Happy Mother’s Day! VOL. 38, NO. 18
WHAT’S INSIDE
WEDNESDAY, May 5, 2010
BORN FREE
After 40 years Ben’s Chili Dogs gets new owners NEWPORT, R.I. — Not much has changed at the iconic Newport eatery on Broadway over the past 40 years, from the bare bones griddle and stove to the veneer paneling. Jerry Bienvenue, who has earned his livelihood serving up dogs, since he was 19-years-old, says he is looking forward to turning over his secret chili recipe to the new owners, Peter Gallipeau and Mary Wall. The duo are well suited for continuing the legacy. They already work on Broadway, they operate a financial services office at the other end of Broadway, near the courthouse and Mary, who loves to cook, actually organized the New England Winter Chili Festival in Provi-
NPEF awards, see page 5.
Surprise mom with an easy recipe, see page 12.
TABLE OF CONTENTS THE ARTS CALENDAR CLASSIFIEDS COMMUNITY BRIEFS CROSSWORD DINING OUT EDITORIAL LETTERS MAINSHEET NATURE REALTY TRANSACTIONS WELLNESS
15 8 18 4 18 12 6 6 9 16 7 17
WWW.NEWPORT-NOW.COM
Music workshop still hopeful for grant in May NEWPORT, R.I. – A proposal to transform an old concrete maker’s workshop into a community music hub missed the cut for a $50,000 grant last month, but is still in the running for May. Organizers for the Newport Music Workshop finished out of the running for an April Pepsi Refresh Program grant. But according to co-organizer Phil Hadley, the push to finish in the top 10 of applicants for the community-based grants is still on. As we wrote here last month, over the last number of weeks, Hadley, along with partner Scott Rancourt of Summing Point Music Studio, have been orchestrating an online effort to secure their position amid the top 10 of a national grant competition sponsored by soft drink giant Pepsi. It’s known as the Pepsi Refresh Project, a groundbreaking effort aimed at fostering innovation in “social good.” According to the company, Pepsi will award more than $20 million this year to fund great ideas that
Read more on pg. 3
dence in February. Bienvenue says the secret to his chili is in the spices, and he will make sure they have the right combination. He will be personally training the pair before he officially retires on June 1. He says he’s planning on traveling out west and dedicating some more time to the poetry he has been writing. When asked if thought he would miss the routine of the long hours, he said he is looking forward to his independence and feels that Peter and Mary were the ideal successors. “They have a large extended family, it won’t be like it was when my brother and I were the only ones running the place.”
Read more on pg. 20
Saratoga Museum Foundation Plan to be Scrapped Group Eyes Carrier USS John. F Kennedy for Island Attraction By Tom Shevlin NEWPORT, R.I. — The group leading an effort to transform the aging USS Saratoga into a marine museum has shifted its focus to a new mission, after the Navy determined that the USS Saratoga would no longer be available for donation. In what organizers are describing as a “new direction” for the aircraft carrier project, the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation has announced plans to acquire the USS John F. Kennedy and bring her to a yet-to-be-determined location on Aquidneck Island. “Over the past several weeks, the leadership of the USS Saratoga Association and Saratoga Museum Foundation leadership have become aware of the Navy’s increasing reluctance to donate the Saratoga as a family attraction and education center,” Saratoga Museum Executive Director Frank Lennon said. “In recent months, the Navy has expressed concerns about the condition of ships on lengthy donation holds. In November, NAVSEA made a surprise announcement, offering the newer USS John F Kennedy for donation.” Lennon continued: “I am saddened to report that our fears about Saratoga have been realized. The Secretary of the Navy has notified Congress of the Navy’s intent to remove Saratoga from donation status. Plans have been put in motion to scrap the ship instead of making it available as a public attraction, thus ending this phase of our nonprofit effort.” But, according to Lennon, the decision has opened up a new avenue for the group’s sister entity, the non-profit Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame, Inc. (RIAHOF), which has announced its own plans to bring the carrier USS John F. Kennedy to Newport County as a family attraction and recreation facility, education/heritage center, job training facility and disaster relief asset. The Navy unexpectedly made the Kennedy available for donation last November, and potential applicants were given 60 days to submit a detailed Letter of Intent, describing
“Despite our many years of work focused on Sara, it is difficult to argue with the Navy’s preference to donate JFK, ... (she) is in mobilization readiness condition-meaning a successful applicant could theoretically take her over one day and virtually be ready for public access the next.” their plans for the ship. Since her retirement, the Kennedy has been maintained in a fully functional reserve status and could be quickly made ready for her new roles. The Naval Sea Systems Command qualified Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame (RIAHOF) to move forward with its plans, which call for the JFK to become a major new destination and economic engine for Aquidneck Island. One other candidate- a group in Portland, Maine -was also authorized to proceed to the next phase of the process. So with one carrier, and proposal, now destined for the scrapyard, the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation has opted to throw its support behind this affiliated local effort to
obtain the JFK, also known as “Big John.” In describing the decision, Lennon, who is active in both organizations, said that “the Foundation’s non-profit mission was (and still is) to locate a supercarrier in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, and transform it into a world-class family attraction, education center, job training facility and memorial.” In return, RIAHOF would allocate significant space in the hangar bay of “Big John” to honor the memory of all US Navy ships named Saratoga, along with the men who served in them. The Foundation has formally requested the transfer of a number of historic Saratoga assets for possible future display aboard JFK, and
LOCAL NEWS MATTERS, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS
even the removal of a meaningful piece of the superstructure before the ship leaves Newport. More importantly, the Foundation has asked the Navy to support a carefully-controlled, one-time farewell visit to Saratoga by qualified Saratoga veterans. The Navy has taken this request under consideration, with the understanding that the number of visitors and the duration of the visit would be limited, and that access would be to the hangar bay and flight deck only. The USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, Inc. will continue to manage that effort, and will also continue to operate many of the other worthy projects launched over the past several years-to include many of the educational initiatives. “Despite our many years of work focused on Sara, it is difficult to argue with the Navy’s preference to donate JFK,” Lennon said. “Saratoga was decommissioned 16 years ago, has been only minimally maintained, and has been stripped to
Read more on pg. 3