RIDOT will shift all traffic to the newly rebuilt northbound side of the South County Trail bridge at the Route 4 interchange starting Friday night, Aug. 28. The two-lane configuration in place during construction becomes permanent — one lane each direction with a center turning lane, connecting to the existing road diet south of the […]
Rhode Island
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about COVID and flu vaccines in 2026
I got a Pfizer COVID vaccine last night from Walgreens. And no, RFK Jr, I didn’t die. I didn’t feel a thing, and I feel fine now. No magnetic particles are letting extraterrestrials control my thoughts from space, at least not as far as I can tell. We are in the late summer COVID spike, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Jamestown Community Theatre holding auditions for Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along”
Jamestown Community Theatre will hold auditions for “Merrily We Roll Along” on Thursday, Sept. 3, at the Jamestown Recreation Center, opening the company’s 36th season. The musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, follows composer Franklin Shepard, who achieves professional success at steep personal cost. The story unfolds […]
Posted inNews
MLK Community Center hosting free karaoke competition Tuesday
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center will hold a karaoke competition on Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 5 to 7 p.m. Each singer performs one song for the judges, with a second song prepared in case of a tiebreaker. First place wins a prize. Sing Your Heart Out Co. will emcee. The event is […]
Posted inInstagram
Salve students learn on the job at the Newport Folk and Jazz festivals
For more than 70 years, Newport has held a distinctive place in American music history as the host city of world-renowned jazz and folk festivals. This summer, Salve Regina University rising seniors Grace Kasten and Topher Weber experienced that history from behind the scenes as interns with Newport Festivals Foundation. From stage production and artist support […]
Posted inCity & Government
PUC cuts Rhode Island Energy’s rate request, approves $170 million in bill credits
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on Friday approved roughly $170 million in customer bill credits and rejected significant portions of Rhode Island Energy’s request to raise electric and gas distribution rates. The credits stem from a commitment PPL Corporation made when it acquired The Narragansett Electric Company in 2022, agreeing to hold Rhode Island […]
Posted inObituaries
Obituary: Anne Marie Wolfe
Anne was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother, whose greatest joy was her family. As the wife of a Navy serviceman, she was often called upon to run the household and raise her children while Jack was away. She did so with love, patience, strength, and gladness, creating a home where her children […]
Posted inNews
More than 70 maritime and defense companies to demonstrate technology at Sail Newport next week
More than 70 companies from five countries will bring maritime and defense technologies to Sail Newport on Thursday, Aug. 27, for the third annual BlueTIDE, an event organized by Polaris Tech Bridge. The day opens with an in-water Collaborative Integration Opportunity from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., putting previously qualified technologies to work in a […]
Posted inNews
RIPTA board advances Providence transit center to design phase
The RIPTA Board of Directors voted Thursday to advance a proposed Providence Transit Center into design, engineering and pricing, moving the state’s bus hub out of Kennedy Plaza toward a site beside the Providence train station. RIPTA identified space within Station Park, west of the station, as the preferred location after evaluating sites and running […]
Posted inCity & Government
First Newport homes go live on GoNetspeed fiber Wednesday
The first Newport customers will be ready to connect to GoNetspeed’s fiber network on Wednesday, the company will tell the City Council at its meeting that evening. Heidi Mahoney, GoNetspeed’s manager of government affairs, will brief councilors on the fiber-to-the-premises build, which is advancing in partnership with Rhode Island Commerce through the ConnectRI program. Construction […]
Posted inCity & Government
City floats “Park Newport,” a single brand for all municipal parking
The city’s parking operations would consolidate under a single public-facing brand called Park Newport under a proposal going before the City Council on Wednesday. In an Aug. 18 memo, Superintendent of Parking Stathis Manousos describes bringing parking operations, customer service, permits, payment, wayfinding and enforcement together under one identity — part of what he calls […]
Posted inCity & Government
Early voting begins for Sept. 9 primary; state officials point voters to rights guide
Early voting for the statewide primary opened Thursday in the second-floor conference room of Newport City Hall, 43 Broadway, and continues during regular business hours until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Emergency mail ballots are available in the Canvassing Office over the same period. Extended hours are set for Wednesday, Aug. 26, when early […]
Posted inBusiness
Providence Place sold to ownership group led by former Mayor Joe Paolino and the mall’s original developer
Providence Place has been sold to a partnership of Paolino Properties, Pyramid Management Group and DW Partners, the group announced Thursday morning at a press conference at the mall with Mayor Brett Smiley. The ownership brings the property back to figures involved in its creation. Joseph R. Paolino Jr., CEO and managing partner of Paolino […]
Posted inOpinion
Letter: Perrotti Park’s deed deserves an answer
To the Editor: Newport is considering a major expansion of the Harbormaster facility at Perrotti Park. There are plenty of arguments about the design, size, cost and merits of the project. But there is a more fundamental question the City has yet to answer publicly: Can Newport legally use this land for the proposed expanded […]
Posted inCity & Government
New state housing dashboard shows 658 units backed across Newport County
A new state housing dashboard launched Thursday shows Newport County has 14 developments totaling 658 housing units in predevelopment, under construction or completed with state support since 2021. Newport accounts for the largest share, with five developments and 321 units. Middletown has four developments and 169 units, Portsmouth two and 94, Tiverton two and 62, […]
Posted inThings To Do
Newport Playhouse to close after 43 years
The Newport Playhouse & Cabaret Restaurant will close on Dec. 31 after 43 years, president Jonathan Perry announced Tuesday in a letter to patrons posted on the theater’s Facebook page. The Playhouse will continue performing through the end of the year. “We still have several months of performances ahead of us, audiences to entertain, stories […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Groove Merchants close out NIMFest season at King Park on Sunday
Groove Merchants headline the final NIMFest concert of the 2026 season on Sunday, Aug. 23, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the King Park Gazebo, 125 Wellington Ave. The show is free and open to the public, weather permitting. The Newport-based six-piece plays a funk-inflected take on pop and jazz, moving between laid-back grooves, hard-hitting […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
King Park Beach reopens for swimming
The Rhode Island Department of Health is recommending that the swimming area at King Park Beach reopen after bacteria counts returned to safe levels. The beach was closed to swimming last Thursday, Aug. 13, after elevated bacteria counts. RIDOH will continue monitoring beach water quality through Labor Day, and a beach’s status can change as […]
Posted inNews
Reed breaks ground on $46 million Army Aviation Readiness Center at Quonset
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed joined federal, state, local and military officials Tuesday to break ground on a new Army Aviation Readiness Center at Quonset Point, funded with $46 million he secured across two federal budget cycles. The facility will house the Rhode Island Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment and five supporting companies. […]
Posted inReal Estate
What Sold: A look at 17 homes that changed hands last week in Newport County (Aug. 10 – 14)
Seventeen properties changed hands across Newport County last week. The highlight of the week was the $4,500,000 sale of the Samuel Durfee House at 352 Spring Street in Newport, marking the highest multi-family sale in Newport year-to-date and the largest multi-family transaction in the city since 2022. The sale was a particularly meaningful one for […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Comedian Juston McKinney coming to the JPT in November
Spectacle Live will present comedian Juston McKinney on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at The JPT Film & Event Center. McKinney has made multiple appearances on “The Tonight Show” under both Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, and has released two Comedy Central specials and two Amazon Prime specials, including “Parentally Challenged.” He has performed […]
Posted inCity & Government
Pell Center survey: Foulkes leads McKee by 20 points; former Newport mayor within two points in LG race
Helena Foulkes leads Gov. Dan McKee 48% to 28% in the Democratic primary for governor, according to a survey released Monday by the Pell Center at Salve Regina University. Twenty-two percent of Democratic primary voters remain undecided — enough to swing the race either way. Foulkes drew her strongest support among voters under 50 (58%), […]
Posted inSports
Red Sox overwhelm Diamondbacks 11-1 as all 9 starters drive in a run
BOSTON (AP) — Willson Contreras and Mickey Gasper homered, all nine Boston starters drove in at least one, and the Red Sox dismantled the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-1 on Monday night in the first game of a three-game series. Boston, which scored in six straight innings, did not have a strikeout in the game and finished […]
Posted inSports
Light air and long calms test fleet in 21st Ida Lewis Distance Race
Forty-six boats set spinnakers for a downwind start off Rose Island on Friday morning, opening the 21st Ida Lewis Distance Race with a run past Castle Hill onto Rhode Island Sound and an overnight test of seamanship that not every crew finished. “This year’s challenges included lighter-than-predicted winds and periods of calm that lasted longer […]
Posted inNews
$13.5 million in federal funding headed to Providence Ferry Terminal
The Rhode Island congressional delegation has steered $13.5 million in federal funding to upgrade the Providence Ferry Terminal, the northern end of the seasonal ferry route connecting Newport, Bristol and Providence. The money goes to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation for work at the terminal at 25 Portugal Parkway in Fox Point, which currently […]