Sox Clinch Division Title
The Red Sox celebrated in raucous fashion last night after winning their first Eastern Division Title in ten years behind Dice-K Matsusake's 8 inning 2 run performance and Jonathon Papelbon's 37th save. The game crowd stayed around as well as those watching on TV to see the outcome of the Yankees Orioles game which the Orioles won in fine baseball fashion with a squeeze play in the 10th, giving the Eastern Division Title to the Rod Sox.
Paps goes wild with DK
The champagne flowed (or rather sprayed) in copious amounts as fans, players, owners, even the cops got a dose of the bubbly.
Wake & Paps hose down Big Papi
Last night Daisuke pitched 8 strong innings an Papi hit his 35th home run and his 52nd two-bagger.
Dice-K ready to bust some bubbly
Now the Sox are playing for the best won lost record and are tied with Cleveland at 95 - 65, with two game yet to play. With the best record comes home field advantage in the playoffs. Their first opponent? The Los Angeles Angels in a 5 game series. If the Sox win that series they the will play for the American League Pennant.
Congratulations Red Sox on your Eastern Division Title.
Posted at 06:48 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Charrette Wrap
This evening, 7 to 10, the Neighborhood Charrete for the Mt. Hope, Blackstone, and Hope neighborhoods will wrap up at the Martin Luther King School.
There will be a wrap up presentation of findings and discussion on how they translate into guiding principals for the future of these neighborhoods. You can still make suggestions and give feedback on the process. Free pizza too.
Providence Tommorrow: Charrette 2 is a link to our neighborhood's page on the city's Department of Planning and Development website, and it has all the information you need to participate.
Posted at 02:16 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Sox Magic Number 2
It could come tonight for the Red Sox, the first Division title since 1995. If the New York Hellhounds lose a game and the Sox win a game then it's clinched. It would be nice to get those HellHounds off our trail and the monkey off our back. There are 4 games left in which to get it done.
Big Papi & Dusty Pedro
-
Gorden Edes of the Globe explains what the future may hold.
The immediate future came into focus for the Sox with last night's 11-6 win over the Oakland Athletics. Their magic number to clinch the AL East and win their first division title since 1995 is down to 2 - any combination of Sox wins and Yankee losses totaling that number and the Sox will have captured the division.And with the Angels being routed by Texas, the last-place Rangers completing a three-game sweep, the Sox are now virtually certain of meeting the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. The Angels are on the verge of being eliminated from the race for best record in the league; if that distinction falls to either the Indians or Red Sox, the Angels will play the Sox in the first round, because the Indians will play the AL East wild-card entry.
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
That AL east wild card entry he's talking about in the above scenario, that would be the New York Yankees.
Posted at 12:11 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Mach on Gentrification
Thanks for the tip and a nod to Matt's blog entry on the Gentrification issue in Olneyville on RIFuture website.
Very interesting reading. But what I liked was the comment made by Mach after the post and the one that mentioned Mt. Hope by Dan. It seems some of the same forces are at work over there but even worse with some far left leaning artsy fartsy types crying foul after spitting into the soup. Read it and you'll see what I mean even if you may not agree with me.
Heres's the link to the post:
Debate on Olneyville Gentrification Continues
And here is Mach's comment quoted from the rifuture.org website (Why can't we get people like him in Mt. Hope?):
Right this wrong?I'm sorry, but maybe because I'm one of those who moved into the area I have trouble seeing how my move was a "wrong" that needed someone to be "righted." Apparently what some want is for better living conditions in Olneyville, but when these better living conditions present themselves they don't want white people to move into them. Or, they want what is bought and developed to be turned into low-cost housing, although nobody was apparently willing to make the significant investment necessary to rehab the blighted and polluted lands if they couldn't get their money back - i.e. if they had to be low-cost units. What a surprise, that there is little interest in spending vast sums of money to fix-up buildings that won't generate a return. Would it be nice if there was such an interest? Absolutely. Was there such an interest? Not that I know of.
People bitch and moan about gentrification and complain about how nobody tries to improve their neighborhoods, but when people actually move in and start improving things they scream "gentrification!" As far as I have seen, that means "WHITE PEOPLE!" I eat at Olneyville restaurants (La Lupita is the best Mexican food around and of course NY System), I ride the bus with my neighbors, I used to buy my groceries at Shaw's (not anymore), I get my tires fixed at George's, I get cheap booze at Al's. I don't rob people, I don't assault people, I don't pay for prostitutes, I don't buy or sell drugs, I don't blow through the stop sign at Delaine & Valley like most people do, I pick up trash on my street as I walk to the bus stop (sadly, no garbage cans around though), and I even relax with a good game of kickball in the PKL. In short, I try my best to be a good neighbor and I support my neighborhood because I like it. What I don't like is the possibility of being stabbed when I get off the bus (end of my street last week, guy lived), prostitutes in my park, trash up and down my street, and shootings in my neighborhood (August was a aprticularly active month).
Olneyville can't have it both ways - you can't say you want to improve your neighborhood and then bitch that the people who are actually trying to help out are white and not minorities. If you want the shootings, stabbings, rampant littering, and poor business to end then the people responsible for those things need to go and people who don't do those things need to stay. But, you shoot yourself in the foot when people who move into the neghborhood and don't happen to be poor or a minority are derided as supporting "gentrification" despite the fact that they are exactly what Olneyville wants to be - good neighbors who make a decent wage.
Discourse is, with respect to the relation of forces, not merely a surface of inscription, but something that brings about effects. - Michel Foucault
Mach
Posted at 06:33 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Neighborhood Safety Charrette
Today on short notice, I was able to attend the charrette on neighborhood safety held from 11:30 to 1:00 in the afternoon. One question begs to be asked, who can attend such a meeting at such a time? Do you think the City may be scheduling these meetings so that no one of any consequence can attend.
Of course the Ann Marie Reddy's and Ray Watson's among us, government funded non-profit, welfare recipients all, were well represented as their non-jobs allow them such flexibility while still being paid. I was able to attend because I am self employed, and I sacrificed my time (my for profit time) because it was important to me.
I expected to hear the usual rhetoric, but instead I sat at a table with a woman of oriental decent from the Summit and six young African Americans from Mt. Hope. And me. To my surprise everyone agreed that the biggest problem in Mt. Hope was the drug dealing. And that the second biggest problem was the police. Specifically the police's failure to target the bad guys and instead harass people of color because they fit the profile of Mt. Hope drug dealers.
I pointed out that the police are poorly trained and that it doesn't matter whether you are young or old, black or white, the District 8 police do not know how to interact with Mt. Hope residents with respect. To the police, we are all scum because we live in Mt. Hope, a problematic neighborhood.
One young man, Steve, described how he was walking down Camp Street and a cop pulled over on the other side of the street and ordered him to cross the street and put his hands up on the retaining wall and spread his legs. He told him that he fit the profile of a suspect. I believe that my wife, Irene, witnessed this incident last week.
Now, let me tell you, I know every drug dealer in Mt. Hope because I've been fighting this battle for ten years and because I work all day every day in the neighborhood, and I know many people in the neighborhood, and I employ many people from the neighborhood, and I knew with one glance that Steve was not a drug dealer, so why don't the cops, whose job it is to know these things, know the same as I know. Why did they harass Steve: that is a rhetorical question: to create more distrust in the African American community, to perpetrate the belief that the police are stupid, that they racial profile.
I can tell you why, but I already did. And it came up in the charrette: the police are afraid, scared, they'd rather harass innocent African Americans than take on the ones whom they know are bad, and I mean "bad" as in dangerous. Who wants to fuck with dangerous drug dealers who may be packing heat when you can harass some kid and still look like you are doing your job?
A bunch of tough guys, huh.
But we still got drug dealing in Mt. Hope.
The police will not solve this problem for us. In fact, they are part of the problem.
The African American young people at our table this afternoon spoke of being completely disenfranchised -- one spoke of Mt. Hope as the neighborhood that is invisible, that doesn't count, that has been forgotten, and believe me these young adults are the best of the best.
It doesn't matter who you are, young or old, black or white, if you live in Mt. Hope, to the City, to the Police, you are a loser, and you are scum, and you don't count.
I'm often tempted to give up, sell out, move, but my warrior instinct always kicks in at some point, and now, I'm in full warrior mode.
All we need is a group of strong minded, strong willed, courageous, independent thinking individuals to turn this neighborhood around.
It's a shame that a small group of criminals and knee jerk liberals -- did I mention mamby pamby academics (;>) -- hold Mt. Hope hostage, hold it back from being a safe neighborhood free of political corruption, non-profit corruption, and the drug trade this corruption supports.
We can beat it. Listen to me.
John Twomey
Posted at 11:49 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Comprehensive Plan Process -- This Week
Neighborhood charrette
If you want input into the future of your neighborhood plan to attend and participate in the Comprehensive plan being put in place for Providence's neighborhoods. This plan, once enacted, will impact our neighborhood and the city for years to come.
Providence Tommorrow: Charrette 2 is a link to our neighborhood's page on the city's Department of Planning and Development website, and it has all the information you need to participate.
Toward the bottom of the page, highlighted in red is a survey residents can fill out. The very least a resident should do is to fill out this survey and clearly state your concerns about the Mt. Hope neighborhood so that those who lobby against gentrification and for fewer police patrols and for more subsidized housing are not the only voices that the City hears.
The paragraphs quoted below are from the Providence Journal.
City planners are conducting a charette for the Mount Hope, Hope and Blackstone neighborhoods as part of the Comprehensive Plan process, where planners are dissecting the city neighborhood by neighborhood to see what changes are wanted and needed.
Yesterday, in events at the Martin Luther King School on Camp Street and the Church of the Redeemer on Hope Street, residents of the East Side got their first chance to tell the city what changes they wanted to see in their neighborhoods.
The sessions soon evolved into discussions among residents about the best and worst parts of their neighborhoods: which buildings need replacing, where residents think illegal drugs are sold, and where a good turkey sandwich can be found (they recommend the Butcher Shop on Elmgrove, in case you’re curious).
The charette continues this morning at 9:30 with sessions on neighborhood character, community safety, affordability and youth. A roundtable with area elected officials is scheduled for tonight.
The charette will wrap up Thursday night with a session starting at 7.
Read the ProJo article by clicking the link or continue reading
East Siders help map their neighborhood
East Siders help map their neighborhood
01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, September 25, 2007
By Daniel Barbarisi
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — East Siders stood poised around maps of the Hope, Mount Hope and Blackstone neighborhoods, ready to pounce.
Jonathan Harris, a consultant working with the city’s Planning Department on the Comprehensive Plan process, handed out colored markers, with the brief instructions that residents were to mark the areas in their neighborhoods that they wanted to preserve, and strike those they wanted to eliminate.
“Red is keep. Green is change. Go.”
Soon, arms were intertwined like it was a game of Twister, and the map was marked up with red and green.
Sadly for the Brown Bears, Brown Stadium was the first to go.
“Move the football stadium down to the river. We don’t need it in our neighborhood,” said Pamela Vogel, who said she felt that way despite being a Brown graduate.
Yesterday, in events at the Martin Luther King School on Camp Street and the Church of the Redeemer on Hope Street, residents of the East Side got their first chance to tell the city what changes they wanted to see in their neighborhoods.
City planners are conducting a charette for the Mount Hope, Hope and Blackstone neighborhoods as part of the Comprehensive Plan process, where planners are dissecting the city neighborhood by neighborhood to see what changes are wanted and needed.
Some of the popular suggestions — like improved walking paths, and renovations to Billy Taylor Park — may result in real changes. Others, like the stadium demolition, seem unlikely.
Planners are trying to determine where the boundary lines fall between areas, and so residents were asked to define their “neighborhood” — but no two definitions were the same. Jim Kelley circled the entire map — including the cemeteries. Wayne Rosenberg and Priscilla Shube drew a long, kinked neighborhood that looked like a gerrymandered congressional district, seemingly without logic — until the family pet is factored in.
“This is where we look for our cat,” Rosenberg explained.
Moderators asked hyper-specific questions to gauge residents’ interests in topics from crime to the best places to grab lunch.
“Where do you shop? What’s the longest walk you’ve ever taken in your neighborhood? How far do you walk without driving? What’s your favorite place to eat?” asked Steven Cecil, a consultant with the Boston-based Cecil group, which is assisting the city with the process.
The sessions soon evolved into discussions among residents about the best and worst parts of their neighborhoods: which buildings need replacing, where residents think illegal drugs are sold, and where a good turkey sandwich can be found (they recommend the Butcher Shop on Elmgrove, in case you’re curious).
The answers will help the city formulate a neighborhood plan for each area.
Once the neighborhood plan is completed, it will go before the City Plan Commission and serve as a handbook for zoning and planning decisions in individual neighborhoods.
This is the second of a total of 11 charettes to be held through 2009. South Elmwood and Washington Park received the attention of city planners this spring. The Olneyville, Smith Hill and Valley neighborhoods are next.
The charette continues this morning at 9:30 with sessions on neighborhood character, community safety, affordability and youth. A roundtable with area elected officials is scheduled for tonight.
The charette will wrap up Thursday night with a session starting at 7.
dbarbari@projo.com
Posted at 09:11 AM | Community | Comments (0)
Seasonal Cuisine
If nature blessed you with an abundant garden crop of fresh basil then you, my friend, are in Fat City, for late summer, early autumn marks the perfect time to make pesto with all that garden fresh Basil. If you’re not a gardener most markets stock plenty of fresh basil at this time of year at reasonable prices.
Presto Pesto -- Basil Pesto with dry, chilled Rose wine
Mixed Green Magic
Here is what you’ll need for ingredients:
½ cup pine nuts
2 big bunches fresh basil, trim stems (I don’t like stems)
2 cloves garlic, crushed & quartered ( I prefer big ones)
½ teaspoon salt, (or more if you’re like me)
½ cup olive oil (or more as some of us less calorie conscious like it swimming in good extra virgin olive oil -- and then some of us (no names here) like to dilute the oil with water for fewer calories.)
¼ cup grated Parmesan Reggiano (or to taste - more oil, more cheese)
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (the pecorino has a bit more bite than the Parmesan – I sometimes use a ½ cup of Parmesan Reggiano and no Romano – it’s ok to play around with basic recipes)
Putting it all together:
Heat oven to 350. Toast the pine nuts on a lined baking sheet watching them very, very closely until they are very lightly browned – this should take 7 to ten minutes. I use a toaster oven and watch them like a hawk because they are no good if they brown too much.
In a food processor (a blender will do if you’re careful and light on the pulse) combine these ingredients: basil, garlic, salt, and pine nuts. Pulse the mixture until it is finely chopped.
Now the tricky part, with a light, steady touch and the processor running pour the oil in to the feed tube or blender in a steady stream till the mixture becomes a paste.
Presto! Transfer the pesto to a bowl using a soft spatula. Stir in the Parmesan and pecorino, serve hot over pasta or refrigerate and serve cold or at room temperature.
The pesto in the picture is served over Ronzoni # 10 Spaghetti which is the best dried pasta I’ve found. It has a good tooth cooked al dente 8 to 12 minutes depending on it’s mood or the weather -- taste at 8 minutes then cook to your liking.
Mixed Green Magic
Mixed Baby Mesclun Greens with sliced avocado, diced tomatoes, and chopped scallions with Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 Tblspn Dijon mustard
2 Tblspn Balsamic vinegar
1 tspn maple syrup
Whisk together with salt and pepper to taste with a pinch of garlic powder until the mixture is emulsified.
4 Tblspn extra virgin olive oil drizzled in slowly and whisked maintaining the emulsified consistency.
Drizzle over individual salad plates to taste.
Now, plate it up, and break off a chunk of that Parmesan Reggiano to grate over your pesto, salt and ground pepper from the mill to taste, now pour a glass of cold Rose. Enjoy.
Viola. Bon Appetite.
Posted at 10:31 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Shots Fired in Drive-by -- Camp & Cypress
A few minutes ago drive by shooters fired 4 shots at a group of African Americans who were hanging out on the corner of Camp & Cypress around 10:45 this Saturday night.
I'm sure this is related to the Hector Event that was held in Billy Taylor Park this afternoon, an event held in memory of the 17 year old Hector child shot to death a few years ago near the same corner.
This shooting took place a few feet from the Police Substation and of course no policemen were around it being shift change.
Posted at 11:07 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Poetry Feature
Dream
I woke from a dream that ended with me or Bob Dylan physically embracing a huge crowd of people below a staircase in a museum in Budapest or some old, historical, ornate palace somewhere on the European continent, and me or Bob had been chased into the only exit, the entry way, and this crowd of people, who looked like old friends and who were dressed in black trousers and white shirts with black suspenders, blocked our way, were trying to hold me or Bob back, trying to prevent us from escaping, and they were all extending house keys toward me or Bob, the keys jagged edges threatening me or Bob like brutal, ragged knives, and this crowd implored me or Bob, “Don’t break our hearts.” And I, or was it Bob, answered, “All hearts get broken in the end.”
John Twomey
Posted at 12:03 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
1 1/2 & Hellhounds on Our Trail
No reason for panic, Red Sox fans. Just because the Yanks are now only 1 ½ games behind us with 11 games to go, just because they are peaking while the Sox are sliding, just because injuries have some good Sox bats out of the Sox lineup and fatigue has overtaken our pitching staff.
Youk says "Ouch" as does the Nation
You don’t want to back into the post season, you want to go into the post season with momentum. The Sox have precious little time to generate any momentum, only 11 games.
The magic number to make the playoffs is 3, but the magic number to win the division is 9: that’s combination of wins and loses for the Sox and Yanks.
Manny’s stubborn oblique injury still keeps him out of the lineup. Youk’s sore hand and swollen thumb is keeping him out. And Coco Crisp’s cranky back is keeping him out.
Our pitching staff is tired, especially the Japanese contingent, Dice-K and Oki. Our storied trade deadline acquisition, reliever Eric Gagne, has been a complete bust.
The biggest disappoint of the season: the trade of Trot Nixon for J.D. Drew and his 6 year 60 million contract. What were they thinking? I’d rather have Trot hitting .260 any day than Drew and for a third of the money. Trot bleed red and was a certified Yankee killer; this Drew seems to have no fire in his belly, no personality and has not earned his salary this year. Bad trade.
Julio Lugo. Not as bad as Drew, at least he plays the game with passion, but com’on he’s hitting .249. To his credit he’s stolen around 30 bases and driven in 71 runs, but how many victories have they contributed to. We let Alex Gonzales go, the best defensive shortstop in the game because he hit .250. Bad trade.
Coco Crisp. It’s been a pleasure to watch him patrol center field and make spectacular play after spectacular play. And he’s finally got his batting average up to the .270s. But we expected that great defense and a .300 BA to go along with it. Tell you one thing, he’s no Johnny Damon. Bad trade.
I love to watch Youk and Lowell play the game. Youk is a quintessential Red Sox playah (like Trot Nixon). I’m happy that Mike Lowell is having a career year with a .329 average and 108 RBIs, especially going into a contract year with free agency looming. How does that work anyway, a lot of guys have great years when playing for a new contract.
Mike Lowell
And Papi, for Christ’s sake people refer to him as having an off year when his BA is around .320 with 30 homers, 104 RBIs and 45 doubles. Only in Red Sox Nation can that be considered an off season. Plus he’s been playing with a balky shoulder and a knee that will require surgery at season’s end.
Tell ya the truth, I never thought this Red Sox team was that good, even when they were 14 games ahead of the Yankees. Trouble is, nobody else is that good either. No team is dominant this year, being strong up the middle with great pitching 1 to 5.
Honestly, this is a difficult Red Sox team for me to love. For the most part they seem to be a little bloodless.
Let the Kids Play
One bright spot has been the play of the kids they brought up from Pawtucket, especially Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchhloz, and John Lester.
Jacoby Ellsbury
Bad News
As I write this, Timlin came in in relief in the bottom of the 8th against Toronto and loaded the bases, then Papelbon came in and gave up a grand slam home run. The sox lose 6 to 1. The Yankees are winning.
The Sox may go deep into the playoffs, they may even win it all, but it will not be something that I hold dear to my heart. Not this team.
Posted at 10:29 PM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Hellhound on my Trail
Hellhound on my TrailI got to keep movin',
I've got to keep movin'
Blues fallin' down like hail,
(Blues fallin' down like hail)Umm mmm mmm mmm
Blues fallin' down like hail,
(Blues fallin' down like hail)And the days keeps on mindin' me,
there's a Hellhound on my trail,(Hellhound on my trail),
Hellhound on my trail.
So sang Robert Johnson, King of the Delta Blues, in 1937. Arguably, the most influential and the greatest of all Blues singers and composers, Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil in return for his uncanny ability to play and sing the blues, and this transaction supposedly took place down at a rural crossroads, a site Johnson memorialized in the song Crossroads, famously covered by Eric Clapton’s band Cream around 1969, which some critics claim contains the best electric rock guitar solo ever recorded. Until recently, no photographs of Robert Johnson were known to exist, (he died at the age of 27 -- poisoned in a juke joint by a jealous lover), but relentless researchers have now turned up two photographs.
In one photo Robert is all dandified up:
Robert Johnson
But in the other he looks more like a devil driven Blues Man.
Robert Johnson
NPR named the Robert Johnson song quoted above, Hellhound on my Trail to their list of the top 100 most important American songs of all time. The songs are listed in alphabetical order, not numbered and if you click this link Hellhound on my Trail you can listen to an audio file (provided you have the RealPlayer download), from NPR’s All Things Considered a well written essay about Johnson by Peter Breslow (if you can stand his voice – do they teach that treacle intonation at places like Brown?) that has clips of both songs, Hellhound and Crossroads. But the essay ends up being more about Breslow than about Johnson, but good nevertheless.
The New Republic reviews three recent books about Robert Johnson and you can read the review by clicking this link: Love in Vain then choosing the Google link Love in Vain by Mark Pollizzoti that will get around subscription requirements.
But that is not what this is about
But this blog-entry is not about Robert Johnson, that is just deep background: this post is about the Red Sox, because just like ol’ Robert Johnson, the Red Sox feel something creeping up behind them, and their personal Hellhounds pound up the trail dressed in pinstripes -- the Yankees, as in New York, New York! From 14 games behind the Red Sox at one point in the season, the Yanks are now only 4 ½ games back.
-
-
Hellhound Pettitte
Hellhound A-Rod
Hellhound Posada
Hellhound Jeter
-
-
I got to keep movin',
I've got to keep movin'
Blues fallin' down like hail,
(Blues fallin' down like hail)And the days keeps on mindin' me,
there's a Hellhound on my trail,
Posted at 07:00 PM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Chess and Uppity White Folks
I really like what Alyssa has to say. And I like the way she says it.
Finally someone besides me holds the MHNA's feet to the fire: in her post A Different Recipe for Change Alyssa says,
Perhaps the person who runs the Mt Hope Community center could be held more responsible for conducting activities that the kids actually would be interested in.
Alyssa goes on to comment about the type of youth chosen for social programs:
The last time I heard him speak of his plans for youth programs, I heard chess get mentioned. I'm sure that's just what these kids need ...yea maybe 8 in the whole community. The rest of these kids face REALITY on a daily basis, to which chess and uppity white folks do not apply.
Alyssa further strengthens her critique when she argues:
". . . we need to meet the youth in the middle somewhere, and provide for them activities that don't involve hand selecting teens, only to select ones that were going to be successful anyway, to glorify their own stance, to satisfy their own ego
I like that: "activities that don't involve hand selecting teens, only to select ones that were going to be successful anyway."
Well said, I say.
I guess Alyssa and I agree that people (especially politicians, Cops, and wannabe whatevers) like to pump up their stats to gratify their egos and make themselves look good.
Where Alyssa and I diverge in our viewpoints is on Kevin Jackson. I see Jackson as the ultimate enabler. In my opinion Jackson holds the African Community in Mt. Hope back by enabling the lowest of the African American underclass, the drug dealers and the petty criminals the drug trade engenders.
I believe that there are several kingpin drug dealers in Mt. Hope who run the drug trade and who prey on the African American Community even as they are among them in a cloak of respectability.
I believe that the politicians who enable this behavior in exchange for votes know these individuals, know who they are, and turn a blind eye on their criminality and community destroying behavior.
Where Alyssa and I do agree is that something needs to be done to get these Mt. Hope kids away from drugs and to get the adults who enable them behind bars.
What we debate is who controls the drug trade in Mt. Hope. Who enables the drug trade in Mt. Hope. And how can it be stopped when it is enabled by politicians and seemingly ignored by the MHNA, the voice of the African American Community in Mt. Hope.
John Twomey
Posted at 11:54 PM | GCCC | Comments (0)
Links
Here I list several websites that carry links to the Mt. Hope Community Website and feature some interesting related content.
The first is RIFuture.org, a liberal, leftwing website hosted by a young, pro-union organizer that has a nice interactive feature for readers to participate in the site in the form of Dairies.
The second is a site called Outside.In that is trying to go nationwide by culling local blogs and news of interest locally. You can click on Providence or any of the neighborhoods of Providence including Mt. Hope.
Posted at 11:33 PM | Website | Comments (0)
Black on Black
An interested party sent me this link to a Boston Globe column by Jeff Jacoby, titled, Destruction in black America is self-inflicted. Click the above underlined, boldfaced link to access the column.
In the column Jacoby sites some interesting stats:
In a new study, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics confirms once again that almost half the people murdered in the United States each year are black, and 93 percent of black homicide victims are killed by someone of their own race. (For white homicide victims, the figure is 85 percent.) In other words, of the estimated 8,000 African-Americans murdered in 2005, more than 7,400 were cut down by other African-Americans. Though blacks account for just one-eighth of the US population, the BJS reports, they are six times more likely than whites to be victimized by homicide - and seven times more likely to commit homicide.
Jacoby visits the belief among African Americans that they have much to fear from racist whites:
But the data aren't in dispute. Though outrage over "racism" is ever fashionable, African-Americans have long had far less to fear from the violence of racist whites than from the mayhem of the black underclass."Do you realize that the leading killer of young black males is young black males?" asked Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan 16 years ago. "As a black man and a father of three, this really shakes me to the core of my being."
Jacoby provides us with an interesting quote from Rev. Jessie Jackson:
"There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life," Jesse Jackson said in 1993, "than to walk down the street and hear footsteps . . . then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved."
And Jacoby echoes the sentiments of Daniel Patrick Moynihan 40 years ago that have proved prescient:
Such huge disproportions don't just happen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously warned 40 years ago that the collapse of black family life would mean rising chaos and crime in the black community. Today, as many as 70 percent of black children are raised in fatherless households. And as reams of research confirm, children raised without married parents and intact, stable families are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior.
Jacoby expounds on the topic in his column with the two following paragraphs:
If there is racial bias in the system, it clearly isn't in favor of whites.But if you choose to focus on the race of victims, I added, remember that nearly all black homicide is intraracial - more than nine out of 10 black murder victims in the United States are killed by black murderers. So applying the death penalty in more cases where the victim is black would mean sending more black men to death row.
What is going on in Mt. Hope?
In light of what is going on in Mt. Hope today, with black on black violence erupting regularly on Pleasant Street, with African American drug dealers selling their evil poison to their own kind, with African American kids not knowing any better than to throw garbage on the streets of their own community isn't it time for a Black on Black dialog about the self-destructive problems the African American community is experiencing in Mt. Hope?
The Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association
The MHNA has traditionally represented the African American community in Mt. Hope. The MHNA has never offered any pretense of representing the entire community, only in their representing the interests of the African American community in Mt. Hope. Why doesn't the MHNA step up and address the pressing problems the African American community of Mt. Hope is experiencing.
Gentrification Workshop
The MHNA offered a Gentrification Workshop in conjunction with D.A.R.E. as if Gentrification is the biggest problem facing the African American community in Mt. Hope. No wonder so many people were outraged and treated it like a bad joke.
Letters to the MHNA
Why is no one writing letters to the MHNA, at 199 Camp Street, Providence, RI 02906, suggesting that they hold workshops on Drug Dealing in Mt. Hope: How do we stop it?,
Or this workshop: On Black on Black Violence: How do we stop young black men in Providence from shooting each other over an old feud?
Or this workshop: Why does the African American community in Mt. Hope perceive white people as the problem in Mt. Hope, when it is clear that the problems of crime and filth originate with the African American community in Mt. Hope?
Or this workshop: Why does the African American community in Mt. Hope blame everyone else for their problems instead of taking responsibility for their own self determination?
My guess as to the reason why nobody asks these questions of the MHNA is that no white person wants to risk being portrayed as racist for asking these questions, and no black person wants to be portrayed as an Uncle Tom for asking the same questions.
Again, have I mentioned cowardice on this blog? Is that too strong a word. Ok, how about timidity. Is that more palatable? It's all semantics. People are too cowed to say what they really believe because of fear. Call it whatever you want to call it: it does have a name. Where does the word "cowed" come from?
Read Jacoby's column below.
Destruction in black America is self-inflicted
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | September 5, 2007
DEBATING capital punishment at an Ivy League university a few years ago, I was confronted with the claim that since death sentences are more often meted out in cases where the victim is white, the death penalty must be racially biased. It's a spurious argument, I replied. Whites commit fewer than half of all murders in the United States, yet more whites than blacks are sentenced to death and more whites than blacks are executed each year.
If there is racial bias in the system, it clearly isn't in favor of whites.
But if you choose to focus on the race of victims, I added, remember that nearly all black homicide is intraracial - more than nine out of 10 black murder victims in the United States are killed by black murderers. So applying the death penalty in more cases where the victim is black would mean sending more black men to death row.
After the debate, a young black woman accosted me indignantly. Ninety-plus percent of black blood is shed by black hands? What about all the victims of white supremacists? Hadn't I heard of lynching? Hadn't I heard of James Byrd, who died so horribly in Jasper, Texas? When I assured her that Byrd's murder by whites was utterly untypical of most black homicide, she was dubious.
I thought of that young woman when I read recently about James Ford Seale, the former Mississippi Klansman sentenced last month to three life terms in prison for his role in murdering two black teenagers 43 years ago. The killing of Charles Moore and Henry Dee in 1964 was one of several unsolved civil-rights-era crimes that prosecutors in the South have reopened in recent years. Seale's trial was a vivid reminder of the days when racial contempt was a deadly fact of life in much of the country. His sentence proclaims even more vividly the transformation of America since then. White racism, once such a murderous force, is now associated mostly with feeble has-beens.
Yet many Americans, like the woman at my debate, still seem to view racial questions through an antediluvian haze. To them, white bigotry remains a clear and present danger, and the reason so many black Americans die before their time.
But the data aren't in dispute. Though outrage over "racism" is ever fashionable, African-Americans have long had far less to fear from the violence of racist whites than from the mayhem of the black underclass.
"Do you realize that the leading killer of young black males is young black males?" asked Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan 16 years ago. "As a black man and a father of three, this really shakes me to the core of my being."
From Georgia Congressman John Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement, came a similar cry of anguish. "Nothing in the long history of blacks in America," he lamented in 1994, "suggests the terrible destruction blacks are visiting upon each other today."
Happily, crime rates have declined from their 1990s peak. But it remains that the worst destruction in black America is self-inflicted.
In a new study, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics confirms once again that almost half the people murdered in the United States each year are black, and 93 percent of black homicide victims are killed by someone of their own race. (For white homicide victims, the figure is 85 percent.) In other words, of the estimated 8,000 African-Americans murdered in 2005, more than 7,400 were cut down by other African-Americans. Though blacks account for just one-eighth of the US population, the BJS reports, they are six times more likely than whites to be victimized by homicide - and seven times more likely to commit homicide.
Such huge disproportions don't just happen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously warned 40 years ago that the collapse of black family life would mean rising chaos and crime in the black community. Today, as many as 70 percent of black children are raised in fatherless households. And as reams of research confirm, children raised without married parents and intact, stable families are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior.
High rates of black violent crime are a national tragedy, but it is the law-abiding black majority that suffers from them most. "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life," Jesse Jackson said in 1993, "than to walk down the street and hear footsteps . . . then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved."
It isn't an insoluble problem. Americans overcame white racism; they can overcome black crime. But the first step, as always, is to face the facts.
Jeff Jacoby's e-mail address is jacoby@globe.com.
© Copyright 2007 2007 The New York Times Company
Posted at 08:05 PM | Community | Comments (1)
Lackadaisical Policing in Providence
I am a small woman who lives in Providence. All 100 pounds of me is scared to walk from my car to the door of my apt. building sometimes. Occasionally, I scoot around the block or to the closest block in an effort to have an officer watch me walk to my door, since it's a bit dark where I park my car and possible mishaps can be eliminated by asking for this minor favor.
I say favor, but our tax dollars pay for that to be their job. Unfortunately, I have had a recent incident where it took Providence Police ONE HOUR to respond to my call.
As I expressed my frustration, the officer who responded (in a less than prompt fashion) proceeded to get very defensive with me. She phoned other officers to show up, since all 100 lbs of me must be so intimidating, and there I was- all of a sudden 5 mintutes later 2 cops come popping out of the woodwork, talk about favoring phone calls vs inadequate response times.
After I was surrounded by 3 cop cars, the 2 male officers proceeded to assure me that I was fine and watched me walk to my door. Although it ended well, must the first responded be so defensive after responding an hour later- whatever I was complaining about could have harmed me and left me long before she got there had I gotten the nerve to get out of my car alone in that dark ally.
Providence Police are too lackadaisical, as this is not the first time they have taken their sweet time responding to my calls ...I don't live in the best area.
Alyssa
Posted at 01:57 PM | Community | Comments (1)
A Different Recipe for Change
To those who agree with the person who posted Recipe for Not Stopping Gentrification.
Uppity white folks? Maybe they just don't feel comfortable moving to that area, as crime is going to exist in poverty stricken areas -and Camp street doesn't exactly have millionaires. How ignorant to think that changing the elected official would stop crime.
What about giving the teens in that neigboorhood a place to go, where they can legally practice graffiti artwork and other art forms that fall under the category of hip hop as a MOVEMENT.
Perhaps the person who runs the Mt Hope Community center could be held more responsible for conducting activities that the kids actually would be interested in.
The last time I heard him speak of his plans for youth programs, I heard chess get mentioned. I'm sure that's just what these kids need ...yea maybe 8 in the whole community. The rest of these kids face REALITY on a daily basis, to which chess and uppity white folks do not apply.
Perhaps the answer is staring us in the face -ASSIMILATION with our youth, to start bridging some of these gaps.
As for Councilman Jackson- he supports this realistic notion that we need to meet the youth in the middle somewhere, and provide for them activities that don't involve hand selecting teens, only to select ones that were going to be successful anyway, to glorify their own stance, to satisfy their own ego. Rather, assimilating to teens and incorporating their chosen activities into a program structured around ending crime in this neighboorhood is a more effective way to deal with these concerns.
Jackson is a fine example of what this community needs in office.
Alyssa
Posted at 01:53 PM | Community | Comments (0)
"Providence is still an extremely safe city."
27 and counting, that is how many shootings we experienced in the city of Providence since August 1st (ProJo: Providence shooting is 27th for August) and the shooting began well before August rolled along.
I wonder how many of those shots we can call our own, here in Mt. Hope. Read the blurb below for an account of recent Mt. Hope shootings.
From A violent month in Providence: Providence Journal -- with map feature locating shootings.
McCann Place, a cluster of subsidized, low-income housing in the Mount Hope neighborhood, also has seen its share of violence in recent weeks. Specifically, a peeling drab gray unit with red trim at 61 Pleasant St.On Aug. 1, Kevelin Davis, 29, was riddled with gunfire outside the apartment. He suffered four bullet wounds to the back and one to the right arm. He told the police that he was on the front steps of 61 Pleasant St. at 12:50 a.m. when a gold-colored car occupied by two men wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts pulled up. They opened fire and sped off.
Davis was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital, and survived the shooting. At the hospital, a health-care worker discovered a plastic bag containing crack cocaine stuffed up Davis’ buttocks. He was arrested and charged with a drug violation.
On July 22, Justin T. Potter, 26, of East Providence, was grazed in the head by a bullet as he was hanging outside the same apartment on Pleasant Street.
The neighborhood, described as a trouble spot for decades, is just a few hundred yards from Hope High School and less than a mile from Thayer Street and Brown University.
Deputy Police Chief Kennedy said,
“Providence is still an extremely safe city,” Kennedy said. “We are an urban city and with that comes a certain level of crime. You have to realize that in this business you do have upticks in violence.”
John Lombardi
JOHN J. LOMBARDI, a city councilman from the Federal Hill neighborhood, said that many people do not feel safe, and he said he talks with elderly residents who are afraid to leave their homes after 4:30 p.m.
A violent month in Providence
08:40 AM EDT on Thursday, August 30, 2007
By W. Zachary Malinowski
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — A blazing sun beat down on the makeshift memorial yesterday where Vidal “Lucky” Rodriguez, a leader of the Almighty Latin Kings Nation street gang, was gunned down early Saturday.
A white T-shirt featuring “King” in bold gold lettering and the gang’s emblem, a crown surrounded by dollar signs, was pinned on the wall of El Tiburon Sports Bar at the corner of Valley and Harold streets.
About 50 candles flickered under a crude altar on the sidewalk where Rodriguez’s life came to an end. Empty bottles of champagne, brandy
and beer were crowded among the candles.
Another weekend and another shooting, this one leading to the ninth homicide of the year in the capital city. Over the past month there has been an explosion of gun violence and bloodshed in different neighborhoods, some less than a mile or two from the much-celebrated downtown Providence Renaissance.
In terms of violence, the Providence police say August has been the worst month in at least five years.
A review of the gunfire by The Providence Journal reveals that since Aug. 1, there have been at least 26 shootings in the city that have been reported to the police. During that span, 20 people have been shot and 2 people, including Lucky Rodriguez, have been killed. The police have yet to make an arrest in the latest homicide.
The total number of shootings for August has accounted for more than half of the shootings in the city this year. In the previous seven months, 19 shootings were reported to the police.
“It kind of reminds me of 30 years ago, when there were a lot of mob shootings,” said City Council President Peter Mancini. “I haven’t had any formal meetings with the council or the police, but the whole council is concerned about these shootings.”
Mancini, who serves on the police advisory board, vowed to raise the subject at its next meeting, in Police Chief Dean Esserman’s conference room on Thursday, Sept. 6 at 8:30 a.m.
Deputy Police Chief Paul J. Kennedy said he hopes August was an “aberration.” Still, the department is not sitting on its hands hoping for a reduction. He said the police have redirected officers and resources to hot spots in the city that have seen a significant uptick in shootings. The department has also tapped officers from the gun squad, narcotics and gang unit to help quell the violence.
Among the problem areas are Asian enclaves in the city’s south and west sides, Smith Hill and Mount Hope on the city’s East Side.
“We really believe that cops count,” Kennedy said. “We try to put more cops out there.”
He said that many of the shootings can be attributed to long-simmering feuds between rival gangs, the recent release of violent felons from prison and drug-related disputes.
“These are not random acts,” he said.
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE to study the shootings and come up with a definitive reason for the violence. But almost all of them involved young men and many of them involved drugs.
Maj. Stephen M. Campbell, who oversees the detective division, said the police crackdown has yielded results. He pointed out that the police have arrested eight people with guns in the past two weeks. A felon in possession of a gun faces an automatic five years in federal prison.
The police say the month’s other murder, on Aug. 15, was a drug deal gone bad.
The police say that Marc Quintal drove David Rocha and two other men from Fall River to South Providence to buy drugs.
They said that David Mello, using a cell phone, directed Quintal to a driveway outside a house at Pearl and Hayward streets. Once there, Mello and Sylvester Moses, both 20, of Providence, approached the car with drawn handguns.
About 6:40 p.m., gunfire erupted and Quintal, 20, was fatally shot in the back. Mello was arrested last week and charged with murder, first-degree robbery and using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence.
Moses turned himself in yesterday morning and has been charged with murder, according to the Providence police.
The police have not said which of the suspects is believed to have fired the shot that killed Quintal.
McCann Place, a cluster of subsidized, low-income housing in the Mount Hope neighborhood, also has seen its share of violence in recent weeks. Specifically, a peeling drab gray unit with red trim at 61 Pleasant St.
On Aug. 1, Kevelin Davis, 29, was riddled with gunfire outside the apartment. He suffered four bullet wounds to the back and one to the right arm. He told the police that he was on the front steps of 61 Pleasant St. at 12:50 a.m. when a gold-colored car occupied by two men wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts pulled up. They opened fire and sped off.
Davis was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital, and survived the shooting. At the hospital, a health-care worker discovered a plastic bag containing crack cocaine stuffed up Davis’ buttocks. He was arrested and charged with a drug violation.
On July 22, Justin T. Potter, 26, of East Providence, was grazed in the head by a bullet as he was hanging outside the same apartment on Pleasant Street.
The neighborhood, described as a trouble spot for decades, is just a few hundred yards from Hope High School and less than a mile from Thayer Street and Brown University.
A 24-hour period that began early on Aug. 12 was a particularly bad stretch. On Aug. 12, at 2:21 a.m., two cousins, Sophon Meas, 17, and Kan Hosp Bou, 20, were shot in front of Bou’s house at 24 Bernon St. in Smith Hill. A 17-year-old witness who accompanied the wounded men to the hospital told the police that he was a member of the Tiny Rascals, an Asian gang.
Meas was shot in the left hip, while Bou was hit in the shoulder and upper chest area.
Six minutes later, Keivan DeLeon, 21, and Jose L. Garcia, 18, were both shot outside 126 Julian St., in Olneyville, after an apparent altercation. DeLeon suffered a gunshot wound to the left leg; Garcia was hit in the buttocks and knee.
On Aug. 13, at 1:15 a.m., three Asian men were ambushed and shot during a backyard party at 168 Waverly St., in the West End, a known hangout of the Dark Side Asian gang. The unidentified gunman fired five or six shots from behind thick shrubbery at 179 Althea St. A young man wearing a red bandana was seen running from the area.
Thompson Eang, 16, was shot in the thigh; Sophea Hem, 19, was hit in the leg and arm; and Sareivouth Cheam, 18, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
JOHN J. LOMBARDI, a city councilman from the Federal Hill neighborhood, said that many people do not feel safe, and he said he talks with elderly residents who are afraid to leave their homes after 4:30 p.m.
He said he recently met with a constituent off Broadway when several loud cracks that sounded like gunshots echoed outside her home. “She didn’t even flinch,” he said.
Kennedy, the deputy police chief, said the police will continue to tap every means possible to attack the sudden escalation of violence in the city. He said the Providence police are working with the state police and FBI.
Still, career criminals such as Lucky Rodriguez will always find their way onto the police blotter or a gurney at the state medical examiner’s office. The police say that the gang member survived a shooting four years ago and had spent time in prison.
Kennedy said that Rodriguez, murdered at 33, chose a lifestyle that placed him directly in harm’s way, but that doesn’t mean that law-abiding citizens or downtown visitors should live in fear.
The city’s Board of Licenses also has gotten involved. At the request of the police, the board temporarily shut down El Tiburon, a known Latin Kings hangout where Rodriguez spent the final moments of his life. The board is moving to permanently close the bar.
“Providence is still an extremely safe city,” Kennedy said. “We are an urban city and with that comes a certain level of crime. You have to realize that in this business you do have upticks in violence.”
bmalinow@projo.com
Posted at 05:01 PM | Community | Comments (0)
The Inconvenience Store
A significant contributor to the ambiance of the Crossings (Camp & Cypress Streets) in Mt. Hope is what I call the "inconvenience store," a magnet for the 'hood's thugs. Yes, it's better than it was five years ago when the store's previous manager was selling drugs, but it still contributes to the poor atmosphere.
Since I live in a condo in the same building, I'm constantly picking up trash dropped by the store patrons, and even have to climb up on its roof to pick up cans, bottles and other refuse the pigs (thugs) toss up there. I suppose it's too much to ask that the store manager put a large trash container outside the door for patrons to dispose of their trash.
The inconvenience store recently began selling hot American and Spanish food. Unbelievably, I spotted the concessionaire dumping unbagged garbage in the store Dumpster, situated conveniently right under my living room windows. I witnessed him with a plastic trash container lined with a plastic bag dumping the food in the Dumpster, then drop the empty plastic liner in after it. How can anyone be THAT stupid? Because of his unsanitary practices, the Dumpster was swarming with flies during last week's hot and humid weather.
I complained to the concessionaire and the store clerk about the health hazard and was told it was being taken care of. Yeah, sure. On Thursday, I notified the state health department, which then closed down the hot food operation. The clerk and the concessionaire put two and two together and figured out it was I who caused the shutdown. They are angry. Well, so am I. They should have followed the food regulatory laws before starting to serve hot food. Thankfully, we won't be seeing chicken bones and half-eaten food on the streets or unbagged garbage in the Dumpster. Perhaps that will keep down the fly population.
Peter C.
Posted at 03:09 PM | Community | Comments (0)
A No No by Buchholz
Clay Buchholz
Red Sox Nation rejoiced as last night, twenty-two year old rookie Red Sox righty Clay Buchholz, called up from Triple AAA Pawtucket only hours earlier, hurled a no-hitter at the Baltimore Orioles.
Game Over -- No-hitter!
Buchholz spun his magic with no hit stuff that baffled the Oriole batters with a devastatingly deceptive change up clocking in at around 77 mph, a fastball in the low 90’s, a 12 to 6 curveball that clocked in around 80 – 84 mph and the occasional slider. That he was able to throw any of these pitches at any point in the strike count kept the Orioles off balance all night. Captain Jason Varitek called a superb game and deserves, if not almost equal credit, a great deal of credit for the night’s accomplishment.
The Captain & the Kid
Solid defensive helped the No No along with outstanding plays by Crisp, Pedroia, and Buchhloz himself (a former shortstop) preventing potential base-hits. Coco Crisp made several good catches in the outfield, but Dustin Pedroia undoubtedly made the play-of-the-game with a diving backhand stab behind second base where in seemingly one motion he dove outstretched for the ball, landed face down with the ball in his glove, rose and threw a strike to first to nab the runner by a split second.
To illustrate the rarity of a no-hitter, Buchholz’s was only the 3rd no-hitter at Fenway in the last 45 years, following one by Hedio Nomo and Derek Lowe. It’s the first ever by a Red Sox rookie. It’s the 2nd ever in the history of Major League ball of a rookie No No in his 2nd big league game.
Posted at 03:06 PM | Community | Comments (0)
