local&statePAGE A3

The newporT daily news

City Editor M. Catherine Callahan380-2354

CityDesk@NewportRI.com

Obituaries A4 u POlice & Fire A4 u cOurts A4 u calendar A5 u irish heritage mOnth events A5

Friday, March 21, 2014

So how did you survive St. Patrick’s Day?

If you’re still hung over from the parade, you might have some

problems.And if you

look at The Newport Daily News police and fire log, full of public drinking cita-tions and DUI arrests, it sug-gests mayhem.

But it appears the city is actu-ally turning things around. Police officers were everywhere, as were parade volunteers look-ing out for trouble. With cell phones and apps, it’s much eas-ier to track down a cop if hooli-gans break loose.

There was no shortage of idiots, of course. Saw a kid try to kick a cop on lower Thames Street. That didn’t end well.

And a drunken group of guys in the same area taunted march-ing Officer Candidate School students, trying to start a fight. (Knowing the people in uniform had to stay silent.) When the next war breaks out, I’d put my money on the Navy.

I had a typical old guy St. Pad-dy’s ... saw the parade, chatted with friends, stopped by a house party and then the Hibernian. By the time the balcony and porch screamers were lubed up, it was time to head home.

You don’t need to bring in a Harvard scientist to tell you that young people plus liters of booze equals combustion.

Jimmy Mahoney was quoted in this paper saying the city had a handle on trouble. For the most part, he is right.

There were outbreaks, yes, but a less ugly tone than a few years ago.

ODDZNENDZ: Clay Pell would love to move on from this, but some guys downtown worked up a chant of “Prius, Prius.” Pell didn’t seem to notice.

u By the way, the Prius remains missing. Though I doubt Pell and Michelle Kwan used RIPTA to go from the East Side to Newport.

u When a year ends in an even number, you know every major politico in the state will be on hand.

u I am holding up after a week without “True Detective.” Thank you for your concern. “House of Cards” on Netflix is keeping down the withdrawal symptoms.

u It’s good to see CVS stopping tobacco sales. Those sales took in $123 billion in 2012 (scary). Let’s hope the chain doesn’t cut workers to compensate.

u R.I.P. Henry Kesson. Henry was the circulation manager when I started at The Daily News ... a very nice man.

u The front page of Wednes-day’s paper illustrated the New-port dichotomy — rich people fighting about property and a homeless guy called Boston Mike perishing in an abandoned truck.

u Strikes me that those who are worked up about raising the minimum wage never have to worry about getting by on it. Even $10 an hour is a token ges-ture, considering how inflation has sprinted ahead of wages.

u But thank God the Wall Street CEOs are still getting their 15 percent bonuses. I was ready to start a bake sale.

u One of the scariest books I’ve read is not by Stephen King. It is “Going Clear” by Lawrence Wright, an investigative look at the Church of Scientology. It portrays the church as a violent cult where members are held prisoner, starved, made to work hard labor and earn $35 a week. Meanwhile it relies on celebs like John Travolta and Tom Cruise to fill the coffers, so top execs can live like pharaohs.

And the church gets tax-exempt status. This book is a chilling reporting masterpiece.

u R.I.P.: Al Cook. u How often do you want to

reach through the TV and clip the ridiculous ponytail off the head of the Jordan’s furniture guy? You’re bald, buddy.

Jim Gillis is a Daily News columnist. Send him email at jimgillis13@gmail.com.

S p a r e C h a n g e

Routing out the trouble?

MIDDLETOWN — Ane Arrieta said there’s some-thing very freeing about dance.

Since the age of 3, she has enjoyed dancing and performing — particularly ballet and contemporary styles — at the Newport Academy of Ballet.

Now a 15-year-old sophomore at Middletown High School, Ane will be spending a couple weeks this summer at the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. She spent part of the past two sum-mers studying at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City.

“Dancing is a lot more difficult than most people realize,” said Ane, who serves as vice president of the sophomore class. “You have to be in good shape and I know a lot of my friends do sports and it’s just as challenging, if not more challenging. I like the way it makes me feel. I’m always happy when I dance.”

The Daily News Student of the Week particularly likes the English and writing courses at the high school. Principal Gail Abromitis said Ane stands out in a number of ways.

“Ane’s a leader of her class, but she does it in a quiet, unassuming way,” Abromitis said. “She’s a great student and a beautiful dancer, but you’d never know it with how she interacts with her peers. She’s such a positive, proactive person.”

When she’s not busy working on school work or dancing at the ballet studio, Ane enjoys spending time hanging out with her friends, whether it’s at the movies, or visiting Panera Bread and Frances-ca’s women’s clothing boutique in Newport, or at the Surfer’s End of Sachuest Beach.

Ane is the daughter of Barbara and Eduardo Arrieta, and the older sister of Mia, an eighth-grader

at Gaudet Middle School. Quite a few relatives on her father’s side are from Spain, where she and her fam-ily make a trip every summer to visit, catch up and take in the sights. Several of her friends are joining her family’s adventure to Basque Country this year, Ane said, and already are planning their itinerary.

“My parents are really supportive and they’ve always been there for me and my sister,” she said. “They make everything a lot of fun and I know we’re all looking forward to the trip. It’s a lot different than home, but alike in a lot of ways too.”

Someday she’d love to have a career related to dance, maybe performing ballet or providing dance-related physical therapy, Ane said.

u Matt Sheley

The Newport Daily News solicits suggestions for Student of the Week from Newport County principals.

Student of the week: Ane ArrietA, Middletown high School

Jacqueline Marque | Staff photographer

Ane Arrieta, a sophomore at Middletown High School, has enjoyed dancing since the age of 3 and will study this summer at the Rock School for Dance Education.

all abOut aneNo. 1 number: 9.

Coolest color: Coral.

Meal with the most: Pasta, anywhere, anytime.

I’ll take a pass: Shrimp and lobster.

Favorite book and movie: ‘The Hunger Games.’

Gross out: Jellyfish and seaweed at the beach.

Springing into balance

by Joe bakerStaff writer

NEWPORT — Women have come a long way in the American work force since the women’s liberation move-ment burgeoned in the late 1960s.

About 45 percent of American mil-lionaires are women, 40 percent of all business are owned by women, 60 percent of new businesses are started by women and 40 percent of working wives earn more than their husbands, Kathleen McQuiggan, senior vice pres-ident at Pax World Management, told a group of women at an economic semi-nar Thursday.

However, the scales of gender jus-tice are still a long way from being bal-anced.

Only 16.9 percent of corporate board members and 17 percent of members of Congress are women, McQuiggan said. And although Americans like

to think of themselves as leading the way on women’s issues, America was ranked 23rd in last year’s World Eco-nomic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. And it’s getting worse: The

year before, Amer-ica was 22nd and the year before that 17th. The top five countries last year were Ice-land, Finland, Nor-way, Sweden and the Phillipines.

And even efforts specifically designed

to empower women have backfired to a degree. Enacted in 1972, Title IX, requiring that public schools and pri-vate schools getting federal money offer women the same athletic oppor-tunities as men, has resulted in fewer coaching opportunities for women, McQuiggan said. Before Title IX, nearly every women’s athletic team

was coached by a woman. Today only 40 percent are.

“Inequality still exists today,” McQuiggan said.

Sponsored by Finn Wealth Manage-ment, a Middletown investment firm, and held at The Mooring restaurant in downtown Newport, the forum was an effort to spur women to realize their economic potential, said financial con-sultant John Finn. It was the second time the company hosted a Women in Economics luncheon.

In 1972, Pax World Management became the first socially responsible mutual fund. When considering invest-ment options, the firm considers a com-pany’s history of social, environmental and gender responsibility, McQuiggan said. Lining up proxy votes for many of the companies in its investment portfo-lio, the firm has gone so far as to refuse to vote in board elections if the com-pany doesn’t have a representative

number of women on the board, she said. Pax often follows that up with pointed letters expressing its disap-pointment with the lack of women on the board.

Ellen Ford, president and CEO of People’s Credit Union, said only two of the nine members of the credit union’s board are women. Part of the problem may stem from the fact that some women get involved with issues and roles they are passionate about instead of seeing them as stepping stones to amassing power, Ford said.

Boosting the numbers of women in the work force is not just an issue of justice, McQuiggan said — it will have significant positive impacts as well.

According to the 2010 World Eco-nomic Forum Gender Gap Report, “closing the male-female employ-ment gap would have huge economic

G eorge Brian Sullivan, aka ‘Dr. Love,’ still has the touch. Every year on

the first day of spring he leads all who are interested through the magical vernal equinox phenomenon of balancing an egg on its end. He showed off his talents Thursday in Equality Park in Newport with gold-and silver-painted eggs.

Dave Hansen | Staff photos

daily news staff

NEWPORT — Congres-sional and state officials announced Thursday the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority will receive $1.6 mil-lion from the Federal Transit Administration to rebuild and strengthen the Gateway Cen-ter on America’s Cup Avenue.

White canvas canopies over the Gateway Center’s walk-ways were torn up by super-storm Sandy in October 2012 and have been removed. There also was flooding damage in the area.

The federal funds will be used to replace the current passenger protection cano-pies with pavilions that can withstand hurricane-force winds, RIPTA said in a writ-ten statement. The project also includes the cost of replacing concrete passenger waiting

areas with permeable pavers and landscaping, thus reduc-ing the impermeable surface by 50 percent.

“This will reduce storm water runoff volumes and also improve water quality,” RIPTA wrote. “As demonstrated by Hurricane Sandy, restoring sewer and water can be the most costly and time-con-suming part of getting back to business after a storm.”

The city of Newport has committed to contribute just over 10 percent of the grant amount, or $178,000, toward the cost of the project.

The building and the 8-acre site are owned by the city, but in 1988, RIPTA signed a 99-year lease to use part of the site as a bus terminal. The building is the location of the New-port and Bristol Counties

by marcia PobzeznikCorrespondent

Scheduling the financial town referendum on a Sat-urday and having everyone vote at the high school would not only save the town some money, but the weekend day voting could make it more con-venient for townspeople.

The Board of Canvassers, which met Thursday after-noon with some of the peo-ple who drafted the original language for the referendum, may pitch the idea to the Town Council, but no change will be made unless voters approve it

at the polls in November in the form of a charter amendment.

“This is very preliminary,” said Town Clerk Nancy Mello.

The change would require a vote of the Town Council after public hearing and approval by voters in November, so it will not have any effect on the referendum this spring.

The financial town refer-endum will be three years old this May and is scheduled to take place on May 20, a Tues-day. The referendum replaced the financial town meeting as a way for voters to decide the

McQuiggan

Women, economy topic of seminar

tiverton

Board eyes a Saturday to hold referendum

woMen A5

referenduM A5

RIPTA receives $1.6 million for Gateway Center

gAtewAy A5

The Newport (R.I.) Daily News Friday, March 21, 2014 A5

local&state

implications for developed economies, boosting US GDP by as much as 9 percent, Eurozone GDP by as much as 13 percent and Japanese GDP by as much as 16 percent.”

One attendee said younger women need to see women in positions of authority to con-vince them the gender glass ceiling had been shattered. McQuiggan agreed.

“You can’t be what you can’t

see,” she said.If the gender gap continues

to close at recent rates, it would still take 70 years for women to gain full equality in the work-place, McQuiggan said. But that pace could accelerate as a new generation comes into the workplace with less gender bag-gage, she said.

“A lot of women have the skills and capabilities but boards aren’t necessarily look-ing for them,” McQuiggan said.

Baker@NewportRI.com

WomenContinued from A3

town budget for the next fiscal year. Voters cast a vote in favor of a budget and usually have resolutions to approve or deny.

The financial town meet-ing was different in that vot-ers would gather at the high school and spend hours debat-ing the budget and voting. The meetings sometimes were brief, but there were times when they couldn’t begin when scheduled because the 300-person quorum had not been met to open the meeting. There were also times when the meeting was raucous and packed with residents and lasted more than one day.

Voters now take just a few minutes out of their day to cast a vote for a budget.

“The high school could han-dle 1,000 voters, 200 or two,” said Mello, who is also clerk to the can-vassers. Having between three and eight polling places open for a referendum is costly, and com-bining polls is confusing to vot-ers, which is why one central location makes sense, she said.

Mello said the town could save a couple of thousand dol-lars if it had to staff just one central voting place.

“There’s savings to be had here, sizable,” Mello said.

Board member DiEtta Moran said the financial town meet-ings were held on Saturdays, so it shouldn’t be much of a prob-lem to have the referendum on a Saturday.

Jef f Caron and Nancy Driggs, who headed the com-mittee that wrote the language for the establishment of the financial town referendum, were at Thursday’s meeting to discuss the canvassers’ ideas for fine-tuning it.

Caron said if the referendum

is moved to a Saturday in mid-May, it could solve the time crunch problem Mello has talked about if she ever has to schedule a runoff election.

The referendum allows for an unlimited number of budget petitions on the ballot. If any-one is not happy with the bud-get recommended by the Budget Committee, they can submit a budget for the ballot as long as they get 50 signatures from reg-istered voters. In the event none of the budgets on the ballot win a super-majority of the vote, or at least 50 percent, there would be a runoff two weeks later.

Mello has raised concerns that two weeks is not enough time to get new ballots printed, mail them to residents who may be wintering in Florida or to service people overseas, and get them back in time to be counted.

Caron said if the referen-dum is changed to a Saturday, it should be a date earlier than the current referendum to give the clerk’s office more time to mail and receive runoff ballots in the event of a runoff election, and still meet a deadline for the tax assessor to meet his June 15 deadline to set the tax levy.

Driggs told the canvassers that she believes more people are paying attention to the bud-get process now and know they have a chance to submit a pro-posal for a different budget if there is something they are not happy with.

The Budget Committee is currently reviewing depart-ment budgets and will submit a recommended fiscal 2015 bud-get to the town clerk in April, providing time for public review and the opportunity for anyone to submit an alternate budget for the May 20 ballot.

Pobzeznik@NewportRI.com.

ReferendumContinued from A3

By Marcia PobzeznikCorrespondent

Within days of a vote by the town’s Tax Assessment Board of Review not to lower the assessment of the Bourne Mill apartments, the attorney repre-senting the owners of the 166-unit complex filed a suit in Superior Court.

The suit could take years to make its way through the courts, according to attorneys on both sides of the issue who say they are willing to talk about a settlement to avoid a costly court process.

“We’re always open to discussing a settlement,” said Town Solicitor Andrew Teitz.

“I think everybody’s open to a settle-ment,” said attorney John Pagliarini, who represents Bourne Mills Rental 9 LLC.

The apartment complex at 1 Shove

St. is in a mill that was rehabilitated five years ago. The town has assessed it at $11.9 million.

Bourne Mills Rental 9 LLC hired its own appraiser, who came up with a far lower figure of $7.7 million.

The difference in the tax bill would be $81,354.

The tax bill for the $11.9 million assessment is $230,503, and would be $149,149 if the complex was assessed at $7.7 million, according to Tax Asses-sor David Robert.

Pagliarini contends the entire com-plex should be taxed at 8 percent of the rental income.

Rhode Island General Law 44-5-13.11 says rehabilitated properties with restricted rents are eligible to be taxed at 8 percent of the previous year’s rental income.

But the town’s attorney, as well as Tax Assessor David Robert and

the three-member Tax Assessment Board of Review, contend the 8 percent should be applied only to the “afford-able housing” rental units, which number 67, and not the entire complex that includes apartments for low- and moderate-income residents as well as 99 market-rate apartments.

“Mr. Pagliarini believed the 8 per-cent rule should be applied to the entire building, but I don’t agree with that opinion,” said Kathleen Skrzypiec, chairwoman of the Tax Assessment Board of Review. “I believe the 8 per-cent only applies to the rents that are restricted.”

“I agree. The 8 percent only applies to those units that are subsidized,” said Judy Jones, a board member. Member Paul Caron also agreed that the assessment should stand.

The board did ask Pagliarini to pro-vide audited financial statements at

one of its meetings. After reviewing the statements, which include rent receipts and all expenditures, Robert said the partnership made money.

Teitz said the affordable units should be taxed one way and the mar-ket-rate units should be taxed another way.

Pagliarini wants to know how the town came up with the $11.9 million assessment.

Asked what the assessment would be if the 8 percent tax was applied to the entire complex, Pagliarini said he did not have that number.

“I’m arguing that it is not $11.9 mil-lion,” he said.

He said it makes sense for the two sides to try to settle. If the case is decided in the court and the town loses, it could have to rebate taxes with interest.

And it’s not in his client’s best interest to wait for a court trial and

pay more tax than it believes it should between now and the time the case is decided.

The town several months ago nego-tiated a settlement with Sandywoods Homes Inc. and Sandywoods Land Trust LLC that lowered the assess-ment and tax bill on the Sandywoods Farm art and agricultural community off Bulgarmarsh Road.

The originall assessment was $5.89 million, but an appraiser hired by San-dywoods claimed it should be $2.7 mil-lion. Robert denied that claim, noting that the complex cost $15 million to build, but the Tax Assessment Board of Review heard an appeal from San-dywoods last May and decided to lower the assessment to $3.8 million.

Sandywoods filed suit in Superior Court, but months later withdrew the complaint after the two sides agreed on an assessment of $3.29 million.

TiverTon

Bourne Mill tax assessment appealed to Superior Court

TODAYJAZZ — Rhumbline Restaurant, 62 Bridge St., Newport, 6:30-10:30 p.m., Ron Sanfilippo. 849-3999.

SATURDAYJAZZ — Rhumbline Restaurant, 62 Bridge St., Newport, 6:30-10:30 p.m., Lois Vaughan. 849-3999.

SUNDAYJAZZ PIANO — Clarke Cooke House Restaurant, Bannister’s Wharf, Newport, 12:30-3:30 p.m. Bobby Ferreira. 849-2900.

L i v e M U S i c

TODAYBLOOD DRIVE — Portsmouth High School gym, 120 Education Lane, Portsmouth, 8 a.m.-noon. Also, Cilantro Mexican Grill, 163 Connell Highway, Newport, 5-7 p.m. Also, Dunkin’ Donuts, 3001 East Main Road, Portsmouth, 5-8 p.m. Sponsored by the Rhode Island Blood Center. (800) 283-8385.“MOON ROCK NIGHT” — Krupowicz Planetarium at Joseph H. Gaudet Middle School, 1113 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown, open at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. Family Fun Moon Rock Night has educational space activities, moon rocks and a full dome planetarium show. Children younger than 4 not permitted. $3. www.mpsri.net/page.cfm?p=1012.“TRIBUTE TO BROADWAY” — Fenner Hall, 15 Fenner Ave., Newport, 6:30 p.m. Swanhurst Chorus will present its 20th annual Tribute to Broadway with Burt Shevelove and Steven Sondheim’s 1966 comedy, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” $35, includes full dinner and dessert buffet. 682-1630 or www.swanhurst.org.SANDYWOODS MUSIC SERIES — Sandywoods Center for the Arts, 43 Muse Way, Tiverton, doors open at 8:30 p.m., show at 9 p.m. The Low Anthem will perform. BYOB and food welcome. $15 advance at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/570882 and at the door. Seating limited. 241-7349 or www.sandywoodsmusic.com.

SATURDAYLEGISLATOR FORUM — Newport Public Library, 300 Spring St., 9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Sponsored by the Newport County League of Women Voters. Local legislators will discuss issues such as ethics, education, improving voting procedures and women’s health and answer questions from the audience. Free. 846-9537.BILINGUAL STORY TIME — Newport Public Library, 300 Spring St., Newport, 11:30 a.m. Spanish and English stories will be presented in the John Clarke Children’s Program Room. Free. 847-8720, Ext. 204.PHOTO EXHIBIT — Seamen’s

Church Institute, 18 Market Square, Newport, 1-3 p.m. “A Journey, A Legacy, A Sisterhood: Parallel Photo Exhibition” by the Newport-Skiathos Club, will be on display. Guest speakers will illustrate the history between Newport and sister city Skiathos, Greece. Dancing and refreshments. Free. www.seamensnewport.org.AUTHOR EVENT — Newport Public Library, 300 Spring St., Newport, 2 p.m. Author Robert Kolker will discuss his book, “Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery.” Free. 847-8720, Ext. 115.“FAMILY FUN DAY” — Redwood Library and Athenaeum, 50 Bellevue Ave., Newport, 2-3 p.m. A special hour devoted to bringing the family together, with toys, puzzles, coloring pages and books. All ages welcome. Free. 847-0292.PHOTO EXHIBIT — Van Vessem Gallery, 63 Muse Way, Tiverton, 5-8 p.m. Opening reception for ‘Cutler + Farrell + Sheehan,’ which will be on display through April 22. 835-6639.CONCERT AND FOOD TRUCK — The Meeting House, 3850 Main Road, Tiverton, doors open at 6:30 p.m., concert at 7:30 p.m. The Little Compton Band will perform. Food and drink from Acacia Food Truck and Bucket Breweries. $12 advance and at the door. 624-6200. www.thelittlecomptonband.com.“TRIBUTE TO BROADWAY” — Fenner Hall, 15 Fenner Ave., Newport, 6:30 p.m. Swanhurst Chorus will present its 20th annual Tribute to Broadway with Burt Shevelove and Steven Sondheim’s 1966 comedy, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” $35, includes full dinner and dessert buffet. 682-1630 or www.swanhurst.org.“MURDER AT THE MUSEUM” — Newport Art Museum, 76 Bellevue Ave., Newport, 7 p.m. The Marley Bridges Theatre Co. will present “Something Wicked this Way Comes,” an interactive, all-ages murder mystery set during the 1890s. $25 ($15 for members), $20 for seniors and active military ($10 for members). 848-8200. www.newportartmuseum.org.SANDYWOODS MUSIC

SERIES — Sandywoods Center for the Arts, 43 Muse Way, Tiverton, doors open at 8 p.m., show at 8:30 p.m. Bluesman Paul Geremia and Chris Monti will perform. BYOB and food welcome. $18 advance, $20 at the door. 241-7349 or www.sandywoodsmusic.com.

SUNDAYBLOOD DRIVE — Knights of Columbus, Hall, 28 Fish Road, Tiverton, 8 a.m.-noon. Also, Jamestown Fire Department EMS, Main Hall, 50 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown, 2:30-6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Rhode Island Blood Center. (800) 283-8385.PHOTO EXHIBIT — Seamen’s Church Institute, 18 Market Square, Newport, noon-2 p.m. “A Journey, A Legacy, A Sisterhood: Parallel Photo Exhibition” by the Newport-Skiathos Club will be on display. Guest speakers will illustrate the history between Newport and sister city Skiathos, Greece. Dancing and refreshments. Free. www.seamensnewport.org.FILM — Newport Public Library, 300 Spring St., Newport, 1:15 p.m. “Genghis Cohn,” a satire on the desire of the prosperous Germany of 1960 to forget what had transpired before. Discussion after the film. Refreshments will be served. Free. 846-3318.“MUSIC IN THE GALLERIES” — Ilgenfritz Gallery, Newport Art Museum, 76 Bellevue Ave., Newport, 2 p.m. Live concert featuring acoustic/folk musician Hann Cassady. Free with admission. www.newportartmuseum.org.SUNDAY MATINEE — Jamestown Philomenian Library, 26 North Road, Jamestown, 2 p.m. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” will be shown. 423-7280. www.jamestownphilomenianlibrary.org.SANDYWOODS MUSIC SERIES — Sandywoods Center for the Arts, 43 Muse Way, Tiverton, doors open at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. Folk arts husband and wife Evie Ladin and Keith Terry will perform. BYOB and food welcome. $15 adults, $10 children, younger than 5 free. 241-7349 or www.sandywoodsmusic.com.

c A L e N D A RThe 36th annual Newport Irish Heritage Month will be celebrated with events throughout the month of March. Highlights follow. For more information and updates, visit www.AOHNewport.org.

TODAYGUIDED TOUR OF FORT ADAMS — Fort Adams State Park, Harrison Avenue, Newport, noon and 2 p.m. daily through March 31. Historic fort was built with Irish labor between 1824-57. Adults $12, children $6 (mention Irish Heritage Month for $2 discounts). Weather permitting. 841-0707 or fortadams.org.

SUNDAYTRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC — The Fastnet Pub, 1 Broadway, Newport, 5-9 p.m. Hosted by A. O. Gutierrez, Tim May, and Jack Wright. No cover. Family friendly. thefastnetpub.com. 845-9311.

ThURSDAYLECTURE — International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, Bellevue Avenue, Newport (second floor), 6 p.m.; reception with light hors d’ouevres and cash bar to follow. Janet Nolan, Ph.D., will present “Servants of the Poor: Teachers in Ireland and Irish-America at the Turn of the 20th Century. Museum of Newport Irish History members $3; non-members $15, applied to a one-year membership. Reservations, 841-5493 or tpm1@earthlink.net.

i R i S h h e R i T A g e M O N T h League of Women

to host meetingNEWPORT — The League

of Women Voters of Newport County will host a meeting with members of Newport County’s legislative delegation on Satur-day from 9:45-11:15 a.m. at the Newport Public Library, 300 Spring St.

All of the legislators repre-senting Newport County have been invited. League member Patty MacLeish will moderate

the forum.Legislators will open the pro-

gram with a brief statement about their priorities for this legislative session. There will be questions prepared by the league on issues such as eth-ics, education, improving vot-ing procedures and women’s health, as well as questions from the audience.

The event is free and open to the public. For more infor-mation, contact Susan Wells at 846-9537.

P O L i T i c A L N O T e S

Van Vessem Gallery to open exhibit

TIVERTON — The Van Ves-sem Gallery will open “Cutler + Farrell + Sheehan,” a new exhi-bition featuring the works of Mark Cutler, Rick Farrell and Garrett Sheehan, on Saturday from 5-8 p.m. at the gallery, 63 Muse Way.

Mark Cutler is a well known singer-songwriter and rock musician. Photographer Rick Farrell has been drawn to music his entire life. Garrett Sheehan is a photographer and graphic artist, drawn to the

outside world and the rural side of life.

The exhibition will run through Tuesday, April 22. Reg-ular gallery hours are 1-5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and during weekend concerts at the adjacent Sandywoods Cen-ter for the Arts. Following the opening reception, blues musi-cian Paul Geremia is scheduled to perform at the concert hall next door.

The event is free and open to the public. For more informa-tion, call Marika van Vessem at 835-6639.

A R T S & e N T e R T A i N M e N T

This photo taken by Rick Farrell of Ramblin Jack Elliot performing last summer at the Newport Folk Festival will be among works on display this weekend at the Van Vessem Gallery in Tiverton.

Convention and Visitors Bureau, now known as Dis-cover Newport.

Architect Ross Cann of A4 Architecture, in consultation with Discover Newport staff, developed a preliminary rede-sign plan for the improvements.

“The tourism agency has already contributed concep-tual drawings to the project at their own cost, in an attempt to facilitate design changes for a hurricane and flood

resistant construction,” the grant announcement said. “RIPTA, Discover Newport, and the city of Newport will work with local partners to form a design review commit-tee that will be used to provide feedback during the design process while keeping the community’s goals in mind.”

“This federal funding will help RIPTA rebuild smarter and stronger and should make the Newport Gateway Cen-ter more resilient the next time a big storm or extreme weather hits,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the

Senate Appropriations Com-mittee, in a statement.

As a committee member, Reed supported the estab-lishment of a $3 billion com-petitive grant fund through the FTA’s Hurricane Sandy Resilience Program for pub-lic transportation resiliency projects.

Reed was joined by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-R.I., Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee in mak-ing the announcement.

Flynn@NewportRI.com

GatewayContinued from A3

PROVIDENCE (AP) — Rhode Island’s unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in Feb-ruary and the number of jobs in the state increased by 1,500, state labor officials announced Thursday.

The February rate is two-tenths of a percentage point lower than January’s, and rep-resents the lowest jobless rate in Rhode Island since October 2008.

The state’s Department of Labor and Training said the overall number of non-farm jobs in Rhode Island increased to 476,700 from a revised Janu-ary employment estimate of 475,200. The increase is attrib-uted to gains in the professional and business services sector.

S m a l l e r e m p l o y m e n t increases were seen in the financial activities sector, according to the report.

The number of unemployed residents was 49,700, down 800 from revised January figures. February was the seventh con-secutive month in which the number of unemployed resi-dents fell. Over the year the number of unemployed Rhode Islanders is down by 3,600.

Meanwhile, the size of Rhode Island’s labor force was up by 2,600 to 552,900 in February, but down 6,600 from a year ago.

Jobless rate dips to lowest since 2008