Stop the Presses! Chickens in Cranston!
Rhode Island Tweets @RhodyTweets
#thatssocranston “@CranstonPatch: Welp, ordinance passes 5-4. You can legally raise backyard chickens in Cranston.”
They better watch out, hawks are back too.
New Winter Farmer’s Market Starting in Cranston
From newly re-elected City Councilmember Steve Stycos:
EDGEWOOD WINTER MARKET
Beginning Thursday November 29, Cranston will have its own winter farmer’s market at Edgewood Congregational Church. 1788 Broad Street. The market will be held Thursday evenings from 5:30-7:30, every OTHER week, in the church which is across the street from William Hall Library.
Vendors from the Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market will offer local seasonal produce, honey, seafood, pastured meats, and freshly prepared farm kitchen delights, as well as the fabulous offerings of the Presto Strange-O Coffee Truck! We hope the winter market will supply another local food source and additional income for our farmers.
Please support this new community effort, and spread the word! This market will start as CASH ONLY, since it’s a pilot venture. The only exception is for EBT/SNAP benefits. We will accept EBT payments at the winter market.
EDGEWOOD AUTHOR
Wednesday, December 19 from 6:30-8:00 p.m, Edgewood author Adam Braver will read from his latest book, Misfit, at the William Hall Library. The public is welcome.
EDGEWOOD JAZZ
The Hall Library winter jazz series continues Sunday November 25, Sunday December 2 and Sunday December 9 with free concerts beginning at 2 PM at the Hall Library on Broad Street, Cranston.
See you at the winter market.
Steve Stycos: Update from the Pawtuxet Farmer’s Market
From Steve Stycos:
PAW PAWS
Saturday, the Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market’s will feature the annual Pumpkin and Paw Paw Festival. Paw paws, a tropical tasting fruit native to the Mid-West will be available for sale from Rhode Island’s exclusive paw paw grower, Warwick’s Rocky Point Blueberry Farm. The fruit is rarely available, so try one.
A bake sale to benefit the local Cub Scouts and hay rides through Pawtuxet Village sponsored by Friends of Pawtuxet Village will also happen during the festival. Tickets for the hay rides may be purchased at Twice Told Tales. Advance ticket purchase is recommended.Saturday is also the Halloween costume swap at the market. Those who have already turned in costumes may select new items until 11 AM. The swap is open to everyone else after 11 AM.
Finally, Saturday is the last chance to buy chances on the market coupon book containing a five dollar coupon from each market vendor. Proceeds will provide an incentive for SNAP recipients to shop at the market.
POTS AGAIN
October 20, the market will feature a composting demonstration, free electronics recycling and a plant pot collection. The plant pots will be reused by our farmers. If you missed last week’s pot collection, remember to bring them next week.
PEAT
In an effort to combat global warming, Great Britain plans to phase out the use of peat, according to the New York Times. Use of peat in public parks will be banned in 2015, in backyard gardening in 2020 and in commercial operations in 2030. Supporters of the ban say that peat bogs store more carbon dioxide than rain forests. Although some tout peat as a renewable resource, it takes 100 years for a healthy bog to restore just one half inch of peat. Most peat in the UK comes from Ireland. American peat primarily comes from Canada.
And yes, someone told me Pamela Anderson starred on the TV show “Bay Watch,” not Christy Brinkley. Oh well,
See you at the market.
Thomas Lewis Writes about the Prayer Banner Controversy and its Political Implications
Thomas Lewis, a professor of Religious Studies at Brown, provides an excellent summary of the prayer banner controversy. He points out that Frank Lombardi, whose terrible judgement (IMHO) in the prayer banner controversy helped to fuel the fight with the ACLU, will be squaring off against Gene Dyszlewski, an ordained minister who defended Jessica Ahlquist, for the Rhode Island Senate District 26 seat. More on that to come.
Rhode Island: A Resident Hears Dissent in Roger Williams’ State | Religion & Politics.
The Book is Here!
We got in a big delivery of books today, so those who have requested it will be getting your copies. Local friends: if you would like me to bring a copy to you, let me know! We are also beginning plans for a publication party in late July or early August, so stay tuned!
And for you folks who aren't local, the easiest way to get a copy is through Lulu.com:
Electronic Waste, Garden Plots, and Upcoming Book Sale: Update from Steve Stycos
From Ward One Councilmember Steve Stycos:
BACK TO RHODES
The Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market returns to Rhodes on the Pawtuxet Saturday for our regular season opening and Enviro Day, featuring an electronic waste pick up, composting workshop and booths from numerous environmental groups including Save The Bay, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, the URI watershed model and the URI Master Gardeners. Rain barrels will also be for sale.
The electronic waste pick up is in conjunction with Goodwill Industries. Old computers, TVs, air conditioners, stereos, phones and more will be accepted. A complete list of accepted items is attached to this email.
Donna Dunn of Rhode Island Spa Products will also be at the market this week. She comes once a month with her bath products and lotions. In addition, farmers Mike Dahlquist and Allison Hamel, who organized Enviro Day will have a tent, although it will be several weeks before they have their usual assortment of vegetables.
BOOK SALE
The annual book sale to benefit the Fratantuono boys college education fund will be held at the June 23 market. Book and CD donations are needed and can be dropped on the porches at 25 Berwick Lane, 10 & 18 Williams Avenue or 37 Ferncrest Avenue, Cranston.
GARDEN SPOTS AVAILABLE
An energetic crew of neighborhood volunteers with financial assistance from the City of Cranston has converted a school parking lot into the Edgewood Community Garden at Cherry Woods. The 5000 square foot garden, located behind Edgewood Highland Elementary School on Pawtuxet Avenue, has 4 X 16 foot plots available for residents of Cranston. Plots are $20/year.
No commercial fertilizers or pesticides are allowed and participants must sign an agreement to abide by a short list of rules.
To sign up for a plot, fill out the attached agreement and send $20 to Lisa Gibb, 45 Rhodes Avenue, Cranston 02905.
YACHT CLUB PARTY
Edgewood Yacht Club will host a neighborhood party Sunday June 17 3-5pm under the tent at 3 Shaw Avenue. Edgewood area neighbors are invited to attend for a grill and social time. Boaters are available for tours and information.
CHESS MATCH
Mayor Scott Avedisian and the Friends of Pawtuxet Village will dedicate two chess tables in Pawtuxet Park, Narragansett Parkway, Warwick Monday June 18 at 6 PM (Rain Date: June 21). Anyone at least ten years old is welcome to participate in a game of chess until sundown. Bring your own chess pieces and board.
The Pawtuxet Village Chess Club will meet in the park every Thursday during the summer at 6 PM. $10 annual dues will pay for chess pieces, extra boards and upkeep of the chess tables. For more information, visit friendsofpawtuxetvillage.org .
HALL LIBRARY EVENTS
June 20, 6:30 PM: The Hall Book Group will discuss the novel “The Night Circus”. Erin Morgenstern’s debut work follows the competition of dueling magicians–Celia and Marco–while they unexpectedly fall in love and share a fantastical romance among the dark world of the circus. Please call or email to register.
June 20, 6:30 PM: The Rhode Island Civil War Round Table welcomes David R. Decker of New Hampshire, to lead discussion on General George H. Thomas. General Thomas was a career officer who participated in most of the major battles in the West but failed to garner the acclaim that was given to other officers.
See you at the market.
Edgewood Community Garden Week 5 — Our Little Plot is Getting Big!
Well, Pa, our li’l ones are growin’ up. The spinach and lettuce and spring mix were all harvested after this picture, and the tomatoes are well on their way to producing fruit. The only casualty so far appears to be the one spinach plant that was nibbled down by some creature.
Also included in this gallery are pics of my other not-so-li’l-one on the zipline at the playground which is next to the community garden. In case you forgot how fun it was to go zipping through the air like that on a beautiful June evening, do take a moment to relive it. This one goes really fast, too, way faster than the one at Garden City playground.
Edgewood Community Garden — Our Little Plot — Week 4
Today the weather cleared and we were able to put in 16 more beds at the Edgewood Community Garden, which sits on the corner of the parking lot of Edgewood-Highlands Elementary School. The workers toiled quickly in the hot sun and managed to build and install 8 4-bed units in less than two hours!
You can also see pictures of the progress of our patch of garden. Everything seems to be coming along nicely, although one head of spinach appeared to been gnawed off, probably by a hungry little creature. Other than that, I am impressed at how easily this garden is starting its life.
We also cleared another half bed today and planted seeds for beans, cabbage, radishes, and squash.
Cranston Community Garden — Week One for Our Little Patch!
Our garden started out looking kind of small and scruffy, but after a week’s time, there was significant growth.
We planted cucumbers, lettuce, spring mix, spinach, and tomatoes.
We bought all our starter plants at the Pawtuxet Village Farmer’s Market, so this is a very local experiment in community gardening. I hope our plants thrive, and don’t get eaten by any small hungry animals. Here’s to community spirit and thanks to Steve Stycos and all of the other members of the Cherrywood Community Garden starter group. You can friend us on Facebook here.
Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market Opens Tomorrow
From Steve Stycos:
PAWTUXET VILLAGE FARMERS MARKET OPENS SATURDAY
The Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market opens Saturday May 12 for its year with the addition of a coffee vendor, a fisherman and a new bakery. In addition, returning farmers will have a variety of salad greens and spinach, plus plants.
Our newest vendor is LeFavorite Bakery, located in Governor Francis Shopping Center on Warwick Avenue in the plaza across from Ocean State Job Lot. The bakery offers a variety of breads including Italian, rye, seven grain, pumpernickel and sourdough, in addition to pastries, muffins and cookies. The Rhodes Elementary School PTA will also be holding a bake sale Saturday.
Customers looking for a beverage to go with their LeFavorite Danish, will be able to purchase a variety of cold and hot teas, coffees and expresso from Presto Strange O Coffee Truck. Owners Jay and Jeff Case of Warwick will also offer coffee beans from Coastal Roasters in Tiverton, hot cider from Jaswell Farm in Scituate and cookies, brownies and biscotti from The Cakery in Woonsocket. To save on trash, please consider bringing your own coffee cup to the market.
The Local Catch of Galilee will also rejoin the market for its first full season. Captain Richard Cook was pleased by the support he received last fall. He provides a wide variety of seafood, including scallops, oysters, clams and a variety of fin fish caught by Cook and other local fishermen.
Returning vendors will be led by vegetable growers Bob and Ingrid Fratantuono of Rocky Ledge Farm, the Xiongs, Christina Dedora and Kim Morin of Blue Sky Flower Farm and Frank Martinelli of PV Farm. In addition, Shelley, Peter and Joe Conti Of the Virginia and Spanish Peanut Company, beekeeper Bernie Bieder, Donna Dunn of Rhode Island Spa Products and Fred and Kathy Weber of Wedgewood Flowers will be at them market this spring.
The market is open Saturday mornings from 9 to 12 in the Rhodes on the Pawtuxet parking lot, on Rhodes Place in Pawtuxet Village.
CRAB WALK
Thursday May 17: 6:30 PM: Horseshoe crab walk at Stillhouse Cove with Save the Bay Habitat Restoration Coordinator Wenley Ferguson. Short walk during a spring moon tide to watch horseshoe crabs mate and review the cove restoration. Meet at the cove’s south end at the junction of Ocean Avenue and Narragansett Boulevard in Cranston. Rain date Friday May 18 at 6:30 PM.
CLEAN UP
Saturday May 12 the Edgewood Waterfront Preservation Association is sponsoring a Stilllhouse Cove Cleanup from 9 to 12. Bring rubber boots.
T SHIRTS
The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation’s is selling T-shirts to fund nutrition education initiatives in schools. You can see the shirt at http://www.teespring.com/realfood.
NEWS
If you haven’t received one in the mail, the annual issue of The Pawtuxet River Rag is out with market and other environmental news. Free copies are available at the recycling table.
See you Saturday at the market.
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