Tagged: Providence

A plan to fill Kennedy Plaza in Providence with a mix of pedestrian-friendly activities will be announced Thursday evening.

The effort to populate Kennedy Plaza with more people is being led by the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy. The group’s head, Cliff Wood, said it will take time and a mix of millions of dollars in public and private money to reach the goal. The vision is to fill Kennedy Plaza with a variety of uses, like transit, shopping, socializing, concerts, a beer garden and children’s programs.

A new farm and garden supply store on the West Side of Providence has become a source of neighborhood controversy.  Residents rallied Sunday in support of the business called Cluck!.

About a hundred people sipped coffee and munched on scones at the Sunday morning rally.  They were there to support a new store that aims to supply small growers and chicken farmers in the city.  Community member Alice Danahy says the storefront, which used to be an abandoned gas station, was an eyesore.

Groundbreaking was held outside downtown Providence for the newest phase of the I-195 relocation project.

The redevelopment will repair streets, create public spaces, and prepare land for commercial use on the 35 acre parcel west of the Providence River.

Rhode Island Department of Transportation Deputy Director Phillip Kydd says the program helps to free up crucial land for development in Providence.

The nation’s first Food Tourism Conference is coming to Providence thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign which reached its goal of $12,000 over the past weekend.

Seth Resler is a foodie, and he believes there are many others out there like him. 

That’s the idea behind the first Taste Trekkers Food Tourism Conference. 

Resler, who has produced a number of food-related events, believes that there is a large number of people who base a major part of their vacation planning on where and what they will eat.

Providence Police say crime in the city fell four percent last year.  The news comes as detectives investigate the capital city’s first murder of the year. Twenty-year-old Wesley Smith was gunned down Wednesday night on Dudley Street in south Providence.

Both burglaries and robberies fell by double digits, continuing a 20-year trend.

There were five more murders last year than there were in 2011. But Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare says even the higher number is consistent with the city’s 20 year average of 20 murders per year.