Government: How the Game is Played

Providence Conversation: Thomas Hoagland, Director, Providence Business Loan Fund

Providence League of Women Voters
Invites you to a
Providence Conversation

Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 7pm

Providence needs its small businesses.
Sometimes those small businesses need a boost from the city.

Come learn about the Providence Business Loan Fund

Guest: Thomas Hoagland, Director
          Providence Business Loan Fund

Conversation and coffee, tea and cookies


Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018
Place: 133 Dexterdale Rd, home of Barbara Riter
Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm

Threats to Elections: Should We Worry?

Monday, March 26 Threats to Elections: Should We Worry?

What are the threats to our voting process? Cam technology make our elections secure?

Speakers:
Robert Rapoza - Executive Director, RI State Board of Elections
Joseph Cammarano - Associate Professor of Political Science, Providence College
John Savage - An Wang Professor of Computer Science, Brown University

Place: Lippitt House Museum, 199 Hope St, Providence
Time: 6:30 - 7: 00 pm, reception, 7:00 - 8:00 speakers

Parking available in the Wheeler School lot across the street.
For wheelchair-access, call Carrie Taylor, 401- 453-0688, ctaylor@preserveri.org
For more information, 401-351-2269, or emhead603@hotmail.com

TOM WARD - Let’s get TogetherRI for civil conversations 3/22-4/14

The Valley Breeze
3/6/2018

So, do you wonder, in this era of people becoming more and more disconnected from each other as they stare at and interact with their beloved phones, is it time yet to push back? As people spend less and less time looking at the face of another person and having a conversation, have we had enough of our addiction?...

The Rhode Island Foundation thinks it might be, and so is putting a bit of money, and much of its energy and credibility, behind “20 neighborly get-togethers” around the state, chats where we all can get to enjoy a free family-style meal, then put down our smartphones and speak to one another – fact to face – in a round table discussion. They’re calling it “TogetherRI.”

What will be the topics?
“We don’t know what we will learn,” says Foundation President and CEO Neil D. Steinberg , in a recent visit with me. “We don’t know what will come out of it.”

Dates & Times 
TogetherRI evenings of food (free) and conversation
All gatherings will be catered by Emery’s Catering. Registration is suggested, but not required. Please register online at www.togetherri.org if possible.

I know a Guy: Ethics in RI

Monday, March 19, 2018  -
Time: 6:30 - 7: 00 pm, reception, 7:00 - 8:00 speakers

Lippitt House Museum
199 Hope St
Providence, RI 02906

I know a Guy: Ethics in RI.
Do we have a permissive attitude towards corruption? Can politicians self-regulate?

Speakers:
Jason Gramitt - Education Coordinator, RI Ethics Commission
Jim Hummel - Executive Director & Senior Investigator, The Hummel Report
John Dietrich - Professor of Political Science, Bryant University

Parking available in the Wheeler School lot across the street.
For wheelchair-access, call Carrie Taylor, 401- 453-0688 , ctaylor@preserveri.org

Corruption in Rhode Island: Reality and Perception.

How corrupt are we? How does media expose it? What impact on our economy?

Speakers:
Margaret Curran - Former US Attorney for RI
Tracy Breton - Former investigative reporter, Providence Journal
Richard Ratcliffe - Former RI Assistant Attorney General
Grafton (Cap) Willey IV - Tax and Budget Chair, SBA Small Business Summit

Parking available in the Wheeler School lot across the street.
For wheelchair-access, call Carrie Taylor, 401- 453-0688 , ctaylor@preserveri.org

Providence 311 - Phone App

At our February 15 Conversation, Michael Borg, Executive Director of the Department of Public Works sang the praises of using the Providence 311 app on your smart phone. He said he loved getting photos of problems like potholes tagged with the location provided by gps.

So, the question is, where do you get this app?
There are two options: 1) Go to http://www.providenceri.gov/  on your phone and select "PVD 311" on the Menu, or 2) go to the app store on your phone and search for "PVD 311".

The PVD311 system is a link to all city departments and services. So, once you have the app on your phone and see for example a pothole that you'd like to report, select "Submit New Request" and then "Streets & Sidewalks" and then "Road Repair."

On the next screen you will see a map with your location, if that is correct select "Next" or type in the correct location and select "Next."

On the next screen you can add a photo, create an account (to track the request), select whether or not to make the request public, and finally "Submit Request."

Providence Conversation: DACA: From Dream to Limbo to Deportation?

Providence League of Women Voters
Invites you to a
Providence Conversation

DACA: From Dream to Limbo to Deportation?
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Place: 603 Angell St, home of Liz Head
Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm

President Obama in 2012 signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order, allowing children born outside the United States who immigrated with their parents to stay here. Today 800,000 have settled into schools, training programs, and jobs. President Trump has threatened to halt DACA.

What does this mean for Rhode Island’s  “Dreamers”?

Guest: Kathleen Cloutier, executive director, Dorcas International Institute

CHARTER SCHOOLS IN PROVIDENCE - Tuesday May 9

Providence League of Women Voters
 Invites you to a
 Providence Conversation

Charter schools in RI have lotteries full of parents hoping for a “spot” for their children. The federal government wants more charters. - Yet there is opposition. Are charter schools good for students? or are they a mirage taking resources from traditional public schools?

To consider the arguments pro and con,
come to a Conversation with:

 Nicholas Hemond, Chair, Providence School Committee
 Elizabeth Winangun, Parent-Liaison, Achievement First

 Date: Tuesday, May 9, 2017
 Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm

 for more information, contact joan.retsinas@gmail.com

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

September 16 Providence LWV Conversation‏

A Providence Conversation:

A New Voice on the Providence School Board

The Providence League of Women Voters

Invites you for

Conversation over coffee and dessert with:

Mark Santow, PhD

historian, parent, and

new member of the Providence School Board

Come here his experiences as he grapples with charter schools, budgets, contracts, and testing.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

49 Humboldt Avenue, Providence, 7:00 to 8:30 pm.

For more information, e-mail: joan.retsinas@gmail.com, or phone (401) 272-0422

A Providence Conversation - A Woman’s Perspective: New Voices on the City Council

A Providence Conversation

The Providence League of Women Voters invites you to

A Woman’s Perspective: New Voices on the City Council

Conversation over coffee and dessert with:

• Jo-Ann Ryan (Ward 5) and Mary Kay Harris (Ward 11)

Both are newly elected; both replace men.

Hear why they ran and the obstacles they faced.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015
30 President Ave, Providence, 7:00 to 8:30 pm

For more information, please contact
joan.retsinas@gmail.com, or phone 401-272-0422

Governor Henry Lippitt House Forums

The League of Women Voters and Generation Citizen will partner with Governor Henry Lippitt House Museum for Three Conversations, open to the public.

When: March 12th, 19th and the 26th, 6:30 pm, followed by an informal reception.
Where:    Lippitt House Museum, 199 Hope Street, Providence.

The forums:
March 12:  East Side Engages Providence.
Speakers  Lorne Adrain, former Providence Mayoral candidate; Cali Almy, Wheeler School Community Service Learning Director; and Albert Dahlberg, Director of State and Community Relations at Brown’s Swearer Center. The discussion will focus on how the East Side engages in politics and the community.

March 19: Latino Education and Engagement.
Speakers Anna Cano- Morales, Director of Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University; Soljane Quiles, Social Studies and Civics teacher at Highlander Charter School; and Jose Baptista, President of the board of directors for sister organizations Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund and Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee.  They will discuss how the largest growing ethnic group in Rhode Island is changing politics.

March 26:  Technology and Community Engagement.
Speakers Andy Cutler, founder of Achievery, and Sue Ellen Kroll, Director of Grants and Strategic Partnerships Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. They will discuss how to blend technology with history for community outreach and engagement.

Reminder - two Providence LWV events‏

Reminder –Providence League of Women Voters events

1) Tomorrow: A Providence Conversation - Crumbling Schools: Too Awful to Ignore


The Providence League of Women Voters invites you to talk with:
Joseph Da Silva, School Construction Coordinator, RI Department of Education

 

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 

603 Angell St, Providence, 7: 00 pm

For more information, contact
joan.retsinas@gmail.com, (401)272-0422

2) Mayoral Debate, Thursday, October 9, Rochambeau Library, 6 pm (seating will start by 5:30)

With Vincent Cianci, Jorge Elorze, Daniel Harrop

The Providence Community Library has organized this debate; the Providence League of Women Voters is providing the moderator, the time-keepers, the question-gatherers.

Conversation, October 8, 7 pm - Crumbling Schools: Too Awful to Ignore

The Providence League of Women Voters 

invites you to talk with:

Joseph Da Silva, School Construction Coordinator,

RI Department of Education

 

Topic: Crumbling Schools: Too Awful to Ignore


Tuesday, October 8, 2014,
7:00pm


603 Angell St

For more information, contact joan.retsinas@gmail.com

 

Too many schools throughout the state are decrepit. A three year-moratorium on state reimbursement for construction, debt-laden cities, a formula for state funding skewed to wealthier communities, decades of deferred maintenance: the roadblocks to fixing the crisis are numerous.

The LWV this year will be looking to advocate for solutions.

Please join us in the first Providence Conversation, geared around the physical state of schools.

Providence Conversation: The Gangs of Providence

Monday, March 31, 7 to 8:30 pm,

Speaker: Sergeant Michael Wheeler, head of Gang Intervention Unit, Providence Police Department

For more information: Joan Retsinas 272-0422

“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

Conversation - Providence Water Supply Board

The Providence League of Women Voters

invites you to a Conversation with

Boyce Spinelli, General Manager of the Providence Water Supply Board

Thursday, January 30, 2014

7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Water: Our lives depends on it, yet it is also a commodity that we collect, treat, disperse  – and sell to two-thirds of the state. Come talk about the finances and politics behind our water.

For more information:
joan.retsinas@gmail.com or (401) 272-0422

Tax Policy

Reflections, from Sam Zurier, Ward 2 Councilman, at November 13 “Providence Conversation” of Providence League of Women Voters

History

In the more prosperous past, Providence had one tax rate. Only when economic straits tightened and the city needed more revenue, did it split rates: first, commercial from residential; next, within residential, rental from owner-occupied units. Today Providence has one of the highest tax rates for apartments in the state, possibly the country; for a time, the motor vehicle tax in Providence was the highest in the state.     More

Reminder

Monday, November 11 - 11 am

Providence League of Women Voters board/conveners/members organizational meeting.
All are welcome.

For more information, contact Liz Head, emhead603@hotmail.com


Wednesday, November 13 -  7 pm to 9 pm

“Providence Conversation”. Councilman Sam Zurier will talk about tax policy in Providence: who decides who will pay what? who gets special breaks? who doesn't?

For more information: contact joan.retsinas@gmail.com