Friday, October 28, 2011

Community String Project moves to new Byfield Arts Building!



The COMMUNITY STRING PROJECT is a non-profit organization with the mission of providing affordable and accessible string lessons in the East Bay through an innovative music education program. CSP currently instructs more than 100 students, both adults and children, with 30% of students meeting the criteria for subsidized instruction. Learn more about CSP at www.communitystringproject.org.

Dolphins in Narragansett Bay!

This just in from Stan Dimock. (Does this mean the Bay is cleaner?):
"We had a very exciting morning at the Save the Bay Center today (10.27.11) when a pod of dolphins appeared right in front of our building. We took the skiff out for a closer look – photos attached. Enjoy!

Stan Dimock
Save the Bay
Operations Assistant"

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Happy Halloween!



Drawings by Juana Medina.

Sunday, October 30 is Bristol's 8th annual Halloween Walk About

Hey Kids! Take your parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles, and favorite goblins to the
8th Annual Downtown HALLOWEEN WALKABOUT on Sunday afternoon (Oct 30) from 1 - 3pm in Downtown Bristol. Sponsored by DBMA Bristol Merchants.

Keep your costume on and run over to The Barn at Mount Hope Farm for Cookies and Punch, more Halloween Games, Art Projects and Festivities beginning at 3:30pm running to 5pm. This is for ages 3 - 10!
.

Linden Place Guitarist Sunday, November 13


FRIENDS OF LINDEN PLACE
500 HOPE STREET  P.O. BOX 328  BRISTOL  RHODE ISLAND  02809
401-253-0390 TEL  401-253-4106 FAX  LINDENPLACE.ORG

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: SUSAN BATTLE
253-0390 or email sbattle@lindenplace.org

Internationally Acclaimed Classical Guitarist Giovanni DeChiaro to Perform at Linden Place Mansion

Guitarist DeChiaro to present intimate performance in the Linden Place Mansion on Sunday, November 13th at 3:00 PM.

Giovanni DeChiaro has performed seven recitals at Carnegie Hall and recorded four globally televised programs for Eternal Word Television Network and two nationally televised special programs for the PBS network, both of which received Gold Awards and top honors at film festivals.

At concerts in North and South America, Canada, and Europe, DeChiaro has performed for many notable individuals, including Pope John Paul II, Bill and Hillary Clinton, the King of Spain. He has made several recordings, including his own transcriptions of the complete works of Scott Joplin.

Admission is $15.00, $10.00 for members of Linden Place, free for Colt Circle members.
Seating is limited and reservations are requested. For tickets and information, contact the Linden Place office at 401-253-0390. A wine reception to greet the artist will follow the performance.

Providence Performing Arts Center :: Momix: Botanica


Providence Performing Arts Center :: Momix: Botanica

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

RI General Assembly Retirement Security Legislation


Rally to Save Rhode Island!

Last week, Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Governor Lincoln Chafee introduced the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act (RIRSA) of 2011. This legislation needs your help in getting it passed through the Rhode Island General Assembly. Here are ways to support the cause:

1) Attend the Rally to Save Rhode Island this Wednesday, October 26th 4:00PM at the Statehouse Rotunda. We must take this opportunity to show overwhelming support to legislative leaders for this crucial cause.

2) Contact your legislators via the website www.engageri.org Please note: you need to input your FULL address in order for it to produce your legislators. Details:EngageRI at 278-4437 or email at info@engageri.org

3) You can write directly to the general assembly through their newly created website.
(Link is below) The comment section is short, simple and very easy to use. Comments will go directly into the public record.
General Assembly website is: http://pensionreformri.com/contact-form/index.php
or http://www.pensionreformri.com/

Education Event at Barrington High School Wednesday night

“Where do we go from here — Raising the bar for public school education.” http://tinyurl.com/3nn9a92

Will Dropouts Save America?


‎"If start-up activity is the true engine of job creation in America, one thing is clear: our current educational system is acting as the brakes. Simply put, from kindergarten through undergraduate and grad school, you learn very few skills or attitudes that would ever help you start a business. Skills like sales, networking, creativity and comfort with failure."

"AFTER all, there is not one job market in America, but two. The formal market we always hear about — jobs that get filled through cold résumé submissions in reply to posted ads — accounts for only about 20 percent of jobs.

The other 80 percent get filled in the informal job market. Any employer knows how the informal job market works: you need a position filled, so you ask your friends, colleagues and current employees if they know anyone who would do a good job.

In this informal job market, the academic requirements listed in job ads tend to be highly negotiable, and far less important than real-world results and the enthusiasm of the personal referral.

Classroom skills may put you at an advantage in the formal market, but in the informal market, street-smart skills and real-world networking are infinitely more important.

Yet our children grow up amid an echo chamber of voices telling them to get good grades, do well on their SATs, and spend an average of $45,000 on tuition — after accounting for scholarships — while taking on $23,000 in debt to get a private four-year college education.

It’s time that we as a nation accepted a basic — and seldom-mentioned — fact. You don’t need a degree (and certainly not an M.B.A.) to start a business and create jobs, nor is it even that helpful, compared with cheaper, faster alternatives." Thank you Kirsten DiChiappari for bring this article to our attention. Full NY Times article October 22, 2011 by Michael Ellsberg here:
http://tinyurl.com/3zh3cm4

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Save the Bay Art Show Thursday, November 17


Save the Bay is having their ART SHOW on Thursday, November 17 from 5:30 - 8pm. $25 includes drinks and delicious hors d'oeuvres. Details? Call 401 272 3540 x140

RWU offers advanced degree in Art History

Roger Williams University offers a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts/Master of Arts 4+1 Degree Program and a Master of Arts in Art and Architectural History.

NEW beginning fall 2011, the Master of Arts in Art and Architectural History can be completed in one or two years (12 courses/36 credits and 1 internship), depending on the undergraduate degree of the entering students. The degree can be completed in one year by students holding an undergraduate degree in art history or historic preservation or in two years by those who have completed an undergraduate degree in another field.

The program includes a flexible schedule with evening courses and many travel courses offered for credit or audit. Those interested may begin by auditing two courses. For more information contact Professor Rebecca Leuchak, Art and Architectural History Program Coordinator in the School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation at 401.254.3011 or email her at rleuchak@rwu.edu
Photo above: Students discuss a work of art at MOMA in New York City.

Herreshoff offering Free Admission to Bristol residents over Thanksgiving Weekend

Bristol Residents Weekend is November 26th and 27th. The Museum will be offering free admission to all Bristol residents. The weekends festivities will include guided tours and a 10% discount in the Museum gift shop. This is a must-do for any local family, yachting enthusiast, or historian. Come by and share your pride for our beautiful town and its amazing history.
Photograph: A new/old Herreshoff H-20 built on Burnside Street in 2010-2011 by Dan Shea, Brad Gove and Halsey Herreshoff, created from an original Captain Nat wooden model. Photo shows them on their maiden sail on Intent in September 2011 in front of "Love Rocks" (Captain Nat's home and studio).

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fresh Ideas from new RWU President, Donald Farish

The excerpts below are from Monday October 17, 2011 article in Providence Business News by Denise Perreault:

•"In BRISTOL, Dr. Farish is working with town officials on several projects, including conversion of the former Wally School into an arts center and preservation of an historic building at Colt State Park."

And this on the BUSINESS School:
•"I just met [recently] with the dean of the School of Business, Jerry Dauterive, and said, “I really would like you to take a run at developing a program on entrepreneurship.”

We have someone that I’ve met who may be a prospective donor for such a program, to help get it off the ground. That’s something I helped oversee [at Rowan] that was very successful and it would be here as well.


• I’ve asked the dean also to take a long, hard look at an MBA program because the idea of combining a law school degree with an MBA is a very attractive educational package and I think we could pull that off quite nicely. … It is very likely we could have an MBA program probably two years from now. … We are doing a needs assessment.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Reminder: Warren Walkabout is Sunday Oct 23, Noon -5 pm


Don't miss a chance to ride a DRAGON at Frerich's Farm!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Local Food and Farm Forum October 26

Local Food and Farming Community Forum
WHEN Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 6 – 9pm
WHERE CCRI, One John H. Chafee Blvd., Newport, RI
EVENT TYPE What Grows On in RI! www.whatgrowsonri.com
TOWN/CITY (RI) Newport
CATEGORIES Farming, Food
ORGANIZED BY Aquidneck Land Trust, AYERSfoundation, A Market, and Keenwah Eatery
GROUP HOMEPAGE www.ailt.org
INTENDED AUDIENCE General
CALENDAR BY www.whatgrowsonri.com
NOTE
local food growers, producers, advocates and supporters of local food and farming will gather at CCRI - Newport campus auditorium for the first annual Food & Farming Community Forum, sponsored by A Market and Keenwah Eatery.
The Forum will focus on the importance of an abundant local food harvest to the economic well-being and health of Aquidneck Island and to the state as a whole. "This is an opportunity for our community to come together to discuss the most vital issues around local food, and how supporting local food helps our economy," says Kyle Hence, forum organizer, "and we are honored to have a great group of panelists joining us."

Participating panelists include Ken Ayars, Chief of Agriculture at the Rhode Island DEM, Ted Clement, head of the Aquidneck Land Trust

Inauguration of Donald Farish: New RWU President

Last week there were many events tied to the inauguration of Dr. Donald Farish - the new RWU President. (We are actually getting a'two fer' with his wife Maia who is very active on campus as well as in the community!) One of the things that interest me about Dr. Farish's approach to RWU and the community is his desire to ramp up 'continuing education' and online learning in all its aspects. "Given the unemployment crisis facing America, the university must find new ways to prepare “adult learners” — those other than the typical 18- to 22-year-old undergraduate served at Roger Williams University — to find new niches in the workforce and to continue their education." Right now RWU offers online degrees in Criminal Justice and Public Administration. As Dr. Farish puts it, "Getting a BA Degree is no longer a vaccine against ignorance. Booster shots are needed to stay up to date." Because RWU has niche majors in construction management, criminal justice, architecture, law, business and engineering - the CE certification programs, if they ever happen, might be in these related fields - but not exclusively. If you think continuing education is a good idea for RWU, I suggest you email or call the president's office and let them know. Dr. Farish will need your support in persuading the administration and faculty of same. I don't have his email but try dfarish@rwu.edu
Here is a link to a short interview with Dr. Farish by Elizabeth Harrison from WRNI radio on October 13, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3pmgy4g
PS: This from a recent article in Providence Business News:
"In BRISTOL, he is working with town officials on several projects, including conversion of the former Wally School into an arts center and preservation of an historic building at Colt State Park."
And this excerpt from PBN on the BUSINESS School.
"I just met [recently] with the dean of the School of Business, Jerry Dauterive, and said, “I really would like you to take a run at developing a program on entrepreneurship.”

We have someone that I’ve met who may be a prospective donor for such a program, to help get it off the ground. That’s something I helped oversee [at Rowan] that was very successful and it would be here as well.

I’ve asked the dean also to take a long, hard look at an MBA program because the idea of combining a law school degree with an MBA is a very attractive educational package and I think we could pull that off quite nicely. … It is very likely we could have an MBA program probably two years from now. … We are doing a needs assessment.

NEW WRNI signal problems in the East Bay


Are you having trouble hearing the new WRNI NPR radio signal at 88.1?
So is everyone else in the East Bay! Until they figure out how to fix it, please know that you can find it at 102.7 FM on your dial as well!
www.wrni.org
news@wrni.org

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Elise Arsenault to teach youth acting classes at Reynolds School



The Bristol Department of Parks & Recreation is offering an eight-week Young Actors Workshop for children ages 8-13, beginning October 22nd. This workshop will be directed by Elise Arsenault, a versatile performer and teaching artist (Washington National Opera Outreach, Missoula Children’s Theatre, 2nd Story Theatre). The workshop will be held at the Reynolds School on High Street on Saturday mornings from 8:30am – 10:30am. The cost for the eight-week program is $75. Please call the Bristol Department of Parks & Recreation at 253-1611 to register. For more information, send emails to elise.arsenault@gmail.com. For more info on Elise please go to her website. She is the daughter Denise and Bob Arsenault of Bristol.
http://elisearsenault.com/default.aspx

Friday, October 14, 2011

Burano, Italy

Recent photograph by Michael Gerhardt.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Save the Date: Bristol's Holiday Preview


Friday, November 18 from 5 – 9 pm


Blackberrys finally back up and running. Maybe its time for that new iPhone 4S

BlackBerry Service Is Back Up

After four days of service interruptions, Research in Motion says it has fixed its technical issues. The delay in emails and messages began Monday and outraged BlackBerry users across five continents. Executives at RIM haven't been able to explain the outage, and frustrated customers took to forums and Twitter, swearing to switch smartphones. It's bad timing for RIM, as the new iPhone 4S will be released tomorrow and is already raking in rave reviews.

Sundays at Mount Hope Farm


Education Forum in Barrington, October 26 at 7pm



Or call: 401 245 5000

AMORITA Boat Restoration Lecture Dec 1 at Herreshoff


SAVE the DATE

Herreshoff Marine Museum and Points East Publishing  begin their off season lecture series
on Thursday evening, December 1 at 7pm featuring  Bill Doyle and Jed Pearsall discussing their restoration of AMORITA. (I think this is the NY 30 that sank off of Jamestown after a collision a few years ago.)

Verizon 4G: Bristol not on the list!

4G Verizon coverage is coming to RI on November 17 but not to the East Bay. East PVD and PVD are the closest!

http://www.pbn.com/Verizon-brings-4G-to-Greater-Providence,61816

Promet Marine in PVD sold to metal exporter recycler

Promet will continue ship repair but on a much smaller scale. The site includes more than nine acres, a 600-foot pier with rail service and two deep-water berths. It is owned and operated by two brothers, Joel and David Cohen, 76 and 73.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

East Bay Sailing Foundation Sailing School!


Below is a link to a wonderful article about the East Bay Sailing Foundation Adult Sailing Classes held out of the Bristol Yacht Club during the summer, directed by Jim Dollins. It's a terrific program with very qualified instructors and is highly recommended!  (I've been a student for the past two summers!)

Bristol Economic Development Forum on Thursday at 7pm at Bristol Statehouse


Click on image once to enlarge.

Tonight at RWU! President’s Distinguished Lecture – Ambassador Andrew Young

President’s Distinguished Lecture – Ambassador Andrew Young

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

V*!amYEg5M5!3R Hacked!

This article will make you think a little harder about your G Mail account, the strength of your password(s) and your "in cloud" security. Article by James Fallows about the hacking of his wife's G mail account.

Hacked! - The Atlantic

Monday, October 10, 2011

New Mobile Vet in Bristol/Warren area


Jennifer Trachtman, veterinarian, has started a new mobile vet service
called Bayside Mobile Vet Care. She will come to your home!
401 310 0346
Her email is: 

Warren Walkabout is Sunday October 23



Warren Walkabout is Sunday October 23 from noon to 5pm 
www.discoverwarren.com 

See the open artist studios, enjoy sidewalk sales, taste samplings of Warren's finest cuisine! 

Most things are within a short walk but there is a free trolley courtesy of Columbus Credit Union as well as a dragon ride to Frerich's Farm to see the pumpkin patch!

*Food Samplings at restaurants around town
*Sidewalk Sales
*Self-Guided Walking Tour
*Live Artisan Demonstrations
*Live Music
*Free Trolley Rides courtesy of Columbus Credit Union

www.discoverwarren.com
 

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Reminder: Business & Education Forum Thursday

Reminder: BUSINESS & EDUCATION Forum THursday October 13 at 7pm

The Bristol Economic Development Commission is hosting its second annual public forum. This years event is entitled "Business and Education: Collaborating on 21st Century Workforce Needs" and will be held on October 13, 2011, 7:00 PM at the Old State House, High St., Bristol, RI.
http://www.eastbayri.com/news/2011/oct/07/economic-development-group-hosts-forum-education/

October 10: Roger Williams to Offer Special Screening of Celebrated Film 'One Water'


Roger Williams to Offer Special Screening of Celebrated Film 'One Water'

Friday, October 7, 2011

Last full Waterfire tomorrow night


FOOD: Can't stop thinking about it!

http://youtu.be/nGeKSiCQkPw

Steve Jobs - Dead at 56


Photo above: Steve Jobs and his wife around 2006.
Top photo: In his office in 2008.

From a graduation speech he gave at Stanford University in 2005.
Knowing you are going to die is the reality trump card for all of us...
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

From David Pogue, NYT: "Mr. Jobs didn’t buy into focus groups, groupthink or decision by committee. At its core, Apple existed to execute the visions in his brain. He oversaw every button, every corner, every chime. He lost sleep over the fonts in the menus, the cardboard of the packaging, the color of the power cord."

To the Editor:

Steven P. Jobs leveraged technology to improve and transform the way in which we work and play. He made business sexy.

His contributions to the human condition are inestimable. I’m of the generation that grew up with black-and-white television, transistor radios, manual typewriters and rotary phones. I can truly appreciate how his extraordinary vision has enriched my life.

BARRY K. HERMAN
Radnor, Pa., Oct. 6, 2011

Note: PB Blogger is from this generation as well!

From an October 7, 2011 NY Times article by James Stewart:
“He was really unique, brilliant, demanding and difficult,” Mr. Norman said. “Like him or not, it doesn’t matter; he redefined the music industry, the cellphone industry, computers and animation. You cannot deny the impact he had on the company, the industry and our culture.”

Steve Jobs obits NY Times October 5, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/business/steve-jobs-of-apple-dies-at-56.html

Business & Education Forum Thursday Oct 13

Business and Education Forum this Thursday
The Bristol Economic Development Commission is hosting its second annual public forum. This years event is entitled "Business and Education: Collaborating on 21st Century Workforce Needs" and will be held on October 13, 2011, 7:00 PM at the Old State House, High St., Bristol, RI.
http://www.eastbayri.com/news/2011/oct/07/economic-development-group-hosts-forum-education/

Gay Bashing?


Thank you Susan Remieres Donovan for this photo!

Yogawoman at Jane Pickens October 17 at 7pm

Through rich personal stories, YOGAWOMAN reveals how yoga has utterly transformed the lives of thousands of over-stimulated, overscheduled, and multitasking modern women. From the buzzing streets of Manhattan to the dusty slums of Kenya, from the golden beaches of Australia to the serene piazzas of Italy, the film follows the heart-rending stories of women who have found a lifeline through this magical and mystical practice.

Bristol Yoga Studio may show this movie in Bristol! If so, details to follow.

October 10: Blithewold Sale!

End-of-Season Tag Sale is on Monday the 10th from 11am-3pm! We've got to clear out the Shop Store Room to make way for Christmas goodies. Take advantage of the good prices and find some lovely gifts for friends, family and maybe one for you too! This rain or shine event will take place in Blithewold's historic Carriage House. These items will be priced to move, so park nearby for easy loading!!