PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Former Mayor Buddy Cianci, the wisecracking political rogue who presided over the revitalization of Providence during two stints in office cut short by criminal charges and a prison sentence for corruption, died Thursday. He was 74.
Cianci's employer, WLNE-TV, and a friend, Artin Coloian, confirmed his death. Coloian said he died Thursday morning. He did not release the cause. WLNE said he was taping his weekly TV show, "On the Record with Buddy Cianci," Wednesday evening when he had severe stomach pains and was taken by ambulance to Miriam Hospital.
The long legal battle between Mayor Marty Walsh and developers of an Everett casino on Boston's doorstep is over. Walsh on Wednesday night announced he'd reached a surrounding community agreement after engaging in direct talks with Wynn Resorts Chairman & CEO Steve Wynn.
According to Walsh's office, the agreement includes $31 million over 15 years for community impact; $25 million over 10 years for Sullivan Square infrastructure improvements; $11 million for traffic mitigation in Charlestown; $250,000 for a regional working group on a "long-term fix" for Sullivan Square; a "good faith effort" to purchase $20 million annually over 15 years from Boston businesses; and $1 million for reimbursement of professional expenses. Wynn Resorts has also agreed to work with the City of Boston "to explore moving the Boston Water and Sewer Commission's Materials Handling Facility with the goal of creating public open space along the waterfront in Charlestown."
