1. References

erbert P. Weiss (Herb) is a City of Pawtucket municipal employee, an American author and award-winning journalist. For the past 18 years, as the City’s economic & cultural affairs officer in the Department of Planning and Redevelopment http://www.pawtucketri.com/planning-redevelopment, he has spearheaded (for Mayor James E. Doyle and Mayor Donald R. Grebien) the efforts to revitalize the blue collar mill community by attracting artists and craftsman into its mills. The award winning journalist’s https://achca.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/Awards/award%20winners%201991-2015.pdf, https://northtexan.unt.edu/content/herb-weiss (Alumni Appreciation Day, April 17, 1998 at University of North Texas) articles have been featured in both national and Rhode Island-based publications, covering Congress and federal and state public policy issues and providing tips as to how one can age gracefully and “boldly.

Personal Life and Education

Weiss was born on June 25, 1954 in Dallas, Texas to the late Frank and Sally Weiss. His siblings include Nancy Coplin of Austin, Texas and James Weiss of Chicago, and the late Michele Aurbach of Dallas, Texas. In 1972 he graduated from Hillcrest High School and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a social work certificate from University of Texas in 1977. Later he received a master’s degree in 1979 from North Texas State University, completing his long term care administer internship at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in Rockville, Maryland. He completed 24 hours of doctoral courses in the Public Policy Administration program at University of Maryland in Baltimore County, Maryland.

Weiss is married to Patricia S. Zacks (D’Angelo) of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He has two step children, Ben (born in 1983) and Samantha (born in 1981). He has lived in Rhode Island for over 24 years and a resident of PaIwtucket.

Growing an Arts Community in Pawtucket

On January 4, 1999, the first day of his new job, Weiss was charged with the City of Pawtucket’s oversight of its newly established 307 acre Arts and Entertainment District. Over the years, he has brought significant recognition for Pawtucket’s arts-oriented development strategy. http://www.golocalprov.com/news/poweraplayer-pawtuckets-herb-weiss. http://www.artinruins.com/interviews/weiss/, ( Kari Kline,“They Make Art for Pawtucket’s Sake,” The Slater Trader, June 2004, P.1; Ian Donnis, “The Sparkplug: Herb Weiss Has Helped to Remake Pawtucket as a More Artist Friend Community, The Providence Phoenix,” October 10, 2003, P. 28: Editorial, “Pawtucket’s Success is not an Accident,” Providence Business News,” June 4-10, 2007, P. 36; (Nicole Dionne, Newsmakers, “Pawtucket’s Revival Coming Together ‘Like a Mosaic’”, Providence Business News, June 4-10, 2007, P. 4)

Pawtucket even found itself named in Art Calendar’s “Ten Great Towns for Working Arts.” http://orders.professionalartistmag.com/print.asp?ID=70,

  Articles about his successful efforts of bringing artists toi the City’s historic mills have appeared the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/realestate/old-mills-remade-in-pawtucket-ri-with-art-as-their-product.html?_r=0, the Boston Globe, https://www.bostonglobe.cofm/magazine/2016/03/01/where-have-boston-artists-gone/rdeNCMBMVpUqhY6Hjvni9L/story.html; http://www.mirrorimage.com/mi/articles/bglobe01.html,

Christian Science Monitor, http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0928/p01s01-ussc.html, the Wall Street Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303670804579232412520127176 through associated press articles http://web.kitsapsun.com/archive/2003/12-26/360663_a_town_s_industrial_past_paves_.html

along with local newspapers, Providence Business News http://pbn.com/Persistence-pays-in-promoting-the-arts,13255, http://pbn.com/Arts-need-government-advocate-to-help-grow-local-jobs,91496?print=1,

http://www.mirrorimage.com/mi/articles/pj01.html

Pawtucket Times, http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/nea-chief-tours-hope-artiste-village/article_67c33819-9116-5344-8111-3252da3589f8.html ,

  Providence Phoenix. http://theprovidencephoenix.com/features/p_and_j/documents/03438933.asp, http://www.providencephoenix.com/features/top/multi/documents/04483450.asp,http://thephoenix.com/boston/news/122801-charm-city-looks-for-inspiration/, http://www.providencephoenix.com/archive/pj/01/09/13/pj.html 

and The Herald News http://froed.org/2008/03/30/pawtucket-could-be-muse-for-fall-rivers-rebirth/

A 53 minute documentary, Pawtucket Rising, was released in 2008 by Jason Caminiti, a Fall River film maker, documenting Weiss’s successful efforts of creating an artist friendly community. http://rhodeislandpbs.blogspot.com/2009/01/pawtucket-rising-profiles-growth-of.html;; http://newenglandfilm.com/magazine/2009/04/art-as-an-economic-engine, http://rhodeislandpbs.blogspot.com/2009/07/re-post-imagine-nerve.html

  Since 1999, when the City created the month-long Pawtucket Arts Festival, Weiss played a key role of raising funds and overseeing the marketing and implementation for the month-long Pawtucket Arts (until 2015), which has grown into one of New England’s largest events.  An 2009 editorial in the Providence Journal, Rhode island’s largest dailies, called this festival, “one of New England’s most interesting and enjoyable series of cultural events.”  In recognition of his efforts, the PAF Board gave Weiss its first Medal of Excellence Award in 2015, when he stepped down in providing staff support to the arts festival. http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/pawtucket-arts-festival-to-honor-weiss/article_8081dfc0-aa4f-574d-864c-be0c55d28369.html, http://www.valleybreeze.com/2015-04-21/pawtucket/pawtucket-arts-festival-fundraiser-will-honor-herb-weiss#.WHvoM1UrLIU 

With Pawtucket’s growing reputation of successfully building a thriving arts community, Mayor James E. Doyle, who charged Weiss with that task, was acknowledged for this innovative economic development policy. In 2003, the U.S. Conference of Mayors recognized Pawtucket (for its arts initiative) and 27 other municipalities for having the best small business practice cities in the country. The Northern Rhode Island Chamber gave him its 2004 Barbara Burlingame Award to recognize his outstanding contribution to the business community. http://www.golocalprov.com/politics/weiss-the-political-legacy-of-james-e.-doyle

Meanwhile, in 2006, the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission would present him with its prestigious John H. Chaffee Public Service Award for his City’s efforts to use an arts policy to preserve the City’s historic mills. That year, he would also receive the Senator Chafee Heritage Award from the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Heritage Corridor for revitalizing Pawtucket through the arts. http://www.golocalprov.com/politics/weiss-the-political-legacy-of-james-e.-doyle

http://www.blackstonevalley.org/leadership/July2004.pdf,

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText04/HouseText04/H8362.pdf

http://www.blackstonevalley.org/leadership/April2004.pdf

In 2005, he received the Advocacy in the Arts Action Award from All Children’s Theatre.

http://providencephoenix.com/features/p_and_j/documents/03675543.asp. Finally, for Weiss, the Excellence in Arts and Business Award in 2013 capped off years of being a tireless advocate for Pawtucket’s arts community and its small business landscape. http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/weiss-to-be-honored-by-blackstone-valley-tourism-council-at/article_93207eee-faef-5c33-8286-1308f47696ee.html,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD-ETz4mjDc,

http://www.blackstonevalleytourismcouncil.org/dinner2013.pdf

Pawtucket’s growing reputation of “rolling out the red carpet” to artists, filmmakers and location scouts put the City on the radar screen as a community best suited to shoot particular scenes in a historic mill or commercial building. Weiss has taken on the role of being the City’s point person to showcase the City and to process the City’s Permission to Film Application. For his advocacy and support of the film industry, in 2010 the Rhode Island Independent Film Collaborative gave the city official its first Excellence Award. http://www.golocalprov.com/lifestyle/ri-film-collaboratives-black-and-white-in-space-bash, http://providencedailydose.com/2010/11/22/rifc-annual-black-and-white-holiday-fundraiser/ In 2016, the Rhode Island International Film Festival recognized his efforts of promoting the state film industry in Pawtucket and bestowed to him its Producer’s Circle Award. .http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/news/pawtucket-s-weiss-honored-for-film-help/article_551111de-603e-11e6-a844-ff242704c925.html, http://www.film-festival.org/award16.php, http://wpri.com/2016/08/14/sunday-local-roundup-august-14-2016/, http://www.pbn.com/Flickers-names-award-winners-from-20th-annual-festival,116601?search_filter=herb+weiss++&search_filter_mode=and&search_range_option=entire_site&sub_type=stories,packages

             Word of mouth and media coverage touted Weiss’s successful efforts to revitalize Pawtucket’s mills through an “economic development” art policy.  Throughout the nation city and state officials began taking a closer look at Pawtucket’s efforts to revitalize its economy through the arts. http://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=muskie_capstones http://altdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/arts_impact_studio_report_565daad70249c.pdf, http://vaartsandculture.blogspot.com/       Weiss was also invited by age organizations, and city and state officials to detail Pawtucket’s arts policy and its impact.  These invitations took him to: Maine - Portland; Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Oil City:  Rhode Island – Providence, Cranston, Newport, and Woonsocket; New York - New York City;  Maine – Portland; New York – New York City; , Philadelphia - Oil City, Pennsylvania; New Jersey: Camden; Millville; Massachusetts -New Bedford, Fall River and Rockport.  http://efc.muskie.usm.maine.edu/docs/CEreport.pdf, http://www.nefa.org/creative_economy/projects/pawtucket_rhode_islands_creative_community,

https://www.artistcommunities.org/conference2010/events.html

http://www.wickedlocal.com/x1644237450/seARTS-meeting-explores-districts-devoted-to-arts-communities

https://www.planning.org/events/activity/4154859/

http://www.artinruins.com/stories/news/06-0409.php

Journalistic Career

For more than 37 years, Weiss has covered aging, health care and medical issues. He oversaw editorial content for seven nationally published trade newsletters and newspapers (Managing Editor, Brown LTQ Quality Letter; Founding Editor, Aging Network News; Editor, Senior Law Report and Marketing to Seniors; Editor, of three medical-related national newsletters on CPT and CPR coding, as well as, Medicare reimbursement issues for physicians; and Founding Editor, Senior Living, now called Prime Time.

Weiss also freelanced 27 articles for the Providence Journal (John Castellucci, “Council to Consider Planning Promotion, The Providence Journal, October 7, 2003, P. C3). the cable show, Senior Living on Cox Cable and talk show host of Senior Digest on 630 a.m.- WPRO Radio.

As Director of Education and Research for the Health Facilities Association of Maryland, a nursing home advocacy group, in 1980 Weiss published his first article, an AIT’s View of the Word in Contemporary Administrator for Long Term Care (September 1980, p. 2) Today, over more than 630 articles that he authored or co-authored, spanning more than 30 categories, have appeared in both daily newspapers and national trade publications He has been recognized both nationally and in Rhode Island. These include receipt of the American College of Health Care Administrator’s 1994 and 1999 National Journalism Award https://achca.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/Awards/award%20winners%201991-2015.pdfand.

Weiss was the first recipient of the AARP Rhode Island’s 2004 Vision Award (AARP Connections Rhode Island, Winter 2004, P. 1), for my coverage of aging issues in his “All About Seniors” column published in the Pawtucket Times and received the 1998 Distinguished Alumnus award from the Department of Applied Gerontology at the University of North Texas for his journalistic career (Alumni Appreciation Day, April 17, 1998 at University of North Texas).

In 1988, as legislative assistant for Senator Larry Pressler, Weiss played a key role in organizing a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota that put a spotlight on the needs of older Indians. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_American_Indian_Elderly.html?id=XYsTAAAAIAAJ

             In  January 1997, Mr. Weiss was selected by McKnight’s LTC News to be placed in its “100 Most Influential People” in Long-Term Care (Volume 18, No., Page 14.)             Today, his weekly age beat commentary covering issues that impact America’s baby boomer and seniors, is published in the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call, two Northern Rhode Island daily newspapers. https://herbweiss.wordpress.com/    His articles have also appear in the Warwick Beacon, http://warwickonline.com/browse.html?search_filter=herb+weiss  Cranston Herald, http://cranstononline.com/browse.html?archive_search=1&content_source=archive&search_filter=herb+weiss&search_filter_mode=and&byline=&date_start_n=&date_start_j=&date_start_Y=&date_end_n=&date_end_j=&date_end_Y= Johnston Sun Rise, http://johnstonsunrise.net/browse.html?archive_search=1&content_source=archive&search_filter=herb+weiss&search_filter_mode=and&byline=&date_start_n=&date_start_j=&date_start_Y=&date_end_n=&date_end_j=&date_end_Y=

Senior Digest http://seniordigestnews.com/?s=herb+weiss

Motif Magazine, http://motifri.com/?s=herb+weiss

 the Jewish Voice, http://jvhri.org/browse.html?search_filter=herb+weiss and two blogs, GoLocalProv.com. http://www.golocalprov.com/search/b15fd0820e2de2b3b75a776fce11c0ab/ and RIFutures.org http://www.rifuture.org/author/hweissri/ 

In 2014, Weiss co-edited an e-book with Dr. Nancy Carriuolo, president of Rode Island College, detailing the emails of Richard Walton, a well-known Rhode Island social activist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Walton, http://www.providencejournal.com/writers/bob-kerr/20140305-bob-kerr-richard-waltons-thoughtful-voice-is-brought-back-in-an-e-book.ece

        Finally, in August 2016 Weiss published a 310 page paperback book, “Taking Charge: collected Stories on Aging Boldly, compiling 79 of his weekly columns in 13 chapters.

www.Herbweiss.com, http://motifri.com/book-review-taking-charge/ http://eastsidemonthly.com/stories/east-side-in-the-know-october-2016,20775

http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/news/times-columnist-weiss-pens-book/article_8156337c-9a2d-11e6-ab0e-fb47a199ddb7.html

http://www.golocalprov.com/health/weiss-this-age-beat-writer-to-publish-collected-stories-on-myriad-of-aging

https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Collected-Stories-Boldly/dp/0692688706

AARP Rhode Island Director Kathleen Connell wrote the foreward for this book saying that “This is a collection [of articles] to savor.” http://herbweiss.com/assets/pagesfromtakingcharge.pdf

             Weiss served on the editorial advisory board of these publications covering long-term care:  The Brown LTC Quality Letter (1993); McKnight’s LTC News (1992-2000); and Aging Network News  (1991-1993);  The Journal of Long Term Care Administrators (1985 –1995) and Contemporary Long Term Care (1983- 1990).               Weiss covered Capitol Hill writing the Capitol Report for The Journal of Long Term Care Administration and Inside Washington for Contemporary Long Term Care. 

As a journalist he was accredited by credited Publication, Senate-House of Representative News Gallery (1987, 1988, 1990, 1991) to cover Congress.

Side Box

Herbert P. Weiss (Herb)

Born June 25, 1954

           Dallas, Texas 

Nationality United States

Education Hillcrest High School

                       Dallas, Texas ,(1972)                                               University of Texas                        Austin, Texas ( BA Psychology with Concentration in Social Work, 1977)                         North Texas State University                        Denton, Texas (MA in Studies in Aging,1979)                          University of Maryland                          Baltimore County, Maryland (24 hours of doctoral courses completed in Public                          Policy Admnistration) 

Professional

License Nursing Home Administrator, Washington, DC 1981-1987; Rhode Island, 1993-

                          1999 

Occupation Municipal Employee, Journalist

Known for: Being an advocate for arts and businesses in Pawtucket and for the State of

                       Rhode Island and for his reporting on aging, health care and medical issues 

Groups and

Boards Advisory Board Member, Rhode Island Independent Film Collaborative Advisory;

                            2010-present                              Board Member, Pawtucket hall of Fame, 2007-present                              Member, Theta II Class, LeadershipRI, Graduated October 2012                               Member, Rhode Island Disability Council, 2006-2012                                Member, Pawtucket Economic Ad Hoc Committee, 2009                                 Board Member, Slater Hill Historic Site, 2002-2016                                 Board Member, Pawtucket Armory, 2002-2008                               Member, Small Business Advocacy Council, 2000-2013                                Mmber, Advisory Commission on Aging, Three, Appointed by Three                               Rhode Island Governors                                 President, Pawtucket Rotary Club, 2005-2007, Member 2002 - present                              Member, Pawtucket Riverfront Commission, 2000-2004                              Commissioned a Kentucky Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky.  1997-                              present. 

Spouse: Patricia S. Zacks

Step-

Children Ben Zacks (

References

• St Symphorian's Church, Durrington
• St. Symphorien
• St Symphorien
• St Symphorien cemetery
• St Symphorien Cemetery
• St. Symphorien Cemetery
• St. Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery
• St Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
• St Symphorien Military Cemetery
• St Symphorien military cemetery
• S&T System Integration & Technology Distribution AG
• STT 103AB
• STT 152
• STT 21
• STT 288
• STT 2AB
• STT3B
• STT 514
• STT 92
• St. Taegon Andrew
• St. Takla Haymanot's Church (Alexandria)
• St. Talarican
• St Tallanus' Church, Talland
• ST Taluk Ambon
• St. Tammany