07/24/2008

Union members’ votes on new state contract tallied today
“I know it’s a tough deal, but we still encouraged them to approve it because we feel it was the best deal to be had,” says one union leader.

Cleaning workers charged in identity thefts from URI
Since the arrest of the two women who work for TriState Enterprises, URI has taken Social Security numbers off employee timecards.

Region thrashed by severe storms
Mother Nature unleashed her power on Rhode Island yesterday, sending a deluge of severe thunderstorms that hammered the state in a fast-moving sweep that knocked out power for thousands, created flash flooding and closures on major roadways and gave one man the shock of his life.

Festival organizers accuse city licensing board of bias
Officials of the Puerto Rican Cultural Festival say the board’s denial of a liquor license puts this weekend’s event in jeopardy.

Fatima nurses picket over contract talks
NORTH PROVIDENCE — Beneath foreboding skies yesterday afternoon, nurses from Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and their union leadership marched with picket signs to protest recent contract negotiations, future benefits and what they say are unsafe staffing levels.

Boy Scout volunteer facing charges
Randolph V. Johnson, of Warwick, allegedly showed adult movies and gave alcohol to scouts at Camp Yawgoog.

Health-care facility in Foster gets state OK
FOSTER — Northwest Community Health Care received state approval Tuesday for an organized ambulatory-care-facility license which paves the way for plans to open the town’s first primary-medical-care and dentistry center.

Lawyers question inmate’s story
Jose Gonzalez faces another day of questioning over his allegations of abuse by former ACI guards.

Cumberland nonprofit home sues RI Housing over funding
The House of Compassion — which houses low-income, HIV positive and AIDS patients — says Rhode Island Housing breached a contract.

Warren planner takes job at Resource Recovery
WARREN — Town Planner Michelle Maher has given notice that she will leave her position next month to take a job with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation.

Mapping the ocean: SAMP will target areas for renewable energy projects
State regulators and researchers from the University of Rhode Island are about to begin a two-year project to map out sections of nearby ocean waters to identify suitable spots for renewable-energy developments.

07/23/2008

Cottage rentals down in South County, as vacationers feel the economic pinch
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Chuck Cummiskey runs his summer cottage rental office from a tiny outpost along the windswept breakdown lane of Succotash Road, where two sounds have become his barometers of business.

Five employees fired in reorganization at Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation
“We’re trying to create a stronger, flatter, leaner organization …” says Michael O’Connell, executive director of the embattled agency that oversees the Central Landfill.

Dispute over developer Patrick T. Conley’s waterfront site threatens Puerto Rican Cultural Festival
The three-day festival is scheduled to start Friday at developer Patrick T. Conley’s Providence waterfront site, but the property has yet to receive the required variances from the city’s Zoning Board.

U.S. stockpiling antidotes to counter a biological threat
A federal Homeland Security official tells congressmen meeting at the R.I. State House that more is needed at the state and federal levels, however, to prepare for such a threat.

Retrial of civil case stemming from smoke-shop raid begins
Narragansett tribe member Adam Jennings’ ankle was broken by a state trooper in the 2003 smoke-shop raid.

Defense lawyer quizzes guards’ accuser during abuse trial in Superior Court, Providence
Ex-inmate Jose Gonzalez acknowledges that he has retained a lawyer but has no intent to file a civil suit against the former guards.

Lifeguard now on duty at Woonsocket swimming area
After battling with Woonsocket’s mayor over cutbacks, the Department of Environmental Management sends a lifeguard to World War II Memorial State Park, just days after a swimmer drowns.

Split Canonchet panel opts for a low-key use proposal
NARRAGANSETT — The committee charged with creating a plan for the Canonchet Farm property is recommending conservation and low-impact uses over what some see as a better alternative — conservation mixed with large-scale public access.

Warren town planner leaving for a new job
Michelle Maher will take a job with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation.

Death of Coventry woman still under investigation
PROVIDENCE — Further laboratory studies are needed to determine the exact cause of death of a 34-year-old Coventry woman who was found in her home over the weekend, according to the state medical examiner’s office.

Coventry woman faces fraud charges
Federal authorities say Nancy Alexander, 66, took part in a counterfeit check scheme with a Nigerian accomplice.

07/22/2008

Cash discount gives gasoline retailers, customers a breath of relief
Jon LaChappelle has weathered energy crises and price spikes in the 40 years he’s owned J and D’s West Kingston Service, a gas station, convenience store and repair shop in West Kingston.

RIPTA budget already $12 million behind
The transit agency hasn’t yet decided how to close the gap, but cutting service and requesting more state money are possibilities.

CEO of troubled Landmark Medical Center resigns
Gary Gaube, who will leave Landmark Medical, in Woonsocket, at the end of the year, says hospital finances are threatened by millions in uncompensated care.

Nomination papers cause commotion
Several spats at last night’s Canvassing Authority meeting focus on complaints filed against several candidates’ nomination papers.

Cost of Education Partnership forensic audit not clear
The court hearing on the cost of reviewing the finances of the failed business-backed advocacy group has been postponed.

All signs point to court as next stop in parking dispute
NARRAGANSETT — Less than two weeks after they agreed to a temporary parking plan with Gilbane Development Co., Town Council members last night voted 3 to 2 to reject that plan, with some members returning to their argument that Gilbane should not be reserving spaces for a new high-end restaurant.

O’Connor helps decide Barrington land case
The former U.S. Supreme Court justice was part of a three-judge panel that heard arguments about the Barrington case in Boston.

Police identify Coventry couple found in home
COVENTRY — The police identified a Coventry woman found dead in her home Saturday, and her husband, who was found with her and is in critical condition at Kent Hospital, in Warwick.

Ex-inmate describes beating, threats by ACI guards
Former inmate Jose Gonzalez becomes the fourth person to testify in the abuse trial of former guards Gualter Botas and Kenneth Viveiros.

Restoration work on tap
The Smithfield Preservation Society is working to restore the Waterman Tavern on Putnam Pike in Greenville. Work on the tavern, which the town has threatened to demolish, is going on to make it structurally safe and, the society hopes, to qualify it for further restoration work. Above, Andrew Tucker, of Warwick’s Architectural Preservation Group, works on the structure of the historic building. At top, Paul Dooley, of Warwick, works on a side of the building.

Health briefs
The Scleroderma Support Group meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 7 p.m., at Roger Williams Medical Center, 825 Chalkstone Ave., Providence (second floor nurses’ training room). A roundtable meeting and indoor picnic is planned; donation is $8.50. For information, call (401) 781-5013.

07/21/2008

Obama: Afghans’ needs ‘urgent’
The Democratic presidential candidate says additional U.S. forces are needed to combat the Taliban and al Qaida.

Langevin to hold hearing on biological threats
The hearing will be at the State House tomorrow and will include representatives of state and federal agencies.

Budget savings plan not detailed
Six months after Governor Carcieri proposed saving $67 million by seeking a global Medicaid waiver, no written plan has been released.

Agents investigate former URI official’s work
Robert Felner, who left URI in 2003, is under investigation for the alleged misappropriation of federal grant money at a Kentucky college.

Civil War reenactment benefits Sprague Mansion
The encampment on the mansion’s grounds in Cranston highlighted Rhode Island Gov. William Sprague’s connection to Abraham Lincoln.

Law & Order
Layers of heavy-duty chainlink fence separate the men who pace inside like caged animals. This is their one hour a day out of their cells, and they seem determined to get the most action from it. This is recreation time for prisoners in segregated custody at the High Security Center at the Adult Correctional Institutions, in Cranston –– Super Max to most.

Police ID man who drowned in Woonsocket
WOONSOCKET — Officials have identified the Providence man who apparently drowned Saturday while swimming with his son and daughter at World War II Memorial State Park.

Saturday session means extra time off for State House workers
For some State House employees, the General Assembly’s decision to wrap up the year during an unusual Saturday session was a bonanza.

Education briefs
•Johnson & Wales University will hold an information night for its continuing education and graduate school programs on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Yena Center, 111 Dorrance St., Providence.

07/20/2008

Does Ginger Collins belong in prison?
Ginger Collins is about five years old when the devil first appears. Only she can see him.

Advocates want more information on detainees
Dozens of illegal immigrants have been arrested in Rhode Island in recent weeks, but civil-rights advocates say much of the information about them stops there.

High court upholds removal of two children from illegal immigrant
The state Supreme Court upholds a decision to place the two young children of a deported illegal immigrant in state custody in Rhode Island.

5 of 18 Assembly Republicans abandon ship
Five of 18 Assembly Republicans won’t run for reelection, but GOP leaders say state budget woes may actually help the party in November.

Who’s running for Rhode Island legislature this fall
This is a list of candidates who have been certified to run in the September primary, pending challenges. The deadline for candidate challenges was Friday at 4 p.m. Names followed by an asterisk are candidates denied certification who are appealing or whose cases are under review.

Is City Council outdated?
Providence’s ethnic makeup is changing. Some say the council structure should change as well.

Central Falls shooting leads to two arrests
The Fall River police, with the assistance of the Central Falls police, have arrested a man and woman in connection with the shooting Thursday of a 17-year-old boy from Central Falls.

Suspect in Cumberland stabbing case arrested
CUMBERLAND — A 20-year-old Cumberland man wanted in connection with the stabbing of an 18-year-old resident last month was arrested in Florida on Thursday night, according to the police.

Paddlers follow a new trail awash with history
The invitation for the inaugural paddle of a new Roger Williams Paddle Trail from the middle of East Providence to downtown Providence was somewhat difficult to comprehend at first.

In Quotes: The week that was

05/10/2008

R.I. budget hole grows by at least $50 million
Financial analysts say the shortfall for the coming fiscal year has grown by more than $50 million.

01/20/2008

Gay Evolution
What we know about gay history in America begins here, in Rhode Island, with a gay sex scandal that rocked the U.S. Navy and tarnished the reputation of a president. A half-century later, the gay rights movement rode into Providence on the back of a church. Those early activists drove a sweeping political and cultural agenda so unthinkable, the pioneers never thought they’d live to see it — a time when their lives would be as fabulous and as ordinary as anyone. Read about Providence’s transformation into a gay destination spot, watch slideshows of the everyday lives of gay men and women and listen to their personal stories. Staff writer Mark Arsenault and photographer John Freidah take you on a historical journey.

1919 Newport sting targeted gay sailors, ended in scandal
The nation was shocked to learn that the Navy sent out “agents” to solicit sex in an operation the Senate declared disgraceful.