RE:Zoning Providence, March 4

RE:Zoning Providence

A discussion of the key changes proposed in the draft of the new City of Providence Zoning Ordinance.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Joseph A. Doorley Municipal Building, 444 Westminster Street, First Floor Cafeteria

PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA:

• Project overview by the City of Providence Department of Planning & Development followed by a presentation by the consultant team outlining the key changes proposed in the draft of the new City of Providence Zoning Ordinance
• Question & Answer period
• Open House – Department of Planning & Development staff and the consultant team will be available to talk with you about your issues and concerns.

Re:Zoning Providence will help us better preserve, strengthen, and protect the historic pattern of development that is central to the character of our City, as well as to revitalize and further develop the areas of our City that can accommodate additional economic growth.

For more information, please visit the project website atwww.rezoningprovidence.com, or contact:

Martina Haggerty at mhaggerty AT providenceri.com or 401.680.8528

March is Women's History Month

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society.

http://womenshistorymonth.gov/

http://www.nwhp.org/

" A Place a the Table"

The national League of Women Voters is studying agiculture. Members interested in agriculture would find  the movie, " A Place a the Table" informative. The movie discusses poor nutrition, "food deserts," and hunger in America. The site: Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp Street, Providence.

The showing is sponsored by the South Side Community Land Trust, as well as three local restaurants. To see Bob Kerr's Sunday Providence Journal column on the movie, http://www.providencejournal.com/writers/bob-kerr/20140222-bob-kerr-in-our-land-of-plenty-millions-are-going-hungry.ece.

League Day at the State House

LWVRI Annual League Day at the State House

Wednesday, March 26, 2014   3:30 - 6:30 P.M.

 

Guest speakers:  Central Falls Mayor James A. Diossa and Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt.

 

See The Voter for details.

Join us for 'A Constitutional Convention for Rhode Island?'

On behalf of the staff and faculty at the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, the Roger Williams University School of Law, Common Cause Rhode Island, and the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island, we formally invite you to participate in our program that will be held at Bryant University on Saturday, March 29th from 9:00 to 1:00.  This event is free and open to the public.  We ask you to register here.

The program will focus on the upcoming vote to authorize a constitutional convention, and if passed, the selection of delegates, and the mechanics of a convention and subsequent referenda.  National experts will discuss the design and legal status of state constitutions, and focus on the process of state constitutional reform across the states.  Another group will discuss whether Rhode Island should have a constitutional convention and, if so, what areas of the Rhode Island constitution may be in need of amendment.

Symposium Leader- Professor Diana Hassel, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Roger Williams University School of Law

For further details please contact the Hassenfeld institute at hipl@bryant.edu or call (401)232-6193. Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 9th.

Registration
Schedule

2014 RI Women in Agriculture Conference

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM (Eastern Time)

CBLS, URI Main Campus
120 Flagg Rd.
Kingston, Rhode Island 02881
United States
Map and Directions

 

Please ​join ​us ​for ​the ​3rd ​RI ​Women ​in ​Agriculture ​ Conference. ​You'll ​hear ​from ​leaders ​in ​RI ​agriculture ​and ​be ​ inspired ​by ​your ​peers. ​Trade ​show ​will ​provide ​information ​ from ​ag ​non-profit ​organizations ​and ​ag-related ​vendors. ​ Complete ​agenda ​will ​be ​available ​soon.

Are ​you ​a ​beginning ​farmer? ​If ​you ​are ​a ​beginning ​farmer  ​and ​would ​like ​to ​attend ​the ​conference ​for ​free, ​please ​ email youngfarmernight@gmail.com ​with ​your ​name, ​contact ​ information, ​and ​1-2 ​sentences ​about ​why ​you ​would ​like ​to ​ attend ​the ​Women ​in ​Agriculture ​conference.

 

Women in Agriculture Conference link

A helpful article on education funding formulas‏

The Education Commission of the States helps policymakers develop effective policy and practice for public education by providing data, research, analysis, and leadership; and by facilitating collaboration, the exchange of ideas among the states, and long-range strategic thinking.

Understanding State School Funding: The first step toward quality reforms

Save the Date - Forum: Preserving Farm Land

Forum: Preserving Farm Land
March 12, 6 pm
Speaker: Chuck Allot, Executive Director, Aquidneck Land Trust

Location to be determined

Agriculture Study

Agriculture Meeting:
Friday, February 21, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Portsmouth Public Library, 2658 East Main Rd. Portsmouth, RI

All are  welcome.  Please contact Susan Wells with questions:  swells229@yahoo.com or 378-7595

Study Proposal - LWVUS Planning

The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts will recommend, as its input to the national program planning process, that LWVUS review and update its existing position on Campaign Finance given how decisions made by the Supreme Court over the last 40 years have impacted campaign financing at all levels of electoral politics.

In your own League's program planning, we ask that you consider making this recommendation as well. The program planning response form must be submitted to LWVUS by March 1.

Full Proposal

LWVRI Advocacy 2014

Advocacy committee volunteers chose the following priorities for the 2014 legislative session.

• Open and accountable government: access to public records, open meetings, restoration of ethics committee jurisdiction over legislature. 
• Voting procedures and policies: early voting, voter id, removing master lever, improved voting machines
• Good government: merit selection of judges, redistricting, reporting prisoners’ addresses correctly
• Women’s health: reproductive rights, gender rating, child care
• Civil liberties: protecting privacy
• Public safety: gun control and gun safety
• Environment: clean air and water, sustainability, food safety, land use                  
• Education: equitable and sufficient public funding

Bills to watch

For more information, contact Derry Riding, Advocacy Chair at 209-5091 or Susan Escherich at 433-4896.

I-Team: Most city workers on disability never rechecked

PROVIDENCE -
An NBC 10 I-Team investigation reveals only a handful of independent medical exams are ordered for Providence city workers collecting tax-free disability checks, even though a city ordinance allows the city to order the exams each year to re-certify those on disability.

A review of city records shows that 134 police officers, 228 firefighters and 86 other city workers are collecting a tax-free disability pension, costing city taxpayers $22,011,406 per year.

Full Story

2014 State of the City Address

“Providence Conversation” with Water Board

“Providence Conversation” with Water Board Sr. Director of Administration, Jeanne Bondarevskis, and Chair, Xay  Khamsyvoravong , January 30, 2014

Summary
Reducing Exposure to Lead

Target 12: City Council members chronically absent

A Target 12 review of three years of attendance records from the full Providence City Council and its eight subcommittees shows a pattern of chronic absenteeism among several council members, including some who missed 62%, 85% and even 100% of the meetings scheduled by their committees.

http://wpri.com/2014/02/03/target-12-city-council-members-chronically-absent-feb14/

The Internal Auditor's Report on Tax Stabilization Agreements

ANALYSIS OF TAX STABILIZATION AGREEMENTS IN PROVIDENCE

Presented to: Special Committee on Ways & Means
Matthew M. Clarkin, Jr., Internal Auditor
January 30, 2014

http://www.providenceri.com/efile/5310