Herreshoff Wharf Sale

Urban Farming

This makes you look at your driveway or lawn a little differently! Novella Carpenter started small, with some plants in an empty lot next to her house in Oakland, CA. A couple of years later, she was tending to a full-blown farm, with goats, turkeys, ducks, pigs, and a robust garden.
She also wrote a book titled: Farm City. The video is about 8 minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yYO4L2vegE

Portsmouth: Glen Ridge Farm

Portsmouth Town Hall - 7 pm, Thursday April 29, 2010

An important meeting is taking place
about the continued livelihood and existence of an alpaca farm in Portsmouth RI.
The farm is called Glen Ridge Farm. It's on the water and they raise
alpacas and have about 80 at the moment. They have owned the property for about 11 years.

The Portsmouth Planning Board has voted 4/3 to deny approval
of an access emergency road (once a paper road) through the alpaca farm property but there
is an appeal to the zoning board in place that will be
reviewed on Thursday night by neighbor, RI Nurseries person and developer Bruce Vanacek.
If the the road is passed - it will force the farm to close cutting the barn off from the pasture.

This is the story of a small historic farm being threatened by development.
The alpaca farm has CRMC, DEM, the Portsmouth Police and Fire Chief, Ted Clement
from Aquidneck Land Trust, Preserve Portsmouth, Greenvale Vineyards on their side but this
is not enough.

This will be the only subject of this meeting. For further details call the farm and ask for Ann: 401 529 4427.
(This threat has been going on for three years. Lawyers have been hired. The story is multi-layered, complicated and expensive.)

Middletown LNG Forum on Friday April 30

Save the Bay, Newport County Chamber
and the Newport and Bristol County Convention & Visitors Bureau
invite you to a forum titled:
"Our Bay, Our Community and LNG"
on Friday April 30 from 4:30 pm at Middletown Town Hall
with speakers Patrick Lynch, Jonathan Stone and Evan Smith.
http://www.savebay.info/PDFs/LNG_MiddletownMtg_4.30.10.pdf

Alice Waters has a new book

In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters

Decades before it was chic to be a locavore, Alice Waters, co-owner of California's famed Chez Panisse restaurant, was advocating for organic food and sustainable eating. In recent years, Waters has added childhood obesity to her mission, and championed edible gardens, particularly at schools. While critics claim her food philosophies are elitist, chefs such as Jamie Oliver disagree: "She has found a way to get everyone on board and really teaches kids and adults about proper food," Oliver said recently. "And she teaches them to really enjoy and cherish it too. Her books bring her recipes to everyone. There's nothing elitist about that." Waters' latest book, In the Green Kitchen, features recipes and techniques for cooking healthy, affordable meals. Available in Bristol at 'A Novel Idea' Bookstore.

Michael Swanson Historic Preservation Talk in Bristol

FRIENDS OF LINDEN PLACE PRESENTS

DR. MICHAEL R. H. SWANSON

Historic Preservation in Bristol, Rhode Island:
Successful Rescues and Failures

A Lecture in Celebration of Linden Place's Bicentennial

Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Rogers Free Library Herreshoff Room
525 Hope Street, Bristol, RI

Linden Place will continue its bicentennial year celebration with a lecture on historic preservation by long time Bristol resident and Roger Williams University Professor, Dr. Michael R. H. Swanson. Dr. Swanson, or “Mike” as most of us know him, will reflect on America’s love/hate relationship with the historic fabric of its cities and towns resulting in battles between "Old and Revered" buildings and "New and Improved." Sparked by events such as the Historic American Buildings Survey completed during the Great Depression and the United States Bicentennial celebrations in 1976, America’s interest in its own past led to the phenomenal growth of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and to government legislation to protect historic structures. Dr. Swanson plans to talk about this reawakening of interest which led to the creation of the Historic Preservation Program at Roger Williams and to further collaboration in preserving and recording buildings to prove their contribution to the landscapes of towns like Bristol.
Dr. Swanson came to Bristol in 1972 after graduating from Case Western Reserve University with a PhD in American Studies. He was instrumental, along with Horace Knight, Bonnie Warren and Lombard Pozzi, in establishing an Historic Preservation major at Roger Williams, the first undergraduate program of its kind in the United States.
Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information contact Susan Battle at 253 0390/sbattle@lindenplace.org

Save Bristol Harbor water sampling help needed

Save Bristol Harbor will be starting their water sampling efforts in the Harbor for 2010, and volunteers are needed. This effort provides valuable data for their "Predictive Habitat Model," which will enable the Town to see potentially harmful changes to the ecology of Bristol Harbor (for more info on the Model, and to see 2009 results, go to www.savebristolharbor.com, and click on "Harbor Management"). If you are interested in helping or want to learn more about what's required, please contact Keith Maloney at ekm2x@cox.net. A training session for volunteers will be held:

Saturday, May 8th
9-Noon
Bristol Yacht Club
Light lunch will be provided.

Should teachers be trained as if they were doctors

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125854975&ft=1&f=1001

LNG Fire in Western MA

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/92017829.html

RI Foundation job opening

The Rhode Island Foundation currently has an opening for the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO. For more info and a job description go to: http://www.rifoundation.org/AboutUs/PositionAnnouncements/ExecutiveAssistanttothePresidentCEO/tabid/701/Default.aspx

LNG opinion: Kevin Faria

Here is a link to an opinion piece by Bristol resident, Kevin Faria, titled "LNG vs NIMBY: An Incomplete Debate". This is Kevin's response to hearing several debates between HESS LNG and Save the Bay. It was first published on his blog 'Bristol Bullraker'. We welcome your comments.
http://bristolbullraker.wordpress.com/

URI Master Gardener Tips

Below is a link to URI Master Gardener home gardening tips.
http://www.urimga.org/tips.html

Healthy lawns make for a clean Bay

There is a very handy little booklet that Save the Bay has just published titled: "Bay-Friendly Backyards".Three of their listed top yard care tips are as follows:
1. Water your lawn no more than 1 inch per week. Use a rain gauage to keep track. Lawns that turn brown and dry during the summer are only dormant and will green up when it rains. Basically a brown lawn in summer is just a dormant lawn. It is not dead! (and you save water, electricity and money by leaving it alone!)
2. For the healthiest lawn possible set your mower blade to the highest setting.
3. Reduce your fertilizer use, and use organic, slow release fertilizers. (One of the best is home made compost! Go to the Bristol transfer station for free fabulous compost.) At first glance, your yard might be the last place you would look for pollution sources to the Bay. However, manicured landscapes — if improperly managed —can have a harmful effect on the health of salt marshes and water quality. Excess fertilizer and pesticide run off from your yard can flow directly to the Bay. This runoff ends up over-fertilizing the Bay and contributing to those smelly, summertime algal (seaweed) blooms. The algal blooms can lead to fish kills and also make the Bay less enjoyable for swimming.

The good news is that you can help! Whether you live inland or along the coast, by following these Bay-Friendly Yard Care Tips, your backyard can contribute to a healthier Bay.
http://www.savebay.org/Page.aspx?pid=1069

Grow Smart RI Conference Friday May 14

This all day Friday GrowSmart RI conference comes every two years and is a MUST to attend if you are at all interested in the latest news, trends and best practices in sustainable economic and community development especially in Rhode Island. For more info, to see whose speaking and whose attending or to register please click on the following link: (If you register before this Friday you will receive a discounted early bird price.) http://tinyurl.com/2anah3v

Save the Bay vs Hess LNG: TV interview

Save the Bay's advocate Bay Keeper and Biologist, John Torgan and HESS LNG President Gordon Shearer in interview with CH10 TV news host Jim Taricani. Taped for viewing at 6:30 am Sunday April18. Great job John Torgan! http://www2.turnto10.com/jar/news/local/article/pros_cons_of_lng_terminal_discussed_on_10_news_conference/35243/

Bodacious Bee almost sold out

The Kickemuit Education Foundation’s 2nd Annual Bodacious Bee is Friday, April 30 (two weeks from today!) starting at 6pm at Blithewold. Due to strong advance sales, there are only SEVEN TICKETS LEFT! If you want to attend this fabulous event -- and support educational excellence in the Bristol Warren schools while having a great night out -- RUN, don’t walk to Gil’s Television and Appliances in Bristol to get your ticket(s) while they last!

Tickets are $35 each, and include admission to the Bee and a light supper. Cash Bar, Computer Raffle and Silent Auction at the event (along with spectacular spelling entertainment at this fun and friendly adult competition).

Hope to see you there!

If I had a hammer

For all you aging hippies and beatniks out there - come sing the songs of the 1960's that you know by heart. This is a popular event so come early to get a seat. All proceeds go to the RI Community Food Bank.

The Hootenanny: Back Again by Popular Demand!

May 2, 2:30 to 4:30 at Coffee Depot in Warren RI

East Bay folk-song balladeer Barry Brown is inviting all who attended the original March event to come back again for another sing-out of America’s favorite folk-songs. Those who couldn’t fit inside last time are invited to come back early. It’s a second revival of the mythic ‘1960s’ folk genre at Warren RI’s Coffee Depot, 50 Main St. More than 100 filled The Depot to capacity at the original revival on March 14. The next one takes place on Sunday, May 2, from 2:30 to 4:30. Donations will be dedicated to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
“So many sang out lustily from the song-sheets we provided, or from memory, on folk-songs from the Great American Folk-Song Book that they asked that we do it again,” said Brown. Song-sheets of the lyrics will again be handed out to the crowd, and Brown’s guitar will supply the backing. He will also sing solos.
Brown, a musician and guitar teacher for 45 years, will lead the “singing community” at the coffee house – young and old - in familiar sing-out tunes. The songs will include traditional American folk-songs, and original tunes composed in the 1960s and performed by such legends as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash, and Peter, Paul and Mary. For further info call 254-2291.

Elementary School Overcrowding meeting

There will be a meeting on April 15 at 7pm at the Mount Hope High School Cafeteria concerning potential overcrowding of elementary schools in Bristol.
http://sos.ri.gov/documents/publicinfo/omdocs/notices/3879/2010/88966.pdf

RI Foundation Charitable Giving Talk

Maximize your charitable giving.

RI Foundation Officer To Speak at Land Trust Meeting

Ms. Zeldy Lyman, a Rhode Island Foundation Donor Services Officer, will speak next Wednesday evening, April 21, at 7 PM in the Herreshoff Community Room at the Rogers Free Library. This event is sponsored by the Bristol Land Conservation Trust and the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society. Zeldy’s talk, entitled “How To Maximize Your Charitable Giving” will address numerous ways to make a charitable gift and support a nonprofit organization. Zeldy’s background spans more than 25 years with experience in financial services marketing, client services and investment management. She joined the Foundation in 2006 from A.G. Edwards in Providence. The Bristol Land Conservation Trust preserves open space in its natural state and supplements Bristol’s own open space preservation program. The meeting is open to the public and new members are welcome. For more information, please contact Ray Payson at 253-0247.

New FEMA disaster center in Bristol

Over the weekend, FEMA established new disaster recovery centers at the new Bristol Fire Department at 4 Annawamscutt Drive and the Middletown Police Station at 123 Valley Road. The centers provide information to homeowners and business owners affected by last month’s flooding. http://www.pbn.com/stories/49147.html