Are we cool with this?  I am always suspicious when Brown University starts making alterations to the landscape.  Why are they cutting down perfectly healthy trees on Arlington Avenue?  Is this to give residents a better view of the eye-poaching Kleig lights that go nova for sporting events? Do they have evil designs on this side of the historic Dexter Asylum wall since their plans to destroy the Hope Street side were foiled?  I am particularly suspicious since they have recently planted some 10-foot trees in the area and they will say they have ‘replaced’ the mature trees they are cutting down.  How far down the wall are they going? Aren’t we trying to increase the tree canopy in the city?

(Update: City Councilman Cliff Wood has looked into this and put my fears to rest (this was just a couple of trees). He has spoken with City Forester Doug Still who speaks highly of the Brown University tree program, so that is reassuring.  My thanks to both Mr. Still and Mr. Wood for the quick response.)

Kudos to the Providence Board of Canvassers who will keep the Providence City Hall office, first floor, open Saturday from 1pm to 4pm to get you last-minute voters registered.  And what are you waiting for anyway?  I know that Rhode Island is pretty safely in the Obama column, but don’t you want to be a part of history? Plus, it will really piss off your ultra-conservative parents!

Go to the RI Board of Elections site for details on what identification you will need.  The FAQ section is helpful (particularly if you are a recent transplant or college student). You can’t register online, but they have a pdf filing form you can fill out, print out and bring in. My thanks to Kathy Placencia in the City Hall office for replying so quickly to my email — forget trying to call on the phone.

(Not a Providence resident? The list of Local Boards of Canvassers.)

This from the Blackstone Parks Conservancy:

A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on September 5^th at 10:00 AM for the restoration of the historic Trolley Shelter on Blackstone Boulevard. The shelter, originally designed by architectural firm Stone, Carpenter and Willson in 1904, was built by Swan Point Cemetery to provide a waiting spot for those using the trolley to visit the cemetery. The shelter was recently listed on the Providence Preservation Society’s list of the city’s 10 Most Endangered Properties.

The Blackstone Parks Conservancy is spearheading the Trolley Shelter Restoration Campaign. The restoration will cost $30,000, which will include a new cedar roof, decorative latticework trim and pointing to stabilize the boulder walls.

Who doesn’t love this thing? Go to their website to donate, or show up for the ceremony and see Mayor Cicilline, Councilman Wood and all the other usual suspects. More in the ProJo.

10am/Friday/Blackstone Blvd. at Elmgrove Ave. (entrance of Swan Point)

The previously mentioned Blackstone Boulevard bicycle lanes will be officially opened today with a ribbon cutting (oh please have those giant scissors) and a press conference with politicians trying to take credit and out-green each other. But this is a good thing so I shouldn’t be snarky. Big props to City Councilman Cliff Wood for making this happen. I’m sure he had opposition. He has been known to tool around town on the coolest electric bike which I totally covet. You don’t even have to register (or pedal) those things.

So lots and lots of bicyclists and anyone else should head over to Lippitt Park, the park at the north end of Blackstone Boulevard with the big fountain monument, at 1:00PM today for the ribbon cutting and an inaugural bike ride. Thanks to the Mayor and Mr. Wood and everyone else involved. It’s all well and good to take rides in the country, but it’s time for city dwellers and commuters to get on board, and this makes it possible. Show the pols that you support these initiatives. More of the city bike plan will take shape this summer.

(Go here to sponsor a Rhode Island mile of the East Coast Greenway. More info on bike paths at Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island)

What could be cooler than jazz? Check out Tim O’Keefe’s Listening Party, tonight with a couple of live sets by The Cozy Collective. Misters Crenca, Teixeira, Minto, Wood and O’Keefe will be showing the squares how it’s done starting at 10PM at Local 121.

tonight 10 PM/121 Washington Street/no cover

What exactly is the nature of the relationship between the city of Providence and the owners of these boxes? I’m guessing host/parasite. What do we get out of these contraptions besides visual blight and exposure to liability? This is ugly crap that nobody needs and it’s spreading like a virus that makes you want to kill yourself. I like The Phoenix and The Dig as much as the next person, but they will have to find distribution methods that do not mar the aesthetics of the city and block the sidewalk for people in wheelchairs. They really seem to be metastasizing downtown, which is particularly sad because the Downtown Improvement District does a great job with clean-up, and the plantings are very cool.  The owners of these boxes should get a call from City Hall… ASAP.

Could you guys maybe worry a little less about speeding and a little more about graffiti? Aren’t you even a little embarrassed that these evil-doers are now tagging your own equipment with apparent impunity? Put down the radar you wusses — you’ve got real guns — use ‘em.

*actually the opinions expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect those of the Providence Daily Dose who are for the most part a bunch of uber-wusses, except there is that one other heterosexual gentile who seems pretty butch

I am normally pretty suspicious of music collectives (it’s usually code for ‘overly-earnest hippies with weird instruments’). But tonight is Music Friday at the RISD Museum and the music is being provided by the Cozy Collective and these guys are great! Comprising Tim O’Keefe, Tony Teixeira, Umberto Crenca and Cliff Wood, Cozy Collective will be doing their DJ-remixed/jazz and electronica thang, with shows at 6PM and 8PM.

$5 for members, all others $8/21 and over/cash bar/tasting menu/party runs 5:30 - 9:00/224 Benefit Street/don’t touch the stuff on the walls