The appellate judges determined that there is no legal impediment in New York to the recognition of a same-sex marriage. The state Legislature “may decide to prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages solemnized abroad,” the ruling said. “Until it does so, however, such marriages are entitled to recognition in New York.”

In a video shown Saturday at the Empire State Pride Agenda’s spring dinner, the governor said he directed the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality right here in our state.”

“We’re aware that our advocacy is incomplete and we will keep trying until people who love each other and want to get married, regardless of who they are, have that opportunity,” Paterson said in the video, which was posted on the gay rights organization’s Web site.

Paterson spokeswoman Erin Duggan said the May 14 memo is intended to guide the actions of state agencies. It states that agencies must change policies and regulations to make sure “spouse,” “husband” and “wife” are clearly understood to include gay couples.

The memo says failure to include gay marriages in the dispensing of state services such as health care benefits could violate state human rights law. The agencies could face sanctions for any violations, it warns.

The agency changes can be instituted through internal memos or changes in regulations and would not require legislative action, Paterson counsel David Nocenti said in the memo, first reported by The New York Times.

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Paterson, his running mate for lieutenant governor, campaigned in 2006 on a platform that included bringing equal rights to gays. Spitzer, however, said the state constitution didn’t sanction gay marriage.

Last year, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York was approved by the Democrat-led Assembly, but the Republican-led Senate hasn’t taken it up.

In California, a group opposed to gay marriage has asked the state Supreme Court to grant a stay of its May 15 ruling until after the November election, when voters are likely to face a ballot initiative that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Passage of the initiative would overrule the Supreme Court.

Justices have until June 16 to rule on the stay request, according to the memo sent yesterday by e-mail to the state’s 58 county clerks.

The guidelines from Janet McKee, chief of California’s office of vital records, contained copies of new marriage forms that include lines for “Party A” and “Party B” instead of bride and groom.

The gender-neutral nomenclature was developed in consultation with county clerks, according to the letter.

“Effective June 17, 2008, only the enclosed new forms may be issued for the issuance of marriage licenses in California,” the directive reads.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:15 AM | Comment

Police on the lookout after bear spotted in N. Kingstown

Maybe he just wants to settle down.

A black bear -- apparently the same one that's been seen in Glocester, Scituate, Coventry, West Greenwich, and around South County -- was spotted again this morning in North Kingstown, according to the Department of Environmental Management's Environmental Police.

Authorities are on the scene, tracking the bear that is likely responsible for rummaging through trash cans and bird feeders in a search for food.

Trackers set up a bear trap yesterday in the Mettatuxet neighborhood of Narragansett after a sighting off Boston Neck Road. They waited.

Nothing.

This morning, just after 6:00, there was another spotting in a backyard on Pride's Crossing Lane, according to environmental police officer Mike Mahoney.

Then reports came in that the bear had crossed Shermantown Road and gone into the woods. That was the last sighting as far as Mahoney has heard.

So environmental police officers are on the scene, relying on citizens calling in sightings and pounding the pavement.

They're armed with tranquilizers, a bear trap, and hopefully, a good supply of patience.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:50 AM | Comment

Closing arguments today in the CVS trial

PROVIDENCE -- Closing arguments are scheduled for today in the trial of two former CVS executives accused of bribing former state Sen. John Celona with a $1,000-a-month job to gain favor at the State House.

After the defense rested without calling any witnesses Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi gave the jurors the day off yesterday and scheduled a private chamber conference with lawyers for both sides to discuss her charge to the jury.

Defense attorneys for former executives John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos Ortiz argue that Celona was hired to do legitimate work, promoting CVS and its charitable endeavors through his television show and his network of senior citizens in his North Providence Senate district.

Read more on the trial.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:16 AM | Comment

Today in history

On this day in 1790, Rhode Island became the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the United States Constitution.

Read more about Today in History.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

A summery kind of spring

We'll see the warmer side of spring today, and it doesn't look too bad.

The Ocean State is in for sunny, clear skies and a high temperature near 76 degrees. It will get pretty windy, though, with a mild west wind early, but increasing to between 18 and 21 mph. as the day goes on.

Low humidity makes it a good day to take a long walk, but a bad day for fires. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning -- the combination of dry air and wind are good conditions for fast-moving fires. So be careful with the cigarettes and barbecues.

Skies should stay clear and temperatures mild tonight, dipping to a comfortable 51 degrees. West winds should die down later in the evening.

Tomorrow looks like today but without the high winds; temperatures should reach about 75 degrees, skies should stay clear -- at least through most of the day -- and we'll have calm, west winds.

There are more spring surprises ahead in the forecast; see projo.com's weather page to see what the weekend may hold.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story about La Salle freshman Juliet Vongphoumy, who became the first female to win the Rhode Island Interscholastic League individual golf title.

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

as the La Salle freshman, playing from the women’s tees, posted a final-round 77 yesterday at Cranston Country Club and captured the title in the 36-hole tourney by two strokes.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment