Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By Tom Meade
Journal staff writer

Farm Fresh Rhode Island, a network of food and fiber growers, is promoting four farmers markets that will be open this weekend, providing fresh food for Thanksgiving Day.

Among their offerings will be eggs, cheese, bread, pies, and meat.

Seasonal vegetable include winter squash, potatoes (sweet, red, or white), kale, collard greens, leeks, salad greens, onions and garlic. Local honey may also be available.

Open tomorow:

Hope High Farmers' Market
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
In front of Hope High School, at the corner of Hope and Olney Streets in Providence.

Pawtuxet Village Farmers' Market
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
In the parking lot at Pawtuxet Village, 60 Rhodes Place at Cranston

Aquidneck Growers' Holiday Market
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Newport Vineyards & Winery, 909 East Main Rd. in Middletown

Open Sunday:

Coastal Growers' Holiday Market
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Casey Farm, 2325 Boston Neck Rd. in Saunderstown

NYT Photo

The City of Newport has closed the Cliff Walk from Ruggles Avenue to Marine Avenue, starting today, to facilitate repairs.

The city says the area will reopen Nov. 24. Pedestrians on the Cliff Walk will be detoured down Wetmore during construction.

By Randal Edgar
Journal staff writer

WARWICK -- A convenience store on Greenwich Avenue today became latest business to be robbed by a man claiming to have a gun, the police said.

The suspect entered the Greenwich Avenue Shell store at about 2:30 a.m., told the clerk he had a gun under his sweatshirt and asked for the all the money, said Police Lt. Michael Higgins.

After taking the money, the suspect walked in a southerly direction away from the store and got into a car on Chapmans Avenue, driving away with the headlights off, Higgins said.

Higgins described the suspect as a white male, about 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-10 inches tall, in his mid-to-late 20s.

A day earlier, a man said to be in his 50s robbed the Dunkin' Donuts coffee shop at 860 Post Road. And the day before that, a man said to have been in his 50s robbed the Dunkin' Donuts on Jefferson Boulevard.

Higgins said the police are investigating the robberies and don't know if they are related.

By Art Martone
Journal Sports Editor

Rotoworld.com has posted an item that, according to a Kansas City radio station, the Red Sox have traded Coco Crisp to the Royals for reliever Ramon Ramirez.

Click the link to view Ramirez' profile, via projostats.com.

The trade of Crisp would leave only three major-league-ready outfielders -- Jason Bay, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew -- on the Red Sox' roster, leading to speculation that a deal for, or the signing of, another outfielder, such as Rhode Island native Rocco Baldelli, is imminent.

By Michael Stanton
Journal staff writer

Domenic Lombardi, 74, a prominent long-time mob associate and West Warwick property owner, is one of four more people to be arrested in Operation Mobbed Up.

Lombardi is accused of selling Vicodin out of a West Warwick shopping plaza that he owns. In the same plaza, authorities say, Lombardi also leases space to a drug-rehab clinic for people trying to beat their addiction to, among other drugs, Vicodin.

Lombardi was arrested last night in Florida, where he was vacationing, by Osceola County sheriffs.

"He's had an illustrious career with law enforcement,'' said Lt. Col. Steven G. O'Donnell. "It spans decades, and numerous crimes including arson and drugs. He's been a thorn in the side of law enforcement for years.''

Lombardi is currently on a suspended sentence for a previous drug conviction, which means he faces prison as a violator once he is returned to Rhode Island from Florida. A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow to determine if Lombardi will waive extradition to Rhode Island, according to O'Donnell.

The state police also arrested two others later yesterday -- Stephen Wahl, 46, of 40 Hope St., Tiverton, on racketeering and drug charges, and Devon McDonald, 24, of 183 Ocean St., Providence, for larceny.

This morning, the state police arrested Curtis Ruiz, 44, of 33 Derby St., Cranston, and charged him with racketeering, conspiracy and delivery of narcotics.

O'Donnell said that authorities are looking for one more suspect. Then they will pursue additional charges against those already arrested, which could, in turn, lead to more arrests.

View photos of the original group of arrestees, and a 2007 special report on the State of the Mob in Rhode Island.

By Bruce Landis
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- The state transit authority's board of directors this afternoon approved service reductions affecting 47 of its bus routes and eliminating about 20 bus drivers' jobs.

Rhode Island Public Transit Authority officials said the reductions would save about $900,000 this fiscal year, or about $2 million per year. However, they would not begin to address the estimated $8-million budget deficit which could force much larger service cutbacks within a few months.

On the other hand, Board Chairman John Rupp said he is optimistic that state government will come up with enough money to get RIPTA to the end of the fiscal year, June 30, without those cutbacks.

Where officials said yesterday's cutbacks would eliminate only 2 percent or less of RIPTA's bus service, the cuts that would be needed to cover the deficit could take as much as 20 percent.

General Manager Alfred J. Moscola said there are eight vacancies among the roughly 380 drivers' jobs. That could leave the other 12 drivers vulnerable to layoffs unless retirements made up the difference.

By Tracy Breton
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- Victims of The Station nightclub fire aren't going to get any of their settlement money in time for Christmas.

It appears, in fact, that it will be next spring at the earliest, that any funds will be distributed.

A federal magistrate judge, David L. Martin, met this afternoon with lawyers for the victims and the dozens of parties they sued in connection with the February 2003 fire. Representatives of both sides said they'd reached agreement on the next steps to be followed as they try to wrap up the litigation.

Providence lawyer William A. Poore will be appointed special master on behalf of the 181 minors who are slated to receive part of the $176 million that has been offered to settle the 11 federal lawsuits brought by those who lost loved ones or suffered injuries in the fire. During the next 45 days, Poore will confer with a Duke University law professor who has devised a matrix for distributing the $176 million. His job will be to review the matrix to see if it seems fair to the minors.Then Poore will submit a report to the court and the professor, Francis E. McGovern, will submit his grid for court approval.

At some point later in the proceedings, the victims' lawyers plan to ask the court to appoint Poore as guardian ad litem for the minors which will give him additional duties regarding the proposed distribution of funds.

Martin scheduled another status conference with all of the lawyers for Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.

Lawyers for the more than 300 plaintiffs who stand to receive settlement money had hoped to be able to distribute the funds by year's end. But there have been some unexpected delays: Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, who is presiding over the mass tort cases, has been out ill for several months, and some of the lawyers for the parties who have offered to settle are questioning whether more than one guardian ad litem should be appointed for the minors. They've expressed concern that some minors could try to re-open the lawsuits once they become adults to try to get additional compensation; they've told the court that they want protection against that happening.

In court today, Providence lawyer Mark Mandell, who represents many of the fire victims, told Martin that "we want to move this forward as much as we can." Everyone, he said, is committed to effectuating a closure to this case "so our clients can get their measure of justice as soon as possible." But there are still things that need to be done to wrap things up, he said.

>> Continue reading: More delays for Station fire victims' settlements

By Timothy Barmann
Journal staff writer

National Grid has proposed an even bigger decrease in natural gas rates because of falling energy prices.

The utility company's proposal would lower the bill of a typical residential customer by about $11 a month, or 8.3 percent, according to a filing the company made to the Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 31.

The bigger decrease reflects a drop in the price of natural gas futures of about 12 percent over the past two months, according to figures from the Energy Information Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy.

The company's calculation is based on the consumption of 860 therms over an 11-month period, beginning Dec. 1.

A previous filing, made in September, proposed a rate decrease of about $6 a month, or about 4.6 percent.

However, customers may not see much of a decrease in their bills because of a separate proceeding in which National Grid is seeking to raise distribution rates by about 5 percent.

Those charges, which are separate from those for the gas itself, cover the company's cost of operating and maintaining the gas distribution network.

In that proceeding, National Grid said it wants to raise rates by $18.7 million annually, in order to speed up replacement of aging gas lines and to create a discount for low-income customers. National Grid is also seeking changes in the natural gas rate structure to protect itself from revenue losses that result from the conservation efforts of its customers.

The distribution rate has not been raised in 10 years.

The Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, the agency that represents ratepayers in utilities cases, has argued for a lower distribution rate increase -- $8.7 million.

The PUC has already held extensive hearings on the distribution rate proposals. The commission is expected to make a decision on the proposed increase and the decrease by Nov. 30.

The new rates would go into effect on Dec. 1.

As for electricity rates, National Grid said it plans on proposing new rates in the middle of November.

Those rates are likely to reflect a decrease in energy costs, but also an increase in transmission costs.

Electricity rates have remained unchanged since they were raised by 21.7 percent in July.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

The hull of the unfinished tall ship Oliver Hazard Perry is docked at Bowen's Wharf this morning after it completed its voyage from Amherstburg, Canada. Its owners, Tall Ships Rhode Island, plan to transform it into a 207-foot Tall Ship to represent all of Rhode Island.

The goal is to have the Oliver Hazard Perry sailing by 2010.

The 132-foot hull was towed from Ontario to Narragansett Bay, a 800-mile journey.

The nonprofit bought the steel hull in September and intends to build it into a 207-foot, three-masted, square-rigged 19th-century warship replica named after Rhode Island's naval war hero, Oliver Hazard Perry.

Perry, who was born in Rhode Island and lived in Newport, was a Navy commodore who led the U.S. fleet to a key victory on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. During the battle, he captured the HMS Detroit. The Canadian group built the hull for a planned replica of the Detroit, before having to abandon the project due to lack of support.

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers

Douglas Young, 4, is delighted to try out the driver's seat of a fire truck under the supervision of Matthew DelBonis, from Rescue 2.

Firefighters from Warwick's Ladder 1, Engine 9 and Rescue 2 were at Drum Rock Early Childhood Center in Warwick this morning, teaching the 107 students, ages 3 to 5, about fire safety. They showed the kids the fire trucks and gear during the hour-long session supervised by principal Kathryn Keenan.

See the video by Kathy Borchers

With federal authorities stepping up immigration enforcement raids across the country, Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert Menendez of New Jersey are sponsoring a bill to protect the rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents who get caught up in them.

The Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act was introduced on Sept. 25 to push for more stringent legal procedures to be followed by authorities executing immigration-related searches and warrants.

Immigration officials have conducted a series of high-profile workplace raids across the country in recent months, including one earlier this week at a poultry processing plant in Greenville, S.C.

The two Democratic lawmakers argue that the raids are often conducted in a sweeping fashion that nets lawful residents and U.S. citizens who happen to be working alongside undocumented immigrants. Those who can't produce papers such as a birth certificate or passport proving U.S. citizenship or legal residency are often detained.

The legislation would require immigration agents to advise people being detained of their rights, including the option of remaining silent or seeking legal counsel, similar to what police officers must do in arresting criminal suspects.

In Rhode Island, federal immigration authorities in July arrested 31 suspected illegal immigrants who worked at six courthouses throughout the state. A month earlier, authorities arrested 42 suspected immigration violators in Newport and Middletown.

"It certainly seems it's a step in the right direction," Providence Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, who has called on U.S. immigration authorities to halt mass immigration raids, said of the proposal.

-- By the Associated Press

>> Continue reading: Kennedy, N.J. senator want immigration-raid guidelines

The State Department of Transportation said vehicles on the Simmonsville Avenue Bridge, over Simmons Brook in Johnston, are now restricted by weight. The bridge carries approximately 5,000 vehicles per day.

RIDOT will limit weight on the bridge to 11 tons for two axle vehicles, 15 tons for 3 axle vehicles, and 22 tons for 5 axle vehicles. Signs announcing the posting will be installed next week.

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers

A huge pumpkin awaits transport in the back of a pickup while some of the growers admire it, including Dick Wallace, at left, Joe Jutras, of North Scituate, fourth from right, last year's World Record winner with his 1,689 pound pumpkin, Pete Rondeau, of Coventry, next to him, and Ron Wallace, of Coventry, far right, the 2006 World Record winner with his 1,502 pounder.

The Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Growers conduct their annual weigh-off at Frerichs Farm in Warren tomorrow.

Today, some of the contestants will be transporting their giant pumpkins to Warren. In a neighborhood off Hopkins Hill Rd. in Coventry, there are several contestants.

Beginning Tuesday -- when state workers get back from the Columbus Day holiday -- the Division of Motor Vehicles is changing its hours.

The Woonsocket DMV branch will be closed on Mondays, the Warren branch will be closed on Wednesdays and the West Warwick branch will be closed on Fridays.

A news release from Gary Sasse, the Department of Revenue director, said the changes will allow DMV "to better staff the Pawtucket branch while maintaining existing services at all other branches." It said the changes "will not reduce the services available at any of the DMV branches."

The new schedules at DMV branches will be:

Pawtucket, 100 Main St.:
Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 3:15 pm

Middletown, 73 Valley Road:
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Wakefield, Stedman Government Center, Tower Hill Road:
Wednesday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Warren, 1 Joyce St.:
Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Warwick Express, Rhode Island Mall:
Tuesday-Friday, noon to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, noon to 4:30 p.m.

West Warwick, 1237 Main St.
Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Westerly, Ocean Plaza, 62 Franklin St.:
Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Woonsocket
217 Pond Street (Dept. of Labor and Training Building)
Tuesday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

For what services are provided at various branches, go to www.dmv.ri.gov.

Rhode Island State Police Financial Crimes Unit yesterday arrested Elaine T. Walmsley, 61, of 263 Sandy Lane, Warwick, on the felony charge of embezzlement over $100.

The arrest was the result of a two-month investigation into a complaint filed by the Diocese of Providence subsequent to an audit of St. Kevin Parish and School accounts. St. Kevin's is located in Warwick.

According to State Police, the investigation revealed that church and School checking accounts had been utilized to pay more than $69,000 to Walmsley's American Express credit-card account.

"Further investigation revealed additional checks from the St. Kevin's Parish and School accounts made payable to the benefit of Ms. Walmsley in excess of $20,000.00," said State Police Lt. Lieutenant David S. Neill. "Walmsley had been the sole bookkeeper for the Parish since 2002. The payments to her American Express account dated back to 2003 and continued until being discovered by auditors."

Walmsley was arraigned before Judge Mary McCaffrey in 3rd Division District Court and released on $20,000 personal recognizance. A pre-arraignment conference is scheduled for Nov. 17, 2008 at Kent County Court House.

By Felice J. Freyer
Journal Medical Writer

The Health Department has reprimanded the Miriam Hospital after identifying a confluence of missteps that led a surgical team to operate on the wrong knee last month.

The problems included marking surgical sites with ink that sometimes washes off and failing to verify the site against the original source of information.

But Dr. David R. Gifford, health director, said an underlying issue was the hospital's "culture"-- a failure to appreciate the importance of patient-safety measures. For example, on a pre-surgical checklist, a nurse drew a vertical line through several boxes rather than checking off each individually.

In a consent agreement signed yesterday, the hospital pledged to make several changes in policy and procedure and to hire a patient-safety consultant.

"We need to do the technical fixes," Gifford said. "I'm [also] trying to get at the underlying culture."

"It's not that Miriam doesn't have a culture of safety," said Dr. Kathleen Hittner, hospital president. "Of course we have a culture of safety." The nurse who drew the line through the boxes may have diligently checked each item, but just filled the form quickly, because there are so many forms, she said.

The culture change that's needed, Hittner said, involves making sure that "people speak up and tell us what is going." For example, no one informed the hospital administration that the pens used to mark surgical sites sometimes blurred during preparation for surgery.

"We have a very hard-working dedicated staff," Hittner added. "We have great people here who do a wonderful job. I'm very proud them."

Meanwhile, after learning of the Health Department's findings, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has notified Miriam that it is "not in compliance" with requirements to participate in the federal program and that the deficiencies are "of such a serious nature as to substantially limit your hospital's capacity to render adequate care."

CMS, which has lately taken a hard line against medical errors, has hired the Health Department to conduct a top-to-bottom survey of the hospital and required it to correct any deficiencies before its standing with Medicare can be restored.

Gifford said that the on-site portion of that survey is being completed today, and that there was no reason to think that Miriam would lose its right to accept Medicare patients.

The incident occurred on Sept. 19, when a 60-year-old came to the hospital's outpatient surgical center for arthroscopic surgery on the knee to treat arthritis and a meniscal tear. Shortly before surgery, the surgeon met with the patient, discussed the surgery, and correctly marked her left knee with the word "yes."

Then, a nurse mistakenly placed a tourniquet on the wrong knee, and the wrong knee was prepped for surgery. In the operating room, the surgical team performed the required "time-out" and went down a checklist of items, but failed to make sure that they were about to operate on the correct knee.

The error was first discovered by the patient when she awakened from surgery. At the patient's request, the hospital then performed the surgery on the other knee.

The Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and the Board of Nursing are investigating whether to take disciplinary action against any of the professionals involved.

Maple trees begin to work their magic above the footpaths in Slater Park in Pawtucket. Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Have you been outside lately? It's a beautiful fall day in Rhode Island, sunny and a warm 72 degrees.

Today marks the beginning of a warming trend in the region, as the five-day forecast calls for temperatures in the low 70s and high 60s through the entire Columbus Day weekend. Forecasters are saying we can count on the sun to stick around through most of the three-day weekend, if you're lucky enough to have Monday off.

Journal photo / John Freidah
Federal judge Mary Lisi ruled in December that a painting, forcibly auctioned by the Nazis, rightfully belongs to the estate of a late Jewish art dealer. Lisi ordered Maria Louise Bissonnette, above, a German baroness now living in Providence, to hand over the painting to the estate of Max Stern. The painting, in the below photo provided by Concordia University, is by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, (1806-1873), and is entitled "Girl from the Sabiner Mountains."

By Edward Fitzpatrick
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- Lawyers this morning debated whether a German baroness who lives in Providence will be allowed to hold onto a painting that a judge says was unlawfully taken from a Jewish art dealer in Nazi Germany 71 years ago.

The 84-year-old baroness, Maria-Louise Bissonnette, looked on as lawyers argued during a rare visit by judges from the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. As part of the centennial of the federal courthouse in Kennedy Plaza, three federal appellate judges were in Providence to hear arguments in five cases.

The court session began with Bissonnette's lawyer, David A. Levy, asking the 1st Circuit to overturn a December ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge M. Lisi, who ordered Bissonnette to turn the painting over the estate of the late Max Stern.

Stern was ordered to liquidate his family's Dusseldorf art gallery in 1937 because he was Jewish, according to court records. Bissonnette's step-father, Dr. Karl Wilharm, bought the painting at auction, and Bissonnette inherited the painting from her mother's estate, court records show. The oil painting, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, is titled Girl from the Sabiner Mountains.

Levy said the painting had either been "purchased or stolen." And that prompted Circuit Judge Kermit V. Lipez to say, "There is no dispute about ownership, is there?"

"Well," Levy said, "I'm not quite in agreement with the court." He said Bissonnette inherited the painting, and the Stern estate "literally stumbled on the painting."

Senior Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya said Levy's brief "does not contain a single word" contesting ownership of the painting. Rather, he noted Levy's brief argued that Stern and his estate waited too long to pursue the claim and "did not exert sufficient efforts" to try to reclaim the painting. Levy's brief also argued that Bissonnette should have been allowed to reopen the process of obtaining information from the other side.

A lawyer for Stern's estate, Thomas R. Kline, told the judges, "The question of theft is one of historical fact based on the activities of the Third Reich."

In his legal brief, Kline said the Reich Chamber of the Fine Arts, an official organization of the Nazi government, began sending letters to Stern in 1935, demanding he liquidate his gallery. In 1937, Stern received a final order to dissolve the gallery through a Nazi-approved auction house, and a Cologne auction house sold Stern's paintings in November 1937 at below-market value. Stern fled to Paris a month later and never received any money from the sales, he said.

Kline objected to the notion that Stern's estate "stumbled upon" the painting, saying, "The very first time the painting was made available for sale, it was found."

Bissonnette's stepfather hung the painting in his home and kept it in his private collection, except for one exhibition in Germany in the early 1950s, Kline's legal brief said. In 2006, Stern's estate learned the painting was being offered for sale by a Cranston auction house, which had received the painting on consignment from Bissonnette. And the auction house withdrew the painting from auction block after being contacted by an art recovery company hired by Stern's estate, according to Kline's brief.

After the hearing, the Journal asked Bissonnette and her husband, Conrad, why she should be allowed to keep the painting. "Her father paid for it," Conrad Bissonnette replied. He noted that 71 years had passed and that the painting had been displayed in a museum in Germany at one point.

"That was a legal sale," Maria-Louise Bissonnette said. She said she still has documents from the Lempertz Auction House in Cologne.

When asked if it was a forced sale, she said, "No. Not really. He had two-and-a-half years to dissolve his gallery and sell the painting."

Is it getting tougher to get a loan?

Journal reporter Paul Edward Parker is looking for consumers who have found that getting a loan is getting more difficult. He wants people who have not had difficulty in the past getting a mortgage, home equity loan, car loan or student loan, but now are being asked for extra documentation, having to put more money down, having to pay higher rates, being denied or other problems.

Contact Parker at pparker@projo.com.

By Neil Downing
Journal MoneyLine columnist

The bailout bill approved and signed into law by President Bush includes a bunch of tax breaks, some of which will directly affect thousands of Rhode Islanders - including parents of college students, schoolteachers, homeowners and IRA owners.

Here's a brief look at some of the breaks:

• Tuition and Fees: In general, you may claim a federal income-tax deduction of up to $4,000 for college tuition and fees. If you meet certain income limits, you may claim the break whether you list your deductions separately (a process known as "itemizing," on Schedule A of your U.S. Form 1040) or simply claim a lump-sum deduction called the standard deduction.

The tuition-and-fees break expired last year. The bailout bill extends it through this year and next, said Mark A. Luscombe, a lawyer and principal analyst for tax publisher CCH Inc., a Wolters Kluwer business.

More than 18,000 Rhode Island filers claimed this break on their federal returns each year before it expired, Internal Revenue Service figures show. If you claim it, you'll automatically get a tax benefit for it on your Rhode Island return, state Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said.

• Schoolteachers: If you're a schoolteacher, you generally may claim a deduction of up to $250 for classroom materials you buy on your own, without reimbursement. The break was available whether you itemized or claimed the standard deduction. But it expired last year. The bailout law extends it through this year and next, Luscombe said. About 16,000 Rhode Island filers claimed this break on their federal returns each year before it expired. By claiming it on your federal return, you'll automatically get a benefit for it on your Rhode Island return, Sullivan said.



• Property Tax: If you used the standard deduction, you couldn't claim a federal income-tax deduction for local property tax. But a law enacted this summer says that if you claim the standard deduction, you may deduct up to $500 in property tax if you're single, $1,000 if you're married - for this year only. The bailout law extends this break through 2009.



• IRAs: If you're 70 ½ or older, you may transfer up to $100,000 a year of your IRA directly to a charity without triggering any tax on the transfer. This break, popular among MoneyLine readers, expired last year. But the text of the new bailout law makes it clear that the deal is available for this year and next.



• Sales Tax: If you itemize, you had the option of deducting your sales taxes instead of your state income taxes. The sales-tax option expired last year, but the bailout law extends it through this year and next. About 15,000 Rhode Islanders chose the sales-tax option each year before it expired, IRS figures show.



• AMT: You're supposed to calculate your federal return two ways: first, under the usual set of rules, then under a stricter set of rules required by the alternative minimum tax (AMT) system. You pay whichever results in the higher amount of tax. More and more people are subject to the AMT. Special relief from the AMT expired last year. The bailout law extends the relief through this year, and adds a cost-of-living feature, Luscombe said.

By Mike Stanton
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- The jury just asked a question of the judge in its fourth day of deliberations in the corruption trial of two former executives for the Roger Williams Medical Center.

The jurors asked Chief District Court Judge Mary Lisi for clarification on the second count of the indictment, which is the lone count against Frances P. Driscoll.

They asked the judge to clarify the meaning of "willfully" and "voluntarily" in Count 2 , which charges Driscoll, the former hospital vice president with aiding and abetting her co-defendant, Robert A. Urciuoli, in a scheme to steal the honest services of a state senator, John Celona.

Lisi said that the first question regarding Count 2 was too broad for her to answer, and for guidance on their second question, the judge referred jurors to her instructions.

Urciuoli, the hospital's former president and CEO, and Driscoll, former vice president for marketing, were charged with corruptly hiring Celona, of North Providence, to perform political favors.

The defense maintained that Celona was legally hired to perform valid work promoting the hospital and its affiliates to senior citizens.

Read more about the trial and the federal investigation.

The heavy rains forecasted this weekend have prompted the organizers of the Oyster Festival at Hemenway's Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar in Providence to cancel the event.

The free event was to mark it's fourth anniversary this weekend. For the second year in a row, all proceeds were to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Providence.

Organizers for the Providence Rotary Street Painting Festival have postponed this weekend's event to next weekend, in anticipation of rain.

The event, involving 200 artists, amateurs and professional, children and adults, will now be held Oct. 4, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., in the outdoor Bank of America Skating Center in downtown Providence. For more information, visit www.providencestreetpainting.com.

Projo.com photo / Pamela Reinsel Cotter

Two days of battering rain storms took their toll on this tree -- and another beside it -- on Candlewood Drive in North Kingstown overnight.

According to the Community Collaborative Rain, Snow & Hail Network, 1.65 inches of rain fell yesterday alone in North Kingstown.

The worst part for these homeowners -- the house has been up for sale for many months, and now they have another maintenance expense to worry about.