Archive - News Article
October 23rd, 2011
WOONSOCKET â Rhode Islandâs First Lady Stephanie Chafee will be visiting Woonsocket Thursday at a public forum at the Woonsocket Harris Public Library entitled âWomen, Health Disparities and HIV/STI Prevention: Building Healthy Communities and Families in Rhode Island.â
The forum will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the library, 303 Linton Ave.
October 23rd
My favorite working moment of 2011 came back in late May when The Military Page asked area veterans to show up for photo shoots in Pawtucket and Woonsocket.
I had my doubts about how many vets would attend, figuring they had many other things to do on a sunny Saturday in May, but those doubts vanished when the vets came walking up to the assigned meeting place, many of them with their wives or children, sometimes even grandchildren, mingling with other veterans and clearly enjoying the chance to have their picture taken with fellow veterans.
October 22nd
BURRILLVILLE â The fate of Charles Hopkinsâ headstone is a perfect example of how far things had gone at Pascoagâs Historical Cemetery No. 12.
Carlo Mencucci and his wife, Betty, knew Hopkins was supposed to be buried next to his father, Augustus Hopkins, a 19th century mill boss whose grave was marked by a prominent monument. But there was nothing beside the gravestone of the family patriarch save for a mossy depression in the ground.
SMITHFIELD â There is nothing stopping mayors and city councils from passing an ordinance right away that stops COLAs (Cost of Living Adjustments) on municipal employee pensions, General Treasurer Gina Raimondo told a business forum Friday morning.
October 19th
WOONSOCKET â Hereâs the $6 million question: Does the pension reform proposal now in the hands of the General Assembly pull the city back from the brink of impending financial calamity?
Hereâs the answer: Too soon to tell.
October 18th
PROVIDENCE â The die is cast.
A massive 200-page bill, months in the making, to radically change public employee retirement payments for everyone from the newly-hired worker to the longest-surviving pensioner was finally introduced in both the House and Senate on Tuesday, ending an extended period of public expectation and speculation.
WOONSOCKET â The state fire marshal has concluded that arson was the cause of a three-alarm fire that heavily damaged a vacant six-family house at 368 East School St. Monday night.
Deputy State Fire Marshal Lt. Michael Morin of the Woonsocket Fire Department said a $5,000 reward is now offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.
The arson conclusion was based, in part, on where the fire started, evidence of prior illegal entry, and the fact that all utilities had been cut off, said Morin.
October 17th
WOONSOCKET â Federal prosecutors are asking an appeals court for extra time to seek a full court review of a decision allowing Jason Pleau to remain in state custody to avoid a possible death penalty in connection with the robbery and murder of a gas station manager from Lincoln.
U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha wants the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to give prosecutors until Nov. 23, about two weeks longer than normal, to appeal the ruling.
WOONSOCKET â Advocates for small business and economic development from around the region shared some blunt talk about whatâs missing from the federal governmentâs job-growth policy yesterday with someone they hope can make a difference â U.S. Treasurer Rosa âRosieâ Rios.
A guest of U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), the woman whose signature appears on new paper money is a member of President Barack Obamaâs Business Council and a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
October 16th
PROVIDENCE â The much-anticipated pension reform bill will be presented to a joint session of the General Assembly tomorrow.
Early reports of the plan to be presented by Gov. Lincoln Chafee and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo indicate that it will include shifting state employees and teachers from the defined benefit plan they have now to a âhybridâ scheme that has components of both a defined benefit and a 401(k)-type defined contribution plan. This would affect contributions as well as benefits.
