Archive - News Article
April 21st, 2013
PROVIDENCE – In what backers are calling “a historic step forward,” Pawtucket Sen. Donna Nesselbush’s bill to legalize same-sex marriage is scheduled for a vote on Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
If the bill passes out of committee, it could come to a vote in the full Senate as soon as Thursday. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said recently that she expects the measure to get a full Senate vote by the end of this month.
The longer days and milder temperatures of April usually herald the arrival of daffodils, songbirds and short-sleeve shirts. But if you’ve been listening lately you’ve heard another sign that spring has finally sprung — the rumble of motorcycles on area roadways and highways.
Motorcycle season has arrived in Rhode Island and riders are hitting the roads after a long, cold winter. It’s a good time, motorcycle safety advocates say, to remind bikers of the importance of getting trained and wearing safety gear, and to urge car drivers to be more aware of motorcyclists.
WOONSOCKET – After a long winter, Ralph Bileau is planning to greet the spring planting season with a big assortment of garden plants and yard flowers at Bileau’s Flower & Stove Shop at 665 Diamond Hill Road.
And, he’s not alone.
Fontana’s Flowers and Greenhouses, at 1098 Diamond Hill Road, is already raising flats of vegetables and flowers that will be sold when planting season is warmly in place.
It is a tradition that has been going on for years for both businesses.
April 20th
WOONSOCKET — The state-appointed Budget Commission in charge of city fiscal affairs has accepted a proposed city budget of approximately $127.3 million that includes all projected cost savings proposed in its effort to create a balanced five-year spending plan for the city.
The Commission moved to forward the budget proposal to a public hearing it expects to hold on May 8.
Budget Commission Chairman William Sequino Jr. said the panel would not discuss the proposal as it came up for a vote at the meeting Friday afternoon and would instead leave that discussion for the public hearing.
WATERTOWN, Mass. — A 19-year-old college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings was taken into custody Friday evening after a manhunt that left the city virtually paralyzed and his older brother and accomplice dead.
Police announced via Twitter that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was in custody. They later wrote, "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody."
Tsarnaev's brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, was killed Friday in a furious attempt to escape police.
April 18th
WOONSOCKET -- Firefighters were on the scene of a two-alarm fire on Green Street in Woonsocket Thursday morning. The fire broke out at about 9:25 a.m. Full story in today's Call.
WOONSOCKET — Fire Chief Gary Lataille says he’s not looking to hire new firefighters, but is merely doing something he does every two years – conduct an open application process for eligible firefighters to be included on a new certified hiring list that goes into effect June 7.
“The Woonsocket Fire Department is not hiring,” says Lataille, who has been fielding calls from people apparently confused about the open application process. “This is something we do every two years.”
April 17th
PAWTUCKET — The director of two of Rhode Island’s biggest road races says there are no plans to cancel the races in light of Monday’s Boston Marathon bomb attack.
Charles Breagy, who directs the Navigant Credit Union Running Festival Half Marathon and 5K in Pawtucket — scheduled to be held this year on May 5 — and the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K in Providence — slated for Sept. 22 — says the two races will go on as planned.
“These races are still in place to happen. We’re revisiting security and we’ve reached out to police, but as of today, the races will go on,” Breagy said.
April 16th
The Call will be publishing a special tribute page to the victims, families, physicians and first responders of the Boston Marathon bombing in the Sunday, April 21 edition of the newspaper. Original poems, prayers, artwork, photos and comments may be emailed to editor@woonsocketcall.com. Please be brief and respectful. Please include your name and hometown. Deadline for submissions is Friday, April 19, at 5 p.m.
Blackstone Valley Sports Editor Eric Benevides knew he would not run one of his best marathons when he set out on Monday’s 26.2-mile Boston Marathon course, and that may well have spared him the horrific scene marking the race memories of many others.
