Rhode Island Energy said Monday it has restored power to more than 50,000 customers who lost service during the weekend nor’easter, finishing in under 48 hours. The utility deployed more than 270 crew members and field personnel across the state. Wind gusts reached 55 mph, bringing down trees and limbs onto power lines. Crews responded […]
Ryan Belmore
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 is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Online News Association, and Local Independent Online News Publishers. He is committed to the codes of ethics of these organizations: accuracy, independence, accountability, and transparency.
In Newport, Ryan served on the boards of the Fort Adams Trust and Potter League for Animals, and hosted a daily radio talk show for four years.
In 2021, Ryan moved to Alexandria, Virginia, to support his wife Jen's career. He launched The Alexandria Brief in 2025, applying what he learned in Newport to a new community. With the help of some talented on-the-ground contributors, he still runs What's Up Newp — and always will.
Contact: ryan@whatsupnewp.com.
Posted inArts & Culture
“Lore” creator Aaron Mahnke to speak at Rosecliff on Rhode Island’s vampire panic
Aaron Mahnke, creator of the podcast “Lore” and author of “Exhumed: Unearthing the History of the American Vampire,” will give a lecture at Rosecliff on Thursday, Oct. 15, from 6 to 7 p.m. The talk traces how folklore, medical belief, religion and pseudoscience produced the New England vampire panic, which culminated in the exhumation of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
New exhibit at the Vernon House explores the life of Cato Vernon, a Black Revolutionary War soldier who lived there
An interactive exhibit about Cato Vernon, an African heritage Revolutionary War soldier and carpenter who lived at the Vernon House in the mid-1770s, opens Saturday, Oct. 3, and runs through Nov. 22. “The Cato Vernon Freedom Library” occupies three rooms on the first floor of the national historic landmark at 46 Clarke St. It includes […]
Posted inCity & Government
Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge work moves to daytime for a week starting Oct. 5
Construction on the eastbound span of the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge shifts to daytime hours the week of Oct. 5, with one lane open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and delays expected through the work zone, the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority said Monday. The daytime schedule runs Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Oct. […]
Posted inNews
Broadway Street Fair returns Oct. 10
The Broadway Street Fair returns Saturday, Oct. 10, from noon to 6 p.m., closing six blocks from Equality Park to Washington Square for a free afternoon of music, food, art and local vendors. More than 15,000 people attended last year, and organizers say they expect 20,000 this year. The fair is in its ninth year […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rhode Island seeing elevated rabies activity this year, mostly in raccoons and bats
Rhode Island has recorded an elevated number of rabid animals this year, most of them raccoons and bats, the state Department of Health said Monday, along with a rabid cat, coyote, skunk and woodchuck. The department marked World Rabies Day by highlighting its exposure assessment program, which operates around the clock and evaluates individual cases […]
Posted inCity & Government
Portsmouth sets winter community electricity rates below Rhode Island Energy’s
The Portsmouth Community Electricity program has set its winter supply rates, with the default option priced below Rhode Island Energy’s residential rate and including 5 percent additional renewable energy from Rhode Island sources. The program’s standard residential rate is 16.929 cents per kilowatt-hour, against Rhode Island Energy’s Last Resort Service price of 17.029 cents from […]
Posted inNews
Miramar and the Bailey’s Beach clubhouse honored at Doris Duke Preservation Awards
The Newport Restoration Foundation honored two Bellevue Avenue-area preservation projects at the 20th annual Doris Duke Historic Preservation Awards, held Sept. 11 at Rough Point. Miramar received the award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. The Spouting Rock Beach Association Historic Clubhouse was recognized for resiliency and floodproofing work. Tom Perkins received the President’s Award for […]
Posted inNews
Nor’easter brings wind restrictions to the bridges, ferry cancellations and coastal flooding risk
The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority imposed Level I wind restrictions on the Newport Pell, Mount Hope and Jamestown Verrazzano bridges at about 5:55 a.m. Saturday, barring box trucks, trailers, house trailers and RVs as a nor’easter moved across the region. Law enforcement can turn back other vehicles at their discretion, and drivers denied […]
Posted inNews
On This Day – September 26, 1983: Australia II Wins America’s Cup in Newport
It was on September 26, 1983 that Australia II defeated Liberty in Newport to win the America’s Cup trophy that had been in the hands of the New York Yacht Club since the competition begain in 1851. The 1983 America’s Cup was the occasion of the first winning challenge to the New York Yacht Club, […]
Posted inCity & Government
Newport gets $68,000 in FEMA grant for CPR devices
The city will receive more than $68,000 in federal grant money for CPR devices, part of nearly $2.7 million awarded to Rhode Island fire departments and first responder agencies this week, FEMA announced Friday. The money comes through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, which funds protective equipment, emergency vehicles and responder health and wellness […]
Posted inCity & Government
State climate council approves $1.5 million spending plan as requests hit $4.1 million
The state’s Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council approved a $1.5 million spending plan for the coming fiscal year on Thursday, drawn from 30 proposals totaling more than $4.1 million. The council, chaired by Department of Environmental Management Director Terry Gray, coordinates state agencies’ work under the 2021 Act on Climate, which sets Rhode Island’s emissions […]
Posted inCity & Government
State readies for weekend nor’easter with heavy rain and wind in the forecast
State agencies spent Friday preparing for a nor’easter expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds and coastal flooding to Rhode Island through the weekend. Gov. Dan McKee was joined at a briefing by Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency Director Marc Pappas, interim Department of Transportation Director Bob Rocchio and Rhode Island Energy President Greg Cornett. […]
Posted inNews
24 cruise ship calls ahead for Newport this fall
Originally published on Sept. 22. Updated Sept. 25 with a revised schedule from Discover Newport. Newport Harbor’s heaviest cruise traffic of the year is still ahead, with 24 ship calls scheduled at Perrotti Park between now and Nov. 2, according to an updated schedule from Discover Newport and the Newport Harbor Master. September is finished. […]
Posted inBusiness
Middletown’s MIKEL Inc. wins $64 million Navy engineering contract in Washington state
MIKEL Inc. has been awarded a five-year, $64 million prime contract to provide engineering support services to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division at Keyport, Washington. The Middletown company is partnering with McLaughlin Research Corporation and Booz Allen Hamilton on the work, which covers six Keyport organizations including its test and evaluation, undersea weapons, in-service […]
Posted inCity & Government
PUC approves $28 million in winter electric bill credits
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission has approved $28 million in winter electric bill relief, delivering credits to more than 450,000 residential accounts, Gov. Dan McKee announced Thursday. Rhode Island Energy residential customers on A-16 and A-60 accounts will receive a $20.45 credit in January, February and March 2027 — $61.35 total. The money comes […]
Posted inBusiness
People’s Credit Union closed every branch for a day of mental health volunteering
People’s Credit Union closed all of its branches and its member service center on Thursday, Sept. 17, so employees could spend the day volunteering with organizations working on mental health across Rhode Island. Staff logged more than 500 hours at more than a dozen nonprofits, schools and police departments, and an all-branch drive collected more […]
Posted inNews
IYRS launching a women’s maritime leadership program in 2027
IYRS School of Technology & Trades is starting a leadership program for women working in maritime industries, with the first cohort beginning in 2027. The Women’s Maritime Leadership Academy runs six months and is the first program from the school’s Maritime Leadership Institute. It’s aimed at emerging and mid-career professionals across boatbuilding and repair, marine […]
Posted inCity & Government
Bicycle ordinances up for final vote Sept. 30, with opposition surfacing to the stormwater fee and a Perrotti Park building
The City Council meets Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, with second readings on a package of bicycle and traffic ordinances and two pieces of resident opposition landing on the consent calendar. The ordinance package covers amendments to the city’s bicycle chapter along with definitions, traffic signal rules, flashing signals and parking […]
Posted inNews
Newport Historical Society reports record year, with 1,300 visitors to its new Center for Black History in three months
The Newport Historical Society told members at its annual meeting Tuesday night that 2026 has been its busiest year on record, driven by the opening of the Edward W. Kane and Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History and the nation’s 250th anniversary. The society has run 74 programs and 237 walking tours so far […]
Posted inCity & Government
Naval War College president marks Rhode Island’s role in America 250
Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, president of the U.S. Naval War College, represented the Navy at a series of events in Providence on Sept. 22 and 23 as part of the country’s 250th anniversary commemoration. The Navy Office of Community Outreach is marking each of the original 13 colonies with several days of engagements. Walker visited […]
Posted inCity & Government
Portsmouth suing the state over housing laws, citing home rule
The Portsmouth Town Council is filing suit against the state of Rhode Island over recent housing legislation, arguing the laws intrude on the town’s constitutional home rule authority over zoning, planning and land use. Council members and lead counsel Joseph S. Larisa Jr. will discuss the case at a press conference Thursday, Sept. 24, at […]
Posted inBusiness
Coastal Rhode Island hotels far outperforming Providence, with RevPAR up nearly 13% this year
Coastal Rhode Island hotels are on pace to finish 2026 with revenue per available room up 12.9 percent, while Providence and Warwick are forecast to end the year down slightly, according to data presented at RI Hospitality’s annual economic outlook breakfast. CoStar’s Jason Weinstein put statewide RevPAR growth at 5.9 percent for 2026, driven mostly […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Newport Contemporary Ballet opens its 45th season with three world premieres
Newport Contemporary Ballet opens its 45th season next month with “Kaleidoscope,” a repertory program of four pieces by four women choreographers, three of them world premieres. Performances are Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 141 Pelham St. General admission is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Nine Central Film Festival returns to the Jane Pickens for two nights in October
The Nine Central Film Festival returns to the Jane Pickens Theater on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2 and 3, with two nights of short films made by local filmmakers. The festival started eight years ago as a group of friends screening their own movies in a backyard. Each night has a different lineup of roughly […]