Who better to champion the best that a city has to offer than its residents? It is their home, after all, and across the twenty-four neighborhoods in the Creative Capital, Providence residents are simply the best. They are the pioneers and innovators of progress, the glue that binds us all, and the reason why Providence is a great place to live. City News has been fortunate to cover many stories of devoted residents, whose fondness for our city is so infectious that some of their work has inspired playgrounds to find a home, neighborhoods to become safer, community gardens to take bloom, and parents and families to get better connected to Providence life. With a new year around the corner and just as the lineup of our "Best of Residents" has done, consider making a resolution to stay involved all year long in your city and neighborhood - wherever that may be. Happy New Year!

Fox Point Neighbor Mae Warner, A Best Friend to India Point Park

(January 28 edition)

Driving into Providence on the new I-195 today, commuters are greeted by a friendlier face in the form of big, bold green letters that read "India Point Park Bridge" - a sign, literally, that a new day has arrived in the Creative Capital. Thanks to dedicated neighbors and park volunteers like Mae Warner of the Friends of India Point Park, this green jewel wrapped around the southern tip of our city has witnessed a rebirth, too, along with the relocation of the I-way.

Warner, who's been a Fox Point resident for 30 years, has long advocated for the preservation of the abundant natural resources that embrace India Point Park. After all, the Narragansett Bay, the Seekonk River, and the Providence River border the park on three sides. Walk through the park today and you'll see tree-lined paths, park benches that give great views of the water, an impressive and well-kept playground, and a new mural that greets visitors as they enter the park. None of these improvements would have been possible if not for the perseverance and commitment of neighbors and volunteers like Warner.

City News met up with Warner at her neighborhood park to talk about her contribution to ensuring that all residents and visitors of Providence will enjoy and cherish this great natural asset for generations to come.

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Why Providence Counts to Nina Pande

(February 26 edition)

If there was ever a limit to the level of commitment one individual can have towards their community, Nina Pande hasn't reached it. In fact, she keeps pushing the bar higher. When Pande is not steering the ship at the Federal Hill House as its executive director, she's taking the driver's seat for the 2010 Census as the chair of the Providence Census Committee, and is also a newly minted Providence School Board appointee - just to name a few hats she wears with style.

To many, the leadership responsibilities Pande has taken on might seem overwhelming at best. But a closer look into her world revealed a staunch determination to better the lives of her neighbors and a real hand-ons, nose-to-the-grindstone approach to community service and social work. City News stopped by Pande's office on Federal Hill to pick the brain, and the to-do list, of one of Providence's most active community helmswomen.

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For Olneyville Neighbors, Recovery is for the Long Run

(April 8 edition)

The flooding last week impacted several neighborhoods and blocks in Providence but none so hard hit than in sections of Olneyville along the Woonasquatucket, including Valley Street. As recovery efforts get underway, the immediate relief comes in the form of the variety of federal resources that are being made available to Providence residents and business owners affected by the flood. Arguably, in the long term, the real recovery effort coalesces when neighbors - those who live and do business in the area - continue to work together to improve their neighborhood. In Olneyville, that work has already gotten started.

A new program publicly launched last month called "Our Neighborhoods," initially spearheaded by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), has now been handed over to the residents of Olneyville to carry forth. In whole, the "Our Neighborhoods" program aims to cultivate a livable, safe, and healthy environment for the residents of that area.

To learn more about this important neighbor-driven initiative, City News caught up with three stakeholders of the project: Pilar McCloud, an Olneyville resident and founder of an Olneyville nonprofit for youth called A Sweet Creation (ASC); Jessica Vega, a neighborhood program manager for the Olneyville Housing Corporation and an organizer for the Olneyville Youth Group; and Eric Shorter, a senior program officer for LISC.

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Organic Matters on Mount Hope

(April 15 edition)

Mount Hope resident and artist Mary Shawcross moved to Providence with her husband, who is a carpenter, a little more than a decade ago. While walking around her neighborhood, Shawcross stumbled upon a community garden on the corner of Knowles Street and Duncan Avenue. She knew nothing about gardening but was curious to learn more so she approached one of her neighbors about getting involved. It wasn't long before she acquired her own 16-square-foot plot. Ever since then, Shawcross has been cultivating her own produce, along with a dozen plus neighbors, right in the center of Mount Hope.

Today, the Mount Hope Community Garden is a part of a growing group of local gardeners and food-growers that have recently joined together to form the Providence Community Garden Network. This past weekend, eighteen community gardens in the Creative Capital received assistance from the Parks & Recreation Department through the delivery of thirty truckloads full of compost. City News caught up with Shawcross to find out how the compost helps her community garden and what being connected to other gardeners in Providence means for the city.

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Attention Moms and Dads: KidoInfo.com is at Your Fingertips!

(June 10 edition)

Summer vacation is just around the corner and that means many parents will be scurrying around looking for activities to keep their kids busy while school is out. Wouldn't it be smart to collect the many fun offerings that Providence has for your kids on one convenient bulletin board? KidoInfo.com is really smart.

Since 2007, Providence mom-turned-blogger, Anisa Raoof, together with a bunch of other contributing parent-writers, has been compiling an impressive roster of fun and healthy activities to do with kids on their weblog, KidoInfo. Raoof herself started the project while on the hunt for all-things-fun to do with her own twin boys. Before KidoInfo was born, Raoof co-ran the Providence Craft Show and has always been deeply immersed in the creative community of her beloved city. She knew the Creative Capital had a lot to offer not just to adults but to kids as well, but yet no one was gathering and sharing all that useful knowledge for parents in one place. So she took on the job herself.

City News caught up with this very resourceful parent to find out more about what fun things you and your families can do in Providence together, whether on school break or not.

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