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Rhode Island man accused of murdering wife killed in police chase

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Rhode Island man accused of murdering wife killed in police chase


 A man wanted in the killing of his wife died over the weekend after his suburban flipped during a police chase, Rhode Island State Police said in a statement.

A warrant was issued Friday for Joseph Francis in the shooting death of his wife, Stephanie Francis, whose body was found with a gunshot wound inside their Hopkinton, Rhode Island, home. On Saturday, Westerly police spotted Joseph Francis driving and tried unsuccessfully to stop him.

About an hour later, officers from Richmond and Charlestown police departments tried to stop Francis again. During that chase, Francis failed to negotiate a turn, rolled his vehicle several times and came to a rest near some woods. Police approached the vehicle and found Francis dead inside.

A warrant was issued Friday for Joseph Francis in the shooting death of his wife, Stephanie, prior to the chase. Hopkinton Police Department
Stephanie Francis’ body was found with a gunshot wound inside the couple’s Hopkinton, Rhode Island, home. Wood River Bar & Grill/Facebook

Francis, who was wanted on charges of domestic violence-murder and domestic violence-violation of no contact order, was already facing charges from allegedly attacking his wife in May, according to a report from Hopkinton police. In that case, he was charged with disorderly conduct, domestic violence and domestic simple assault for allegedly pushing her, smashing her phone and yelling at her.

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During that chase, Francis failed to negotiate a turn, rolled his vehicle several times and came to a rest near some woods. WJAR

He was also charged with violating a state law banning high-capacity magazines after police recovered two handguns and several loaded high-capacity magazines. An order was also issued preventing him from contacting his wife.



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Rhode Island DCYF discloses fatality of 18-year-old

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Rhode Island DCYF discloses fatality of 18-year-old


The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families disclosed the fatality of an 18-year-old who was previously the subject of a near fatality notification on June 2.

According to the department, the 18-year-old died on Thursday and was involved with DCYF.

The Office of the Child Advocate was notified about the incident.

DCYF did not disclose additional information due to confidentiality laws.

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The original incident that required the prior notification occurred on May 27, officials said.

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According to DCYF, Rhode Islanders are required by law to report known or suspected cases of child abuse or neglect within 24 hours of becoming aware of such cases and can do so by calling 1-800-742-4453.



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He grew up in the kitchen. Then he rewrote the menu, and the future of his parents’ restaurant – The Boston Globe

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He grew up in the kitchen. Then he rewrote the menu, and the future of his parents’ restaurant – The Boston Globe


He became obsessed with driving around, searching for any local farm or fisherman on a dock and bugging them to see if they, too, wanted to help him with his vision.

Local crudo at S.S. Dion in Bristol, R.I., includes Lotzzo’s Scup, yellowfin tuna, lemon, flaky salt, and extra virgin olive oil.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

His menu now, which reflects a reinvention, leans into a new way to present New England seafood for an old suburban fishing town, serving snacks like a smoked Rhode Island bluefish paté, raw New Bedford sea scallops with sesame and crispy shallots, chowder with quahogs and fermented hot sauce. He also makes his own pasta with milled local grains.

Today, Dion has largely taken over the business, although his mom can still be found in the kitchen.

Seared sea scallops with fennel vellutata and tomato-pancetta jam at S.S. Dion in Bristol, R.I.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
A view from the fireplace lounge at S.S. Dion in Bristol, R.I.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

“If you’ve had a piece of swordfish at S.S. Dion in the past 43 years, she’s grilled it. And she doesn’t want that to end,” said Dion. “She loves it, and wants to work forever.”

His father visits every day for an hour to keep track of “all of my numbers.”

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“I do it all on a computer, and he’s got every, every penny of it on paper,” said Dion.

The reimagined version has had a lot of success, growing 300 percent over the last five years.

What to eat: Try any of the snacks to start with, but be sure to get at least one of their house-made pastas for the table to share: a black spaghetti puttanesca with fried squid, anchovies, Calabrian chilies, and braised tomato. A bowl of gemelli with house-made fish sausage, rapini, pangrattato, and aglio e olio. A roasted mushroom campanelle with sautéed leeks, Brussel sprouts, tarragon, and tender pea tendrils. A perfect bolognese. There are also comforting staples from S.S. Dion’s past life: “The chicken parmesan will be on that menu for my whole life,” said Dion. “But there’s a fermented hot sauce martini on there as well.”

Gemelli pasta made with milled local grains and a house-made fish sausage at S.S. Dion in Bristol, R.I.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

“I want to have that spectrum of people who have always come into S.S. and ordered what they love and remember,” said Dion. “But also there might be something exciting for someone else in their party who is more adventurous.”

You can get three courses for just $40 per person if you order from their prix fixe menu. Your options include local crudos; a funky caesar with smoked Rhode Island bluefish and sourdough croutons, calamari from Point Judith, all sorts of scratch-made pastas, and plenty of desserts.

Dion said his fries take three days to prepare, and he makes every part of their burger from scratch (an “everything” milk bun, house bacon, crispy onions, a 21-day dry-aged burger bun from Blackbird Farm slathered in a special sauce) other than the cheddar cheese it is topped with.

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A squid insalata with yam chips, Calabrian chilies, olive salad, preserved lemon, and herbs at S.S. Dion in Bristol, R.I.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

“The world just seems to get more and more artificial, and there’s a really blurry line between what is human and what is manufactured,” he said. “It just feels good to be authentic to my place.”

What to drink: Start off with a bang and get the “Low Tide Hot N’ Dirty,” which uses a nori-infused Lime Rock gin, fermented green chili, yuzu, and topped with a spicy seaweed chip. Or their bacon fat-washed maple old fashioned. The beer list has a ton of local brews from around New England, while the wine list has some interesting choices for the area: a Primitivo from Puglia, an Austrian riesling, and a chenin blanc-viognier from Napa.

House sourdough focaccia at S.S. Dion served with tonnato and olive salad. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

Don’t forget dessert: The bananas foster bread pudding is baked in a cast iron pan drizzled with rum caramel and topped with pecans and vanilla ice cream. The chocolate pot de creme uses miso caramel, beetroot meringue, salted cashew crumble, and fennel. Or you can order a basque cheesecake topped with flaky sea salt and orange zest, or a traditional affogato that’s drowned in a double shot of espresso from Borealis Coffee Company, a small-batch local specialty roaster.

Final say: S.S. Dion is one of those legacy restaurants that found further success after reinventing itself when the second generation took over. Dion has dreams of opening his own restaurant with a different concept and to potentially do it in Providence. He’s looking for locations, but isn’t ready to sign a lease yet.

“I’m really happy with where S.S. is now,” said Dion. “But what chef doesn’t have dreams of opening a dozen more restaurants?

“I’d say that’s what’s next,” he added. “I’d like to start something else soon.”

S.S. Dion, 520 Thames St., Bristol, R.I., 401-253-2884, ssdion.com. Raw bar $3.5-$165; salads $13-$18; snacks $9-$25; scratch pasta $14-$38; entrées $25-market price; Sides and sauces $1-$7.

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S.S. Dion in Bristol, R.I., is a legacy, family-owned restaurant first opened in the 1980s that has now been taken over by the original owners’ son. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.





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Clergy sex abuse bill passes RI Senate on unanimous vote. What’s next

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Clergy sex abuse bill passes RI Senate on unanimous vote. What’s next


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  • The Rhode Island Senate unanimously passed legislation to allow victims of clergy sex abuse to sue the institutions that failed to protect them.
  • The bill provides a two-year window for victims to revive claims that are currently barred by expired time limits.
  • This action follows the release of the attorney general’s report detailing a systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church over decades.

PROVIDENCE – Victims of clergy sex abuse scored a long-sought victory in the Rhode Island Senate on Wednesday, June 3.

Legislation to allow the victims to sue the Catholic Church – and any other institution that failed to protect them from molestation when they were children – won unanimous Senate approval and now goes to the House for final votes.

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The fast action from Senate Judiciary Committee approval – to a full Senate vote – within an hour and a half was not unexpected after the announcement on Monday of a compromise backed by the Senate’s top-tier Democrats, including Senate President Valarie Lawson, Majority Leader Frank Ciccone and Senate Judiciary Chairman Matthew LaMountain.

If passed, as now appears likely, the legislation will allow the victims of sexual abuse by clergy to sue the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and any other entity that knew, but failed to stop – or concealed – the abuse they suffered as children at the hands of trusted elders.

The legislation would also provide the long-ago victims – many of them now in their 60s and 70s – with a two-year window to revive claims currently barred by expired time limits.

The compromise – after years of pleas and inaction – follows the long-awaited release on March 4 of Attorney General Peter Neronha’s report detailing the systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church of the sexual abuse of more than 300 Rhode Island children.

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His report laid bare, for the first time, the scope of more than a half century of alleged child sexual abuse by Rhode Island Catholic clergy and the breadth and depth of the alleged cover-up, which often included destroying key files or shuffling priests from parish to parish, where they would reoffend.

Sen. Mark McKenney, the lead Senate sponsor, told colleagues that the proposed new law not only states “this conduct unacceptable, but from now on, the institutions that have enabled it will be held accountable as well.”

As to whether the law would survive a legal challenge, McKenney said the Rhode Island Constitution “contains a provision that is somewhat unique in the United States: a victims’ rights clause. That provision has been largely overlooked in the debate that’s gone on about the constitutionality of this and … previous versions of this bill,” but retired U.S. District Judge William Smith drew attention to it when he testified.

He said Article 1, Section 23 “of our constitution provides that crime victims, including child sexual abuse victims, not only may receive compensation from perpetrators, but also, and this is a quote from the constitution, ‘Shall receive such other compensation as the state may provide,’ with that power ‘entirely committed to our authority as the General Assembly.’”

Co-sponsor Dawn Euer applauded “the victims and survivors, both the ones that we know of and the ones that we don’t, as well as the ones that we have lost. The strength and courage that it takes to go through what [these] people have gone through … is incredible.

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“And then to be able to come up here and advocate …. for passage of this legislation over years [of] legislative turmoil and back again, it’s really incredible the strength and determination that you all have shown,” she said to the group of survivor-advocates in the Senate gallery.

“We get used to it,” she said of the process by which “the proverbial sausage is made. But for issues like this that have real impacts on people’s lives, it can be an additional trauma,” she said of the year after year of public hearings and testimony, followed by inaction.

On Wednesday, she said, the Senate sent the “strong signal that Rhode Island stands with survivors and victims.”

This story has been updated with new information.



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