Good morning, Providence. This is PVD Current, the newsletter as helpful as an umbrella in your car on a rainy day.

What to expect in today’s Current:

• New PVD Current sections and branding 🌊 

• 🎫 Events happening this weekend

• RI secures SOR grant 💊 

Let’s get to it.

— Oscar Punchak

Coastal Cafe Chronicles

Where I Tried: Seven Stars Bakery (103 Point St, Providence, RI 02903)

What I ordered: Small iced mocha with almond milk + chocolate croissant

What it cost: $10.80

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

This is the order I always get when doing these reviews. I like to keep it consistent to keep the reviews fair. Iced mocha + chocolate croissant = go-to order.

To be honest… I might be running out of spots that have both a mocha AND a croissant. Eventually, I’ll have to swap the croissant for something else. In the meantime though, Seven Stars was pretty good. They have an almond chocolate croissant that I prefer to just the regular chocolate croissant but I had to stay true to my go-to order. I liked the mocha a lot. It might be a bit stronger than other places I’ve reviewed. The only reason it isn’t a full four stars is because the size of the mocha is pretty small - especially compared to some other spots I’ve tried. If you’re into Seven Stars, this one on Point Street always seems more low-key than the one on Hope, especially on the weekends.

Reply to this email with how many guesses it took you!

Currents & Waves

📢 Community Meetings for Urban League Site Redevelopment

The City of Providence announced community engagement meetings to discuss the redevelopment of 246 Prairie Avenue, the former Urban League site. The meetings, aimed at gathering input from Southside residents, will take place at the Davey Lopes Recreation Center on October 24, November 12, and December 10, 2024. Demolition is set for late October. Long-time community advocate Dwayne Keys will facilitate the process. Residents are encouraged to share their insights and help shape the future of this important site. More details are available at providenceri.gov/246prairie.

RI Gets $11.36M to Fight Opioid Crisis 💊 

U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, announced $11.36 million in federal funding for Rhode Island through the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant. The funds, administered by SAMHSA, will support opioid prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction efforts. The grant will expand access to the overdose-reversal drug Narcan and enhance recovery support services. Rhode Island aims to reduce opioid addiction and overdose deaths, with improved data collection and a public dashboard at PreventOverdoseRI.org. Overdose deaths in the state have declined from 436 in 2022 to 164 so far in 2024.

🌊 PVD Current Housekeeping

For the next few issues, I am going to be experimenting with new sections and new branding. Nothing in the newsletter will be removed, but some things may be added, like the Weekend Events section lower down in this email. Any feedback or suggestions on new sections or anything else PVD Current related is much appreciated!

Coastline Commerce

Looking for a new apartment? With a restaurant? 🏠 🍻 

This mixed-unit property located on Federal Hill just came up on the market. This is the first time the property in DePasquale Square has been listed in over 25 years. The property includes a restaurant with a long-term tenant paying $4,000 monthly and two fully furnished 2-bedroom apartments with long-term tenants. The third-floor unit has loft space and a private deck. The building has a 7-year-old roof, and there's an option to purchase the neighboring blue property as well. Read more here.

Seaside Skies

FRIDAY

76°🌡 57° | 🌥️ | 💧 17% | 💨 WNW 5 mph

SATURDAY

73°🌡 57° | ☁️ | 💧 8% | 💨 ENE 9 mph

SUNDAY

68°🌡 53° | ☁️ | 💧 13% | 💨 ENE 7 mph

(The forecast as of the night before this newsletter was published.)

Weekend Events

_{This is a section I am experimenting with. Please let me know at the bottom of the section if you’d like it to stay every Friday or not.}

🍂 Hello Fall @ Roger Williams Park (Fri-Sun)

• Food trucks

• Live music

• Local arts & crafts

• Lawn games

• + More!

• Click here to learn more

👻 Providence Ghost Tour & Haunted Benefit Street (Fri-Sun)

• Tour every day at 7pm

• ~1.5 hours long

• Take a tour of the College Hill area while learning all the haunted ghost stories about the area

• Learn more or get tickets here

🎵 Community MusicWorks Center Grand Opening Block Party (Saturday)

• 2:00 pm: Building tours

• 3:00 pm: Kick-off parade + performance of composer Wang Lu’s Fabric

• 3:30 pm: Food trucks arrive

• 4:30 pm: MusicWorks Collective reprise performance

• 5:00 pm: More building tours and dancing

• Learn more here

👰‍♀️ Rhode Island Bridal & Wedding Expo (Sunday)

• Meet many wedding companies

• Cash prizes and giveaways

• Food, music, flowers

• Free if you register online or $10 at the door

• Learn more here

Sound Waves

FRIDAY

Ladder 133 | Local Music | 6:30pm

Moonshine Alley | Oliver Penn | 9pm

Courthouse Center for the Arts | Simon & Garfunkel | 7:30pm | Get tickets here

SATURDAY

Moonshine Alley | Michael Brennan | 5pm

Luigi's Restaurant | Gerrick Van Deusen | 9pm

Moonshine Alley | 12 O/C Band | 9:30pm

Courthouse Center for the Arts | The Pousette-Dart Band | 7:30pm | Get tickets here

Maritime Matches

SATURDAY

Brown Stadium | Harvard vs. Brown 🏈 | 12pm | Get tickets here

Newport International Polo Series | Turkish Airlines Finals | 4pm | Get tickets here

That’s all for today…

Thank you for reading all the way through! Feel free to email us with any questions or suggestions. You’ll hear from us again on Monday.

Thanks,

Oscar Punchak | Publisher, PVD Current 🌊