BBC News’  North America Editor, Mark Mardell, was on Osborn Street recently to interview Rhode Island Housing Deputy Director, Susan Bodington, about the impact of stimulus funding on the local economy.  This piece, which was aired on Friday 8/27 on BBC America, investigates national economic woes in relation to government  reaction and will focus on, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke’s remarks about more possible Fed action.  The picture below features the BBC film crew and Mr. Mardell, interviewing RIH’s Susan Bodington, with RIH’s communications team, Amy Lanctot and Faye Zukerman, and SHCDC’s Project Manager, Christian Caldarone, keeping an eye on the proceedings.

Click here to read Mr. Mardell’s BBC blog.

Click here to watch the news clip on BBC News

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As part of Smith Hill CDC’s continuing effort to employ sustainable technologies and practices in every aspect of our development work, we are excited to be currently working with Clean Hands, a new Rhode Island business whose mission is to reduce or eliminate the landfill footprint of the products they recycle at little to no cost to the end user.  Clean Hands employs alternative recycling methods to remove residential and commercial waste that is typically thrown out.  In Smith Hill CDC’s case, Clean Hands is removing every refrigerator, stove, oven, hot water heater and boiler, regardless of condition, from all of our vacant houses which will soon be developed into affordable housing units.

Once these items are removed, Clean Hands will process each item, designating some for repair and resale through used appliance dealers, breaking some down into useful replacement parts, and recycling most of the remaining material.  The key is that careful screening allows for a far greater percentage of reuse than simply selling everything for scrap metal, where over 40% of the material still results in waste.   The methods employed by Clean Hands allow for approximately 95% of material reuse.  Beyond these benefits, the service is also free, which results in thousands of dollars of savings from removal to dumping fees to the CDC and the Visions II project.  Clean Hands free appliance and waste removal services are available to anyone by filling out the application on its website.  Click the Clean Hands link above.

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District 7, Lieutenant Daniel Gannon, is conducting Providence’s first Citizens Police Academy in Smith Hill beginning in late April.

The academy is free and available to anyone.  It is a nine week course that meets weekly for two hours.  There will be many guest speakers, interactive exercises and ride-alongs with on-duty officers.

For more information please contact District 7 Commanding Officer,
Lt. Daniel Gannon at dgannon@providenceri.com or call the substation at 206 Camden Ave, 243-6970.

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Smith Hill CDC is proud to co-sponsor a six-week home ownership class with the Housing Network at Capitol Square at Smith Hill, located at 231 Douglas Ave., Providence, beginning on Tuesday March 2.  Classes will run each Tuesday until April 6th.  These are classes are a requirement of most first-time home ownership financial assistance programs.  Learn everything from personal budgeting and cleaning up your credit, to the ins and outs of owning a home.  The price is only $50.  If you are interested, please call 521-1461 to reserve your spot now.  Space is limited.

Smith Hill Homebuyer’s Class 3/32/10

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The Institute for t he Study and Practice of Nonviolence is sponsoring an MLK Day Community Celebration Monday, January 18 from noon until 8:00pm at the Roger’s Recreation Center, located at 60 Camden St.  The purpose of “Choose Community Choose Peace” is to not only recognize Martin Luther King (MLK) Day, but to also celebrate as a community and to appreciate our community’s diversity.

The celebration will begin with a free community lunch and Community Fair from 12 – 2.  The food has been donated by area restaurants and many community organizations will be on hand to share information about services and volunteer opportunities.  The rest of the day and evening will feature a Talent Show and various Tournaments, including ping-pong, 3 on 3 basketball and Madden NFL XBOX Football competitions.   MLK Day Celebration Flyer

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