This Just In:

Vaping, IGT, and a sweet ride [View email with images]( [Providence Journal] Tuesday September 24, 2019 [Subscribe Now]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Providence Journal]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Good afternoon, and welcome to the latest edition of This Just In. The biggest news of the day comes from Massachusetts, where Gov. Charlie Baker has just announced [a four-month ban on all vaping products]( in the state. The move is in response to a spike in illnesses, and some deaths, related to the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping. No word yet on whether Gov. Gina Raimondo is considering similar action in Rhode Island, where, according to a recent survey, [20% of high-school students report having vaped]( within the last month. We do know that Raimondo is testifying this afternoon before the House Finance Committee on the proposed contract extension for IGT. Patrick Anderson, who will be covering the hearings tonight, wrote yesterday that IGT is warning the state that its rival Camelot's failure to win a contract in Florida [should be cautionary tale]( for Rhode Island lawmakers. Our most popular story of the day is about Army veteran Patrick Lonergan. He's in hospice care, suffering from terminal COPD. On Monday, he got a special treat -- [a ride in a Bentley convertible]( courtesy of Inskip's Warwick Auto Mall, with his favorite nurses from the Respiratory and Rehabilitation Center of Rhode Island at his side. Governor Raimondo today ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at state buildings in honor of Superior Court Judge John E. Orton III, who died Friday. Katie Mulvaney writes that Orton was [a colorful character]( who presided over some of Rhode Island's most high-profile cases in the 1970s and '80s. There is this strange news out of Warren, where a local musician accuses a Town Council member of [biting his finger]( during an altercation outside a bar, requiring him to spend more than a day in a hospital. "He held on like a pit bull," the musician says. Federal prosecutors want perjury charges against Gaythorne "Poochie" Angell to be dropped, saying that the 84-year-old Rhode Island mob associate has successfully completed a [pretrial diversion program](. Angell was charged with lying to a grand jury about shakedown money that the Foxy Lady strip club was paying to the mob. Finally, fans of the "Dilbert" comic strip may notice that something looks different this week. My boss, Alan Rosenberg, [explains why](. Have a great night. -Mike McDermott NEWS [Massachusetts Gov. Baker orders 4-month ban on vaping products]( BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is declaring a public health emergency and ordering a four-month temporary ban on all vaping --------------------------------------------------------------- [New study shows teen vaping rising quickly]( The rate of teens using electronic cigarettes has more than doubled in two years, the largest and quickest increase in the popularity of any substance since tracking began 45 years ago. --------------------------------------------------------------- [IGT: Camelot's Florida flop a lesson for R.I.]( As International Game Technology seeks a 20-year, no-bid extension of its Rhode Island Lottery contract, it is pointing to upstart rival Camelot Lottery Solution's failure in Florida as evidence that company is not a viable alternative for Rhode Island. --------------------------------------------------------------- [A top-down day for Coventry hospice patient]( Patrick Lonergan, 67, gets his wish to ride in a convertible. With nurses. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Passages: Retired Superior Court Judge Orton recalled as a 'joy' to be around]( Orton, 88, a popular judge who presided over some of the state's most interesting cases in the 1980s, died Friday in Narragansett of heart failure. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Musician accuses Warren Town Council member of attacking, biting him]( WARREN - Local musician Alfie Purcell was smoking a cigarette with a friend in an alleyway off of Child Street late Friday night when he saw a man he recognized exit the back door of a nearby bar."This dude stumbles out of the back door to take a piss in the alleyway," said Purcell, in a phone interview. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Feds seek to dismiss charge for lying about mob's R.I. strip-club shakedowns]( PROVIDENCE - Federal prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to dismiss a perjury case against Rhode Island mob associate and bookie Gaythorne "Poochie" Angell Jr. Angell, who had been indicted in 2016 on a charge of lying to a grand jury about shakedown money that the Foxy Lady strip club was paying to the mob, successfully completed a pretrial diversion program, according to a prosecutor's filing in U.S. District Court, Providence. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Jake Tapper of CNN is guest artist for this week's 'Dilbert' comics]( If today's "Dilbert" comic strip looks different, that's because Jake Tapper of CNN is the guest artist all this week. --------------------------------------------------------------- providencejournal.com [Facebook]( [Twitter]( You are receiving this communication as a member of the Providence Journal. 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