Tarris John Caswell, 33, of Atlanta, GA, passed away on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Atlanta, GA. He was born on July 28, 1993, in Newport, RI, to John Caswell and Leslie “Muffy” McCalla. Tarris spent his early childhood in Newport before moving with his family to Virginia Beach, VA. After graduating from Green Run High […]
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
Cole Brauer brings her memoir to the Jane Pickens on Sept. 16
Cole Brauer, the first American woman to race solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world, comes to the Jane Pickens Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 16, to discuss her memoir “First Light: Sailing Solo but Not Alone.” Charter Books is hosting the event, which begins at 6 p.m. with doors at 5. Brauer will be in […]
Posted inReal Estate
On the Market: Labor Day Weekend brings a fresh wave of buyer activity
Labor Day Weekend is here, and after a quieter stretch in late August, the local real estate market picked up noticeably this week. With kids heading back to school and families settling back into their routines, we saw a refreshed pool of buyers re-engage with the market. Showings increased, activity in the market picked up, […]
Posted inSports
Red Sox beat the Orioles 1-0 on Gasper’s 1st-inning homer; benches clear in the eighth
By IAN NICHOLAS QUILLEN Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Mickey Gasper hit a first-inning home run, Ranger Suarez gave up five hits in seven innings, and benches cleared after a contentious eighth-inning double play as the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 on Friday night. Gasper now has eight home runs this season, […]
Posted inSports
Middletown opens with a 21-6 win over Tiverton in Injury Fund game
Middletown beat Tiverton 21-6 on Thursday night behind a ground game that wore down the Tigers and a secondary that took the ball away three times. Junior Jack Silvia ran for more than 100 yards. Senior quarterback and captain Kyle Keef threw for a touchdown on his only attempt and added a rushing score, and […]
Posted inNews
Portsmouth blanks Rogers 7-0 in Injury Fund opener
Portsmouth beat Rogers 7-0 on Thursday night in the Injury Fund game, with Silas MacMillan’s run providing the only points of a night belonging to both defenses. Portsmouth kept Rogers out of rhythm all evening, holding the Vikings to 12 rushing yards on six carries. Quarterback Rafael Palencia completed 4 of 8 passes for 18 […]
Posted inSports
USA meets England at Glen Farm on Saturday
Newport Polo hosts England on Saturday, Sept. 5, at BD Field at Glen Farm, reviving the matchup that launched the Newport International Polo Series in 1992. The six-chukker match starts at 4 p.m. with gates opening at noon. It falls in the club’s 150th anniversary year and the series’ 35th season. Both squads are fielding […]
Posted inThings To Do
Rosecliff lecture looks at how Newporters used the Revolution to argue for their own
Nicole Williams, curator of collections for the Preservation Society of Newport County, will give a public lecture at Rosecliff on Thursday, Sept. 10, on how Newporters repeatedly turned the War for Independence into an argument for change in their own time. The talk, “Revolution Reimagined: Memory and Freedom Struggles from 1976 to 2026,” runs from […]
Posted inCity & Government
Middletown Prevention Coalition wins $240,000 federal grant for opioid prevention work
The Middletown Prevention Coalition has received a federal grant of close to $240,000 to expand its prevention work to opioids, counterfeit pills and fentanyl awareness. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration award is a supplement to the coalition’s existing Strategic Prevention Framework-Partnership for Success grant, bringing total funding under that program to $489,089. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Candlelight tour of Belcourt to benefit Middletown library’s new building
The Middletown Public Library is holding an after-dark candlelight tour of Belcourt of Newport on Friday, Oct. 2, as a fundraiser for its new building project. Guides will lead visitors through the Bellevue Avenue mansion by candlelight, covering its Gilded Age history and architecture along with the ghost stories the property has collected over the […]
Posted inNews
Defense conference in Newport puts workforce shortage at the center
More than 400 defense industry and military leaders met in Newport this week for SENEDIA’s 12th Defense Innovation Days, where the recurring theme was a workforce shortage the sector can’t hire its way past. Michael Cadenazzi, assistant secretary of war for industrial base policy and a Rhode Island native who played on an undefeated Rogers […]
Posted inInstagram
Boat show adds a fishing village with a 50-foot casting pond this year
The Newport International Boat Show is adding a fishing village to this year’s show, a dedicated section for anglers with exhibits, seminars and a casting pond, running all four days from Sept. 17 to 20 on the downtown waterfront. Access is included with general admission. The village sits on the south side of the show […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Newport String Project opens its 14th season with 15-minute concerts for an audience of one
The Newport String Project opens its 14th season on Sunday, Sept. 20, with Pocket Concerts, a day of 15-minute performances played for a single listener or a small group. Musicians from the Newport String Quartet perform alongside guest artists, with programs mixing familiar repertoire and original music. Instruments this year include vibraphone, electronics and viola […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Michelin-starred Providence native returns to Castle Hill for two nights in October
Chef Nick Curtin, who holds a Michelin star at his Copenhagen restaurant Alouette, returns to Castle Hill Inn on Oct. 16 and 17 for a two-night collaboration with Aurelia and its chef, Quentin Diez. It’s a repeat of a dinner the two kitchens did last year. The prix fixe runs $185 per person, with beverage […]
Posted inNews
AgInnovation names co-founder Margie Brennan education director
Margie Brennan, who co-founded the AgInnovation Farm Program, has taken on an expanded role as education director for the Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, which runs the program. Brennan, a science educator and curriculum specialist, will work with schools and community organizations on curriculum-aligned agriculture programs, and help other schools build their own farm-to-school and […]
Posted inCity & Government
Rep. Carson asks Rhode Islanders to take a League of Women Voters survey on the SAVE Act
Rep. Lauren Carson is urging Rhode Islanders to take an online survey by the League of Women Voters measuring how many voters in the state could be affected if the federal SAVE Act became law. The bill would require documentary proof of citizenship — for most people a passport or birth certificate — to register […]
Posted inInstagram
Rhody Regatta raises $13,000 for Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island
The International Yacht and Athletic Club has presented a $13,000 check to Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island from donations collected at its 2026 Rhody Regatta. The May 31 race sent boats from 30 to 66 feet on an 18-nautical-mile circumnavigation of Conanicut Island. Organizers had set a $10,000 target. Joe Brito’s J/121 Incognito, out […]
Posted inNews
Newport Historical Society lands $245,000 federal grant to digitize Revolutionary-era documents
The Newport Historical Society has received a $245,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to rehouse, catalog and digitize 2,000 documents from its 18th and 19th century collections. The award comes through the NEH’s “Rediscovering Our Revolutionary Tradition” initiative, and the society is one of two Rhode Island recipients. The project, called Newport’s […]
Posted inSports
Lazaro Montes has memorable debut with homer, 2 RBIs as Mariners end skid with 9-6 win over Red Sox
By DOUG ALDEN Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Lazaro Montes homered in his big league debut, Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer and Seattle ended a five-game skid with a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. Dominic Canzone also homered for the Mariners, who tagged Jedixson Páez (0–1) for five runs […]
Posted inBusiness
BankNewport grants $22,000 to Star Kids and FabNewport
The BankNewport Charitable Foundation has awarded $15,000 to the Star Kids Scholarship Program and $7,000 to FabNewport’s Healthy Meals Program, the bank announced Tuesday. The Star Kids grant supports tutoring, supervised after-school and summer programs, school transportation, textbooks and uniforms. The program works with low-income students who have a parent with a history of incarceration […]
Posted inFood & Drink
“Chopped” judge Maneet Chauhan headlines Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, Sept. 18-20
Maneet Chauhan, the “Chopped” judge and two-time “Tournament of Champions” winner, will headline the 21st Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival at Rosecliff from Sept. 18 to 20. Chauhan hosts the Vintner Dinner, a collaboration with festival Culinary Director Kevin Des Chenes, Adam Greenberg of Sparrow Restaurant in New Milford, Connecticut, and Adam Young of […]
Posted inThings To Do
Classic yachts parade through Newport Harbor Sunday morning
A fleet of classic sail and motor yachts will parade through Newport Harbor at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, as part of the 47th Newport Classic Yacht Regatta. The parade starts at the south end of Goat Island and runs a circuit of the harbor, passing the wharves, IYRS, King Park, Ida Lewis Yacht Club […]
Posted inSports
Federer gets his Hall of Fame ring at the US Open, two days after his Newport induction
Roger Federer received his International Tennis Hall of Fame ring Monday night at the US Open, capping a week that began on the grass courts on Bellevue Avenue. Hall of Fame Co-President Kim Clijsters presented the ring during the night session in Arthur Ashe Stadium, joined on court by ITHF CEO Dan Faber, Co-President Patrick […]
Posted inCity & Government
Man taken into custody after hours-long standoff on Dudley Avenue, police say
A 32-year-old man was arrested Monday night after a standoff of nearly four hours at a Dudley Avenue residence, Newport police said. Officers went to 12 Dudley Ave. at 3:45 p.m. on a report that Khaleel Mills had assaulted a man and threatened to shoot him with a pistol, according to a release from the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Newport Classical opens its chamber season Sept. 18 with a quartet that plays banjos and mandolins too
Newport Classical opens its sixth full-season Chamber Series on Friday, Sept. 18, with the Austin-based quartet Invoke, the first of twelve concerts running through early June at Newport Classical Recital Hall, 42 Dearborn St. Invoke is a string quartet that doesn’t stay one — the group plays banjo and mandolin alongside the usual strings and […]