And let’s stop destroying lives and breaking up families. Join the good people of Open Doors Rhode Island for a rally in the State House rotunda in support of marijuana legislation now under consideration in the general assembly.
Legislators at the RI State House are considering bills to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana (under 1 ounce). Concerned residents across the state are invited to attend a rally to support marijuana decriminalization, a sensible measure which would remove current criminal penalties with a $150 civil fine.
Confirmed speakers include: Representative Jay Edwards (D - Tiverton, Portsmouth), House Sponsor of the Bill; Dr. David Lewis, MD, Professor Emeritus of Community Health at Brown University; Beth Comery, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
Open Doors is a non-profit organization which provides support for the formerly incarcerated as they prepare to leave prison, return home, and stabilize in the community. The agency’s programs include discharge planning within the men’s Minimum Security, policy and advocacy on criminal justice issues, as well as a resource center and employment program. More info including their new location on Plainfield Street at Open Doors. See their informative video after the jump.
A public hearing and discussion meeting — organized by the Open Providence Commission for Transparency and Accountability — will be hosted Monday by the Rhode Island School of Design. (In November 2011 the Providence City Council created the Open Providence Commission bringing together city employees, outside experts and everyday citizens to help city residents better engage with their government using technology.) From the City Open Providence Commission website;
Have you ever had trouble finding when the Board of Licenses is meeting, obtaining City budget information, or looking up your Council member’s voting record?
Do you wish it was easier to find your local school, its test scores, and school registration information online? Would you like to see City Council meetings on TV or live-streamed via the internet?
Come share your concerns, issues, ideas and proposals at this public hearing and discussion. Opening remarks from Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and City Council President Solomon.
Free, 6pm to 8pm, Monday, May 21, Rhode Island School of Design, Metcalf Auditorium, Chace Center, 20 North Main Street (fb)
Head down to the Black Box for some shorts . . . then music.
8pm — short films hosted by Frank Difficult featuring new work by Frank Difficult, Dave Public, Austin Sley Julian, and Alec K. Redfearn (w/ live soundtrack)
9pm — performances by Noose, Sandworm, Horse Lords
(Fun fact: When you Google Image ‘Frank Difficult’ you get a few pictures of Barney Frank in the mix.
$5, 8pm, Sunday, May 20, Black Box Theatre, 95 Empire Street, (fb)
(5.19) Rain or shine. And it looks like it’s gonna be real shiny. Highlights include;
Beers for the Ballet! A Beer Garden sponsored by Trinity Brewhouse with ALL proceeds going to Festival Ballet Providence. (Leotards optional!) Horse-drawn hay rides. Come see Hope Street’s local fireman and firetruck in the Citizen’s Bank Parking lot. Food trucks. Sidewalk sales. Free gift bags for the first 300 attendees provided by Providence Monthly and East Side Monthly! One lucky bag will have a ”Golden Ticket” to Hope Street worth hundreds of dollars in gift certificates!
The schedule for the live musical performances is:
1pm Colourblind/1:45pm Dick Derry/3pm Boo City/5pm the Silks
Friday — @Lupo’s, the Used, Dead Sara, Stars in Stereo @Fête, Talib Kweli, KIT, Thr33 Piece Suit, Juan Deuce @Nick-A-Nee’s, Down Baby @the Met, Boy Sets Fire, I Hate My Freedom @AS220, Verse, Achilles, Like Wolves, Raindance, My Fictions @Speakeasy Local 121, King Sickabilly @Firehouse 13, the Evil Streaks, the Mighty Good Boys, the Sour Doo-Dahs, the Denver Boot @Machines With Magnets, Bobby Conn, R. Stevie Moore, Kokomo, Azwan and the Savages
Saturday — @Fête, Fishbone, the Brunt of It, the Agents @Firehouse 13, KG and the Storytellers, Hungry Freaks, the IF @the Met, Yo Gotti @AS220, Fistful of Vengeance
Collection 2012, the Apparel Design department’s popular fashion show, will take to the runway on Friday, May 18 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence. After months of conceptual development, experimentation and meticulous construction, students have an opportunity to showcase their one-of-a-kind creations to the public at this annual event. For the enthusiastic audience, it’s a fun and fast-paced evening of entertainment offering a sneak peak at the fashion tastemakers and trendsetters of the future.
The designs shown in each year’s Collection are juried by a panel of guest critics – professional designers who carefully review and discuss the work together, give students critical feedback and select the best garments for the runway show.
All proceeds benefit the RISD Scholarship Fund. (Seen here: Designs by senior Hope MacDonald.)
$42-$62, 8pm, Friday, May 18, RI Convention Center, 1 Sabin Street
(5.18) I know because they said so at Greater City: Providence. There will be a bike commuters’ coffee and breakfast and some speakers down at the World War I Memorial Park. Some bicycle mechanic services will be on hand, and the Mayor might drop by at around 8am.
We’re hopeful that he’ll be able to share information about an exciting request from local cyclists that he is considering. We’ll also have Melanie Army from the City Planning Department on hand to talk about development of the next Providence Bike Plan.
All the details over at GCP.
6:45am to 10:30am, Friday, May 18, Memorial Park, College Street at South Main Street
SCLT’s Plant Sale is one of the area’s largest and most popular outdoor plant sales, where over 2,000 people show up to browse and purchase more than 18,000 organically grown seedlings for purchase. The plants available include flowering perennials and annuals, vegetables, fruits, and herbs, and can serve as healthy starts for window boxes, container gardens, community garden plots, or backyard gardens. All proceeds from the Plant Sale go to support the Community Land Trust’s educational programs and community gardens in Providence.
As early as February, City Farm Steward Rich Pederson cultivates around 18,000 plants, assisted by a team of apprentices and interns. “For this year’s sale we wanted to do something special to honor its 20th running year,” says Pederson, “so we’re going to feature 20 favorite plants from SCLT staff and longtime volunteers. The Plant Sale will be a celebration of that milestone as well as a general celebration of urban gardening and food growing.”
10am to 2pm, Saturday May19, Sunday May 20, City Farm, SCLT, West Clifford and Dudley Streets
(5.18) Astro Nautico is the Brooklyn-based label/blog/party collective co-founded in 2009 by Kuhn along with Obey City and Paul Jones. Asked recently where best to experience Obey City live, Obey (say: oh-bee) had this to say,
I think it’s probably less about where and more about who is there, because I think the crowd really has the ability to change the vibe of the entire club/bar/space. However, a spot with a great sound system and some trippy lights wouldn’t hurt.
So it’s not a party till you get there. Obey City, Kuhn, visuals by Paul Jones, openers James Hinton and Nathaniel Oak. Poster after jump.
Free, 10pm to 2am, Friday, May 18, the Salon, 57 Eddy Street, 21+
Well these will have to come down. Bad news for Wayland Square . . . after 12 years on South Angell, the beloved What Cheer? Antiques will move to new digs on Thayer Street on June 1st. In anticipation of what will be the mother of all moves they are having a humongous sale now at the Wayland Square location. From the Facebook page,
What Cheer? is Moving to Thayer Street for June 1st and we need to lighten our load a lot for the big move, so everything is 50% off until the End of the Month! No exceptions! Come and get it! Hole in the Head prices!
They must be crazy! Jewelry, Vinyl, Fabric, Vinyl, Postcards, Vinyl, Maps, Vinyl, Memorabilia, Ephemera, Vinyl, Apparel, Vinyl, Tchotchkes, Thingamabobs, Vinyl!!!
Last Friday was banding day for the four peregrine chicks atop the Superman building, and for the fourth year in a row Providence wildlife photographer Peter Green went along with the experts from the Audubon Society to document the event. The photographs are amazing (go to Providence Raptors) but this one best hints at the insanity of the venture. Joe Zbyrowski (in the blue helmet) heads toward one squawking chick while fending off the dive-bombing parents with a broom. (One of them got him on the arm.)
Mr. Green, who calls this his “favorite day of the year” says the whole operation took a little over 30 minutes. Green also wore a helmet saying “it can get scary with two birds screaming and attacking from different directions. They also know to stay between us and the sun, so it’s more difficult for us to see them. We try to stay against the walls; the birds won’t fly too close to the wall at high speeds.” According to the Audubon website these birds can clock 175 miles/hour.
And check out the video of ‘Banding Day 2008′ after the jump.
(5.17) This show will probably be nothing like Jack White entertaining his cow, but I bet he would like it . . . could be kind of a wacky funtime. The talented students in the Brown Department of Music + MEME: Multimedia & Electronic Music Experiments present “loop ( )” a concert of new music for new instruments featuring custom-made electronic instruments designed by students taking “Music 2220: Designing and Playing Alternate Controllers.”
Instruments and performances by: Zach Alterman, Peter Bussigel, Elliot Creager, Jonah David, Akiko Hatakeyama, Tyler Parker, Dan Rome, Mike Shuster, Parker Silzer, Matt Weisberg, and Kristina Wolfe.
The next time someone suggests that a man will make a great governor (or president) because of his business background, just remind them of the “Reckoning” that Governor Donald Carcieri (Republican) has left behind for the taxpayers of Rhode Island. The news that Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios has missed a payment on the $75-million loan, for which we are all on the hook, is sickening. Everyone is certainly hoping that the company will survive this, but that will never change the fact that Carcieri — who took this huge gamble with your money — is, and always was, a dangerously stupid buffoon. Channel 10 reports,
The video game company owned by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and lured to Rhode Island after the state offered it a $75-million loan guarantee is late with a loan payment of $1.125 million, House Speaker Gordon Fox said Tuesday.
An emergency meeting of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. is scheduled for Wednesday to discuss Providence-based 38 Studios.
According the Providence Journal “Company executives turned to the City of Providence either Thursday or Friday seeking some assistance . . .” Nice to know Mr. Schilling (Republican) is keeping up with local news.
7:32AM 05/17/2012
jim said:
I am not sure what the problem is here. It makes perfect sense to me; RI gives a $75 million...
about Shilling For Schilling