Daily Digest: Monday, September 30
On Tap Today: Last call of the season for Frosty Freez, Tales & Tunes of Ireland, & more
Good Morning. It’s Monday, September 30 —the 274th day of the year; 92 days remain in 2024.
🌥️ Today’s Weather: It is mostly cloudy, with a high near 67°. The sunrise was at 6:41 am, and the sunset will be at 6:28 p.m.
🚢 Cruise Ship: The 1,068-foot Norwegian Breakaway is scheduled to visit Newport today. She can accommodate 3,903 guests and 1,657 crew.
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Leading Off
🎙️ Ask The Candidates
We resume our Ask The Candidates series this week and next, with more than a dozen interviews scheduled.
Matt Grant, a Newport City Council Second Ward candidate, will join us at 12 pm today for a one-on-one conversation. (WUN)
Molly Kapstein Cote, candidate for Newport School Committee, will join us today at 5 pm for a one-on-one conversation. (WUN)
🙏 Saying Goodbye To A Friend
On Friday morning, my wife and I had to do one of the more difficult things in life—say goodbye to our family dog, Aero, our nearly 15-year-old beautiful blue-eyed Siberian Husky.
Aero, known for his stubbornness, shedding, and love of pizza, lived in Newport most of his life. Over the years, he was a (very) frequent visitor to Admiral Fitzroy Inn, Mansion Rentals, Mokka Coffeehouse, Rose Island, Style Newport, & The Pelham.
It didn’t hit me until this morning, but Aero had a couple of years on What’sUpNewp, and he could have been one of the reasons you first got to know me. Over the years, he made many friends in Newport. I thank you for the love you showed him. No matter how bad your day was or what was happening, Aero always made you smile.
One of his litter mates, the late Sky, also lived her life in Newport; I can’t help but imagine them doing their Husky thing together wherever they may be.
Thanks for letting me share.
~ Ryan
What To Know
Happening Today
✅ Things To Do
2 pm: Anna D’s Weekly Farmers Market at Anna D’s Cafe
4 pm: 3D Printing at Newport Public Library
6 pm: Helena Byrne: Tales & Tunes of Ireland at Fenner Hall
🎶 Live Music, & Entertainment
Perro Salado: John Monllos at 5:30 pm
The Fastnet Pub: The Ubiquitones at 10 pm
The Fifth Element: The Groove Merchants at 7 pm
🗓️ Local Government
Little Compton: Board of Canvassers at 1 pm
Middletown: Planning Board at 3 pm
Newport: Energy and Environment Commission at 6:30 pm
Portsmouth: Housing Authority at 3 pm
Tiverton: Zoning Revision Committee at 5 pm, Library Trustees at 7 pm, Town Council at 7 pm
News
⛵ Local sailors gathered on Saturday to race against each other for a good cause in Sail For Hope. (WJAR)
🎤 Newport City Council Vice Chair Lynn Underwood Ceglie joined me for a one-on-one conversation on Saturday morning. During the conversation, we spoke about last Wednesday’s City Council meeting and more. (WUN)
Notable Quote
“I voted against it on the first reading, and I voted against it on the second reading as well. I just feel as though they're trying to equate this tourism versus housing, you know, and it's not like that at all. It doesn't have anything to do with that. I mean, this just had to do with not having the evidence and the empirical evidence or any. Any evidence to show that we would be creating any kind of workforce housing."
~ Newport City Councilor Lynn Ceglie explained her vote against the proposed short-term rental moratorium in the business district during a conversation with WUN on Saturday.
Arts & Culture
🪦 Newport’s Island Cemetery brings history to life on October 5 with the Dirty Blue Shirts return for an interactive event. (WUN)
Business + Nonprofit
👏 Social Enterprise Greenhouse kicks off its 2024 fall programming with 44 entrepreneurs from Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, including two notable ventures from Newport. (WUN)
City & Government
👉 Newport City Council is gearing up to interview candidates for open positions on the Canvassing Authority and Historic District Commission. (WUN)
Election 2024
📺 We have one-on-one interviews coming up with many candidates for Newport City Council and Newport School Committee this week and next week. (WUN)
Environment & Health
🌎 A new House commission to study the impacts of climate change and solutions to mitigate them has been appointed and is scheduled for its first meeting on Tuesday. (WUN)
Food & Drink
🍷 There are Wine & Food festivals; then there is the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival. WUN’s Veronica Bruno writes about the event and where to find some of the selections in Rhode Island. (WUN)
🍦 Frosty Freez closes for the 2024 season today. They are scheduled to be open from 11:30 am to 9 pm.
Obituaries
🕊️ Donald Gilmore Magee 🕊️ Edward J. O’Donnell
Opinion
✍️ Once every 100+ years or so, it seems, Rhode Islanders become willing to come together to manage big change. We are not even halfway through that timeline this year when it comes to a constitutional convention, writes Ruth S. Taylor. (RI Current)
🗳️ ICYMI: Gerry Goldstein’s latest column for What’sUpNewp is here - Voting is no laughing matter – or is it? (WUN)
People
🇮🇹 Newport is gearing up for its annual Italian Heritage Parade, with Greg Gizzi at the helm as the 2024 Grand Marshal. (WUN)
📻 The Boston Red Sox honored longtime radio voice Joe Castiglione, who is calling his final game Sunday, with an on-field pregame ceremony. (WUN)
Sailing & Sports
🏈 Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Fred Warner returned an interception for a score and the San Francisco 49ers snapped a two-game skid by beating the New England Patriots 30-13 on Sunday. (WUN)
⚾ Vaughn Grissom had an RBI double and scored a run to help Boston beat Tampa Bay 3-1 on Sunday in the teams’ season finales, earning the Red Sox third place ahead of the Rays in the AL East. (WUN)
⛵ After three days of inspections, the first race of the 2024 ORC World Championship organized by the New York Yacht Club in cooperation with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) will start today. (WUN)
Things To Do
🍂 The seventh annual Broadway Street Fair is set to transform Newport’s main thoroughfare into a vibrant celebration of local culture on Saturday, October 12. More than 200 artisans, makers, and food vendors will line Broadway. (WUN)
🥧 The Norman Bird Sanctuary has much to celebrate in 2024, including the 75th anniversary of the organization’s founding and the 50th anniversary of its beloved Harvest Fair this weekend. (WUN)
Sorry for the loss of your dog, it is the hardest goodbye.