King Park in Newport

The Rhode Island Department of Health is recommending that the swimming area at King Park Beach be closed due to high bacteria counts, the department announced Thursday afternoon.

RIDOH will continue monitoring beach water quality through Labor Day, and a beach’s status can change as new samples come in.

Current beach information is available on the department’s beaches phone line at 401-222-2751 or at health.ri.gov/beaches.

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...