Issue No. 263  l   October 23, 2008   l   Providence, Rhode Island

 

Providence Police Launch Recruitment Drive
Community and political leaders gather to encourage members of the community to apply for the upcoming Providence Police Academy

Mayor David N. Cicilline and Colonel Dean M. Esserman last week launched the Recruitment Drive for the upcoming Providence Police academy, which will begin in 2009. The Recruitment Drive runs through November 14, 2008.

“We are looking for men and women of commitment, courage, integrity, and a belief in service to the community,” said Colonel Esserman. “The Providence Police maintain a strong community policing program, focusing on police and the community coming together to prevent crime before it happens.”

The Recruitment Drive Committee, with members hailing from a range of various organizations, encourage citizens of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to apply. The Recruitment Drive also includes a strong public outreach and media campaign, with advertising in various neighborhood newspapers. Candidates for the next police academy will be offered two practice physical agility drills in preparation for the test.

Candidates must meet the following criteria: be at least 21 years of age upon graduation from the Police Academy, a high school graduate or possess a G.E.D., be a citizen of the United States, possess a valid driver’s license, and submit to a criminal background check.

The Recruitment Drive Committee, selected by Colonel Esserman, consists of the following individuals: Iman Farid Ansari, Muslim American Dawah Center; Jose Brito, Southside Merchants Association; Inspector Francisco Colon, Providence Police Department; Gonzalo Cuervo, Mayor’s Office; Inspector Luis Del Rio, Providence Police Department; Rep. Grace Diaz; Joseph T. Fowlkes, Urban League of RI; Jose Gonzales, Providence School Department; Teny Gross, Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence; Cedric Huntley, The Met School; Sergeant Pasquale Granata, Providence Police Department; Kevin Johnston, Urban League of RI; Commander Paul Kennedy, Providence Police Department; Dennis Langley, Urban League of RI; Chrisna Seng, Socio- Economic Development Center; Captain Steven Melaragno, Providence Police Department; Cliff Montiero, NAACP; Major Thomas Oates, Providence Police Department; Ray Rickman, The Rickman Group; Frank Santos, Providence Recreation Department; William Simmons, NAACP; Reverend Jeffery Williams, The Cathedral of Life; Lt. Charles Wilson, RI Minority Police Association; Major Paul Fitzgerald, Providence Police Department; Council President Peter Mancini, Providence City Council; Allison Greene, RI Indian Council; John Thomas, RI Indian Council; Olayinka Oredugba, Esq., Providence, Providence City Hall; Jim Vincent, NAACP; Patrolman Jesse Ferrell, Providence Police Department/RIMPA.

Applications can be found online at www.providencepolice.com under the tab “Employment Opportunities”. For more information on the Recruitment Drive, contact the Providence Police Human Resource Bureau at 243- 6411. 
 

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High-Tech Fire Fighting Rescue Boats Put to the Test in Port of Providence Disaster Drill
Providence Fire Department join firefighters from East Providence & Cranston in an emergency response exercise involving a barge leaking oil into the bay

 

Mayor David N. Cicilline announced that Providence Firefighters joined firefighters from Cranston and East Providence for an on-the-water emergency response exercise on Wednesday, October 22 at 9:30 a.m. at Sprague Terminal, 134 Allens Avenue in the Port of Providence. 

The drill was the first joint training exercise of the Port of Providence Marine Strike Team consisting of Providence, East Providence and Cranston.  The firefighters used three new, 34-foot, high-tech watercraft purchased earlier this year with a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) capable of firefighting; search and rescue operations; chemical, radiological, nuclear response and environmental protection response.  The Marine Strike Team responded to a report of a barge leaking heating oil at Sprague Terminal. 

DHS has designated the Providence metropolitan area as an Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) community based on the area’s close proximity to route 95 and it’s role as one of the region’s major heating oil and liquefied natural gas distribution centers.  
 

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 Mayor Invites Residents to Help Shape the Future of Downtown Providence

Upcoming neighborhood charrette focuses on the city’s thriving cultural & economic center

Mayor David N. Cicilline invites area residents to take part in the Providence Tomorrow: Downtown Neighborhood Charrette, which runs Monday, October 27 through Thursday, October 30, at 222 Richmond Street, Suite 200.  The Providence Tomorrow workshops will explore all areas of design and growth in the downtown, including the Capital Center, Jewelry District/ Old Harbor, Downcity, Promenade connections and East Side and West Side borders. 

“Our planning process is among the most innovative in community engagement in the country,” said Mayor Cicilline.  “And as Downtown is the economic, cultural and governmental center of this state, its planned, cohesive development is critical to the creation of jobs and economic growth in the years and decades ahead.  I urge all residents, business and non-profit leaders to come and share their best ideas.”     

The sessions will explore design and massing of development, connections between areas of the downtown, linking pedestrians and bicyclists, enhancing the historic nature of downtown and preserving open space.  All sessions are free and open to the public and run from 9 am until 8 pm daily (On Monday, the Charrette begins at 11:00 am). 

The schedule is as follows:

Monday
11 am - 12:30 pm       
Focus on Capital Center
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
New Parks/pedestrian bridge
6 pm - 9 pm             
Visioning session with elected officials

Tuesday
9 am - 12 noon        
Downcity focus
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm  
Jewelry District/Old Harbor focus
6 pm - 8 pm  
Evening Critique: Your first look

Wednesday
9 am - 11 am  
East Side edges
11:30 am - 12:30 pm 
Promenade connections
1 pm - 2 pm  
Hospital edges 
2:30 pm - 4:30 pm 
West Side edges
6 pm - 8 pm   
Evening Critique: The Second Pass

Thursday
9 am - 4 pm  
Work Day
6 pm - 8 pm  
Final Presentation

The program - which includes formal presentations, open discussions, hands-on activities, surveys, photograph-taking and more - is supported by the Mayor and City Council.  Ideas generated during the Providence Tomorrow workshops will guide future neighborhood growth, and identify possible changes to city regulations and recommendations for community-based projects. 

For more information, please contact the Department of Planning & Development at 401. 351.4300 
 

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Last Session of Parks' Pilot Program "Healthy Parks: Fitness Boot Camp" To Take Place This Saturday, October 25th
Workout held on Blackstone Boulevard across from Lippitt Park

The Providence Parks Department along with partner, Fitness Together, will offer its final workout session at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, October 25th, as part of a pilot program launched this month called "Healthy Parks: Fitness Boot Camp".  The goal is to offer similar workouts at other parks throughout Providence.

The boot camp workouts were designed to address all aspects of fitness including cardiovascular and muscular endurance, agility, balance, and flexibility.  Each exercise is performed for a set amount of time that will allow participants to push themselves at the appropriate level.  Workouts will last forty-five minutes and allow for stretching time.

The workout will start promptly at 10 a.m., but participants are asked to arrive twenty minutes early to fill out paperwork.  Participants should also bring a mat or a towel, a water bottle, and a desire to be fit.  For more information, contact Robert McMahon at the Providence Parks Department at 785-9450 or Aaron Atwood at Fitness Together at 369-7660.

  

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Residents Invited to Play A Key Role In the Future of Providence Public Schools
Deadline for School Board application is Thursday, November 6, 2008

Mayor David N. Cicilline today announced that the Providence School Board Nominating Commission has begun accepting applications to fill four seats on the School Board that will become available in January 2009.

The School Board application process is open to any registered voter of the City of Providence.  Existing School Board members are also permitted to re-apply for another term.

The six-page application may be accessed and submitted on-line at the City’s website, www.providenceri.com or picked up at Providence City Hall, Office of Neighborhood Services, 25 Dorrance Street, 2nd Floor, or the Providence School Department, Central Office, 3rd Floor, 797 Westminster Street.  Applications have also been sent out to various community groups throughout the city.  Applications must be returned by Thursday, November 6, 2008.

Community Information Session
A community information session for prospective candidates will be held on Thursday, October 30th at 7 p.m. at the Providence Public Safety Complex, 325 Washington Street.  The information session will provide an opportunity for those considering applying for positions on the School Board to ask questions of the School Board Nominating Commission and current School Board members.  A public forum for School Board applicants will take place on Thursday, November 20th at 7 p.m. at the Public Safety Complex. 

At the conclusion of the application process, Mayor Cicilline will select four nominees from a pool of finalists recommended by the Nominating Commission.  The new School Board nominees will be subject to City Council approval and will be sworn into office in January, 2009.

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Feature: My City

Building A Green Workforce From the Ground Up

The idea that our future economy is dependent on creating more green jobs hasn't just gone mainstream, it's now taken for granted by both Presidential candidates.  To lifelong environmentalists, this has been a long time coming.  But perhaps for still a large majority of the American workforce, applying or preparing for a green job might seem a bit alien.  So what does a green workforce really look like?

In the capital city, the nonprofit Groundwork Providence is already forging a path in this new era of job training.  Among their offerings is a program that results in having their students, all Providence residents from low-income households, secure what’s called in the green industry, LEED Certification.  LEED, an acronym coined by the U.S. Green Building Council, stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – and is essentially the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of environmentally sustainable buildings.  It is what many workers in the green industry will have to master in order to be successful in this so-called economy of the future. 

City News caught up with the director of that adult job-training program from Groundwork, Mark Kravatz, to learn more about this very current topic. 

What is the adult job-training program at Groundwork Providence?
We are a green-focused job-training program that has been around since 2002.  Our original focus was on Brownfields restoration, which was started by our current director, Clint Lank.  We got an EPA grant, which placed about 150 people into jobs.  Over time we realized that the market was starting to change.  The green conversation was coming up more and more.  So we started to shift our focus into green jobs, starting with the sustainable landscaping program and partnering with the RI Nursery and Landscaping Association to develop training program for individuals so they can do landscaping.  We also just began our new green building technology course.  We realize that with the economy changing, people are going to start thinking about how they can green up their homes.  So we are focusing on homes as well, particularly on the area of weatherization. 

What we do in a nutshell is that we have a two-month training, broken down into four different parts.  First part is to give an overview of what this green stuff is all about.  What are green jobs, what is the green market, what is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, where is the housing market going.  We’re not going to be building homes the same way we did four years ago, as we will and should be now. 

The second part of the training is going into details about how to do weatherization – so doors, window insulation, infrared insulation, skylights - everything to make the home more efficient in withstanding extreme weather.  We do live in New England and a lot of our homes are hundreds of years old and they get drafty. 

The third part is focusing on securing certification and opportunities for students to have transferable certification skills that would be recognized by most companies.  These transferable skills include 40-hour OSHA certification, confined space entry certification, CPR/first aid certification, and the renovator-remodeler certification, which is supported in-part by RI Housing. 

The fourth part is focused on job training – so resumé development, job skills, transferable skills – all the things one needs to be successful in the green job market. 

Give us some examples of green jobs.
An individual by the name of Van Jones, who authored a new book titled, The Green Collar Economy, defines green jobs as “blue-collar employment that’s been upgraded to better respect the environment … for example, electricians who install solar panels, plumbers who install solar water heaters, farmers who engage in organic agriculture and bio-fuel production, construction workers who build energy efficient green buildings, wind-powered farms, solar farms, etc.” It’s really about taking your company and your blue-collar job and converting them so that it’s eco-friendly.  So if you’re a trucking company, you’d be changing your trucks to maybe bio-diesel.

You mentioned earlier the kinds of training you provide your participants.  But, what are the kinds of job skills that are unique to a green workforce?
The first platinum-level LEED certified house ever built in RI was in Narragansett, by an architect Tom Weber.  He found that it took 18 months to build one home.  He had a lot of subcontractors and one of the big issues that came up was the time it took to take his subcontractors through these LEED certification issues.  So, it’s going to involve an understanding of the LEED point system.  That skill of knowing how it works, the details involved, and getting as many individuals as possible to be LEED certified is really what it’s going to take. 

The other stuff is gaining an understanding of how homes are built today.  The LEED certification will help with that, but it’s about knowing what the new materials are.  Pink panther insulation is going to be old school.  Many homes are converting over to foam insulation.  So a big thing in building the green workforce is not just building skills, but understanding the materials too and how they work, because they’re going to be the next wave. 

The last piece as far as skills, is learning the combination of client/customer relations, as well as knowing general contractor rules. 

What is the demographic of your program participants?
All of our participants are low-income, unemployed, underemployed residents of Providence. 

Do you believe that the green economy can survive in Providence?
It has to.  But it comes down to our dependency on oil.  As we all know, as the prices of gas rise, so does unemployment.  It’s going to take a while to settle down, and for companies to switch over.  But I believe that it’s coming, no matter what because we can only hold up our dependency on oil for so long.  What’s great is that I’m seeing more consumers everyday, homeowners mostly, for the first time are asking contractors, ‘how do I get my home green? How do I make my home more efficient? I hear and see on that green cable television station that I can save a lot of money on my heating bills.’  And so we’ve always had environmentally conscious contractors who been trying to convince consumers for years to go eco-friendly, and now they can’t hold them back because the demand is here. 

The federal government is also starting to jump on board, pushing funding last week towards more green job development and training throughout the country.  So when you’ve got the policy and the demand sort of dancing a little bit, you’ve got the right components.  And the technology is ready to go.  So it’s a matter of things loosening up on the policy end even more and making smart policy.  I think we have some smart policy folks in City Hall who are thinking about that and certainly in my conversations with them, they seem to be on top of that and they see potential for it.  It’s a matter of harnessing government, business, workforce development, institutions of higher ed, and really getting down and collaborating together.

How can people join and apply to your program?
They can call us at 351-6440 ext. 15.  They can sign up through Providence FirstSource with Anastasia Williams, which has been great support for us in getting this program running.  The planning department has been so helpful and they see the market changing and so FirstSource has been a real asset.  Or, go to www.groundworkprovidence.org and get our information there or email me at mark@groundworkprovidence.org.

For more information about Groundwork Providence’s adult job-training program, Mark encourages all to contact him via email or phone.  This week, Mark is also inviting you to attend the Bioneers by the Bay Conference to be held in New Bedford, MA, where nationally-renowned green job advocate, Van Jones, and other experts in the field is scheduled to appear tonight at 7:00 p.m.  More information about the conference is at www.connectingforchange.org. 

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