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Puerto Rican Cultural Festival
& Parade EVENTS

July
2008



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T&J Landscaping
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Charles River Press
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North Atlantic Books
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News Reporter Information

Posted Tuesday, 7/22/08
Neighbor says Puerto Rican Festival Should Go On !
"My intentions were misunderstood" says Charles Tapalian
(Providence, Rhode Island, USA) Concerned that his actions as a citizen and good neighbor were misinterpreted, Charles Tapalian went on record today saying that the Puerto Rican Cultural Festival should go on after the "time and investment these people have put in." Tapalian plans on attending the hearing at 7pm this evening regarding Providence Piers to "put that on the public record a second time."  Rest of release here:            Supplementary News Reporter info here:

Posted Tuesday, 7/22/08
Providence Sex Trade Attempts to Block Puerto Rican Cultural Family Festival
(Providence, Rhode Island, USA) With only a few days until the Puerto Rican Cultural Festival kicks off in Providence, organizers delivering the layout plans for the festival grounds were met by surprise opposition to their family oriented festival by the Providence Sex Trade led by Cheaters and other neighboring sex businesses owned or controlled by the Tapalian family. A hearing is set in City Hall for Tuesday at 7pm.  News Reporter info here:



Posted Friday, 7/18/08

515 Years after Columbus lands on Puerto Rican Soil...
2008 Rhode Island's Puerto Rican Festival to be the largest ever

Rhode Island's Puerto Rican Cultural Festivities begin this Saturday with the festival banquet to honor education, followed next weekend with a three day festival and parade on Sunday.  The festival will be at Providence Piers on Allens Avenue near Conley's Wharf or Dock Conley.  Organizer Harry Ruiz promises a wealth of popular entertainment at the festival next weekend.  Reporter Information here:
 
  


 Posted Monday, 7/14/08
Chrisette Michele performs for U.S. Troops at Fort Dix - July 23rd
Gina Brillon to Host  Reporter info here:

Chrisette Michele

Gina Brillon


Posted Saturday, 7/12/08
Rhode Island 2008 Puerto Rican Pageant
Reporter information here:


Posted Monday, 7/7/08
Carcieri to appear on Bill O'Reilly, Monday, July 7, 2008

Governor Don Carcieri to appear on Fox Network's conservative O'Reilly Factor this evening to discuss the Governor's Executive Order on illegal immigration.  That order, issued on March 27, 2008 drew sharp criticism from many in the minority community.  The interview is expected to air at 8:00 p.m. EST and 11:00 p.m. EST this evening.  In Greater Providence this in on Cox channel 46.   The order and info are here:

Posted 7/7/08
RI Convention Center to host Giovanni Fashion Concert
Auditions for local models, singers, dancers set for Friday July 18th
(West Warwick / Providence) The casting auditions for the RI Convention Center Fashion Concert will be held at Pearl Restaurant 393 Charles Street, Providence on Friday July 18 at 8 PM.  Casting is for models, singers, and dancers.  Applicants must bring a photo that organizers can keep for their records.  Models will walk the runway, singers will sing a 10 second verse, and dancers will have 20 seconds to perform.  Applicants must make a reservation for their appearance at this casting call via email at giovanni@centraent.com. Reporter info here:


Posted 7/6/08

Mark Cutler to Play at East Greenwich Hotel Celebration
(East Greenwich, RI) The newly restored Greenwich Hotel at 162 Main Street in East Greenwich will kick off their restoration celebration on Thusday July 10th with Mark Cutler and Friends from 8:30 to 11:30pm.  Subsequent weeks will feature Mike G, Whalebone Jackson, Peter Gendron, Ben Pilgrim Band, The Willamsboy, Heather Rose and Keturah Burgess.  Reporter info here:
 

Posted 7/5/08
Puerto Rican Festival Cancelled - Springfield Massachusetts
(Springfield, MA) After 31 years of attracting thousands to Riverfront Park, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center has decided to cancel this popular festival.  The reason being given is that sponsors want to put their money in other types of educational and youth programs.
The Providence Festival is preparing to open July 25th and is expected to be the biggest ever.  Reporter info here:.  


Posted 6/30/08  
Puerto Rican Festival Returns to Boston
The Puerto Rican Festival in Boston returned after it's cancellation last year because the nonprofit Festival Puertoriqueño de Massachusetts Inc. who sponsored the event for the last forty years missed a filing deadline and lost its nonprofit status.  The parade and other events went on but the cancellation left organizers without enough money to pay vendors or the city.  Earlier this year the group regained its nonprofit status, city officials forgave money owed for police details and Fiesta Shows, a carnival vendor brought in his services at a 30 percent discount.  This year, Friday's intense wind, rain, and lightning threatened to put a damper on the celebration, but the show went on. Reporter info here:

 

Posted 6/29/08
'Real Rhode Islander' Charity Calendar Winners Named

(Providence, Rhode Island, USA) Winners of the first annual 'Real Rhode Islander' charity calendar contest to benefit the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation were named Saturday in front of a packed crowd of onlookers and finalists at Monet Lounge in Providence. Reporter info and photos here:



Posted 6/28/08

Bush Administration steps up secret moves against Iran

Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and Congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize Iran's religious leadership.
News Reporter info here:


Posted 6/27/08
Students in Utah Carry Guns on Campus

Bills also introduced by lawmakers in fifteen other states
In 2006, Utah's Supreme Court explicitly allowed guns on college campuses for anyone with a concealed weapons permit.  Currently it's the only state where that's allowed, but lawmakers in fifteen other states are debating whether guns belong on college campuses.
Georgia is one of them.  "How many kids must die before we realize that firearms in law-abiding hands actually save lives?" - Georgia state Rep. Tim Bearden
Reporter info here:



Posted 6/26/08
Right to Bear Arms Upheld by US Supreme Court
2nd Ammendment not exclusively for militia
The US Supreme Court has ruled that the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution protects an individual's right to a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful proposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Reporter info here:



Posted 6/24/08
Warwick - Outdoor Concert at Eddies' 529 Club on Sunday

John "Chach" Dziadosz, comedian and actor will MC the Bonniepalooza concert starting at 2pm on Sunday June 29th.  The musical lineup includes Lou and Lloyds Variety Music Show, C.L.O. reaches out with a musical jam, then Dan Lilly and the Love Train hits the stage. Mark Cutler with the Men of Great Courage step up with their unique sound, and then Forever Young - the all star group with Becky Chase, Mark Cutler, Dan Lilley, John Fuzek, Pete Vendettuoli and John Amitrano.
The entertainment is free. (See recent news of Eddies' patrons saving a life here)
Reporter info here:


Posted 6/23/08
'Real Rhode Islander' Calendar Contestants
Await Judges' Decision
Winners to be announced at Public event this Saturday at Monet

June 23rd release here 

Previous update reported here

Original Story reported here


Posted 6/21/08
College Ordered to Identify Students who Shared Music

The Recording Industry Association of America has won the right for the College of William and Mary to provide the names of students suspected of file-sharing.  Twenty seven William and Mary students have been accused of illegal file-sharing by the RIAA and at least eight have already settled by paying $3,000 to $5,000 each.  Since 2003 more than 29,000 lawsuits against people it suspects of downloading music illegally using file-sharing programs have been filed, and in February 2007 a new campaign aimed at college students began.  The RIAA has over 7,000 students targeted currently nationwide. Reporter info here:


Posted 6/20/08
Martha Stewart refused entry to the UK

(London, UK) Martha Stewart has been refused a visa to Britain because of her criminal convictions for obstructing justice, the Daily Telegraph has learned.  The lifestyle guru, convicted four years ago in the US for obstructing justice, was planning to speak at the Royal Academy and to hold meetings with several figures in the fashion and leisure industry, and was due to travel within the next few day. Reporter info here


6/20/08 Needy Rhode Islanders lose in 2009 budget

I honestly feel like we've kicked some people under the bus."
- Sen. Daniel J. Issa, D-Cumberland.

The Rhode Island Senate has approved for Governor Carcieri's signature a $6.9-billion spending plan cutting hundreds of people from the state's health-care and welfare rolls.  It also freezes non-school aid at this year's already-reduced levels, relies on more than $150 million in theoretical savings from state employee and Medicaid costs, cuts early childhood programs, reduces health care coverage and repeals a program to help poor people pay heating bills.  All this to stem a deficit during the 2009 budget year that begins in two weeks.  Specifics also include a cut in the maximum stay on welfare from five years to four years, and recipients are barred from collecting benefits for more than two consecutive years of benefits in any five-year period.


6/19/08 - Cell Phones - Todays' Asbestos and Tobacco?  
Nineteen scientists, brought together by eminent specialist in the fight against cancer David Servan-Schreiber, have launched an appeal to sensitize public opinion to the risks cell phone use could pose to the brain, notably for the youngest patients.  "We're in the same situation today as we were 50 years ago with asbestos and tobacco," according to Thierry Bouillet, oncologist at the Avicenne de Bobigny Hospital.  The first large epidemiological study conducted across 13 countries called "Interphone" is expected to provide definitive results this year.  The French component of the study has already concluded "there is a general tendency towards increased risk of gliomas (cancerous tumors) among heavy users," but that these results are "not statistically significant."



6/19/08 2008 Merengue Festival in Puerto Rico & DR
The Tourism Promotion Office (OPT) in Puerto Rico and the Association of Hotels of Santo Domingo have officially announced The Brugal Merengue Festival 2008 which will be held July 24-27.  This event, the 41st held in the Dominican Republic is being heralded as a simultaneous celebration of the Caribbean beat.  It will feature a synchronized live closing in San Juan and Santo Domingo.  News Reporter info here:



6/18/08  Grand Jury to Probe Puerto Rican Activists
The US government has renewed its efforts to have Puerto Ricans testify before a federal grand jury on the independence movement. A summons was served on Tania Frontera, a graphic artist living in New York City, to appear before a New York grand jury on June 13, along with an unidentified man who lives in Puerto Rico. Frontera had been scheduled to appear before the grand jury on at least two times earlier this year, but the sessions were postponed. She has said she will refuse to testify.
Reporter info here:



6/16/08 - Puerto Rico - Independence or Statehood?
UN Committee asks US to end Puerto Rican status

On June 9, 2008, the UN Special Committee on Decolonization again took up the status of Puerto Rico, the world’s oldest remaining colony.   For the last eight years, the Committee has called upon the United States to grant autonomy to Puerto Rico, yet in referendum elections held in 1952, 1967, 1991, 1993 and 1998, Puerto Ricans voted to keep their existing commonwealth, as a territory of the United States.  In 2005 a White House report gave Puerto Rico only two options: integration as a federal state or independence.  Reporter info here:

Carmen Bucholz, Presidente
The RI Puerto Rican Cultural Festival
and Parade Committee


6/16/08 - Trial for Argentina Massacre 32 Years Ago
On August 20, 1976, thirty illegally detained and drugged prisoners from the Intendencia Military and Police torture center were forced into a truck and driven away from Buenos Aires for about forty miles where they were blindfolded and executed with a shot to the head.  To dispose of the bodies, guards piled the dead prisoners over a charge of dynamite and blew them up.  Known as the Fátima Massacre it was part of 'Argentina's Dirty War' where Argentine Police and Military would arrest and isolate victims and subject them to complete sensory deprivation between beatings and torture before they were killed.  The suspected perpetrators of the Fátima Massacre were free from prosecution due to an amnesty law passed in the wake of democratic transition, but in 2005, the Argentine Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.  Defense closing statements are expected between June 24th and June 26th.  A verdict is expected in early July.  Reporter's Info here - Eng & Span



6/14/08
-  'Real Rhode Islander' Competition Heats Up
Charlie Hall & Doreen Collins guest to judge 'Real Rhode Islanders'
The second round of judging for the "Real Rhode Islander" contest to benefit the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Research Foundation was held at Prata Bar and Grille in Warwick Saturday Night.  The offical judges got some help from real experts on the quirkiness and substance of Rhode Islanders - Doreen Collins & Charlie Hall who were also looking for material for their new television show 'Rhode Bytes.'
Reporters info page is here:



6/13/08 - RI Puerto Rican Cultural Festival & Parade scheduled
- July 25th, 26th and 27th
The 2008 Puerto Rican Cultural Festival and Parade is set for July 25th, 26th and 27th. The Parade Committee invites people from all nationalities to bring family, friends and neighbors to enjoy the cultural arts, sounds, tastes and aromas of this unique celebration expected to be one of the biggest ever. The Festival grounds are at Pat Conley's Providence Piers, 200 Allens Avenue, Providence.
Reporters info page is here:



6/12/08  Hartford Artist to Showcase at Liberty Elm Diner
On Thursday June 19, 2008, an opening reception for works by artist Gail Schilke of Hartford, CT will be held at The Liberty Elm Diner , 777 Elmwood Avenue, Providence from 6-9pm. Schilke's work will be accompanied by Providence's own BellaMinx Burly Q Burlesque Troupe for a mini-ProvSketchy and topping off the event will be the swingin' sounds of Johnny Carlevale & His Band of All-Stars.
News Reporter info pages here - Eng

6/12/08  NY Giants using Unique Training Strategy
(New York, NY, USA ) Superbowl XLII Champions, the New York Giants were quietly trying something new with training at their mandatory mini-camp on Thursday.
It turns out that the secret training exercise was laughter, courtesy of the Times Square Comedy Club. News Reporter info pages here - Eng


6/10/08 "Real Rhode Islander" Calendar to aid Cancer Research

(Providence, Rhode Island, USA) The "Real Rhode Islander" contest is a fun way to recognize people, raise cancer awareness and raise money for the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation through donations, sales of the calendars and corporate sponsors.  Casting Call is 6/14 & 6/21/08.
News Reporter info pages here - Eng



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