BORN FREE
THURSDAY, December 16, 2010
Vol. 38, No. 50 What’s Inside
M or e
Than 50 Gift Ideas Inside
$100 Million Pell Bridge Work Begins
DINNER AND A MOVIE Page 16
By Tom Shevlin
Table of Contents CALENDAR CLASSIFIEDS COMMUNITY BRIEFS CROSSWORD EDITORIAL MAINSHEET NATURE POLICE LOGS REALTY TRANSACTIONS RECENT DEATHS RESTAURANTS TIDE CHART
17 24 4 25 6 27 21 5 7 24 16 10
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A barge loaded with steel sits beneath the Pell Bridge recently. (Photo by Wil Tuthill)
See BRIDGE on page 2
Beyond The Christmas Tree: Symbols of the Holidays By Cynthia Gibson Decorating the home with greens during the winter is a centuries-old, international tradition. Many countries have influenced in our holiday décor. Some we have known about for awhile, others just might be a surprise. In Sweden, Norway, and Finland, the placing of greens, holly and fir on the fireplace mantel and over mirrors is a sign that spring will return, but until then there is greenery in the home during the winter. We too, place greens, hopefully balsam because of its strong, pine-forest scent, in vases and on our mantels, as well. The poinsettia truly belongs in the ‘Did you know?’ category. The poinsettia is a native of Mexico. It arrived in the United States in the 1900s when our first American Ambassador to Mexico, Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, an amateur horticulturist, sent cuttings of the lovely bright red plant back home to South Carolina. The starshaped flowers were in bloom during Christmas. It must have been quite a sight in its tropical environment, as the poinsettia is a shrub that grows to 12 feet tall. Once Poinsett’s cuttings were sent to the U.S., they caught on quite slowly as a Christmas flower. It was not until the 20th century that the poinsettia really took off as a holiday decorating staple. Today we import from Mexico over
Anyone who makes the trip across the Newport Pell Bridge with any degree of regularity has probably noticed an uptick in the amount of work taking place on the bridge over the last few weeks. According to the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA), construction has begun on a long-anticipated $100 million steel restoration and painting project aimed at maintaining the safety and longevity of the iconic span. In September, the contractor began erecting platforms and staging their equipment under the bridge, out of sight of motorists traversing the bridge. This month, the first section of bridge will be scaffolded and tented so that workers can treat corroded steel, make any necessary
Poinsettias have leaves, not flowers $200 million in poinsettias every Christmas season. What is also interesting is that this plant has been hybridized into a multitude of colors. A lovely, ‘leaf flower,’ the poinsettia is not actually a flower ,at all. Its bracts now come in every shade between cream, hot pink and grape. This lovely holiday plant is in your local supermarket, as well as all of the nurseries on our island. Make sure that the soil in their pot is never bone-dry, and only mist the light-colored poinsettias, as the red and deep red shades will ‘spot’ from misting. Holly, originally a pagan/Druid symbol for ‘evergreen beauty’ during the winter, with its bright red berries and beautiful deep green leaves are splendid to this day. With the arrival of missionaries spreading the word of Christi-
anity, Christians seeking to avoid persecution placed holly on their front doors and in their homes. In England, as in America, holly is a true symbol of the Christmas holiday. Placing sprigs of holly on your Christmas tree, at the top of a placecard, or as a table-scape is a lovely use of these beautiful leaves and berries. Remember: They are extremely prickly, so handle only by the stem, or wear leather gloves, and keep them out of the reach of children. “The mistletoe is still hung up in farmhouses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.” From Washington Irving’s “Christmas Eve.” There is European and American mistletoe, but both are parasites living on trees in the north. It is an unattractive plant with ovate leaves and light white berries. Mistletoe symbolizes rebirth in the spring and virility for men. In Great Britain
Newport Ranks High for ‘Housing Burden’ Index By Tom Shevlin
in the 1900s, ladies would make elaborate kissing balls from mistletoe and hang them in a doorway. Any gentleman passing under the kissing ball could kiss a lady who just might be passing under the ball at the same time. The Victorians were so literate at times. A kiss under the mistletoe could be an invitation to marriage, so gentlemen, beware the mistletoe! The wreath is a lovely symbol of unbroken strength. It’s made from greens with pinecones, fruits, berries and nuts added to it for splendor. If you use cedar to make your wreath, you are including a message of strength and healing. If you use holly or yew, they both symbolize immortality. A wreath can be made from laurel, boxwood, or balsam. Whichever combination of greens or single green you select to make your wreath, it symbolizes the harshest time of year, with the green color of the needles meaning hope of spring. Adding small apples and pears to your wreath turns
Due in part to its high concentration of affordable housing, Newport ranks below the state average when it comes to communities with residents spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 5-year American Community Survey (ACS), roughly 40 percent of Newport homeowners and renters spend more than 30 percent of their household income on housing costs. The estimates, released on Tuesday, are being used by housing advocates to illustrate what they claim is “a persistent housing affordability crisis for Rhode Islanders.” In fact, according to HousingWorks RI, the data indicates that Rhode Island is the most housing cost-burdened state in New England. According to federal and state standards, a household should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing costs, including utilities; otherwise, families may not have enough income for other basic necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, medical care and education. The 2005-2009 ACS data show that 162,442 households in Rhode Island, or 41.7 percent, are housing cost-burdened. The data, which is broken down
See HOLIDAYS on page 3
See HOUSING on page 7
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