Mayor Encourages Residents to Help the Environment by Properly Disposing of their Holiday Trees
City to begin curbside pick up of holiday trees January 5, 2009

Mayor David N. Cicilline today announced that the City will begin picking up holiday trees from Providence residents during a two-week period beginning Wednesday, January 5, 2009.  The trees will be recycled by Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation and turned into compost.

 

- All ornaments and tinsel should be removed from trees
- Trees should not be placed in any type of bag
- Place trees at the curb on regular trash collection days

 

“This is an excellent way for residents to help protect our environment and reduce the amount of waste at the landfills by properly disposing of their holiday trees so that they can be transformed into nutrient-rich compost,” said Mayor Cicilline.

 

For more information, contact the City of Providence Recycling Coordinator, Daisy Diaz, at 467-7050 ext. 519.

  

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Mayor, Bright Night Providence Director Announce New Year's Eve Festivities

Colorful parade of Big Nazo puppets and cast of characters descend on Providence City Hall for news conference today

 

The Big Nazo puppets and a cast of characters joined Mayor David N. Cicilline and Bright Night Providence Festival Director Adam Gertsacov for an update on the 2009 Bright Night New Year's Eve festivities.  The announcement included information on new performances that have been added to the line up, an update on this year's first-ever laser light show and information on advanced ticket sales. 

"For six years now - the amazing group of artists, supporters & volunteers of Bright Night, under the visionary leadership of Adam Gertsacov - have brought premier performances to the people of Providence and have given center stage to the artists & performers we have living & working in our City," said the Mayor. "Last year, more than 20,000 people gathered in the City for Bright Night and this year promises to be even more exciting.  I hope to see you all at the opening ceremonies on December 31st!"

After official opening ceremonies at the Bank of America Skating Rink, a number of venues around downtown will host over one hundred performers, including singers, dancers, musicians, puppeteers, storytellers, and magicians. The evening will be headlined by the Nerveless Nocks Daredevil Thrill Show, featuring the Nock family, a ninth generation circus family that will perform acts of courage and derring-do. Bright Night will culminate with a midnight laser show in Kennedy Plaza that will count down the New Year.

For more information, visit the Bright Night website.

 
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Mayor Cicilline Expresses Opposition to Providence Public Library's Plan to Close Five Branches

Mayor Cicilline expressed his opposition last Friday, December 19th to plans by the Providence Public Library to reduce the number of neighborhood library branches from nine to four. The City of Providence is the largest donor to the Providence Public Library, a privately-endowed, not-for-profit institution, giving approximately $3.4 million last year.

“As I have made clear for many years, I am opposed to any plan that reduces the presence of library services in our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Cicilline. “I understand the financial difficulty of administering a large, public institution, especially in these times, but it is critical that we uphold the 100-year-old mission of the Providence Public Library for today and for the future.”

Library trustees cited as critical to their decision a proposal to obligate the City to incur the costs of administering a number of neighborhood branches as “Neighborhood Learning Centers.”  Such a proposal was presented to the City the previous day, Wednesday, December 17th, with no discussion on the matter by Library and City officials.

News outlets incorrectly reported last week that there was support from the City administration for the Library plan. 

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Mayor Responds to Last Minute Legal Action by Union Leadership

“This last-minute legal maneuver was the most recent attempt by union leadership to delay implementation of the new administrator of our health care plans.  This is just the company that processes payment and paperwork, and the plans themselves will remain unchanged.  It is disappointing that the court’s action enabled their strategy to undermine an open and competitive bidding process that will result in an $11 million savings for our taxpayers. Facing costs of $58,000 for every week of delay, the City will appeal the granting of the TRO to the Supreme Court immediately.”

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Feature: My Business

Turn Over A New Leaf For the Holidays

 

No matter what holiday or occasion there is, one gift always seems to be at the top of the list for any last-minute shopping – flowers.  This season always brings out the brightest reds in poinsettias and the freshest greens in floral wreaths, and if you walk in to any local flower shop in Providence, chances are they carry most of what you’ll need to brighten up your holiday table or someone else’s.  Certainly the joy of receiving a beautiful arrangement from someone you love is not lost on the floral industry, but for one longtime neighborhood florist, nature’s gifts also provide a new lease on life.
 

A New Leaf on Gano Street has been open since 1983 and just finished celebrating their 25th year in business.  Not just an average full service florist, the store also operates as a non-profit agency, which, through the support of the Rhode Island Mental Health and Retardation Hospitals and others, has been helping transition adults with psychiatric disabilities back into the workforce.  Their job-training program takes place right at the flower shop, where participants are given skills that store manager like Brie Leddy (and 13-year veteran Eileen McGowan, pictured to the right) hope will steer their very special staff towards brighter careers. 

 

City News caught up with Leddy to learn more about the process of turning over a new leaf.

 

A New Leaf is a unique floral shop because it does operate as a non-profit agency.  Tell us more about how this came to be and what exactly it is that you offer your community as a non-profit.
It started 25 years ago in a little shop in Davol Square and basically became a place where people who have mental disabilities come and work.  It’s evolved into the same place only larger, and we hire adults with psychiatric disabilities from the local mental health centers.  They come here to work for a period of about a year, give or take, depending on the individual and their needs. 

 

In the process of them being here, they’re looking for other jobs, they’re looking for interviews – and we help them in that way too.  A lot of people who do come through from the program have had jobs in the past but they’ve been out of the workforce for a long time and so they’re just trying to get back into the swing of things.

 

That’s pretty much what we do, plus we’re also a full service flower shop.  We’ve been on Gano Street for a little over twenty years now.

 

Why in your opinion does a flower shop make for a good place to help folks rehabilitate from their disabilities?
Well, flowers and plants in general are very soothing.  It makes you feel good just looking at all the natural beauty that surrounds you.  So, I think that’s a lot of it.  We also have a lot of facets that we can use to teach people, like the flower shop, the greenhouse side, maintenance, driving and deliveries – so these are facets and skills that people can use not only in a flower shop but in other fields as well, job skills that they can carry over to other places. 

 

How do they get accepted to the (job training) program?
We go through the mental health centers and when we have our hiring cycles, we call around and we let the people that we deal with know that we have some openings, and they just start sending people in. 

 

When are those hiring cycles?
It’s seasonal – spring, fall and sometimes Christmas. 

 

The store has been around for 25 years now, what is the best part about doing business in this neighborhood?
It’s a great spot – tons of traffic, very busy street.  It’s a neighborhood favorite – we got Fox Point and the East Side around the corner from us.  We got a lot of diehard customers who only come to us after many many years.

 

Is there a secret for staying in business this long?
You have to have fresh flowers! You can’t be selling dead stuff in a flower shop.  So you have to keep your inventory fresh.  Also, you have to keep your staff and customers happy.  It’s a fun job. 

 

It must get very busy for you this season.  With a few days away from Christmas, what are your customers ordering in the final hours for their holiday needs?
Centerpieces, poinsettias – we got a couple of stragglers for wreaths and trees, and a lot of floral arrangements. 

 

And do you usually get those last-minute shoppers knocking at your doorstep?
Oh yeah, are you kidding me? Especially with the snow – a lot of people didn’t want to have to leave their homes in the weekend and so they let us do the gift deliveries for them.  Flowers always make great ‘last-minute’ gifts, no matter what season.

 

What are some other items/products you carry particularly during the holidays?
We just started selling a new line of pottery by Tom Chamberlain.  It’s been quite a big seller, especially during our 25th Anniversary Open House a couple of weeks ago.  We are also starting to sell glassware and a few other items.  We’re trying to expand and move with the times.  The flower business is not what it used to be.  So if we can turn and move along with everything else then maybe we can continue to grow and stay open for years to come. 

 

Do you have a special holiday wish or message?
Have a happy, healthy new year and come see us at the New Leaf!

 

A New Leaf is located at 135 Gano Street.  For more info, go to www.anewleafflorist.org.
 

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