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Greetings! ,
2010 Special Edition, Election Issue.
Please review the Candidates Questionnaires, Forum topics and questions-in order to be fully informed before going to the Voting Booths on November 2nd! Visit our website: www.allianceforlivablenewport.org/
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 Government Accountability
City Council Candidates-October Forums
In October, ALN continued and concluded the series of public information forums related to the local election on November 2 that began in September with candidate forums featuring the candidates for the 2nd Ward City Council seat and the candidates for the four At Large City Council seats. In October the candidates for the seven Newport School Committee seats and the candidates for the 1st and 3rd Ward City Council seats were given their opportunities to speak at candidate forums. In addition, a forum was held to discuss the pros and cons of the Ballot Question asking Newport's voters to approve a $30,000,000 bond issue to pay for a new elementary school.
Read More...
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 Infrastructure & Environment
September 23rd Financial Forum Summary
ALN's Fourth Annual Financial Forum, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Financial Forum", was held in the Program Room of the Newport Public Library on September 23. It began with Fred Best speaking about the financial aspects of the Water and Sewer Systems upgrades facing Newport. Next, Ron Becker spoke about the Newport's Fiscal Year 2011 Budget approved by the City Council on June 23. He began with a discussion of Newport's low property tax rate and raised concerns about the application of one-time revenues to cover ongoing expenditures and the mismatching of revenues and expenses in order to keep the rate low. As an example, he talked about the School Department budgeting for current health benefits only, instead of contributing to the City's trust fund designed to cover unfunded future liabilities. Read More... |
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 Education
"The Pros and Cons of building a new elementary school"
On October 19 a forum was held on the School Bond Ballot Question in the Program Room at the Newport Public Library. A panel consisting of School Superintendent John Ambrogi and current School Committee Chairperson (and candidate for re-election) Jo Eva Gaines speaking in favor of the Ballot Question and Candidate for State Representative Patrick Donovan speaking in opposition presented their positions. This was followed by questions and statements by members of the audience. The audience participation portion of the forum delved more deeply into critical issues and gave a more complete view of the differences between supporters and the opposition.
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Public Health & Safety
THE Aquidneck Island WATERSHED COUNCIL ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The Aquidneck Island Watershed Council held its second annual conference at Salve Regina University on September 30. The Conference's keynote speaker was Dr. Eric Strauss, Presidential Professor with a specialty in Urban Ecology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Before moving to Los Angeles, Dr. Strauss was the Founding Director of Environmental Studies at Boston College where he taught for 15 years. His presentation explained the concept of an Urban Ecology Institute (UEI) and the many positive influences its work can have on the community. As an example, he cited the re- greening of urban landscapes - part of the UEI's sustainable cities program. The planting of trees and renewal of urban landscapes bring a new sense of ecological health and energy to communities that have participated. Read more... |
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Neighborhoods
Fred Best, Top of the Hill Neighborhood Representative.....
 Born in New York City, Fred grew up in Watchung, New Jersey. A degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, prepared him for 6 years at Johns Manville doing filtration research and then 16 years as Technical Director of a small manufacturing company.
Fred made a major career change by earning a graduate level certificate in Sports Medicine from Kean College and then spent the next 12 years designing and implementing health management programs for Johnson & Johnson, a healthcare corporation. This job took him all over the US, Canada, as well as to Brazil, New Zealand and Australia.
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Profiles
 Meet John Hirschboeck ALN Secretary...
John is head of Cloverly Consulting, a not for profit marketing consulting firm in Newport, Rhode Island. Cloverly works pro-bono with other non-profit organizations to improve their marketing and communication efforts. Arts Orange County, KOCE-TV public television, the California Missions, The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art and the Newport Bristol County Convention and Visitor's Bureau are just a few of the projects John has consulted on. Read More...
E-Mail John with your ideas and concerns for making Newport more livable. |
Upcoming Events:
November 2, 2010
Elections for City Council Seats, School Committee Seats, School Bond Ballot
Let's all get out and Vote!
Historic Hill Annual Meeting
November 18, 6-8 p.m.
Trinity Church
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Volunteer Opportunites
 ALN is always looking for volunteers and needs your help with all of our focus areas. To learn more about ALN's Volunteer opportunities please contact the Currently we are looking for someone who may be interested in helping create a "Neighborhood Association Map" for the website: if interested contact Jack McVicker.
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Any opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily the opinion or views of the ALN Board.
Articles contributed by: Ron Becker, Fred Best, Susan Wells and John Hirschboeck.
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