July 27,2005
2020 VISION FOR PROVIDENCE: EIGHT STEPS FOR RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT
June 27, 2005
U.S. IRAQ WAR WEAPON CONTAMINATING ATMOSPHERE
June 23, 2005
RHODE ISLAND GREENS FIGHT FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Press Releases
Green Party of Rhode Island
THE GPRI RESPONDS TO PROPOSED 2020 VISION FOR PROVIDENCE: EIGHT STEPS FOR RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 26, 2005
Contact:
Jeff Toste - Co-Chair, GPRI - (401) 455-1775
Cynthia Rose - Co-Chair, GPRI (401) 996-2044
PROVIDENCE: The Green Party of Rhode Island (GPRI) today responded to the much-talked about plans for future development and zoning changes in Providence with a eight steps for responsible development. "Vision for Providence 2020" is being developed by Sasaki Associates, a Boston architectural and urban design firm, and was commissioned by Mayor David N. Cicilline of Providence.
1) Traffic studies
2) Affordable housing
3) Environmental Zoning
4) Waterfront Zoning
5) Maintain character and aesthetic
6) Proper Federal Hill zoning
7) Responsible Highways
8) Zoning vote
1) Traffic studies: How can we plan a responsible "framework" for our city, if we don't know how development will affect traffic and our community's mobility? A responsible vision means responsible planning with traffic studies before ALL development.
2) Affordable housing: Any and all development must not displace the working people of the community. Inclutionary zoning addresses this potential problem. A percentage of the development and/or a percentage of money spent in development are invested into creating affordable housing. This insures a diverse community and minimizes displacement.
3) Environmental Zoning: A responsible vision for Providence must be responsible to our environment. As Inclutionary zoning mandates affordable housing, "Environmental Zoning" could mandate a percentage of development and or percentage of money spent by a developer invested into greenspace and "Green" buildings. Building design that includes use of recycled materials, use of renewable energy such as solar panels, improved insulation and various other standards to insure our future health and well being.
4) Waterfront Zoning: As the capital of the Ocean State, situated at the head of the Narragansett Bay, Providence should do all in its power to facilitate public access to and use of its waterfront. Waterfront attractions are important -- and that means more than narrow linear access and walkways. Boating and fishing, which are rarely seen today, should be the norm, as they are in other cities that have such expansive waterfronts.
5) Maintain character and aesthetic: One of the most appealing and attractive aspects of Providence is its history: clearly exemplified it the design of its architecture. Future development must not be out of character and scale, so as not to ruin what makes Providence unlike any other destination.
6) Proper Federal Hill zoning: One of THE best known tourism destinations of Rhode Island. In order to keep in character and scale, which is one of the essential aspects of what attracts people to Federal Hill's old-world stores and restaurants, is to not allow development above a reasonable height. For example, a maximum height of 45 feet would seem an appropriate scale.
7) Responsible Highways: The roadways that bring people to our community not only add or detract from its aesthetic appeal, but also effect its economic development. We must insure that in addition to preventing any out of scale highway or roadway "improvements," we must also not isolate poorer communities from the benefits of future development.
8) Zoning vote: At the heart of all the discussion regarding our city future, are the zoning laws that will be changed to match the proposed "vision." Once these laws are changed, so changes the character of our state. Members of the communities affected should have the opportunity to put any proposed zoning law changes to a vote.
End of release
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 27, 2005
Contact:
Jeff Toste - Co-Chair, GPRI - (401) 455-1775
Cynthia Rose - Co-Chair, GPRI (401) 996-2044
The Green Party of Rhode Island (GPRI) demands an end to the use of Depleted Uranium.
(Providence) The GPRI today urged our local and national elected officials to take action to end the use of a growing danger to our communities: Depleted Uranium. Depleted Uranium (DU) is a radioactive material used in weaponry developed by the U.S. military. It is currently used in the ongoing Iraq war, and previously used in numerous US military operations including the Gulf war.
In a recent interview with Leuren Moret, a Geoscientist and geologist (http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/News/2005/11-20/19news03.htm), Ms. Moret describes DU as not only a threat to U.S. soldiers, their families, and innocent victims of the war(s), but to the U.S. and world peoples.
"Of 251 Gulf War I veterans in Mississippi, in 67 percent of them, their babies born after the war were deemed to have severe birth defects," said Ms. Moret. "They had brains missing, arms and legs missing, organs missing. They were born without eyes. They had horrible blood diseases. It’s horrific."
Depleted uranium weapons systems first appeared on record in the U.S. patent office in 1968 for the Navy. They have been sold by U.S. weapons manufacturers around the world and used by the U.S. military in the current Iraq War, Gulf War, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.
DU is released as radioactive dust and is feared to raise cancer rates worldwide. According to the article, vast regions around the world including the atmosphere in the United States are contaminated with depleted uranium. The amount of radioactivity is the equivalent number of atoms as over 400,000 Nagasaki bombs. According Ms. Moret regarding the speed at which DU travels in the atmosphere, "What is over there [in Iraq] is over here [US] in about four days."
DU radiation is linked to mutation in DNA, birth defects, leukemia, rectal cancer, uterine cancer, burning syndrome, increased global infant mortality, damage to mood-control mechanisms in the brain, and many other illnesses and irreversible damage to plant and animal life. It is a systemic and a radiological poison.
The GPRI calls upon all elected officials to act upon the international movement to bring about an end the use, manufacture, storage, sale and deployment of this life threatening material.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Ben Gworek
Green Party of Rhode Island
(401)-316-3697
bgworek@lifefantastic.org
www.greens.org/ri
Providence, RI, June 23, 2005 - In response to growing homelessness rates and proposed cuts to several housing programs by the Bush administration, the Green Party of Rhode Island has taken on the issue of affordable housing as one of its primary campaigns. While active on a number of initiatives calling for better conditions for low-income Rhode Islanders, Greens now view the affordable housing issue as one that touches nearly everyone, regardless of income. Between 1999 and 2004, Rhode Island’s median housing cost has increased at eleven times the rate of the median income, placing homeownership out of the reach of tens of thousands of working Rhode Islanders. As a result, job growth has slowed due to the inability of many workers to find suitable homes for their families.
"It is important to realize that the effects of the housing shortage are far reaching, forcing even moderate income families to make difficult choices between housing costs, food, and health care, among many other expenses" stated Ben Gworek, a local Green and housing advocate. "We strongly support the efforts of groups such as the One Rhode Island Coalition, Housing Works, and the Statewide Housing Action Coalition", all of which support platforms calling for increased state aid for affordable housing production and rehabilitation. Green Party of Rhode Island co-chair Jeff Toste stated "These programs seek to invest in the people of our state, helping them establish the stability they need to reach their full potential."
The Greens have actively lobbied in support of a number of bills, including H5175/S0651, which calls for an increase of funding for the Neighborhood Opportunities Program, which provides grants for the production of affordable housing. Rhode Island currently spends just five dollars per capita on housing production, as compared to twenty-five dollars in Massachusetts and twenty-one dollars in Connecticut. Nationally, the Greens have been active in drumming up opposition to the State and Local Housing Flexibility Act, an initiative of the Bush administration that would make it difficult for public housing agencies to serve those most in need of assistance.
Locally, David Segal, Rhode Island’s first elected Green and Providence City Council member, has spearheaded the city’s effort to adopt an inclusionary zoning ordinance. Inclusionary zoning mandates that a percentage of every new development be set aside for subsidized, affordable homes. "This is a model that has worked tremendously in communities across the country" said Segal. "The result of inclusionary zoning is an increase in affordable housing, mixed income neighborhoods, and an overall improved sense of community. The bonus is that inclusionary zoning can be implemented at no cost to the city".
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