The RI Office of Energy Resources (OER) has launched the Electric Leaf Blower Rebate Program to encourage landscaping businesses to use electric leaf blowers. The program aims to encourage the adoption of electric lawn equipment, which will help reduce air pollutants from the landscaping sector and foster environmental sustainability in alignment with the Act on Climate. Other benefits include reducing noise pollution – as electric leaf blowers are quieter than the combustion engine of their counterpart – as well as health benefits, limiting air pollutants that can contribute to asthma, cardiovascular diseases, and other respiratory diseases.
The General Assembly appropriated $250,000 of general revenue funds to OER to implement and administer this program. Landscapers can receive $1,000 or 50 percent of the cost of an electric leaf blower and batteries, with funds awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Businesses in towns with the highest asthma rates (Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, Westerly, and Woonsocket) can receive an additional $250. Additionally, Councilor Sue AnderBois of Ward 3 has introduced an ordinance to phase out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers within Providence city limits beginning in 2028. The ordinance has been referred to the Council’s Committee on Environment and Resiliency. Learn more at Energy.RI.gov.
The Mile of History Association is delighted to congratulate Traci Picard, senior research assistant at Brown University’s Simmons Center, on receiving the Providence Preservation Society (PPS) 2024 Heritage Stewardship Award. The award recognizes her 10 years of contributions to preserving Rhode Island’s place in American history, especially the lesser-known histories of Providence. A recent example of her work is the “Shakespeare’s Head Research Report,” which she prepared for PPS.
The PPS Preservation Awards recognize outstanding work in the field, including adaptive reuse and community heritage projects, completed in the past two years and spanning South Providence, Valley, Olneyville, Mount Pleasant, Downtown, College Hill, and Fox Point. A wide breadth of places were highlighted, including single-family homes, places of worship, educational buildings, legacy and new community businesses, re-envisioned mills, and even a digital reconstruction of a lost neighborhood. Individuals were also honored for their contributions to preserving beloved places. Winners were selected by a jury of design and preservation experts outside of the state, and celebrated at a ceremony on November 19. For the full list of awardees, visit PPSRI.org.
The West Broadway Neighborhood Association (WBNA) recently launched their brand new website. After a year and a half of work behind the scenes, a grant from the RI State Small Business Hub, and expertise from Inspiration Global, WBNA is excited to share their new, improved, and more user-friendly website with neighbors.
Some of the new features include a Neighborhoods tab with history about the West End, demographics, info about community resources such as recycling programs and a member toolbank, current projects, and more. Interactive features allow members to sign up with a username and password to access membership status and donations records, as well as download a tax receipt. If you have already paid for your membership and would like to access this feature, email WBNA@wbna.org to set it up. Business members can join to post jobs and community bulletins. For more ways to get involved with WBNA, save the date for their Annual Meeting on January 28, from 5:30-7:30pm, with a location to be determined. WBNA.org
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