YET ANOTHER THEORY ON THE OLD STONE MILL?
Vol. 38, No. 38
Newport† BORN FREE
THURSDAY, September 23, 2010
Sailing into Fall
What’s Inside
NTW NOW ON THURSDAYS... STILL FREE!
REFLECTING ON BRIGID KELLY’S LASTING LEGACY
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Kite surfers take advantage of a gusty Southwesterly breeze on Wednesday, the last official day of summer. Fall was expected to arrive with some unseasonably warm weather.
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(Photos by Tom Shevlin)
NEWPORT – In what could help establish Newport as a laboratory for research into alternative fuel sources, the city has been awarded a $466,750 grant from the state’s Office of Energy Resources for the development of a pilot project to determine the feasibility of turning the seaweed collected at Easton’s Beach into biodeisel. Consider it the environmental equivalent of turning lemons into lemonade. And while research into algaebased biofuels is still in its infancy, as Bruce Bartlett, the city’s parttime grant writer said recently, there is reason for hope. According to Bartlett, algae has been shown to be a highly efficient source of biofuel, and since it’s naturally occurring, it has the potential to be “an infintely self-sustain-
See “PRIMARY” on page 7
Planning Board Endorses Berm Concept By Tom Shevlin NEWPORT–City Planning Board members on Monday agreed that proposed improvements to the Easton’s Pond berm fit well within the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, but were of mixed opinion on which materials to recommend using in the project. After hearing from Director of Utilities Julia Forgue, the board specifically bore down on which material – riprap, or an articulating vegetated concrete – to use along the slope of the badly deteriorated berm. Several members of the board, including chair Naomi Neville, voiced their support for using riprap along a portion of the berm slope saying that in addition to being a more attractive option, it might present the best deterrent against the public making their way down to the water’s edge. However, others found themselves preferring the vegetated concrete option. Board member James Dring, for one, recalled going down to the berm when he was growing up and tossing blocks of riprap into the water. He wondered if adding more riprap to the area would only perpetuate that type of behavior. According to Director of Utilities Forgue, the answer is a decided ‘yes.’ Following up her remarks on the city’s recommendation to pursue the vegetated concrete option, she said that riprap would prove
City Eyes Seaweed for Biofuel By Tom Shevlin
Table of Contents CALENDAR CLASSIFIEDS COMMUNITY BRIEFS CROSSWORD EDITORIAL LETTERS MAINSHEET/02840 NATURE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REALTY TRANSACTIONS RECENT DEATHS RESTAURANTS
From Nuisance to Fuel Source
Repairs are planned for the berm at Easton’s Pond. (Photo by Lynne Tungett) to be more expensive to the city in both material costs and in maintenance – much of which would come from the need to constantly replace blocks removed by vandalism or from storms. In addition, according to City Manager Edward F. Lavallee, the riprap would be more susceptible to weed vegetation which can be burdensome to the upkeep of the berm and its structural integrity. Given time, Lavallee added, the vegetated concrete would resemble more closely the natural look the berm currently holds. Not only that, but it would be more affordable as well, he said. “One of the things that’s in the back of my mind is that we’re all paying for this,” Lavallee said, not-
ing that the repairs are only one of several major infrastructure projects the city needs to tackle. In the end, the board chose not to weigh in formally on the riprap and vegetated concrete options, instead opting to simply endorse the project, per a Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) request, as in line with the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The proposed design is expected to soon head to the City Council for final approval. In other business, board members unanimously approved a preliminary plan for a subdivision at 120B Hillside Ave., plat 5, lots 99, 100, and 101 – a critical piece to the future East Bay Met School building.
Film Weekend Recalls Doris Duke’s Interests Doris Duke Days, a 3-day film series organized by the Newport Restoration Foundation and the Jane Pickens Theater and Event Center, celebrates Doris Duke’s many passions via a selection of films the heiress and preservationist would surely have enjoyed. The films, which will be shown this Friday-Sunday (Sept. 24-26), cover jazz, preservation, surfing, the environment, dogs, and life in Newport— all topics Duke found enthralling. Both new and old films are included. Among the screenings of new films are: “Old House Soul,” a documentary of the life of Rhode Island preservationist Steve Tyson Sr.; “From Harlem to Hollywood with Bill Shelley,” a film showing never-before-seen clips of jazz greats from the 1920s on; and “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child,” an art documentary scheduled for release in October. Also on tap: “Best in Show,” a 2000 comedy about a national dog show competition; “Highwater,” a 2008 surfing documentary; and “Tapped,” a 2009 documentary about the bottled water industry. Tickets are $10 per film, or $60 for an unlimited pass. The event benefits the Jane Pickens Theater & Event Center, a historic theater dating from 1834, located in Newport’s Washington Square. Newport Restoration Foundation, which Doris Duke founded in 1968 to rescue Newport’s dilapidated homes, is headquartered on Touro Street, in Washington Square, just up the hill from the Jane Pickens Theater. Today, NRF is a leading historic preservation group in Newport, managing more than 80 historic buildings, including Duke’s former Bellevue Avenue mansion, Rough Point. Working together on this event recalls an earlier era: Jane Pickens, a 1930s singer, and Doris Duke, the tobacco heiress, were friends and contemporaries in the Newport social scene. Visit janepickens. com to order tickets and see a complete listing of films. FRIDAY, SEPT. 24–4:00 p.m. Old House Soul, including Q&A TO GO with filmmaker Don Manley. Doris Duke Days at the This documentary examines Jane Pickens Theater the life and work of Steve Tyson WHEN: Friday, Sept. 24 Sr. (1942-2008), a Rhode Island Sunday, Sept. 26 preservationist whose company WHERE: The Jane Pickens is responsible for restoring and Theater & Event Center, 49 preserving hundreds of historic Touro Street buildings and houses across the PRICE: $10 per film or $60 for state. The film pays homage to a pass to all 11 films TICKETS: Available online at See “FILM” on page 24 www.JanePickens.com
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