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Full-Text Articles in Place and Environment

Where Are We Going? Tv Show Seeks Answers, Chester Smolski Feb 2000

Where Are We Going? Tv Show Seeks Answers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"How will the future Rhode Island look, and will it be better than today? Where will new development take place? How will this development affect cities and towns? Will there be adequate and affordable housing, and where will it be built? Will there be enough land available for future growth, as well as water, sewers, roads and other infrastructure to accommodate this additional population? And will communities try to prevent growth or work to accommodate it? The future is in our hands, and how we address such issues will determine how well our children will live in the not too …


Retaining The Charm Of Rhode Island, Chester Smolski Jan 1998

Retaining The Charm Of Rhode Island, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The town of Exeter in Washington County is an unusual place--it is classified as one of the few remaining rural communities in the state. With 86 percent of Rhode Island considered urban by the Census Bureau, rural designation is something special in this second most densely settled state in the union."


City Ratings Need Closer Scrutiny, Chester Smolski Oct 1995

City Ratings Need Closer Scrutiny, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The September issue of Money magazine has just come out with its ninth annual ranking of the best "places" in the country in which to live. Somewhat of a surprise, five of the top ten are in Florida, with Gainsville garnering the number one position, and Jacksonville, Ocala, Fort Lauderdale and Naples in positions 3, 5, 6 and 10 respectively."


That Precious 'Ambience', Chester Smolski Feb 1992

That Precious 'Ambience', Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Colette Peters, former Rhode Island School of Design student, renowned cake baker and author of Colette's Cakes, was recently asked about her food memories of Providence. This current resident of New York said, 'Haven Brothers! We'd go to Haven Brothers for hot dogs when I was a student at RISD. It was what we could afford.'"


Love The City? Live In It, Chester Smolski Jan 1991

Love The City? Live In It, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"In a recent editorial lauding retired Providence Police Chief Walter Clark, the Journal stated that in choosing a new police chief the most important single quality should be professionalism. The Journal might have added that the new chief should also reside in teh city, because of the 24-hour on-call and hands-on nature of the work expected of such an important position. It should not take a long distance telephone call to reach that person at home, as is so often necessary in times of trouble."


Voting Districts Can Be A Bone Of Contention, Chester Smolski Aug 1990

Voting Districts Can Be A Bone Of Contention, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Size rather than number of voters is the criterion used in establishing district size. The difference in size between the largest and smallest districts from the ideal district, where all districts have the same population, is a source of contention. In 182 when Providence changed from 13 to 15 wards, there was a deviation of 10.6 percent between wards, deemed acceptable by the courts because, the judge ruled, the US Supreme Court has said 1.9 percent is acceptable. In the recent Johnston case, the total deviation came to 52.7 percent--a figure much too high to accept."


Head Counting That Counts, Chester Smolski Apr 1989

Head Counting That Counts, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Next April, the Census Bureau will take on the principal task for which it was created: To count each member of this nation. No small chore, considering that the number will approach one-quarter billion persons. The 21st decennial undertaking will be watched closely because the numbers will help determine where new markets might be sited, where federal dollars may flow, and a host of other conclusions that may be drawn by ascertaining the numbers and locations of people. But the results will be most closely scrutinized by politicians at all levels of government."


Financing Difficulties Stall Linkage In Providence, Chester Smolski Mar 1989

Financing Difficulties Stall Linkage In Providence, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When the India Point Club luxury condominium development, scheduled to be built on the Providence waterfront, was announced in 1987, there were many local skeptics who said it was too expensive for the Providence market. After all, selling penthouse condos overlooking the dirty Providence River for over $1 million was quite ambitious--and some said impossible."


Wanted: Live-In Teachers, Chester Smolski Dec 1988

Wanted: Live-In Teachers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland all have it--a residency requirement--and so does Providence. Having to live in the city for which you work has been deemed to be an important measure in helping to bring people back into the city, and that was the reason it was included in the 1980 Home Rule Charter."


The Cities And Towns Look Ahead, Chester Smolski Aug 1988

The Cities And Towns Look Ahead, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"What do you want your community to be? Over the next two and one-half years all communities in the state will be required to address this question, and to come up with a formal statement of what these goals and objectives are to be. And it's about time."


Regulating Video Arcades Is No Game, Chester Smolski Sep 1983

Regulating Video Arcades Is No Game, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Improvement on Washington Street is needed. The Providence Board of Licenses is about to determine if the Saturn's Rings video arcade on Washington street should have its license renewed. The issue is as critical as it is controversial."


Designing The Cityscape, Chester Smolski Nov 1982

Designing The Cityscape, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"A new structure has recently been erected in the Providence downtown, and criticisms of the building's design continue to fly. An editorial in these newspapers, for example, referred to the 'failed example of quickie construction with a outsized Erector set.'"


The Bottle Bill: Pro, Chester Smolski Apr 1982

The Bottle Bill: Pro, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Although the 24-member board of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce gave strong support to anti-litter enabling legislation being considered by the General Assembly, it did not give its endorsement to the proposed bottle bill. The board stated that deposits on bottles and cans required further study, and alternative measures might provide a cleanup fund that would be 'less costly and burdensome' to business."


Missed Opportunity In S. Kingston, Chester Smolski Dec 1981

Missed Opportunity In S. Kingston, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"They were well dressed, although informally. They came with their spouses. They were articulate, educated, and generally did not raise their voices. They looked like solid middle-class Americans--homemakers, civic-minded, and concerned citizens, so it was difficult to understand their reaction to the proposed housing development."


Accepting The Townhouse Idea Requires New Attitudes, Chester Smolski Sep 1981

Accepting The Townhouse Idea Requires New Attitudes, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"To change actions is easy; to change attitudes is more difficult. This is a truism that one finds whether one deals with race relations, sexual equality or ethnic stereotypes. It is also true in housing."


Welcome To The Beach: Only If You Can Afford It, Chester Smolski Jul 1981

Welcome To The Beach: Only If You Can Afford It, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Narragansett has been called 'Home of the most expensive public tan in America' because of beach and parking fees imposed by the Tow Council in June."


Ways To Offset High Interest, Rising Cost Of Housing, Chester Smolski Dec 1979

Ways To Offset High Interest, Rising Cost Of Housing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Little noted by the general public, the recent decision by the Federal Reserve Board to make credit more costly and less easily available is having a marked impact on that same public, especially in the area of housing."


Questions Raised On Railroad Location, Chester Smolski Nov 1979

Questions Raised On Railroad Location, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"A second public hearing on the proposed relocation of the railroad station and tracks in Providence was held on October 25 in state capitol. Approximately 40 people were in attendance: most of whom were from Providence; most of whom raised substantive questions about the proposed relocation; and most of whom were opposed to it."


Downtown Plan Needed For Future Growth, Chester Smolski Oct 1979

Downtown Plan Needed For Future Growth, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It appears that the Providence downtown is finally turning the corner. A proposal to beautify the entrance into the city center from Route 95 with trees, flags, parks, art work and new illumination has been submitted to the Providence Redevelopment Authority. This turn to aesthetics, coming on the heels of considerable physical improvement of roads and buildings accomplished and in progress, is an indication that downtown interests recognize the lack of an attractive city 'gateway' and want to do something about it. This is decidedly a praiseworthy action on the part of the private sector."


The Case For Residency Requirements, Chester Smolski May 1979

The Case For Residency Requirements, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The issue has been raised previously. It came up again most recently with the applicants for jobs with the Providence Fire Department. The question is, 'Should city employees be required to live in the city which employs them?'"


Role For Business Leaders In A Cleaner Downtown, Chester Smolski Apr 1979

Role For Business Leaders In A Cleaner Downtown, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent sales promotion by the Providence Intown Merchants Association proved quite successful. Five-cent bus rides and bargain sales generated considerable business, especially on Saturday, normally a quiet day for retail sales in the downtown. This well illustrates what is possible when salesmanship and cooperation among downtown merchants are used to full advantage."


Stimulus For R.I. Housing, Chester Smolski Mar 1979

Stimulus For R.I. Housing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It was the single largest bond issue in the state and one of the largest in the nation. The Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (HMFC) has sold $163 million of tax-free bonds, $142 million of which will be made available at below market interest rates to persons with annual incomes up to $30,000, to buy homes in Rhode Island. This will have a sizable impact on the local real estate market and increase housing opportunities for many prospective home buyers."


Mayoral Candidates And Downtown, Chester Smolski Oct 1978

Mayoral Candidates And Downtown, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The next mayor of the city of Providence will have some hard decisions to make on the future of this city. There will be economic opportunities and constraints, social problems, political decisions and a host of questions to be raised and subsquently answered over the next four years which will shape the direction in which Rhode Island's capital city will move--and it is starting to move.