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 […]
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 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 […]
Posted inInstagram
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 […]
Posted inCity & Government
Elections Board forgives hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines
Over the last four months, the state Board of Elections has excused hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for candidates who have failed to file quarterly finance reports or filed them late. This flurry follows years in which the Board has been frustrated by the courts, which, when asked by offenders, have regularly significantly […]
Posted inCity & Government
Legislative Outlook: Carson sees healthcare and housing as critical issues
With the Rhode Island General Assembly now in session, WhatsUpNewp has reached out to the area’s legislators to learn what they see as the most pressing issues facing Rhode Island in 2026, and legislation they are planning to introduce. Today, we focus on State Rep. Lauren Carson, D-Dist. 75, who is a Deputy Majority Leader. […]
Posted inCity & Government
Legislative Outlook: Gu – Key concerns—primary care access; ripple effects from ending ACA subsidies
With the Rhode Island General Assembly session scheduled to begin today (Jan. 6), WhatsUpNewp and WBLQ have reached out to the area’s legislators to learn what they see as the most pressing issues facing Rhode Island in 2026, and legislation they are planning to introduce. State Senator Victoria Gu, D-Dist. 38 Today, we focus on […]
Posted inCity & Government
Legislative Outlook: Azzinaro – ‘Fully fund the Veterans Home in Bristol’
With the Rhode Island General Assembly session scheduled to begin on Jan. 6, WBLQ and WhatsUpNewp have reached out to legislators in the Newport and Westerly areas to learn what they see as the most pressing issues facing Rhode Island in 2026, and legislation they are planning to introduce. Today, we focus on State Rep. […]
Posted inNews
Legislative Outlook: Finkelman – the economy and environment critical issues in 2026
With the Rhode Island General Assembly session scheduled to begin on Jan. 6, WhatsUpNewp has reached out to the area’s legislators to learn what they see as the most pressing issues facing Rhode Island in 2026, and legislation they are planning to introduce. Today, we focus on State Rep. Alex Finkelman, D-Dist. 74, He is […]
Posted inCity & Government
Legislative Outlook: DiPalma sees healthcare, affordability and transparency as critical issues
With the Rhode Island General Assembly session scheduled to begin on Jan. 6, WhatsUpNewp has reached out to the area’s legislators to learn what they see as the most pressing issues facing Rhode Island in 2026, and legislation they are planning to introduce. Today, we focus on State Sen. Lou DiPalma, D-Dist. 12, who holds […]
Posted inNews
Newport School Superintendent discusses school safety, regionalization progress
Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain provided updates on multiple district initiatives during her monthly conversation with What’sUpNewp Thursday, including ongoing safety measures following a recent incident at Rogers High School and progress toward potential regionalization with Middletown. Burns Jermain confirmed that an independent investigation into an assault at Rogers High School remains ongoing, […]
Posted inOpinion
Just My Opinion: In New Orleans, undocumented immigrants live in fear
On the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans – Bourbon and Royal, St. Peter’s and St. Ann’s — in the hotel rooms and in cabs and Ubers and Lyfts, you can feel the tension. A city, a region, infested by ICE and Border Patrol, and an area dependent on an immigrant population to […]
Posted inNews
South County Health opens Newport Women’s Health office
Women on Aquidneck Island have new healthcare options with the opening in early November of an office of South County Health’s Center for Women’s Health in a building near Newport Hospital and shared with a branch of South County Health’s urology department. The new office at 38 Powell Ave., Newport, arrives amid nationwide shortages of […]
Posted inOpinion
At Thanksgiving – what are we thankful for?
(Part 3 of 3) Here’s the third and final part of what now turns out to be a three-part answer to my question, what are we thankful for? Over the last few years I’ve asked people through Facebook and email what it is that they are thankful for this year – as we approach the […]
Posted inColumns
At Thanksgiving – what are we thankful for?
(Part 2 of 3) Here’s the second part of what now turns out to be a three-part answer to my question, what are we thankful for? Each year, over the last few years, I’ve asked people over Facebook and through email what it is that they are thankful for this year – as we approach […]
Posted inOpinion
At Thanksgiving – what are we thankful for?
Part 1 Each year, over the last few years, I’ve asked people over Facebook and through email what it is that they are thankful for this year – as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. This year is different. There is considerable uncertainty in America, and what had been our norms, in particular allegiance to our […]
Posted inBusiness
Newport Hospital earns top ranking
Newport Hospital was among several hospitals in Rhode Island that achieved an A rating from the hospital watchdog group Leapfrog in its fall ratings. Three hospitals – Roger Williams Medical Center, Kent, and South County were awarded C or below, a pattern of declining ratings over the last few years. Additionally, Women and Infants Hospital […]
Posted inNews
Just my Opinion: If it walks like a duck … it’s antisemitism
If it walks like a duck. If it quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck …. except in Smithfield, RI. Over the last few weeks what has been unfolding in that community is an incident involving a freshman footballer, who happened to be Jewish, and a number of senior members of the football team. […]
Posted inNews, Nonprofit
Food pantries bracing for a SNAP shutdown
Food pantries throughout the region are bracing for what could be a catastrophic event if the SNAP program loses its funding on Saturday. They’ve already been scrambling to meet increased demand since the current federal government shutdown a month ago and have been coping with a previous federal government reduction of a half million pounds […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rhode Island in recession since December, economist says
Rhode Island is in a recession … and likely has been since last December, according to University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro. “The time for equivocation has come to an end,” Lardaro wrote, commenting on his monthly Current Conditions Index. “RHODE ISLAND IS IN A RECESSION.” His view may not be shared regionally and […]