CNBC TV to air 'Planet of the Apps' on January 7 at 10 pm

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/12/28/cnbc-to-air-planet-of-the-apps/

The one-hour program looks at how the launch of the Apple iPhone in June of 2007 gave birth to a revolution in mobile technology. CNBC's "Planet of the Apps: A Handheld Revolution!" will premiere on Thursday, January 7th at 10PM, and repeats at 1AM.

A recent study reports that iPhone users are in apps over half the time they're on their phones, compared to using just the web browser.

Ford Motor Company Chief designer speaks

"If you go into a person's house and look at his surroundings, you'll see exactly who he is. If you look at the same person in his car, you'll see who he wants to be."

http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/j-mays-0110

LNG article from Hearld News, Fall River MA 12/27/09

This article is dated 12/27/09 from the Fall River, Hearld News -  short and to the point asking questions about the obvious LACK of benefits of LNG coming to our area.

http://tinyurl.com/y9lks3o

Snowflake Raffle huge success

Looking west down State Street from Hope

Shoppers warm up inside Striper Moon.

Looking east up State Street over one of the flame throwers.

Looking west at the corner of State and Thames Streets at the fire truck with Buddy the Elf (yellow pants) and Santa in tow. Miss Fourth of July 2009 was warming up in the cab.

If you happen to have missed Sunday night's first annual Snowflake Raffle on State Street you really missed a wonderful community turn out. Tons of people showed up in freezing, windy, snow-blown conditions to see if they were winners of huge cash prizes and giveaways the raffle had to offer!  The winners, to my knowledge, were all from Bristol. Attached are a few photos from the evening showing Santa and handy helper, Buddy the Elf, on the fire truck, the flame throwers, the bundled up crowd and the shoppers out in full force at Striper Moon. Thank you to our stalwart downtown merchant members of the Downtown Bristol Merchants Association who basically organized and sponsored the event with help from the Town of Bristol, The Bristol Economic Development Commission and our local Eastbay Newspapers. The idea was spearheaded and brought to fruition by two fairly new DBMA merchants: Susan O'Donnell from Sue Casa and Nick Kearney from Striper Moon. Thank you to all for making it happen. 

It should be noted that the first thing that Bristol's many non-profits do when planning a fund raiser is to hit up local merchants - for ads, services, goods etc. For the most part, the merchants generously agree to give what they can. The Snowflake Raffle was a wonderful way to give back and pay back the many merchants who keep and support Bristol many times over. Speaking of merchants, there is still time to shop local. Stop flipping through the mountain of catalogues and making trips to the mall or visits to the mega-stores online and keep the money in our beautiful town. It makes a huge difference to our local economy.

(Click on photos once to enlarge.)

Sunday Snowflake raffle is still ON

If you are snow and home bound and want a fun place to go this afternoon (Sunday Dec 20) get yourself shoveled out and head down to the corner of Thames and State Street for a block party experience -  the drawing of the first annual Snowflake Raffle!! Warm up with hot cocoa and a fire thrower...Caroling begins around 5 pm. The drawing begins at 6 pm with Miss Fourth of July, Santa and Buddy the Elf. Don't forget your raffle tickets. You must be present to win! What idyllic weather for the Snowflake Raffle! Many shops will be open. See you there!

Tri-Mack Plastics given GE award

If you cannot read this, click once to enlarge.

Great local book gift idea for little ones!

Anyone Can Draw Cartoonograms

Bristol resident, Steve Brosnihan has been going to Hasbro Hospital for 18 years on Tuesday and Thursday nights to help hospitalized kids get through the long night and to teach them something they can feel good about. How to drawing secret cartoons using the alphabet. (Knowing how to read is optional!)
"The lessons in this book will engage not only those who are practicing their ABCs, but also older kids who draw and aspire to a more polished-looking result. Remember the rock star in fourth grade who could draw Snoopy perfectly? Cartoonagrams could nudge your young artist toward that kind of stardom. What’s more, a portion of the proceeds from this fun, funny, silly-but-smart book goes to The Tomorrow Fund for children with cancer."

Steve Brosnihan

Fly By Knight Designs
P.O. Box 111
Bristol, RI 02809
401-253-5909

The book is $12.95 and is available at A "Novel Idea" Bookstore in Bristol and many other locations. Details below:
http://kidoinfo.com/ri/anyone-can-draw-cartoonagrams/

http://www.wrni.org/content/late-night-cartoonist

Word flow chart for Hey Jude!

http://loveallthis.tumblr.com/post/166124704

Bristol Snowflake Raffle drawing Sunday, December 20 at 6 pm

Have you been saving up your raffle tickets from purchases made in Bristol? If so, don't forget to show up at lower State Street at Thames for the special drawing for big cash prizes (Grand Prize: $3000.) and giveaways to be made by Santa and this years Miss Fourth of July, Jennae Paul. Come early at 4:30 pm to join carolers ("Santa Claus is coming to Town") and to prepare for the arrival of the raffle gang - Miss Fourth of July, Santa and his Buddy the Elf on a fire truck. A fire show will begin at 5 pm. Hot Cocoa will be provided by the Bee Hive Cafe! Many shops will be open. The drawing will begin at 6 pm. Jack Frost to officiate.

Below is the schedule: Please spread the word! YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!
4:30- 5:00 Santa, Buddy the Elf, and Miss 4th of July will cruise the town on The Fire Truck with Bullhorn to announce Drawing.

4:30-5:00 Carolers in Victorian garb will start singing on State Street. Maybe at top by Hope to lure people down.

5:00 Crowd will Sing "Santa Claus is coming to Town" to bring in Santa, and buddies arrival by Truck.
Jack Frost will start the festivities, introduce Santa and gang and then start the Fire Show.

5:00-5:30 Fire Show

5:30-6:00 Carolers on Stage/ Jack Frost will get crowd to participate in group Sing-alongs (or we won't draw tickets!)

6:00 Drawing Begins

1. Santa draws the Gift Certificates and Giveaways
2. Buddy the Elf draws the 500.00
3. Santa draws the 1,000.00
4. Miss Fourth of July draws the 3,000.00 Grand Prize

December 3 extra high tide

The photo above was taken close to high tide at the Prudence Island ferry dock on the morning of the storm we had on Thursday, December 3. Note the angle of the ramp. Even if it wasn't blowing, cars were unable to make it up the steep pitch of the ramp. (click once to enlarge photo) Unbelievably, the ferry did make a crossing earlier in the morning and the captain admitted it was a rough one!

RI wind energy:National Grid and Deepwater form an agreement

This article by Alex Kuffner, Providence Journal reporter and former Bristol resident, is the best one I've read on this new agreement.

http://tinyurl.com/y95ch9t

Tuplin Garage: A French Brasserie?

Rizwan Ahmed, Bristol resident, proprietor and chef of a restaurant called the Hourglass Brasserie has applied for a liquor license and would like to open his French restaurant at 382 Thames Street (south side), the current location of the old Tuplin Garage. The license will take at least six weeks to get, if it is granted. He plans to be open for dinner only from 5:30 - 9 pm weekdays and until 10 pm on weekends. After a quick glimpse of the menu, it looks fabulous and primarily competitive with Le Central, The Tavern and Persimmon.

The BeeHive Cafe is also applying for a beer and wine license.

We wish them both luck in getting these licenses.

LNG News from Save the Bay

The following is info from a recent email from John Martin from Save the Bay. Go to www.savebay.org to activate the links that appear below. Keep an eye out for Stan Dimock and Steve Roth who will be canvassing Bristol tomorrow with an anti-LNG petition. If you would like to sign the petition online, please go to: http://www.savebay.info/Protect_LNG_epetition_home.asp

Many stores will have the petition on their counters. To my knowledge, the Bristol Town Council is in the process of drafting a resolution to oppose the proposed LNG/Hess terminal in Narragansett Bay. They will be joined by Newport and Jamestown and hopefully many other towns in RI.

The Stop Hess LNG campaign has gone viral in what has been a busy week of activity involving literally thousands of people opposed to the project.

Our petition sign-ups online and on paper have exceeded 1,400 names and the number is growing by the minute. Thank you for your help in spreading the word. It is critical that we reach new people – not just people within our existing Save The Bay network. Be a catalyst in reaching the critical mass that will turn the tide on LNG. Click those “share” and “forward” buttons!

On Monday, the Jamestown Town Council heard a presentation by Council member Ellen Winsor and agreed to draft a resolution opposing the Hess LNG facility. Wednesday night, the Newport City Council passed an anti-Hess LNG resolution lead by Council member Stephen Waluk.

To demonstrate the strength of our appreciation and our determination, please take a moment to send a thank you email to Council member Winsor in Jamestown and Council member Waluk in Newport.

What about your Town Council/City Council? If you would like to encourage your Council to oppose Hess LNG, contact Save The Bay Director of Advocacy John Torgan (and biologist Bay Keeper) and he will send you a draft resolution template we have created that you can email to your town representative(s).

Our following on Twitter is growing (#StopHessLNG). www.twitter.com/#StopHessLNG If you have been waiting to decide if Twitter is worth your time, perhaps now would be that time. It is a powerful tool and helps get the word out. GO to twitter.com and sign up. Our Facebook page is busy, too. Who wants to start a Facebook discussion page? It’s up to the users.


In the Media This Week:
Jamestown Council agrees to oppose LNG terminal - Dec. 10, 2009
Newport Council passes anti-LNG resolution - Dec. 9, 2009
Islanders to study impacts of LNG shipments - Dec. 3, 2009
Save The Bay declares war on Hess, Motif Magazine (pgs. 5 and 9) - Dec.2, 2009

Goetz Boats closed (again)

http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/132916.html

Residents tell Charter Board how to fix government

Bristol citizen and building contractor, Ray DeLeo, brought up many issues for the Charter Review Commission at their meeting this week and some are mentioned in the Phoenix article below. Other ideas not mentioned in the article are the following: • Why all the recent resignations from the Conservation Commission (CC) and specific mention of a resignation letter from one past CC member who felt the CC was in a state of inertia and not as active as it should be -  especially in matters relating to new building developments.

• The DPW does less and less every year and now has a director and two deputies. Can this Dept be scrutinized more closely?

• The Dept of Community Development needs reorganization and currently has too many duties. Mr. DeLeo thinks the department needs a 'good planner' and a five year plan for Bristol.

• Ferry Road Fixing: The backing filling needs to be done in stages with 6 - 8" of fill compacted and then tested to create a good foundation. This is currently not being done.

• There needs to be a public calendar of weekly listed advertised meetings printed in the Phoenix newspaper that is easy to read and find. Finding meetings listed in 7 pt type here and there in the back pages of the Phoenix needs improvement and does not benefit the public. 

Below is the link to the Phoenix article by Michael Yoder.

http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/132931.html

US to Settle Native American Suit for 3.4 Billion

This is an amazing legal victory that began in 1996 about an 1887 agreement between the US Dept of the Interior and many Native Americans.The dispute arises from a trust system in 1887, when Congress divided many tribal lands into parcels — most from 40 to 160 acres — and assigned them to individual Indians while selling off remaining lands. The agreement was established at gunpoint and then never carried out in fairness to the Indians. President Obama's administration had much to do with this outcome. The amount of the settlement for the Native American's is $3.4 Billion and guess what...it's still not enough but does act as symbolic importance and recognition for the half a million native people represented in the law suit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/09tribes.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Elouise%20co&st=cse

2010 RI Teacher of the year

Congratulations to teacher of the year Dana Ramey of Middletown High School.  Senor Ramey has taught at Middletown High School for thirteen years and combines cultural "language immersion" experiences with homestays in Mexico and Spain as well as a program he created where his high school students teach 4th graders in Middletown. Read more at link below:

http://tiny.cc/FrVBu

LNG Petition

Keep a look out for Stan Dimock and Steve Roth canvasing Bristol over the weekend with a Save the Bay STOP LNG petition. Please take a minute to talk to them about the issues and then sign petition. Save the Bay has already gathered over 1317 signatures. You can sign it online as well. See earlier entry on this blog.

Green Economy writing contest for RI college and grad students

Do you know any college students who have some ideas about sustainability in RI?

This writing contest is sponsored by the RI Economic Development Corp. The winner(s) will participate in the Green Economy Conference to be held in early 2010 and each will win $1000. For details and directions for online submissions go to the link below: Essays to be no more than 1000 words all focused on five outlined energy related topics. Deadline is in one week!

http://tinyurl.com/yz3es9p

Bristol's Snowflake Raffle article on front page of Dec 7-13 PBN

Providence Business News, December 7, 2009

Retailers Seek an Extra Yuletide Boost

Shop owner Susan O’Donnell says Bristol’s retailers desperately needed something that would create a lasting buzz this holiday season, something that would go far beyond the annual Black Friday hoopla.

After all, in an economy that is still sputtering, potential shoppers might need an extra incentive to be convinced to open their wallets.   read more at link below

http://www.pbn.com/detail/46537.html

Request for Citizen Input

This just in from a member of the Charter Review Commission as a reminder to the public. Anyone wishing to provide info for possible Town Charter amendments will be heard at this time.
The Charter Review Commission's meeting at the Old State House on the Common (south side entrance) on Tues., Dec 8 at 7 PM is scheduled specifically for citizen input regarding the Bristol Town Charter. If you have any concerns about the town's government or administration, now is the time to voice it. The Charter is on line at the town website, www.bristolri.us . You can read what the charter presently mandates about your particular concern.

Local book author/illustrator on Today Show

http://our.risd.edu/2009/12/03/risd-illustrator-on-today-show/

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Min

Please sign the LNG petition below

Please sign the Save the Bay petition against a three story LNG terminal planned for Mount Hope Bay and pass the link on to others - especially those living in MA and RI. Here is what it says.

"The Hess LNG terminal proposal for Mount Hope Bay is ill-conceived, unnecessary and wrong for the Bay. It will become a dominant presence from the East Passage of Narragansett Bay to Fall River that is out of balance with the mixed uses we all enjoy today. Year-round LNG tanker traffic will cost jobs as it disrupts our marine and tourism industries. Required dredging will destroy critical habitat in Mount Hope Bay -- habitat that citizens have spent millions of dollars and more than two decades restoring. Check how we're doing; see who has signed."

http://www.savebay.info/Protect_LNG_epetition_home.asp

Learn more critical facts about LNG at

http://www.savebay.org/Page.aspx?pid=1279

As Jonathan Stone states this is simply the wrong location for this facility. It's bad for the environment, and its bad for the people who live here.

AKC Dog Show has moved to Providence

A four day dog show is having their first- ever event in Providence at the RI Convention Center from Thursday, Dec 3 - Sunday, Dec 6. Every breed imaginable will be there. I wonder where the thousands of visiting dogs are all staying? On Sunday, the Best in Show will be announced from 4 - 6 pm. Go and check out all the purebred dogs and find one you like and then go visit your local animal shelter to get a mixed version of it for (almost) free. 

http://www.pbn.com/detail/46483.html

www.baycolonydog show.com

New RI teacher evaluations in place

"By approving these new standards for evaluation systems and the Code of Professional Responsibility, the regents have acted in the best interest of our students,” Deborah Gist (new RI Education Commissioner) said. “I have said many times that the single most important factor in the education of our students is the effectiveness of their teachers. These new standards, which emphasize student achievement and professional growth for all educators, are a big step in our work to transform Rhode Island education.”  Read full (short) article from Providence Business News at link below:

http://www.pbn.com/stories/46530.html

www.ride.ri.gov

Al Gore blog

http://blog.algore.com/2009/11/

New NPR radio station broadcasting in our area

WGBH 89.7 FM. What used to be an all Classical music station has moved today (Dec 1) to 99.5 FM leaving 89.7 FM WGBH open for more programming! This morning in my car I accidentally heard Diane Rehm talking to President Obama's half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng.  The Diane Rehm Show can now be heard as of today in our area from 10 - 11:30 am at 89.7 fm. If you are not familiar with this show you soon will be. She is a fantastic interviewer on a wide range of topics. We in Rhode Island welcome this change! Boston now has two NPR stations...WBUR and the new 89.7FM WGBH. I wonder what WRNI thinks of this change...? Here is the link to the DR show: http://wamu.org/programs/dr/