The Aquidneck Island Land Trust has permanently conserved 0.77 acres on Coggeshall Avenue, protecting the site where the Newport Tree Conservancy grows the specimen trees it plants around the city. Minnie Cushing Coleman donated the conservation easement, which covers several greenhouses and a lawn area. The conservancy will keep operating its nursery there under the […]
Nonprofit
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CCRI and URI launch online RN-to-BS program for working nurses
The Community College of Rhode Island and the University of Rhode Island have launched a fully online program allowing registered nurses with CCRI associate degrees to earn a bachelor of science at URI while continuing to work. The schools announced the RN-to-BS program Thursday, saying it carries lower tuition than URI’s standard rate along with […]
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Potter League CEO Brad Shear resigns after nine years; two former leaders step in as interim directors
Brad Shear has resigned as chief executive officer of the Potter League for Animals after nine years, and two longtime former leaders have been appointed interim executive directors, the organization’s board announced Tuesday. M. Christie Smith, who spent 35 years at the Potter League including a tenure as executive director, and Amy Chamard, who was […]
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Public panel on kratom set for Oct. 27 in Portsmouth
Strategic Prevention Partnerships and the Newport County Prevention Coalition will host a free public panel on kratom on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Green Valley Country Club, 371 Union St. Check-in starts at 5. The event arrives amid a sharp split between neighboring states. Rhode Island overturned its ban on […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Salve Regina climbs to 16th in U.S. News regional ranking
Salve Regina University rose eight places to 16th among regional universities in the North in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report college rankings released Tuesday. The university also appeared on U.S. News lists for best value, social mobility, undergraduate teaching, and undergraduate nursing and psychology programs in the region. In the Princeton Review’s 2027 […]
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Newport Restoration Foundation adding student mentorships to its climate and preservation symposium
The Newport Restoration Foundation is launching a mentorship program for students at next month’s Keeping History Above Water symposium, pairing three of them with local professionals in preservation, architecture, city planning or climate science. The Rising Practitioners program is open to undergraduate and graduate students studying historic preservation, architecture, city planning, site management, climate science […]
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Rhode Island Foundation offering up to $10,000 for Newport County community projects; deadline is Sept. 24
The Rhode Island Foundation is accepting applications through Wednesday, Sept. 24, for neighborhood grants of up to $10,000 for Newport County projects that bring residents together. The program is open to libraries, schools, neighborhood groups and nonprofits, and targets resident-led efforts — neighborhood gatherings, improvements to shared public spaces, green space projects, preservation of cultural […]
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Carpionato CEO departing as company markets Newport Grand site as retail
The Carpionato Group announced Monday that CEO Kelly Coates and outside counsel Angelo Marocco are ending more than 30 years with the company, removing the executive who has been its public voice on the former Newport Grand property. Both retire as trustees in October, with Coates stepping down as CEO and Marocco as outside counsel […]
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Norman Bird Sanctuary taking entries for Harvest Fair home and garden competition
The Norman Bird Sanctuary is accepting entries for the home and garden competition at its 52nd Harvest Fair, held Oct. 3 and 4. The competition is open to anyone — gardeners, cooks, families, businesses, school groups — and entrants can compete in as many categories as they want, so long as they grew or made […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Newport Mansions sets its fall calendar, with the Newport Symposium asking “What Makes It American”
The Preservation Society of Newport County has released its fall program schedule, anchored by the two-day Newport Symposium on Nov. 5 and 6 at Rosecliff and Marble House. This year’s symposium theme is “What Makes It American,” examining the origins of American art, architecture, landscape and design. Robyn Asleson, curator of prints and drawings at […]
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IYRS taking applications for scholarship supporting women in the marine trades
IYRS School of Technology & Trades is accepting applications through Nov. 15 for the 2026 Glo Tech Scholarship, a professional development award for women working in the marine trades and advanced manufacturing. The scholarship is open to women 25 and older with at least four years of experience in those fields. The money can go […]
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Naval War College Foundation to honor former Chief of Navy Reserve John Mustin
The Naval War College Foundation will present its highest honor, the Sentinel of the Sea Award, to retired Vice Adm. John Mustin at a gala Thursday, Nov. 5, at the New York Yacht Club in New York City. Mustin served 34 years in the Navy, joining the Navy Reserve in 2001 and supporting operations in […]
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FabNewport opens a free year-round school for 14 students
FabNewport launched Endless Summer this week, a free year-round learning program for students ages 10 to 14 that is registered with the state as a private school. The first cohort has 14 students, many of whom came to FabNewport through its after-school and summer programs. The program runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays […]
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Preservation Society names Nick Kepley communications manager
Nick Kepley has joined the Preservation Society of Newport County as communications manager, leading marketing communications across the organization and serving as its primary media contact. Kepley, a Providence resident, comes from Jacob’s Pillow, the dance festival in western Massachusetts, where he was director of marketing and communications. There he built a public relations strategy […]
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Newport Art Museum names Emily Manocchio director of advancement
Emily Manocchio starts Monday, Sept. 14, as director of advancement at the Newport Art Museum, where she will lead fundraising and philanthropic strategy alongside Executive Director Harry Philbrick and the board of trustees. Manocchio comes from Newport Hospital, part of the Brown University Health system, where she was interim philanthropy director and coordinated a $2.6 […]
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Sail for Pride marks 25 years with a race around Conanicut Island on Sept. 26
The 25th Sail for Pride, the race organized in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks and held every year since, returns Saturday, Sept. 26, with a course around Conanicut Island. Proceeds from entry fees and an after-race social at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard will be divided among Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Blood center asks for donors over Labor Day weekend after a thin summer
The Rhode Island Blood Center is asking for donors over the Labor Day weekend, saying donations typically fall off around holidays just as travel and back-to-school schedules pull people away. During Labor Day week last year, the center collected more than 40 percent fewer donations than the 2,100 it needs weekly to meet hospital and […]
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Newport Public Education Foundation names 2026 award recipients
The Newport Public Education Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2026 Noreen Stonor Drexel Education Awards, to be presented Oct. 22 at Innovate Newport during the foundation’s annual fundraiser. FabNewport receives the Friend of Education award. Founded in 2013 as a fab lab in the North End, it has grown into a youth development […]