riari

right. Along the same lines, someone else in the audience commented that Riley is from the Cianci (and Daley) tradition. And maybe those guys recognize the value of sticking their necks out (or tightening the screws) to save a landmark. Without Buddy, there would be no more Prov City Hall, no more PPAC, etc.

After hearing Charleston, SC Mayor Joseph Riley's talk for PPS last night, I'd say that our gov and mayor could get a lot more involved in telling developers what they can and can't do. From what he said last night, he is very proactive in brokering deals that make Charleston a better place. When his building inspectors would tell him that a historic bldg had to come down, that it was impossible to reuse, he told them to put up scaffolding and wait til the right proposal came around. And they did.

any suggestions for the best places to walk or drive around to see overthetop xmas light displays? In Brooklyn, Bensonhurst was the place, but I never was sure where to go in RI. Never been to LaSallette either. Looking for one single crazy house, or a whole street or neighborhood of them.

I remember walking to the Cinerama to see The Muppet Movie (1979) at least five times.

Back to Pawtucket... I missed the gist of what the Barton St. VISTA volunteer said. She talked about doing a survey among residents, and the result was ? Someone, fill me in I must have been staring at the RR hats at that point. Also, while the forum last night was Pawtucket City Council, only a few people representing statewide or national organizations actually made the point that rail service from the pawtucket/cfalls depot would be good for Rhode Island. Besides GrowSmart, where were the environmental organizations, where were the sustainable transportation people, where was DOT? Were they invited or not? Don't they see what's at stake? Rail service in Pawtucket/CFalls is not just about Pawtucket/CFalls! Of all the people I know who commute to Boston from RI, at least 2/3 DRIVE to S. Attleboro to park and catch the train rather than go to Prov. Sure, part of the problem is the Prov schedule (yes, getting better). I know that walking, biking, or taking the bus can be done (see Urbie), but go ahead and count the RI plates in the Attleboro T parking lot. I'm not saying this comes as a big surprise to UP types, but DUH the train station is NOT just a Pawt/CFalls issue. Is part of the problem that that voices from the region and the state aren't part of the discussion?

Thanks, all. And to think I AGREE with a Yankee fan.

I can't load either providenceplanning.org or providencetomorrow.org. Same for providenceplanning.com or providenceplanning.com Huh?

thanks for the welcomes, but whoops I meant to post somewhere else. It'll take some getting used how this urban planet thing works (easy to read, but not so easy to debut in the right place). I was away for college/work/gradschool/work for the 90s. Just like Lovecraft, I figured out that there was really no point in settling down anywhere else. Everything else was temporary. I had drunk too much water from the Athenaeum fountain to resist.

Hi there. I've been reading the boards for a couple months, and I'm very impressed by the range of topics, the thoughtful discussion, and the good humor. I'm a Prov native who left town in the late 1980s and returned in 2000 to find the city reinventing itself. When I came back to town once in 1997, I walked around the riverwalk at night and couldn't get over the fact that there were people...walking...in/near downtown...at night! It blew me away. Glad to be in prov and in the conversation. riari