Art Exhibit (Digitally Altered Photo)
What's on your TV?
Immigrant Studies
Posted at 12:15 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Poem of the Week
How I made my Fortune
Just a simple walk down the street,
if anything simple can be authorized,
but no, too easy, the crashing down
around noise leaving nothing to be desired.
Green and blue the breezes waft through
your lover’s hair, and she turns to you and says:
“My father left me a fortune but told me
to absentmindedly invest it in circus stock.”
Tears are not for the terrified of loss management:
a philosophy born of the sovereignty of a soon to
be extinct class of paramours, righteous ones all,
masturbating under the banner of a corrupt non-profit.
An automobile hums a lonely tune out of key and
maneuvers you into a corner where an attorney
stuffs his card into your pocket in case you ever need
representation, but you feel outré, a bit cramped by style.
At the zoo you bet on the animals, especially the snakes,
the stripped ones, the ones hanging from branches.
Afterwards, you kiss and make up with your stranger,
who pushes you into the path of a rogue city bus.
Back at home you wonder where you are and drink poison
because it tastes so good, so godly. You genuflect to your
ancestors then swing from a chandelier, but your weight
is too much for it, and it rips from its anchor bolts in the ceiling.
How much of all this is authorized is classified, as if you care.
Fortune’s good, made to crash through complex desires; nothing’s
too easy: you understand how to out-maneuver your own philosophy
during a simple walk down the street, the kiss still on your lips.
Posted at 12:12 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
The Good News
Set in Granite
Jennifer & Jovani
Posted at 12:02 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Heads Up . . . Shots Fired!
Police investigate 7 shootings . . . Mt. Hope connection!
ProJo reported on 12-20, “ . . . James _______, 16, of 19 Pleasant Court, Mount Hope, was standing at the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent, when six shots were fired from a gray Nissan Maxima.”
The ProJo article stated, “Detectives are looking for connections among some of seven shootings in recent days, one of which occurred on a corner in Mount Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.”
Now, August seems not so long ago: when I re-read the August 19th blog post, Warning Shots, the August 18th, blog post, Police Respond to Mt. Hope Crime, and the August 17th blog post, Shots fired – Crime Watch Time!, I’m reminded of the need for all Mt. Hope residents to remain vigilant and well informed about what is going on in Mt. Hope.
Luckily, our Police Department is right on top of the situation and responding appropriately to protect Providence citizens. And you know you can count on our own District 8 police to do their best in Mt. Hope.
Still, it would behoove Mt. Hope residents to be aware of their surroundings, to remember, that although Mt. Hope is a wonderful, diverse neighborhood, certain problems present certain dangers, here, in Mt. Hope and to take precautions for themselves and their families when driving in areas where known drug dealing occurs; for these are the likely locations for potential drive-by shootings.
We do not need to read about some innocent victim shot in a crossfire because of a drug or gang feud which most Mt. Hope citizens have nothing to do with and know little about.
When ProJo uses sentences like “. . . on a corner in Mt. Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.” And, “ . . the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent . . .” then I guess that drug dealing in Mt. Hope has come out of the closet and is no longer the community’s dirty little secret to be whispered about in shame and embarrassment, lest someone acknowledge the problem. I’m neither embarrassed, nor will I live in fear, yet I do recognize the need to be aware and alert to my surroundings, and to acknowledge the type of people we live among.
Read, Police examine possible links in city shootings from the ProJo below.
Police examine possible links in city shootings
Shots were fired in seven incidents over seven days beginning Dec. 10; six people were injured.
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, December 20, 2005
BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Detectives are looking for connections among some of seven shootings in recent days, one of which occurred on a corner in Mount Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, Markise Wilson, 23, of 150 Fillmore St., Wanskuck, was walking on June Street, near the Chad Brown housing project in his neighborhood, when several shots were fired from a passing car, the police said.
Wilson told the police that he ducked, but he was hit twice in the lower left arm. He was treated at Rhode Island Hospital.
Witnesses reported that a gray Pontiac Bonneville with Massachusetts plates left the area at high speed.
About an hour later, James Goddard, 16, of 19 Pleasant Court, Mount Hope, was standing at the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent, when six shots were fired from a gray Nissan Maxima.
Goddard was hit once in the hip and once in the buttock. He was treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital, according to Lt. Hugh Clements, detective commander.
Those were among at least seven shooting incidents over seven days, beginning Dec. 10. There may be connections among five of them, Clements said.
The first in the rash of shootings, in which two Providence men were wounded, occurred on Yorkshire Street, Wanskuck, on Dec. 10. Inside an apartment nearby, the police found a toy polar bear stuffed with cocaine.
Late on Dec. 13, about five gunshots were fired at a moving car on June Street, near the Chad Brown complex. A 21-year-old Providence man was wounded.
When asked last night, Clements said some of the shootings might have been related to inter-neighborhood feuds.
"Over the years there have been many feuds. We are investigating whether these recent shootings are connected in any way, which ones are connected and how they may be connected," Clements said.
"We have received information on which we can follow up," he said.
At least two of the attacks were drive-by shootings.
Another shooting occurred shortly before 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Tyrone Way, 26, of the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, was shot in the left leg near 12 Osborn St., Smith Hill.
Way told the police that he was helping his girlfriend's uncle move out of his apartment when an unknown assailant shot him from behind. The victim was treated at Roger Williams Medical Center.
There were two more shooting incidents Thursday and Saturday, but nobody was injured.
On Thursday, no more than a half hour after Way was shot, the police raced to the vicinity of 14 Ledge St., in the North End, for a report of shots fired. Witnesses told the officers that they saw two males in dark clothing run away on Gillen Street.
Patrol Officers Theodore Michael and Michael Pattie apprehended two males at gunpoint behind 23 Gillen St. The officers said they found a 38-caliber, Taurus brand handgun with three rounds expended, in the snow nearby. The suspects were an 18-year-old from Opper Street, also in the North End, and a juvenile whose name the police withheld.
There was at least one bullet hole in a minivan parked at 14 Ledge St. It was not clear last night whether either suspect has been charged with a crime.
The seventh shooting occurred Saturday on Thurbers Avenue in South
Providence, but the police apparently do not see a link between that incident and the others.
At about 3:30 a.m., shots were fired through two of the windows of an apartment occupied by Kiki Mitchell, 29, of 259 Thurbers Ave. The police said eight other bullets apparently penetrated a vacant apartment next door.
Neighbors recovered 11 spent 9mm shell casings in a parking lot behind 247 Thurbers Ave.
Mitchell told the police that her brother is feuding with some unknown individuals.
Posted at 12:38 PM | Issues | Comments (1)
Snow is for Sledding!
Snow is Great for the Kids!
Sliding and sledding in Billy Taylor Park
Living near the Park, over the last few days, we've been treated to the joyful noise of kids squealing in delight as they slide down the hill in Billy Taylor Park. Some on disks, some on saucers and some on sleds. What fun they have, and what a joy to watch and listen to kids having fun.
Posted at 04:49 PM | Community | Comments (0)
TaxPayer Poll
Vote your concscience or vote your pocketbook -- but vote!
Another blizzard hit the hills of Mt. Hope, just as it hit the hills of College Hill: which hills do you think were cleaned most quickly and effectively?
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THE VOTE IS IN!
POLL: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MT. HOPE SNOW REMOVAL?
90.63% were Disgusted.
9.38% were Happy.
Posted at 04:39 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Stuck in the Middle With You!
Not enough lawyers per square mile?
My car was stuck half way up on Cypress street last winter. If I have to leave the house during a snow storm, I come back via Olney, then Camp. Try that.
I was trapped in my house yesterday, because I live on a side street, and it is not a priority for snow removal. However, it is a very hilly street, so even if you manage to get out of your driveway, after that your car will slide downhill, and do not count on good tires and new breakes, gravity will do its trick on a slippery surface. All you have left is to pray that you will not collide with another car at the bottom of the hill, because it is a T-intersection.
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, so I had to call David Pontarelli at ONS and to beg for help. Forty minutes later my street was ploughed. Thank you, David.
My question is why did I have to call David at all. We live in the North East, and every winter we have snow, we can count on that like we can count on a tax bill from the City. Why don't we have a reliable system in place that would insure adequate snow removal in our City?
And by the way Cypress Street is a major street and it is on a hill, it should be on the priority list for snow removal so that people unfamiliar with Mt. Hope shortcuts should be able to use Cypress Street at all times.
And why year after year College Hill streets are being cleaned much better than ours? Is it because we, in Mt. Hope, have fewer lawyers per square mile who could raise hell if the streets are not ploughed?
Irene
Posted at 10:17 AM | Issues | Comments (2)
Victim of Inept Snow Removal
I was trapped for two hours!
Like so many Providence residents, I was trapped on the icy streets of the city Dec. 9 after the "fast-moving storm" raced through Rhode Island. I-95 and I-195 were clear, even with the bumpa-to-bumpa traffic typical of a Providence commute. So were the state roads, like Rt. 1 (North Main Street). But city streets? Fagedaboudit!
I was trapped for two hours after making the wrong bet. I figured Cypress Street, being a major artery between the I-95 Branch Avenue exit and the upper East Side, would have top priority on plowing and sanding. So I started driving up the steep hill from North Main. Bad move! I got stuck half way up. You see, the street had been plowed, but not sanded. It was a solid sheet of ice. I, along with dozens of other stranded commuters, sat for 2 hours waiting to be rescued, to no avail. Even the city's brave firefighters did not negotiate the hill, as they usually do making practice runs in the middle of the day to the annoyance of everyone living at The Crossroads. As I sat there stewing, I watched the fire engines and ambulances in my rear view mirror zooming down North Main toward Doyle Avenue.
I called 911 twice. The first PPD dispatcher I talked to said she would tell the highway dept. to send a sander to Cypress ASAP. After an hour passed with no sign of said vehicle, I phoned 911 again. This time, a male dispatcher said "The truck is on the way" without even checking to make sure that was correct. Do you think, perhaps, he LIED? No, our police do not lie. At this point, I had to urinate so badly, I dismounted my vehicle and did some yellow traces in the snow. Now that I've confessed, will I be arrested for indecent exposure?
Another half hour passes. Finally a sander! But I am still stuck, because despite blasting my horn until the neighbors on Cypress started yelling expletives at me, the sander ignored my pleas and continued on his merry way.
Now, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, but it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps I should coast down the hill to get out of this morass. I backed into the KFC parking lot, which was in better shape than a public street, and made the left turn onto North Main, then hung another left at Doyle. Another left on Camp and I was home in 5 minutes.
What does this say about the state of our city? Plenty. It says that the unions are in cahoots to make Mayor David Cicilline look bad. They have it out for him because he refuses to bend to the firefighters union. So the police and the highway dept. unions have entered a devil's pact to support each other despite the impact on our citizens. They figure, "Okay, if the mayor wants to play rough, we'll play rough. It is he, as the city's chief executive, who will look bad in the eyes of the public, not us."
Peter Cassels
Posted at 12:13 AM | Community | Comments (0)
Transition Team ! ! !
The Hot Stove League Heats Up!
Red Sox Dismantled!!!
Boy Wonder Theo Epstein Retires: Transition Team Members Can’t Cope
Rule by committee screws up championship team!
The Hot Stove League really heated up this week with the annual winter meetings, where deals are made and MLB teams GM’s swap and trade. It seems like the Red Sox CEO Lucchino, and his money managing cohorts, are dead set on reconfiguring the team, cutting out it’s heart and soul. The losses continue to pile up, and the team that won the World Series just 13 months ago is now virtually unrecognizable.
The Mt. Hope contingent of RedSox Nation says goodbye and good luck to catcher Doug Mirabelli. We will miss you Doug, and we know how much Wake will miss you. Mirabelli exclusively caught knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, and Wake went 16 -8, with Doug catching and 0 – 4, when someone else caught him – you must pay attention to the stats, to the track record. A winning combination should not be cast by the wayside.
Doug Mirabelli--Knuckleball Catcher--Team Player
Doug (the best hitting and defensive relief catcher—knuckleball catcher in baseball) was traded to San Diego for a journeyman 2ndbaseman. A unique talent traded for an ordinary talent, unproven in a high pressure market.
I guess we can say goodbye to Kevin Millar, the Cowboy-up guy (and main feel-good cheerleader—the Red Sox Pollyanna) and Bill Mueller our stellar (and thoroughly professional) third basemen. Shortstop Edgar Renteria was traded to Atlanta today-–he had one horrible season in red sox where he couldn’t adjust to the stress of playing in Boston’s pressure cooker environment. He is just one of many who could not perform when the chips were down. He should do better back in the National League [Summit] where he belongs.
Manny is on the block. Johnny D. has not yet been re-signed and may not be in red sox next year. Rumors have Trot Nixon being shopped around--TROT NIXON! David Wells asked to be traded to the west coast. Most of the starting pitching is being shopped around, save Wake and Schilling.
Time Wakefield is quoted in the Boston Globe as saying:
“The whole starting infield is gone. Manny [Ramirez] will be gone. If they don’t sign Johnny [Damon] he’ll be gone. If they trade Trot [Nixon], holy cow, the only guys left [position players] will be [Jason] Varitek and I and [David] Ortiz.”
Rule by committee is a disaster. A few years ago they tried a “bullpen by committee” and it was an abject failure. Still, mistakes are being made.
A team in transition moves players who are inept and can’t perform under the pressure of the bright lights, and it keeps players who have a proven track record of being able to perform when the chips are down, players who “get it” who understand “what it all means”.
Woe to the team whose committee leadership falls victim to hubris and false confidence, whose leaders have no experience in leading a team to victory. For those, failure waits in the wings.
Oh, that Boston’s own Frank McCourt, real estate developer extraordinaire, had been allowed to buy the Boston Red Sox instead of the cold hearted triumvirate of money managers approved by MLB.
Instead, our renowned McCourt owns the Los Angeles Dodgers. He would not be denied. And he would have been an owner from Boston who “gets it”. We could have had a dynasty.
Instead we have a gaggle of weak, effeminate egos striving for a reach that exceeds their grasp, acting out a histrionic soap opera like a dysfunstional family of orphaned sisters.
The Transition Team--nothing but a bad joke!
John Twomey
Posted at 12:01 AM | GCCC | Comments (1)
Two Poems -- Living Poets
To Live by
Work from the original toward
the beautiful,
unless the latter comes first
in which case
reverse your efforts to find
a model worthy of such
inane desire.
Even the mouth’s being
divided into lips is
not enough to make words
equal themselves.
Eavesdroppers fear
the hermit’s soliloquy.
Wake up, wound, the knife said.
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Bill Knott
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Winter Daydreams
On the boulevard I passed a giant squid.
It manifested but a puny interest in me
or its surroundings, though one suction cup
thoughtfully grazed a ring of spikes around a boulevard tree
like a monocle one puts down absentmindedly
on the page of a newspaper and words like
worker ants quickly spring into action:
“it was not the FIRST TIME THE accused has been so solicited.
By his OWN ADMISsion four other rumpuses were given rise to
After that first YEar . . .”
I was almost home then, by subterfuge or sheer pluck.
In the underbrush a walrus crows,
all decency shed, or shredded.
Little wonder that home is a bright place to be
If living’s your thing.
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John Ashbery
Two living poets, Knott, born 1940, and Ashbery, born 1927, both considered “difficult” poets. Difficult, I guess, in the sense, that their poems don’t make sense to some people, I guess, in the same sense that, for instance, Jackson Pollack’s, or Robert Motherwell's, or Larry River's paintings don’t make sense to some people. Difficult? I don’t think so. Except in a nonsensical sense. Like beauty, difficulty is in the eye of the beholder.
When Bill Knott, who first published in the 60's, could not find a publisher for his poems in the 80's, he stapled together sheaths of poems and mailed them to everyone he knew: they are highly collected now and worth much money, though not to Bill Knott. To Live By is from his 2004, book The Unsubscriber.
John Ashbery, noted art critic for Art News, published Winter Daydreams in his book Chinese Whispers in 2001, when he was 74, and has published several books of poems and of poetic theory since. Ashbery's books first appeared in the 1950's.
Posted at 12:08 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Mt. Hope Massage
Is this good news or what!
Here’s some good news. The City of Providence has begun a crack down on the proliferation of Massage Parlors operating as brothels that have sprung up in the city, two, I think in Mt. Hope: one behind Benny’s and the other on N. Main Street
The Oriental Garden at 776 N. Main Street, in Mt. Hope, was raided last week and the owner sent a letter by the City Solicitor warning of further consequences if the proprietor of the brothel was not evicted.
Most of these so called Massage Parlors employ Asian immigrants, some here illegally, who must work in the sex trade to pay off the cost of immigration, inside sources have revealed. These exploited women often sleep ten to a room in the brothel, are intimidated and kept isolated, and in reality are little more than victims of the sex slave trade.
A victimless crime: not on your life.
A loophole in Rhode Island law has allowed these businesses to operate, as the law bans prostitution on the streets but not inside buildings. This loophole has made it more difficult to prosecute the operators, so now the nuisance laws are being brought into play.
Read Cathleen Crowley’s ProJo article on the subject from yesterday’s paper below.
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Landlord tells spa owner to vacate
The city says The Oriental Garden Spa is being used as a "common nuisance for lewdness."
01:00 AM EST on Monday, December 5, 2005
BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- In response to a stern warning from the city, the landlord of The Oriental Garden Spa has ordered the alleged brothel to vacate the property at 776 North Main St.
Carl D. Corrow, the registered agent for VCC LCC, which owns the building, sent a letter to the spa owner, Robert Kwait, on Thursday.
The letter, which was faxed to the Providence city solicitor, told Kwait to leave the building immediately.
Corrow wrote that he was unaware that police had conducted an undercover investigation at the spa and had issued a warrant for Kwait's arrest. Kwait is wanted for allegedly operating a massage parlor without a license.
The city's letter to the property owner stated that the spa was being used as a "common nuisance for lewdness."
Corrow warned the spa owner that he had violated his lease and if he failed to vacate the building, VCC would take further legal action.
"This appears to be the first step in the right direction," said City Solicitor Joseph M. Fernandez.
VCC bought the building and took over Oriental Garden's two-year lease on Sept. 20.
The solicitor's office also sent warning letters to Midori Spa, 112 Union St., and Central Spa, 76 Derry St. The letters stated that if the building owners didn't take all reasonable, lawful measures to eject the massage parlors, they could be subject to fines, imprisonment or court injunctions. The property owners were told they had five days to comply. Only VCC has taken action.
Staff writer Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at ccrowley@projo.com or (401) 277-7376.
Posted at 11:10 AM | Issues | Comments (2)
Got Good News . . .?
Seeking GoodNews Reporter
In a November 1st post, I asked for a GCCC member to step up and be our Good News Contributor: someone who would canvass Mt. Hope for good news, positive things that we can feature on our webSite.
Be they announcements of events in Mt. Hope, to book and movie reviews. From taking note of a Boy Scout helping an elderly person, to rhapsodizing about how our Mt. Hope instutitions such as the Learning Center contrubute to the community. Or how the Camp Street Ministeries brings aid to our needy, or about Mt. Hope youths excelling in sports or academics.
Neighbors helping neighbors. That's news. Profiles of our artists, our professionals, and our medical specialists. Residents with special talents or anything of interest to our community.
GCCC has 70 paid members: Shirely, one of you can take the job. ( : > )
I'm sure a lot of good, excellent, and, positive things happen in Mt. Hope on a daily basis, and this website wishes to feature and focus on these good things just as much as as we feel the need to focus on quality of life issues.
People say they want to hear and read good news, positive news, but it won't happen unless you contribute good news for all to read.
If you have Good News or want to be the Good News Reporter for the WebSite contact: GoodNews Report
This is the second call for good news contributions. It's all up to you!
Posted at 08:10 PM | Website | Comments (0)
Snow Removal Poll
Surprise Storm
The storm this morning caught me by surprise, and as I'm getting ready to go out in my car I notice that my street has not yet been plowed. It is 2:45 in the afternoon, and my street is on a steep hill, and it is quite slippery and covered with ice.
How is your street? Are you satisified with the City's snow removal service?
The 15 year veteran of the DPW responsible for snow removal was recently fired leaving it in the hands of Director John Nicklson.
I hear more snow is on the way, and in driving around I noticed that some streets had been plowed and some had not been touched.
Let's keep an eye on how the City handles snow removal, what streets get service and what streets don't.
The poll below will stay up for a short time so vote early and often.
POLL RESULTS
100% of respondents in this very unscientific poll were dissatisfied with the City of Providence's snow removal efforts in this first mini-storm.
Posted at 02:46 PM | Community | Comments (0)
"Impact Players"
How to deal with "Impact Players"
If you follow regional news at all you are aware that just north of us the City of Boston, right now, experiences a horrendous problem with gun violence connected to gangs and drug dealing. Boston recently recorded it’s 66th homicide of 2005, and the city’s huge number of shootings grows daily.
Goodness graciousness, what happened? It seems like yesterday that they were bragging of the Massachusetts Miracle and low crime rates, and Bill Bratton was a hero to Police Chiefs around the nation.
Boston's crime fighting solution was held up as a national example of how to succeed in the fight against youth violence and drug crime: zero tolerance to quality of life issues, community based out-reach by church ministers and community groups, aggressive prosecution of gun and drug violence, and strict sentencing by the courts.
That was way back in the early 90’s, way, way back . . . almost ten years ago. Well, that’s certainly not an eternity, not ancient history.
Of course now, Boston blames it all on New Hampshire, because many of the guns haunting Boston streets were purchased in New Hampshire, whose guns laws are more lax than those in Massachusetts.
Com'on Guys!
What bothers me . . .
I don’t know what’s to keep this growing problem from traveling down Route 95 to our fair City of Providence. Now is the time to think of addressing the problem before it grows into a crises like it has right now in Boston.
Thankfully, Providence has a visionary Police Chief in Col. Esserman who has already taken a proactive approach to guns. He has made taking guns off of the streets of Providence a priority, and Providence gun violations are prosecuted federally, resulting in longer sentences and sending a strong message to would be perpetrators.
McGrory’s Column
I read columnist Brian McGrory in Friday’s Boston Globe, and I appreciate his point:
“They can start all the midnight basketball leagues they want. They can have outreach programs until they're blue in the face, create another 50,000 summer jobs in the mailroom of State Street Bank, allow ministers to pitch tents on city streets.
But there is nothing that will stop the senseless violence across this city quicker than the simplest solution of all: Put gun-toting punks in jail.”
McGorory spoke with the Mayor, the Police Commissioner, and the D.A. and all three agreed that the “impact players”, i.e. the bad guys, must be put behind bars.
“They didn’t get the message of intervention and prevention, so they have to be treated harshly.”
I’m all for getting the Mt. Hope “impact players”, the bad guys who just don’t get it and insist on dealing drugs on our streets and breaking into our cars and homes and vandalizing our property, rounded up and put behind bars. No sympathy for them from these quarters. One night last week, my wife and I were woken from a sound sleep by the sound of 17 gun shots from up on Camp Street!
You can read all of McGrory’s column below.
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Solution lies behind bars
By Brian McGrory, Globe columnist | December 2,
2005
They can start all the midnight basketball leagues they want. They can have outreach programs until they're blue in the face, create another 50,000 summer jobs in the mailroom of State Street Bank, allow ministers to pitch tents on city streets.
But there is nothing that will stop the senseless violence across this city quicker than the simplest solution of all: Put gun-toting punks in jail.
The liberals, of course, are aghast at harsh action. How dare anyone hassle young victims of broken families trying to survive the streets of an increasingly mean city? We ought to be guiding them, not incarcerating them.
Yeah, well, sorry. Most of those liberals aren't living in Dorchester, Mattapan, or Roxbury. They're not lying in bed at night listening to gunfire crackle in the near distance. They're not sending their kids to a grammar school on a road that's raked by bullets during recess.
How bad is the problem? I was talking yesterday to Barry Mullen, head of a neighborhood association in Fields Corner, and he was marveling that people in Dorchester know the difference between the sound of gunshots and fireworks. ''Isn't it disgraceful?" he said.
As bad, Mullen said, is the lack of police response. ''I go to two crime watch meetings a week, and I hear it again and again, that our 911 calls aren't answered," he said. ''The police do the best they can, but they're overworked."
Over in Codman Square, Bill Walczak, the head of the Codman Square Health Center, spoke of a new gang in the neighborhood, an increase in robberies, gunfire in the night. Then he offered a strategy with Mark Twain-like simplicity: ''Some bad guys need to go away."
As I was asking Walczak and Mullen about the problem, Mayor Thomas M. Menino was behind closed doors in City Hall with Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley hashing over solutions. They emerged with a laundry list of ideas: sweeping hardened criminals off the streets with existing warrants, pushing for a gun court, putting more emphasis on witness protection. In separate telephone conversations, all three struck the chord that Walczak already had: Put bad guys behind bars.
''You have to calibrate between prevention, intervention, and enforcement, and we obviously need more enforcement right now," O'Toole said.
''The term for these guys is impact players," Conley said. ''They're out there causing serious problems and wreaking havoc in some of our poorer neighborhoods. They didn't get the message of intervention and prevention, so they have to be treated harshly."
This meeting was an excellent first step, and credit to the mayor for acknowledging the breadth and depth of the problem. But it is just one step.
Back in the crime-fighting heyday of the mid- and late 1990s, when murders were at a notable low, judges seemed to have worked out a private agreement not to grant low bail or light sentences to gun-wielding punks from Boston.
At the same time, the police commissioner, the district attorney, the attorney general, and the US attorney worked in lockstep, indicting the worst thugs in town. If prosecutors had the chance to send a punk to Leavenworth for 20 years rather than South Bay for 20 months, they pushed the case into federal court. Word spread on the street pretty quickly.
People like to talk about all the outreach in the 1990s, but most of the success was because authorities put criminals behind bars. This same coordination needs to happen again -- immediately. O'Toole, Conley, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, and US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan need to make this their collective priority. I know all about the rising number of juveniles and the decreasing number of cops. I know all about the flow of convicts being released from jail.
But I also know that good people, innocent people, hard-working people are living in constant fear in their homes.
Boston has handled this before, better than any other city in America. It needs to spare no effort to get there again.
Brian McGrory is a Globe columnist. His e-mail is mcgrory@globe.com.
Posted at 07:39 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Free Art
FYI
Anyone wishing to view fine art in Providence needn't worry about paying a hefty price for admission to museums and galleries: opportunities abound to look at fine art for free.
Detail from Pillar of Salt JMT
The RISD Museum features free admission every Friday between 12 pm and 1:30 pm and every Sunday between 10 am and 1:30 pm. Their current exhibit features textiles in contemporary art and their recent acquisitions of contemporary art, as well as an Edgar Degas exhibit, and an exhibit of Japanese ink prints and books. The RISD permanent collection remains always a pleasure to explore.
Also free are two Galleries at Brown, the David Winton Bell Gallery, List Art Center, 64 College Street, 11 to 4 Monday to Friday, 1 - 4 Saturday and Sunday and the Sarah Doyle Gallery, 26 Benevolant Street, 9 - 5 Monday to Friday.
So there is no monetary reason not to get out and enjoy a litttle cultcha!
Posted at 12:43 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
November Stats & Factoids
November WebSite Stats & Factoids
Some interesting trends in website usage in November. Usage rose sharply reaching a new high for the year and almost doubling the October stats in some categories. For instance, Hits went from 54,368 in October to 95,314 in November, the largest category increase. Visits, also rose sharply in November from 1829 to 2291 and Pages viewed rose from 6190 to 8993; increasing as well were the the number of visitors, which also nearly doubled.
We welcomed a number of new countries from which visitors logged on, and I’m pasting their flag logos here and in the archive entry of 8/24/05 Scope Internationale.
Brazil
Cambodia
New Zealand
Sudan
Some of the countries without flag insignias available from which visitors logged on include the following: Peru, Malaysia, Belgium, India, Seychelles, Poland, and Lithuania.
We now have received visits from 47 different countries.
This month approximately 200 different Key Phrases were used in search engines leading to the website. There are a few laughs as usual in these search terms. Have fun.
PS. Would someone please tell me, what "deer storking" is? Must be something the English do! I'm sure that repeated search comes from the UK. Do they have "cow tipping" too?
Keyphrases used on search engines
Different Keyphrases
greater camp concerned citizens
c-24-91-15-176.hsd1.ma.comcast.net
mt-hope blog
poem explication of elizabeth bishop poem art of losing
mt. hope blog camp street ministries rhode island
laura pisaturo
eastside providence
kennedy plaza riot
providencepolice
street gangs in providence rhode island
knowles mt.hope
channel 12 news address providence ri
wayne montague in providence
royal proclamation & acadians & december 9th 2003
melissa dubois rhode
trooper ramirez ri
south side graffiti
gypsy tailwind
improve camp street neighborhood providence
gang graffiti in providence
pornography providence rhode island providence rhode island
homicides in providence ri / 2005
death of lucy may daniels in providence ri
rhode island graffiti
mt hope - east side
mt. hope abbott st
neighbors dog barks incessently
homicides in providence ri 2005
kevin kazlauskas
naming of parts villanelle
mount hope photos rhode island
acadian driftwood
jen bakios
mthope-eastside
rhode island murder
nada petrovic
roger mowry house providence 2 0.
temperature november 14th providence rhode island 12 30 pm 2 0.
russian imigrants
south side riots
providence tree cover
providnece univers 1 0.3 %
mt hope east side gccc 1 0.3 %
good samaritan law music festival rhode island court case 1 0.3 %
homicide 2005 providence ri 1 0.3 %
graffiti artist injured pawtucket 1 0.3 %
ri donation chad brown 1 0.3 %
mthope-eastside.org 1 0.3 %
grafitti 1 0.3 %
hope ri ripta 1 0.3 %
rhode island crime rates 2005 1 0.3 %
summit news mount hope providence 1 0.3 %
you are so beautiful to me you re everything i hoped for you re everything i need 1 0.3 %
the last shooting in providence on the eastside 1 0.3 %
brown sex party tape 1 0.3 %
edward woodward 1 0.3 %
pro jo 1 0.3 %
childern poems of 4 to 5 stanzas 1 0.3 %
louise gluck poem appearances explication 1 0.3 %
stephan crane in the desert 1 0.3 %
female bank robber 1 0.3 %
east side robber providence 1 0.3 %
planning permission camp street providence ri 1 0.3 %
deer storking photo 1 0.3 %
sintra portugal mansions for sale 1 0.3 %
pictures of historic places at rhode island 1 0.3 %
mt hope fence 1 0.3 %
riot and loot events in hurricane rita 1 0.3 %
messengers by louise gluck 1 0.3 %
providence murders 2005 1 0.3 %
providence police department marrocco 1 0.3 %
mt hope providence blog 1 0.3 %
quiet neighborhoods increase home values 1 0.3 %
mt. hope greater camp concerned citizens 1 0.3 %
donald shein 1 0.3 %
explain how children take part during an activity and will contributed to the develpoment 1 0.3 %
marroco radio mp3 1 0.3 %
safest area of providence 1 0.3 %
mount hope camp street 1 0.3 %
little john eastside boys music 1 0.3 %
partially clad 1 0.3 %
how to deal with street crime 1 0.3 %
purges of 1930 s 1 0.3 %
interseting facts about providence ri 1 0.3 %
shooting death providence ri june 28 2005 $10 1 0.3 %
mount hope concrete plant 1 0.3 %
fishmonger huron village 1 0.3 %
ellen providence blog 1 0.3 %
crack user 1 0.3 %
rhode island graffiti forums 1 0.3 %
auto body shop undercover stings 1 0.3 %
1918 ward map of providence rhode island 1 0.3 %
99 1/2 won t do 1 0.3 %
dominican neighborhoods providence rhode island 1 0.3 %
ri tavern fireplace 1 0.3 %
project peach ave providence 1 0.3 %
driftwood band in rhode island 1 0.3 %
providence ri police log 1 0.3 %
refusal to mourn the death 1 0.3 %
councilwoman carol a. romano 1 0.3 %
david cicciline mayor of providence ri 1 0.3 %
nada petrovic providence 1 0.3 %
masse vs dubois ri 1 0.3 %
mount hope lancaster 1 0.3 %
police arrest hope high school providence 1 0.3 %
drug dealing games 1 0.3 %
desolation row explained 1 0.3 %
a refusal to mourn the death by fire of a child in london 1 0.3 %
summit neighborhood association providence rhode island 1 0.3 %
providence mount hope neighborhood 1 0.3 %
crime cameras 1 0.3 %
greed drug dealing ghetto violence 1 0.3 %
privacy right abortion texas 1 0.3 %
providence police cars 1 0.3 %
riot in providence 1 0.3 %
oriana diaz providence 1 0.3 %
rosa parks funeral sevices in detroit 1 0.3 %
providence rhode island off-duty weapon carry lawsuit 1 0.3 %
poor pitifull me. com 1 0.3 %
south side in providence 1 0.3 %
desolation row reflection 1 0.3 %
rhode island girl gets shot 1 0.3 %
providence naama gidron 1 0.3 %
brown sex party video 1 0.3 %
eastside thugs 1 0.3 %
desolation row 1 0.3 %
mount hope providence path 1 0.3 %
best pawn shop in rhode island 1 0.3 %
kids thanksgiving letter 1 0.3 %
hope high school on the east side 1 0.3 %
needle buttocks ouch cried 1 0.3 %
shabnam hashemi 1 0.3 %
providence attempt break olney st. 1 0.3 %
single action and double action pull station for rhode island code 1 0.3 %
providence safest neighborhood 1 0.3 %
mt hope blog 1 0.3 %
map providnece rhode island 1 0.3 %
uri baver 1 0.3 %
brave soul nocd 1 0.3 %
abbott-action 1 0.3 %
providence bad neighborhoods 1 0.3 %
bad neighborhoods of providence 1 0.3 %
summit neighborhood association providence 1 0.3 %
where did rochambeau live 1 0.3 %
shab providence 1 0.3 %
southside gangs 1 0.3 %
police department 1 0.3 %
old houses of north providence 1 0.3 %
random shooting 1 0.3 %
greater camp street concerned citizens mt. hope 1 0.3 %
cat or kitten rescue story 1 0.3 %
old providence island col. 1 0.3 %
hope street renovated across from cypress 1 0.3 %
shooting in roxbury on woodbine street 1 0.3 %
thanksgiving letter 1 0.3 %
voting record for kevin jackson of ward 3 in rhode island 1 0.3 %
what are they doing in there noise mp3 1 0.3 %
grafitti writing on wall 1 0.3 %
providence police department officers killed in the line of duty 1 0.3 %
south side thugs 1 0.3 %
mount hope rhode island 1 0.3 %
gretchen ertl 1 0.3 %
fence in rhode island 1 0.3 %
stephan crane bitter heart 1 0.3 %
effective of t.v on childern 1 0.3 %
www.mthope-eastside.org 1 0.3 %
c-24-91-15-176.hsd1.ma.comcast.net mt. hope ri 1 0.3 %
providence police prignano 1 0.3 %
providence rhode island pizza 1 0.3 %
rita murphy providence ri 1 0.3 %
cameras prevent crime in chicago 1 0.3 %
murders fidas restaurant 1 0.3 %
providence rhode island street gangs 1 0.3 %
greetings for welcome of organization 1 0.3 %
brown sex party 1 0.3 %
rhode island mount hope high school november 2005 passed away 1 0.3 %
alix ogden 1 0.3 %
henry reed. naming of parts review 1 0.3 %
wealthy neighborhoods in rhode island 1 0.3 %
mowry tavern ri 1 0.3 %
providence ri police department fax 1 0.3 %
fishmonger huron 1 0.3 %
east side vs. south providence street gangs 1 0.3 %
mount hope court apartments - providence 1 0.3 %
hope neighborhood providence 1 0.3 %
rhode island estimated heating costs 1 0.3 %
roger williams grave apple body 1 0.3 %
dean esserman 1 0.3 %
neighborhood services harass grandview 1 0.3 %
mt. hope providence 1 0.3 %
images of chad brown projects in providence 1 0.3 %
prevent teen loitering deter crime in neighborhood 1 0.3 %
kevin jackson councilman providence ri 1 0.3 %
providence shooting in 2005 1 0.3 %
gang grafitti 1 0.3 %
providence arrests 1 0.3 %
bill oreilly brown sex party 1 0.3 %
2005 rhode island lead paint legislation 1 0.3 %
southside providence street gangs 1 0.3 %
essays on reasons for pursuring educational leadership certification 1 0.3 %
abbott court providence 1 0.3 %
providence oldest house 1 0.3 %
providence gang brawl 1 0.3 %
mount hope blog 1 0.3 %
deer storking games 1 0.3 %
po chui 1 0.3 %
shot buttocks ouch 1 0.3 %
providence graffitti
Posted at 08:03 PM | Website | Comments (0)
