Parking rules eased for holidays

PROVIDENCE — Park and shop in downtown Providence, on Thayer Street or on Atwells Avenue.

Park and dine on Federal Hill, Wickenden Street or South Main Street.

Park and skate in downtown Providence.

Now’s the time to do all that and not worry about getting a parking ticket –– as long as you park after 11 a.m. on certain downtown streets.

The city’s “relaxed parking program” begins tomorrow and runs through Jan. 1. Between the hours of 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, parking tickets will not be issued for overtime violations at metered parking spaces or at parking spaces with time limitations in the following locations:

•Downtown Providence, which is bounded by Steeple Street, west to Route 95; Route 95 south to Route 195; Route 195 east to Point Street; Point Street to Wickenden Street; north on South Main Street to North Main Street at Steeple Street;

•South Main Street, from Wickenden Street to Packet Street;

•North Main Street, from Thomas Street to Park Row;

•Wayland Square;

•Thayer Street;

•Atwells Avenue from Bradford Street to Knight Street; and

•Broad Street from Public Street to Montgomery Street.

Normal parking restrictions apply before 11 a.m. Cars parked illegally in prohibited areas, including crosswalks and tow zones, will be ticketed.

—Kate Bramson

Blood-alcohol level: 0.578

LITTLE COMPTON — A man who was arrested Tuesday afternoon after his mother complained he had taken her car without permission had a blood-alcohol level of 0.578 percent, the police said — a potentially lethal concentration for which he later underwent hospital treatment.

Jonathan M. Holmes, 39, of 63 West Main Rd., was arrested at home on a felony charge of domestic driving without the owner’s consent, according to the police.

Someone is considered driving under the influence in Rhode Island if blood-alcohol content is 0.08 or higher.

At about 2:30 p.m., officers were sent to the West Main Road address in response to the complaint.

Officers said Holmes was “extremely unsteady on his feet” and that his breath smelled strongly of alcohol. As they drove Holmes to police headquarters, one officer noted Holmes was “slumped over” in the back of the cruiser and unresponsive. The officer radioed the dispatcher and a rescue truck took Holmes to Newport Hospital, where he was treated for severe intoxication.

Holmes was arraigned later in District Court, Newport, on the driving charge, the police said.

—projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Chicken products recalled

A Texas company is recalling thousands of pounds of cooked chicken products that were distributed to retail stores in 26 states, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The Department of Agriculture said John Soules Foods Inc. issued the recall because the products may contain an allergen, wheat, which is not declared on the labels.

The department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service had no reports of illness due to eating the products. The foods were produced on Nov. 7 and Nov. 13. Subject to the recall are:

•24-ounce bags of John Soules Foods fully cooked chicken breast strips with rib meat, Italian style, gluten-free.

•24-ounce bags of John Soules Foods fully cooked chicken breast strips with rib meat, rotisserie style, gluten-free.

About 8,496 pounds of the cooked chicken are being recalled, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The department said anyone who is concerned about an allergic reaction should contact a doctor.

For food-safety information, go to AskKaren.gov, or call toll free 1-888-674-6854, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

—projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Cheerleaders hope for $30,000

CRANSTON — The Edgewood Eagles Midget cheerleading squad is ready to go siss-boom-bah at the national championships in Florida, but the team could use a little boost from the public to help it get there.

The team of 21 girls and two coaches, including Cranston police Sgt. Lori Scichilone and Officer Kristina Cannon, estimate they need $30,000 to pay for travel, lodging and meals to take part in the Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Competition, to be held Dec. 9-12 at Disney World, in Orlando.

The team qualified for a berth at the New England Regional competition last weekend after appearing in several preliminary competitions, Scichilone said. Squad members, ages 13 to 16, come from Cranston, Providence and Central Fall and from families of modest means.

Scichilone said the girls have been trying to raise funds, “asking people to sponsor them and doing bake sales.”

“This is the first time the Edgewood Eagles have been represented at the national level,” Scichilone said. “We had to go through three competitions to get where we are now. Some of these kids will never get another chance to do this in their lifetime. It will be such a good experience for them.”

Donations can be made directly to Bank Rhode Island at 1047 Park Ave. in care of the Edgewood Eagles, or call the Cranston Police Department at (401) 942-2211

—Staff report

Middletown buys links development rights

MIDDLETOWN — About 125 acres of Green Valley Country Club, which an engineering study determined could be converted into 127 house lots, will instead be conserved thanks to an agreement reached between the owners, the town and the Land Trust.

On Monday, the Raposa family sold the development rights to the acreage for $2.56 million to the town and the trust, which will split the cost of the acquisition. The deal requires that $500,000 be paid at the closing, with the balance to be spread out over the next five years. The town’s share will come from a 2007 open space bond.

Ted Clement, the trust’s executive director, noted that the decline in real estate values helped make the purchase a reality.

“The perpetual extinguishment of 127 lots worth of development rights on this island for under $3 million would have been hard to imagine not long ago,” he said in a statement.

The land falls within the Lawton Valley Reservoir and St. Mary’s Pond watersheds, two of Aquidneck Island’s drinking water supplies.

The sale will “enable the next generation of Raposas to continue running Green Valley as an important local business and do something that I simply feel is the right thing to do for the town,” Ron Raposa, president of the 18-hole public golf course, said in a statement.

—Richard Salit

Former Westerly fire chief dies

WESTERLY — About 100 firefighters are expected to attend the funeral of Robert F. Mackay Sr., town fire chief from 1972 to 1991, who died Sunday at the age of 82.

Fire Chief David A. Sayles said he last spoke to Mackay on Friday and that the former chief gave no indication he was ill. Sayles called Mackay “a great chief, a great patriot, a thinker and a problem solver.”

Every time he talked with Mackay, “I always had a good laugh,” Sayles said.

Sayles said an honor guard would be present from 2 to 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Gaffney Dolan Funeral Home, on Spruce Street.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in St. Pius X Church, on Elm Street.

—Donita Naylor