🏈 Middletown triumphs on Senior Night ⛔ No plans to sell or privatize Easton’s Beach 🎄 Newport Mansions gears up for holiday season with new offerings
Plus: What’s Up Interview: Grammy winning singer Lucinda Williams, playing The Vets November 15
Good Morning! It’s Saturday, November 2. 🗓️ Today is the 307th day of the year; 59 days remain in 2024. Along with being a Saturday, today is Day of The Dead, All Souls Day, World Ballet Day, and more.
👋 First time reading this newsletter? Welcome! Join more than 17,000 who wake up to us daily. Sign up here. 📢 Keep in touch. I’d love to hear from you with any questions, feedback, story ideas, or news tips you might have. To do so, hit reply.
What’s Up Today
☀️ Weather: Increasing clouds, with a high near 58. North wind around 9 mph.
⚓ Marine: N wind around 8 kt. Increasing clouds. Seas 1 ft or less.
🌒 Sun, Moon, & Tide: Sunrise at 7:19 am, sunset at 5:38 pm. Low tide at 1:52 am & 2:45 pm. High tide at 8:48 am & 9:08 pm. The lunar phase is a Waxing Crescent.
🕰️ Reminder: Daylight saving time ends for the year at 2 am on Sunday.
🚢 Next up is the Insignia on November 7 - the last cruise ship scheduled to visit this year.
⛵ Happening Today: Greenvale Vineyards’ 25th Annual Harvest Festival, Juston McKinney at The JPT, Newport Restaurant Week, and more. Our complete events, live music, entertainment, and local public meeting roundup are here [WUN].
Need To Know
1️⃣ Mayor Xay, Councilor Aramli address disinformation, emphasize no plans to sell or privatize Easton’s Beach
👉 Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong and Councilor Mark Aramli are responding to rumors that Easton’s Beach is for sale or facing privatization, calling such claims “utterly ridiculous” and a misrepresentation of recent public discussions about the beach’s future.
Read the full story - Mayor Xay, Councilor Aramli address disinformation, emphasize no plans to sell or privatize Easton’s Beach.
2️⃣ Middletown High School Football triumphs on Senior Night
Middletown High School’s varsity football team dominated Coventry High School 32-6 in a Division II game on Nov. 1. The win, which coincided with Middletown’s senior night, brings their season record to 4-4, while Coventry drops to 2-6.
WUN’s Justin Walker was at the game and captured a photo gallery of the action.
Read the full story - Middletown High School Football triumphs on Senior Night.
3️⃣ Preservation Society of Newport County gears up for holiday season with new offerings
🎄 The Preservation Society of Newport County is preparing for a bustling holiday season with a range of new offerings and ongoing projects.
Trudy Coxe, President and CEO of the organization, shared details about upcoming events and initiatives in an interview with What’sUpNewp on Friday, November 1
Read the full story here - Preservation Society of Newport County gears up for holiday season with new offerings.
What’s Up Out There
News
🚨 The motorcycle operator who was involved in a crash on the Jamestown Bridge on Thursday has died, according to authorities. He has been identified as Jonathan W. Hopkins, 34, of South Kingstown. [WLNE] [WPRI]
🔥 One person was taken to the hospital after a mobile home on Fairfield Avenue in Tiverton went up in flames on Friday. [WPRI]
🚍 RIPTA ended its free “Hop-On Hop-Off” bus service promotion in Newport on October 31. The service, which ran for the summer season, provided free transportation to popular tourist destinations and beaches along Routes 67. [WUN]
🎄This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree comes with a strong New England accent, and locals could not be more excited. [WUN]
Arts, Culture & Things To Do
🎵 WUN’s Ken Abrams caught up with Grammy-winning Lucinda Williams ahead of her show at The Vets on Nov. 15. [WUN]
🎤 Comedian Juston McKinney will appear at The JPT this evening. Juston has multiple appearances on “The Tonight Show”, one-hour specials on “Comedy Central” and “Amazon Prime”, including “Parentally Challenged” and “On Mid-Life Support. [WUN]
🎅🏻 New England’s favorite winter tradition, the Holiday Lights Spectacular, is coming to Roger Williams Park Zoo. [WUN]
🎶 Eileen Ivers and Livingston Taylor are coming to Newport in December for performances at The JPT. [WUN]
Business & Nonprofit
💰 The historic Sandy Point Farm in Portsmouth sold at auction Thursday for more than $2 million, despite efforts by a newly formed nonprofit to preserve the property as a community space. [WUN]
🇺🇸 Representatives from more than 85 companies heard from Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport leaders and decision-makers about current and future partnership opportunities during Industry Day on Oct. 16. [NUWC]
Election
📈 More than 187,000 Rhode Islanders have already voted in the General Election, including more than 20,000 in Newport County and more than 5,000 in Newport. [WUN]
🗳️ Republican Patricia Morgan is challenging Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse for his U.S. Senate seat. WUN’s Frank Prosnitz recently interviewed both candidates. [WUN - Whitehouse] [WUN - Morgan]
🔍 A steady stream of false and misleading information is circulating online around the 2024 election. The AP has a look at some of the false and misleading claims. [WUN]
Food & Drink
🍇 Greenvale Vineyards will host its 25th Annual Harvest Festival today from 11 am to 5 pm. The day promises plenty of wine, music, food, and fun. [WUN]
Opinion
✍️ Catch up on all of the latest Letters To The Editor and opinion pieces here. [WUN]
Obituaries
Real Estate
🏘️ 28 open houses are happening this weekend across Newport County. WUN’s Tyler Bernadyn has the rundown. [WUN]
Sports
🏈 Portsmouth High School Football picked up a 24-21 win over Hendricken on Friday night. [WJAR]
🏈 The Salve Regina University football team (4-3, 3-1 NEWMAC) plays a NEWMAC matchup at SUNY Maritime (5-2, 3-1 NEWMAC) on Saturday, November 2, at Reinhart Field in Throggs Neck, Bronx, New York, at 1 p.m. [Salve]
⚽ Rhode Island FC announced on Friday that the club’s historic first playoff match at Indy Eleven, set for Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1 pm at Michael A. Carroll Stadium, will broadcast locally on NESN. The broadcast will also stream nationally on ESPN+. In addition, the match will air locally on 790 The Score (790 AM).
Fans can join in cheering on the team at the Official Rhode Island FC Watch Party at The Thirsty Beaver Hometown Pub & Grub in Smithfield. For fans unable to make it to Smithfield, Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co. will be among the select bars across the state showing the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal match.
