07/04/2008

Electric utility seeks 21.7 percent rate hike
If National Grid’s request is approved, the typical customer would pay an additional $16.67 a month.

Plane crash in Middletown leaves 2 dead, 1 injured
The four-seat private plane apparently lost power immediately after takeoff.

Strong tides pose danger
WESTERLY — The lifeguards at Misquamicut State Beach earned their $10 an hour Monday.

These songs from long ago still stir the patriotic spirit
“You’re a grand old flag, you’re a high-flying flag, and forever in peace may you wave …”

What’s open and what’s closed today, the Fourth of July
Rhode Island

Elections Board won’t order release of nominating papers
PROVIDENCE — Going against the advice of their own lawyer, members of the state Board of Elections yesterday refused to order Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, a Democrat, to release nominating papers for five disputed GOP candidates for the overwhelmingly Democratic General Assembly.

Carcieri issues order to keep landfill open
PROVIDENCE –– Governor Carcieri Wednesday issued an executive order that he said was needed to allow operations to continue at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, which operates Johnston’s Central Landfill. The governor said that without his order, operations at the landfill could have ceased.

Coast Guard assists in pair of rescues
In separate incidents yesterday, the Coast Guard rescued two people in distress in the area of Point Judith, a spokesman said.

Health brief
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has scheduled the following health and wellness events: Nutrition 101 Stop-By, July 9, 10 to 11 a.m., St. Edward’s Food and Wellness Center, 1001 Branch Ave., Providence; Chair Yoga, July 16, 11 a.m. to noon, East Providence Senior Center, 610 Waterman Ave., East Providence; Blood pressure screening, July 18, noon to 2 p.m., McAuley House, body, mind and spirit celebration, 622 Elmwood Ave., Providence; Stretching, July 23, 1 to 2 p.m., Ralph Holden Senior Center, 361 Cowden St., Central Falls.

Rhode Island briefs
Donations for school supplies: To help support the Back-to-School Celebration, a series of events next month that provide backpacks, school supplies and books to Providence students in need, Rhode Island Hospital will be hosting drop-off days for donations to the program on July 23 and 24, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Rhode Island Hospital cafeteria, 593 Eddy St., Providence.

State police announce recruitment
Applications are due by Aug. 3 from those seeking to be in the next training academy, to be held next summer.

Expungement, public records bills vetoed
The measures were but 2 of 36 proposal laws that Governor Carcieri vetoed yesterday.

The New Americans
PROVIDENCE — Almost 400 years after Roger Williams established a new colony by a freshwater spring along what is now North Main Street, 51 people from 24 nations gathered in the same spot yesterday to become some of the nation’s newest citizens.

Lynch seeks to try teen charged with child rape as adult
Police say the 17-year-old beat and raped his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter in Woonsocket.

Cause of ferry collision with Coast Guard boat still unclear
When it collided with a Block Island ferry in thick fog Wednesday, the Coast Guard vessel Morro Bay was returning to New London from a change of command ceremony in Newport.

07/03/2008

Coast Guard ship, ferry in minor collision
There were no injuries, and passengers on the Block Island ferry say that conditions at the time were foggy.

Back to Bristol
BRISTOL

High gas prices keeping many closer to home
For the first time since 2000, AAA predicts a decline in the number of Americans traveling for the Fourth of July holiday compared with the previous year.

On Politics: Bristol Fourth of July carries on a rich tradition
BRISTOL –– There will be bands, floats and puppets, the trill of bagpipes, smart-stepping sailors, Sousa marches, wide-eyed tykes and military veterans in too-tight uniforms. The harbor will fill with hundreds of majestic white sails. The pols will march, smiling through their “hihowareyas,” their arms aloft in Queen Elizabeth waves.

Battle brews over parade
The Gloucester Light Infantry may not be in the Ancients and Horribles Parade.

Fireworks postponed due to plovers
NARRAGANSETT — Can you keep the fireworks down, please? The babies are sleeping.

What’s open and what’s closed tomorrow, the Fourth of July
Rhode Island

Teen charged with attack, rape of 2-year-old girl
WOONSOCKET — A 17-year-old is being held at the state Training School after he allegedly beat, bit and raped the 2-year-old girl he was babysitting.

Man held by police died from ‘delirium’
The ruling by the medical examiner’s office in the case of Leonel Farias of East Providence draws fire from a state mental health advocate and the ACLU.

Loophole is closed in underage-drinking law
PROVIDENCE — Governor Carcieri has approved legislation that aims to strengthen the state’s social-host law by making adults liable for underage drinking anywhere on their property, not just within the confines of a house.

Newport gets the green light for its trolleys
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority wanted to pull them off the road, but now they can stay, refitted with diesel engines.

Division St. Bridge in Pawtucket opens to two-way traffic
PAWTUCKET –– The Division Street Bridge reopened to two-way traffic yesterday, much to the relief of PawSox President Mike Tamburro and Ferdie’s Key Shop owner Fred Villeneuve.

Local Quakers join anti-torture campaign
The Westerly Friends join the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and endorse its “statement of conscience.”

Pawtucket’s Division Street Bridge again two-way
The Pawtucket bridge had been made one-way to accommodate detoured truck traffic from Route 95, but the move resulted in more problems than solutions.

Pawtucket business owners applaud traffic change
Division Street had become one-way to handle truck traffic detoured because of the deteriorating Route 95 Pawtucket River bridge.

Correctional officers awarded pay raise
A ruling by an arbitration panel gives them a 13-percent increase for the period between July 12, 2003, and June 30, 2006.

Newport gets the green light for its trolleys
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority wanted to pull them off the road, but now they can stay, refitted with diesel engines.

Coast Guard ship, ferry in minor collision
There were no injuries, and passengers on the Block Island ferry say that conditions at the time were foggy.

Wayward bees and their queen were all the hum and buzz downtown
PROVIDENCE

Borne with the Fourth of July: Bristol carries on a rich tradition
BRISTOL –– There will be bands, floats and puppets, the trill of bagpipes, smart-stepping sailors, Sousa marches, wide-eyed tykes and military veterans in too-tight uniforms. The harbor will fill with hundreds of majestic white sails. The pols will march, smiling through their “hihowareyas,” their arms aloft in Queen Elizabeth waves.

Supreme Court declines to rule on GOP candidates
The Board of Elections must first decide whether the five Republicans can fill open slots in the party’s General Assembly slate.

07/02/2008

Slowly, R.I. budget cuts begin to take hold
With the start of the new fiscal year, some programs are already affected by spending reductions while others won’t be affected until later in the year.

New pension eligibility rules for judges, state police
New troopers will have to work longer, and new judges will have to make do with 90 percent of their former salaries.

Carcieri vetoes bills on jail time, bridge
His rejection of a proposal to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge prompts one legislator to call the move “pure political games.”

Crowded sidewalk leads to slaying, police say
PROVIDENCE — A decision by two Smith Hill teenagers to walk through a pack of Laos Pride gang members cost one of them his life, the police said.

Powell: ‘Don’t just talk the talk’
The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff talks to a gathering of youths about the importance of leadership.

Powell spurns talk of becoming vice president
Speaking in Rhode Island yesterday, the retired general says he is not ready to endorse either John McCain or Barack Obama.

Suspect assaulted officer, police say
PROVIDENCE –– A man whom the police call “Tiger” allegedly attacked the Providence police officer who was guarding him at Rhode Island Hospital and briefly escaped from the emergency room yesterday.

GOP wants court to allow 5 candidates
The status of five Republican candidates for the General Assembly is in limbo after local election officials rejected the candidacies.

Veroni named chief of AG’s criminal division
Assistant Attorney General Stacey Pires Veroni has become the first woman to be named chief of the office’s criminal division, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch announced this week. She succeeds Alan R. Goulart, who recently became a Traffic Tribunal magistrate.

5 finalists chosen for Superior Court bench
The nominees to fill the seat left open by Judge Vincent A. Ragosta’s retirement will now go to Governor Carcieri, who makes the appointment.

Ninigret event planners, panel members joust on fee hikes
CHARLESTOWN — Promoters and town officials agree that user fees for events at Ninigret Park should be “fair and equitable.”

Restrictions placed on canine visitors
WESTERLY — Some people who enjoyed letting their dogs run at Napatree were outraged last year when a sign went up at the entrance saying dogs had to be leashed and were not allowed during certain hours.

State party chiefs add names to East Greenwich council, school board slates
EAST GREENWICH — Last Wednesday’s deadline for filing declarations of candidacy came and went with neither major party having full slates for November’s Town Council and School Committee contests.

On the path to peace
More than 1,200 students and coaches walked for peace last night along the Riverwalk toward Waterplace Park in Providence. The event was one of many in the weeklong U.S. Scholar-Athlete Games, hosted by the Institute for International Sport. They later heard former Secretary of State Colin Powell speak at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Story on Page A5.

Memories return for honored D-Day veteran
Leo Heroux, new recipient of the French government’s Croix de Guerre, recalls how he met his wife on a farm near the invasion site.

East Providence schools’ hiring practice criticized
Teachers or substitutes — or anyone who attended city schools — will not get preferential hiring consideration.

East Providence school meal prices going up
EAST PROVIDENCE — School breakfasts and lunches for students and adults will increase 15 percent this September to cover rising food costs and prevent a budget deficit in the meals program as occurred this past year.

07/01/2008

Webcam captures suspected thief
NEWPORT –– When he got home after a morning ear surgery, Joshua Chiarini was exhausted and in pain.

July 4th fireworks canceled in Providence
State fire officials say the fireworks are launched too close to the buildings of Smith Hill, some of which have suffered burns in the last few years.

Teen girl nearly drowns while helping to save boy
On her 14th birthday, Tiffany Martinez is hospitalized apparently with severe brain damage after helping prevent another youngster from drowning.

Lynch opts out of support for news shield law
Rhode Island’s attorney general says his office’s unique position makes it inappropriate for him to join 42 of his colleagues in calling for passage of federal legislation to protect reporters’ sources.

RIC a familiar place to new president
Nancy Carriuolo says she sees much of herself in the students who attend Rhode Island College.

Downtown bridge will once again be two-way
The Division Street Bridge, changed to one-way to accommodate vehicles forced to detour by weight restrictions on nearby Route 95, will return to two-way traffic tomorrow.

Suspect in kidnapping, rape to remain at ACI
An illegal immigrant charged in the abduction of a woman three weeks ago forgoes a bail hearing.

Kennedy proposes intervention team for mentally ill
“This is where officers need to work collaboratively with mental-health experts,” the congressman says in the wake of a man’s death in police custody.

Board of Governors raises tuition, fees at RIC and CCRI
“I am mindful that this places a serious burden on students and their families,” says Chairman Frank Caprio.

11 school districts to get agency’s $3.4-million surplus
Eleven school districts in northern Rhode Island have agreed to divide up a $3.4-million surplus accumulated by the Northern Rhode Island Collaborative, a state-chartered nonprofit organization that the districts pay to run their special education programs.

Governor’s veto of courthouse idea lamented
PROVIDENCE — The president of the Rhode Island Senate yesterday said he was disappointed at Governor Carcieri’s veto Friday of a resolution that took the first step toward establishing a Blackstone Valley courthouse in Smithfield.

Local Quakers join campaign against torture
WESTERLY — In what looks like a modest home among the stately houses on Elm Street, members of the Westerly Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, sit quietly for an hour each Sunday, as they have on First Days for 350 years, practicing their discipline for inner inspiration.

State GOP appeals rejection of candidates
The state’s Republican Party is blaming the secretary of state’s office for giving bad advice, but that office denies any advice was given.

On Politics: Democrats won’t get White House without real unity
UNITY, N.H — It took David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s top campaign strategist, to spin the theme of last week’s heavily scripted Obama-Hillary Clinton Democratic Party love fest in a meadow in this village so obscure you can’t find it on MapQuest.

Coventry man charged with felony counts of possessing, selling fireworks
COVENTRY — A local man was charged with trafficking in illegal fireworks after state police seized the contraband, with a total estimated street value of $35,000, from his minivan and from storage buildings in West Greenwich and Seekonk.

Coventry’s Route 3 teeming with welcome construction
The development of new retail, office and other commercial space is a welcome change from large residential ventures, say town planning officials.

The world outdoors
Above, Gertura Gbarbo, 15, of Worcester, Mass., wears a mask she made at the Project Respect leadership development camp, sponsored by Rhode Island for Community and Justice. The weeklong program, held at Camp Davis in Charlestown, helps teenagers from all backgrounds develop skills of leadership and community building. At left, Rob Jones, left, codirector of Project Respect, speaks with Jim Albert, 16, of North Providence and originally from Haiti. At top, Marangely Cancel-Rivera, 17, of Worcester, helps braid the hair of Chantel Crum, of West Warwick.

Get Wall Street out of oil business, says Kennedy
The Rhode Island congressman blames investment and financial firms for driving the cost of oil.

New option proposed for Green
An alternative would position an 8,700-foot runway farther south than previously suggested, eliminating the need to move heavily traveled Airport Road or Route 37.

06/30/2008

A Summer Series: Going with the wind
Facing high gas prices and less money to splurge, many people are choosing to stay close to home for vacation. This summer, The Journal will help you find some activities and outings nearby. Some may be old favorites, while others you’ve never tried.

Witnesses offer details of arrest in W. Warwick
Neighbors watched from their window as Mark Jackson, who died while in police custody, was subdued by police officers.

Girl, 14, termed critical after being rescued off Conimicut
WARWICK — Three swimmers, two of them children, were hospitalized after being rescued off Conimicut Point yesterday afternoon.

Raptakis gives Sen. Paiva Weed failing grades

Love Stories: Grace and William Veasey
“Where did we go on our first date?” asks Grace Veasey of her husband, William. “I do remember that you had a car that the door was falling off on.”

Brown’s Haffenreffer Museum to close
The museum complex, opened in 1955 in Bristol, is rife with fire code problems and deterioration that threaten its collection of artifacts.

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.