WBNA Enews 5.29.09

In this enews:

• WBNA Neighborhood-wide Yard Sale TOMORROW with 20 sales
• West Side House Party at the home of Chris Good & Robyn Ericsson, 77 Parade St., 6/26
• On-street pilot parking coming soon
• Gas meter legislation update

WBNA Neighborhood-wide Yard Sale TOMORROW with 20 sales

Join us tomorrow, Sat. May 30th from 8:30am-1:00pm for the Neighborhood-wide Yard Sale.

Come to WBNA to pick up a map of the 20 other locations or print the list below. Shop for yard sale finds plus visit our plant and bake sale. Visit all 20 sites and get a signature on your map from each sale, return to the WBNA, and be entered to win a special PRIZE!

WBNA NEIGHBORHOOD-WIDE YARD SALE

Sat. May 30, 8:30am-…

This MAP is your West Side Passport. Get a signature from all 20 sites on the map, return signed map to the WBNA and be entered into a drawing for a special prize!!

___WBNA 1560 Westminster St.

___1577 Westminster St.(Urban Greens)

___69 Oak St.

___58 Willow St.

__ 78 Willow St.

__ 127 Willow St.

__ 71 Sycamore St.

__ 107 Messer St.

__ 76 Wood St.

__ 45 Chapin Ave.

__58 Dexter St.

__74 Dexter St.

__ 82 Dexter St.

__ 44 Harrison St.

__ 51 Hammond St.

__ 18 Luongo Mem. Sq. (The Avery)

__ 187 Vinton St.

__ 261 Knight St.

__ 24 Brighton St.

__ 10 Grant St.

__ 5 Bell St. (Bell St. Chapel)

West Side House Party at the home of Chris Good & Robyn Ericsson, 77 Parade St., 6/26

Get inside another of the most intriguing and spectacular houses in the neighborhood. Chris Good and Robyn Ericsson invite you into their home for a fun-filled event featuring a delightful assortment of cocktails, beer, wine and decadent cuisine to benefit the West Broadway Neighborhood Association. Also enjoy a house tour, raffle of gift cards from local restaurants, and a silent auction of pieces by artist Mark Freedman.

Tickets $50 each or 2 for $90

Purchase now at www.wbna.org or by mail.

Only 60 tickets available. RSVP by June 15.

Party Committee: Jane Driver - BJ Dupre – Tripp Evans & Edd Cabral – Chris Good & Robyn Ericsson – Jessica Jennings & Mark O’Neill – Chris Sanford

Thank you to our Generous Neighborhood Supporters:

Jephry Floral Studio – Julian’s – Loie Fuller – Metropolis Hair and Nail Studio - Pastiche Fine Desserts – Sterling Cleaners – Venda Ravioli – Virginia Spanish Peanut Co.

On-street pilot parking coming soon

The City Council Office tells us that the long-awaited On-street Overnight Pilot Parking Program that will cover a large section of Councilman Lombardi’s Ward 13 will be launched soon. If you live in this area, you should be getting a mailing in the next few weeks, announcing a public meeting that will explain how the pilot program will work.

Gas meter legislation update

The status right now is that sister bills H-5088 and S-107 (which allow interior placement of gas meters in historic districts, and restrict meters from being installed on the fronts of any historic or non-historic house unless there is no feasible alternative) have been passed in both the House and Senate with one amendment. The amendment removed an appeals process for homeowners who previously had their meters relocated or installed on house exteriors.

Now that the bills are passed, they're going through a House-Senate reconciliation process that requires another round of committee and floor votes of each bill by opposing chambers. Assuming it’s passed again, the bills go to the Governor for his signature, no signature, or veto. However, National Grid has proposed amendments to the Senate Bill that came before the House Corporations Committee last Tuesday. The proposed amendments are not appropriate and would essentially cause a “loophole” in the legislation. Please call you Senators and Representatives and ask them to pass the bill with no additional amendments. Also give them a call and THANK them for their efforts on the important matter. Senator Jabour and Representative Costantino deserve special thanks.

If you haven't contacted your State Representative or State Senator, please do it now; ask your Rep to support Bill H-5088 in the House and your Senator to support S-0107. To get the e-mail address for your elected officials, just go to:

http://www.sec.state.ri.us/vic

Scroll down to View general voter information and type in your Street address and Zip; you'll get the names and e-mails for your State Senator and State Representative.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Broadway Neighborhood Association, 1560 Westminster Street, 
Providence, RI 02909
Contact: Jessica Jennings, 617-461-5377, or Kari Lang, 401-301-3821.

Community Action Against National Grid Wins Award

Providence, Rhode Island – February 3, 2009 – The Providence Preservation Society is giving the West Broadway Neighborhood Association an award this Saturday, February 7, for its efforts to protect Providence neighborhoods from gas meter installations by National Grid that compromise decades of painstaking historic renovation and millions of dollars worth of investment in the city’s historic heritage.

National Grid’s current practice is to relocate gas meters from the inside of basements to the exterior fronts and front sides of all properties as it systematically upgrades gas mains throughout the state.

“The West Broadway Neighborhood Association's Gas Meter Advocacy Effort not only shows the organization's commitment to historic preservation on the West Side of Providence but also to the rights of urban property owners everywhere,” said George Born, Executive Director of the Providence Preservation Society.

The West Side neighborhood’s battle with National Grid began in July of 2008 but quickly grew to statewide levels when communities and officials became aware of the scope and impact of National Grid’s gas main upgrade and meter relocation program.

“Once we realized that all Rhode Island homes and property owners would be negatively impacted by this little-known aspect of National Grid’s larger gas main replacement program, the issue grew beyond our neighborhood’s concerns to encompass private property rights and the need for consumer protections for all Rhode Islanders,” said Kari Lang, Executive Director of the West Broadway Neighborhood Association.

Councilman John J. Lombardi, Senator Paul V. Jabour and Representative Steven M. Costantino responded quickly to their community’s outrage by attempting negotiations with the utility company last fall. When National Grid refused to compromise, all three officials introduced legislation designed to give protections to homeowners and their properties in relation to utility company practices and policies. The City Ordinance was unanimously passed in City Council last fall while bills H-5088 and S-0107 are currently pending in the House and Senate, respectively.

Multiple citywide neighborhood associations, along with statewide real estate agencies, investors, and preservationists are uniting in a common effort to protect property values and investments for all Rhode Island homes and businesses.

“In this climate of increasing foreclosures putting downward pressure on selling prices, it is in everyone’s best interest to help maintain home values, and I feel that the placement of gas meters on the front of a home will have a negative impact on value not only for historical homes, but for all homes,” said Sally E. Lapides, president and CEO of Residential Properties, Ltd, a Rhode Island-based independent Real Estate brokerage.

Adding urgency to the issue for concerned homeowners is that the utility company’s gas main replacement program has been accelerated nearly four-fold due to an approved rate increase by the Public Utilities Commission that took effect December 1, 2008.

“What’s really terrible, especially in our ailing economy, is that ratepayers are being forced to fund these costly and unnecessary 
meter relocations,” said Jessica Jennings, a leader in the neighborhood’s opposition against gas meter relocations. “The most prudent, cost-effective and ethical action for National Grid to take is to keep gas meters where they are.”