Summer 2025 Coffee Shop Tour (Credit: Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative) Credit: Jessica David

Good morning, Newport! 👋 Today is Sunday, Aug. 24, the 236th day of 2025. There are 129 days left in the year.

🚨 You need to know

Rhode Island’s first community investment fund will conclude its summer coffee shop tour Wednesday at Custom House Coffee in Middletown, bringing its community outreach effort to Aquidneck Island for the final time.

The Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative will hold its last “Making the (G)rounds” session from 8 to 9 a.m. at the cafe on Aquidneck Avenue. The organization has visited independent coffee shops across the state since June 4, offering residents a chance to learn about the cooperative’s Local Return Diversified Community Investment Fund over morning coffee.

Jessica David, co-founder and president of Local Return, said the informal tour has provided an accessible way for Rhode Islanders to ask questions about community investment. The cooperative is raising $3.5 million to support locally-owned real estate revitalization projects and community-driven development initiatives throughout the state.

The fund represents Rhode Island’s first community investment cooperative that accepts investments from all state residents while offering both financial returns and community benefits. Unlike traditional investment funds, the cooperative operates on a one-person, one-vote governance model regardless of investment amount, according to the organization’s website.

The Wednesday session at Custom House Coffee, located at 796 Aquidneck Ave., marks the end of the summer tour that has visited cafes from Providence to Westerly. Middletown residents and other Aquidneck Island community members interested in learning more about community investment opportunities can attend the drop-in session or visit ricommunityinvestment.com for additional information.

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📅 What’s Up Today

Weather Forecast

  • Rip Current Statement in effect from August 24, 08:00 AM EDT until August 24, 08:00 PM EDT
  • Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 75. South wind 8 to 14 mph.
  • Tonight: A slight chance of showers after 1am. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
  • Tomorrow: A chance of showers, mainly before 1pm. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 76. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Marine Forecast

  • Today: S wind 7 to 12 kt. Partly sunny. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Tonight: SSE wind 5 to 7 kt. A slight chance of showers after 1am. Patchy fog after 4am. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Tomorrow: Variable winds less than 5 kt becoming SSW 5 to 9 kt in the afternoon. A chance of showers, mainly before 1pm. Patchy fog before 7am. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • The coastal water temperature is 64 degrees.

Sun, Moon & Tide

  • Sunrise at 6:03 am. Sunset at 7:31 pm. 13 hours & 27 minutes of sun.
  • High tide at 9:16 am & 9:35 pm. Low tide at 2:48 am & 2:46 pm.
  • The lunar phase is a Waxing Crescent.

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Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...