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Post by dex on Aug 14, 2019 8:11:43 GMT -5
www.golocalprov.com/news/general-treasurer-magaziner-says-father-had-no-relationship-with-jeffrey-epIra Magaziner Sr, daddy of RI's General Treasurer made many trips with Bubba to Epstein's Pleasure Island aboard Epstein's pleasure aircraft. Sr is the brain behind Hillary's Healthcare debacle back in 1992. He now works for the "charitable" Clinton Foundation....hey Thump if you believe it's a charity I know of a bridge for sale in Newport. Not to worry, while Epstein was "killing himself" you can bet the former first family of Arkansas was tidying up Epstein's Private Island before the FBI shows up. Can you imagine they had not been to that island before he died? Wray is no brighter than Comey I guess. Magaziner Jr wants to be Governor when he grows up but right now he's practicing being Treasurer with our billions. "All pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others"
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Post by dex on Aug 14, 2019 8:13:58 GMT -5
Swallow hard for this one boys...it's almost unheard of being accused of cheating in Little League. My question is: How in the hell do you get caught?
UPDATED: Barrington Little League Accused of Cheating - League Issues Statement 4.4k Shares Tweet Share Wednesday, August 14, 2019
GoLocalProv Sports Team
VIEW LARGER + Barrington Little League is accused of cheating. PHOTO: Barrington Little League Facebook
Just days before the start of the Little League World Series, Barrington Little League is facing cheating allegations. In an article in the New Hampshire Union Leader, Goffstown coach Pat Dutton claims that Barrington was stealing signs throughout the regional tournament.
Dutton tells the Union Leader, “You can see (runners on second base) leaning in, looking in and they’re doing hand gestures to their kid (at the plate) indicating what kind of pitch it is and where it’s located. You can do that in big league ball, but in Little League it’s unsportsmanlike, it’s dishonorable, and it’s disgusting. They did it the whole tournament and got away with it, and now that’s what’s representing New England in the Little League World Series. It’s just a bad look.”
Repeated efforts by GoLocal to reach Goffstown Little league officials and Dutton were unsuccessful.
Barrington beat Goffstown 6-4 in the regional final to advance to the Little League World Series on Saturday afternoon in Bristol.
Dutton adds, “It’s just frustrating to see teams and kids having to go about it that way when clearly they were playing better than we were. They didn’t have to do that. That’s something these kids don’t learn on their own. That’s something that they’re taught. They’re coached to do that.”
Barrington Responds
Barrington Little League president Fletcher Thomson released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
“Barrington Little League prides itself on adherence to Little League rules and values. In all aspects of our organization, we strive to foster the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty and respect for coaches, officials and teammates. The article in the Union Leader is unfortunate, and its premise false. We hold our coaches, players and teams to the highest standards, and do not coach or condone unsportsmanlike behavior of any kind.
Likewise, we do not condone anyone making disparaging comments about opposing teams, particularly teams like Barrington’s All-Star team, a team made up of dedicated volunteer coaches and 13 exceptional young players. That goes against our core values, and is, in fact, a violation of the rules and spirit of Little League itself. If an opposing team or manager has any concerns, they should take them up with Little League. We are extremely proud of our team and wish them well in Williamsport.”
Little League World Series Set to Begin
Barrington is the fifth Rhode Island team in the last six years to reach the World Series joining Cumberland, Cranston West, Warwick North, and Coventry.
Barrington’s first World Series game will take place on Thursday, August 15 at 3 p.m. against Virginia’s Loudoun South Little League.
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Post by dex on Aug 14, 2019 8:16:15 GMT -5
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pcdad
Friar Fanatic
Posts: 3,712
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Post by pcdad on Aug 15, 2019 21:30:19 GMT -5
Like the use of "Animal Farm" quotation
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Post by dex on Aug 22, 2019 8:13:50 GMT -5
COURTS ‘World’s greatest counterfeiter’ going back to prison Louis “The Coin” Colavecchio, 77, sentenced to 15 months for producing fake $100 bills By Katie Mulvaney Journal Watchdog Team
PROVIDENCE — Louis “The Coin” Colavecchio loves to spin a story, and on Wednesday he spun himself right into 15 months in federal prison.
The 77-year-old, self-proclaimed “world’s greatest counterfeiter” received the sentence for his latest criminal escapade: producing counterfeit $100 bills, all the while boasting to an informant that he was going to outwit the latest security features, authorities say.
In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said he didn’t think Colavecchio would die in jail.
“I think you could con God out of taking your life,” McConnell said.
“I’m not sure you could be rehabilitated. ... You are who you are,” McConnell said, adding, “What I do know is that the public needs to be protected from you.
“Mr. Colavecchio, criminal behavior does hurt people. ... It hurts them economically. Someone is going to pass a bad bill and be stuck with it,” he said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerald B. Sullivan had urged McConnell not to be swayed by Colavecchio’s age and failing health, arguing that “The Coin” had long benefited from both since he was arrested in 1996 in Atlantic City, in what authorities called the biggest counterfeiting case ever involving legalized gambling in New Jersey.
“I would suggest to the court with all due deference he needs to go to jail,” Sullivan said, noting that Colavecchio had been convicted of five crimes since age 55 and was found to have used cocaine while out on bond — an offense Colavecchio explained was only “for sex.”
Acting on a lead from the Coventry police, U.S. Secret Service agents in December raided Colavecchio’s Pawtucket home and seized presses capable of producing counterfeit bills with simulations of the security features used in real currency, and about 2,400 fake $100 bills. Colavecchio was charged with manufacturing counterfeit $100 bills and possessing equipment for manufacturing counterfeit cash.
Colavecchio in March pleaded guilty to manufacturing and possessing the counterfeit bills. In exchange federal prosecutors dismissed the remaining count.
Colavecchio, a self-professed ladies man, appeared dapper in court Wednesday in a striped, collared shirt, leather loafers and jeans. He leaned heavily on a cane as he walked into the courthouse and chatted seemingly unfazed with his lawyer, Joanne Daley.
Sullivan relied on Colavecchio’s own words as documented in a 2015 autobiographical book, “You Thought it was More, Adventures of the World’s Greatest Counterfeiter.” In the tale — available in paperback or digital format — Colavecchio with braggadocio traced a lifetime of crime and boasted of his ties to the Patriarca crime family, which he referred to as “The Providence Office.”
He recounted a life of hustling, starting in his teens with a plot to steal money from Catholics by marketing rosaries in the names of priests dedicated to missionary work. Instead, Colavecchio said he pocketed the donations.
He wrote in the book co-authored by Franz Douskey and Andy Thibault of exploits that included bank fraud, insurance scams, robbery, arson and duping “Ma Bell” by creating devices that allowed users to place long-distance phone calls free of charge. He expressed disdain for law enforcement, mocking their “cheap suits” and their dim wits in their inability to track him in crimes.
A talented tool-and-die maker and North Providence native, Colavecchio recounted the thrill of minting slot-machine tokens with such accuracy that even labs couldn’t differentiate between his work and the actual tokens. When he was finally arrested at Caesars Atlantic City in late 1996, he had a car loaded with 800 pounds of counterfeit tokens, a handgun and cash. He has since been said to be banned from every casino in the nation — a prohibition authorities say he circumvents by gambling in a wig and dress by posing as a woman.
Through the years, he would be convicted of obtaining money under false pretenses for stealing $100,000 from his 92-year-old aunt in a septic plot; resisting arrest; and drug charges for cultivating kilograms of marijuana in a sophisticated indoor grow operation. For all, he received suspended sentences.
“The self-told account of Colavecchio’s life history paints the picture of a man whose devotion to criminal pursuits absolutely prevented him (and will prevent him) from leading a normal life. He is effectively unable to enjoy life without conceiving new criminal ventures. It is who he is and what he does,” Sullivan wrote.
But Daley countered that “the bulk of the book is fiction.” She emphasized that the informant in the case, too, had ties to organized crime and gave him $1,000 to help him with the latest counterfeiting operation.
The book, she said, was a “venue to tell tall tales.”
Colavecchio, who says he is an honor student at the Community College of Rhode Island, also addressed the court.
“If I’m out here and I’m not in jail; I think I can do some good,” he said.
Colavecchio must surrender Sept. 11. McConnell rejected his request that the date be delayed to allow him to finish the semester at CCRI.
— kmulvane@ providencejournal.com
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Post by dex on Sept 9, 2019 9:04:04 GMT -5
MY TURN Whitehouse’s threats will backfire By Marc A. Thiessen
In 2017, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., accused President Trump of showing “a disdain for an independent judiciary that doesn’t always bend to his wishes” after Trump criticized a federal judge who ruled against his administration. Senate Democrats, by contrast, have launched an unprecedented attempt to actually bend the Supreme Court to their wishes — threatening to restructure the court if the justices do not rule as they see fit.
The threat came over the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a challenge to New York City’s restrictions on how gun owners who have residential permits can transport their guns. In a legal brief, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., argued that the case against New York was moot because it had rescinded the gun regulations in question. Fair enough. It is perfectly fine for the senators to make legal arguments in a legal brief to the court.
What is not acceptable is openly threatening the court with political retribution if it does not rule a certain way. That is precisely what these Senate Democrats did. “The Supreme Court is not well,” they wrote. “And the people know it. Perhaps the Court can heal itself before the public demands it be ‘restructured to reduce the influence of politics.’” As all 53 Senate Republicans wrote in a letter to the court, “the implication is as plain as day: Dismiss the case, or we’ll pack the Court.”
Talk about disdain for an independent judiciary! Can you imagine if Trump issued such a preemptive threat? Heads would explode. And in contrast to Trump’s impulsive Twitter rants, the Democrats issued their threat in a carefully crafted legal brief submitted to the court. They thought this through and decided that blackmailing the Supreme Court was a good idea.
Not only was their brief inappropriate; it also was brimming with cognitive dissonance. The Democrats accused the Supreme Court of being too political, but their plan to “reduce the influence of politics” on the court is to have senators order the justices how to decide or face political consequences? What utter hypocrisy.
The Democrats justify their unprecedented intimidation tactics by pointing out that since 2005, the court has issued 78 5-to-4 or 5-to-3 opinions in which Republican appointees provided all five votes in the majority. “With bare partisan majorities,” they declared, “the Court has influenced sensitive areas like voting rights, partisan gerrymandering, dark money, union power, regulation of pollution, corporate liability, and access to federal court, particularly regarding civil rights and discrimination in the workplace. Every single time, the corporate and Republican political interests prevailed.”
Give me a break. In each of the cases to which they object, the liberal bloc voted in unison as well. Were they behaving as a “partisan” minority? Senate Democrats would have no problem with these 5-to-4 decisions if they had been decided by a liberal majority.
These threats will backfire, because they dramatically raise the stakes in the 2020 election. In 2016, over a quarter of Trump voters said that the Supreme Court was the most important factor in their decision to support him. With Trump already having secured a conservative majority on the court, his ability to appoint justices was shaping up to be a less powerful argument this time around. But now that Democrats have threatened to pack the court with liberal judges if they win the White House and the Senate, the Supreme Court will once again be front and center. For the president, this is a massive stroke of luck.
Marc A. Thiessen is a Washington Post columnist.
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Post by wtm97 on Sept 9, 2019 10:13:23 GMT -5
Whitehouse is one of the weirdest people I have ever seen, let alone as a senator ( small s)
Our republic is in danger what with calls to eliminate the Electoral College and now this nonsense of packing the Supreme Court.
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Post by dex on Sept 9, 2019 14:19:11 GMT -5
He's a climate nutcake too...in true RI tradition of being Senator-For-Life, he just got re-elected last November against a former RI Supreme Court Judge who had impeccable credentials.
He's also a principal stockholder, or his hack of a wife is in name only, of an all white private beach club in his hometown of Newport.
BTW they deserve each other
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Post by dex on Sept 10, 2019 8:19:12 GMT -5
Cadillac Lounge agrees to $1.25M deal with dancers Settlement addresses dancers’ claims of fair labor violations By Katie Mulvaney Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — The Cadillac Lounge has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle dancers’ claims that the club violated federal fair labor standards by failing to pay them minimum wage.
Nancy Shappy, owner of the club at 361 Charles St., is seeking court approval of the class-action settlement reached with Marisa Pizzarelli, who danced there under the stage name Jasmine from 2013 through 2014. If approved by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, notice of the terms will be mailed to other dancers who worked at the club since June 20, 2012.
“It was a long and hard-fought case,” said Pizzarelli’s lawyer, Brant Casavant. “We’re happy with the settlement.”
The terms specify that the club pay $1.25 million to resolve the lawsuit filed on behalf of Pizzarelli and other entertainers whom the club treated as independent contractors and charged a house fee to dance. Of that, $416,666 would go toward paying lawyers Casavant and Stephen Brouillard. Pizzarelli would receive an “incentive award” of $20,000 to compensate her for her time and the risk she incurred pursuing the case on behalf of the exotic dancers.
Another $15,000 to $20,000 would be used to pay an administrator to distribute the remaining $793,333 in settlement money. Dancers must release all claims against the club in exchange for opting into the settlement.
Pizzarelli, of North Smithfield, launched the class-action challenge against the Cadillac Lounge and its owners, Richard and Nancy Shappy, in 2015. She sought unspecified damages and restitution based on the club’s alleged failure to pay wages, and practice of requiring dancers to pay “unlawful” fees, fines, and tip-outs to employees, such as bouncers and disc jockeys.
Pizzarelli’s complaint detailed the club’s requirements that dancers pay a $70 to $80 “house fee” each dancing shift Monday through Saturday and $50 on Sundays. Fines of $25 to $50 are imposed for “infractions” of club rules. And dancers must tip out bouncers and deejays $10 to $15 per shift. The club also gets $5 per lap dance, the suit said.
Robert Clark Corrente, who represents the Cadillac Lounge and Nancy Shappy, recently declined to specify how many class members the settlement includes, but said most of the entertainers at that club and others had signed arbitration agreements since 2015 that bar them from joining class-action lawsuits. The agreement specifies that all labor disputes be arbitrated, he said.
Corrente did not return a phone call placed to his office Monday.
The Cadillac Lounge — which encourages women to apply, advertising “flexible and fair schedules for all. Reasonable house fees. And a ‘no one leaves alone’ policy” — is facing a near-identical suit filed in July by former exotic dancer Diamarie Pabon Molina. Yet another dancer, Shannon Gavel, alleged fair labor violations in a suit against Club Desire, at 1 Franklin Square downtown.
In late November, Club Desire reached a settlement agreement with former dancer Samantha Binienda in a similar lawsuit she brought in 2015, court records show. Benienda agreed through mediation to release her claims in exchange for a $35,000 payment, plus $56,000 in legal fees.
Lawsuits remain pending against Club Fantasies and Gulliver’s Tavern Inc. and Solid Gold Properties Inc., doing business as The Foxy Lady.
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Post by dex on Sept 12, 2019 9:52:13 GMT -5
By Brian Amaral Journal Staff Writer Posted Sep 11, 2019 at 11:52 AM
PROVIDENCE — The Cadillac Lounge strip club wants in on Rhode Island’s sports betting action.
Owner Dick Shappy is preparing to open the Overtime Sports Bar, an area within the Charles Street gentlemen’s club that Shappy is pitching as a comfortable place to watch games and use the state’s sports betting mobile app, all while having a drink and enjoying the company of the Caddy’s entertainers.
“You can have all three vices,” Shappy said. “You can have the gambling, the drinking, and you can have a beautiful woman at your side.”
The Overtime Sports Bar is slated to open within the Cadillac Lounge in about a week and a half or two weeks, after workers have installed new seating, big-screen televisions and other fixtures. It will open in what used to be the Eldorado Room, an area dedicated specifically to fully nude dancing, Shappy said.
The new sports-themed brand will operate under the Cadillac Lounge’s licenses, but in a separate area of the building from the nightclub, Shappy said. The Cadillac Lounge won’t take in any money directly from sports gambling, which would be illegal, Shappy noted, but he’s hoping customers will come in to watch the games they’re betting on, while paying for the club’s drinks, entertainment and atmosphere.
A spokesman for the state Department of Revenue said bars would be allowed to advertise a place to have a drink, watch the game and use the state’s sports betting app.
“Once someone sets up a verified mobile account they can do it from anywhere in the state,” Paul Grimaldi said in an email. “I would not at all be surprised that bars and restaurants try to piggyback off that.”
“To be clear, the RI Lottery is not endorsing visits to particular establishments (apart from the two casinos, of course) that I know of,” he added.
The state last week had a soft launch for its mobile betting app. Users can download it but have to activate it in person at Twin River Casino in Lincoln. The app can only be used within Rhode Island.
Legalized sports gambling began at Twin River in Lincoln and at the Tiverton Casino Hotel in late 2018. Legal challenges have not taken hold in court. But competitive headwinds for gamblers, especially after the opening of the Encore casino in Everett, Massachusetts, have led to disappointing revenue numbers for the state government, which takes a cut of the action.
Enter Dick Shappy and the Cadillac Lounge.
“It’s going to be great for the state,” he said. “The state should have no problems with it, because we’re promoting their venue.”
Among Shappy’s ideas for the Overtime Sports Bar: cellphone chargers to make sure customers stay powered up and are able to place bets on the Sportsbook RI app; Vegas betting lines posted on the walls; and step-by-step instructions on how to activate the software.
The club will allow its entertainers to do cabaret dancing or table dancing if patrons request it, Shappy said, but the area has no stage.
Shappy checked on the initiative with Paul J. DiMaio, a lawyer who represents and advises him. It’s a great idea, and will help the state compete with Encore, DiMaio said.
“He’s not conducting gambling. He’s not running a gambling operation,” DiMaio said.
Instead, DiMaio said, he’s offering a place with ambiance for people to legally gamble on their cellphones, or not, if they choose.
Shappy is preparing radio ads, and perhaps billboards and television ads, to promote the Overtime Sports Bar.
The club recently agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit to dancers over its wage practices. Clubs around Rhode Island and the country have faced similar suits for designating its dancers as independent contractors, rather than employees.
That’s just one of the challenges that the Cadillac Lounge faces. Shappy has been in the adult entertainment business for more than 50 years, he said, from the days when people would get arrested for selling nude photographs at a bookstore. Times are changing, with the internet cutting into business and millennials seemingly more content to stare at their phones than go out at night.
The Overtime Sports Bar is just the latest in a series of evolution in the adult entertainment business.
Said Shappy: “We’re going to make strip clubs great again.”
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Post by dex on Sept 19, 2019 14:56:06 GMT -5
2nd Death this year...DCYF is Broken Raimondo is worst Governor in Nation's History
State: Infant died from ‘maltreatment’ By Mark Reynolds Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — An investigation has determined that a four-month-old Middletown baby died in early June from “maltreatment,” authorities said Wednesday.
The death of the boy on June 10 and the case of maltreatment have been reported to the Office of the Child Advocate, says a news release issued by the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families.
The child was in the custody of a legal guardian and not in the custody of any family members, said a spokeswoman, Kerri White. While members of the child’s family had been involved with DCYF previously, neither the boy himself nor his legal guardian had any prior involvement with the agency.
“Due to confidentiality laws, we are prohibited from sharing additional information,” White said.
Rhode Islanders are required by law to report known or suspected cases of child abuse or neglect to DCYF within 24 hours of becoming aware of such abuse or neglect. To report known or suspected cases of child abuse, call 1-800-RI-CHILD.
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Post by dex on Sept 23, 2019 8:47:49 GMT -5
This ain't your Mother's Providence anymore. The Police have been undermined like in other anarchist cities. Don't hold your breath waiting for them if in trouble.
POLICE DIGEST Three men beaten, robbed in garage
PROVIDENCE — Three men drinking in a garage on Sorrento Street were robbed and beaten with baseball bats early Sunday, police said.
The three victims, ages 28, 31 and 47, were each bleeding from the head when police responded to a 911 hangup call shortly before 3 a.m. The 28-year-old told police they were drinking in the garage when someone knocked on the garage door. When he opened it, he was hit on the head with a baseball bat, he told police.
The victims told police that three men, all with bats and believed to be in their late teens, came into the garage and robbed them. Two of them had their wallets and cash stolen from them, and one had his cellphone stolen, they told police. The man who opened the garage door didn’t report anything stolen.
The suspects had taken off on Sorrento Street before police arrived. All three men were transported to Rhode Island Hospital.
10 youths arrested at Providence Place
PROVIDENCE — Three boys and seven girls were arrested in separate altercations Saturday night at Providence Place mall, police said.
In the first incident, a 12-year-old boy was punched in the mouth, making him bleed and possibly loosening his teeth, police said. The boy told police he’d gotten into an argument, which turned physical. Three other boys punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground and kicked and punched him while he was on the ground, he told police.
Mall security told police that they’d detained three teenagers in the incident, which happened near Victoria’s Secret at about 7:30 p.m. The three boys — two 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old — were turned over to the Youth Services Bureau, and face felony assault charges, police said.
In the second incident, about two hours later, officers were on the third floor on the lookout for more fights among juveniles when they spotted a brawl outside a MetroPCS store. The fight involved seven girls and attracted about 100 onlookers, police said.
Police broke through the crowd and put the girls, who were between 11 and 15 years old, in handcuffs. A 15-year-old tried to break free from a police officer, but was eventually taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to police. The six others face disorderly conduct charges.
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Post by dex on Oct 3, 2019 13:57:10 GMT -5
Murder Rate Up 20% This Year in Providence - With Nearly 3 Months Left
Killings up 20% in Providence
The Providence murder rate is up 20 percent to date this year and there are nearly three months left in the year. According to FBI data, Providence had ten murders in 2018 and this year the city has already seen 12 killings.
Thursday morning's fatal stabbing at Nara Lounge on Federal Hill marks the second person killed this week.
Early on Sunday morning, 19 year-old-woman was killed while out on her birthday.
Berta Perreira-Roldan, of Revere, MA was out celebrating when she was fatally shot, and another woman -- Crystal Peloquin, 38, of North Providence, was shot several times, but is expected to survive.
Latest Killing
According to Providence Police Major David Lapatin, a 47-year-old man was stabbed to death at the Federal Hill club.
No arrests have been made in either of the killings.
Lapatin said in a press conference on Thursday morning, that the police were unsure if the Nara had security on duty.
According to one Federal Hill resident, who witnessed the aftermath — it was “just a matter of time.”
“We all knew this club was next — it was just a matter of time. Kind of strange to happen on a Wednesday night," said Mike White. “Now it’s going to hurt business again. Plus we have our huge annual Columbus Day feast next weekend.”
White said the street was closed for 5 hours while police were investigating.
Second killing of Federal Hill this year
Nara's Latest Trouble
Nara Lounge is owned by Dhwani Patel and Kanan Patel, according to RI business records.
Both of them are donors to Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza — donating $1,500, according to Rhode Island state campaign finance records.
The club has been brought before the Providence Board of Licenses on numerous occasions in the past.
According to city records, Nara was brought before the board for incidents dating back to 2013. The lounge was cited in May of 2017 for illegal bottle service and was fined $750.
The murder marks the second in the city in less than a week, after a 19-year-old woman was shot and killed — and not the intended target — while out with friends celebrating her birthday
White spoke to the impact of violence on the neighborhood, which is still reeling from the after-hours stabbing death of 28-year-old Stephan Cabral this summer — and how to deal with the area’s nightlife.
“It’s just too bad there are many victims here. The person who lost their life and his family, then the businesses and property owners and the establishment where it happened will probably be shut down permanently now,” said White.
White spoke to how he said he believes the Hill is generally safe during the day — and dinnertime hours.
“Normal people don’t need to worry about safety. It’s not happening at restaurants or at dinner time. These [murders] are related to a situation,” said White. “The hill is a safe place — I’m out and about all night until 4 a..m., between work, eating, and meeting friends.”
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Post by dex on Oct 4, 2019 8:47:55 GMT -5
R.I.’s SAT scores rank below national average By Linda Borg Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Rhode Islanders’ SAT scores are significantly below the national averages.
Nationwide, the class of 2019 scored an average of 531 on the English portion of the SAT, one of two popular college admission tests, the other being the ACT. Rhode Island students averaged 483 points.
On the math section of the test, the national average is
528. Rhode Island’s average score is 474.
Big gaps continue to remain between white students and students of color, with white students scoring about 70 points higher in English and math.
The Rhode Island Department of Education said Thursday that statewide, SAT scores were flat. On the PSAT, student scores improved 2.8 percentage points in English and decreased 2.8 points in math.
State Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green called on district leaders to develop action plans to increase both test participation and overall scores.
“Too few of our students are graduating ready for college and career — particularly our differently-abled students, multilingual students, and students of color,” she said. “While our four-year statewide graduation rate is 84%, significantly fewer students are performing at a college-ready level on our state assessments.
“There is a disconnect,” Infante-Green said, “and I want to work with our partners across the state to set explicit goals to get our high school students where they need to be in order to be successful after graduation. We need to do more — and we need to move faster — in order to close the gap, increase access to opportunity, and improve student outcomes.”
Rhode Island high school students must take the SAT and PSAT as part of their graduation requirements, but they are not required to meet a certain score in order to graduate.
Another measure developed by the Department of Education, called “postsecondary success,” measures the number of graduates who earn a credential beyond high school, including college credits, advanced placement courses and career and technical credentials.
Again, big gaps exist between white students and students of color. In the English portion of the SAT, 64.1% of white students are “college and career ready,” compared with 26% of Latino students and 28% of black students.
Hardly any English language learners — 2%— are college and career ready in English and math.
The Department of Education also tracks students to see what happens when they leave high school. Out of the 2007-2008 freshmen class, 81% of students graduated high school and 72% went to college or some other post-secondary institution. Ten years later, those numbers have dropped, with only 34% of graduates completing college.
“Graduation is not the end goal for our students,” Infante-Green said. “The question is not, ‘Are they graduating?’ but ‘Are they graduating with the tools and skills they need to be successful?’ That is the question we need to be asking....”
— lborg@ providencejournal.com
(401) 277-7823
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Post by dex on Oct 9, 2019 6:52:51 GMT -5
By Madeleine List Journal Staff Writer
Posted Oct 8, 2019 at 4:30 PM Updated Oct 8, 2019 at 8:00 PM PROVIDENCE — Two dozen Providence Public School Department employees were placed on paid administrative leave pending investigations by the Department of Children, Youth and Families for a total of 278 days last school year, according to newly released data from the School Department.
Six of those employees were teachers who missed 18 days or more, which the School Department considers to be “chronically absent.” The longest a teacher was out on paid administrative leave pending a DCYF investigation was 44 days.
The issue of chronic teacher absenteeism in the Providence schools has resurfaced since a report by Johns Hopkins University researchers noted high rates of chronically absent teachers, and students, across the district.
According to the School Department, 499 Providence teachers missed at least 18 days of school last school year. Thirty of those teachers missed more than 100 days.
Some have used those numbers to accuse teachers of abusing the system, but Providence Teachers Union President Maribeth Calabro has called the numbers “inflated” and said they don’t all represent teachers who have skipped school irresponsibly.
The teachers’ contract permits 15 sick days a year, but allows teachers to accrue up to 150 days over time. Many of the teachers on the chronic absenteeism list, particularly those who missed around 60 days of school, were out on maternity leave, Calabro said in a recent interview. Some of those who missed more than 100 days had catastrophic illnesses, including one person who was battling recurring cancer, she said.
One teacher made the list because he took five bereavement days after his mother died, and used two personal days and took 15 professional development days throughout the year, Calabro said.
Absences due to DCYF investigations represent another piece of the puzzle, she said.
The number of teachers placed on administrative leave during DCYF investigations increased after a Kizirian Elementary School gym teacher was charged with molesting three fifth-grade girls in 2017. At the time, the School Department said that it hadn’t notified DCYF after the girls complained, violating a 2016 law mandating that anyone who has reason to suspect that a child has been sexually abused “by an employee, agent, contractor or volunteer of an educational program” must report to DCYF.
During the 2017-18 school year, the number of educators on paid leave during DCYF investigations was much higher. At one point during the fall, 48 educators were on leave while their cases were being reviewed, according to a Journal article at the time.
Most school employees who were subject to DCYF investigations have been cleared of wrongdoing.
“Almost 90% of them were false allegations,” Calabro said. “How is that the teachers’ fault?”
Last year, the employees who faced DCYF investigations included 16 teachers, a child-care worker, a preschool aide, a long-term substitute, a bus monitor, a guidance-teacher leader, a speech pathologist and two teacher assistants. They were all cleared as a result of the investigations, except for one teacher assistant whose employment was terminated a day after being placed on leave.
The Journal has requested more information about the circumstances of the teacher assistant who was fired.
Calabro said that the mandatory reporting law is positive and is intended to protect students from sexual assault or inappropriate conduct by educators. But many innocent teachers have been caught up in the “knee-jerk reaction” to the law and falsely accused or reported for innocuous behavior, such as placing a hand on a student’s shoulder.
“Considering that most of it is unfounded, it affects [teachers] greatly because they’re not in their classroom with their children,” Calabro said. “It’s unnerving and upsetting to them and it’s disrupting to the learning environment.”
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