Mayor, School Superintendent, City Council Members, and Discover Newport join What'sUpNewp for interviews this week
What happening, new, and to do today in Newport, plus all the latest headlines.
It’s Monday, September 23 —the 267th day of the year; 99 days remain in 2024.
⛅ Today’s Weather: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66°.
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Leading Off
Ask The Mayor & Council
👉 We have an exciting week of one-on-one conversation on What’sUpNewp this week; I hope you’ll tune in and ask some questions.
Ask The Mayor: Newport Mayor Xaykham (Xay) Khamsyvoravong will join us at 4 pm today to preview what’s coming up at Wednesday’s Newport City Council Meeting. (Watch/Ask Questions)
Ask The Superintendent: Newport School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain joins What’sUpNewp for her monthly chat at 1:30 pm on Wednesday. (Watch/Ask Questions)
Ask The Council: Newport City Council Ward 2 Councilor Charlie Holder will join us at 3 pm on Wednesday to chat about City Council happenings. (Watch/Ask Questions)
Talkin’ Tourism: Evan Smith, the President and CEO of Discover Newport, will join What’sUpNewp to talk travel and tourism on Thursday at 10:30 am. (Watch/Ask Questions)
Ask The Council: Newport City Council Vice Chair Lynn Underwood Ceglie will join us at 10 am on Friday to recap Wednesday’s Newport City Council Meeting. (Watch/Ask Questions)
While a video and story will be available to all readers on whatsupnewp.com following each conversation, What’sUpNewp Supporters will receive a supporter-only newsletter following each of these conversations with a podcast, video, and story.
Note: If you want to access Supporter benefits but it’s not financially possible for you right now, email ryan@whatsupnewp.com, and we’ll make it work for you, with no questions asked.
What To Know
News
🦪 Not even the state lawmakers who sponsored 2024 legislation limiting development along the Sakonnet River are confident that the now-law bans an oyster farm proposed for the area. (WUN via RI Current)
⛽ More than a dozen states are now seeing gasoline prices below $3 per gallon as costs have continued their decline in recent months, according to AAA data. (WUN)
⛵ Most continental sailing championships are a marathon, with numerous races spread out across three or more days, often with varying conditions. The 2024 IC37 North American Championship, however, was a sprint. (WUN)
Arts & Culture
🤣 Comedian Tom Cotter will be appearing at The JPT on Thursday as part of the No Apologies tour alongside fellow comics Jim Florentine and Tammy Pescatelli. WUN’s Ken Abrams caught up with Cotter ahead of the show. (WUN)
🎭 The Gamm is launching its 40th anniversary season with the premiere of Lucy Prebble’s new play, The Effect, on Thursday. (WUN)
Business + Nonprofit
🎁 Registration to help the MLK Center this holiday season opens on October 15.MLK Community Center will again provide help with holiday meals, Santa’s Workshop Program, and more. (WUN)
🚘 The Newport Car Museum has been awarded TipAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award for 2024. (CorvetteBlogger)
🚢 Discover Newport updated its 2024 Cruise Ship Schedule last week. (Discover Newport) It will be a five cruise ship visit week;
Monday, Sept. 23 | Norwegian Breakaway
Tuesday, Sept. 24 | Meraviglia(canceled)Friday, Sept. 27 | Norwegian Sky
Sunday, Sept. 29 | Le Lyrial
Sunday, Sept. 29 | Enchanted Princess
City & Government
🚰 To get the sewer fee rates right as soon as possible, Newport City Council will host a first hearing on the item today during a special meeting; the second hearing will occur during the Regular Council Meeting on Wednesday. (WUN)
🚪 The City of Newport’s first Community Office Hours will run from 10 am until 12 pm on Friday at the Edward King House. (WUN)
Election 2024
🗳️ Politics as usual. What does that mean? Almost two-thirds of state legislative races in Rhode Island are uncontested, and legislative leaders in both houses are raking in the dollars. WUN’s Frank Prosnitz has the story. (WUN)
🎤 Candidates for Newport School Committee participated in a candidate forum on Thursday. (NDN)
📺 Reminder - we have one-on-one interviews coming up with many candidates for Newport City Council and Newport School Committee. (WUN)
Food & Drink
🦞 The Providence Journal weighs in on “A local’s guide to dining in Newport: Cheap eats, secret gems, scenery, seafood, and more. (Projo)
Notable Quote
“The cost of food and housing in Newport County is already expensive. Then, you add the cost of holiday food and gifts. It’s enough to weigh anyone down. That’s why programming like this is so important.”
Heather Hole Strout, Executive Director of the MLK Community Center, said when discussing MLK Center Holiday Help.
Obituaries
Opinion
✍️ Leonidas (Leon) Amarant, Candidate for Middletown Town Council, weighs in with a Letter to The Editor - The loss of civility and accountability. (WUN)
✍️ Charles J. Levesque, Democratic Candidate for Portsmouth Town Council, weighs in on the League of Women Voters Forum. (WUN)
🗓️ Take note - the deadline for Letter’s To The Editor regarding the 2024 General Election will be 5 pm on Friday, November 1.
People & Profiles
🎶 The National Tour of A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: The Neil Diamond Musical kicked off this weekend at PPAC. WUN’s Ken Abrams met four cast members of the award-winning jukebox musical that opened on Broadway in 2022. They shared a bit about the show, the singer’s legacy, and their favorite Neil Diamond songs. (WUN)
Sailing & Sports
⚾ The struggling Minnesota Twins were swept in a split doubleheader against Boston on Sunday, when Romy Gonzalez hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs in the nightcap to lead the Red Sox to a 9-3 victory. (WUN)
🏈 Tiverton High School’s football team achieves a historic victory on their home field, defeating Smithfield High School 27-13 in a high-scoring showdown. (WUN)
📷 This week, WUN’s Justin Walker will be covering the following local games; look for his recaps and photo galleries following each game.
Portsmouth Volleyball vs La Salle on Monday
Portsmouth Girls Soccer vs Pilgrim on Monday
Rogers Boys Soccer vs Tiverton on Wednesday
Things To Do
🖼️ Newport Mansions will host a variety of fall programs, beginning Thursday with “Art and Animals in the Gilded Age: Newport Stories” with Dr. Nicole Williams, Curator of Collections, The Preservation Society of Newport County. (WUN)
What’s Up Today
🚢 The 1,068-foot Norwegian Breakaway is scheduled to visit on Sunday. She can host 3,963 passengers.
Weather
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. Northeast wind around 14 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low of around 57. Northeast wind 11 to 14 mph.
Marine Forecast
Today: NE wind around 12 kt. Mostly cloudy. Seas 1 ft or less.
Tonight: NE wind 10 to 12 kt. Mostly cloudy. Seas 1 ft or less.
Coastal Water Temperature: 66°F.
Sun, Moon, & Tide
Sunrise: 6:34 am | Sunset: 6:40 pm | 12 hours and 5 minutes of sun.
High tide at 12:17 am & 12:48 pm | Low tide at 5:18 am & 7:17 pm.
Moon: Waning Gibbous. 20.2 days, 70% lighting.
Things To Do
2 pm: Anna D’s Weekly Farmers Market at Anna D’s Cafe
3 pm: Jamestown Farmers Market at Jamestown Recreation Center
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: Recreation Committee at 5:30 pm, Recreation Committee at 6:30 pm
Newport: City Council at 5 pm, Zoning Board of Review at 6:30 pm
Portsmouth: Town Council at 7 pm
Tiverton: North End and Industrial/Business Park Advisory Subcommittee at 9 am, Wastewater District at 5:30 pm, Housing Authority at 5:30 pm, Town Council at 7 pm
Do you have news, a news tip, or a story idea? Hit reply and let me know!