Beginning today (Monday) through Wednesday afternoon, candidates in Rhode Island will officially declare for local, statewide and federal offices. Declarations come on the heels of a Democratic state convention that failed to offer endorsements in the governor’s, lieutenant governor’s, and attorney general races. Republicans meet later in the week. The declarations are the first step […]
Frank Prosnitz
Frank Prosnitz brings to WhatsUpNewp several years in journalism, including 10 as editor of the Providence (RI) Business News and 14 years as a reporter and bureau manager at the Providence (RI) Journal. Prosnitz began his journalism career as a sportswriter at the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, moving to The News Tribune (Woodbridge, NJ), before joining the Providence Journal. Prosnitz hosts the Morning Show on WLBQ radio (Westerly), 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and It’s Your Business, also on WBLQ, Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Prosnitz has twice won Best in Business Awards from the national Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), twice was named Media Advocate of the Year by the Small Business Administration, won an investigative reporter’s award from the New England Press Association, and newswriting award from the Rhode Island Press Association.
Posted inNews
Kids Count – a look at Newport County Communities
The child population of Newport County is decreasing more than double the rate of the state of Rhode Island, while elementary and high school students are generally outperforming the rest of the state on standard testing for reading and math. These findings were included in Kids Count’s recently released community profiles. Kids Count, which advocates […]
Posted inNews
RI Voting Rights Act would prevent voter discrimination
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a jarring ruling recently, literally gutted the voting rights act, which had protected minority voters in many southern districts. Several organizations have been championing a Rhode Island version that would establish procedures to prevent discrimination in the voting process. In April, the bill was held for further study, although some […]
Posted inPeople & Profiles
Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain talks budget, restructuring, and her final weeks in monthly chat
Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain joined What’sUpNewp owner and publisher Ryan Belmore and editor Frank Prosnitz on Wednesday afternoon for her penultimate monthly conversation before her June 30 retirement — a wide-ranging discussion dominated by the district’s deepening budget crisis, possible facility restructuring, and personnel changes at the top of Rogers High School. […]
Posted inOpinion
Just My Opinion: What’s a School Committee seat worth — Nine
Nine. It takes nine months for human gestation. There are nine defensive players on the baseball field. In the Baha’i Faith nine is considered the number of perfection and symbolizes the culmination of religious revelation. September is the ninth month, the only month in the English language whose letter count equals the number of the […]
Posted inCity & Government
RI Secretary of State Gregg Amore calls mid-cycle gerrymandering “a race to the bottom”
“This is a race to the bottom … not good for American Democracy.” — Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore, commenting on the mid-cycle gerrymandering that’s gripping the nation. Amore in a wide ranging interview discusses the impact of gerrymandering, the federal government’s attempt to seize voter information, and, in what will be an […]
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Secretary of State Amore hopeful state Archives Building is on the November ballot
A bond issue that will likely be on the November ballot is a $45 million state archive building – a history center that would house many of the state’s important documents. Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore, a former civics teacher, has been a strong advocate for an archive building since coming into office more […]
Posted inNews
Newport Hospital’s safety rating slips in latest survey
Newport Hospital, which for the last three years received top ratings for safety from a national organization that measures patient safety, slipped in the spring 2026 rankings from the top A rating to a B. In the latest rankings, released today by the Washington, D.C. Leapfrog Group, three hospitals in Rhode Island – The Miriam, […]
Posted inNews
Kids Count: Newport among leaders in child poverty in Rhode Island
The disparities between the haves and have nots among Rhode Island’s youth impacts everything from education to safety to mental health and economic opportunity. It’s all contained in the annual Kids Count Factbook being released this morning at the annual Kids Count event. Among the major changes is that Newport has been added to a […]
Posted inCity & Government
Newport Public Schools facing $2M shortfall, with restructuring and possible layoffs ahead
Newport Public Schools are facing a roughly $2 million budget shortfall heading into the 2026-2027 school year, Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain said in her weekly update to families Wednesday evening — a gap she said the district is trying to close without cutting staff, but that will likely require restructuring. The figure marks a shift […]
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Newport Public Schools draw about 12 applicants for interim superintendent
About a dozen people have applied to serve as Newport’s interim superintendent of schools, Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain said Wednesday, with the school committee on track to name her one-year successor next month. Jermain, who announced in October that she will step down June 30 after more than 12 years leading the district, said the […]
Posted inNews
Newport School Committee to review superintendent applications
Newport’s School Committee will begin reviewing applications for an interim school superintendent on Wednesday to replace Colleen Burns Jermain, who announced in October that she will be leaving at the end of the school year. Rebecca Bolan, the School Committee’s vice chair, said the committee advertised for an interim superintendent on Schoolspring, a primary online […]
Posted inNews
Federal filings: Newport Performing Arts Center lost money three of the last five years
In three of the last federal tax filings, the Newport Performing Arts Center (NPAC) reported net income losses while it continues to try and raise millions of dollars to renovate and reopen the former majestic opera house on Newport’s Washington Square. What’sUpNewp (WUN) reviewed all 990 forms filed by the Arts Center since 2002. The […]
Posted inNews
Chariho board approves bond, denies superintendent extension
The Chariho School Committee last night (Tuesday) approved language that likely will lead to a $116 million district-wide bond referendum in November to build one unified school to replace three aging elementary schools, all with considerable problems. Meanwhile, the board also voted to deny School Superintendent Gina Picard an extension on her contract, which expires […]
Posted inCity & Government
Crucial vote slated on proposed Chariho school bond
Recent resignations from the Chariho Regional School board may be jeopardizing a potential vote this fall for a bond issue that would lead to the replacement of three aging elementary schools. A critical vote is scheduled for Tuesday (April 14) at which the school committee is being asked to approve language for the bond referendum, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Vague on specifics, NPAC executive confident of raising millions to reopen opulent former opera house
In multiple exchanges of emails, we posed several questions to Melissa Caldwell Quinn, managing director of the Newport Performing Arts Center. This is another in our ongoing series on the opera house restoration project that is now approaching 25 years. WUN: Is this still a viable project? If not, what happens now? If it is, […]
Posted inNews
Millions spent, doors still closed: Inside the stalled Newport Performing Arts Center
Farrar Associates of Newport has been the general contractor for the Opera House project (Newport Performing Arts Center) and is responsible for a considerable amount of work completed under phase one and funded by a 2014 state Council of the Arts Bond Referendum. James Farrar, President of Farrar Associates, after some initial confusion on our […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Newport’s Opera House has been under renovation for 25 years. It’s still not open.
When first conceived, organizers were exuberant about the possibilities a reopened historic opera house on Newport’s Washington Square would bring to the community. The Newport Performing Arts Center project received more than $4.2 million, second largest of nine grants from a 2014 Creative and Cultural Economy Bond. Randy Rosenbaum, then executive director of the Rhode […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rep. Lauren Carson breaks down her 2026 constituent survey live with What’sUpNewp
State Rep. Lauren Carson (D – District 75, Newport) joined What’sUpNewp Thursday at noon for a live conversation to walk through the results of her 2026 constituent survey — and the discussion covered just about everything Newport residents are talking about right now: housing costs, the Newport Hospital Birthing Center, healthcare access, climate resilience, short-term […]
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Newport schools superintendent discusses budget gap, retirement, and merger talks
Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain joined What’sUpNewp on Wednesday for her monthly one-on-one conversation, the first in several months after weather and scheduling conflicts forced postponements. Owner and publisher Ryan Belmore and editor Frank Prosnitz led the discussion, which covered the blizzard’s impact on the school calendar, a projected budget shortfall, the ongoing […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: Assuring an adequate blood supply following the Blizzard of 2026
The blizzard we are now experiencing can have a devastating impact on a lot more than just safe driving and power outages. It becomes incredibly disruptive to maintaining an adequate blood supply that translates to saving lives. Today, all Rhode Island Blood Center blood drives and donor centers are closed, and it’s a fair guess […]
Posted inCity & Government
Newport Councilor again cited for campaign filing violation
One local councilman, Newport’s David Carlin III, apparently continues to ignore state campaign finance filing requirements, while another, Xaykham “Xay” Khamsyvoravong is raising significant funds as he’s rumored to be considering a run at a significant statewide office. Meanwhile, legislators in powerful positions are padding campaign accounts as elections now are only months away. These […]
Posted inCity & Government
State to apply for funds to upgrade rail traffic in Southern Rhode Island
Rhode Island is expected to seek federal funding for a rail project that will initially improve Amtrak service in Westerly but potentially lead to closing the only gap in commuter rail in the Northeast. That gap is from New London, Connecticut to Wickford. For years, Rhode Island legislators and rail advocates, principally from the Westerly […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: What is the United States of America?
What is the United States of America? We are white, black, brown, red, yellow … we are a rainbow. We are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, evangelicals, atheist, agnostic. We embrace all who worship and those that do not. We are Latino, American Indian, Asian, German, French, English, Italian, Irish, African, Portuguese, Iranian, Israeli, multi-racial. We […]
Posted inCity & Government
McKee: URI Medical School possible by 2030
It is possible that a medical school could open on the campus of the University of Rhode Island by 2030, with the expectation that 70 percent of graduates would remain in Rhode Island, helping address the state’s primary care physician shortage, according to Gov. Dan McKee. McKee said on WBLQ’s Morning Show that the study […]