Rhode Island Feeds

A man is killed when a car falls on top of him.

A man is killed when a car falls on top of him.

Officials say the city is in “extreme fiscal stress.“

A creative spin on classic comfort food
A roadside diner on a busy thoroughfare like Route 138 on Aquidneck Island has a captive audience of New York-to-Cape Cod travelers and summer visitors to nearby vineyards.

A roadside diner on a busy thoroughfare like Route 138 on Aquidneck Island has a captive audience of New York-to-Cape Cod travelers and summer visitors to nearby vineyards (Newport and Greenvale). To hold onto that clientele, it must prove its mettle with solid versions of the classics while also tossing a few creative sandwiches and salads onto the menu.

ANNA D CAFÉ | 401.683.6338 | annadcafe.com | 954 East Main Rd, Portsmouth | Mon-Sat, 6:30 Am-8 Pm; Sun, 7 Am-8 Pm | Major Credit Cards | Beer + Wine | Sidewalk-Level AccessAnna Dimattino has been doing just that for the past four years at her Anna D Café. She just opened the adjacent ice cream stand in April, so it’s a full-service stop at her eatery: gourmet coffee (and its espresso incarnations) with house-made pastries; a wide array of paninis, grinders, and wraps; then ice cream (Hershey’s Supreme) or gelato (local Cold Fusion).

Breakfast sandwiches, on toast, bagels, English muffins, croissants, or in a wrap are available all day, and for me they were filling enough to have for two meals. Bill had Anna’s signature “breakfast wrap” with two egg patties, bacon, sausage, and ham, plus cheese, onion, and tomato ($7.50). One egg with cheese and one meat is $3.85, so his wrap was a bargain and a very filling breakfast.

The Mexican breakfast wrap is listed with two egg patties, plus sausage, bacon, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onion, tomato, and sour cream ($7.50). I had a yen for the Mexican spiciness but not the meats, so I requested it without, and it was quite good.

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A Troop of Echoes spend Days In Automation
The melodic noise collective known as A Troop of Echoes will unveil their full-length debut Days In Automation next weekend at AS220, hosting their album release party alongside an impressive gathering of local support.

 
WAITING FOR PHILIP GLASS The Troop troupe.

The melodic noise collective known as A Troop of Echoes will unveil their full-length debut Days In Automation next weekend at AS220, hosting their album release party alongside an impressive gathering of local support (including Mahi Mahi). And the South County-based quartet is already signed on for an afternoon set at this year’s Foo Fest, set to invade Empire Street in mid-August. A Troop of Echoes are indeed a product of their environment, what they refer to as “the bizarre art school-meets-filthy warehouse stew of Providence, RI.” That sentiment is echoed within the array of live acts A Troop of Echoes have teamed with, from Roz Raskin and Stalemate to hardcore face-shredders YavinFive.

The unique ingredient in ToE’s instrumental romps, as opposed to like-minded experts like California Smile, Bellows, and Nature/Nurture, is the saxophone (alto and soprano), courtesy of band founder Peter Gilli. Five years ago he approached friends with the novel idea of a saxophone-fronted rock band, and both Gilli and drummer Dan Moriarty are quick to salute Sonic Youth, as well as Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, as vital influences. Their entertaining, horn-tooting bio dubs their approach “the frantic noise of Sonic Youth’s most avant-garde wet dreams” giving way to “high-energy, song-based, instrumental dance rock,” along with this smug yet enticing reference:“Stan Getz watches impartially from a distance as Lightning Bolt crashes the party. Then Philip Glass replaces the windows.”

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projo: Driver has twice legal alcohol limit after Cranston crash http://bit.ly/977kOE

Officials in Central Falls say the city is broke and have asked a judge to place it in receivership. This morning, lawyers for the city filed a receivership petition in Superior Court. It claims that for 2009-10, the state’s smallest, and poorest, city was looking at a $3 million shortfall in its nearly $18 million budget and a projected deficit of $5 million in the 2010-11 budget.

Information taken from Providence Journal.

The RI Department of Environmental Management is holding a public workshop on changes to their ISDS standards at the Portsmouth Town Hall tonight at 7pm, according to a posting on the DEM Web site.

Am I the only one for whom this is a surprise? Good communications plan there, folks. And, not to be paranoid, but is the DEM's sudden appearance in Portsmouth just one of those random coincidences?

If you can't make it tonight, there's a public comment period and a hearing date specified in the link above. I downloaded the Draft Rules, and it is 137 pages of strikethroughs and insertions. If you live in Island Park, you'll want to take a peek.

A Superior Court judge on Wednesday appointed a Pawtucket attorney as Central Falls’ temporary receiver after the City Council voted Tuesday night to declare the city insolvent.

The Rhode Island Communities for Addiction Recovery Efforts (RICARES) named Portsmouth Sen. Chuck Levesque as their "State Senator of the Year" today, according to a general assembly press release. RICARES also honored Rep Scott Slater as legislator, and Dale Klatzker as advocate of the year during their 11th annual Legislative Day program.

Ian Knowles, RICARES director, and Leslie Miller, board member, presented the award to Sen. Levesque and the others during a state house ceremony, recognizing, "the support they have shown in the legislature for RICARES and their consistent, compassionate work on the issues of addiction and recovery."

RICARES is a grass-roots alliance dedicated to developing a voice for and decreasing stigmas about those in alcohol and or drug dependency recovery. The group is affiliated with the New England Alliance for Addiction Recovery and the Drug and Alcohol Association of RI.

Editorial note: Written from a general assembly press release.

In defense of expense
The beer industry is generally considered recession-proof, since people are still going to drink beer when times get tough. But has the same been true for more expensive craft beer in the recent recession?

The beer industry is generally considered recession-proof, since people are still going to drink beer when times get tough. But has the same been true for more expensive craft beer in the recent recession?

Not too long ago one of my favorite fellow beer bloggers, Jeff Alworth of beervana.blogspot.com, commissioned a very unscientific but still interesting survey on whether the recession had influenced personal drinking habits. An impressive 53 percent responded that in some way their drinking habits had already changed. Obviously a shift is underway, which leaves the question of how to continue drinking craft beer when on a budget.

This isn’t just a theoretical exercise for the Smith household, as my wife was recently laid off along with several hundred other teachers in her district. Being reduced to a single income would certainly alter our lifestyle, drinking habits included. Judging by Rhode Island’s 12.6 percent unemployment rate, the third highest in the country, we aren’t the only ones making tough choices.

Making matters worse is beer’s rising price tag. The past few years have seen the largest cost increase for ingredients since the dawn of the craft beer movement. With many farmers shifting to planting corn in order to cash in on lucrative ethanol prices, the cost of a pound of malted barley has increased by 50 percent. Still more pronounced is the shortage of hops, which have quadrupled in price in some places! Even the cost of glass bottles has gone up. Every one of these costs is passed on to the consumer, giving you the days of $10 six-pack that are now upon us.

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Shaping up for the summer — in two exhausting weeks
If you’re reading this now, it may be too late. It’s the middle of May, and beach season is right around the corner.

If you’re reading this now, it may be too late. It’s the middle of May, and beach season is right around the corner. It was almost too late for me, when my editors told me I had two weeks to complete a story about getting in shape — a piece I’d pitched as a one-month journey. But, as my astute superiors pointed out, no one wants to read about firming up when they’re already wearing a bikini.

So here, you won’t read about my mind-blowing transformation from average build to super-fit (unfortunately). Rather, you’ll read about my crash course in various means to that end: trying to look and feel amazing with a little help from oversize rubber bands, bars, balls, bells, gizmos, and iPad-like gadgets.

A little about me (without getting all Bridget Jones-y): I’m moderately active but don’t work out regularly; I could stand to lose some pounds and increase my strength and flexibility; I eat relatively well but don’t watch my calorie intake as much as I should.

And now a little about my regime: toward the end of 2009, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and the American Council of Sports Medicine both released lists of their predictions for the top exercise trends of 2010. These included personal training, “functional fitness” (time-saving workouts that improve daily activities), increased use of fitness apps on smartphones and the Internet, specialty exercise classes, and Pilates. I tried them all.

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projo: Union endorses RI application for Race to the Top cash http://bit.ly/9Ncbim

projo: Fatal Charlestown motorcycle accident goes to A.G. http://bit.ly/aaLvKO

projo: URI scientist believes East Coast safe from Gulf oil spill http://bit.ly/cVNIwN

projo: East Providence High janitor charged with child porn http://bit.ly/9UU9x0

Steven Jobe’s haunting Joan of Arc
What beautiful voices and music in this event. Steven Jobe’s Joan of Arc: An Opera In Three Acts is at once ambitious and quite modest, but vocally and musically it remains a pleasure throughout its three brief acts at the Blackstone River Theater in Cumberland (through May 23).

What beautiful voices and music in this event. Steven Jobe’s Joan of Arc: An Opera In Three Acts is at once ambitious and quite modest, but vocally and musically it remains a pleasure throughout its three brief acts at the Blackstone River Theater in Cumberland (through May 23).

Photo: Tom Stio
GENTLE AND STALWART Wakim.

That brevity — 90 minutes, including intermission — has much to do with the success. The quality of the performers easily sustains our interest over that time, although the no- to-low-budget production values would more likely distract us if this performance were of an epic length to match the epic story.

Jobe, who wrote the music and the libretto, was interested in focusing on the mysterious visions of Joan more than the warrior saga usually depicted. In that regard, the opera is subtitled “A shepherd girl, gone mad for the angels.”

Directed by Bob Colonna, the result is an atmospheric portrait, an hour and a half of modulating moods suitable to be conveyed through a 16-person orchestra, conducted by Mark Davis, and 13 voices. Joan of Arc was first performed about 10 years ago, and this is presented as “fully staged” for the first time. However, since this is more an internal rather than visual offering, it might be more effective with the actors in black and us simply imagining upraised swords and costumes, just as we imagine horses in staged battle scenes. As it is, fleurs-de-lis on black plastic ponchos diminish rather than enhance the sense of being there.

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projo: Check on bridge before graduation, URI tells travelers http://bit.ly/bojLlb

Courtesy of wordpress.com

Fifteen years ago, a monumental tournament took place in South Africa that served as an important turning point in that country’s history. That tournament was the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It was a hugely important time in Nelson Mandela’s term as President, as he attempted to recreate South Africa’s image in the post-Apartheid age.

Now, the year is 2010. The World Cup, our planet’s most popular sporting event, is back after a four-year hiatus. While this year’s tournament may not inspire an Oscar-nominated film starring Morgan Freeman, it will surely entertain millions of fans around the world as they cheer for their respective nations to reign victorious.

Over the 32-day period leading up to this year’s World Cup, I will be taking an in-depth look at each of the 32 participating teams. If you’re keeping track at home, that works out to one team per day. Today we look at our home country, the USA!

Key Players: The solid play of Clint Dempsey in an otherwise lackluster 2006 World Cup surprised some people, but after his recent form with Fulham, opponents will be gunning for him. Along with Landon Donovan, he anchors an experienced Midfield group that will not be afraid of their opponents. In Attack, the young Jozy Altidore will have to step up in major ways in order for the USA to get goals on the board. He has shown impressive ability in his short career, and this could be a chance for him to become one of America’s shining stars. In goal, the play of Tim Howard will also be vital. He largely carried the United States team during the Confederations Cup last year, and he may have to do the same this time around.

USA

Uncle Sam will have his eyes on South Africa this summer. Courtesy of tcc.edu.

Past Experience: America has not traditionally been seen as a soccer powerhouse, and soccer clearly takes a back seat to sports like baseball, basketball, and football here. Its best finish in a World Cup was also its first finish in a World Cup, as they managed 3rd place in the inaugural tournament of 1930. However, their quarterfinals appearance in 2002 led to some cautious optimism in the United States. Perhaps this time around the Americans will be able to find their form and do some damage in the World Cup.

Prognosis: Group C is by no means a cakewalk, but it could have been much worse. Slovenia and Algeria are teams that can perform, but the United States should get at least 4 points out of those two games in my opinion. England will be a tough match, but if the United States take care of business in those other two matches, it won’t matter. I believe that America will make it out of Group C, but likely not advance any farther than that. I hope I’m wrong and we Yankees our holding the cup in a couple months!

Prediction: 2nd Place, Group C

PROVIDENCE, RI -- Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will honor 90 high school students with 2010 Civic Leadership Awards at a State House ceremony this Friday. The awards are given annually to members of the senior class who make outstanding contributions to their schools and their hometowns. ...