Newport†
THE FRUITS OF SUMMER!
Vol. 38, No. 31
BORN FREE
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2010
Scenes of SUMMER
What’s Inside
$1.6 million Sought for Broadway Improvements By Tom Shevlin
BE SEEN ONTHE MAINSHEET!
Table of Contents 02840 THE ARTS CALENDAR CLASSIFIEDS COMMUNITY BRIEFS CROSSWORD DINING OUT EDITORIAL LETTERS MAINSHEET NATURE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REALTY TRANSACTIONS RECENT DEATHS
10 14 16 22 4 21 12 6 6 11 8 22 5 20
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Theresia Wenisch was one of five artists who we stumbled across painting a scene not far from the gates of Fort Adams on Monday. The group meets regularly during the season to paint and share techniques at nearby locations. Next weekend, you should be able to find plenty of artists set up around town as the Newport Art Museum hosts its annual Wet Paint! fundraiser on Aug. 21 and 22. For more, log on to NewportArtMuseum.org (Photo by Michelle Palazzo)
Seaweed Harvester Back in Action By Tom Shevlin NEWPORT – The city’s $325,000 prototype seaweed harvester is back in commission after undergoing repairs to its conveyor belt, according to City Manager Edward F. Lavallee. Sidelined for roughly a week while a new stainless steel conveyor belt was installed, unlike its first season last year, the contraption had been operating regularly this summer, helping to thin out the mass of red seaweed that perennially plagues Easton’s Beach. But, after hitting the water one recent morning, the old plastic conveyor belt gave way. In its place is a new shiny stainless steel belt, which according to Lavallee, should prove much more durable and catch more threads of seaweed. On Tuesday, it was put to work, scooping up mounds of thin red seaweed carried in by the current from an offshore reef. The machine, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, has been riddled with hiccups and mechanical flaws since being delivered last summer. But as Lavallee points out, as a prototype, setbacks are to be expected. And while last year the machine saw more time undergoing repairs than it did operating, according to Lavallee all of the needed repairs have been carried out by the manufacturer. Now, with almost two seasons complete, the harvester is
NEWPORT – Efforts to make one of the city’s most heavily trafficked areas more pedestrian friendly could get a big boost if a grant award is handed out for Newport’s ongoing Broadway Streetscape Improvement plan. According to a memo written to city councilors, a Notice of Funding Availability for a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) TIGER II Planning Grant was published in the Federal Register on June 24 with municipalities eligible to collect upwards of $1.6 million in funding for comprehensive corridor improvement. The Broadway Streetscape Project, which is currently wrapping up the preliminary engineering phase, was immediately identified by city planners as an ideal candidate for the allotment. A preliminary application was filed online on July 26, and staff is now preparing the full application, to be submitted online via Grants.
See “Grant” on page 3
City looks to Sell Vacant Property By Tom Shevlin
The city’s seaweed harvester has been riddled with mechanical problems since it was delivered in May 2009. But it’s been seeing regular use this summer, contributing to what many say has been a resurgence in the beach’s popularity thanks to a noticable reduction in the ever-present red seaweed. (Photo by Tom Shevlin) seeing regular use. Normally operating with the tides in the early morning hours, the harvester’s massive tires move into the waves with brazen determination, transporting piles of seaweed to shore where it is then offloaded and transported to Rhode Island Nurseries where it’s used as organic fertilizer. Coming at a cost of $325,000, the harvester is just one of a series of recent investments that the city has made at the beach. Whether it has been worth the cost is up to your own interpretation, but as Lavalle said recently, it has become a touchstone for the city’s efforts to clean up the beach’s
image. In addition to the harvester, over the last three years, the city has also invested $214,000 on structural repairs to the rotunda; $108,000 for repaving and pedestrian safety improvements to the west parking lot; and $100,000 for improvements to the ballroom facility, including resurfaced floors, lighting, awning canopy, signs, new acoustical ceiling, painting, window dressing, and upgraded bathrooms. According to Lavallee, the effort has begun to pay dividends. “I’ve had people tell me that the beach has never looked so good,” he said last week on yet another gorgeous sun-filled day.
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NEWPORT – Citing a noticeable uptick in interest on the part of developers, city planners said last week that they plan on issuing a formal request for proposals (RFP) to develop three currently vacant properties, including two former elementary schools on either end of the city, and an untouched piece of land in the city’s rapidly evolving North End. The soon-to-be-advertised parcels include the former Sheffield School on Broadway, the Carey School on Narragansett Avenue, and a raw tract of land just off Connell Highway. Each offer varying uses and each have their own challenges, yet all have attracted the eye of developers in recent months – prompting the city to once again wade into to the real estate market. It’s a forward thinking strategy which the city hopes pays off in the form of long-term economic development, luring both jobs and businesses to the city. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in activity,” said Paige Bronk, director of planning, zoning and development for the city. RFPs are expected to be issued as soon as Friday, Aug. 13 for the Connell Highway property. Similar requests should follow in the subsequent weeks on the Carey and Sheffield schools.
Connell Highway
Located just a stone’s throw from the new CCRI Newport campus, the Connell Highway property comprises several undeveloped acres
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which Bronk said would be ideal for professional or medical offices, and could round out nicely the continuing redevelopment of the Newport Heights area. Coastal Extreme Brewing Company, makers of Newport Storm and Thomas Tew Rum, recently completed and opened a new brewery on an adjacent cityowned lot which the city agreed to develop through a long-term lease agreement. It’s possible that a similar arrangement is reached with the untouched lot.
Carey School 32 Narragansett Avenue
Until just last year, the Carey School was one of the city’s most vibrant and beloved neighborhood elementary schools. Situated in the heart of downtown straddling the Yachting Village and Fifth Ward, the school was built in 1896, with two additions constructed in 1935 and 1960. The brick on steel and wood frame building comprises 26,988-square feet of usable space over three floors. Located in a residential zone, it could be converted into housing or re-purposed for educational use.
Sheffield School 513 Broadway
The Sheffield School building on the northern end of Broadway once served as the primary elementary school for generations of North End residents. But in 2006, the school department shuttered
See “Land” on page 7