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July 10, 2008

Tonight: Tour Newport's galleries -- for free

OK, I know what some you will say to this.

You're suggesting we go to Newport? Over the bridge? At night? In the summer? When the City by The Sea is already hosting a music festival in the mansions and the annual Hall of Fame tennis tournament? When all the tourists are there?

Yes, I am. So deal with it :)

It's Newport Gallery Night, when the city offers a couple of dozen choices on this second Thursday of the month. It's a free self-guided tour of art of all sorts: pottery, paintings, glass, textiles and sculpture.

And a big bennie. Even parking is free at the Newport Visitors Center, 23 America’s Cup Ave., and at the Newport Art Museum, 76 Bellevue Ave.

For a map and more information, visit www.newportgalleries.org.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:49 PM | Comment

New England governors seek more federal heating aid

New England governors, including Governor Carcieri, are asking for an increase in the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program money that comes to New England.

The governors signed a letter asking that LIHEAP money be raised to $1 billion this year. The letter, signed at an energy summit in Boston yesterday, is addressed to President Bush, congressional leaders and presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. A news release issued this afternoon did not say how much the most recent yearly appropriation was.

Carcieri said in the statement he also forwarded a copy of the letter to Rhode Island's congressmen.

“Never before in modern history has New England faced the prospect of so many residents being unable to heat their homes as there will be this coming winter,” the letter said.

The governor, in the news release about the governors' letter, said home heating oil costs are "skyrocketing," so the buying power of LIHEAP money "has been decimated." Since winter 2005-06, New England's home heating oil price has gone up 87 percent.

An increase to $1 billion in LIHEAP money for New England states would deliver the same amount of fuel the program provided in 2005-06, the news release says.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Details of the letter come as the state Public Utilities Commission this afternoon approved a 21.7-percent increase in the price National Grid charges its customers for electricity and an 8-percent increase in the price it charges customers for natural gas.

The combined increases, which go into effect July 15, would raise the average utility bill for a typical home heated by gas by almost $30 a month. The increase would be higher in winter months and lower in summer months. National Grid requested the increase because the company says it's paying more to purchase electricity and natural gas.

Carcieri pledged "continued dialogue" with the other New England governors to find short-term and long-term solutions to help residents with heating costs.

The letter also called for:

* More money for the Weatherization Program, which the governor's office said helps pay for more efficient heating units and appliances.

* Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants to allow for "family supplemental payments for greater utility and heating costs."

* Social services block grants to "cover additional costs in transportation and energy for center-based care."

* Expanded Medicaid rules to allow for increasing "allowable costs to help cover spikes in energy costs in group homes, residential care and nursing homes."

At the energy summit, Andrew Dzykewicz, the governor's chief energy adviser who is commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, presented on developing renewable regional power options, the governor's office said.

The news release noted Rhode Island's plans to expedite the permits for an offshore wind farm with the goal of supplying 15 percent of the state's electric energy use.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:40 PM | Comment

Photo: Putting it all on the line at Y camp

Journal photo / Bob Thayer
Towels sway in the breeze today at Camp Shepherd in Greenville, a YMCA day camp enjoyed by young people from around the state.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 6:18 PM | Comment

4 men in ICE custody after N. Kingstown traffic stop

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Four Brazilian men are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and will be deported after they were found to be illegal immigrants during a state police traffic stop this week, according to ICE.

State police stopped a southbound van around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, after it ran a red light on Route 4 at West Allentown Road, according to a state police press release.

The officer sent an electronic query to ICE that revealed there was a deportation warrant out on one of the men, said Paula Grenier, ICE spokeswoman. A check of identification of others in the van showed warrants for three additional men as well.

The deportation warrants issued by a judge are not based on criminal charges, but because they were “in the country without authorization,” Grenier said.

The men are in ICE custody and are expected to be deported by to Brazil, their native country, in the coming weeks, she said.

They are listed by state police as Sinval Ferreira Do Carmo, 31; Joao Da Silva, 24; Fabiano Oliviera-Monteiro, 27; and Marcio Fereira-Da Silva, 23.

The four men worked for Colonial Construction, of Stoughton, Mass., and were heading to Narragansett, where they were framing condominiums as subcontractors for the Gilbane Development Co. project at the Pier, said Wes Cotter, spokesman for Gilbane.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

“We ask each of our subcontractors to comply with all federal and state laws and employ all legal workers,” Cotter said. Gilbane will check with Colonial about the status of the rest of its work crew, he said. About 120 people, mostly subcontractors, work at the site each day, he said.

The listed owner of Colonial -- Diogo Dosantos -- did not return a phone call.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:45 PM | Comment

Update: PUC OKs increase in gas, electricity rates

As expected, the state Public Utilities Commission has approved a 21.7-percent increase in the price National Grid charges its customers for electricity and an 8-percent increase in the price it charges customers for natural gas.

The combined increases, which go into effect July 15, would raise the average utility bill for a typical home heated by gas by almost $30 a month. The increase would be higher in winter months and lower in summer months.

National Grid requested the increase because the company says it's paying more to purchase electricity and natural gas.

The PUC put a time limit on the natural gas increase, however, approving it only through Nov. 1.

The PUC's approval comes as little surprise. In an interview this week, PUC Chairman Elia Germani says the PUC has little leeway in cases where a utility is simply passing on increases it pays for energy.

Under such circumstances, state statute limits the commission to decising three questions:

Did the utility make “prudent” decisions in buying the energy that led to the higher costs? Are the numbers the utility cited in requesting the increase correct? When will the increase take effect?

The increase in the gas rate was slightly less -- about two cents -- than National Grid had requested, which brought the projected 10-percent increase down to 8 percent.

National Grid, Rhode Island's dominant utility company, provides electricity to 477,000 customers in 38 communities and natural gas to about 245,000 customers in 33 communities.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker.

Posted by Jack Perry at 5:17 PM | Comment

Middletown plane crash survivor remains critical

Keith Ulich, the sole survivor of Thursday's plane crash in Middletown that killed the aircraft's other two occupants, remains in critical condition this afternoon at Rhode Island Hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

The single-engine Piper PA-28 went down that night at Newport State Airport, some 700 feet from the runway.

The state police this week identified the dead as Pamela Ulich Lancaster, 43, who owned and ran the Dragonfly Inn, at 33 Russell Ave., and Charles W. Thompson, 63, of 4 Manning Court, a flight instructor. Keith Ulich, of Newport, is the husband of Ulich Lancaster.

Read The Journal' s profile of the victims.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims and Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:18 PM | Comment

Update: Man's body discovered near shore in Tiverton

TIVERTON -- A man's body has been discovered near shore in the Riverside Drive area in Tiverton, according to the Coast Guard.

Tiverton Fire Chief Robert Lloyd said the department received a 911 call at about 10:30 a.m. from the head chef of the Boathouse Restaurant, who reported seeing a floating object in the Sakonnet River.

Firefighters retrieved the body of a male adult just south of the restaurant, in the area of Riverside and Poplar drives, after river currents brought it onto shore from 300 yards offshore, Lloyd said.

The medical examiner’s office is working to identify the body, Lloyd said.

Annemarie Beardsworth, a spokeswoman for the Office of State Medical Examiners, said the office anticipates it will have an identification tomorrow.

Officials have not said if it is the body of a missing Connecticut man who, according to the Coast Guard, fell off his sailboat Monday near the northern entrance to the Sakonnet River. The Coast Guard yesterday said it had ended its search for the man.

Bernard Mochan, 65, of Clinton, Conn., had been sailing with his wife on the 32-foot Elizabeth when the vessel’s boom hit him on the head and he fell overboard. He wasn’t wearing a flotation device.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims and Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:17 PM | Comment

Health Dept. reopens Oakland Beach, shuts Atlantic

The state Department of Health today reopened to swimming the Oakland Beach in Warwick, based on water samples that showed bacteria within acceptable limits.

The department today closed to swimming the Atlantic Beach in Middletown because of high bacteria counts.

Remaining closed are Camp Grosvenor Beach in North Kingstown and Gorton Pond Beach in Warwick.

For updates about Rhode Island beaches, go to www.health.ri.gov or for recorded information call (401) 222-2751.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:16 PM | Comment

Federal, state campaign stresses hurricane readiness

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri and Adjutant General Robert T. Bray, who leads the state Emergency Management Agency, today emphasized the importance of preparing for a hurricane.

Their remarks came as the Northeast Hurricane Mitigation Leadership Forum takes place this afternoon and tomorrow in Newport.

At the forum, a joint effort by the state and the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes is promoting a public information campaign to help everyone in Rhode Island mitigate the damage from a hurricane.

No two hurricanes are alike, said National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read, who met this morning with the governor at the State House. That's why, Read said, it's important for people to be informed and prepared well before the hurricane strikes.

Those who survive a storm with lives and property intact believe it was luck, said FLASH President Leslie Chapman-Henderson. It's not luck, she said, it's because someone did something ahead of time to prepare.

The last time Rhode Island faced anything approaching an emergency -- the Dec. 13 snowstorm -- neither Carcieri nor Bray were on the job. Carcieri was in the Middle East and out of contact; Bray was out sick. Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts said she was rebuffed on attempts to run the emergency and that the governor often didn't inform her when he was away.

A Journal reporter asked Carcieri whether he would inform the lieutenant governor when he is out of state in case of an emergency, and whether he plans to curtail Bray's federal travel. A recent Journal review that Bray was out of the state about seven months in his first 22 months on the job. The governor has said previously that the general would be responsible for the state's emergency response during Carcieri's absence.

Under the state's emergency plans and state law, the governor is in charge of directing an emergency; otherwise, the responsibility falls to the lieutenant governor.

The governor didn't address the question about the lieutenant governor, but said that they all travel and they try to be sensitive about when a hurricane is going to hit. He said he had no concerns about the general's travel.

"There will be leadership," Carcieri said. "Dave Smith [the new executive director of the state EMA] is going to do a great job."

-- Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits

The FLASH campaign was developed in Florida after devastating Hurricane Andrew took its toll in that state. Now, the organization works nationwide on disaster mitigation. Rhode Island is the first of the New England states for the hurricane campaign.

The campaign, which is paid for by a federal homeland security grant and matching money, also includes a 42-page booklet with preparation tips, information about hurricanes, and contacts.

The pamphlets are being distributed inside all local Stop & Shop stores, CVS stores, Dave's Marketplace locations, Shaw's supermarkets, and AAA offices. Spanish-language pamphlets and information posted on the Internet at GetHurricaneReadyRi.org is forthcoming.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:43 PM | Comment

Ruling: Family Court has jurisdiction in 'gap kid' cases

PROVIDENCE -- The state Supreme Court ruled this morning that the state Family Court has initial jurisdiction over the case of a 17-year-old Barrington youth facing a murder charge and another so-called "gap kid" who was charged as an adult during a brief change in the state law.

The high court upheld a Superior Court judge's decision and rejected the Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's argument in ruling that the indictment of Ryan Greenberg should be held in abeyance until the Family Court holds a hearing and decides whether it will waive its jurisdiction over him.

The court also ruled that the misdemeanor assault case of Harold Chartier be transferred to Family Court.

Some 500 "gap kids" were charged as adults during the 130 days that the state treated 17-year-olds as adults.

The Supreme Court ruled directly only on the cases of Greenberg and Chartier, but it said it would attempt to issue a mandate through its ruling on the handling of the other youths and expected those cases to be resolved through stipulations.

In July 2007, the General Assembly adopted Governor Carcieri’s budget proposal to save money by treating 17-year-olds as adults in criminal matters. But the move didn't save money, and on Nov. 7 the Assembly repealed the law, without making the repeal retroactive.

That left the courts facing questions on how to treat those youths. The attorney general said he would prosecute them as adults, but the high court today ruled that the Family Court never lost jurisdiction.

"The Family Court is the last barrier separating the child from the adult criminal justice system, and a decision to waive jurisdiction over a juvenile is not to be undertaken lightly," the court said in its opinion.

It continued," After careful review of the record in the Greenberg case and examination of settled law with respect to delinquent children, we are satisfied that, whatever the crime charged, the prosecution of a child under the age of eighteen is controlled by title 14 of the General Laws and jurisdiction rests, in the first instance, in the Family Court, subject to a waiver of jurisdiction over the child in accordance with the statute."

Greenberg, who is charged in the boating death of a fellow teen, could still face charges in adult court, if the Family Court waives jurisdiction.

Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued a statement late this morning, saying, "We are resolute and fully prepared to go back to Family Court and move quickly to seek waivers on the indicted cases."

Read the decision.

While the high court specifically addressed the cases of Greenberg and Chartier, it had this to say about handling of the other cases:

"We are cognizant of the fact that many juveniles fall within the parameters of the July and November Amendments and that our holding will affect their cases. We therefore shall address the types of cases — felonies and misdemeanors — that are pending or have been adjudicated, and will endeavor to issue a mandate that is comprehensive and clear and that may be applied to those cases as they are reached in the Superior and District Courts. "

"We direct that counsel for the state and the Public Defender shall attempt to resolve these cases by stipulation and agree on those cases that may be adjudicated in the Family Court. With respect to any case in which the Attorney General files a motion pursuant to chapter 1 of title 14, a waiver hearing shall be scheduled in the Family Court as soon as practicable. The time period for filing such a motion shall not begin to run unless and until the juvenile is presented in the Family Court. "

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:04 PM | Comment

Two RIPTA routes will be detoured starting Saturday

Starting Saturday, Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses won't cross the Pontiac Avenue and Reservoir Avenue bridges because of new weight limits on the spans.

RIPTA said in a statement today it will detour the route 13 bus -- Arctic/Washington -- and the route 22 bus -- Reservoir/Pontiac -- starting Saturday and continuing indefinitely.

RIPTA is also introducing routes 21 and 23.

Get details about the detours and new routes here.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:47 AM | Comment

Judge Lisi rules on Urciuoli, Driscoll pretrial motions

A federal judge in Providence ruled this morning on motions in the corruption case against Robert Urciuoli and Frances Driscoll, former Roger Williams Medical Center executives charged with bribing former state Sen. John Celona.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi also took under advisement other motions by the defense, which is seeking to limit the evidence that the government can present in its second trial of Urciuoli and Driscoll, which is scheduled to begin in September. The pair was convicted in 2006, but a federal appeals court in Boston earlier this year ordered a new trial, saying that the judge, Ernest Torres, had improperly instructed the jury.

This time, Celona, the government’s star witness against Urciuoli and Driscoll, has been so discredited that prosecutors have said that they don’t intend to call him to testify in the second trial, provided that the defense agrees to allow the introduction of certain documents, including faxes between Celona and the former hospital executives about his State House efforts on their behalf.

Urciuoli is the former CEO of Roger Williams; Driscoll was a vice president. Celona worked as a consultant to the hospital and its affiliated assisted-living center. The defense says that he performed legitimate senior outreach; the prosecution says that was a sham and that Celona was paid for political favors.

The government and the defense are also squabbling over what instructions Lisi should give the jury in this case.

In the recent acquittal of two former CVS executives charged with bribing Celona, Lisi’s jury instructions were much different than those issued in the first Urciuoli-Driscoll case. In the CVS case, Lisi told jurors that it was permissible under Rhode Island ethics law for a company to hire a part-time Rhode Island lawmaker and even communicate with him or her on legislation affecting that company.

The instructions, combined with Celona’s lack of credibility, led to a swift acquittal of the two former CVS executives, John Kramer and Carlos Ortiz.

Judge Lisi today also denied Urciuoli’s motion to pursue allegations that Roger Williams improperly fired him and cut off his legal fees under pressure from prosecutors. The government has said that the deferred prosecution agreement it reached with the hospital did not require Urciuoli’s firing.

The judge also denied Driscoll’s motion for a separate trial. Although Driscoll was acquitted of conspiracy in the first trial, and cannot be retried on that charge, she was convicted of a single count of honest-services mail fraud.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Sept. 3, with opening arguments set for Sept. 8.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Extra: Our continuing report on Operation Dollar Bill

Posted by maria caporizzo at 11:19 AM | Comment

Doctor cleared in husband’s killing returning to work

BOSTON -- A Cape Cod doctor who was cleared last year in the self-defense killing of her husband is returning to medical practice.

Dr. Ann Gryboski received approval yesterday from the state Board of Registration in Medicine to start seeing patients again. She had surrendered her medical license after she was arrested in April 2007 for the fatal shooting of her husband, Patrick Lancaster.

Prosecutors said last August that Gryboski would not face criminal charges because of overwhelming evidence that she had been abused by her husband.

Her lawyer, Paul Cirel, told The Boston Globe the doctor will return to her internal medicine practice with Cape Cod Healthcare in South Yarmouth beginning next month.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 9:41 AM | Comment

Bacteria problems close 3 beaches

PROVIDENCE -- Health authorities have closed three Rhode Island beaches after testing showed high bacteria counts.

The Department of Health has warned swimmers to stay away from Camp Grosvenor Beach in North Kingstown and Gorton Beach Pond and Oakland Beach in Warwick.

State authorities say they'll keep testing each beach and will notify the public when they are safe for swimming.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:34 AM | Comment

70 years later -- are we ready for another hurricane?

PROVIDENCE — Governor Carcieri is expected to announce a public service campaign today to help residents prepare in the event of a major hurricane, and to speak at a hurricane preparedness conference in Newport.

He’s expected to unveil the details of the campaign -- which include hurricane resource guides and a new Web site -- today at 10 a.m. at the State House.

Carcieri is also slotted to speak later this afternoon at the Northeast Mitigation Forum, an invitation-only conference with panel discussions and experts assessing the threat of a major hurricane in the region -- and our ability do handle one.

Also scheduled to speak is Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center.

The all-day forum comes 70 years after the deadliest hurricane in Rhode Island history, which killed hundreds of people in 1938.

Read about the hurricane, and see Journal archive photos of the damage the storm caused.

And follow current tropical weather conditions, including Hurricane Bertha, on projo.com's tropical weather page.

-- with reports from the Associated Press

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 7:30 AM | Comment

PUC votes on rate hike today

WARWICK -- The state Public Utilities Commission is expected to approve National Grid's request for 21.7 percent rate increase today.

The PUC, which heard from the public on the request Tuesday, is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m . at its headquarters at 89 Jefferson Boulevard.

At its hearing Tuesday, about 20 customers told the commission what a hardship the rate hike would be and implored the PUC not to approve it.

National Grid upped its electricity rate request last week, from a 15.6 percent increase, citing increases in energy costs. The request is the largest single rate increase the company has ever sought, and would put rates at their highest level ever. National Grid has asked the new rates to go into effect on July 15.

Extra: See the proposal as put forward before the PUC.

Your Turn: If you were at the PUC meeting, what would you have told them?

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 7:04 AM | Comment

Today in history: The Battle of Britain begins

On this day in 1940, The Battle of Britain began during World War II as Nazi forces attacked southern England by air.

Read more about today in history.

Watch a video report on today in history.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Today's weather -- no sign of rain

How's this for a change: there's nary a mention of rain in today's forecast.

And there's not much else, either. Sunny skies, temperatures reaching about 88 degrees and mild west winds. Humidity is low, too, at just 68 percent.

Skies should remain clear tonight, with temperatures dropping to about 60 degrees and mild west winds.

Tomorrow looks good, too, with clear, sunny skies, temperatures reaching about 85 degrees and mild north winds, becoming south.

To get an early look at the weekend weather, see projo.com's weather page.

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page: Sen. Kennedy returns to Washington

Today's front page features a photograph and story about Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's returning to the Senate for the first time since suffering from symptoms of what proved to be a malignant brain tumor. The senator returned to vote on a Medicare vote. Accompanying Sen. Kennedy were his son U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and Sen. Kennedy's wife, Victoria.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment