Rhode Island

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Rhode Island School for Deaf Faces Challenges

These are challenging times for schools for the deaf. State budget cuts. Pressure from No Child Left Behind. More deaf kids from non-English speaking families. Aging facilities. Rhode Island School...

Car Makers Lose Fight To Block Rhode Island Tailpipe Emission Rules (AHN)

(AHN) - A federal judge ruled that automakers could not sue Rhode Island to block the state from adopting strict tailpipe emission standards first developed by California. - Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:20:57 GMT

Room in Sunny Potrero Hill! Open House 12/03 (potrero hill) $810

AVAILABLE DEC 20. $810/MONTH. 3BD/2BATH EDWARDIAN FLAT 9x11 room includes closet space, blinds, phone jack, access to cable You will share bathroom with 1 person Utilities approximately $40-50/month Security deposit is one month's rent Move-in: 1st (prorated) and last month's rent + security deposit (total $2140) Cross streets are 24th & Rhode Island EXTRAS Washer/Dryer (not coin-operated) Dishwasher Gas Stove Microwave Fireplace Lots of street parking (1 shared garage space, also) Close to 101 and 280 Muni #9, 19, 33, 48 US 2 females, pretty low-key. We both work 8-5 schedules, so most weeknight evenings include hanging out at home, dinner, TV, gym, etc. We occasionally have company over, but it doesn't happen very often... when it does, it's usually on the weekends. We enjoy going out to the bars/lounges, but that's usually where we leave the party. YOU Another professional female, who's a M-F 8-5er. We're looking for a responsible person who can keep up with their end of the rent/bills, and someone who will clean up after themselves in the shared areas of the home. No smoking/no pets. We will be having an open house on Wednesday, 12/03 from 6:00pm - 7:30pm. To get the address, drop us a line with a bit about yourself!

ArtistLiveWork:StorefrontBelowAptW/SundeckAbove3bathrms,2kitchens,yard (potrero hill) $6550 2500sqft

Former Commercial Storefront, entire ground floor of corner building at 24th Street & Rhode Island Street on sunny Potrero Hill. With interior connecting staircase to a 4 room apt above w/private sundeck. Due to zoning changes, this former saloon, then grocery store is now designated by SF Planning as a "Hobby Room" legal for a home-based business owned by the resident in the apartment above. The only restriction is that no sign can be hung outside the building advertising the business. Available now. Garage also available w/interior-connecting door into the commercial space. There is also a concrete patio behind the garage approx 12' x 60'. Inside the storefront are 2 bathrooms, one full bathroom w/a shower, the other bathroom is a half-bath. There is also in the storefront a kitchenette for office/work lunches and a sleeping loft above the kitchenette for the occasional imported consultant who needs a place to crash while in S.F. working on your projects. Call Marky at 415-921-6007 for appointment to view or Leo at 415-474-6800. And meanwhile look at photos here: http://www.geocities.com/mqrentals (photos were taken while sundeck was being built: it's now complete.) Fullsize washer/dryer; 3 bathrooms (1 up, & 2 down), 1 full kitchen up & 1 kitchenette below. Unique space: none other like it in all of Potrero Hill, a most desirable neighborhood out of the crowd of the City yet minutes away from the financial district.

Bon Appe-TV

I watch an awful lot of Food Network. I'm not sure how the obsession developed, exactly. (Though I suspect the FDA should classify Alton Brown as a 'gateway chef'. A couple of hours a day watching him, and you'll spiral down into the hard stuff. You think I'm kidding. Just wait until you're sitting on your couch at 2:30 in the morning, watching crap involving some spiky-haired surf punk driving around the country looking for chili dogs to shove down his goateed gob. Then you'll know you're 'on point'. Not so much.) In spite of my curious epicurean affliction, I'm no good in the kitchen. Couldn't cook my way out of a paper cupcake liner. My notion of 'blanching' food involves taking it to see 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. If the recipe doesn't begin with 'Microwave for...' and end less than four words later, I've got no business reading it. And frankly, I'm okay with that. (In fact, the very pinnacle of my questionable culinary career to date was managing to make scones a few months back which were neither immediately poisonous nor required a jackhammer to pry open. Not that I made them from scratch, mind you. From a bag. Even that was touch and go. And met with considerable skepticism, as you might imagine.) My wife, bless her little whisk, can't reconcile this apparent paradox. How can I enjoy watching shows about food, and the preparation thereof, but display absolutely zero ability, interest or initiative in throwing my own spatula into the ring to learn? It's simple, I tell her. Cooking shows -- the good ones, anyway -- aren't actually about cooking, per se. They're entertainment. I can watch 24 without wanting to become a ruthless, reckless, occasionally-dead counter-terrorism agent. I can sit through Family Guy and successfully quash the urge to have three kids, gain sixty pounds and move to Rhode Island. I can catch a rerun of Three's Company and still have no desire to live near the beach in sunny California with two young single women and... well, okay, fine. Bad example. (Oh, who am I kidding? I don't tan well, California's too damned hot, and I don't have the looks to fit in or the wardrobe to convince Mr. Roper I might be gay. Also, within a week they'd find Suzanne Somers gagged and tied up in the storage locker. That grating blonde shtick of hers made Pamela Anderson look like Niels frickin' Bohr.) "Is there some contractual obligation that says I can't TiVo Iron Chef, unless I run immediately to the kitchen afterward to try my hand at their sardine smoothie? Lord, I hope not." So why can't 'food TV' be pure entertainment, too? Can't I just watch Everyday Italian already, and forget about learning to make the Fettucine alla Whatsamattayou? Isn't it enough to simply enjoy Good Eats, without storming off to find a snarky Asian lady to sell me a waffle maker? Is there some contractual obligation that says I can't TiVo Iron Chef, unless I run immediately to the kitchen afterward to try my hand at their sardine smoothie? Lord, I hope not. My wife sees it differently, of course. She makes the point that these shows are meant to get viewers interested in cooking, to make us more self-sufficient, and to unfold for us the wonders of exotic flavors and aromas made possible with a few culinary skills. Right. If I want 'exotic flavors and aromas', I'll suck a big strawful of that unholy fishshake up there. No, thanks. I'm just trying to kill an hour or so in front of the tube. And Baywatch isn't on right now. (Hey, I said Pam Anderson was dumb. I never said I couldn't watch her with the sound turned down. Fair's fair.) So I decided to prove to my wife that sometimes cooking shows are meant to be emulated, and sometimes they're just pretty pictures and 'Bam!' noises you use to pass the time. To really get the point across, I've tried to think of other examples of cooking-as-just-entertainment. It hasn't gone well. First, I appealed to her visual sensibilities. I choreographed a little number, worked up a costume and showed her my impression of making pasta. As an interpretive dance. Sadly, just when I got to the crescendo where the water boils, I slipped on the placemats I was using to represent lasagna and went down in a heap. I think I sprained a fusilli. (My wife did report that she found the show 'highly entertaining'. But probably not in the way she was supposed to.) Next, I tried to convince her using a more traditional art form. I gathered a few of the vegetables we had in the pantry, set up a camera, and took pictures of myself slicing, peeling and chopping them. Black and white shots, very artistic and classy. Or so I thought. Until I got a call from the local cops, after the guy at the Photo Hut called them about some 'disturbing' images he'd developed. Finally, I was able to sort everything out. ("No, officer, that's just a carrot. Yes, I'm certain. No, I had no idea a zucchini would look that way in grayscale. Sorry for the trouble. And I hope you catch that 'Mad Grater' sex offender some day, but I'm afraid I can't help you." If I had it to do over again, I'd probably use less suggestive veggies. And color film. And I'd opt against the 'tasteful nudes'.) That's when I stopped appealing to my wife's visual sensibilities. This carrot knows when he's julienned. As a last resort, I turned to cooking as poetry. Surely, a flowery description of food preparation could be seen as pure art, without any need to get the kitchen involved. Just what I needed to prove my point once and for all. Sadly, the only material I had for inspiration were my past experiences in attempting to cook. Which were rarely successful, often dangerous, and universally regrettable. Also, about the only poetic form I know is the limerick. So the results of my 'artistic' stabs at food prep poetry turned out something like this: "The secret to pudding, they say, Is getting lumps out of the way. So I pressed mine out thin With my best rolling pin, But most of it slithered away." Or worse: "I once made a tomato soup, With a cup of salt instead of a scoop. Dry like the Sahara, Chunky as marinara, It pretty much tasted like poop." Don't even ask about the rhyme involving 'crispy duck'. Just don't. I give up. I just couldn't back up my claim that cooking shows have nothing to do with cooking. So the next time I sit down to watch a nice Unwrapped or Molto Mario, I'm just going to sigh and silently hand my wife this last attempt at artistry, my concession haiku: Convinced by your words, I shall now provide food; hope You like Papa John's. A large loaded pizza, with garlic sauce for the crusts? Made by someone else and delivered to our door? Now that's art I can watch all night long.

Article about backyard chicken owners

LoHud.com has an article about the pleasure of keeping chickens in your back yard. I agree with the people interviewed in the piece -- I bought my chickens (above, click for big) for eggs and fertilizer, but it turns out their primary benefit is amusing me and my family. I love spending time with them. Chicken owners liken it to having their very own widescreen TV in the backyard, with an always-looping Chicken Channel. Chickens are curious and very involved in their surroundings, following humans and dogs and cats around the yard and seeking attention, even a backrub. Fiona Mitchell says the four hens she got in July for her Bedford Hills yard fit right in with her two dogs and two cats. "Everybody seems to find their own space," she says. "We're one big happy family now." Demetra and Sal Restuccia couldn't be happier with the five Rhode Island Reds they got last year. "Oh, I love my chickens," Demetra says. "They have such personalities. They're funny - they talk all the time. They'll tell you everything that's been going on for the day. They're hysterical." Backyard chickens find new popularity in suburbia...

Small Room w/private Bath, Huge House, Awesome Kitchen, Hella Parking (ingleside / SFSU / CCSF) $650

Sorry about the slang, being a Norcal native I was bred at an early age to maximize use of the word Hella at all costs and this year I've been way under my quota. So here's our story. We recently had a room open up and we are looking for someone to join the household by December 1st (possibly sooner). You'd be moving into an Large 4-bedroom/ 3-bathroom home shared by 4 other straight/easy going/professionals (ages 27-31). This is a 5-month lease only. Check out the details and pics below! The House: - Large furnished living room - Dinning room - Large Kitchen with it’s own island - Washer and Dryer - Garage for storage space - Ample street parking including 1 drive way spot - Backyard - Peaceful/safe location (this is Ingleside Terrace- best part of Ingleside) - Professional Air Hockey Table - High speed WiFi The Room: This is a small cozy room, it's probably only about 80-90 square feet. The bad news is the room’s size and that it is right next to the kitchen, which is great for getting midnight snacks but not great if you’re a light sleeper (although we’re all very considerate to this and try to not make any noise at night time). On the other hand, the good news is the room does come with its own bathroom, which is pretty nice and you’re getting a huge house with lots of amenities. Rent= $650 + utilities (runs $35-$80 per month). Move in cost requires first, a last month's rent deposit of $650, and a $350 security deposit. http://home.comcast.net/~mcallsworth/bedroom1.jpg The Roommates: Michele- 30-year-old sparkling chatterbox beaming goodwill and character. Can be found usually downtown working or chatting it up over her daily late. Spend an hour with her and you will be tickled by her Rhode Island personality as she shares her goals of breaking the Guinness book record for career changes in a lifetime. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26454269@N02/3009539412/ Brian (31), former hypersominac who's reluctantly becoming the old man of the house. When not bounded by responsibility, enjoys playing sports, live music, cooking, ultimate frisbee, or wandering the streets aimlessly searching for the quintessential restaurant. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26454269@N02/3008698207/ Alex, 27-year old professional by day, rockstar by night. When he's not charming the young folks, can be found watching sports, sharing his extensive movie knowledge, schooling us on sleep disorders, or holding clinics on obscure board games. Talented, funny dude who's turning out to be a great roommate. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26454269@N02/2481284632/in/photostream/ Looking for: - Ages 25- 35 - Respectful, financially stable, direct(isn't a fan of passive aggressiveness) - Doesn't own any pets (we love them but our landlord doesn't) - Somewhat social but won't bring bar home with you - Clean and understands how to live in a shared environment - Low maintenance (has their own life) - Not a light sleeper (don't worry, we don't blast heavy metal but the house does have thin walls) - Someone who owns a plasma big screen (just kidding) Location: In the very southern part of the city, Ingleside Terrace is a quite residential neighborhood, located between the West Portal district and SFSU. It is about 4 blocks away from Ocean Avenue, which has all of your amenities (gym, dry cleaners, wallgreens, restaurants etc.). It’s a bit of hike from downtown, so if you don’t drive, you need to patient enough of a person to take a 30-50 minute muni/bart ride. Lease: We were just informed that our lease on the entire house is not being renewed. Apparently the owner’s son is getting married and will be moving back in, which means we only have the house until April 30th of 2009. We’re looking for a tenant who’s comfortable staying for exactly 5 months. So if you think this might be your type of place, send us a brief description of yourself (including age), a picture (if you have one), and a phone number. Our house will be showing the room a few last times before we make a decision, so please get back to us if you are interested in seeing the place. Email Brian at - briancorona@gmail.com Thanks very much.

Saving fuel, spreading misery

FOSTER, R.I. - The bane of Steve Charette's once-bucolic existence is partly hidden behind a roadside stand of trees across the street from his house. It's little more than the size of a shed, topped by a short smokestack with a stubby nose in this uncrowded corner of rural Rhode Island.

Missouri One of Three States to Receive Funding for Innovative Environmental Protection Strategies

EPA has awarded $825,000 to Missouri, New Hampshire and the Narragansett Bay Commission in Rhode Island to support innovative approaches for improving permitting programs, which impose limits on pollution emissions to the air, water, and land.

Guardian Daily podcast: New drug hope for people with MS

WARNING: contains explicit language. A new drug halts and even reverses the symptoms of multiple sclerosis - giving hope to sufferers worldwide. Dr Alasdair Coles is among the researchers at Cambridge University who tested the drug.Andrew Sparrow, our senior political correspondent, assesses the political damage to George Osborne, the shadow chancellor. Denis MacShane MP outlines the questions he would like Osborne to answer.Economics correspondent Ashley Seager looks at the fall in the value of the pound, and the significance of admissions by the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, and the prime minister, Gordon Brown, that Britain is entering a recession.Environment editor John Vidal outlines the findings of a new United Nations report into urbanisation.Philosopher Jason Brennan, of Brown University, Rhode Island, argues that just because you have a vote, that doesn't mean you should. And Hannah Pool interviews cult TV prankster Kayvan Novak, alias Fonejacker.