March arrived like a lion in Newport this year—a fitting reminder that the voices of many women in Rhode Island’s history still roar today. This two-part “Voices” series highlights several remarkable, yet lesser-known, women of the American Revolution. Alas, Not Every Lass was a Patriot Mary Gould Almy, miniature portrait by Edward Greene Malbone, c. […]
Columns
A look at What’sUpNewp’s latest columns.
Posted inPeople & Profiles
This Day in RI History: March 13, 1799 -Oliver Shaw born in Newport
Oliver Shaw was one of the first important American classical composers. Due to a childhood accident and later a case of yellow fever, he was totally blind when he composed many of his most notable works. His works included many references to local places including “Taunton,” “Bristol” and “Trip to Pawtucket.” Shaw also composed numerous […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: A need for saintly intervention
On March 17th we can mark not just the day honoring St. Patrick, who in legend drove the snakes out of Ireland, but also the 250th anniversary of the day George Washington drove the British out of Boston. While St. Patrick’s achievement is largely mythic, General Washington’s is real. It’s considered the first major victory […]
Posted inColumns
Helen Hames: Coming full circle – Rep. Carson and the power of words in aging
Are you a senior citizen? Does the term apply to you? Where did it come from anyway? Does that label match how you see yourself and the life you’re living today? Or do the old rules around aging deserve a second look? The phrase senior citizen became popular around the time of the creation of […]
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Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about blood
As you may have read, the Rhode Island Blood Center has put out a call for blood donations – and it is extremely important that you donate if you can. Lives literally depend on these donations, for which there is no effective substitute. AI can’t donate. You can. Please consider it. That said, understanding how much […]
Posted inColumns
Michele Gallagher: Frederick Douglass’ legacy in Rhode Island
Though Frederick Douglass has been extensively chronicled — by himself and by modern-day historians such as David W. Blight — his Rhode Island oratory during the second half of the 19th century deserves renewed attention. Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818, Douglass as a young boy endured family separation, brutal […]
Posted inColumns
The power of your story: Kim Fuller and the beautiful, messy relevance of being seen and heard
Telling personal stories has a measurable positive effect. They help us feel seen and remind us that we are seen. As we grow older, and older still, it can begin to feel as though our stories are fading. In reality, they’re right where they’ve always been. Sometimes, it’s something simple. A snowy day can bring […]
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How Midwives support women through the reproductive years
At South County Health’s Center for Women’s Health, Certified Nurse Midwives are among the providers caring for patients with clinical expertise and compassion, empowering women to make informed choices about their health. When people hear the word midwife, they often think of childbirth. While midwives are experts in pregnancy, labor, and postpartum care, their role […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: Best of A.I. must spring from ourselves
In 1995, inventor and entrepreneur Robert Metcalfe wrote a magazine column in which he predicted the Internet “will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 will collapse.” If that didn’t happen, he vowed, “I’ll eat my words.” When instead of collapsing the Internet surged, Metcalfe kept his promise. At a conference in 1997, he put […]
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 inOpinion
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about paying for medical school
Before I describe the incredible cost of medical school, I want to mention how I paid for my medical education. I didn’t. You did, and I am very grateful for that. Like about 1800 other American medical students in 1979, I was lucky enough to get a National Health Corps Scholarship, which paid my tuition, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Michele Gallagher: America’s love affair with coffee dates back to Colonial times
A friend recently gifted me Robert Mastin’s newly published book, Liberty Call: When Newport Was Home to the Atlantic Fleet. As an enthusiastic student of local history — and someone raised in a military family — I read every word. Much has been written about Newport’s Colonial and Gilded Age eras. Far less has been […]
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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 […]
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When your period is disrupting your life, it’s time to talk about it
For many women, heavy or irregular menstrual cycles are often brushed off as “normal”—something to endure quietly while juggling work, family, and daily life. But changes in menstrual bleeding can be a sign that it’s time for a closer look—and effective treatment options are available. Heavy Bleeding Is Common — But Not Normal At the […]
Posted inOpinion
What’s in the Dash: Real voices from older Rhode Islanders
Names have been changed to protect privacy. The voices and experiences shared here are real, sometimes uplifting and sometimes raw. In 1996, thirty years ago, Linda Ellis wrote a poem called The Dash. It’s a poem often read at funerals, a reminder It’s not the years on your gravestone that matters most. What matters is […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: ‘Honest Abe’ refused some heavy handouts
Abraham Lincoln was a chump. Oh, that’s not my opinion, but in one respect it seems to be Donald Trump’s. As we have learned, Qatar gave Trump a $400 million Boeing 747 for use as a new Air Force One. When he leaves office, he said, he plans to transfer the aircraft, which some describe […]
Posted inNews
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about getting into medical school. Part 1.
Ok. We are somewhere between 50,000 and 300,000 doctors short. Probably more, given our current approach to immigration, because 25 percent of all doctors in the US come from other countries – because we don’t send enough of our own students to medical school. Instead, we import our doctors from elsewhere, from places who need […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Standing at the CUSP of Newport’s Art Scene: Curtis Speer, CUSP Gallery, and the Newport Artists Collective
For 2026, on the advice of a wise mentor, I’m expanding the scope of my WUN Voices column from exclusively spotlighting women-led organizations’ “Voices” to include the Voices of all Rhode Islanders doing ground-breaking work that is making an outsized impact in the smallest state.” Enter Curtis Speer I recall sitting at a Greater Newport […]
Posted inColumns
Caught off guard: Involuntary discharge and why it belongs in your aging plan
Recently, I was working with The Edward King House Senior Center, The Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island (SACRI) and Age-Friendly Rhode Island to bring an invitation-only screening of the film Involuntary and a panel discussion to Newport. While this screening has been postponed, one thing became clear to me: many people don’t know what […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: Overhead, a reflection of who we are
The Civil War was new in 1861 when Brooklyn’s 14th Regiment, soon bound for battle, heard these words from abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher: “A thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation’s flag, sees not the flag, but the nation itself.” That’s still food for thought in 2026, as this American prepares to exchange his wind-worn […]