PROVIDENCE - The state Department of Health Monday recommended the opening of Goddard Memorial State Park and Conimicut Point Beach in Warwick, and Fort Adams State Park Beach in Newport, to swimming.

The following beaches remain closed to swimming due to high bacteria counts: Oakland Beach and City Park Beach in Warwick, as well as North Kingstown Town Beach.

For up-to-date information about swimming at Rhode Island beaches, call (401) 222-2751 or visit to use HEALTH's interactive beach map.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Rhode Island through 9 p.m.

The Weather Service said strong to damaging wind gusts and locally heavy rainfall are possible, as is large hail.

Check the latest weather, radar.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Rhode Island's 38 Studios bonds by two notches, from A2 to Baa1. At the same time, the bond rating agency has placed the rest of the state's debt, which totals $2.1 billion, under review for possible downgrade.

The action takes place as the state legislature is debating whether or not Rhode Island should pay the 38 Studios bonds.

Moody's said it took the action because of the "considerable uncertainty" surrounding the legislature's willingness to appropriate the funds requested in Governor Chafee's budget to pay off the bonds.

In a statement Monday, Chafee urged the legislature to appropriate the money. "I believe the General Assembly will do the right thing to protect the reputation and borrowing ability of Rhode Island," he said.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Defaulting on the 38 Studios moral obligation bonds could cost the state more than it saves, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council says in a new report.

While defaulting eliminates an $89.2 million obligation, it would probably lead to a credit downgrade and increased borrowing costs that, according to one model, could add $90.6 million in interest expenses on appropriation and general obligation bonds over a 10-year period.

Borrowing costs could also rise for quasi-public state agencies such as the Rhode Island Airport Corporation and the Rhode Island Housing, as they issue debt that is partially backed or authorized by the state, the report says.

The report recommends that the state avoid defaulting and pay back bondholders.

Providence Journal photo / Frieda Squires

Former Brown University president Vartan Gregorian is interviewed by e-newsletter class pupils (L-R) Sasha Missiuro, Dylan Itkin and Nevaeh Mitchell Tuesday at the Vartan Gregorian Elementary School.

This year, a special guest walked with them through the hallways -- the man for whom the school is named. Vartan Gregorian, once Brown University's 16th president, is now president of the grant-making Carnegie Corporation in New York.

Before the ceremony, he met with students from the school's eNewspaper club, after third-grade club member Sasha Missiuro wrote him a letter, asking about his childhood and early education and inviting him to meet with them.

"Nobody like you is going to come again," he told the club. "I want each one of you to remember -- not me, but you. And do justice to your intellect, and I'd like you to learn, learn, learn."

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Providence councilman David Salvatore wants a city review of how a vocational school could have violated the civil rights of the developmentally disabled for years by unnecessarily segregating them in a "sheltered workshop" where they were paid little or no wages for manual labor.

Salvatore on Tuesday called for a review of oversight at the Harold A. Birch Vocational School.

The U.S. Justice Department last week reached a settlement with the city and state over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the Birch School and a state-licensed program where many Birch students were later employed. The sheltered workshop has been shut down and the program is being overhauled.

Salvatore says he wants to understand how this happened so that it never happens again.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- City Park Beach in Warwick has reopened to swimming because bacteria counts in the water have returned to normal levels, the R.I. Department of Health announced Tuesday.

Oakland Beach in Warwick and North Kingstown Town Beach remain closed because of pollution.

During beach season, the health department's beach monitoring program routinely tests water quality at all state beaches. For up-to-date information about beach use, call (401) 222-2751 or visit health.ri.gov/news/beaches/ to use the health department's interactive beach map.

PROVIDENCE -- The Department of Environmental Management is looking for volunteers to help conduct a tree survey in Exeter, Warwick and Cumberland for the Asian long horned beetle.

The Asian long horned beetle affects hardwood shade trees such as maple, ash, birch, willow and elm by boring into the core of the tree and eventually killing it. The beetle, which ranges from ¾ to 1 and 1/4 inches with a long black and white antennae and a glossy black body with irregular white spots, has the potential of wiping out thousands of the state's trees if it goes undetected.

The purpose of the survey is to detect the beetle before it has a chance to become a major problem.

RSVP by July 22 to cynthia.kwolek@dem.ri.gov.

Nearly all of the property damage claims from superstorm Sandy submitted by Rhode Islanders to the National Flood Insurance Program have been processed, resulting in payments totaling $31.1 million.

That was the tally in mid-May when the federal program conducted its final monthly survey on the status of Sandy claims, according to state coordinator Michelle Burnett.

Six months after Sandy lashed the coast on its way to New Jersey, 1,009 claims submitted by owners of commercial and residential properties had been fully processed. Only 43 cases remained open.

Of the processed claims, 801 resulted in payments, Burnett said. Another 208 claims were rejected. The average Sandy payment was $35,603.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- All new vehicles purchased by state agencies will be electric plug-ins or electric hybrids "wherever possible," according to a directive from Governor Chafee announced Tuesday.

Chafee made the announcement at the unveiling of an electric vehicle charging station at Roger Williams University in Bristol. It is the first in a network of up to 50 charging stations that California-based ChargePoint will install statewide over the next three months through a $781,225 contract.

Chafee also said he had asked Richard Licht, state director of administration, to use Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars to pay for the difference in price between an electric or hybrid state vehicle and a comparable gas-powered vehicle.

Licht said the directive would mainly apply to the state's fleet of about 900 passenger vehicles, with new purchases focusing on hybrids, plug-in hybrids and plug-in all-electric vehicles. He said replacements would be made "wherever possible."

He said it would take a number of years for the fleet to make the changeover as the state would continue to work with existing vehicles until they needed to be replaced.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A federal judge refused Tuesday to release Cranston estate planner Joseph Caramadre from prison while he awaits sentencing for his role in an investment scheme targetting the terminally ill.

Judge William Smith said he could not trust Caramadre's representations to a psychiatrist that he did not pose a suicide risk or a danger to others.

"I don't know what to believe when you get on the stand and testify because you've lied a couple of times," Smith said. "You just don't have any credibility with the court."

Smith ordered Caramadre imprisoned last month in rejecting the former philanthropist's bid to withdraw his guilty pleas to fraud and conspiracy. Smith rejected Caramadre's motion, calling it meritless, bizarre and a cynical attempt to manipulate the court.

Smith agreed to delay his sentencing to September.

TAUNTON, Mass. -- A flash flood watch is in effect until 9 tonight, the National Weather Service forecasters say.

The weather service said thunderstorms could bring as much as two inches of rain in less than an hour in areas along the Massachusetts Turnpike and as far south as Westerly. Newport was even mentioned as being at risk of thunderstorms.

The weather service said that flash flooding is a very dangerous situation and urged people in flood prone areas to monitor forecasts and be prepared to take action.

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. -- Former Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy will be given the St. Thomas More Medal of Virtue posthumously at the end of Mass honoring the martyred 16th-century lawyer-saint Sunday at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas More Church at 53 Rockland St. Garrahy died Jan 24, 2012.

The chief celebrant of the Mass will be Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, the Vatican-based Grand Master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Also on tap for the parish feast is a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Narragansett slated for 11 a.m. with a benediction at noon; and, from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 29, rides and games at Veterans Park near the Narragansett Towers, with music by a Beach Boys tribute band, the Driftwoods

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --The state budget plan to be unveiled by Rhode Island lawmakers Tuesday will include a plan to pay the 38 Studios debt, confirmed Senate Finance Committee Chairman Daniel DaPonte.

"As far as we've come so far, it is," he said following a more than hour long briefing for senators on why the state needs to honor the debt, which is roughly $100 million when interest is factored. "I am certainly no happy about the circumstances, but as a matter of principle, the state has to live up to this obligation."

The comments came hours before the House Finance Committee was set to unveil its version of the state budget Tuesday night.

Senators heard from Governor Chafee and state General Treasurer Gina Raimondo's top deputies on the importance of Rhode Island taxpayers paying the debt left after the video-game company went bankrupt in 2012.

Chafee's Director of Administration Richard Licht argued that paying the debt is critical to maintaining Rhode Island's hard fought reputation in the financial market.

Repeating arguments the administration and financial experts have made before, Licht said failure to pay the debt would affect the state and municipalities' ability to borrow.

He highlighted findings from a cost and benefit analysis the administration has conducted showing that under the best-case scenario, Rhode Island might end up saving money over the long term by defaulting on the debt.

But more likely than not, Licht said, the state and its municipalities would wind up paying more in higher interest rates.

Licht said there is "already a cloud over the state's reputation," pointing to Monday's decision by Moody's Investors Service to place all the state's debt, which totals $2.1 billion, under review for possible downgrade. It also downgraded the 38 Studios bonds by two notches, from A2 to Baa1.

Raimondo's chief legal counsel Mark A. Dingley agreed, noting that reverberations from a failure to pay the debt would be felt 20 to 30 years down the line.

"We'd be passing on unknown consequences to the next generation," he said. "It's the best decision for Rhode Island now and for generations to come."

Whether or not to pay the debt is a key question in this year's budget debate. Chafee has proposed a multi-year plan to pay down the debt that includes a $2.5 million payment next year.

But some lawmakers have called for the state not to make the payments, saying that the failed $75 million investment in the company was never approved by voters.

Office of Management and Budget presentation to R.I. Senate

Office of Management and Budget memorandum on Moral Obligation Bonds

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- With the scheduled launch of casino gambling just hours away, the House and Senate voted Tuesday to pass a last-minute "anti-cheating" bill that defines casino crimes and establishes penalties for them -- steps that supporters said are critical as the Twin River slot parlor in Lincoln begins to offer round-the-clock table games.

The bill, introduced at the behest of the Chafee administration, is needed to "send the message" that the state is serious about preventing any cheating, said House Majority Leader Nicholas Mattiello.

But in a floor debate that lasted about 45 minutes, other House members said the penalties in the bill are too strict and asked why the bill was introduced just two weeks before the table games are supposed to open.

JOHNSTON, R.I. -- A man told police that someone broke into his home at 40 Harris
Ave. over the weekend and stole, among other things, 31 Movado and Invicta wrist watches worth nearly $21,000.

Homeonwer Eric Gibree said he, his wife and his child returned home Sunday morning after being away since Friday and discovered that the screen to a rear window had been taken off, and that someone had rummaged through dressers in an upstairs bedroom. He said that besides the watches, there was an unknown amount of jewelry missing from his wife's jewelry box.

JOHNSTON, R.I. -- A 27-year-old man, on probation after pleading no contest two years ago to a charge of receiving stolen goods, was ordered held without bail and remanded to the Adult Correctional Institutions Friday after his arrest on charges of breaking into a condemned vacant house at 244 Rosemont Ave.

Steven Sarchione, of 29 Auburn Ave., told police he had gone to the house at the request of the previous owner to retrieve some clothes. But police said that when they found him inside he was wearing black gloves and a florescent traffic vest with a light on his head. Charged with breaking and entering and .possession of burglary tools, he was remanded to prison as a probation violator pending a District Court hearing

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island voters who have no photo IDs would be able to continue to show a government-issued ID when they go to the polls, according to a bill approved by the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday night.

The vote was 11-1 with Rep. Doreen Marie Costa casting the lone dissenting vote.
The bill (H-5776 Sub A), which was being redrafted until just before the hearing, now heads to the House for a floor vote.

Supporters describe the bill as a compromise between those calling for stricter ID requirements for voters and others who have sought to repeal the current Voter ID law, enacted in 2011, with its requirement that voters show photo IDs starting in 2014.

The bill essentially "freezes" the law as it was applied during the last election, the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Larry Valencia, told the committee.

Valencia's original would have repealed the entire Voter ID law, essentially reverting to the days prior to the 2012 election when voters generally were allowed to cast their ballots without showing proof of identify or residency.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Have you been a victim of identity theft? If so, staff writer G. Wayne Miller is interested in interviewing you for an upcoming story. Please contact Miller by email if you are willing to share your story. Thank you.

AP file photo

Martorano

BOSTON (AP) -- A former enforcer for James "Whitey" Bulger is expected to face more tough cross-examination by Bulger's lawyers when he returns to the witness stand for a third day.

James Martorano, who admitted killing 20 people, is set to continue testifying Wednesday.

On Monday and Tuesday, Martorano described a string of killings he said Bulger either ordered or participated in, including the 1982 killing of Boston businessman John Callahan, who Martorano described as a close friend.

Martorano, 72, said he reluctantly agreed to kill Callahan at the insistence of Flemmi and Bulger, who said Callahan would likely finger the gang in the 1981 killing of Tulsa, Okla., businessman Roger Wheeler. He said Bulger and Flemmi said Callahan had to be killed because he wouldn't hold up if questioned about Wheeler's killing.

Martorano said he stopped killing people after he fatally shot Callahan in 1982.

During aggressive cross-examination Tuesday by Bulger's attorney, Martorano insisted that he is not a hit man or a serial killer, but instead is a "nice guy" who was only trying to help his family and friends when he pumped bullets into victims while working with Bulger and his gang.

Bulger, now 83, is charged in a racketeering indictment with participating in 19 killings in the 1970s and '80s as leader of the Winter Hill Gang. He fled Boston in 1994 and was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives for more than 16 years until he was captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011.

Bulger's lawyer, Hank Brennan, went after Martorano, sarcastically asking him about an assertion that he did not consider himself a hit man.

Brennan asked Martorano whether mass murderer or serial killer were more appropriate descriptions for him.

"You're different from a serial killer how?" Brennan asked.

"A serial murderer kills for fun. They like it," Martorano said. "I don't like it. I never did like it."

Martorano served 12 years in prison after he cut a deal with prosecutors and agreed to testify against Bulger. He is one of three former Bulger loyalists who are expected to be the prosecution's star witnesses against Bulger.

In testimony Monday, Martorano said he decided to become a government witness after learning that Bulger and Flemmi had been working as FBI informants.

Bulgers' lawyers deny that he ever provided information to the FBI. In opening statements to the jury last week, attorney J.W. Carney Jr. said Bulger paid FBI agents to tip him and his gang about investigations so they could avoid prosecution.

Martorano said he killed people when they hurt or threatened his family, or if they threatened to tell authorities about the gang's illegal activities

He said he always tried to help people he was close to, either by giving them money or in other ways.

"I always tried to be a nice guy," he said.

But Bulger's lawyer grilled Martorano about several instances where he killed the wrong person or innocent people who were with the intended target.

Brennan asked Martorano whether he regretted killing a 19-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy who were in a car with Herbert Smith, a man who had beaten up Flemmi, when he jumped into the car and shot all three.

Martorano said he saw three silhouettes as he approached the car. Since he expected Smith to be alone, he thought Smith may have planned to ambush him, so he killed all three people, he said.

"I did feel bad. I still feel bad. It's the worst thing I did, but I can't change it," he said of the 1968 killings.