Senate OK's renewable-energy incentives

The state Senate unanimously approved an energy bill yesterday that is designed to dramatically increase reliance on renewable forms of energy. The compromise version of the bill would require energy companies to look to cost-effective renewable sources of energy before relying on more traditional sources. The bill also establishes a program to let communities use state loans and grants for conservation and renewable energy projects. Other highlights include requiring the state to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles and letting homeowners or tenants buy renewable energy products with no upfront cost, then pay them off monthly on their utility bill. The legislation now heads to the House. (AP)

Public health officials said the number of salmonella cases in Massachusetts has risen to 17 after five more people were infected as authorities struggle to curb a nationwide outbreak associated with certain types of raw tomatoes. The state Public Health Department announced yesterday that five new cases were identified after DNA matching of the outbreak strain with samples submitted by healthcare workers. There have been no deaths, but at least two of the cases have required hospitalization. All the cases were reported from late May to early June. The youngest person to get sick was a 5-year-old girl and the oldest was a 45-year-old woman. (AP)

A man was stabbed to death yesterday outside a home on Gordon Street, near Framingham Center. The victim, Jeffrey Weaver, 38, was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly after the noontime attack, said Jessica Venezia, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney. Investigators set up tents over the gravel driveway of the multifamily dwelling yesterday afternoon and marked several pieces of evidence, including an overturned green wire chair. Police were searching for a suspect last night, and no other details were available, Venezia said.

Governor Don Carcieri pointed a finger yesterday at Mayor David Cicilline of Providence, saying the city's lax attitude toward illegal immigrants is partly to blame for the alleged rape of a woman by an illegal immigrant. The governor told WPRO-AM that city police had an opportunity to help federal officials deport Marco Riz when he was arrested twice last year while under a federal deportation order. Riz was charged earlier this month with allegedly carjacking a woman in a Warwick parking lot, then driving her to a Providence park and raping her. Both times Riz was arrested last year, Providence police faxed his name to immigration authorities as part of their standard procedures, but federal officials failed to take him into custody, Cicilline said. (AP)

A new study has found twice as many menhaden in Narragansett Bay as there were at the same time last year. State fisheries biologists announced Monday that they have estimated 24 million menhaden in the bay. Menhaden is a member of the herring family and is prized as fertilizer and bait. The fish was at the center of a dispute last year over a proposal in the General Assembly that would have blocked commercial fishermen from netting thousands of menhaden at a time for sale as bait. Recreational fishermen say menhaden improve water quality and are a life-sustaining food source in the bay. (AP)

A probate judge has vacated a restraining order against the chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council. The court cited Shawn Hendricks's clean criminal history in the decision. Earlier this month, his estranged wife, Elizabeth, was granted the restraining order prohibiting him from seeing her or their three children. In court on Monday, she said her husband had a violent temper that got worse when he stepped into the tribal leadership role last August. Shawn Hendricks denied that in court. Hendricks, 40, became tribal council chairman after former chairman Glenn Marshall resigned. (AP)