Mauie Tran
Clock ticking on Democrats’ health care reform
Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are expected to make some key decisions this week about long-delayed health care reform bills.
Time is growing short and the hope is to bring the legislation to a vote in early November.
In the House, that means setting conditions under which the federal government would [...]
Groundbreaking ceremony for RI home of new research ship
Rhode Island officials will soon gather for a groundbreaking ceremony at the new state headquarters of an ocean research ship.
The Okeanos Explorer is a former Navy surveillance ship converted into a research vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It will be based at a pier at Quonset Point in North Kingstown.
Gov. Don Carcieri, [...]
RI receives rest of energy stimulus funds
Rhode Island has received the rest of its federal stimulus funds for energy projects. The state received $11 million, the second half of $23 million previously scheduled for allocation to the Ocean State.
Rhode Island will use the State Energy Program money to increase energy efficiency in commercial, industrial, public and residential sectors.
Most of the money [...]
Pentagon, NSC plan Afghan “middle strategies”
While President Obama reviews options for the future of the war in Afghanistan, officials at the National Security Council and the Pentagon are assembling possible strategies.
“The Washington Post” reports that both agencies are developing “middle strategies” that would involve fewer troops than requested by General Stanley McChrystal and would reposition troops from the rural countryside [...]
Tiverton firefighter was drunk at time of death
A new report from the National Institution for Occupational Safety and Health says a deceased Tiverton firefighter was drunk at the time of his death.
Fifty-two-year-old Gerald Leduc died of a heart attack during a rescue at Stafford Pond in August 2008, and had a point-25 blood-alcohol level at the time of his death. Leduc drove [...]
Missing Glocester police officer’s body found
A body believed to be a missing Glocester police officer was found late Monday afternoon by two male hikers near a trail on the Burrillville side of the Pulaski Recreation Area.
According to state police, the two men hiking noticed a sneaker in a swamp on the Border Trail of the Pulaski Recreation Area.
Michael Hopton’s driver’s [...]
Senate panel passes healthcare reform bill
The powerful Senate Finance Committee has approved a sweeping healthcare reform bill. The vote was 14-9.
One Republican, Maine’s Olympia Snowe, voted for the bill.
Senator Snowe says she voted for the bill because Congress can’t afford to put off fixing the healthcare system for so long that it becomes even more expensive. She compares healthcare reform [...]
First round of H1N1 vaccine arrives in RI
The first batch of H1N1 vaccine arrived in Rhode Island yesterday. The 12,000 doses account for about two-percent of the 600,000 doses the state will be getting and will be distributed to about 200 pediatricians throughout the state.
Department of Health officials recommend waiting until the doctor’s office calls rather than inundating their phones with calls, [...]
Clinton in Russia for talks on arms, Iran
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Russia for talks on a nuclear arms reduction treaty and Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that the discussions on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty have gone well.
Clinton agrees, stating: “President Obama and I believe that it is this cooperative relationship and the acceptance of shared responsibility [...]
Chicken recall at Pawtucket Stop & Shop
Stop & Shop has issued a recall for store brand Homestyle Chicken Tenderloins and Boneless Buffalo Tenders that would have been sold last Friday in the store on Beverage Hill Avenue in Pawtucket. There is a possibility the products were not fully cooked prior to packaging.
So far, there have been no reports of illness. However, [...]
