Office of the Mayor

WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND

City Hall P.O. Box B Woonsocket, RI 02895

Telephone (401) 767-9205 Fax (401) 765-4569 E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 23, 2018

Contact: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 401- 767-9205

City Receives $1500 Grant Award from RI DEM

to Bolster its Urban Forest

WOONSOCKET, RI: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt is pleased to announce the City of Woonsocket has been awarded a $1500 grant from the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to ‘apply towards the thoughtful stewardship of its urban forest.’

"These funds will provide a terrific boost to the continuation of our beautification and greening efforts citywide," said Mayor Baldelli-Hunt who credited the collective efforts of the City’s Engineering Department as instrumental in securing the grant funds. "They made this award happen. I applaud the proactive initiative and diligence they displayed to secure this funding opportunity which Superintendent of Solid Waste Michael Debroisse first located."

The City intends to utilize the funds to purchase several tree species for planting throughout neighborhoods in an effort to increase its supply of tree canopy, according to Mr. Debroisse who accepted the SEM’s certificate of award during an Arbor Day ceremony its Division of Forest Environment held on April 27, 2018. Internationally observed, Arbor Day promotes the public planting of trees and their natural benefits.

-30-

Details of David Pecker's Involvement in Donald Trump's alleged hush money trial came to light in court Thursday. Pecker took the stand for his third day of testimony, and revealed conversations between himself, the former President, and Associate Michael Cohen. Pecker says he arranged to buy the story surrounding Trump's alleged affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal for $150,000, but backed out of the deal after consulting with election lawyers, believing the payment may break the law.        Students at Columbia University are filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school. They filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on Thursday, demanding an investigation into the school's actions against pro-Palestinian students. The lawsuit alleges Columbia has mistreated students utilizing their first amendment rights.        The Food and Drug Administration says remnants of the bird flu were found in one in five pasteurized milk samples. Earlier this week, the FDA found fragments of the bird flu in commercially sold milk but said it's still safe to drink, as the pasteurization process kills the virus and only leaves small traces behind. On Thursday officials revealed about 20-percent of their milk samples contained remnants of the virus.        Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is having his conviction for sex crimes in New York overturned. The New York Court of Appeals ruled Weinstein did not receive a fair trial. The court found the judge in his trial made an error allowing women to testify about alleged sexual assaults committed by Weinstein that were not part of the charges against him. Weinstein was also sentenced in Los Angeles in February of last year to 16 years in prison after he was convicted of rape and that conviction still stands.        Buying a home is now more expensive than ever. A new report from Redfin found the median home price in the United States is now over 383-thousand-dollars, a record high. The economic research lead with Redfin says prices may drop slightly in the coming months, but buyers should accept that "housing costs are likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future." The median down payment is also up 24-percent compared to last year, at around 56-thousand-dollars.        Soulja Boy says he wants to help save TikTok. Congress passed a bill on Wednesday that requires TikTok's Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance to sell the app or else it will be banned in the United States. Soulja Boy has offered up a solution, posting "How much yall want for TikTok? I'll buy it." The rapper tagged the social media company in the post.