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THIS VIDEO WAS A GOOD MORNING LAUGH

What started as a battle over fireworks shows led to a sweeping legal victory Friday for environmentalists that could stymie a wide range of events needing city permits, from the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon to birthday parties held at parks. “According to the strictest interpretation of this, jumpy-jumps and everything else would be subject to environmental review if this ruling stands,” said lawyer Robert Howard, who represented the La Jolla Community Fireworks Foundation in the case. “It’s a breathtaking ruling.” Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn said La Jolla’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show requires evaluation under the California Environmental...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Calling it a “red-letter day,” a federal judge Thursday approved settlements earmarked for more than 300 victims of the 2003 Station nightclub fire and the mechanism through which payments will be made. The action taken by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux makes it likely now that the victims of the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history will get money from a $176-million settlement fund in a matter of months. But much remains to be done before payments are made. Probate judges have to approve the settlements in the 100 cases of those who died...

A high school was evacuated after suspicious objects were found in the building Wednesday, one day before final exams, authorities said. The Passaic County sheriff's bomb squad removed the items, which may have been fireworks, from Wayne Valley High School and detonated them in a safe area, sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer said. "They were definitely pyrotechnic in nature,'' Maer said. The investigation is continuing. "We consider this very serious,'' he said. Approximately four suspicious objects were removed from the school, Maer said. "Preliminary reports say they were found in lockers,'' he said. Final exams at the school were scheduled to...

"Ok, are you ready, grab your cooler and a lawnchair, and let's get on with the show!!" Marty King A well done tribute to America on her Birthday. Enjoy!!!

The investigation into Thursday's catastrophic fire in West Warwick broadened yesterday with a law enforcement official saying police had searched the home of a co-owner of The Station nightclub and subpoenaed three members of the band Great White. Ninety-seven concertgoers died Thursday night and 187 were injured when the band's opening fireworks sparked one of the worst nightclub fires in U.S. history. Law enforcement sources said that state police and West Warwick investigators had searched the Narragansett home of Michael Derderian on Sunday and seized records relating to the club. Investigators also seized and impounded the band's tour bus. They...

WEST WARWICK, R.I., Feb. 27 - A day after the tour manager for the band whose pyrotechnics ignited the fire that killed 96 people at a nightclub here testified before a grand jury, his lawyer said today that the manager had confirmed a week before the performance that the club ``wanted pyrotechnics.'' His comments came as Gov. Donald L. Carcieri reported that the death toll in the Feb. 20 fire was lowered by 1 to 96 after the state medical examiner completed examining all the remains. All the victims have been identified, the governor said. Thomas G. Briody of Providence,...

Rock band sent pyrotechnics into ceiling of Bangor club Tuesday,February25,2003,6:44 AM BANGOR (AP) -- The rock band Great White sent pyrotechnics into the ceiling of a Bangor nightclub two nights before that deadly fire in Rhode Island. That's according to Sgt. Stu Jacobs, a state fire investigator in Bangor. Jacobs says discarded canisters from the band's Bangor show indicate that the pyrotechnics required a minimum ceiling height of 15 feet. But the ceiling at Russell's nightclub was only 10 feet, and a 30-inch-high stage reduced the clearance further. Jacobs says pyrotechnics were shot into the ceiling but there was...

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (Reuters) - Finger-pointing over blame for the blaze that killed 97 people here intensified on Monday with a lawyer for the band whose pyrotechnics ignited the nightclub fire saying one club owner was there when the display was being set up. As pathologists labor to identify some of the remains taken from the blackened ruins of the wood-framed club, a lawyer for the heavy metal band Great White said club co-owner Jeffrey Derderian was at the club when the band set up. "We don't want to point fingers, but I think that it's very important to assist...

Friends lost during frantic escape Eight of Robin Petrarca's friends are on the list of people missing from the club. 02/23/2003 BY KATE BRAMSON Journal Staff Writer WEST WARWICK -- There's no doubt in Robin Petrarca's mind that she got out of The Station because she knows the building. She's one of the regulars who frequented the club. About a dozen or 18 of them would sit at the same section of the bar each time -- where they had a view of the stage. Petrarca, a 44-year-old Warwick resident, knew exactly where the club's four exits were. She and...

Blaze, smoke engulf victims within seconds 02/22/2003 BY JENNIFER LEVITZ and ZACHARY R. MIDER Journal Staff Writers WEST WARWICK -- A fireworks display exploded into flames at a small-town nightclub, killing at least 96 people, injuring another 180, and turning a carefree night of rock 'n' roll into the worst disaster in Rhode Island since the Hurricane of 1938. There were up to 360 people in The Station in West Warwick around 11 p.m. Thursday as the band, Great White, launched into its first song, "Desert Moon." Pyrotechnics ignited on the back of the stage. Within 20 seconds, the club...

TITLE 23 Health and Safety CHAPTER 23-28.11 Fireworks and Pyrotechnics SECTION 23-28.11-3    § 23-28.11-3  Permits. – (a) Permits to possess and display commercial fireworks or pyrotechnics shall be issued by the local fire authority on forms provided by the state fire marshal.    (b) No permit to possess and display fireworks or pyrotechnics shall be issued by the local fire authority until the applicant has first obtained a valid certificate of competency from the state fire marshal. For the purposes of this chapter, "pyrotechnics" means a chemical mixture, including pyrotech-compositions, intended to produce a visible and/or audible effect by combustion, deflagration...

(CNN) -- A fast-moving fire -- ignited by an indoor pyrotechnics display during a concert -- killed at least 54 people late Thursday at a Providence, Rhode Island-area nightclub, officials said.West Warwick Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer said that emergency officials have confirmed 39 deaths and at have counted at least 15 more bodies that are still in the rubble of the Station club. "The building was well involved inside of three minutes," said Fire Chief Charlie Hall, who told reporters that the building had no sprinklers because its relatively small size didn't require them. The fire broke out around...