Letter to the Editor, Feb 17, 2011" Newport This Week"
by John Hirschboeck
“So, where are you checking in from today?” came my wife Mary’s voice, 3,000 miles away in California.
“Newport, Rhode Island. It’s a stunningly beautiful city. I think I found it; everything we’re looking for.”
“Like what, besides those opulent mansions I read about?”
I went through my check list. “There are great museums and art galleries. Beautiful beaches. Historic charm with a fascinating history dating back to the 1600’s. Salve Regina University. World famous music festivals. Cliff Walk. Hardly any traffic. Great restaurants and shopping. A wonderful place to visit – in fact, right now there’s hundreds of tourists and a big cruise ship in port. There’s just so much character and beauty here. You’re gonna love it,” I said prophetically.
I flipped my cell phone shut and smugly leaned back into an Adirondack chair perfectly positioned to overlook Newport’s brilliant cobalt blue harbor dotted with white sails. It was a crisp fall-in-the-air September afternoon, three and a half years ago.
Paradise -- could I really have just found it?
Mary had been waiting for my latest report on efforts to scour the East Coast for our next home. Our children were in colleges in New England, and we finally had the luxury to move our empty nest to virtually any place in the country (ideally, close to -- but of course not on top of -- the kids).
Today we get asked all the time (usually by native Newporters),“but of all the places, why here???”
The simple answer lies in our adopted city’s natural and historic beauty and resources. It’s intangible quality of life. It’s “livability,” if you will.
We delight in showing off the “city by the sea” to our many visitors, most of whom are discovering the delights of Newport as we had. My sense is that it sometimes takes an outsider to truly appreciate everything one has on the inside. Now that we’ve become resident “insiders,” we strive to do what we can to preserve this very special quality of life.
And that’s what led me to join ALN; The Alliance for a Livable Newport.
“The Alliance has as its mission improving the quality of life in Newport by being an unbiased resource for information on the issues of importance to the community”
The ALN board members are independent citizen-volunteers actively involved in many Newport organizations and activities, including our various neighborhood associations. This background informs our discussion of issues critical to a livable Newport.
During the past two years, 20 lively community forums have been hosted by ALN and attended by your neighbors -- concerned and involved citizens. Our forums addressed four key issues that are at the foundation of a livable city:
- Our schools and quality of education
- Our natural environment
- Our infrastructure
- Our public health and safety
Join ALN
Won’t you join ALN to help with this important work? Members’ dues and other grants and donations support the presentation of ALN FORUMS throughout the year. Individuals, civic groups and businesses are all welcome.
The more members and contributors to ALN, the stronger our community.
As a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization, we are totally dependent on grants and individual donations for our funding. If you care about improving the quality of life in Newport, consider becoming a contributing member of ALN:
• Supporting member – $20
• Sustaining member - $100
Donations may be mailed to:
Alliance for a Livable Newport, P.O. Box 2636, Newport, RI 02840
Or pay on-line by going to www.allianceforlivablenewport.org/donations.html
You’ll also want to subscribe to our free e-gram alerting you to critical issues facing our community and upcoming ALN community forums that impact Newport’s quality of life. Videos of past forums can be found on the ALN website.
Visit www.allianceforlivablenewport.org for more information
Sincerely,
John Hirschboeck
Alliance for a Livable Newport
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John Hirschboeck is a member of the Executive Committee of ALN, the Cliff Walk Commission and the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County
