MT Hope

John Twomey 

Posted at 6:23 PM | Crime | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Awesome!

Mount hope IS a great place to live.  ALL of my neighbors are good people that want to work TOGETHER to make ALL of Mount Hope an even better neighborhood!

I know Mount Hope is a great place and is capable of being even better if we ALL work together.  Don't we ALL want an area we can ALL be proud of?  We ARE the East Side!

DC

Posted at 11:28 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A Real Fine Mess

This just in submitted by an anonymous poster presumably from the Grandview Street neighborhood.

WHAT DO THESE PICTURES SAY TO YOU?

Do they provide a general idea of what FILTH is present in our neighborhood?

Do they make you cringe?

Garage on Camp & Grandview

Do they make you think "What the heck are people thinking and do they have ANY CONSIDERATION FOR THEIR NEIGHBORS!"??

It has looked like this for YEARS.

The city has known about it for YEARS...........

Yet another example of how Mount Hope gets a pass on following the City's laws, housing codes and other ordinances.

Grandview & Camp Streets

The City of Providence has been called for years, buy numerous people, to try and get this mess cleaned up!

It is disgusting, unsanitary, and unnecessary!  What has to be done to get this mess cleaned up, and get our neighborhood cleaned up and make it the great neighborhood I KNOW IT CAN BE!!

How many calls, emails, complaints need to be made in order for this mess to get cleaned up?  City Hall HELP, we have only been asking and waiting for 4-5 years now!!!!!!!!!

Calls and complaints to City hall, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood services, Code enforcement and Environmental services, and 4-5 years later we are still looking at this mess!

Let's ALL HELP EACH OTHER!!!!! Please call city hall at 401-421-7740 and ask to speak to Elise in the Mayor's office of neighborhood services. The phone number above will also allow you to call and submit a complaint to code enforcement and the environmental department.  The more calls we make the better chance we have of getting this mess cleaned up.

Clearly at this point the property owners are NOT going to take responsibility and clean their mess; it's time to take it to the next level!  MAKE THE CALL READERS!  WE PAY THE SAME TAXES AS EVERYONE ELSE ON THE EAST SIDE AND YOU CAN DAM WELL BET THAT THERE WOULD NEVER BE A MESS NEXT TO THE MAYORS HOME, SO WHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO ACCEPT IT???

CALL CITY HALL. WE NEED YOUR HELP!  401-421-7740.

Grandview & Camp Streets

Grandview & Camp 

Posted at 11:30 AM | Issues | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Q: When Will the Recession be Over?

Don't ask me. I don't know. And I don't think anyone knows. All anyone can do, expert or layman, is venture a guess, be it an educated guess or a wild guess, anyone's guess is still a guess.

This excerpt is from the new York Times:

Last Tuesday, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, predicted that 2010 “will be a year of recovery.” On Friday, Americans learned that the gross domestic product fell 6.2 percent in the last quarter of 2008, suggesting that the recession may be deeper than anticipated. So when, exactly, will the misery end? When can we expect to see the economy turn around? The Op-Ed editors asked 11 experts to hazard a guess.

Would it surprise you if the 11 so-called experts have wildly different answers but all have one thing in common: they are all guessing.

So many variables come into play in this economic quagmire we're in that it is really an unfair question to ask when will it be over. Suffice it to say, it won't be over soon, seems to be the consensus, meaning count 2010 and beyond as recession years.

You may have to sign up for the NYT to read the link below (it takes only a few seconds to sign up) but it is well worth it.

Just remember the still resounding words of one expert: "The fundamentals of our economy are sound."

When will the Recession be Over?

Posted at 4:10 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

East Side, Obama, and the End of Racial Politics

Juan Williams, author of Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965: wrote a OP/Ed piece for the Wall Street Journal on what some term "the end of racial politics".

Williams gives us a brief synopsis of the Civil Rights Era and how voter rights served as a key strategy in turning segregation around. Voting rights, how precious: it's incredible to think that not that long ago many people did not have the right to vote, not only African Americans, but Women, and Orientals, and I'm sure I am touching only the tip of the iceberg.

But Mr. Williams soon turns to Barack Obama and has this to say:

And now comes Barack Obama, the son of a black Kenyan who came here as a scholarship student and his white American wife. There is no other nation in the world where a 75% majority electorate has elected as their supreme leader a man who identifies as one of that nation's historically oppressed minorities.

The idea of black politics now tilts away from leadership based on voicing grievance, and identity politics based on victimization and anger. In its place is an era in which it is assumed that talented, tough people of any background will find a way to their rightful seat of power in mainstream political life.

Mr. Williams does not declare the end of discrimination or bigotry, but rather accentuates the shift of focus:

Make no mistake, there is still discrimination against people of color in America. And inside black America, there is still disproportionate poverty, school dropouts, criminal activity, incarceration and single motherhood. But with the example of Mr. Obama's achievements, from Harvard Law to the state legislature, U.S. Senate and the White House, the focus of discussion now is how the child of even the most oppressed of racial minorities can maximize his or her strengths and overcome negative stereotypes through achievement.

The onus now falls on individuals to take advantage of opportunities. That begins with keeping families together and taking responsibility for the twisted "gangsta" culture that celebrates jail time instead of schooling. With Mr. Obama as the head of government, discussion of racial problems now comes in the form of pragmatic discourse for how to best give all Americans opportunty, for example, how to improve schools.

Mr. Williams's is an essay well worth reading.

What Obama's Victory Means for Racial Politics

Barack Obama's election is both an astounding political victory -- and the end of an era for black politics.

It is not even 50 years since a group of civil-rights workers challenged racial segregation on interstate bus travel. In 1961, a scared group of young Freedom Riders got on a Greyhound bus in Washington, D.C., to take a trip through Virginia and into the South. In Alabama the bus was bombed, its riders beaten so badly that some suffered brain damage. Attorney General Robert Kennedy worried that racial tensions could spark a second Civil War.

What happened next was the starting point for a uniquely American political movement that led directly to Mr. Obama's success. Bobby Kennedy proposed to his brother, President John F. Kennedy, that the civil-rights movement be redirected from violent confrontations with segregationists to voter-registration drives. The Kennedys feared sending voting-rights legislation to Congress, given opposition from Southern Democrats. But the Kennedys reasoned more blacks registered to vote would force Southern Democrats to change their segregationist attitudes.

Associated Press
Barack Obama responds to questions during a news conference in Chicago on Nov. 7, as Joe Biden, right, listens.

Kennedy got foundations to support a group called the Voter Education Project. That effort put money into civil-rights groups that worked on voter registration. Young people such as James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman went into small black towns in the South and challenged the white segregationist political structure by encouraging blacks to defy intimidation by racist sheriffs, employers and banks and fill out a voter registration card.
Those three young men were killed by segregationists. Others, such as Medgar Evers of the NAACP and Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi sharecropper, carried on. Evers was killed. Hamer was beaten so badly that she "couldn't feel my arms." But she became a voice for a group of black Mississippians who challenged the seating of an all-white, segregationist delegation at the 1964 Democratic Convention.

Hamer's efforts led to more voter registration drives to register blacks in the South, including in Selma, Ala. It was in Selma that Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested; he'd defied court orders by staging protests calling for federal laws protecting blacks trying to register.

In a letter he wrote in 1963 from a Birmingham jail, King had stated: "Give us the ballot." Now in a Selma jail he wrote: "Why are we in jail? Have you ever been required to answer 100 questions on government, some abstruse even to a political science specialist, merely to vote . . . this is Selma, Alabama, where there are more Negroes in jail with me than there are on the voting rolls."

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It

led to increased black political power, and to political appointees such as Solicitor General [and later Supreme Court Justice] Thurgood Marshall. The first black mayor of a major American city, Carl Stokes, was elected in Cleveland in 1967. The 1970s and '80s saw black politics emerge as a stable base for the growth of a large black American middle class with higher levels of education and income. Later barrier breakers included chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

And now comes Barack Obama, the son of a black Kenyan who came here as a scholarship student and his white American wife. There is no other nation in the world where a 75% majority electorate has elected as their supreme leader a man who identifies as one of that nation's historically oppressed minorities.

The idea of black politics now tilts away from leadership based on voicing grievance, and identity politics based on victimization and anger. In its place is an era in which it is assumed that talented, tough people of any background will find a way to their rightful seat of power in mainstream political life.

The Jesse Jacksons, Al Sharptons and Rev. Jeremiah Wrights remain. But their influence and power fade to a form of nostalgia in a world of larger political agendas, such as a common American vision of setting the nation on a steady economic course and dealing with terrorists. The market has irrevocably shrunk for Sharpton-style tirades against "the man" and "the system." The emphasis on racial threats and extortion-like demands -- all aimed at maximizing white guilt as leverage for getting government and corporate money -- has lost its moment. How does anyone waste time on racial fantasies like reparations for slavery when there is a black man who earned his way into the White House?

Make no mistake, there is still discrimination against people of color in America. And inside black America, there is still disproportionate poverty, school dropouts, criminal activity, incarceration and single motherhood. But with the example of Mr. Obama's achievements, from Harvard Law to the state legislature, U.S. Senate and the White House, the focus of discussion now is how the child of even the most oppressed of racial minorities can maximize his or her strengths and overcome negative stereotypes through achievement.

The onus now falls on individuals to take advantage of opportunities. That begins with keeping families together and taking responsibility for the twisted "gangsta" culture that celebrates jail time instead of schooling. With Mr. Obama as the head of government, discussion of racial problems now comes in the form of pragmatic discourse for how to best give all Americans opportunty, for example, how to improve schools.

The change in black politics has been slowly coming with the growing black middle-class. It now accelerates with Mr. Obama's victory. As King said at the end of the 1965 march for voting rights in Alabama -- when he reached the state capitol in Montgomery -- the result of black political participation is a "society that can live with its conscience." There are no quick solutions, he added, but no matter how difficult or frustrating there will be success because "the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice."
In terms of racial politics, the arc of justice took a breathtaking leap.

Mr. Williams, a political analyst for National Public Radio and Fox News, is author of several books, including "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965" (Penguin, 1988).

Source

What Obama's Victory Means for Racial Politics

From the Wall Street Journal

and RealClearPolitics

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

Posted at 3:40 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

East Side Bailout!

Here we are, in another financial crisis trying to make sense of it all. Fear mongering out of Washington, partisanship in the congress, and gamesmanship on the campaign trail.

What's a poor boy to do? How does an ordinary educated person make sense of it all let alone an extraordinarily ordinary undereducated person like moi who's got no sense at all.

Well, for financial commentary one place I turn is Barry Ritholtz's blog The Big Picture.

Below you can read his letter to D.C from Wall Street. It gives a compressed, concise, yet detailed enough background on how we arrived at this point, this financial crisis where the President is asking us taxpayers to bailout huge financial institutions who gambled with investors money and lost.

It stinks to high heaven, and it's difficult to understand, what with the terms being tossed around,like MBS, CDOs, Credit Default Swaps, etc., but it's up to us citizens to make a try at sorting out the reasons and the competing theories and the ramifications of the contemplated actions. I suggest you make friends with Wikipedia for starters and do some serious surfing if you really want to dig into the subject. Start with the subprime crisis and work back and forward: Subprime on wiki

A Memo Found in the Street

By BARRY L. RITHOLTZ

Uncle Sam the enabler.

To: Washington, D.C.
From: Wall Street
Re: Credit Crisis

Dear D.C.,

WOW, WE'VE MADE QUITE A MESS OF THINGS here on Wall Street: Fannie and Freddie in conservatorship, investment banks in the tank, AIG nationalized. Thanks for sending us your new trilliondollar bailout.

We on Wall Street feel somewhat compelled to take at least some

responsibility. We used excessive leverage, failed to maintain adequate capital, engaged in reckless speculation, created new complex derivatives. We focused on short-term profits at the expense of sustainability. We not only undermined our own firms, we de-stabilized the financial sector and roiled the global economy, to boot. And we got huge bonuses.

But here's a news flash for you, D.C.: We could not have done it without you. We may be drunks, but you were our enablers: Your legislative, executive, and administrative decisions made possible all that we did.

Our recklessness would not have reached its soaring heights but for your governmental incompetence.

THIS MEMO PROVIDES A BRIEF HISTORY OF your actions that helped create this crisis.

DOW JONES REPRINTS

1997: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's famous "irrational exuberance" speech in 1996 was somehow ignored by, um, Fed Chairman Greenspan. The Fed missed the opportunity to change margin requirements. Had the Fed acted, the bubble would not have inflated as much, and the subsequent crash would not have been as severe.

1998: Long Term Capital Management was undercapitalized, used enormous amounts of leverage to purchase all manner of thinly traded, hard-to-value paper. It failed, and under the authority of the Federal Reserve a "private-sector" rescue plan was cobbled together. Had these bankers suffered big losses from LTCM, they might have thought twice before jumping into the exact same business model of undercapitalized, overleveraged, thinly traded, hard-to-value paper. Instead, they reaffirmed Benjamin Disraeli's famous aphorism: "What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history."

1999: The Financial Services Modernization Act repealed Glass-Steagall, a law that had separated the commercial-banking industry from Wall Street, and the two industries, plus insurance, came together again.

Banks became bigger, clumsier, and hard to manage. Apparently, risk-management became all but impossible, even as banks had greater access to larger pools of capital.

2000: The Commodities Futures Modernization Act defined financial commodities such as "interest rates,currency prices, and stock indexes" as "excluded commodities." They could trade off the futures exchanges, /with minimal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor the Federal Reserve, nor any state insurance regulators had the ability to supervise or regulate the writing of credit-default swaps by hedge funds, investment banks or insurance companies.

2001-'03: Alan Greenspan's Fed dropped federal-fund rates to 1%. Lulled into a false belief that inflation was not a problem, the Fed then kept rates at 1% for more than a year. This set off an inflationary spiral in housing, and a desperate hunt for yield by fixed-income managers.

2003-'07: The Federal Reserve failed to use its supervisory and regulatory authority over banks, mortgage underwriters and other lenders, who abandoned such standards as employment history, income, down payments, credit rating, assets, property loan-to-value ratio and debt-servicing ability. The borrower's ability to repay these mortgages was replaced with the lender's ability to securitize and repackage them.

2004: The SEC waived its leverage rules. Previously, broker/dealer net-capital rules limited firms to a maximum debt-to-net-capital ratio of 12 to 1. This 2004 exemption allowed them to exceed this leverage/rule. Only five firms -- Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley --* were granted this exemption; they promptly levered up 20, 30 and even 40 to 1.

2005-'07: Unscrupulous home appraisers found that they could attract more business by inflating appraisals. Intrinsic value was ignored, so referrals kept coming in. This helped borrowers obtain financing at prices that were increasingly unsupportable. When honest appraisers petitioned both Congress and the bureaucracy to intervene in the widespread fraud, neither branch of government acted.

THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT MORE we could add to these items. We could mention impotent supervision of Fannie and Freddie by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight; the negligent oversight on ratings agencies; the Boskin Commission's monkeying around with how inflation gets measured; the "Greenspan Put," etc.

We could mention former Fed Governor Edward Gramlich, who warned about making home loans to people who could not afford them, and who said the runaway subprime-mortgage industry would create problems in the housing and the credit markets. But Gramlich was up against a Fed chairman who apparently believed that markets can regulate themselves. (Gramlich died last year, three months after the housing bubble started to deflate.)

We on Wall Street do not deny our part. We created these securities, we rated them triple-A, we traded them without understanding them. Now that they have gone bad, we are real close to getting the rest of the country to take them off our hands.

Thanks, D.C. None of this would have been possible without you.

Very truly yours,

Wall Street

- - -

BARRY L. RITHOLTZ is CEO of Fusion IQ, a research firm, and blogs financial topics at <bigpicture.typepad.com.

Barron's Online http://online.barrons.com/article_print/SB122246742997580395...
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Posted at 11:50 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

Grating Graffiti Spikes on Grand view

There has been much graffiti occurring on Grand View and Tecumseh.

One common theme this graffiti has are the initials "DTS".

I like to think that this disgraceful act is being done by a child and not an adult. Not only is it disrespectful to the community and the individual homeowners whose homes are vandalized but it is also an eyesore.

Has anyone else noticed a spike in Graffiti in any other areas?

I hope someone sees this bastard and calls the police.

D. Cregg

-

-

*** Use this link to post to this website:

Make a Blog Entry

Posted at 10:30 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

ASPHALT JUNGLE

I support Citizens for Resident Permit Parking in its efforts to institute permit parking for all the neighborhoods in Providence. Mt. Hope in particular is a victim of the ban on overnight parking, first instituted in the city in the 1920s.

Large areas of Mt. Hope are already an asphalt jungle because of the overnight parking ban. Its effects on the environment are noticeable and likely irreversible. Thanks to global warming, we are experiencing longer, hotter summers. Asphalt makes it even hotter because, as Michael Arden points out, it increases surface temperatures.

The standard excuse for the overnight parking ban is that the streets need to be cleared for emergency vehicles. Such vehicles don't seem to have difficulty negotiating city streets during daytime hours, when parked vehicles line our streets.

The real reason for the overnight parking ban is to generate revenue by targeting those least able to pay--the city's poorest residents. The city should cut its costs instead.

Peter Cassels

Posted at 1:47 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Providence Needs Resident Permit Parking!

Citizens for Resident Permit Parking

Aesthetics

Pave-over - The act of paving residential green space to create additional parking. In Providence an increasing number of property owners are paving-over portions of their yards and while there is a legitimate need for additional parking the greater good is not being served. In the last 10 to 15 years there has been a dramatic change in the landscape of city neighborhoods. This change has caused concern among residents from an aesthetic as well a practical point of view. The pressure to pave-over is highest in lower income/working class neighborhoods where several family members may need cars to reach disparate work locations. This is a do-it-yourself response to the excruciating parking shortage we face in Providence. Pave-over’s are on the rise because of an increase in car ownership coupled with a rise in large households with extended families where everyone is working and needs a car. Residents throughout the city complain that increased paving of residential green space detracts from the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods are becoming an asphalt jungle.

The Environment

On the environmental front asphalt keeps soil from absorbing rainwater, sending it instead into a storm-water runoff system that removes it from the local water supply, picking up pollutants along the way and poisoning our rivers. Pavement is the greatest cause of excessive rainwater runoff and the loss of local aquatic life. Grass and soil absorb rainwater and act as a natural filter as it drains into the groundwater system. Pave-over’s also lead to an increase in surface temperature in lower income neighborhoods on hot days.

Regressive Taxation

Regressive tax: A tax that takes a larger percentage of income from lower income groups than from higher-income groups. Why is parking your car... on the street... in your neighborhood... at night... a crime? The overnight parking ban, and the parking tickets that go along with it, is a regressive tax on students and working families in Providence. In just a few weeks fine can triple in value, cars can be booted and a driver’s licenses can be suspended. Pretty harsh stuff for leaving your car in front of your house at night, don’t you think? In 2006 the city experienced a shortfall in fine revenue due to the introduction of overnight parking in Washington Park. According to John Simmons, Director of Administration the city will address that shortfall in 2007 by hiring more staff to write parking tickets. Obviously the overnight parking ban in Providence has little to do with public safety and everything to do with picking to pockets of the most economically vulnerable people in the city. This must stop!

Michael Arden

Posted at 10:43 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

"Protecting the Innocent by Removing Graffiti"?

First of all, dubmn fuk, learn to spel, and then unnerstan tha we don use phoul language like dumbn fuck on this wevsite.

I doubt if you know anything about the history of graffiti let alone the history of art so for you to make a connection between the two is probably quite a stretch.

Of course here in Amerika, the liberals teach us that we must celebrate your ignorance, your inability to spell and just celebrate your willingness to express yourself. Well, here's a case of the . . . clap. . . . just for you. Congrats, you expressed yourself, D_F_.

Graffiti: South Wall, Mt. Hope Public Garden (JMT: Enhanced Digital Photograph

How so do you think graffiti is an art?

Why do you say:

"graffiti is a art and a strong culture"?

and

". . . the only reason why you hate it is because we are yung and you cant make mony off of it."

Do you have the facts, even a weak argument to back up that statement?

You must be referring to the hip-hop culture. Tell me, who's not making money off of that. Every multi-national corporation in the entertainment industry is making money off of the hip-hop culture: that culture was commercially co-opted from day one.

Expensive sneakers sold to poor people: cheap, baggy pants worn down below the waist: styles designed to make yourself ridicules.

They can sell you fools anything!

The bible says, "There's nothing new under the sun" and so it goes with graffiti. People with no power will always deface public and private property with their pathetic scribblings because they feel powerless to oppose the forces that control them. Some liberal, understanding, freethinking people of a Marxist bent will always romanticize these scribblings as art in an anthropological sense. A great New York Artist, Keith Haring, even cashed in on the trend and made a lot of money off of the romanticizing of graffiti, then he died of aids.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

". . . you think you dumb fucks are protecting the innocent by removing graffiti?"

I have no idea what you mean by this. who do you think is thinking that they are protecting whom?

". . . the only reason why you hate it is because we are yung"

As the Chinese might say, that quote must cum from sum dum yung fuk because it just doesn't make any sense. Everybody knows that all the best graffiti is made by the old people who began the movement and who have the experience and the means to produce meaningful graffiti.

Shite! Young graffiti artists don't even know how to spell so how could they possibly make any quality graffiti?

But last of all, when you write:

.........WATCH YOUR BACK

I can tell you are too young to even have a drivers license, because you just don't make threats on the world wide web. Do you know how easy it is to trace an IP address back to your real name, and then what, your parents get indicted, is that what you want?

Just a rhetorical question.

You want to make art in the 21st century, kid? First of all learn to spell it, then learn what it is and why you want to make it, then check back in here. Otherwise, you'll be among the "stopidest".

In the meantime if you want to exhibit your great graffiti that you consider art, submit it here:

Make a Blog Entry

in the form of digital photos.

And BTW, why did you submit a comment about graffiti to a post about growing trees in Providence? Are you blog-illiterate?

Hey, we appreciate your contribution: you got more balls than most in this neighborhood that is rich with pathetic do-nothing back-biters who are willing to talk behind their neighbor's back but are too cowardly to put what they believe in out there in writing on this blog: but if you want to talk the talk here, then you got to back it up by walking the walk, meaning that you got to back up the words you write and be able to debate and defend them.

Posted at 11:03 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Trype Legal-art

what the hell is going on? you think you dumb fucks are protecting the innocent by removing graffiti? wow thats the stopidest thing ive ever herd. whats so wrong with self expression? graffiti is a art and a strong culture, and the only reason why you hate it is because we are yung and you cant make mony off of it.........WATCH YOUR BACK

Comment submitted to the post, Trees Grow in Providence!

sk8er982002@yahoo.com

Posted at 10:56 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

I'll Tell you Why . . . and then some . . .

Alan, there was no vitriol intended nor nothing personal towards you. Instead of vitriol I would characterize it as cynical, ironic, and tongue-in-cheek, with a pinch of dry humour on the side. Remember, we’re in the blogesphere here, I did not submit the piece for publication in the ESM or ProJo.

What struck me and spurred me to write about the Summit’s response was the way you responded to Mr. Methot’s letter while leaving out his name. Mr. Methot had no problem signing his name to his letter criticizing the Summit methods, and I doubt if he would have been offended if you had addressed your rebuttal directly to him.

Your claim to not wanting to flame a neighbor seems incongruous. Flaming takes place in cyberspace, and offering a letter of rebuttal to a published letter hardly qualifies as flaming. I would call it discourse, not flaming. Flaming suggests rude insults and mockery. You could have proffered a point by point rebuttal without insulting or mocking Mr. Methot.

Your responses to my piece and Mr. Methot’s lack detail in addressing the points we raised. It is one thing to state a disagreement, another to specifically address the why and wherefore of the disagreement.

Thus, your response, which sounded like a community effort (in which you drew short straw), seemed weak and ineffectual.

But thank you for asking the question and opening the door for discussion with your comment about my post We Were Dismayed!

I was wrong about at least one thing; someone in the Summit has the cojones to enter into discourse. I hope it's not just a hit and run.

I'm grateful that you opened with a question as that gives me the opportunity to also ask questions.

Don't forget, we're in the Blogesphere! NOT for the faint of heart.

Why the vitriol? The easy answer is, to quote the poet Stephan Crane, "Because it is bitter, and because it is my heart." The quoted poem can be found on the Poem of the Week Entry of August 22, 2005.

If a hint of vitriol is detected it is because I am bitter and disillusioned. Even listening to Willie Neslon and Sinead O’Conner’s duet of Don’t Give Up, by Peter Gabriel fails to inspire me. And it is politics on the local level that most makes my eyes jaundiced and glassy. Especially the politics of neighborhood associations.

You said,

I don't know you, you don't know me. If I recall correctly, you weren't at any of the discussions about the library sign

and you are right, but I was commenting on the published letters in the ESM by you and Methot. That is all I have to go on. And as you said, I have that right.

You said,

I didn't flame Mr. Methot in the ESM because he is a neighbor. I might not agree with his point of view, but he's welcome to it.

Well, I wasn't suggesting that you should have "Flamed" Methot. That would not be appropriate at all. What I was implying is that it was insulting to Mr. Methot to not mention him by name when you responded to his letter, as if it were written by "anonymous". Mr. Methot signed his name to his letter, and I interpreted the Summit’s response as insulting and demeaning to not refer to him by name in the Summit's response.

In your defense, I also believe that "the letter" was written by Summit committee and not solely by yourself: it was parsed and agonized over ad infinitum. Tell me if I'm wrong on this.

But I would think that most readers would agree that your letter came off as weak and ineffectual compared to Mr. Methot's.

You said,

. . . his retelling and recollection of the events, causalities, and outcomes were inaccurate. It wouldn't have served any purpose to pick his presentation of the issue apart, point-by-point, except to make me feel better.

I find this sentence disingenuous. If Methot's letter contained inaccuracies, it would be your duty to point them out. The purpose being to set the record straight, as you see it, and if that makes you you feel better . . .

You said,

Calling the letter "hyperbole" and "self-deception" sounds a little, well, hyperbolic.

But what I said referred to your statement when you said:

“. . . SNA’s goal is to sustain the residential fabric of the neighborhood that gives Summit its unique and vibrant character.”

And I said,

Don't you just detest that type of hyperbole, or is it self-deception?

There, I was referring to your characterization of Summit as a "unique and vibrant community". Summit is a very. very nice neighborhood, a bedroom community, but unique and vibrant? That characterization of Summit is in my opinion hyperbole. Unique & vibrant could well be applied to Mt. Hope, College Hill, Fox Point, and to the million dollar properties in Blackstone. To Summit. I believe that is hyperbole.

You want unique & vibrant: drive down Camp Street and witness the debris outside the Ministries, the small coteries of drug dealers on various corners, the people walking down the street shedding a soft drink cup from McDonalds here, a BigMac wrapper there, a crack pipe on the next corner. A Councilman who insists there is no drug dealing in Mt. Hope. That is unique. And vibrant. And no end in sight. Priceless!

But to get back to neighborhood associations, I do sympathize with you. It is only a few volunteers who make anything happen.

But how much money does the West Broadway Neighborhood Association get from the City Council each year? Many thousands in grants, something exceeding $35,000 if I remember even semi-accurately, because they are well represented by their councilman. They hold great balls and auctions. $50 bucks just to get in the door. I don’t know about the grants given to other N.A’s.

But do you know the history of the Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association and how much money they have received year after year? Do you know what is going on in Mt. Hope? Do you know why, if over a million dollars has flowed into the coffers of the MHNA in the last ten years, and the same City Councilman has represented Mt. Hope for the same length of time, why we still have drug dealers operating with impunity on Camp Street corners, and why Mt. Hope still exports crime to other East Side neighborhoods?

Do you think we pay less property tax in Mt. Hope than in Summit?

Mt. Hope is considered a less desirable place to live than Summit. Why is that? Mt. Hope is in a better location than Summit. Mt. Hope is a few minutes to downtown, seconds to College Hill, seconds to Thayer Street, seconds to Rt. 95.

Yet our Ward Councilman gets a half million dollars plus for curb bump outs in Summit but for Mt. Hope he installs illegal grills in Billy Taylor Park. Open fires are illegal in public parks in Providence, by ordinance, but in Billy Taylor Park, locus of drug dealing on the East Side, our Councilman overrides the ordinance and installs grills that drug dealers use as a cover. I guess votes are cheaper in Mt. Hope. Everything is. Except the property tax. He signs off and obtains permits in BTPark for every disruptive rap music event, drawing drug dealers and buyers from every part of Providence and from as far away as Massachusetts, leaving the neighborhood in shambles.

Does the Ward Councilman discourage the police from enforcing the law in Summit? Because he sure does in Mt. Hope. He accuses the police of harassing drug dealing Mt. Hope residents, one of the reasons the police are lax in enforcing the law in Mt. Hope. What future does a policeman have who goes against City Hall? For years good cops did not want a post in Mt. Hope because they knew they would be hamstrung by politicians. The police make arrests, and the drug dealers and their families run to the Councilman and claim racial harassment. The drug culture is deeply embedded in a small demographic in Mt. Hope, yet that small demographic of embedded drug culture wields inordinate power due to the Councilman as enabler and dominates the neighborhood.

How would the Summit like to live with this situation? Well, you do!

There are no reasons why drug dealing and its associated crime can not be eliminated from Mt. Hope. It would never be tolerated in any other East Side neighborhood.

Bump-out your curbs all you want, fight library signage, push for an aesthetically pleasing North Main Street, but please, please don’t pretend that you have the general good at heart, or especially the interests of Mt. Hope, as long as you turn a blind eye to the political corruption that allows Mt. Hope to run an open air drug market and export crime to all other East Side neighborhoods.

And be aware that it is your Councilman who enables the drug dealing in Mt. Hope.

Yes, it’s deep, and it predates you and me.

Posted at 6:30 PM | Issues | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Why all the vitriol?

Alan Tear, (SNA) responds to the We were Dismayed! post of April 29th.

John,

Why all the vitriol? I don't know you, you don't know me. If I recall correctly, you weren't at any of the discussions about the library sign. You're free to say what you like, but it seems like you're capable of a higher level of discourse from the other examples of your blog.

I didn't flame Mr. Methot in the ESM because he is a neighbor. I might not agree with his point of view, but he's welcome to it. Putting that aside for a moment, his retelling and recollection of the events, causalities, and outcomes were inaccurate. It wouldn't have served any purpose to pick his presentation of the issue apart, point-by-point, except to make me feel better. I chose to present the actual event timeline from someone who had participated in them. Calling the letter "hyperbole" and "self-deception" sounds a little, well, hyperbolic.

Look, I agree with what I perceive you are saying, that the library sign is a non-issue, a triviality in a sea of more worthy and pressing neighborhood and cross-neighborhood concerns. I don't buy the rest of your storyline, the whole elites, and solidarity thing. That sounds like it comes from something deep, predating my time and place in this neighborhood.

As a bunch of volunteers, we've got enough bandwidth to focus on a couple of things a year. This year its North Main redevelopment, where we again share common interests and concerns with Mount Hope. That opportunity focuses the conversation about crime, affordable housing, and creating a neighborhood that is inclusive. Those meetings are open to all, and the planner that we've hired has a specific requirement to integrate Mount Hope into the conversation and visioning.

Comment by Alan Tear (SNA) *

* Sometimes a comment is so good it deserves being featured as a blog entry.

If you'd like to submit an entry, click this link: BlogEntry

Posted at 11:16 PM | Issues | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

"I got in the end zone!" *

Rah Rah Sis-Boom-Bah

We all probably thrill, we members of the Mt. Hope contingent of Patriot Nation, when our New England Patriots compete each year for a chance to go to the Super Bowl and become champions. The flip side of that coin reveals the price some former football players must pay for their time in the game and the paltry way the league looks after their own. Early onset dementia, caused by repeated head trauma, plagues many former football players.

A riveting story in the Times tells of two such men, one a Hall of Famer, the other a journeyman, who were once teammates, yet do not even recognize each other.

Hopefully the following link works or simply Google the title. Wives Burdened by Ex-NFL Player's Dementia, by Alan Swarz

The NFL, a billion dollar a year industry (is that without all the dollars gambled each week?) and the Player's Union both refuse to recognize this medical problem as football related, yet they have finally agreed to contribute approximately $88,000 a year toward these disabled veterans health care.

You may have read recently of former Patriot standout Ted Johnson who basically accused Bill Belichick and his staff of forcing him to play after receiving back to back concussions the same week. He has subsequently lost everything, his money, his marriage, and his ability to work, and Johnson is only in his early thirties. Johnson documents his story in the Jackie MacMullen article in the Boston Globe, I don't want anyone to end up like me!

Click the link and read about these two men and their wives's battle to get the NFL and the Players Union to recognize the devastating and lingering effects of head trauma. Then read Ted Johnson's sad tale.

It should change the way you view the game and the high regard some hold for these so called genius coaches.

* "I got in the end zone!" -- John Mackey, NFL Hall of Famer and victim of dementia.

Posted at 1:04 PM | Issues | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Shots Fired

Today, as I puttered about my house in Mt. Hope, deep in a peaceful Saturday afternoon reverie, I jolted to my senses and was again reminded of where I live by a very loud gunshot, which sounded quite close, as if it came from less than a block away, most likely up near the Crossroads (corner of Camp & Cypress) or down Camp a bit in the direction of the public housing on Pleasant Street, given how sound carries and richots in the winter air.

My 10 year old dog, Molly, who is healing from surgery on her leg, jumped off of the couch and ran to hide in the bedroom. By doctor's orders her movements must be severely restricted; I lift her on and off the couch. I jumped to the window to see if I could see anything but there was nothing to be seen.

CouchMolly

All law abiding taxpaying citizens of Mt. Hope are victims of the drug related gang violence that the City cannot seem to muster the will to stop: everyone who startled at the sound of the gunshot, Molly who was so scared she jumped down on a surgically repaired knee, and myself, who was shaken out of a peaceful activity to be reminded that at any moment a bullet can come through one of my windows and end my life or the life of one of my loved ones, all because our City Officials, elected and appointed, don't have the guts (Guts? Let's face it, I'm implying "cojones", "balls.") to address these ongoing crimes for fear of the need to address the issues of race and violence and poverty.

Instead they function as enablers.

The gunshot reminded me that I had planned to post a small article that I found buried in the Rhode Island section of the Providence Journal on February 9th. You can read it below in its entirety.

Police investigate link between 2 shootings

01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 9, 2007

PROVIDENCE — The police are investigating whether a shooting yesterday in the Mount Hope area of the East Side might be linked to the shooting Wednesday night of an 18-year-old man in South Providence.

Detective commander Capt. Hugh Clements said Andrew Ortiz, 18, was walking along Somerset Street with his younger brother near Hayward Street around 8:10 p.m. Wednesday when a dark colored vehicle came up at them from behind and someone inside fired several shots.

One bullet hit Ortiz in the right side of his lower back. He was in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital, according to Clements.

About 1:30 p.m. yesterday, two people got out of a light-colored Jeep Cherokee and fired shots at Daniel Lassiter, 31, who was sitting in front of 89 Woodbine St. Lassiter was not hit.

Clements said the police are keeping open “the distinct possibility” that the shootings are linked. “We are following several leads and are investigating more as we speak,” he said.

John Twomey

Posted at 3:03 PM | Issues | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Drive-by on Doyle

I wish that we could begin the week with some good news out of Mt. Hope, but Channel 10 reported this story last night and the Providence Journal reported it this morning.

Man shot on East Side

01:00 AM EST on Sunday, December 17, 2006

PROVIDENCE — The police were investigating a drive-by shooting of a man walking on Doyle Avenue on the city’s East Side about 6 p.m. yesterday.

The man, who was not immediately identified, was unable to provide the police with a description of his assailant or the car from which the shots were fired, according to detectives. He was taken to Miriam Hospital with a bullet wound to the arm that the that the police did not believe was life-threatening.

I guess the man quoted in the post of the 17th, Drive-by shootings and . . ., from a letter he wrote to the East Side Monthly that cruelly characterized the Camp Street area (as he called it) as rife with these types of problems, as unkind as his characterization is, seems to be right on the money.

A Sunday evening incident of this kind, that took place in front of the subsidized housing between Doyle and Pleasant where activity that looks a lot like drug dealing can often be observed, does nothing to dispel Mt. Hope's reputation as a dangerous neighborhood that is still controlled by drugs, criminals, and the ever present threat of violence.

Posted at 11:15 AM | Issues | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Afforable Housing

I picked up this morning's ProJO and there on the front page an article about how RI trails the rest of the country in housing construction.

Our state came in dead last with only 1505 units added, nearly half of the 2nd to last state, Alaska, and 3rd to last, Vermont.

One so called expert quoted (Barnet from Rhode Island Housing) explained the declining numbers by blaming communities: "Most communities are wary of new housing, and that has constricted supply to the choking point," Barnett said.

I wonder if that is really an accurate statement. Are communities wary of building new housing, Or is Barnett speaking in code, when what he actually means is that most communities are wary of building affordable housing and sometimes affordable housing advocates use the term 'affordable' when they mean both 'affordable' and 'subsidized'.

Here is how this article defines affordable:

Housing is considered affordable when a household spends no more than 30 percent of its gross income on the rent or mortgage, taxes and insurance. To be affordable in Rhode Island, a housing unit must sell or rent at a below-market price, made possible with a government subsidy.

Let's do some math: in 2004 the median sales price of a home in Providence was $262,000 (the median price is the middle price in the range of all home prices where an equal number fall below the median and an equal number place above the median. The median price is considered more accurate than the average price because averages become skewered by extremely high and extremely low prices.)

The median wage in RI was approximately $45,000, per year in 2003 according to the Census Bureau, which breaks down to a monthly income of aprox $3,750, per month. If you put 30% of that toward housing you would be paying $1,125, per month for housing. For a home buyer that $1,125 would have to include mortgage (principal and interest), taxes, and insurance.

Using these figures a household with the median income of $45K would qualify for a home loan of $130,000. That price is $132,000, below the median home price in Rhode Island.

A 30 year loan of $130,000 at 6% interest would require a monthly payment of principal and interest of $779, leaving $346, dollars for taxes and insurance, and with rising taxes and the rising cost of insurance, that $346 may barely be enough.

Try to find a house in Providence for $130,000 today, and you can understand the problem people earning around the median income of $45,000 would have in buying a house. That figure is $132,000 below the median single family home price.

Let's look at that $45K wage: given a rigid 40 hour work week the wage earner would be making aprox $23, per hour. I think many people make far below that figure per hour and would in fact be happy to make 23. Imagine how difficult it is for people who make half the median, or $11, per hour. It would take a two income household making $22,500 each to equal the median wage, and they would still be hard pressed to find a home in the price range for which they qualify.

That is where the many programs for first time home buyers come in and where subsidized housing becomes so important.

Let's look at these figures another way; let's look at them from the angle of the median Rhode Island house price, $262.000. What income need be earned to qualify for that median priced house?

Working backwards, a 30 year loan for $262K @ 6% interest would require a monthly payment of $1570, and your taxes and insurance would run another approx $400, per month for a monthly total housing cost of $1,970, per month.

Let's see, if $1,970 = 30% of X, X would then = $6,566, per month or a yearly income of $78,800, that is $33,000 or 43% higher than the median income (the Median Income is 57% of the income needed to buy the Median Price house.

Let us now table these figures for easy reading.

-- Median house price in RI -- $262,000

-- Income needed to buy Median priced house -- $ 78,800

-- Median income in RI -- $ 45,000

-- Mortgage for which median wage qualifies -- $130,000

-- Difference between Median Income and
income needed to buy median priced house -- $ 33,000

-- Percent difference between the Median
Income and the income needed to purchase
a Median Priced house -- 43%

-- Median Income is what percent of income
needed to buy Median Price house -- 57%

-- Difference between the Median Price
house and the house for which a
Median Income qualifies -- $132,000

-- Percent difference between the Median
priced house and the house for which
a Median Income qualifies -- 50%

(Anyone wish to buy half a house?)

Of course these figures are approximate and calculated on a cheap desk calculator using statistics readily available, thus they should be considered only ballpark figures. Still I believe they are accurate enough to give a snapshot of the wage/home prices dichotomy.

I'm sure it is possible to build attractive and financially feasible affordable housing. I just wish that anyone debating housing would be careful to differentiate between affordable and subsidized and Mixed Use housing (both affordable and subsidized in the same development). Communities are tired of housing developers and housing advocates trying to pull the wool over their eyes by mixing up the terms.

The difference in impact on a community between affordable housing and subsidized housing is huge.

I'm no advocate of the government getting involved in our lives, but maybe it is time for govt. to step in and devise a comprehensive plan for building affordable housing that is both attractive and affordable.

We've seen what affordable looks like when left to private developers: ticky-tacky, unattractive homes, cheap construction, and diminishing property values in the immediate surrounding area.

We can do better than that with our tax dollars.

To read the ProJo article, click on link below.

R.I. trails the rest of the country in housing construction

To comment, click link below.

Comment

Posted at 6:53 PM | Issues | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Camp Sinkhole Fixed!!!

Quick Fix

The city fixed the big sinkhole just before Woodbine,northbound, in the middle of Camp Street, with asphalt fill.

Infamous Camp Street SinkHole

Tremendous response, and I’d bet we have our District 8 boys (and girls) to thank for the quick action. Or whoever, thanks.

I think the DPW will have to return soon enough, though, as the asphalt seems to have already sunk in; it sure shivered me timbers pretty good thisafter when I drove over it: disaster.

John

Posted at 8:10 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

School Bus Ruckus II

Troubling behavior – decisive action

ProJo reported today, Tuesday, details about another bus incident that happened . . . last Thursday —- just a five day lag in reporting the incident.

This time arrests were made after a teacher from Hopkins Middle School, who pulled alongside the bus while it was under attack by rocks thrown by six middle school students who also opened the rear emergency door but were unable to enter the bus, identified the assailants. More arrests are expected. Kudos to that teacher for looking out for the kids on the bus.

New School superintendent Donnie Evans promised further action at last night’s School board meeting. It seems that the Providence School Department is now doing a better job of keeping parents informed of ongoing developments after this, the third or fourth incident.

Linda Borg’s ProJo report below provides full details.

Arrest is made in latest assault on a school bus

School officials are once again confronted with violent behavior by a group of youths at the corner of Branch Avenue and Hawkins Street.

01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 24, 2006
BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Six students attempted to force their way onto a Bishop Middle School bus on Thursday afternoon, the latest of three similar incidents over two weeks.

The incident Thursday occurred one block from Hopkins Middle School, at the intersection of Branch Avenue and Hawkins Street, where the previous incidents had also taken place.

According to a school spokeswoman, six Hopkins students approached the bus as it was taking students home and began pelting it with rocks. A Hopkins Middle School teacher pulled alongside in her car and told the students to go home. She later identified all six students to the police.

Meanwhile, the bus driver called the police. Officers arrested one youth and charged him with disorderly conduct.The police are continuing to investigate the incident; more charges are expected.
School spokeswoman Maria Tocco said the students opened the rear emergency door but were unable to get onto the bus. No one was injured.

Tocco said that one of the six students had been involved in the first bus incident, on Jan. 9. On that day, several students stopped and boarded a bus carrying students from Nathanael Greene Middle School. As the bus drove down Branch Avenue, the youths opened the emergency door, hit a middle school child and fled.

The next day, a large group of teenagers surrounded the same bus, also on Branch Avenue, and began pounding on it as the bus was driving children home to the East Side.

One of the students involved in the bus boarding incident has been expelled and sent to an alternative school, according to Andre Thibeault, director of school operations.

At last night's School Board meeting, School Supt. Donnie Evans described what school officials were doing to curb the violence. Bus monitors have been assigned to both buses and the police have assigned additional patrol officers, including undercover officers, to the neighborhood.

"The School Department is taking this very seriously," Evans said. "We're working hand-in-hand with the police."
Evans said he drove to the intersection last week and waited while buses carried students home from Hopkins Middle School. He also said that he has asked the principal and the assistant principal of Hopkins to be more visible at that corner after school.

"We intend to be proactive," he said, adding that school officials would speak with parents and students at the middle schools in question. He did not specify what school officials have planned for those meetings.

Evans also said that the School Department was looking at other options, including altering bus routes and changing school start and end times.

Meanwhile, the schools are making an effort to keep parents informed. On Friday, the principal of Bishop Middle School sent a phone message to all parents, explaining what had happened and what the School Department was doing about it.
lborg@projo.com / (401) 277-7823

Online at: http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_20060124_bus24.dac43d8.html

Posted at 7:47 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

School Bus Ruckus

Two bus incidents & a brawl

Another incident involving our school children occurred last week but was not reported by the Providence Journal until today. The Journal used a similar approach earlier in the year when they belatedly covered the near riot down at Kennedy plaza.

Last week’s incident involved children being bused home to the East Side from the Nathanael Greene School and took placer on Branch Av. Also reported in a related incident was a brawl involving “dozens of students” outside the Brooks Pharmacy at Branch and Charles Streets.

It seems some parents are upset about being left out of the loop without answers from the City and School Department.

For the complete background details read Linda Borg’s ProJo article, below.

Attacks on school bus rattle parents

Bus from Nathanael Greene first boarded, then jostled by group of youths

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 18, 2006
BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Two dozen parents packed the library at Nathanael Greene Middle School last night to find out what school officials are doing in the wake of two assaults last week on a middle school bus.

On Monday last week, at least two students stopped and boarded a bus on its way from Nathanael Greene to the East Side. As the bus was heading down Branch Avenue, the youths opened the emergency door, punched a middle school child, then fled as the bus driver tried to grab them, according to school officials. Some parents had heard that one of the youths tried to commandeer the bus, but school officials couldn't confirm that.

The next day, a group of teenagers surrounded the bus, also on Branch Avenue, and began pounding on it as it was driving children home. The size of the group varies, depending on the witnesses. One child reported seeing 40 teens attack the bus; school officials say the crowd was much smaller.

Adding to the confusion, a brawl involving dozens of teenagers broke out in front of the Brooks drugstore on Branch Avenue last week, and Nathanael Greene students on the same bus witnessed the incident; some thought it was aimed at their bus. Sgt. Kevin Lanni said that two youths have been arrested on charges related to the fight outside of the Brooks drugstore.

As the story of the attacks spread, parents became upset that the school wasn't giving them any answers. (Principal Nick Amaral sent a letter to parents on Friday describing what had happened and what the school was doing to prevent the incidents from occurring again.)

Last night, the leaders of the Parent Teacher Organization invited school officials to explain what steps they were taking to protect the children.
But school officials didn't appear to be on the same page. Amaral said that the bus driver couldn't identify the perpetrators, but Deputy School Supt. Frances Gallo said four youths had been identified.

She said the ringleader is a former Nathanael Greene student who has a grudge against the bus driver because he was allegedly involved in her expulsion from Greene. According to Gallo, the girl planned the incident and persuaded two boys from Hopkins Middle School to board the bus.

The girl is in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, and is being held at the Rhode Island Training School.

The two middle school boys have been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. A fourth student has been identified, but he no longer attends public school. He attends a privately run school for students who have been expelled from public school.

Last night, school officials said they were taking all three incidents very seriously. A school bus monitor has been temporarily assigned to Bus 81, and an unmarked police car follows the bus on its way home from school. In addition, the Police Department has beefed up patrols in the North End and assigned undercover officers to monitor the neighborhood.

Although the parents last night sounded calm, they were concerned that school officials get to the bottom of the violence. One parent wanted to know what Hopkins Middle School was doing to deal with the issue. Another asked whether closed-circuit cameras could be installed on the bus to record any future incidents, and a couple of parents wanted to know why the bus route couldn't be changed.
Gallo said she would ask the director of transportation to meet with middle school parents to discuss the busing issue.

Then, a middle school boy who witnessed the attacks spoke up:
"Every time they attack the bus, there are 40 kids at least," he said. "If there are real cops in the area, wouldn't that make these kids avoid the area?"
Lanni said the department has assigned marked and unmarked cruisers to the neighborhood.

"Why don't we use this as a teachable moment about how to process these emotions, this fear?" said Karina Lutz, whose daughter attends Greene. "I asked my daughter if she wanted me to drive her to school and she said no, because she didn't want them to win."

Gallo cautioned parents to keep these incidents, terrifying as they might seem, in perspective.

"It's not one school against another," she said. "I don't want it to become that. This young lady carries a lot of baggage. It's a shame that one individual could coerce others. We need to work on this as a school, as a family and as a community."
Amaral said he would speak to the children on Bus 81 today to see how they are feeling and answer questions they might have.
"What can we do as parents?" one parent said.

"Talk to your kids," Gallo said. "Tell them to report any rumors."

Posted at 12:24 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

BusStop BonanZa

It's been easy pickings for car thieves.

An informative Journal article on Wednesday, of interest to Mt. Hope residents, compiled some of what has been going on at the Bonanza bus terminal. Our own District 8 police feature prominently in the story and again illustrate how on top of the game our guys remain in protecting Mt. Hope.

Security improvements are planned in the parking lot to make parking there safer both for riders and for vehicles.

“Through the first eight months of 2005, 30 cars were reported stolen from the lot and 19 more were broken into.”

"These numbers are extremely high for one business location in the city of Providence," said police Lt. David Schiavulli, commander of District 8. "It was crazy."

It’s great to see action being taken to thwart thieves and to make the terminal lot safer; it’s about time bonanza made a move in that direction: we don’t need our District 8 police resources being used as security for the bus company when adequate security measures are the company’s responsibility.

Read the entire article below or at ProJo.com.

-
Submit a blog entry: BlogEntry

-

Bus parking lot a bonanza for thieves

"I hate to put it this way, but a lot of it is their own fault because they leave the stuff in the vehicle," says Lt. David Schiavulli.

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 11, 2006

BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Driving to the Bonanza bus terminal and leaving a car in the parking lot has been a gamble for a lot of people.
They just didn't know it.

Through the first eight months of 2005, 30 cars were reported stolen from the lot and 19 more were broken into.

"These numbers are extremely high for one business location in the city of Providence," said police Lt. David Schiavulli, commander of District 8. "It was crazy."
The police and Bonanza Bus Lines officials are now working together to make parking a less dicey proposition. At the urging of the police, Bonanza has erected a fence topped with barbed wire around two-thirds of the lot and has improved the lighting.
Other plans will mean the end of free parking.

The company intends to install electronic gates and to station an attendant around the clock at the lot, and to begin charging for parking to cover its costs.
Until now, the pickings have been easy for car thieves, according to Schiavulli. They could slip into and out of the lot through surrounding woods or merely walk in the main driveway.

"They know that these people are going to be away for a day, or two, or three" and that a theft won't be noticed for a while, Schiavulli said. Aside from the cars themselves, the thieves are mostly interested in stealing stereo systems and radios.
"Those are just the reported ones," he said of the statistics that he developed. "A lot of people don't even report a larceny from the auto because they don't have insurance."

Despite stepped-up police patrols, Schiavulli said last month, the thefts have continued, albeit at a slower rate, since he stopped compiling statistics as of Aug. 28. Marked police cars cruise in and out as a deterrent, and undercover police have been posted in the lot.
"Any cars assigned to that area are being told to make as many passes as they can in their tour of duty," Schiavulli said. "We're giving it as much attention as we can."
Not only has the lot been a magnet for thieves looking to steal a car, he noted, it has been a spot to dump a stolen car, too.

On the weekend of Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, for example, a car was reported stolen and two more were broken into. Another stolen car was recovered.

"People leave laptops in the front seat, pocketbooks in the front seat, leather coats in the back seat," Schiavulli said. "People have to learn to leave their valuables in the trunk, out of sight. I hate to put it this way, but a lot of it is their own fault because they leave the stuff in the vehicle."

Some of the losses occur because a door has been left unlocked, though if the doors are locked, the thieves break a window, he said. The thefts have not been concentrated at any particular time of day.

Bonanza has had a surveillance camera but its picture is not clear enough to identify any culprits and its field of view did not take in the tree line, according to the police. Most of the losses in Schiavulli's compilation involved cars parked near the woods' edge.

The police came close to catching one of the thieves on Sept. 4, when a man returned with a Jeep that he had stolen from the lot two days earlier. The owner's husband had taken a bus and nobody knew that the vehicle was gone.
The thief "was probably going to break into some cars, using that vehicle," Schiavulli said.

It was 1:15 a.m., and two officers were watching.

The Jeep circled the lot and the driver got out, they reported later. He tried the door handles on three or four cars, and when the officers approached, he jumped back into the Jeep and hastily drove out of the lot.

They chased him to Evergreen Street, about 12 blocks from the terminal, and the man "bailed" out of the Jeep while it was still in drive, according to the police.
The vehicle rolled down the street and smacked heavily into a utility pole in front of 14 Evergreen, causing several wires to fall.

"Our surveillance did work to a point, but unfortunately the apprehension was not able to be made," Schiavulli said. "I don't think he'll be back."

The lieutenant sent a letter to Bonanza Bus Lines about the crime problem, recommending specific remedies, including the installation of a fence 6 feet to 7 feet high, better lighting, electronic gates and a ticketing system for entry and exit, and a highly visible, roving security guard.

"We have their attention now," Schiavulli said. But even with safeguards, he cautioned, the thefts will not be eliminated.

"The problem was more severe than we knew," said Charles Bradshaw, Bonanza safety manager. Theives "will always take the path of least resistance."
The nearly 16-year-old bus terminal has a lot that can accommodate 250 cars. Customers come from throughout the region to the terminal, off Exit 25A from Route 95 north and Exit 25 from Route 95 south. Bonanza runs a free shuttle downtown to Kennedy Plaza.

In addition to Bonanza and its parent company, Peter Pan Bus Lines, of Springfield, Mass., some tour bus companies use the lot as a staging area.
Given the free parking, people have been in the habit of leaving their cars there for weeks or even months at a time.

A Mercedes-Benz, for example, protected by a canvas cover pulled taut with cords, is in the lot now. Bradshaw said it seems as if the owner intends to leave it there for the winter.

"We get a lot of [stolen car] dropoffs here, too," Bradshaw acknowledged. "So maybe we can put an end to that as well" with the security upgrades.
If a car has the appropriate registration plates on it, or if it has not been reported stolen, there is nothing the police can do even if the auto has been there for two months or more, Schiavulli said.

To bolster security, Bonanza has cut back trees and underbrush by about six feet around the lot, installed a 6-foot-high fence with barbed wire around two-thirds of the lot, added lamps to the poles that carry floodlights, and installed more poles with lights.

Bradshaw would not discuss the surveillance camera and if the company plans to upgrade it.

However, Bonanza has been in negotiation with a company to manage the lot and to have a 24-hour attendant on duty. Bradshaw said yesterday that entry and exit gates and an attendant's booth are expected to be constructed next month.
When the installation is complete, Bonanza will begin offering to escort passengers from their bus to their car at night, although it is only a short distance. Either a minivan or a golf cart would be used, Bradshaw said.

The fees will be less than those to park at the airport in Warwick or the train station in Providence, he said, and will be scaled according to use. There will be one charge for commuter parking, one for overnight, and a discounted charge for people who purchase a bus excursion fare.

"We're hoping for some good changes" regarding service and security, Bradshaw said.
gsmith@projo.com / (401) 277-7334

Posted at 12:32 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Tax Education

Mayor sends Letter to Gov!

Mayor David N. Cicilline again addressed the relationship between education costs and property taxes to Governor Carceri, the Providence Journal reported.

The Journal quoted a letter Mayor Cicilline wrote to the Governor: "I am asking that, in your budget recommendations, you put an immediate halt to the recent trend of shifting a greater percentage of school costs to local property taxpayers

A newly released study from Education Week gave our state a D in funding public schools. RI was ranked 5th from the bottom.

Interestingly enough RI ranks among the tops for spending per pupil, a fact that the Governor’s response team was quick to jump on: “"spends with the best but often performs with the worst," is what Jeff Neal said, according to the article. Seems that our state greatly underperforms on the nationwide test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

This debate has been ongoing for some time with both sides making compelling arguments for their point of view. Providence does get a large chunk of state spending for schools and our schools do perform poorly statewide.

The ProJo article below, Mayor to governor: Property taxes cannot support schools mentions more of the ideas being tossed around.

JT
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Mayor to governor: Property taxes cannot support schools

Mayor David N. Cicilline urges "an immediate halt to the recent trend of shifting a greater percentage of school costs to local property taxpayers."

01:00 AM EST on Friday, January 6, 2006

BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Mayor David N. Cicilline yesterday urged Governor Carcieri to stop what he called the recent trend of relying on property taxes to pay for public education.

Cicilline cited the latest study from Education Week, which gave Rhode Island a D for failing to adequately pay for its public schools. Only four states -- Vermont, Montana, Idaho and North Dakota -- received grades lower than Rhode Island's in Ed Week's annual report, Quality Counts. New Hampshire also received a D.

Although Rhode Island ranks among the highest in per-pupil spending, at $10,349 per student in 2003, Ed Week gives it poor marks for resource equity because it has no statewide financing formula for education.

"I am asking that, in your budget recommendations, you put an immediate halt to the recent trend of shifting a greater percentage of school costs to local property taxpayers," Cicilline wrote in a letter to Carcieri yesterday.

The mayor quoted state Education Commissioner Peter McWalters, who said that "the city is kicking in an increasing share each year through raising property taxes, and the kids are needier every year."

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal countered Cicilline's comments by saying that Rhode Island "spends with the best but often performs with the worst," referring to the state's typically lackluster performance on a nationwide test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

"Our per-pupil spending is among the highest in the country, and Providence gets a heavy share of the state school funding," Neal said.

This year, he said, the city will benefit from the sale of the Dunkin' Donuts Center, which will provide about $28 million that the city could spend on education.

Cicilline also asked that Carcieri help bring about a far and equitable formula to finance public education. In March 2004, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, a public policy group, announced a plan to create a state property tax to pay for public education. RIPEC's proposal also called for establishing a minimum per-pupil spending level, which would even out financing disparities between rich and poor districts.

Although the legislature created a joint committee to study the issue in the spring 2004, the idea languished until recently. Now, the committee is preparing to seek bids to hire an expert to determine what an adequate education might cost.

ProJo.com

Posted at 8:38 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Section 8 v Market Rate

Housing Crunch — Who’s getting crunched?

An interesting conflict of interest is in the process of arising in South Providence, as reported in the Providence Journal in their article by Ms. Davis, Tenants want to maintain homes under Section 8.

The conflict has arisen because the developer wishes to exercise her right to terminate her HUD contract when the 20 year time limit is up. Under these contracts developers were guaranteed favorable financing and they in turn were obligated to provide subsidized housing for 20 years.

The tenants would all be eligible for Section 8 vouchers if the units were converted.

But now that the obligatory 20 years are up the tenants and subsidized housing advocates wish to force the owner to maintain the units as subsidized housing instead of letting her exercise her rights to convert the units to market rates.

Someone even suggested taking the units by Eminent Domain—doesn’t that just make you shudder.

What good is a contract if both parties aren’t obligated to honor said contract?

It reinforces my philosophy of not ever doing business with the government, because it seems that if you do, you forfeit quite a few rights.

The article quoted one tenant, who has lived there for 13 years, who had to use an interpreter to speak to the ProJo reporter, who said that with what Section 8 paid she should live in a penthouse. That’s puzzling to me.

We do have a housing crunch and we do need a solution. But the government also needs to honor its contracts. If the government's side of a contract can be negated, leaving the developer having fulfilled their obligations but without rights, what developer in their right mind would enter into a future, similar program to provide subsidized housing?

I’ve heard people in Mt. Hope express the fervent wish that the units between Doyle and Pleasant Streets would go to market rates since they were probably built under similar circumstances. Their management’s inability to control the crime emanating from there has given the units a bad name. Rest assured there will be a battle royale there if and when that developer wishes to exercise their contract.

The cost of housing versus income in Rhode Island is alarming and growing worse, and still taxes rise, driving up housing costs even more.

John Twomey

Read the Projo article, Tenants want to maintain homes under Section 8,

below.

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Tenants want to maintain homes under Section 8

01:00 AM EST on Friday, January 6, 2006

BY KAREN A. DAVIS
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- After living for 17 years in the federally subsidized Barbara Jordan I apartment development, Sonia N. Rodriguez is afraid that she will have to leave if the landlord opts out of the affordable-housing program and leases the apartments at market rates.

Rodriguez and other members of the Barbara Jordan I Tenants Association are working with a tenants-rights advocacy group to prevent the 193-unit Section 8 apartments from losing the federal subsidies.

At a news conference yesterday, members of the Rhode Island HUD Tenant Project explained that they fear that the Barbara Jordan I Apartments -- which consists of one-, two- and three-family scattered-site housing in South Providence -- could be converted into market-rate housing, said Alex Moore, project coordinator.

If the conversion took place, residents would be eligible to receive Section 8 vouchers, which would enable them to to shop for affordable, private housing. But tenants say that vouchers are not the solution, given the state's housing crisis.

The Barbara Jordan I project was one of many developments nationwide that used mainly public financing to pay for affordable housing in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. Under 20-year contracts signed by private developers and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the developers were obligated to keep the units as Section 8 housing, which requires qualified tenants to pay no more than 30 percent of their income in rent.

After the contract expires, however, the developer is allowed to decide whether to remain in the subsidized program or opt out.

The contract for the Barbara Jordan I Apartments expires in August, Moore said, and tenants have reason to believe that principal owner Katrina Griffin, of SCHS Associates, plans to opt out of the program. She is expected to decide in April.

Griffin -- the daughter of the late Lloyd Griffin, developer of the project -- sent a letter to tenants in August giving them a one-year notice of her intent to terminate her contract with HUD, as is required under federal law.

However, advocates note, Griffin did not the tenants or Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Financing Corporation a two-year notice of contract termination, which state law requires.

Moore said the state should enforce its law on the two-year notice and consider taking the property by eminent domain or amend the law to require private owners to offer to sell the property to the tenants, Rhode Island Housing or a nonprofit organization.

Tenants and advocates want to lobby politicians and state and federal housing officials to ensure that the development does not abandon its mission to provide affordable housing.

"What I want is . . . for the landlord to sign the contract [with HUD], have a nonprofit buy it and give us the maintenance that we have not had for many years," said Mayra Carrasco, who has lived in the development for more than 13 years. Carrasco spoke to the audience with help from a Spanish interpreter. "We don't want vouchers. . . . With the way things are going, one day [President Bush] is going to take the vouchers away, and we'll be living on the street."

As a mother who raised her children in the development, Carrasco said she has pledged to fight on behalf of other single mothers who need affordable housing.

Furthermore, Carrasco said, "We are living there and the houses are not being taken care of. For the high rent that Section 8 has been paying, we should be living in a penthouse."

City Councilwoman Balbina Young said the Barbara Jordan I Apartments "have been problematic since its inception."

Young was joined behind the podium by Representatives Joseph Almeida and Grace Diaz, both Providence Democrats, and Noreen Shawcross, director of the state Office of Housing and Community Development.

Almeida vowed that legislators would do what they could to ensure that the development remained affordable to low-income residents.

"We've got enough problems on the South Side. . . . Don't take away our homes," he said.

Moore said his group and Almeida planned to meet with officials from the Rhode Island Housing next week.

Chris Barnett, spokesman for Rhode Island Housing, said the development could be saved from going market rate.

He said his agency has been "rescuing apartments like Barbara Jordan."

Under a program called Preservation, the agency has offered favorable financing to owners in exchange for a commitment that the property would be used only for affordable housing for the next 40 years.

"We are confident that the residents will not lose their homes," Barnett said, noting that thousands of units have been rescued statewide in the last few years. Among them are 294 units at Rumford Towers in East Providence.

http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_20060106_pjord6.1d2065e7.html

Posted at 3:01 PM | Issues | Comments (3)

Mugging for New Year's!

Catching up on the Local

Lot's of interesting news lately that has or will impact us locally here in Mt. Hope: housing, corruption, City Council action, education & taxes, crime.

One item of interest is the Pro Jo article a few days ago about the City's spate of violence over the New years weekend. Why it was only reported days after the fact, you'll have to ask Pro Jo.

Of local interest is the person who was attacked from behind by two armed assailants, just off of Camp Street, around 11 pm last Thursday and ended up in Miriam Hospital with serious head wounds.

The article can be read below.

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New Year's weekend brings violence

Four stabbings and a shooting occurred Thursday through Saturday.
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 4, 2006

BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- One man was shot and four others were stabbed in separate incidents as part of a violent outburst in the city over the long holiday weekend.

The incidents were less serious than three others that have been widely reported, including what the police said were two homicides early Thursday morning and Friday night and a stabbing late Friday night that left a man in critical condition.

The outburst began Thursday with the shooting death of Tonea "Nutt" Sims, who died at about 1:30 a.m. after he was shot repeatedly while sitting in the kitchen of a house in South Providence.

At about 11 p.m. Thursday, the police went to Miriam Hospital, where Santana Vicente, 24, of 61 Wendell St., in the West End, was being treated for what a doctor described as serious but non-life-threatening head wounds.

Vicente told the police that he was attacked from behind as he walked on a side street in Mount Hope, near Camp Street. The attacker hit him on the head with a metallic object and a second assailant stabbed him in the head with a metallic object, he said.

The victim managed to get away after wrestling with his attackers and called his brother, who drove him to the hospital. Vicente suffered five or six deep scalp cuts, according to the police.

The victim said his attackers said nothing and took nothing from him.
The next morning, shortly before 5 a.m. Friday, Robert Ruotolo, 51, whose home address was not disclosed, met the police at Branch Avenue and Charles Street. He said someone had stabbed him with a screwdriver as he was lying on a couch.

Ruotolo, whose head was bloody and who had puncture marks on his arms, was treated at Rhode Island Hospital, according to the police.

At about 5:30 a.m. Friday, the police went to 58 Dora St., Silver Lake, for a report of a shooting. Wendell Gwinn, 39, of that address, said that as he was walking on Whitehall Street near his house, a car drove by, he heard some popping noises and he suffered a leg wound. He was treated at Rhode Island Hospital.

Later Friday, at about 10:15 p.m., Johnny Jiminez, 32, of 17 Burnett St., Elmwood, was found shot to death on Cornwall Street in the North End. Detectives consider it the city's 22nd homicide of 2005.

About 45 minutes later, Pedro Natareno, 20, of 78 Lawn St., Mt. Pleasant, fell to the street at Sears and Rangeley avenues, Mount Pleasant, stabbed in the chest.

The police said yesterday that Natareno remains in critical condition after surgery, and that he very nearly became Providence's 23rd homicide of the year.

At the scene, the police quickly arrested David Contreras, 20, of 46 Sears Ave., who was standing nearby wearing a blood-stained white hooded sweatshirt, and charged him with assault with a dangerous weapon.

Contreras was arraigned yesterday in District Court and he entered no plea on the felony charge. Chief Judge Albert E. DeRobbio set cash bail at $50,000. Contreras also was arraigned on a charge of violating a suspended sentence in a previous District Court drug case, and DeRobbio ordered him held without bail on that count pending a hearing Jan. 17.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, Donald W. Turmel, 47, of 162 Broad St., at Crossroads Rhode Island, told the police that two men had accosted him and demanded money as he stood in front of the Crossroads building. One of the men stabbed him in his left side with a pair of scissors, he said.

When officers arrived, the scissors were still embedded in Turmel. He was treated at Rhode Island Hospital.

In another stabbing that morning, the police said Antonio Gomes, 44, of 396 Pawtucket Ave., Pawtucket, complained that his girlfriend stuck him in the chest with a steak knife at her apartment in Washington Park after he refused to have sex with her.

Dionne Smith, 38, of 145 Babcock St., was charged with felony domestic assault and was arraigned in District Court yesterday. An assistant public defender representing Smith said she claims self-defense.

Officers were dispatched to her apartment at about 7:30 a.m., where they learned that an argument began in the bedroom and moved into the kitchen, where Smith allegedly knifed Gomes.

In another violent incident, which was neither a shooting nor a stabbing, Christopher Dyment, a 26-year-old professional hockey player for the Providence Bruins, suffered a serious eye injury in a fight on the East Side early New Year's Day.
gsmith@projo.com / 401-277-7334

http://www.projo.com/

Posted at 12:40 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Mt. Hope Snow Poll

Again the City reacted to a snow situation. Were you impressed or underwhelmed?

On my street the plows came early and often, which I see as an improvement, though there was little snow to remove.

On Camp Street, I shoveled a sidewalk early, there was only an inch and a half of accumulation, but then the snow plows came at high velocity and threw up on the sidewalk about 5 inches of heavy, wet snow, garbage and leaves, which I then had to remove a 2nd time.

Why can't the plowers use common sense and a modicum of skill to remove street snow without making the sidewalks worse. Is it neccessary to plow at high speed, thus sending all the street snow onto the sidewalk, instead of proceeding with care and finess and not sending the snow flying to cover the sidewalks worse than the snow falling from the sky"

I ask, how was it in your neck of the woods?

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POLL

The most recent poll on the City's performance in Snow Removal showed improvement, in a definite upward trend. Let's hope that trend continues and is not just an anomaly due to the benign nature of the recent snow fall. Not one respondent thought that the City's response was "Hopelessly Inept", and that is kind of a backhanded vote of confidence.

Let's hope they can keep up the improvement.

Posted at 11:24 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Heads Up . . . Shots Fired!

Police investigate 7 shootings . . . Mt. Hope connection!

ProJo reported on 12-20, “ . . . James _______, 16, of 19 Pleasant Court, Mount Hope, was standing at the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent, when six shots were fired from a gray Nissan Maxima.”

The ProJo article stated, “Detectives are looking for connections among some of seven shootings in recent days, one of which occurred on a corner in Mount Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.”

Now, August seems not so long ago: when I re-read the August 19th blog post, Warning Shots, the August 18th, blog post, Police Respond to Mt. Hope Crime, and the August 17th blog post, Shots fired – Crime Watch Time!, I’m reminded of the need for all Mt. Hope residents to remain vigilant and well informed about what is going on in Mt. Hope.

Luckily, our Police Department is right on top of the situation and responding appropriately to protect Providence citizens. And you know you can count on our own District 8 police to do their best in Mt. Hope.

Still, it would behoove Mt. Hope residents to be aware of their surroundings, to remember, that although Mt. Hope is a wonderful, diverse neighborhood, certain problems present certain dangers, here, in Mt. Hope and to take precautions for themselves and their families when driving in areas where known drug dealing occurs; for these are the likely locations for potential drive-by shootings.

We do not need to read about some innocent victim shot in a crossfire because of a drug or gang feud which most Mt. Hope citizens have nothing to do with and know little about.

When ProJo uses sentences like “. . . on a corner in Mt. Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.” And, “ . . the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent . . .” then I guess that drug dealing in Mt. Hope has come out of the closet and is no longer the community’s dirty little secret to be whispered about in shame and embarrassment, lest someone acknowledge the problem. I’m neither embarrassed, nor will I live in fear, yet I do recognize the need to be aware and alert to my surroundings, and to acknowledge the type of people we live among.

Read, Police examine possible links in city shootings from the ProJo below.

Police examine possible links in city shootings

Shots were fired in seven incidents over seven days beginning Dec. 10; six people were injured.

01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, December 20, 2005

BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Detectives are looking for connections among some of seven shootings in recent days, one of which occurred on a corner in Mount Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, Markise Wilson, 23, of 150 Fillmore St., Wanskuck, was walking on June Street, near the Chad Brown housing project in his neighborhood, when several shots were fired from a passing car, the police said.

Wilson told the police that he ducked, but he was hit twice in the lower left arm. He was treated at Rhode Island Hospital.
Witnesses reported that a gray Pontiac Bonneville with Massachusetts plates left the area at high speed.

About an hour later, James Goddard, 16, of 19 Pleasant Court, Mount Hope, was standing at the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent, when six shots were fired from a gray Nissan Maxima.

Goddard was hit once in the hip and once in the buttock. He was treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital, according to Lt. Hugh Clements, detective commander.

Those were among at least seven shooting incidents over seven days, beginning Dec. 10. There may be connections among five of them, Clements said.

The first in the rash of shootings, in which two Providence men were wounded, occurred on Yorkshire Street, Wanskuck, on Dec. 10. Inside an apartment nearby, the police found a toy polar bear stuffed with cocaine.

Late on Dec. 13, about five gunshots were fired at a moving car on June Street, near the Chad Brown complex. A 21-year-old Providence man was wounded.

When asked last night, Clements said some of the shootings might have been related to inter-neighborhood feuds.

"Over the years there have been many feuds. We are investigating whether these recent shootings are connected in any way, which ones are connected and how they may be connected," Clements said.
"We have received information on which we can follow up," he said.
At least two of the attacks were drive-by shootings.

Another shooting occurred shortly before 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Tyrone Way, 26, of the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, was shot in the left leg near 12 Osborn St., Smith Hill.

Way told the police that he was helping his girlfriend's uncle move out of his apartment when an unknown assailant shot him from behind. The victim was treated at Roger Williams Medical Center.

There were two more shooting incidents Thursday and Saturday, but nobody was injured.

On Thursday, no more than a half hour after Way was shot, the police raced to the vicinity of 14 Ledge St., in the North End, for a report of shots fired. Witnesses told the officers that they saw two males in dark clothing run away on Gillen Street.

Patrol Officers Theodore Michael and Michael Pattie apprehended two males at gunpoint behind 23 Gillen St. The officers said they found a 38-caliber, Taurus brand handgun with three rounds expended, in the snow nearby. The suspects were an 18-year-old from Opper Street, also in the North End, and a juvenile whose name the police withheld.

There was at least one bullet hole in a minivan parked at 14 Ledge St. It was not clear last night whether either suspect has been charged with a crime.

The seventh shooting occurred Saturday on Thurbers Avenue in South
Providence, but the police apparently do not see a link between that incident and the others.

At about 3:30 a.m., shots were fired through two of the windows of an apartment occupied by Kiki Mitchell, 29, of 259 Thurbers Ave. The police said eight other bullets apparently penetrated a vacant apartment next door.

Neighbors recovered 11 spent 9mm shell casings in a parking lot behind 247 Thurbers Ave.

Mitchell told the police that her brother is feuding with some unknown individuals.

Posted at 12:38 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

TaxPayer Poll

Vote your concscience or vote your pocketbook -- but vote!

Another blizzard hit the hills of Mt. Hope, just as it hit the hills of College Hill: which hills do you think were cleaned most quickly and effectively?

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THE VOTE IS IN!

POLL: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MT. HOPE SNOW REMOVAL?

90.63% were Disgusted.

9.38% were Happy.

BlogEntry

Posted at 4:39 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Stuck in the Middle With You!

Not enough lawyers per square mile?

My car was stuck half way up on Cypress street last winter. If I have to leave the house during a snow storm, I come back via Olney, then Camp. Try that.

I was trapped in my house yesterday, because I live on a side street, and it is not a priority for snow removal. However, it is a very hilly street, so even if you manage to get out of your driveway, after that your car will slide downhill, and do not count on good tires and new breakes, gravity will do its trick on a slippery surface. All you have left is to pray that you will not collide with another car at the bottom of the hill, because it is a T-intersection.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, so I had to call David Pontarelli at ONS and to beg for help. Forty minutes later my street was ploughed. Thank you, David.

My question is why did I have to call David at all. We live in the North East, and every winter we have snow, we can count on that like we can count on a tax bill from the City. Why don't we have a reliable system in place that would insure adequate snow removal in our City?

And by the way Cypress Street is a major street and it is on a hill, it should be on the priority list for snow removal so that people unfamiliar with Mt. Hope shortcuts should be able to use Cypress Street at all times.

And why year after year College Hill streets are being cleaned much better than ours? Is it because we, in Mt. Hope, have fewer lawyers per square mile who could raise hell if the streets are not ploughed?

Irene

Posted at 10:17 AM | Issues | Comments (2)

Mt. Hope Massage

Is this good news or what!

Here’s some good news. The City of Providence has begun a crack down on the proliferation of Massage Parlors operating as brothels that have sprung up in the city, two, I think in Mt. Hope: one behind Benny’s and the other on N. Main Street

The Oriental Garden at 776 N. Main Street, in Mt. Hope, was raided last week and the owner sent a letter by the City Solicitor warning of further consequences if the proprietor of the brothel was not evicted.

Most of these so called Massage Parlors employ Asian immigrants, some here illegally, who must work in the sex trade to pay off the cost of immigration, inside sources have revealed. These exploited women often sleep ten to a room in the brothel, are intimidated and kept isolated, and in reality are little more than victims of the sex slave trade.

A victimless crime: not on your life.

A loophole in Rhode Island law has allowed these businesses to operate, as the law bans prostitution on the streets but not inside buildings. This loophole has made it more difficult to prosecute the operators, so now the nuisance laws are being brought into play.

Read Cathleen Crowley’s ProJo article on the subject from yesterday’s paper below.

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Landlord tells spa owner to vacate

The city says The Oriental Garden Spa is being used as a "common nuisance for lewdness."

01:00 AM EST on Monday, December 5, 2005

BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- In response to a stern warning from the city, the landlord of The Oriental Garden Spa has ordered the alleged brothel to vacate the property at 776 North Main St.

Carl D. Corrow, the registered agent for VCC LCC, which owns the building, sent a letter to the spa owner, Robert Kwait, on Thursday.
The letter, which was faxed to the Providence city solicitor, told Kwait to leave the building immediately.

Corrow wrote that he was unaware that police had conducted an undercover investigation at the spa and had issued a warrant for Kwait's arrest. Kwait is wanted for allegedly operating a massage parlor without a license.

The city's letter to the property owner stated that the spa was being used as a "common nuisance for lewdness."

Corrow warned the spa owner that he had violated his lease and if he failed to vacate the building, VCC would take further legal action.
"This appears to be the first step in the right direction," said City Solicitor Joseph M. Fernandez.

VCC bought the building and took over Oriental Garden's two-year lease on Sept. 20.

The solicitor's office also sent warning letters to Midori Spa, 112 Union St., and Central Spa, 76 Derry St. The letters stated that if the building owners didn't take all reasonable, lawful measures to eject the massage parlors, they could be subject to fines, imprisonment or court injunctions. The property owners were told they had five days to comply. Only VCC has taken action.

Staff writer Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at ccrowley@projo.com or (401) 277-7376.

Posted at 11:10 AM | Issues | Comments (2)

"Impact Players"

How to deal with "Impact Players"

If you follow regional news at all you are aware that just north of us the City of Boston, right now, experiences a horrendous problem with gun violence connected to gangs and drug dealing. Boston recently recorded it’s 66th homicide of 2005, and the city’s huge number of shootings grows daily.

Goodness graciousness, what happened? It seems like yesterday that they were bragging of the Massachusetts Miracle and low crime rates, and Bill Bratton was a hero to Police Chiefs around the nation.

Boston's crime fighting solution was held up as a national example of how to succeed in the fight against youth violence and drug crime: zero tolerance to quality of life issues, community based out-reach by church ministers and community groups, aggressive prosecution of gun and drug violence, and strict sentencing by the courts.

That was way back in the early 90’s, way, way back . . . almost ten years ago. Well, that’s certainly not an eternity, not ancient history.

Of course now, Boston blames it all on New Hampshire, because many of the guns haunting Boston streets were purchased in New Hampshire, whose guns laws are more lax than those in Massachusetts.

Com'on Guys!

What bothers me . . .

I don’t know what’s to keep this growing problem from traveling down Route 95 to our fair City of Providence. Now is the time to think of addressing the problem before it grows into a crises like it has right now in Boston.

Thankfully, Providence has a visionary Police Chief in Col. Esserman who has already taken a proactive approach to guns. He has made taking guns off of the streets of Providence a priority, and Providence gun violations are prosecuted federally, resulting in longer sentences and sending a strong message to would be perpetrators.

McGrory’s Column

I read columnist Brian McGrory in Friday’s Boston Globe, and I appreciate his point:

“They can start all the midnight basketball leagues they want. They can have outreach programs until they're blue in the face, create another 50,000 summer jobs in the mailroom of State Street Bank, allow ministers to pitch tents on city streets.

But there is nothing that will stop the senseless violence across this city quicker than the simplest solution of all: Put gun-toting punks in jail.”

McGorory spoke with the Mayor, the Police Commissioner, and the D.A. and all three agreed that the “impact players”, i.e. the bad guys, must be put behind bars.

“They didn’t get the message of intervention and prevention, so they have to be treated harshly.”

I’m all for getting the Mt. Hope “impact players”, the bad guys who just don’t get it and insist on dealing drugs on our streets and breaking into our cars and homes and vandalizing our property, rounded up and put behind bars. No sympathy for them from these quarters. One night last week, my wife and I were woken from a sound sleep by the sound of 17 gun shots from up on Camp Street!

You can read all of McGrory’s column below.

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Solution lies behind bars

By Brian McGrory, Globe columnist | December 2,
2005

They can start all the midnight basketball leagues they want. They can have outreach programs until they're blue in the face, create another 50,000 summer jobs in the mailroom of State Street Bank, allow ministers to pitch tents on city streets.
But there is nothing that will stop the senseless violence across this city quicker than the simplest solution of all: Put gun-toting punks in jail.

The liberals, of course, are aghast at harsh action. How dare anyone hassle young victims of broken families trying to survive the streets of an increasingly mean city? We ought to be guiding them, not incarcerating them.

Yeah, well, sorry. Most of those liberals aren't living in Dorchester, Mattapan, or Roxbury. They're not lying in bed at night listening to gunfire crackle in the near distance. They're not sending their kids to a grammar school on a road that's raked by bullets during recess.

How bad is the problem? I was talking yesterday to Barry Mullen, head of a neighborhood association in Fields Corner, and he was marveling that people in Dorchester know the difference between the sound of gunshots and fireworks. ''Isn't it disgraceful?" he said.
As bad, Mullen said, is the lack of police response. ''I go to two crime watch meetings a week, and I hear it again and again, that our 911 calls aren't answered," he said. ''The police do the best they can, but they're overworked."

Over in Codman Square, Bill Walczak, the head of the Codman Square Health Center, spoke of a new gang in the neighborhood, an increase in robberies, gunfire in the night. Then he offered a strategy with Mark Twain-like simplicity: ''Some bad guys need to go away."

As I was asking Walczak and Mullen about the problem, Mayor Thomas M. Menino was behind closed doors in City Hall with Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley hashing over solutions. They emerged with a laundry list of ideas: sweeping hardened criminals off the streets with existing warrants, pushing for a gun court, putting more emphasis on witness protection. In separate telephone conversations, all three struck the chord that Walczak already had: Put bad guys behind bars.

''You have to calibrate between prevention, intervention, and enforcement, and we obviously need more enforcement right now," O'Toole said.

''The term for these guys is impact players," Conley said. ''They're out there causing serious problems and wreaking havoc in some of our poorer neighborhoods. They didn't get the message of intervention and prevention, so they have to be treated harshly."

This meeting was an excellent first step, and credit to the mayor for acknowledging the breadth and depth of the problem. But it is just one step.

Back in the crime-fighting heyday of the mid- and late 1990s, when murders were at a notable low, judges seemed to have worked out a private agreement not to grant low bail or light sentences to gun-wielding punks from Boston.

At the same time, the police commissioner, the district attorney, the attorney general, and the US attorney worked in lockstep, indicting the worst thugs in town. If prosecutors had the chance to send a punk to Leavenworth for 20 years rather than South Bay for 20 months, they pushed the case into federal court. Word spread on the street pretty quickly.

People like to talk about all the outreach in the 1990s, but most of the success was because authorities put criminals behind bars. This same coordination needs to happen again -- immediately. O'Toole, Conley, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, and US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan need to make this their collective priority. I know all about the rising number of juveniles and the decreasing number of cops. I know all about the flow of convicts being released from jail.
But I also know that good people, innocent people, hard-working people are living in constant fear in their homes.

Boston has handled this before, better than any other city in America. It needs to spare no effort to get there again.

Brian McGrory is a Globe columnist. His e-mail is mcgrory@globe.com.

Posted at 7:39 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Boston's Crime Cameras

If it's good enough for Boston...

Today's Boston Globe features a front page, below the fold, story about the City of Boston's plan to install digital surveillance cameras in high crime areas and mentions the intent to allow the police drug unit to access the cameras if requested.

Digital Crime Camera - Lane Turner/Globe Staff

The globe quotes Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole: “We hope to be creative," she said in an interview. ''If the drug unit wants to monitor cameras in the areas where there's been drug activity, they can do that."

Of course the usual debate got underway among the usual suspects:

“Sarah Wunsch, a staff lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said yesterday that cameras have not been effective in combating crime in Britain, where they have been commonplace since the 1990s. She also said the public should be concerned about the cameras' power to give the government more information on individual habits.”

'We're talking about the government and the police choosing to use high-powered surveillance cameras out in public, where people think the government is not spying on them,’ Wunsch said. 'We will turn into a very different society . . . ' Who are you meeting with? What book are you reading?' Americans ought to think about it.”
O'Toole said she has been responsive to the ACLU's concerns, saying the department agreed to dispose of tapes from the cameras after 90 days.”

In Boston, shootings are up 28% and the police force is down nearly 200 officers from 5 years ago. Chinatown will be the first Boston community to get the cameras.

Could it be good for Mt. Hope?

I know where I would put cameras in Mt. Hope. But let’s let our bloggers debate the issue. Would you put cameras in Mt. Hope? Why? Why not? Where would you put cameras in Mt. Hope. What type of crime would you like to deter? Would you contribute funds toward cameras if the money went only to Mt. Hope law enforcement? How long do you think the records should be kept. Do you think cameras would deter drug dealing in Mt. Hope? What if perps wear hooded sweatshirts, shades and caps and thus cannot be identified on camera. Thugs are smart and have thus far learned to operate successfully right under the police’s nose. Would cameras really be effective in Mt. Hope?

Read the Globe story, High-crime areas to receive cameras, below.

Peter Cassells & John Twomey contributed to this post

Cty to use cameras in bid to fight crime
Chinatown, other sites to get device
By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff | November 19, 2005

By January, Boston will install about 40 sophisticated surveillance cameras in Chinatown, along Boston Harbor, and in high-crime areas, probably including Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday he believes the digital cameras can be an effective tool against crime. ''Any technology or any operation that we can use that will help us combat violence in the streets of our city, we're going to look at very seriously," he said in an interview.

Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole said yesterday that the city eventually plans to link its cameras with others already in transportation hubs, housing developments, and private businesses to help stem a surge in crime.

''We hope to be creative," she said in an interview. ''If the drug unit wants to monitor cameras in the areas where there's been drug activity, they can do that."

The cameras to be installed in coming weeks were purchased for and used during the Democratic National Convention in July 2004, but have been shelved since. Police originally said the cameras would go up in Chinatown in February.

The delay, officials said, involved getting permission from businesses and homes to mount the cameras, as well as the technical difficulties of wiring the cameras.
Civil libertarians, however, said Boston should keep the cameras on the shelf.

Sarah Wunsch, a staff lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said yesterday that cameras have not been effective in combating crime in Britain, where they have been commonplace since the 1990s. She also said the public should be concerned about the cameras' power to give the government more information on individual habits.

''We're talking about the government and the police choosing to use high-powered surveillance cameras out in public, where people think the government is not spying on them," Wunsch said. ''We will turn into a very different society . . . 'Who are you meeting with? What book are you reading?' Americans ought to think about it."
O'Toole said she has been responsive to the ACLU's concerns, saying the department agreed to dispose of tapes from the cameras after 90 days.

On Halloween night, Chelsea became the first Boston-area municipality to activate a digital camera surveillance network. It plans to install 27 cameras to cover the entire city.

In Chinatown, some residents said they are happy to be the first community that would get the cameras. Officials said the neighborhood will get eight or nine cameras in the next month.

Karen Chen, a community organizer with the Chinese Progressive Association, said residents are concerned about possible privacy infringements, but most are more worried about their safety.

A preliminary count of two homicides, 211 robberies, and 292 aggravated assaults through Nov. 13 in the police district covering downtown and Chinatown has left residents unnerved. Citywide, shootings increased by 28 percent through Oct. 23, compared with the same period last year.

Others said cameras aren't enough to fight crime.
''I think much more police officers would be helpful," said Tim Ruan, the former administrative director of the Chinatown Residents Association.

The department's patrol force of about 1,300 is down nearly 200 from five years ago, a decline the city attributes to federal and state funding cuts.

Police Superintendent Robert Dunford, who is spearheading the camera project, said the technology is intended as a tool to help police prevent and solve crimes.

''If we had a crime and we knew the area had been under surveillance, obviously we would pull the tape and we could identify who had been in the area prior to the event," he said.

Dunford said the cameras will also be used to help determine police deployment. He said there are thousands of cameras in the city to potentially link with, and he cited Chicago as a model.

Jennifer Martinez, a spokeswoman for the city of Chicago, said there are roughly 2,000 cameras in Chicago's network, which covers housing developments and transportation centers, but not private businesses.
Andrew Velasquez, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications in Chicago, said city officials believe the cameras, which were installed starting in 2001, are partly responsible for a decline in crime. Chicago reduced its homicide rate by 25 percent last year, resulting in a 38-year low.

''Having that extra set of eyes and ears out there has contributed to the Chicago Police Department's crime-fighting strategy," Velasquez said.

Two dozen cameras are outfitted with gunshot detection software. ''There are acoustic sensors built into the cameras, so if there's a gunshot detected within the vicinity of the camera, that camera will focus on the area where there has been a shooting," Velasquez said. ''There will be an alarm or an alert to tell the person watching."

O'Toole said she hopes to buy more cameras for Boston soon and is looking for ways, including donations from businesses, to pay for them, since federal homeland security money only covers the cost of the 19 cameras to be placed along the harbor to help guard tankers carrying liquefied natural gas against terrorist threat.

She said she only wants to put cameras in areas where there is strong community support for them.

However, she said the issue is raised at most crime watch meetings, suggesting widespread interest.

Posted at 1:44 AM | Issues | Comments (4)

Landmark Providence Lawsuit

Young v Providence

Why does the Providence Journal keep burying the coverage of the Cornel Young Jr. wrongful death suit deep inside the Rhode Island section of the paper? I would think that most people consider this lawsuit front page news in Providence and throughout Rhode Island.

The Journal prominently covers a party at the Brown student center on the top of the front page yet they bury a landmark legal case in the City’s history. Once again I wonder if Pro Jo functions as an arm of City Hall or as a de facto Providence Chamber of Commerce.

The article is even difficult to find in the on-line version of the paper, not featured in any of the teasers that lead readers to prominent stories.

I e-mailed the writer of yesterday’s piece Edward Fitzpatrick to ask this question.

Today’s article below.

John

Prignano defends 'on-duty' policy

Providence's former police chief testifies in a testy appearance on the witness stand.

01:00 AM EST on Thursday, November 17, 2005

BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Former Providence Police Chief Urbano Prignano Jr., in a combative appearance in federal court yesterday, defended the policy that led Sgt. Cornel Young Jr. to intervene in an armed confrontation in 2000.

Young, who was off-duty, died when he pulled his gun and tried to quell a disturbance outside Fidas restaurant in the Valley neighborhood. He was shot to death by two police colleagues who mistook him for a suspect.

In a policy that Prignano inherited but stoutly believes in, the Police Department required off-duty officers to carry their department sidearms and to take action when "time is of the essence to safeguard life or property." In shorthand, it is known as the "always-on-duty policy."

Officers should have their guns with them at all times in case they encounter a criminal with a weapon, especially a "bad guy" that they had "put away" in prison, Prignano contended.

Leisa Young, Cornel Young Jr.'s mother, is suing the City of Providence in U.S. District Court for violating her son's civil rights.

She claims that the department did not train Patrol Officer Michael Solitro III, one of the officers who shot her son, and other officers on how to handle confrontations between uniformed and off-duty officers.

Her lawyers have sought to portray the department as having been isolated and behind the times, compared to other law-enforcement agencies, for clinging to the always-on-duty policy.

Since Young was killed, the policy has been changed.
Prignano, who prided himself on being a streetwise policeman with a knack for burrowing into organized crime, served as chief from October 1995 to Jan. 31, 2001, when he left amid controversy.
Now retired, he came to the witness box draped in a blue sport coat and a white shirt. Due to his heart condition, the lawyers had agreed to limit the duration of Prignano's testimony for any single sitting.
Although Leisa Young's lawyers called him to the stand, he was not a friendly witness.

Even as lawyer Nicholas Brustin would pose questions, Prignano would plow ahead with extended answers, talking over Brustin. Their awkward Q & A appeared to be complicated by Prignano's being hard of hearing. For a while, they sparred over the meaning of the term "common sense."
Several times Judge William E. Smith Jr. admonished Prignano to give only "yes" or "no" answers when the questions called for that and, in general, to restrain himself.

Prignano insisted that he needed to give explanations.
"It looks like I'm a police chief who doesn't care. And that's not so," he declared.

As Prignano persisted in his assertive responses, the exasperated judge finally remarked, "Maybe we should just break for the day."

Among the points Prignano made: If he was still chief, he would still require off-duty officers to carry guns and intervene in crimes if they were able.

While he was chief, he believed that officers were trained about how to show their badges if they had to pull their guns and act while off-duty. Cornel Young Jr. has been faulted for not showing his badge before he was shot.

While he was chief, he should have instituted a general order specifically instructing officers how to show their badges when they pulled their guns while off-duty.

Prignano is scheduled to resume his testimony this morning.
The other witness yesterday was Sgt. Michael Harris, who was assistant director of the police training academy from which Solitro graduated.

His wife, former Sgt. Tonya King Harris, was in the audience as a gesture of support, as a lawyer for the city relentlessly challenged him with questions.

Harris said that in Solitro's academy, there was no training on how uniformed officers should handle themselves during confrontations with off-duty officers and vice versa.
Harris testified that the Rhode Island Minority Police Officers

Association, of which he was vice president, was quite concerned about minority officers disproportionately being targeted as suspects, and shot, by on-duty officers across the country. Young was black and the officers who killed him are white.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged, neither he nor the association proposed at the time that police training be improved regarding misidentification of off-duty officers.

"Obviously Jai would still be here" if the training was better, Harris said, using Cornel Young Jr.'s nickname.

Online at: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20051117_young17.170dd86a.html

Posted at 12:25 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Grafitti in Mt. Hope

Grafitti is back with a vengence

A member reports that the City has only a two man crew assigned to grafitti removal and that that is not their only duty. Does that make sense to you?

Community Garden Sign

This is the sign for the Community Garden. Who would deface their own community? Who teaches these kids their values, anyone?

When you look at this expression, in one way you are looking at the expression of ignorance. Chances are the parents or relatives of the kid who did this use, and love, the Community Garden.

BTP Retaining Wall above garden

Retaining Wall

The retaining wall above the Community garden. Believe, me it looks much worse in reality than it does framed in my photograph.

Cypress Street Overpass

Grafitti is back beneath the under pass of the Cypress Street Walkway. This time it looks more ominous. I do not know how to interpret these symbols. Is it gang related? You tell me.

Overpass Sidewall

SideWall

Two shots of the sidewall of the Cypress Street Overpass. Somebody feels comfortable enough of not being caught by the police that they stand there for some time to deface our city property in this way.

A Disturbing Trend?

Last, but not least, the most disturbing grafitti I found, the grafitti on a person's home on Knowles Street. It is more disturbing because it entailed an invasion of private property and vandalism of private property, a Mt. Hope tax paying citizen's home.

Grafitti on Mt. Hope home (Private Property)

Can anyone tell us what this symbol in red means? What does the perpetrator mean by the words "Black Fam"? It looks to me like the grafittier was writing "Black Family" when he/she/it had to run away and leave the word incomplete, "Fami . .". But what's it all mean. The house is owned and occupied by a long time, caucasian Mt. Hope resident.

If it bothers you . .

If the growing incidents of grafitti defacing property in our community, including private property, disturbs you, you should contact the people whose job it is run our City and to police our streets: your Councilman Jackson, your Police Chief Col. Esserman, and your Mayor, David Cicilline.

John Twomey

Posted at 4:17 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

Pleasant Street Drug Dealing

Suspected Drug House Identified

Crime Watch members report a great deal of what looks like alleged drug related activity at 107/109 Pleasant Street.

Most of the activity involves the second floor tenants. Crime Watch reports that cars are pulling up all hours of the night, beeping, people yelling up to the windows, going up to the the apartment, staying a short time then leaving. Soon, another car pulls up, and the sceniario repeats itself.

Some seemingly related activity is alleged to also take place in the first floor unit.

Can we find and contact the owners to notify them of the illegal activity on their property?

Crime Watch reports no police activity or visibility on Pleasant St. around this location or during this activity.

Crime Watch reports that another house poetntially involved in drug related activity, 117 Pleasant, has become much more careful in their activities since the Crime Watch first reported the location but that their activity still looks a lot like drug dealing.

Crime Watch is reporting the activity to Disctrict 8 Police and asking them to notify NOCD to investigate.

Anyone having any information to add e-mail Crime Watch

John Twomey

Posted at 3:29 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Incident on Lancaster?

Incident on Lancaster -- any word?

Around 11:00 pm last night I heard a woman screaming outside my house. I checked the corner of Camp and Woodbine Streets (the usual suspect for noise) and saw nothing. The screaming continued and I finally located it somewhere behind my house.

I opened my window and I could make out that she was screaming words, "Help me! Help me! He's raping me!" Shaking, I quickly grabbed the phone and called 911. As I was on the phone I continued to hear her screaming, along with a man's voice. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but she was screaming "He's lying!" The operator transferred me to the police where they took all my infomation again and then told me I could hang up.

I listened to the screaming for a several more minutes before I saw an officer drive by on Camp Street and the woman screamed for him. He turned down Lancaster Street and the screaming stopped. I'm not sure what happened after that. Anyone else in that area witness this last night?

Posted at 11:28 AM | Issues | Comments (5)

Re: Eyewitness Report

Eyewitness Report

As an attendee at last week's Greater Camp Concerned Citizens meeting, I have to agree with John's assessment. I was dissatisfied with the Lt's reaction to our concerns about the open air drug market we deal with at the Crossroads. To say that the area is not the worst in the city and saying that drug dealing occurs even on Blackstone Blvd. is not the answer we expect from the police. It is the same as saying, "Well, everyone's doing it. You have it good here."

I have signed on as a member of the group's Transition Committee even though I have my condo on the market and intend to leave the neighborhood as soon as it sells. My rationale: At least perhaps the neighborhood will be better after I leave if we take action to demand the elimination of drug dealing, which is responsible for the increase in break-ins. It certainly will make it easier to sell the place if the drug dealing is eliminated.

And, it looks like the graffiti has returned to the Cypress Street underpass. Can't they put a graffiti-resistant paint on the underpass so that it would be easier to erase it?

Or do we have to go all out to get the city to remove it every other week?

Peter Cassels

Posted at 2:17 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Murder, Violence, Police

FRESH OFF THE WIRE:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) --

Providence police say a 42-year-old woman who died in a hospital yesterday was murdered.

A maintenance worker found the victim, Lucy May Daniels, inside a second-floor apartment in the city’s Mount Hope section around noon. She was taken to Rhode Island Hospital and pronounced dead four hours later.

Her death is the 19th homicide in Providence this year. Police say no one lived in the apartment where Daniels was found. She lived elsewhere in the city, but police would not say where.

No arrests were made in the case by last night.

Submitted by Uri Baver

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EYEWITNESS REPORT:

A resident reported a big, big, violent bru-ha-ha outside the nightclub across from the Shell station on North Main Sunday Morning between 12:00 and 1:00. The scene drew at least 3 Police cars, two ambulances, and one fire truck.

Don't expect to see anything about it in ProJo or in the Police Stats.

Because this type of thing is better kept underneath our "Pollyanna" hats. Just ask City hall. That is where they keep it. And they know just where to keep "It".

We, in Mt. Hope, want to keep things "positive" in Mt. Hope. We don't want to offend the "POLICE."

Spoken with sarcasm:

And because we want to give prospective home buyers the impression that Mt. Hope is a great neighborhood, and because if more white, middle-class home buyers buy in Mt. Hope, it will drive all of our property values up, and because the quicker our property values go up the sooner we can all sell and move out of Mt. Hope . . . the better!

End sarcasm

Because, after all, who would want to live here?

Who want's to see junkies every day? With their zombie eyes?

Who want's to see drugs sold every day?

Who want's to live in fear of their home getting broken into?

Who want's to fight a battle every day, that they should not have to fight: to live in peace, to live in a neighborhood where the laws are upheld?

Not I.

You?

John

Editors note: The above post reflects the feelings, experiences, or the opinion of the writer (John).

Blogs are a medium for people to express their indivdual viewpoints and these should not be construed as being the viewpoint of GCCC or of the Mt. Hope Community Website.

Posted at 8:31 AM | Issues | Comments (1)

Crack User on Doorstep

Crack user on my doorstep

It is just after 2 p.m. and I went out to retrieve my mail. I spotted a young man sitting next to the building Dumpster. He said hello. I went inside, looked out the window and saw him smoking crack. This is next to the convenience store at Cypress and Camp (which ought to be closed because of the element it attracts).

I thought the cops had cleaned up the drug problem in our wonderful tony neighborhood.

Peter Cassels

Update:

After I wrote that blog entry, I then went around the corner to see if someone was in the police station. As I did so, I spotted the same guy doing a deal next to the entrance to the convenience store.

Luckily, the Lt. was in the district station, but no one else. I described the guy, who was white (green jacket and blue jeans, very very thin). The dealer was a young black guy. By the time he [Lt.] got off the phone, the guy and the dealer were gone. The Lt. did "take a walk" though, but came back empty-handed.

The thing that bothers me the most is that it happened next to the district station, in broad daylight (the smoker and the deal) at about the time school gets out and the intersection is filled with kids on their way home.

What can we do to shake up the cops to do more than they are doing?

For one thing, it seems to me that a concentration of undercover drug detectives could clean up the Crossroads in a matter of a few weeks. Undercover stings would send the message that drug dealing will not be tolerated in Mt. Hope.

Peter Cassels

Editors note: The above post reflects the feelings, experiences, or the opinion of the writer (Peter).

Blogs are a medium for people to express their indivdual viewpoints and these should not be construed as being the viewpoint of GCCC or of the Mt. Hope Community Website.

Posted at 2:41 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

Lancaster Break-in

Break in on Lancaster

Long time resident Fernando came home Saturday at 7:30pm to find his home had been burglarized. He had left the house at 6pm. They stole a 19 inch TV, video games and jewelry. Fernando is most upset about a bracelet with charms that he has had for many years. He has filed a police report and continues to ask for leads for the return of his bracelet.

Naama Gidron

Posted at 2:50 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Mt. Hope Real Estate

Energy & Real Estate . . . and Hurricanes.

In conversing with numerous people this week, what seems to be on everyone’s mind, what everyone seems to want to talk about, is real estate and energy prices, and of course hurricanes.

I wish the Providence Journal could get its act together and publish the complete list of recent sales in the Saturday Real Estate Section as they used to. I always enjoyed reading about the House of the Week and then scanning the listings of what houses sold in my neighborhood. Lately, they've been dropping the ball with the sales listings, doing kind of a sloppy job.

“Where is the housing market?”, people are asking, “How high will prices go?” “Is there a bubble; will the market collapse and prices fall” “Has the real estate market in Mt. Hope peaked; are prices as high as they are going to get?”

What about condos, I hear people wonder, how do you make condos in a multi-family?

What about the rental market, is the rental market flat on the East Side, I’ve been asked. I don’t know. I looked and saw many 2 bedroom units advertised for rents as high as $1200 to $1600. I do think that with all the renovations that have been done that there may be a greater number of more attractive units available now.

Selling prices are high right now as far as I know. I know a single family house on Camp Street near Locust sold for around $439,000 and we all heard about the “Holy Cow! & Wow!” houses further north on Camp that went for a combined $850,000.

A very nice single family near Cypress and Camp just went on the market in the high 3’s.

I see a lot of renovation on Camp Street, just past Cypress, at least 3 multi-families undergoing extensive renovations. I have no idea what those houses were sold for or what plans are in store for them.

I’ve heard conflicting rumors about the brick apartment building on Camp & Cypress: one rumor has it being converted to condos, the other has it going all Section 8.

I see lots of condos for sale. I don’t know much about the condo market, what are condo prices like, are the units moving?

Everyone complains about gas prices; just driving your car has become another major expense. Reports say that fuel prices will stay high affecting different segments of our economy but all of our pocketbooks.

For instance, I’ve heard scary news reports saying brace yourself for record high heating bills whether you heat with gas, oil, or electric.

I’ve also read reports about insurance costs rising for home owners as a result of the big hit insurers took during this hurricane season: even people far from hurricane country may get hit with a 2 to 3% increase in the cost of their policy.

Blame it all on Katrina and Rita, at least that's what we’re being led to believe,

Real estate has become a national fascination and everyone has a story: what’s yours?

John Twomey
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Thanks for the link Rich: the comments feature does not allow clickable links so here it is: http://www.newenglandmoves.com

Posted at 5:06 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

Knowles & Abbott Action

What are they doing in there?

Several users have entered our site using search engines inputting the following terms: Mt. Hope Land Trust and Knowles and Abbot Providence land Trust.

In driving by the corner in question I see much clearing and what looks like construction preparation.

Rumor has it that they are preparing the area for a subsidized housing develpoment.

I have no additional information.

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Note: This link was provided by Jenniffer in her comment: /sub_housing_files/membership_subpages/production/reach.pdf

I could not access the page referenced.

I could accesss the home page: http://www.housingnetworkri.org

Posted at 1:19 PM | Issues | Comments (4)

A Little Off the Top

Our Tree Got Trimmed

I do not know if anyone remembers, but the tree in front of our house was in desperate need of a trim. (See my post of May 15, 2005 Tree Trimming City, with John's stunning photograph.)

After over 3 months of calling the city I finally got the tree trimed!!!! The City sent someone out this week, and they trimmed the tree.

Actually, I called 3 times last week and the Parks Dept got fed up with me and finally just sent them.

Happy plugging everyone.

Ellen B.

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Follow up, follow up, follow up, it's almost as good as location, location, location!

If that isn't a Yogi Berraism, then it sure sounds like one.

Congrats, Ellen, you just proved an old adage that I made up:

Perserverance Pays Off!

You can't get things done by making one phone call, wiping your hands, patting yoursef on the back, and saying to yourself, "Well, that's taken care of."

You need to follow up, follow through, and stay consistently on message! Like you did.

Good work.

John Twomey & Ellen Baver contributed to this post.

Posted at 3:41 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Touchy Ouchy Subject!

Check out this item from the Pro Jo today, right in line with the downtown news and the potential gang war E v S.

Teenager shot near Wanskuck housing project 01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, September 13, 2005

PROVIDENCE -- A 16-year-old girl was shot in the right buttock shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday near the Chad Brown housing project, according to the police.

The girl and a 16-year-old, female friend said they had been at the Living Room nightclub earlier in the night, and that fights had occurred involving young people from the East Side.

An unidentified male companion said that "East Side kids" probably fired the shots, according to a police report.

Teenagers from the East Side and the South Side brawled in the streets at several locations in Providence last week, but the police said there does not appear to be any connection between those brawls and the shooting.

Sunday morning, the police went to the vicinity of June and Suffolk streets in Wanskuck, near the Chad Brown housing project, where they found three shell casings left behind.

Officers interviewed the 16-year-old victim, who was shot once, at Hasbro Children's Hospital. She said she had been shot while sitting in the male companion's car.

Shot in the BUTTOCKS, OUCH, but of course there is NO CONNECTION!!!!

Uri Baver

Posted at 9:17 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

I Sympathize with Unanimous on This!

Okay, I don't get to check this everyday, but the more I do the more chatty I am feeling.

Anyway, Jen, I don't think we have met, but I just want to say I am sorry about your bike for your and your daughter and about the rudeness you experienced trying to get answers/help. When we were broken into the police actually made us feel like it was our fault for not having a security system. But given how they came in, it wouldn't have even mattered if we did have one. They just would have been in and out so fast through the window. I remember just feeling like total crap. They took my daughter's peter rabbit musical jewelry box, it didn't have any jewelry in it, just some change, but the box itself was sentimental. It wasn't even worth anything, just a kid style jewelery box. But she got it when she was a baby. They took camera's, money, other stuff, but that actually got me the most, along with a sweet sixteen ring my grandmother gave me, again, not worth a ton a money, but just special.

It's more than just the material things that are taken, it's the memories that go along with them, and the sentiment behind them. And the fact that we are working our A@#@'s off to make a living, makes it even more frustrating to see our things just go "poof" into the hands of some junkie who pawns it off down the street for a quick fix. And then it is a pain in the A@# to replace these things, even if insurance did cover it, it's just more paperwork and frustration. It's also having to go to pawn shops to look for your stuff, which is not the most pleasant experience. I gave up looking for my stuff, which I regret, but it just made me relive the experience and go through the disappointment all over again each time I checked. They might call drug abuse/dealing a victimless crime, but it sure is not a victimless crime.

I don't think befriending these people is the answer. Befriending them is their way of working us I truly feel. Substance abuse treatment, jail, community intervention whatever that means, GETTING THE DEALERS OUT OF HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. I have no idea what the answer is, but the theives here in Mt. Hope do not want to be our friends, they want to steal our stuff to get drugs/alcohol or money. It could be even the dealers breaking in, but I doubt it.

So, I hope you can find out who did it, and get your bike back. I have a bike if you ever want to borrow a bike. I hope that these types of crimes will stop in Mt. Hope, I know that is idealistic, but I still hope for it. What can we do to make all this stop?

Jessica K.

Posted at 9:10 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

Specific Displeasure with Police -- Jen

I will voice my specific comments about my displeasure with the police after my most recent break-in. I was out of town when the break-in happened, and was contacted by my alarm service. I called my upstairs neighbor, who had just arrived at the residence, only to find that the police were there investigating an alarm going off in our basement. After the premises was cleared, the police went through the basement with my neighbor to make sure nothing was missing. There was no sign of forced entry.

I spoke with the police, and they were very cordial and helpful, explaining the situation. I have to say, they responded very promptly, and if they were in the mindset that it was actually a crime, rather than a false alarm, they may have actually caught the person(s) responsible. They told me when they arrived that both my motion lights were on. They only stay on, without movement, for about five minutes.

In talking further with my neighbor after the police had left, we discovered that my bike had been stolen. I called Providence Police, trying to explain the situation, and was transfered to so many different people and was treated so rudely I was nearly in tears. Finally, the last person I talked to understood the situation and was willing to help me out. I did not get his name, but I thanked him profusely for his time, respect, and understanding.

So what did I want? I wanted them to come out and issue a report and I wanted them to finger print the basement door. My neighbor told me that there had been an open house at our residence that day. The door that was used to steal my bike was *never* used by either one of us and had been locked. I wanted them to investigate. I wanted them to DO something. It never happened. They came and issued the report. They refused to fingerprint, saying there would be too many other fingerprints to rule out. The police officers'? Perhaps my neighbor's and mine? I was disgusted.

The thing that gets me is that I went to a MNC meeting this summer to hear Dean Esserman speak. He said one thing that really struck a chord with me. Nearly all of the property crimes committed here are committed by your neighbors, by people on your street. And he said (and I feel pretty confident that I can quote him), "I can guarantee you two things, we have caught them before and we will catch them again." So who do you think stole my bike? I don't know, but I'm willing to bet two things: it's one of the known petty thiefs around my neck of the woods and their fingerprints are on file. Somebody knew that bike was there, and that person knew we weren't home. I wanted them caught.

I know, it's only a bike. I know that's how the police see it. It wasn't a violent crime. Hell, it wasn't even a "break-in"; it was a "larceny." You can call it what you want, but someone CAME IN MY HOME and took something from me. Sure, I have insurance. Does it cover a bike? Absolutely not, it's under the deductible. You know what that bike was to me? It was spending time with my daughter. It was saving a little money on gas, helping out the environment, and getting exercise. It was feeling like a kid again. And it's gone. And yes, I'm mad about it.

-Jen

Posted at 10:46 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

RE: Woodbine Break-in

Very Interesting Response Reported From District 8

I find Rich's comment on the Woodbine break-in very interesting.

I called the substation in regard to the break in on 69/71 Woodbine St. [A policeman] called me back and told me "It's an issue for a detective to work out, we just take reports". I could not get his ear to what was going on around here; he did not want to hear it. This is the 2nd time for us.

Very frustrated with the police.

Editors note: The above quote reflects the opinion and viewpoint of the writer, (Rich) not the opinion of the Mt. Hope Community Website or of the GCCC organization. It should not be taken as fact.

Blogs, generally, are the site of emotional and heated expressions of opinion and invite heated and argumentative debate.

What Rich did not tell us is this: what specific complaints does he have about the police. This is very important. Exquisite detail is needed here. It is very frustrating to be the victim of a crime. The way the police respond should not exacerbate that frustration.

Criminals ply Mt. Hope: that is why we wish to change the culture of Mt. Hope and change the way the City Administration thinks of Mt. Hope.

For one, I'm surprised that Rich claims that the police were not more helpfull. Isn't it the function of the District 8 police to oversee all the police functions going on in District 8? Don't they do that?

If the Detective unit is handling the case it is the duty of our District 8 Police to act as the liasion between that unit and the victim. Is that not correct?

That is how I understand the duty of community police as explained by Col. Esserman and Mayor Cicilline. The District 8 Police function as the Local Police Czar to the citizens of the district.

I know that our District 8 Police take their responsibility very seriously, and I would urge you to speak with them again and voice your displeasure with the police response as specificly as you can.

If you get no satisfaction, call Maj. Fitzgerald, the head of the Uniform Division at 243-6102, he is the boss, and if he doesn't help you out, call Col. Esserman, the Chief, at 243-6109 or 243-6110.

Believe me, these guys are accessible, they want to do a good job, it gets overwhelming to them at times, but once they know that you are serious, they will respond to you.

But remember this, it is not the police's fault that you were the victim of a crime, nor is it your fault for living in Mt. Hope.

If you are angry express your anger by writing to Mayor David Cicilline about what is going on in Mt. Hope. When only a few express their anger, they are easily marginalized as crazy, ner-do-well mal-contents, but when a neighborhood rises up en masse to express their displeasure with the city's handling of affairs, the politicians listen.

You see, they want to get re-elected, and they don't want to be embaraassed.

That is why writing hard copy in conjunction with this website is so important. Write to the mayor and write to ProJo and the ESM.

Get the facts out there, because the facts are embarassing.

We are in a fight. Anyone who wants to win will join the battle. It's either that or move to a neighborhood where these punks, thugs and scumbags won't try to ply their trade because the City Administration will not allow it in certain neighborhoods.

When Col. Esserman took the job as Police chief, he bought a house on the East Side. How different would Mt. Hope be today if he had bought a house in Mt. Hope?

I think very different.

Don't tell me we have to live like this. Don't lie to me.

John Twomey

Posted at 11:27 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

August Break-in on Woodbine

Dismayed and Disbelievin'

I was dismayed to find out that there was a break in 3 WEEKS ago at 69/71 Woodbine St. The break in took place in the early morning hours while residents were asleep. The basement was broken into and bikes, tools, musical instruments were taken.

The owners did file a police report and expressed frustration with the police. They actually found one of their bikes at the pawn shop on North Main St but were having problems negotiating its return . . .

Naama Gidron

Posted at 7:19 PM | Issues | Comments (3)

East Side -- South Side Riot

Down at Kennedy Plaza, in front of City Hall

An item of interest to Mt. Hope residents appeared in the Providence Journal today detailing a brawl between East Side students and South Side students at Kennedy Plaza, yesterday, September 7th.

It sounds like a serious incident is being downplayed by our press.

Our East Side police have been on alert to prevent gang shootings between East Side thugs and South Side thugs (see blog entries for August 18, 19), and this incident underscores how deep this dangerous behavior reaches into our community.

The article was titled, “Scores of students brawl after school at bus hub

The police are concerned about more trouble today.”

ProJo buried this small article on page C3 of today’s Metro Edition. If students had rioted at Government Center in downtown Boston, I think we would have read about it on the front page of the Boston Globe, but here in Providence, they can riot in front of City Hall and the Providence Journal treats it as a non-story and really, it appears, tries to bury it. Is the Journal an arm of City Hall or is their main object to function as a civic booster? Look at the stories they lead with in Metro and look at how they treat this story.

In the article, Borg describes how, "At one point, a crowd of 200 to 300 students swarmed up College Hill toward Benefit Street and some students picked up bricks and bottles.”

She also states: “The Providence police arrested at least eight students. Some were charged with disorderly conduct and some with resisting arrest. The authorities didn't know if any particular incident sparked the fighting, which involved as many as 75 students, but said the rivalry has existed for years.”

Ms. Borg closes the article with this puzzling paragraph: “One of Hope's three principals,[Hope High School] Wayne Montague, said yesterday that a police officer had called him at home Tuesday night to warn him that one of his students was making trouble at Kennedy Plaza. Montague, accompanied by a police officer, went to the plaza yesterday to speak to the student and was there when the fighting occurred. He said he didn't see any Hope students involved in the brawl.”

Mr. Mayor?

David Cicilline, as our Mayor, needs to get behind efforts to understand, quash, and eliminate this type of behavior that festers in our schools and leads to violence on our streets. What kind of education are Providence kids getting if this type of behavoir presents itself soon after schools open for the fall sememster? The troubles of Mt. Hope High, on the East Side, in Providence have been well documented and now is the time to further address these problems before they lead to further tragedy. Hate and ignorance continue to present problems, and no better time exists than the present to address these issues.

It is great to have an Arts & Entertainment District in Providence, with facilities like the Steel Yard, in the West Side Arts district. The Mayor held a news conference yesterday to announce the expansion of the Arts & Entertainment district.

I would like to see Mayor Cicilline hold a press conference to tell the city about the proactive steps he plans to take to protect the citizens of Providence from crime and violence. The Mayor needs to go on the record as to how he plans to address the juvenile, but deadly, blood feud between East Side youth and South Side youth.

I don’t want to be caught in the cross fire: do you?

John Twomey

Read the entire ProJo article, below.

Scores of students brawl after school at bus hub The police are concerned about more trouble today.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 8, 2005

BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- A melee broke out in Kennedy Plaza yesterday afternoon with students from the city's East Side clashing with others from the South Side.

The Providence police arrested at least eight students. Some were charged with disorderly conduct and some with resisting arrest. The authorities didn't know if any particular incident sparked the fighting, which involved as many as 75 students, but said the rivalry has existed for years.

Yesterday was the second day in a row that a brawl broke out around 3:30 p.m., when hundreds of high school students converge at the RIPTA bus stop downtown. The police said they were expecting more trouble this afternoon.

At one point, a crowd of 200 to 300 students swarmed up College Hill toward Benefit Street and some students picked up bricks and bottles. The police moved quickly to disperse the crowd before anyone was seriously injured.

Maria Tocco, a school department spokeswoman, said additional administrators would be sent to Hope High School today in case trouble surfaced at the beginning or end of school.

One of Hope's three principals, Wayne Montague, said yesterday that a police officer had called him at home Tuesday night to warn him that one of his students was making trouble at Kennedy Plaza. Montague, accompanied by a police officer, went to the plaza yesterday to speak to the student and was there when the fighting occurred. He said he didn't see any Hope students involved in the brawl.

Posted at 12:31 PM | Issues | Comments (3)

Random Shooting in BTP

Random Shooting in Billy Taylor Park

I regret to inform that last night, 9/1/05 there was a random shooting.

I bumped into an individual with minor flesh wound on the leg, claiming that while walking through the park heard gun shots, looking down at a grazed leg. Harmless wound.

Is this the truth of the matter? I don't know but shots were definitely fired. The wound was clearly evidence of this.

What can we do to curtail illegal guns? Perhaps a buy back program? Who would fund it? How can we get guns off the street? I'm completely stumped.

P.S. When is the next GCCC meeting?

Kevin Kazlauskas

Posted at 7:52 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

"Police Presence"?

Where is the "police presence"?

I own a condo in the building where the District 8 substation is and have seen LITTLE police presence in the past several weeks and NO foot patrol officers. Last summer there were plenty of officers on foot patrol. Was the reference to increased police presence in the Aug. 19 message a sarcastic piece of fiction?

Peter C.

Editors note: The above post is the opinion of the writer (Peter) and should not be mistaken for fact. Blogs are a medium for people to express their indivdual viewpoints and should not be mistaken for the viewpoint of GCCC or of the Mt. Hope Community Website.

Posted at 11:07 AM | Issues | Comments (1)

WARNING SHOTS!!!

Retards with Guns

Be Carefull Out there!

Did you ever notice a makeshift memorial in the parking lot nearly across from the District 8 Substation on Camp Street? That is where a young man from Mt. Hope's Hector family fell, murdered in a drive by shooting, several years ago. This young man died because of a gun fued between youth gangs from the South Side of Providence and from the East Side of Providence. The Mt. Hope gang calls themselves the East Side Boyz. They are few in number, but what they lack in strength they make up for in stupidity.

Mt. Hope now faces the same situation again. Gang war between these two factions accounts for the alarming number of recent shootings in Providence. Shoot, retaliate, shoot! There have been a number of shootings and a murder already! The authorities have finally taken action!

Keep your head down, don't let your kids play outside, you don't want anyone in your family to be the victim of a stray bullet.

But all you Pollyannas out there, you just put on your pretty bonnets, and go about your business as usual.

Cicilline -- Soft on Crime -- Head in the Ground

You can lay this problem right on the doorstop of the Cicilline administration. You can't be soft on crime while pandering for votes without paying the price.

Now the police react to a crisis.

But how did the situation reach crises proportion? Haven't we been crying out for law enforcement? Haven't we been begging the City to stop the open-air drug market in Mt. Hope? Is it not the same drug dealers that haunt our Mt. Hope streets who are now engaged in a deadly war game that may cost some innocent person their life?

The answer is, yes, to all of the above.

Yes, the Cicilline administration let the situation reach crises proportion!

Yes, the Cicilline administration denied that the drug mural in Billy Taylor Park is a symbol of the embedded drug culture in Mt. Hope.

Yes, the Cicilline administration functions as an enabler to the embedded drug culture in Mt. Hope, pandering to other enablers who allow the drug culture to devastate their own neighborhood for profit and for votes!

Yes, the Cicilline administration now, tacitly admits, by their increase in Police presence in Mt. Hope, that there is indeed a problem with drug crime in Mt. Hope, and that it does need addressing before people get killed or someone gets voted out of office!

Congratulations, Mayor Cicilline, why don't you bring Esserman and your entire entourage down for another walk along Camp Street tomorrow evening on another exercise in damage control.

You're getting pretty good at damage control (or at least getting a lot of practice). You need it.

Be sure you keep your head down, though.

Like the citizens of Mt. Hope must do, now that you've let the crime situation get out of control.

Be Carefull Out There!

Posted at 12:00 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

Police Respond to Mt. Hope Crime

Be on Your Best Behavior – Increased Police Presence in Mt. Hope

Sources tell us that there will be an increase in police presence in Mt. Hope beginning tonight in response to the spate of shootings, violent crime and drug related crime in Providence, including Mt. Hope.

Overtime has been authorized in order to put additional officers on the street. The partnership with the State Police will be in full swing. These teams will be evident throughout Mt. Hope.

Look for an increase in traffic enforcement and a crack down on the open air drug market that operates in Mt. Hope. The police understand that dealers use rental cars to cruise Mt. Hope and from which dealers sell drugs. Be on the lookout for dealers operating out of rentals and report them.

Speeding, failure to stop, double-parking, blocking streets, vehicle malfunctions all give the police probable cause to stop vehicles. If you are an honest citizen, be on your best driving behavior.

Gang related activity, involving Southside gangs and Eastside gangs, is partly responsible for the up tick in shots fired recently. As you know these gangs are also deeply involved in the drug business.

Now is the time to be vigilant, to be alert, to help our police department make our streets safer.

Call the police if you see any crime, and be sure to note the important details, or e-mail details to CrimeWatch.

Posted at 4:50 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Shots Fired -- Crime Watch Time

Recent Providence Journal Articles Detailing Crime / Crime Watch List

Let’s get the Crime Watch up and running. Now is the time, the community needs you, active crime watchers, to commit what time and energy you can to move our Crime Watch plans forward. Remember our goal is to have a Crime Watch sign on every Mt. Hope street.

We are compiling a Crime Watch list: locations, addresses where illegal activity is taking place, incidents, etc. etc. Contact us vie e-mail at CrimeWatch with any information about crime in Mt. Hope. If you wish to remain anonymous that is fine. Details are very important, names, addresses, streets, descriptions, etc etc.

We’ve made great progress in the last year, now is the time to consolidate our gains, get organized and follow through with our Crime Watch organization.

The ProJo has been reporting a lot of crime lately across the city.

Saturdays’ ProJo featured this little item on page A 4: Shots fired in Mt. Hope; teen injured, and the piece explained that the shots were fired at William Ellery Place, which is off of Doyle Av, and according to police the shooter was driven there, got out of the car and fired several shots at around 2pm, in the afternoon, then fled.

I’m no expert but this sounds like drug or gang related or both. A number of people were in the area and it is just dumb luck that no innocent person was killed or wounded.

Also in Saturday’s ProJo, Robber flees Stop & Shop, tells about a 3pm robbery of our local Stop & Shop.

Saturday’s ProJo featured this article also: East Side robber hits dry cleaner and Inn. The article chronicles the tale of this criminal who has committed 10 robberies and two more attempted robberies. He targets small business. One Mt. Hope business was robbed, the map shop on Main Street.

In Tuesday’s ProJo, this: Spate of shootings leaves 3 young people injured, ( for some reason they've taken the story off their site?) about two shootings in South Providence and one in Reservoir.

It also announced the robbery of the Sovereign Bank at 551 North Main Street in University Heights by a female bank robber, Sovereign Bank hit by robber. Isn’t that the 2nd bank robbery in Mt. Hope this week?

ProJo detailed a fight in a club, Man badly injured in fight at S. Providence nightclub, that mentioned names that have been in the news quite a lot lately, Mambo, a nightclub, Titin, proprietor of Mi Sueno, and Marroocco, who sold him the liquor license. In a move opposed by the police, the licensing commission transferred a liquor license to Titin from Marroco. I think I’ve seen this name in connection with Ms. Pontarelli’s reprimand by Mayor Cicilline for providing an e-mail list of names of city employees to the proprietor of Café Mediterraneo, Gianfranco Marrocco, for a Cicilline fund raiser. The name also rings a bell in relation to last week’s Dominican Festival, in which, again opposed by the police, the licensing commission allowed Café Mediterraneo, operated by Gianfranco Marrocco to remain open an extra hour when at the police’s request many clubs closed early that night. Gianfranco Marrocco ran the Cicilline fund raiser at Café Mediterraneo, and critics imply in the ProJo article that he gets favorable treatment from the City.

Moving on to Wednesday’s ProJo, Another shooting leaves 1 hurt, details a South Providence shooting and states “- the fourth shooting in Providence is less than two days.”

Thursday’s, today’s ProJo featured this: Electronics store owner robbed and assaulted, which detailed the vicious and violent beating and robbery of a small business owner as he closed up shop on Manton Av.

The good news: Cocaine arrest nets deportee, authorities say, tells of the bust of a career criminal and the infiltration of a cocaine dealing operation. Congrats Lt. Verdi! You and your guys do good work.

Crime Stats

If it’s true that crime stats are down in Providence it should make one wonder about the nature of crime stats and how they are compiled. For each crime or incident documented by the police for their crime stats, how many crimes go undocumented and not included in the crime stat report, 3 to 1, 4 to 1? It is a good question. I don’t know the answer.

You can read my post in July The Big Lie of Crime Stats to get my opinion on how stats are manipulated.

It is clear that the Providence Police have their hands full and that they are doing the best they can in many respects. Still, crime prevention, and not just reacting to crime, must be an approach incorporated into their daily techniques. Crime prevention calls for more police personnel. I firmly believe that we need more police in uniform and on the streets in each district if any of us expects to feel safe in Providence.

CRIME WATCH

Let’s get ahead of the curve, let’s get ahead of the wave, let’s get our Crime Watch running effectively.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods? E-mail, CrimeWatch .

Posted at 11:55 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

13th Murder in Providence / Zoning Review

Violent Crime . . . / . . . Zoning Showdown

Our fair city recorded its 13th murder this year, 2005, and the number of shootings and stabbings stands much, much higher.

Knock on wood, we've had no murders I know of in Mt. Hope, but I shudder with an eerie feeling thinking about all the violence and all the crime taking place in the City of Providence while our leaders keep trotting out crime stats designed to show us that crime is down. Will it be just a matter of time before some innocent will get caught in the crossfire and pay with their life?

A steady supply of guns must be finding their way into Providence, for last year the police took many guns off the street in some highly publicized manuvers.

You can read about the latest shooting death here, in ProJo

Zoning Issues

Also in todays ProJo, Kathleen Crowley reports on the City Council's unanamous vote to hire consultants, experts in zoning issues, to study the proposed zoning changes that will affect all Providence neighborhoods. The Council accused the Cicilline administration of trying to rush through the zoning changes without adequate neighborhoood input.

Critics claim the zoning changes favor developers who would be able to build higher and denser in more neingborhoods, seriously altering the quality of life and the landscape in many neighborhoods.

Citizens who did participate in the process of changing the zoning regs claim that their input was ignored.

This issue is worth keeping an eye on for all who invested in the City of Providence as their home, for these changes may seriously affect your investment and your home.

Posted at 12:21 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

B'ball & Drug Deals in Billy Taylor Park

B'ball League -- who are these people?

Once again people from all over Providence converged on BTP for the b'ball league games. Most of the people in the park for these games are not from Mt. Hope.

Visitors parked up Camp Street on both sides so that it was almost unpassable.

Again, drug dealers set up shop in the park along Camp St. next to the house on the corner of Camp and Locust.

I got stopped in my car on Camp St., by the park, by two cars stopped side by side, both facing south, blocking what was left of both lanes. I had to lay on my horn strong to get them to move, or I would have sat there until they deigned to move. They were setting up a drug deal. I followed the cars around the Pleasant, Knowles, Camp quadrant and watched them consumate the deal. I wrote down their license plate numbers and a description. I watched them drop the dealer back in the park.

The descriptions: a new, grey sedan, RI plates IG 366, and a large, black suv, MA plates 41JW41.

I drove home and called in the info to the police at 272-1111 and spoke to dispatcher #83.

I gave my name, address, and phone number and explained that I was with the Mt. Hope Crime Watch and that we'd been instructed by our District 8 commander to call in information on drug dealing that we'd witnessed. I told him that he could send a car by my house and I'd be glad to point out the individual I saw doing the deal.

When I returned to the park 30 minutes later, no drug dealers were in sight.

Part of me resents having to do this kind of work. But if I want a better Mt. Hope, without drug dealers plying their trade next to my home, then this is what I have to do.

I'm not opposed to basketball games in the park, but I think it's a shame that the few ruin it for the many.

I also believe that the police owe it to Mt. Hope residents to do a better job of policing these games.

Two rookie foot patrolmen in the park will not cut it. They need patrol cars backing them up. They are overwhelmed. We need the parking situation policed, and the police need to occupy the spots where drug dealers like to set up shop.

The police should be making it inconvient for the dealers, not the dealers making life inconvient for Mt. Hope residents.

Let us all get our priorities straight.

John Twomey

Posted at 11:59 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

Tax Raise Spin

Watch the Spinners Spin

Senator Maryellen Goodwin, D-District 1, Providence wrote a Letter to the Editor in Friday's ProJo; unfortunately, it is not included in the online issue so I cannot provide a link: Don't blame General Assembly.

In her letter she responds to the Cicilline administration's and some City councilor's spin on the Providence property tax hike.

I covered this issue in my post of July 22nd, 14% Tax Hike.

Sen. Goodwin makes a compelling case that the responsibility for the nearly 2% property tax hike for 2006, falls squarely on the Cicilline administration's shoulders, despite their attempt to spin it so that the fault for the increase lies within the state budget.

Some of her points:

The State allocated $185 million in Education Aid to Providence, an increase of $3.8 million, by far the largest increase in the state.

Total municipal aid to Providence, a wooping $269.6 million, an increase of $14.2 million, $10 million more of an increase than any other city.

Pawtucket, the recipient of the 2nd largest amount of aid, received $186 million less than Providence.

"To suggest that the Assembly is not giving adequate aid to the City of Providence is ludicrous."

Providence tax payers pay the higest car tax, a whooping $75.78 per $1,000 of a vehicle's accessed value. The Assembly exempted $500 of that tax for Providence residents and will eliminate the car tax by 2010.

The Assembly allocated another $3.3 million to Providence through aid to Distressed Communities. Isn't it interseting to know that we live in a distresed community. Is it news to you?

The point the Senator wishes to make is that the State provided substancial aid to Providence in order to offset the property tax burden, yet the City of Providence still raised our property tax, then attempted to blame the increase on the State.

Oh, the horror, the horror!

John Twomey

Posted at 9:17 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

BUSTED, SUCKER!

A Tipster Strikes

I drove up my street early Wedensday evening, intent on procurring some cold beer for a hot night, when I witnessed a drug deal being consumated at the top of my street. When I got to Camp, I thought, what the hell, I'll stop by the District 8 Substation and see if any of the guys were there.

Sure enough the Lt. and two of our foot guys were there, and I pointed out the dealer to them who was now walking down Camp with a very distinctive hat or do do rag on his head. They sauntered out the station and headed down Camp street toward the park.

Twenty minutes later, when I departed for University Heights I saw two squad cars on Camp and Pleasant and on the way home I saw the Lt. and both foot guys there with the squad cars.

I found out today that our District 8 guys made an arrest based on my detailed descritpion of the perp.

Lt. Schiavulli says that if you see someone dealing call the police, get the dispatch number, and if nothing happens in a reasonable time call back. They can't arrest anyone without probable cause and we, the citizenry, can provide that probable cause. It is important to provide a detailed and accurate description to the police.

Way to go District 8, another notch in the handle. It certainly remains a difficult task to contain the drug dealing and related crime with the current District 8 manpower. They can use all the help we can provide.

And we can appreciate all the effort they make.

Posted at 3:48 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

RE: Dealing Drugs in Billy Taylor Park

I concur that the police need to maintain a presence during all activities in the park.

Last year, I was unfortunate enough to pruchase a condo in the building that houses the District 8 police substation. It was the worst mistake of my life. Now, of course, I can't sell the condo. Who would buy it?

The three blocks of Camp Street running north from Cypress St. are the worst ones I've seen outside of South Providence. A couple of three-deckers are now undergoing renovation, which may be a positive sign. The marketing of "affordable" condos on the east side of Camp is laughable.

It's time to clean up Camp Street permanently. Foot patrols by the police daily, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., should be ordered immediately.

Peter C.

Posted at 11:08 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

Drug Dealing Returns to Billy Taylor Park!

Basketball Games used as a cover for drug dealers to ply their trade!

This week I witnessed drug dealing return to Camp Street and especially to Billy Taylor Park. The dealers seem to be using the basketball league games in the park as a cover to do their deals, trying to blend in with the people who are legititmately there to enjoy the games.

The dealers loiter at the edge of the Park next to the house on the corner of Camp and Locust. They move around the corner to Locust Street to complete their deals or they drive around the block, Pleasant to Knowles to Camp.

If I know it, why do the police allow it?

The first few games went without incident, but each subsequent game has brought more and more unsettling activity.

An increase in activity has also been reported on the corner of Knowles and Jenkins.

Until our District 8 police develop an understanding of these tactics the dealers will operate freely.

While the foot-patrol effectively establishes a visible police presence in Mt. Hope, I wonder at the efficacy of this type of policing to combat the type of drug dealing we are presently witnessing.

Familiarity breeds contempt. I have seen our rookie officers on the beat occaisionaly looking like deer caught in the headlights. Their lack of experience may somtimes be a hinderance in dealing with street savvy Mt. Hope drug dealers.

If you give up the element of surprise, you put yourself at a disadvantage, and I'm afraid that is what our community police are doing. You can never relax long enough to congratulate yourself here in Mt. Hope.

Whenever there is any activity in Billy Taylor Park we need a strong police presence especially during the Basketball League games.

We should not cede the streets back to the thugs and punks who deal drugs. Invite them to dinner at your house if you wish, but they are not welcome in my neighborhood.

John Twomey

Posted at 12:23 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

Important Arrests Made

District 8 news.

Mt. Hope’s District 8 policemen and women continue to do a great job of community policing. Several arrests took criminals engaged in car-breaks and drug dealing off the street in recent weeks. The percentage of reported car-break theft declined significantly immediately, and a well known junkie/dealer frequently seen on Camp Street, arrested on an outstanding warrant, will not be bothering people or plying his trade for a while. Both perpetrators violated their parole, and it is hoped that the judge rules on their parole status and gives them significant time behind bars.

District 8’s Lt. Schiavulli, keeps himself busy with his leadership duties, working with the policemen and woman of District 8, and working to improve the physical condition of the District 8 Sub-station. It looks cautiously optimistic for renovations to begin shortly. The neccessary funding, lined up through S.W.A.P., came through, and the first materials have arrived. The Police Department is attempting to negotiate a two year lease to insure that the neighborhood reaps the benefit of the renovations.

If the owner donated the facility to the City of Providence, as GCCC suggested several time to the Police Department, the Mayor, and to Councilman Jackson, it would save the taxpayer money and give District 8 a permanent home on Camp Street. Make it worthwhile to the owners financially through tax incentives on the adjoining property and the City and the Neighborhood benefit.

This is an issue made to order for GCCC and we should initiate a campaign to help the City follow this idea through to completion. It may be time to sharpen your pencils for some letter writing.

Correction on “Bold Daytime Forced Entry Attempt by Three Masked Intruders Thwarted” 7/18/05

I learned that the incident described in the above post was not actually an attempted home invasion but actually an armed robbery. (A “home invasion” is defined as a house break-in while the residents are home, while a “B & E, breaking and entering,” is defined as a house break-in when no one is home.)

Three black males, one armed, lured a pizza delivery man to the rear of the house on Locust Street and robbed him at gun point. The delivery man rang the doorbell and the resident called the police. No arrests have been made as of yet.

I make the correction because an “home invasion” is much scarier and a much more serious crime than a “b & e”. No reported “home invasions” occurred recently in Mt. Hope, and the last one involved a drug related home invasion, where drug dealers were the victims of other drug dealers.

This incident demonstrates how, in the heat of the moment, experiences and statements get skewered from what really happened, and can lead to unreasonable fear.

While it remains scary to have armed, masked men pulling armed robberies next door, it is not quite as scary as having armed men invade your house while you are home.

John Twomey

Posted at 1:55 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

Car Burglars on the Run

Car burglars on the run - literally

Last night around 8:00 (7/31) I stepped out to deliver materials to my friend who recommended I didn't because 'there is a strange feeling in the neighborhood tonight. I insisted that everything would be fine.

Stepping out of my door, I saw a man in my car, snooping around. At first I was in shock but quickly took action and ran towards him. He saw me and ran. His body motions and actions led me to believe that he was under the influence of a stimulant, and more importantly that I had caught him off guard and scared him. I easily cornered him in the front yard across from the community garden.

I repeated 'drop the bag and I won't do anything to you' (along with some other unmentionable words). In fact he did drop the bag in the road and said 'take it. nothing in there is yours anyway'. The bag appeared to be empty. At this point I was contemplating restraining the individual and bringing him to the police station.

However, when the chase first ensued, I noticed a car follow us on the way to the garden. while confronting the theif, the car waited around the corner. Once the bag was thrown in the road the car turned down our street, three individuals with seats way down pull up.

Now I'm like a dear in headlights and my instincts tell me to stop everything. Fortunately all they did was drive by, pick up the bag and take off. The thief jumped over the fence and took off.

Nothing was stolen from my car. I guess the Allman brothers, Billy Joel, and Bonnie Raitt weren't his favorite artists.

I'm glad things happened the way they did. Nothing was lost and I sent a message - I am not scared of you and I will hunt you down. What they want us to do is run back inside, call the police and wait. They get the goods, never get caught.

Should I be afraid? Of course. I could have been shot, stabbed, or if I engaged in a physical struggle, could have contracted a life threatening disease. One never knows.

Our neighborhood is analogous to the fight on terror. Terrorists want us to run, hide, be fearful. They win. The answer is not to avoid the subway. The answer is not to avoid terrorist hot spots. The answer is to force them to change their behavior. I feel confident that the next thief will think twice about coming into my driveway. And now that it's happened to me once, I'll be more ready next time.

Unfortunately I have a poor description of the individuals. I wasn't thinking clearly and regret not thinking rationally. The thief was mid 30s, 160 lbs, 5'11" with poor teeth. He was obviously addicted to a stimulant.

The three individuals in the car were younger, late 20s and much larger. I think they had the drug addict do the dirty work while they followed and provided support.

WE NEED EVERYONE TO GET OUT OF THEIR HOUSES!!!! Use the park. Use the grill. Use the swings. Do not live in fear. I have heard too many times that the park is a bad place and should be avoided. If this is your attitude than expect to live under these conditions indefinitely. Talking about problems, complaining about problems accomplishes nothing. Get out there. Meet your neighbors even if they are drug addicts or gangsters. Avoiding the problem is not the answer. We need to embrace the people and we need to embrace the solution. Find out what makes them tick because like me, they are not going anywhere.

Hasta la pasta!

Kevin Kazlauskas

Posted at 7:10 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

State Police Help Providence!

State Police Help!

“. . . an uptick in robberies on the East Side.”

“There will be six extra cruisers on the streets. A city patrol officer and a trooper will ride together in five of them, and in a sixth, a supervisor from each department will ride together.

“They will patrol Thursday through Saturday, from the early evening until 3 or 4 a.m.”

"We, in fact, are reaching out [to the public] when there is no crisis," said Esserman, . . .”

Mayor David N. Cicilline has approved the expenditure.

Read all about it in Projo: Troopers help patrol Providence

Is It Beginning to Sink In? The (non) crisis?

Kudos to the Mayor and the Governor for recognizing what we have known for a while: that crime in Providence has made us uneasy in our own homes and neighborhoods. And it is not just our neighborhood that has been suffering.

I’m sick of worrying each time I leave home that some criminals will try to break in to my house, or even worse, attempt a daytime break-in while my wife is home alone, like what happened on my street last week. I’m sick of worrying each night before I try to go to sleep, about my car being broken into.

Is this step, taken by Mayor Cicilline and Col. Esserman, a tacit admission that the City needs help policing its streets and protecting its citizenry? That crime has gotten out of hand and has seriously affected the quality of life in the City of Providence?
Hats off to the Mayor and the Chief for finally recognizing the [non] crisis.

I bet you that the up tick in robberies on the East Side refers to the spate of robberies and beatings in the Thayer Street area and not the robberies in Mt. Hope. But let’s hope that this rising tide lifts all boats and that the police put equal time and effort into Mt. Hope as they do in College Hill.

John Twomey

Posted at 12:09 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

14% TAX HIKE!

The spin is On

Over three years our Providence Property Tax will have increased by 14% when the latest tax hike goes into effect, according to a ProJo article in today’s paper. The city council approved the budget, which included the tax hike, by a vote of 11 to 4 and must vote one more time, this coming Monday, for final approval. Watch this space for an update on that vote.

The four members who opposed the nearly 2% tax hike for this year were council President John J. Lombardi, Councilwoman Balbina A. Young, and Councilmen Joseph DeLuca and Miguel C. Luna.

The Mayor claims the tax hike will raise an additional 2.4 million dollars.

Hmmn, remember those huge pay raises the Mayor gave to Carol Grant and others in his administration a while back, all the while claiming that there will be no tax hike this year? Balbina Young had something to say about that. In her ProJo article in Friday’s paper, Cathleen F. Crowley quotes Councilwoman Young: “Councilwoman Young said she voted against the budget because of the tax increase and because some administrators were getting raises she didn't think they deserved.”

Hmmn, I wonder if any of that tax hike money will be used to get tough on crime and the criminals who prey on taxpayers.

"We've raised taxes for the last couple of years, but we are not giving anything back to the neighborhoods," Crowley quotes Councilman Luna, one of the 4 in opposition to the tax hike.

The Crowley article stated: “Mayor David N. Cicilline's administration said the tax increase, which would raise an additional $2.4 million, would allow the city to fully finance the School Department's $300-million budget.” But Crowley went on to quote Councilman Luna as saying: "It's like trying to inflate a tire that has a hole in it", “[but] Luna said the schools are draining too much from the city.”

In her article Crowley stated: “Councilman DeLuca said he voted against the budget because of the tax increase and because it included $600,000 to cover new positions. He also said the budget relied on revenue the city may not receive any time soon. For example, the budget includes $4.4 million in revenue from the sale of the Fogarty Building and the old police station, but there is no guarantee that those buildings will be sold in the coming year.”

“DeLuca estimated that the budget contained $20 million in "iffy" revenue.”

In one example of masterful spin control by Councilwoman Carol A. Romano , Crowley stated, then quoted Romano: “Councilwoman Carol A. Romano, like Cicilline, blamed the General Assembly for the tax increase. ‘The City of Providence did not raise taxes,’ Romano said. ‘It was the State of Rhode Island that forced us to raise these taxes because of the school funding they didn't give us.’

Spin it however, whatever, it still adds up to a 14% (fourteen percent) hike in our property taxes over the last three years.

Meanwhile, assaults and robberies on College Hill, home invasions, car break-ins, and drug dealing in Mt. Hope and shootings on the South Side and Smith Hill.

Will this tax hike help protect the taxpayers, the electorate, and the citizenry?

I hereby authorize this administration to use my property taxes to help fight crime and strengthen law enforcement.

John Twomey

Posted at 12:26 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Good Job Dist. 8!

Our District 8 Community Police do a good job.

Has anyone else noticed what a good job our Disctrict 8 Community Police have been doing?

Kudos to Lt. Schiavulli and all the men and women of the District 8 Substation. Keep up the good work.

Let's give a real big round of cyber-applause to our Rookies who walk the beat in Mt. Hope. I hear nothing but good things about them.

Maybe they should be issued bikes. Would they be able to cover more ground on bikes? Would they be more effective, less predictable on bikes? If you think so, put a bug in Lt. Schiavulli's ear about putting our foot guys on bikes.

In Today's ProJo

Interesting piece in today's ProJo, Loiterers move on to drug charges that tells how police use the loitering/blocking sidewalk ordinance to combat street level drug dealers. In this case the technique lead to an arrest and the confiscation of drugs.

This is somehting we did not hear about a few years ago, and it shows that the City Administration and the Police Department are listening to citizens concerns and begining to address the quality of life issues, like street level drug dealing, that the electorate wants addressed.

John Twomey

Posted at 11:07 AM | Issues | Comments (0)

Then it was Clean

Unmask this man.

Mystery Man Who Cleaned Up

Using powerful scanners employing face recognition technology, accessing the no-fly lists, extensive local and federal background checks, internet searches, and the Interpol data base it was finally determined that the mysterious man who apeared on Saturday morning to clean up our neighborhood was none other than our own Matt Stone, who also organized the cleanUp last month. Thanks Matt.

Posted at 10:13 AM | Issues | Comments (1)

Broken Fence Fixed!!!!!

An Astonishing* Success for the City and For Mt. Hope.

Thanks to McMahon, Murphy, Jackson, and Pontarelli.

This is what a fixed fence looks like.

A nicely repaired fence.

I knew once the job was assigned to Bob McMahon, Deputy Superintendent of the Parks Department, that it would get done and get done in a timely fashion. Thank you Mr. McMahon.

Another Angle

A big hearty thanks also to the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services: thanks Rita Murphy and David Pontarelli of the ONS. Thanks to Councilman Kevin Jackson for facilitating movement on our request.

We began asking for this fence to be repaired around two years ago. That is astonishing.* It kind of fell in a grey area of departmental responsibilities. But now it is fixed, and it has been established whose responsibility it is to maintain the fence. That’s success in more than one area.

Of course it’s a five (count’em) Exclamation Point Headline!

From Across the Street

And of course the fence won’t stay unbroken forever, or will it have a longer span of unbroken longevity this time. Keep and eye out for our fence. Hopefully no stolen cars will hit it or smash it down during a police chase.

Now we need to organize a little clean-up behind the fence to show the city we appreciate their getting around to addressing our request. Calling Matt Stone, calling Matt Stone. We need your clean-up organizing skills. Should not take much time to pick up a little litter.

John Twomey

Oh, bitter, bitter is the brew for those who try and fail and surrender, but sweet, sweet is the heady taste of success through continued perseverance.

Ancient Proverb.

Posted at 4:12 PM | Issues | Comments (3)

Another Stolen Car

FYI

Another stolen car abandoned in Mt. Hope.

This time it was abandoned in the middle of Locust Street heading south right before the intersection of Camp Street.

Around 10:00pm a flat-bed tow-truck backed onto Locust Street with yellow lights flashing and winched the stolen car up onto the bed of the truck.

So, Jen, another half block and they could have blocked in my driveway with a stolen car.

Just another night in Mt. Hope.

Another daily reminder that we don't live in Pollyannaville.

John

Hooray: Independence Day

Posted at 9:20 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Should we GET the LEAD OUT?

On Getting Out the Lead

I am a new resident of Mt. Hope, but have been a homeowner for a long time. When my daughter was very young, we lived in Massachusetts, where lead laws were quite firm, so I did not have to worry. I am currently in nursing school, and through one of our projects I got involved in studying the issue of childhood Lead poisoning. Lead is found in soil, water, paint dust, and other sources, and is damaging to every organ of the body but specifically damaging to the brain development of young children.

Lead paint was used in painting houses prior to 1978. Lead poisoning is more prevalent in older homes, which have not been kept up. It was disturbing to see the Rhode Island statistics for Lead poisoning. Even though the rates have increased in the past 10 years, they are still twice as high as the national rate. The rates are even higher in core cities (where children's poverty level are above 15%) like Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence, West Warwick, and Woonsocket.

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Law of 1991 allowed for screening of children under 6, and treating the significantly poisoned children.

The Lead Hazard Mitigation Law of 2004 was designed to prevent lead poisoning in children and pregnant women. It requires that owners of rental properties built before 1978 get a certificate of conformance, give tenants information about lead hazards, respond to tenants concerns, and keep the certificate current. They are required to attend a 3 hour class, inspect their property for lead hazard, and fix the hazards found during the inspection. They will in turn receive tax credit for inspecting and keeping the property lead
safe.

This bill was supposed to take effect on July 1, 2005. An amended version of the bill was passed on June 30th, exempting properties where the elderly or college students live (along with other exemptions), and will now take effect on November 1.

Whether homeowners or tenants, it is important to keep in mind that this is a very preventable problem, which gone untreated, has devastating implications, not only for the health of our children, but for the cost of our healthcare.

Shabnam Hashemi

Posted at 4:27 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Rude Awakening: The Hidden Cost of Drug Dealing

Daily Reminder

I was reminded again this morning of the hidden cost of drug dealing to the honest citizens of Mt. Hope. I woke up to find that a car had been abandoned in the parking area of our home. After confirming with the other owner in the building that the car did not belong to a guest of hers, we called the police.

Blocked in Jenny -- Photo by Josh

After two calls and approximately two and one half hours of waiting, an officer finally showed up, only to inform us that the car was not "stolen" and we had to pay to have it towed. The car was unregistered, and the VIN was traced to an auto body shop in Quincy, Mass. The Mass dealer plates that were still on the car had been cancelled. But because the car had not been reported stolen, there was nothing that the police could do because it was on private property.

Anyone want to guess why it was abandoned behind our house in the middle of the night? Stolen? Joyriding? Coming to buy or sell drugs? In any case, we are out the $100 to have the vehicle removed so that we could get to our cars. Another example of one of the hidden costs of having drug dealing in the neighborhood.

Jen

Posted at 4:08 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Broken Fence Update

Who will write "The Ballad of the Broken Fence"

After futiley chasing David P. of the ONS by e-mail for over a week, about the broken fence beneath the Cypress Street Overpass, and then contacting Ms. R. Murphy, D.P. e-mailed me that the fence would be fixed by the Parks Dept. He originally told me that it would be fixed by the DPW on June 10th, but I think these City Departments give the folks at the ONS the runaround as much as they do the citizenry. Maybe Carol Grant, the Director of Operations can straighten them out. I think the DPW refused to do the repair and passed the buck to the Parks Dept. Divide and conqueor, delay and confuse, common tactics used by City employees. But that's just a guess.

An excerpt from the e-mail:

After the inspections by Sal Solomon and collaboration by the Parks Dept., it has been decided that Bob McMahon of the Parks Dept. will have one of his crews repair the fence...We are currently looking at a three week window. This is the latest update that I have received as of today...

Who would'a thunk it would be so difficult to get a small section of broken fence fixed.

We first contacted the ONS about this problem on May 27th, 2005 (we worked on it also, all of 2004) and here we are. Fence still not fixed. I love the symbolism. Isn't this small problem a problem that our City Councilor, Kevin Jackson, should be addressing? Or is that too much to ask of our elected representitive?

I'm still high as a kite that I got two small potholes fixed. Did we just witness a miracle when that happened? I guess the ponderous wheels of government move very slowly when they even move at all.

How many others have contacted the City about the broken fence? Any response?

John Twomey

Posted at 7:53 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Adopt a Pothole

Where Have All the Pothole Heads Gone?

Get down with our GCCC Adopt a Pothole Program. I've already adopted two potholes. Next time you drive down the hill on Cypress and go over the black asphalt patch opposite the KFC where there used to be a bone rattling pothole you will be driving over the John Michael Twomey Memorial Pothole.

If you ever drive down Locust Street to Knowles (and you'd better be driving slow) and you turn right onto Knowles you are driving over the John Michael Twomey Jr. Memorial Pothole.

You too can have a pothole named after you. All you have to do is identify a pothole as your adopted progeny, call in the exact location to the DPW at the DPW phone to report potholes at 467-7950. Then file your claim to the pothole naming rights by posting in the comments box on this entry. When the pothole has been fixed it is yours. Potholes will be adopted on a first-come first-serve basis.

If you wish to name a pothole after a friend or to honor a loved one that's fine. But if you wish to have the community contuinaly drive over a pothole named after one of your enemies, well, that too is fine with the GCCC organization. We're that kind of people, flexible and understanding.

Who will be next to accquire Pothole Naming Rights. Who will have the most potholes named in Mt. Hope. The race is on members, no rest for the weary.

Where Have All the Pothole Heads Gone?

John Twomey

Posted at 10:32 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Two Potholes Fixed!!

Hallelujah!!

At Wednesday's meeting I reported that neither of the potholes I called in to the DPW, one opposite the KFC on Cypress and the other at the foot of Locust & Knowles had as yet been fixed. Well, I just returned home up Cypress over to Knowles and lo & behold both Potholes have now been fixed.

I guess that DPW number works!

I reminded the membership at the meeting that one of our 2005 Agenda items, Infrastructure, was to identify and have repaired all the potholes in Mt. Hope and that that item might be the easiest agenda item for us to accomplish.

Here's a quote from my post of May 27th on How to use this Blog:

Identify a pothole's exact location, call it in, log in the information in the comments box of this entry. Then we monitor the data and the progress of our efforts by the ongoing comments to this entry. Fun. Fun. Fun.

Link to DPW: DPW phone to report potholes 467-7950

I guess that phone number works pretty well considering I made the call on May 27th. That is not a bad response time for the city.

Has anyone else called in to the DPW to report potholes? Let us know in the Comments tab.

We cannot complain about our infrastructure if we don't identify needs and ask the city to respond. And it will take more than one person to get all the potholes identified and fixed.

John Twomey

Posted at 3:44 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Thank You GCCC Members

A big THANK YOU to all the GCCC volunteers that helped out in the clean up day that took place last Saturday. Over 30 bags of trash were collected from Rochambeau to Doyle. GCCC members made up most of the volunteer force that was present that day and their help couldn't be more appreciated.

Beyond just the clean streets (which will inevitably get dirty agian), the real accomplishment of the clean up day was the community involvement which seems to be a much more common theme today in the Mt. Hope neighborhood.

Also a special thanks to the R.I.DEM for the supplies.

Matt Stone

Posted at 3:35 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Camp Street Robbery

We were robbed today in broad daylight. We suspect the people that moved one of our tenants to a local nursing home. While they had their truck backed up to our front door, they helped themselves to the tools in the garage. Keep an eye out for a big white truck and three white guys (blond, blue eyes). I doubt they'll be back, but I thought I'd send the word out. Our neighbors' response has been incredible - they're just as mad as we are! This is a great neighborhood and we're all watching out for each other! Let's just keep an eye on the others.

Anonymous

Posted at 11:00 PM | Issues | Comments (1)

Drug Camper Towed

A Small but Significant Victory for Camp and Woodbine Streets

After being tagged in mid-April with a violation, finally the RV located at 234 Camp Street was towed today at about 12:30 pm. This vehicle was allegedly used to conceal drugs for a local dealer. This was a significant victory and sent the message that drug dealing is no longer going to be tolerated and overlooked in this block. Many thanks to the police and the residents in that area for being persistent.

Jen

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Persistence & Technique Pays Off

Decisive action followed by persistent follow through often pays off as illustrated by the removal of the abandonded camper used in drug related activities on Camp street.

This camper was brought to the attention of the police at the March 31st, Local Nuisance Task Force meeting held at the District 8 Substation. Although not exactly carried out with blinding speed the mission was accomplished and the camper removed. But it was only accomplished through residents following through repeatedly with the police to get something done.

That March meeting also addressed the situation at 206 Camp Street, and everyone can see the changes evident at that address. Drug dealers no longer haunt the porch nor the rear of the house like they once did. The property has been cleaned up after being cited for numerous code violations. Another effective job by GCCC.

When just calling the police numerous times does not solve a problem, further, more decisive action must be taken to get neighborhood problems solved.

John

Posted at 11:57 AM | Issues | Comments (1)

Clean up Cleans Up

An All-Volunteer Army of Mt. Hopeans bivouacked at Billy Taylor Park this morning, then, armed with white gloves and black bin bags, they patrolled the streets of Mt. Hope waging war on littter and debris. Battle after battle was waged and won, and street by street citizens took back their neighborhood from the encroaching chaos of tossed trash and garbage.

The All Volunteer Army Eats

After the clean up Matt manned a mean grill and fed the volunteers hot dogs and hamburgers.

Kevin brought some welcome reenforcements in a troop of young recruits, scouts actually, that Kevin works with in South Providence. The scouts provided a lot of help as well as their youthfull enthusiasm. Thanks to all who cleaned up and thanks, especially, to Matt and Kevin.

"You've all done very, very well."

Posted at 2:49 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Mt. Hope Clean Up Day

Mt. Hope Clean Up Day -- Saturday, June 18

location: Billy Taylor Park

Mt. Hope Clean Up Day

It's time to Clean up and Green up our neighborhood.
On Saturday, June 18th at 11:00am, volunteers will be meeting at Billy Taylor Park (located on the corner of Cypress St. and Camp). Our Mission is to clean up some of the debris and litter that has accumulated on our streets and sidewalks throughout the winter.

This is a great opportunity for you to meet your neighbors and clean the streets you live on so that our community will be a beautiful place to live. We will provide gloves and trash bags to all those helping. Following the clean up we will meet back at the park for a BBQ with all the volunteers that helped out.

If you would like to participate or have any questions regarding the clean up day and BBQ please call Matt Stone at 454-0237.

Your help will make a difference and your reward will be a neighborhood for all to enjoy.

Matt Stone

Posted at 12:02 PM | Issues | Comments (2)

Street Sweeping Confirmed!

I can confirm that they finally swept my street sometime between Wedensday night and Thursday morning. That's one time. I think they are supposed to do it three times. I'm going to count them.

I formerly lived in a city that cleaned every street at least once a month from April to the first snow. That is at least 8 times a year and only 4 months, the worst winter months, between cleanings.

That city was not a jewel, not a state capital.

Permanent signs were on every street with the schedule: for instance mine was swept the first Monday and Tuesday of every month: one day the odd numbered side of the street the next day the other. On the day before a district was to be cleaned cardboard posters were hung on the streets remninding residents to not park there when the cleaning was scheduled. On the day of the cleaning, a city truck would drive slowly down the street announcing over a loud speaker that the street sweepers would be there in one hour and to please move your car if needed or it would be towed. Just before the sweepers arrived a few tow trucks would begin towing any cars left on the street. They had provided more than sufficient warning, and this schedule and system had been in place without change for many, many years. The work was done by the DPW not contracted out. It worked very well.

I do think that with the ammount of debris generated by a Providence winter, 8 months is too long to go between street sweeping. That is how long my street went.

I also find the scheduling to be confusing and hard to find.

I think Providence could do a better job with street cleaning.

Of course they could say that if you want to get your streets cleaned every month we can raise your taxes and hire more DPW workers and machines.

But taxes were lower where I used to live.

I'm afraid we will get our taxes raised anyway, but not our streets cleaned more effeciently or often enough.

I have no suggestions. I just wonder why, if they began sweeping in April, it took until June 8th to clean my street for the very first time, some 69 days.

Now, what about those potholes?

Did anyone identify any needy potholes and call them in to the DPW?

Can the City do something about this heat and humidity? : ) I wish.

Let's get some postings up while we can.

John Twomey

Posted at 11:46 AM | Issues | Comments (1)

Remember Street Sweeping?

Is now the time? Well, is it? Is it really?

Remember Street Sweeping? That's where the City to whom we pay such high property taxes condescends to sweep an entire winter's worth of debris off of our streets. It last happened in our neighborhood, District 3, about 9 months ago. Not bad for a major East coast city, huh!

Of course this blog first reported the street sweeping schedule when we were scheduled for April 19, 20, 21, but then that sechedule was mysteriously removed from the DPW webpage and replaced with a "completed" designation. After much back and forth with the City, they told me were scheduled for May 29, and June 2nd & 3rd.

Now I'm getting smart, (I think. . .?): I copied the schedule right from the DPW webpage. Here it is:

District 3 June 2,5,6 On Schedule

By my calculations that means this comming Thrusday, Friday and Monday, but then again, who knows, the only thing for sure in this life, they say, is death and taxes, and we know all about taxes, don't we; what we don't know much about in Mt. Hope is street sweeping. You see, we haven't experienced it in so long, it's become just a vague memory.

Look out for your street, your neighborhood!

Clean streets are not mean streets!

John Twomey

Posted at 11:52 AM | Issues | Comments (5)

Car Break-ins Continue . . .

Do you think they are even trying . . .?

It looks like there was another car break-in, this time in the parking lot of the Evergreen Apartments on Camp Street. Do you think they are even trying to catch the people responsible for these petty crimes?

Anonymous

Posted at 11:50 AM | Issues | Comments (4)

Good Fencing News!

The Broken Fence on Cypress Street

I opened an e-mail this morning from David P. of the ONS, the Director's right-hand man, and he informed me that he had spoken with Sal Solomon, Superintendent of Highways, DPW, about the fence in question. Mr. Solomon told David that he would have a crew on it next week. David also wrote that he would keep me updated.

Keep an eye towards the fence and towards this space for future up-dates.

No news is good news until the bird in the bush is in the hand.

It is fair to make up your own proverbs, right?

John Twomey

Posted at 11:41 AM | Issues | Comments (5)

Crime Busters!

Crime Watch: Don't Let the Deal Go Down

I would like to remain anonymous out of concern for the safety of myself, and my property, and having spoken to the Mt. hope Crime Watch already regarding this, I do not have anything to hide from any other GCCC members, but you never know who may be reading this Blog.

Anyway, today I witnessed a drug deal, around noon, on the corner of Camp and Locust street. By the time I had called information, and gotten transfered around to different departments within the police department, the men were gone, but I thought I could at least post a description so that others can be on the lookout: It was 2 African-American Men, mid-twenties. One was on foot, and I didn't get that good a look at him, but the other was riding a red bicycle, and had a shaved head. They seemed to be exchanging money, and some small bags of white substance.

I now have the direct line to the Mount Hope Police Sub-Station programmed into my cell phone, so that if it happens again, I will be prepared to act more quickly! Constant Vigilance!!! (Any other Harry Potter fans out there will understand the referance)

Posted at 4:59 PM | Issues | Comments (2)

Problems on Evergreen?

No Cutting!

Thanks, John, for keeping the Weblog. It provides a great forum and is an indespensible tool for disseminating information (no trespassing by elephants who can't spell.)

I recently heard some disturbing news from a new resident on Evergreen. Something about "Youth" cutting through to Evergreen from Grand View and breaking down fences in the process.

Apparently, when the owner of one of the effected lots replaced the fencing, he was threatened with arson if he did not leave an egress in the fencing for the escaping? sight seeing ? trespassing? youth.

Has anyone else had these kinds of problems? I find the threatening, menacing nature of these young people rather disturbing.

Posted by Nadezhda

Posted at 10:20 AM | Issues | Comments (1)

Tree Trimming City

Need help with the City

Now that Spring has arrived, I have noticed the tree in front of our house has a dead limb on it.

Dead Branches for the City

Has anyone had success with the city getting it to trim trees? If so who did you talk to and do you know their phone number?

Ellen Baver

Posted at 6:19 PM | Issues | Comments (3)

Nuisance Meeting

A very productive meeting took place today in which GCCC members met with Police Department representatives, Code Enforcement, and the Attorney General's Office.

All pertinent agenda topics were covered in depth and to our satisfaction.

Special thanks to the police brass who came down and gave us their ear and to our own District 8 officers who really can and do make a difference on a daily basis.

Anyone who would like an in depth report on the meeting can contact me at john@mthop-eastside.org to arrange for details.

Posted by John Twomey

Posted at 2:12 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

More Crime on Woodbine

Our fledgling Crime Watch learned of yet more crime today from residents who reported yet another break-in theft from a car on Woodbine Street. This time valuable items were stolen and the car vandalized. An abandoned, stolen car was also towed yesterday.

Of releated interest we have also recieved complaints from at least three homeowners in the area about open drug dealing right in front of the house on the Corner of Camp & Woodbine, address, 234 Camp Street.

Drugs almost always bring other crimes, especially break-ins, that is why it is so important to report drug dealing whenever you see it.

The department in the police responsible for drug enforcement is the NOCD, Narcotics & Organized Crime Division, headed up by Lt. Verdi, who has attended several GCCC meetings and is familiar with our plight and is in fact sympathic to our cause.

The NOCD phone number is 243-6418. Call them to report drug dealing, and always, always write down the name of the person you spoke with and the date of your call. Documentation of these facts is very important in getting action from city departments.

If you have any info about either the break-in or the drug dealing in front of 234 Camp St. get in touch.

Also, let the Crime Watch know whenever you contact the police so we can monitor the police response.

We deserve good service for our high taxes.

Contact: john@mthope-eastside.org

Posted at 2:11 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Police Do Job

Hats off to Col. Dean Esserman and the Providence Police Department for taking six guns off the streets and a number of "bad guys".

Today's Journal reported on the brass's press conference yesterday, projo.com.

It just goes to show what our Police Department can do when they make up their minds to do something.

Why haven't they made up their minds to shut down the Open-air Drug Market in the East Side's Mt. Hope neighborhood.

Have you noticed the crazy drug selling on Camp and on Pleasant during the police's shift-change, between 2 and 4 pm, on a daily basis depending upon the availability of drugs. It takes place in broad daylight!

It seems the drug dealers can out-smart the police simply by knowing when the shift-change occurs and Mt. Hope is for all practical purposes virtually empty of police officers.

I can't wait for the press conference when Col. Esserman announces, "We have shut down the Open-air Drug Market in Mt. Hope!"

I hope we don't have to wait too long.

John Twomey

Posted at 2:09 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Lead Paint Panel

An interesting article on the new lead paint legislation appeared in todays Journal, Projo.com.

Two points of note: (1) lead poisoninings dropped 80% in Rhode Island during the last decade: (2) 45,000 property owners will be affected by the legislation, but only a small number of those property owners, 195, bear responsibility for the vast majority of lead poisonings.

The panel debates when to put the legislation into effect.

Posted at 2:08 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Nuisance Update

Update to the March 22, 2005, post, Local Nuisance Task Force.

Arrangements are being made for the described meeting this week or next depending on the various scheduling snafu's that keep arising: from vacations to hospitalizations, Murphy's Law is definately at work.

We will be in touch with the parties who expressed concnern with these, police and nuicance, issues about the meeting. Any one else interested, contact us.

We are also collecting the addresses of sites that regularly pose a nuisance to the community, esepcially those sites where illegal activities such as drug dealing occur on a regular basis. Residents can e-mail nuisance sites to me and I will pass the info to the task force at the meeting.

john@mthope-eastside.org

Posted at 2:06 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Local Nuisance Task Force

We are in the process of arranging a meeting with the local nuisance task force we convened last fall, consisting of the District 8 Commander, a rep from the AG's office, a rep from Code Enforcement, and GCCC members, to address specific problematic locations in Mt. Hope that consistently present a nuisance to residents and to address specific (not general) complaints residents made at our March 17th meeting about recent police performance and response.

Any member who wishes to add their input should e-mail me at John@mthope-eastside.org or use the blog submission form addressed to John, Subject: Local Nuisance Task Force.

Posted at 1:58 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Unhappy With Police

Last night, at the GCCC meeting, Mt. Hope residents expressed displeasure with the recent performance of our District 8 police officers!

We will be elaborating on what we learned from residents at last night's GCCC meeting, but in a nutshell here are a few complaints heard more than once.

Too much sitting around in the Sub-station!
Not enough patrolling in cars up and down our streets.
Not a quick enough response to calls.
Unable to respond effectively when defied by local punks who refuse to respond to officers request.
Too long a hold time when phoning dispatchers.

We think these complaints are all easily fixable. Lt. Kohen has always been very responsive to the community's needs and has a good rapport with the men and women under his command. I predict an improvement when these fine officers realize the extent of residents unhappiness with the policing situation. It's been a long, tough winter for us all.

We will be contacting Lt. Kohen for a meeting and he will be invited with his officers to our next meeting within three weeks.

We pay the same high tax rate other East Side neighborhoods pay, and we expect the same quality of service!

Posted at 1:55 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Crime Watch

CRIME WATCH / COMMUNITY WATCH

What do we as residents need to do to get a crime watch/community watch started A.S.A.P.

Posted by Dennis

Posted at 1:43 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Extremely Fustrated Resident!

Some neighbors and I have been after the city for almost a "year" through Anthony Nunez, John Nicholson, and the Office of Neighborhood Services trying to get this land [Mt. Hope Land Trust Abbott & Knowles lots] cleaned.

Frankly, they're sick of our calls, letters, and emails, and still nothing happens. With this new information that the state will be developing the land, I suppose it puts the city in a strange situation: can the city cite and fine and put a lein on property being developed by the state?

I'm so angry about looking at filth through my front window I'm probably going to have a stroke, and all our efforts to hold SOMEONE responsible are for naught. And it's WAY worse than I've ever seen it - probably because I've given up picking up the garbage. Any advice would be appreciated about where to go from here.

posted by KL

Posted at 3:18 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Breaking News: Dead Body on Woodbine

We just recieved a call, at 4:20 from a Woodbine St. resident, that a dead body has been found at the bottom of Woodbine Street.

I am leaving in my 4-wheel drive to investigate.

Will post what I learned later.

Update: After a slushy slog through the ice & snow I got to Woodbine St. from N. Main, and there, on the left side of the street (the north side) perhaps 5 or 6 houses up, a policeman was holding up a tarp (presumably to cover a corpse) on a Woodbine St. front porch.

It did not look like a crime scene to me so, not wanting to invade anyone's privacy in a moment of grief, I did not stop.

This incident helps illuminate how useful a Crime Watch could be and how important a network of citizen communications can be.

Anyone with more info please fill us in on the ongoing situation.

CRIME WATCH, PEOPLE, CRIME WATCH!

Posted at 1:36 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Woodbine House & Car Break-ins

This just in: in a related matter it seems that the mini-crime-wave also hit Woodbine Street, as we just recieved this posting from a resident in that area.

"The house break-in happened Thursday, Feb 17th, around 5-6pm, the ground floor apartment. Cash and jewelry were stolen.

Two cars were also broken into last week, radios and other electronics stolen.

Of course, alarms can be effective, but I suggest also calling LT Kohen and asking him what is being done about the situation.

Don't close yourself off, but rather, getting involved and getting those reports will help.

Posted by Naama G.

Posted at 1:34 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Lancaster St. Crime Wave

A resident reported to me recently that there was a small crime wave in the Lancaster St. area in the last month involving cars being broken into.

I questioned Lt. Kohen our Sub-station Commander about it at the Mayor's State of Your City Meeting last Wedensday, and he said that it seems to be going in waves. The thieves seem to target certain streets where there will be a rash of break-ins, and then it will be quiet a while, then another rash of car break- ins on another street. Several arrests have been made.

A few months ago I heard the same compliant from residents of Jenkins Street.

The thieves have gotten away with several lap-top computers, cameras, purses and stereos. Why anyone would leave something of value in sight in their car is beyond me. It is just not smart. Of course, it's wrong to blame the victim, but we should all be smart and try not to make ourselves victims un-necessarily.

Don't leave anything in sight in your cars. Lock and alarm your cars.

Keep an eye out, and report anything suspicious to the police and always, always get the officier to give you an Incident Report Number. Don't take "No" for an answer. The responding officer is required to provide you with the Incident Report Number at your request.

Sometimes they [the police] feel it is too much trouble for them to call it in. But statistically speaking, if no incident report number is generated, the incident you reported, for all practical purposes, never occured.

Always get documentation whenever you can to support our case for more and better police presence in Mt. Hope.

Once again, another strong case for instituting a Mt. Hope Crime Watch.

Posted at 1:27 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

HOUSING: Mt. Hope-ing You Get Involved!

Final Mt. Hope-ing Meeting

I attended the last of the three Mt. Hope-ing for Affordable Housing meetings last night. In attendance were members of the Planning Department, Rochelle Lee of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Land Trust, Peter Simon, and representatives from the Mayor's office and RIHMFC.

Much of the discussion centered around what to do with our youth. A few interesting points came to light. For instance, Peter Simon says that out of approximately 700 teenaged children living on the east side, only about 300 attend school. CATCH has done a survey that found that the majority of kids do not feel "accepted" at the Mt. Hope Learning Center or the MHNA. It was suggested that a larger more inclusive teen center is needed.

Other issues discussed included the vacant property at the corner of Grandview and Camp, and the need for attractive and historically sensitive mixed-use development on Camp Street and along North Main Street.

The purpose of these meetings, according to Peter Simon, is to "revitalize" the Land Trust, and to get city and state agencies together to get more affordable housing into Mount Hope. We need to get more people to these meetings to make sure the character of our neighborhood is maintained. There has been talk of changing zoning and building high-rises.

There will be another meeting on March 30 to begin drafting a plan to put some ideas in effect. What those ideas are depends on who shows up.

Katie Laferte

Please click on Comments, below, to discuss.

Posted at 1:25 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Speaking of Potholes . . .

Speaking of potholes, I hit one today that shook my fillings and rattled my brain, not to mention drove my old car insane, it bent my tie rods and flattened my tire,GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT POTHOLES OF IRE.

You can run into it on Branch Av. travelling west (that's toward North Providence) just as you pass the entrance to the Stop & Shop parking lot off of Branch.

Look out.

Posted at 1:19 PM | Issues | Comments (0)

Cops bust Drugs on Cypress

Mt. Hope salutes Lt. Verdi & Detective Remolina, Narcotics & Organized Crime Division, of the Providence Police Department, for investigating an alleged drug den at 27 Cypress Street, as reported in today’s Providence Journal (ProJo.com), resulting in the arrest of three alleged drug dealers, and the confiscation of drugs, weapons, and money.

Hats off to you guys, keep up the good work, and keep GCCC informed so that we can provide a Community Impact Statement at sentencing upon conviction.

Arrested were Nicholas and Daniel Sciotti, and Robert Atwood.

We don’t need drug dealers setting up shop in Mt. Hope.

To reach Lt. Verdi’s Narcotics & Organized Crime Division, call 243-6418 & just tell them, “Thanks a lot.” And don’t forget to leave a tip.

Other drug houses in Mt. Hope await their attention.

John Twomey

Posted at 2:02 PM | Issues | Comments (0)