In any workplace, employees perform best when they're passionate about their jobs. They are the ones that go above and beyond the call of duty. In the realm of public service, helping people is the fuel that feeds an enthusiasm for the work. The City of Providence employs many hardworking men and women that take pride in making sure the residents of our great city get the quality service they deserve - with a smile. With a population of 180,000+ residents, tending to the varying functions that make a capital city run is no small feat. Whether it's community policing, preventing fire, maintaining parks, finding good homes for abandoned animals, or registering voters for elections, behind them all are many exceptional individuals who are great at what they do and have given years of dedicated service to Providence. On behalf of all of us in the City, we wish you and your families a happy and safe holiday!

A Fun Summer at Providence Rec Centers

(June 24 edition)

Steve Piscopiello has been a Providence recreation center veteran for 16 years. Before he became an administrator for the department, the Providence native Piscopiello spent his childhood frequenting his neighborhood rec centers like Joslin and Zuccolo to play ball with his buddies. He knows firsthand the kind of lifelong impact being involved in healthy activities has for a young person.

This summer, Piscopiello and the staff at the Creative Capital's ten recreation centers, six pools, and nine water parks are geared up to offer one of the most robust summer programming the city has seen to date. From a wide range of sports camps to exciting activities to the roll out of the Fun Bus, Providence youth and their parents will have no shortage of great options to choose from.

City News stopped by the main office at One Recreation Way to chat with Piscopiello on the makings of one recreational summer to remember.

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On Hoof Beat, Policing on Horseback

(August 5 edition)

During the busy festival season in the summertime, Providence is a city where big crowds gather to enjoy events like Waterfire, Sound Session, the Indie Arts Fest, the CVS 5K Race and so many more. Keeping an eye out for the safety of the thousands of faces that come to these great events are among Providence's finest, the men and women of the Police Department's Mounted Command Unit. Riding her 14-year old thoroughbred Clydesdale horse (and partner), Sardelli, policewoman Officer Tara Dasilva can be found trotting alongside the crowds at these events.

When they're not patrolling downtown, Officer Dasilva and Sardelli also frequent many neighborhoods in the Creative Capital to continue their police work as an arm of the Patrol Bureau - responding, just like any other police officer, to calls for service and reported violations of the law.

City News stopped by the Mounted Command headquarters at a stable facility located in Roger Williams Park to find out how Officer Dasilva saddles up for the job.

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Your Vote Matters! Primary Day is September 14th.

(September 10 edition)

Next Tuesday, September 14th, over 83,000 registered Providence voters are expected to head to their polls and elect their chosen party candidates on Primary Day. You've seen the ads, received the mailings, attended public debates, and even volunteered for your candidates of choice. Finally, next week, the voting begins.
Primary Day is an important milestone for all the candidates vying for public support as the results will carry the victors through the General Elections on November 2nd. It's a very important day, too, for voters as we exercise our most important American civic duty.

At the Providence Board of Canvassers, Kathy Placencia, the city's Administrator of Elections, has been hard at work this busy election year making sure local candidates have filed correctly, voters have been registered properly, and that her team is ready to roll out another successful Election Day in the Creative Capital. As polls throughout the city are open from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm on Election Day, Placencia and the Board of Canvassers are on deck monitoring the elections, making sure polls are open on time, properly staffed, and operations are runnning smoothly. So before next Tuesday's Primary, City News paid a visit to Placencia this week to get some important information that all voters should know about

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It's Raining Cats and Dogs

(September 30 edition)

Providence Animal Shelter director David Holden has his hands full. With up to 60 dogs and cats to care for and prepare for adoption at any given time, he and his staff of ten have to work hard to keep up. Now that his team (and his fuzzy menagerie of adoptable animals) have moved to their swanky new location at 200 Terminal Road, they have more room to get the job done. And the critters are happy about it, too. City News catches up with Holden on the heels of Tuesday's ribbon-cutting at the new shelter.

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Top Dogs Spark Safety Ignition

(October 14 edition)

October is National Fire Prevention Month. Fire departments across the country are promoting the importance of having a fire safety plan for your family and your business. But for two members of the Providence Fire Department, that crusade doesn't stop at the end of the month. Three hundred sixty-five days a year, Captain Brian Kreizinger (a 26-year department vet) and newcomer Firefighter Ray McCauley of the Fire Prevention Bureau are out in the community making sure all of us are taking the proper precautions to help prevent loss of life and property during a fire.

The message is straightforward: First, install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. They're your first line of defense. Second, make sure your family has an escape plan and a designated meeting place outside of the home. City News caught up with Kriezinger and McCauley, the City's top two public educators on fire safety, at the Cranston Street Armory, home of the State Fire Marshal's training grounds, where a newly-outfitted Providence Fire Department Safety Trailer and Sparky the Fire Dog are housed.

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