Citizenship Clinic June 4- Volunteers Needed

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE ....INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE......

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE

 CITIZENSHIP CLINIC

At the Lippitt House Museum Conversation, Kathy Cloutier from International Institute announced a forthcoming CITIZENSHIP CLINIC. Please volunteer. (PDF attached)

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
For Saturday, June 4, 2016

Volunteers needed to help potential new U.S. citizens
complete forms and apply for fee waivers.
Requirements:
 Complete pre– volunteer paperwork (contact volunteers@diiri.org or 401-794-8697 for details)
 Volunteer training on May 23 at 5—6:30 pm with Dorcas International Institute staff attorney, Carl Krueger.

Commitment:
Saturday, June 4, 9 am—4 pm @ 645 Elmwood Avenue
Breakfast and lunch provided. Morning and afternoon shift. Free parking available.

WPRI: 12 ways Providence could solve its money problems?

Is there anything really new?

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Providence should consider implementing new taxes, selling assets and closing fire stations as part of its effort to reduce a projected structural deficit that could balloon to $37 million over the next decade, according to a study released Monday by the Elorza administration.

The study, conducted by the National Resources Network (NRN), offers dozens of possible solutions for solving the city’s budgetary challenges, but administration officials have been mum on which options they’ll choose. The mayor is expected to unveil his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 Wednesday night.
The 12 suggestions

Rhode Island Voter Information Center - Presidential Primary 4/26

Not all polling places will be open for the Presidential Primary.

Rhode Island Voter Information Center

Find out who your elected officials are, check your voter registration, locate your local board of canvassers, view sample ballots for upcoming elections and find out where your polling place is. There are two search options.

Your name, date of birth and zip code or city/town of residence are required to view your personal voter registration record. All other data is available by using the general search option and entering just a street address and zip code or city/town.

Earth Day at Blackstone Park‏

 This Saturday the Blackstone Parks Conservancy and the Partnership for Providence Parks will host and Earth Day clean-up along the Seekonk shore. The clean-up will begin at 10 AM and go to noon.

 See us at our tent at the foot of Angell Street for clean-up supplies and refreshments. As an added attraction, boats will be racing on the Seekonk: first Brown and Dartmouth will face off and then there will be a scholastic regatta.

 Come, enjoy the day, and clean the environment!

And remember that parking will be difficult because of the boat racing!

Money in Politics

April 19
Money in Politics

Lippitt House Museum, 199 Hope Street, Providence
Doors 6:30 PM | Discussion 7:00 PM
Refreshments and time for informal conversation

During big election years the impact of money on our political process is clear. What role do PACs and other big donors play in the electoral process? How will current campaign finance reform efforts make a difference?

Richard Arenberg, Visiting Lecturer in Political Science, International & Public Affairs, Brown University
Stephen Erickson, Commissioner, Rhode Island Board of Elections

Program support courtesy League of Women Voters RI Education Fund.

The League of Women Voters US has announced its new position on Money in Politics.

WPRI: RI charter public school applications reach a record high

By Diana Pinzon
Published: April 13, 2016, 6:25 pm  Updated: April 14, 2016, 10:53 am

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Applications to Rhode Island’s charter public schools have reached a record high.

The state Department of Education says it received more than 14,628 applications for the 1,609 open seats that will be available for the 2016-2017 school year.

That translates to more than nine applications for every available seat, and marks an 8% increase over last year.

Rhode Island has fifteen independent and three district charter schools.

The state adopted a law that enabled charter schools in 1995, the first one opened two years later.

WPRI: Secret separation agreements used in teacher termination cases

By Tim White
Published: April 12, 2016, 5:45 pm  Updated: April 12, 2016, 8:25 pm

Voluntary separations are when administrators and a teacher agree to end employment and can avoid costly and lengthy termination hearings before the school board, the Rhode Island Department of Education and sometimes superior court. Teacher terminations have been known to drag on for years.

But the separation deals also come with non-disclosures agreements where a school district is prohibited from revealing any information about the former employee except the dates in which they worked there and the position they held.

Full Story

WPRI: Fired in 2006, teacher reappears on city payroll 9 years later

By Tim White
 Published: April 11, 2016, 5:30 pm  |  Updated: April 12, 2016, 11:00 am

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A Providence high school teacher who was terminated in 2006 was on the city’s payroll last year after a settlement agreement that impacts every school district in the state.

The case of Mount Pleasant High School math teacher Bernard McCrink spanned nearly nine years, culminating in a $71,944 payment in 2015.

The money was paid to McCrink after a Superior Court decision that ruled Providence had missed a March 1 deadline to notify him he was being terminated. The district made the move in September 2006, so the ruling meant the district had to pay him for the entire rest of that year.
Charles Ruggerio, a deputy city solicitor for Providence, said the March 1 deadline is an “impossible” one to satisfy...

In 2014, the General Assembly changed the law to allow the notification date for financial-related layoffs to be pushed back to June 1, but kept the just-cause March deadline intact.

Full Story

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook

The 2016 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook was released on Monday, April 11, 2016

The 2016 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook was released on Monday, April 11, 2016
Founded in 1994, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT is an outgrowth and expansion of the Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Project, initiated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Rhode Island Foundation.

The Factbook provides a statistical portrait of the status of Rhode Island's children and families, incorporating the best available research and data. Information is presented for the state of Rhode Island, each city and town, and an aggregate of the four core cities (cities in which more than 25% of the children live in poverty).

For more information about KIDS COUNT and the Factbook

PVD's finances & its impact on the City's budget

From Councilman Sam Zurier's 4/10/16 Ward Letter

Last year, the administration engaged a consultant (National Resource Network) to review the City’s finances and to recommend options to address its structural challenges.  Last week, the administration released a preliminary report with budget projections and “benchmark” comparisons with peer communities.  The report identifies four major “drivers” of increased costs – pensions and retiree benefits (“OPEB”), health care other benefit costs, slower revenue growth and excessive staffing or “carrying costs.”  The report compares Providence’s expense in these areas with other communities (primarily other Massachusetts and Connecticut cities of similar size), and notes how Providence is in a relatively weak position compared to its peers.  The report also notes the City’s loss of State aid since 2007, its greater education costs and its extensive backlog of deferred infrastructure maintenance.

Voting: A Local Perspective

Lippitt House Museum, 199 Hope Street, Providence
Doors 6:30 PM | Discussion 7:00 PM
Refreshments and time for informal conversation

“Voting: A Local Perspective” is the topic of The Lippitt House Museum's second Community Discussion Series. Held  in partnership with the LWV Providence.

Only a small number of eligible citizens actually vote in our elections. What are barriers to voter participation? What impact does voter ID have on voter turn-out? Are there changes that could improve voter turnout?

Nellie Gorbea RI Secretary of State
Wendy Schiller, Professor of Political Science, International & Public Affairs, Brown University

Program support courtesy League of Women Voters RI Education Fund

SPRING YARD DEBRIS PICKUP BEGINS THE WEEK OF APRIL 18TH

 Spring yard waste pick up services will begin on the week of April
 18th, 2016 and continue through the second week of
 December.

 Pick up will be on the normal trash
 and recycling pickup day.

 Residents are instructed to place
 yard debris in paper bags and/or open barrel containers (no
 larger than 33 gallon containers) labeled "Yard Debris".

 Stickers for the barrels are available for residents to pick up at the
 Department of Public Works, at 700 Allens Ave, free of
 charge. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday,
 8:30am-4:00pm.

 If residents have any questions, call (401) 680-7522 or (401) 467-7950
 during normal working hours.

Study: RI facing a major shortage of housing

By Ted Nesi
WPRI
 Published: April 6, 2016, 12:01 am  |  Updated: April 6, 2016, 12:01 am

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Rhode Island would need to add as many as 40,000 new housing units over the next decade to keep up with the state’s changing demographics, but the state is currently on course to fall far short of that amount, according to a new study released Wednesday.

The study, conducted by Roger Williams University’s HousingWorks RI, said projected growth in the number of Rhode Islanders in two groups – Millennials and seniors – will drive demand, particularly for multifamily homes. But Rhode Island has seen a sharp drop in residents ages 45 to 64 since the Great Recession.

Full story

RIPEC Reports

RIPEC is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan public policy research and education organization dedicated to the advancement of effective, efficient and equitable government in Rhode Island.

Latest Publications
RIPEC Releases 2016 Education Results Report
RIPEC Analysis: Truck Tolling Proposal and the RhodeWorks Infrastructure Improvement Program
How Rhode Island Expenditures Compare - 2015 Edition
For more RIPEC reports

GoLocalProv: The Teppco “Tax-Jack” and 10 Waterfront Acres

Monday, April 04, 2016
Guest MINDSETTER™ Tony Santos

A Rhode Island business folding or relocating operations to business friendly territory is unfortunately as commonplace as a rush hour fender bender.  On the surface the recent closing of the Teppco Propane facility leaving 36 souls unemployed appears to be another casualty of a hostile business climate, however the timing and circumstances that led Teppco GP Inc. to close their doors leaves a number of loose threads and unanswered questions to write this off as a $1 Million “Tax-Jack” of a single business.  The Teppco Propane facility sits on a waterfront tract of land near 10 acres at 25 Fields Point Dr. where they’ve operated in energy/propane distribution since 1971.  As reported by GoLocalProv, in July 2015 Teppco found themselves on the wrong side of a $1 Million tax increase, 400% over the previous year (2014).

Full Story

As hospitals struggle financially, are we treating symptoms but not the disease?

By Richard Asinof
ConvergenceRI
Posted 4/4/16

Lack of a coordinated statewide health care plan in Rhode Island has resulted in triage for how decisions get made about the future needs of health care delivery...

The bottom line, however, is that you also need a large-enough patient base to make the numbers work in an accountable care framework, which is why there has been a new wave of consolidation of hospitals, not just in Rhode Island but throughout New England and the nation.

Full Story

Tuesday, April 5: Becoming Americans: Immigration, Citizenship & Civic Engagement

Community Discussion Series

Dates: Tuesdays, April 5, 12 and 19 at 199 Hope Street in Providence.
Place: Lippitt House Museum, 100 Hope St, Providence

Doors open at 6:30 pm with a short reception, followed
 by discussion at 7:00 pm.
Admission is free.
This series is part of the Pell Humanities Initiative in Rhode Island to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Tuesday, Community Discussion Series

Dates: Tuesdays, April 5, 12 and 19 at 199 Hope Street in Providence.
Place: Lippitt House Museum, 100 Hope St, Providence

Doors open at 6:30 pm with a short reception, followed
 by discussion at 7:00 pm.
Admission is free.
This series is part of the Pell Humanities Initiative in Rhode Island to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Tuesday, April 5: Becoming Americans: Immigration, Citizenship & Civic Engagement

Tuesday, April 12: Every Voice Counts: Voter Participation & Engagement

Tuesday, April 19: Money in Politics

More Details

Note: Attendees with limited mobility can park in the drive at the entrance off Angell Street.  That entrance has 6 steps with handrails. Once inside, the doorways can accommodate wheel chairs. To park in the drive,
please notify the Museum in advance (453-0688).

With funds from the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island Education Fund Americans: Immigration, Citizenship & Civic Engagement

Tuesday, April 12: Every Voice Counts: Voter Participation & Engagement

Tuesday, April 19: Money in Politics

More Details

Note: Attendees with limited mobility can park in the drive at the entrance off Angell Street.  That entrance has 6 steps with handrails. Once inside, the doorways can accommodate wheel chairs. To park in the drive,
please notify the Museum in advance (453-0688).

With funds from the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island Education Fund