Food

Greens, Yoga and a Laminator.

Not a group of limber environmentalists making fake IDs Here's the latest update from Friends of the Pawtuxet about this Saturday's Farmer's Market. Also, take a look at their recently upgraded website. GRAB SOME GREENS Bring a big shopping bag to Saturday’s the Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market. We will not have another market... more

Nature-Outdoors

Cranston To Receive Funds To Rehab the Rivers

The state is getting a much-needed economic boost to help preserve open space and rehabilitate the health of the Pocasset and Pawtuxet rivers. The two rivers have been squeezed out of their natural footprint by developments along the riverbanks. The funds, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act... more

Planning-Development

Bad Zoning is Turning Your Kid Into a Porker

Last week a group of America’s leading pediatricians released a policy statement directly linking city-building practices to the obesity epidemic in the nation’s kids.

The policy states that “an estimated 32% of American children are overweight,” and the key reason for this is physical inactivity.

Planning-Development

The Wrong Foot for Cranston's Transit Oriented District

As the steel rises on a former Hostess Bakery site, our curiosity rises as well. Because this new project falls within the boundaries of the area targeted for a Transit-Oriented District, I’ve gotten some emails asking whether this project is the first phase of a commuter rail station. One... more

Nature-Outdoors

Budlong Pool Set to Open. Wear a Bathing Suit.

Mayor Fung has announced that Cranston’s Budlong Pool will open this summer after all. There was some question about the pool’s fate, given the city’s current budget problems. It costs about $200,000 to operate the pool for the season. To help ease the financial burden, the pool’s hours will be... more

Nature-Outdoors

Running Cranston: 5 Mile Loop Around Mulligan's Island

I found this 5 mile loop in the southern part of the city, and I can only vouch for certain parts of the run. The commercial wastelands of Oaklawn and Sockanosset Cross Road appear to be the most questionable sections of the course (although the designer of this loop carved... more

Yards-Gardens

Chicken Style

Your Lawn Ornament Could Be Laying EggsTom Meade of the Journal wrote a short article about the resurgence of chickens in Rhode Island backyards. Chickens are apparently pretty efficient at bug control and yard fertilization. And of course they dispense eggs. Tom's article doesn't venture into urban Rhode Island, but I... more