City & Government

Sen.  James A. Seveney (D-Dist. 11, Portsmouth, Bristol, Tiverton) has introduced legislation that would ban ‘bump stocks’ on semi-automatic firearms. A bump stock is an attachment that allows the shooter to fire a semi-automatic weapon with great rapidity. It replaces a rifle’s standard stock, freeing the weapon to slide back and forth rapidly, harnessing the […]

When former Republican State Representative Joseph Trillo entered the Rhode Island governor’s race as an independent, he promised a campaign that would rattle some longtime institutions, challenge longstanding policies and laws, while streamlining state government. The very fact that the eight-term Warwick legislator would bolt his party to run as an independent, shocked many observers. […]

In preparation for the predicted winter storm, the City of Newport would like to alert residents that weekly trash and recycling collection service will be delayed one additional day beginning Thursday, January 4, 2018 to accommodate the New Year’s Holiday and the storm delay.   The adjusted schedule is as follows: For the week of January […]

Newport City Council will hold a special meeting on Thursday, January 4th at 5 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall to consider the selection of a candidate to fill the upcoming vacant seat on City Council. Councilor At-Large John Florez announced in November that he would be stepping down from Council effective January 9th for […]

The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday to consider legislation to provide public support for a new stadium for the Pawtucket Red Sox. The committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, Jan. 4, at the rise of the Senate (about 4: 30 p.m.) in Room 313 on the third floor of the State House. If the […]

At 27 and in only his second term in the state House of Representatives, Aaron Regunberg, a progressive Democrat, has seen enough. He sees a Statehouse dominated by wealthy and influential lobbyists, with no one advocating for the common Rhode Islander, a job he thinks should be assumed by the lieutenant governor. He wants to […]

The process to fill John Florez’s At-Large seat on Newport City Council is well underway. At the close of the solicitation for applicants on December 15th, eleven Newport residents applied to fill the remaining term on the Council. The six remaining members of Council will interview all applicants this week, the person selected will serve for the remainder of […]

On December 15, 2017, at 4:33 a.m., Newport Police and Fire Department’s responded to Bridgeview Condos, 66 Girard Avenue, unit #304 for a report of a working fire. A 70-year-old male of that same address was found unresponsive inside the residence. He was transported to Newport Hospital where he was pronounced deceased at approximately 5:30 […]

The email attached below was sent to the Newport City Council by Ron Becker and Isabel Griffith concerning the City’s efforts to appoint a replacement for resigning Councilor John Florez. TO:  Newport City Council FROM:  Ron Becker and Isabel Griffith RE:  Appointment of a Replacement for Resigning City Councilor John Florez The following represents our […]

Newport, RI – Frank Prosnitz and Ryan Belmore from the What’sUpNewp Crew will be interviewing Joe Trillo, Independent Candidate for Governor of Rhode Island, today on The Open Forum on WADK 1540AM. Prosnitz is the host of The Open Forum at 12 pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, while Belmore is the host of What’sUpNewp Radio […]

The Newport City Council’s last regularly-scheduled meeting of 2017 last approximately 50 minutes tonight. We’re trying something new here. Seeing that the live video the City does isn’t automatically archived or easily shareable on social media – we thought we’d try this – a video that can be social where voters, and those interested, can […]

The Newport Police Department has released the following press release regarding the arrest of Councilor At-Large John Florez. On 12/11/17, at 1:45 p.m., 46-year-old John Florez of 11 Roseneath Avenue, Newport, RI was charged with Crank or Obscene Telephone Calls (RI General Law §11-35-17).The charge stems from a report filed by a family member on […]

Newport, RI – Newport City Council will meet for the final time in 2017 on Wednesday, December 13th. While the average duration of their Regular Council Meeting’s has average just twenty minutes over the last few months, Wednesday night’s agenda looks like it could be quite a bit longer has Council, the City and businesses […]

The Rhode Island Defense Economy Planning Commission will meet at Middletown Town Hall thisweek with the administrators of all three Aquidneck Island communities to discuss realignment of unused U.S. Navy properties on the island. The meeting is scheduled Thursday, Dec. 14, at 11 a.m. in the Town Council Chambers, Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road. The U.S. Navy […]

Governor Gina M. Raimondo has ordered that the U.S. and Rhode Island flags at all state facilities and buildings be flown at half-staff until sunset on December 7, in honor of the lives lost and forever changed on December 7, 1941. “Today we honor the more than 2,400 innocent Americans who lost their lives during […]

Longtime Republican State Representative Joe Trillo, expected to announce for governor as a Republican, surprised many observers today by announcing that he would run as an independent, assuring at least a three-way general election for governor. Trillo, 74 of Warwick, served as a state representative from 2001 to 2016 and was co-chair of President Donald […]

On Saturday, November 25, 2017, at about 3:40 p.m., Newport Police Officers responded to the Cliff Walk behind the area of 646 Bellevue Avenue for a report of 2 females spray painting the sea wall. When the responding officers arrived on scene, the suspects had left the area. According to Newport Police Department, video images […]

Here is what’s happening for road work, closures and detours in and around Newport, RI this week. Roadwork scheduled by Rhode Island Department Of Transportation: November 25 – December 1, 2017 Tiverton/Portsmouth: Rte. 24 South at the Old Sakonnet River Bridge, please watch for construction vehicles exiting and entering the shoulder to access the construction site, […]

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, unsuccessful in a bid for Rhode Island governor in 2014, recently announced he would run again in what promises to be a spirited election. He’ll battle in a Republican primary election that will include the House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan and likely President Trump’s Rhode Island campaign co-chair former Rep. Joe […]

John Florez has announced that he will be stepping down from his seat on Newport City Council on January 9th. “I have been honored to serve these last few years on the City Council. Serving my community has been one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences of my life. In the last three years I’ve spearheaded legislation […]

Following yet another pedestrian-automobile collision on Newport’s Memorial Boulevard this morning, Rep. Lauren H. Carson is calling upon the Department of Transportation (DOT) to get to work on the planned redesign of the roadway immediately. “The intersection of Memorial Boulevard and Bellevue Avenue is one of the busiest in the state, and tourists as well […]