Op-Ed: An experienced leader on the Newport School Committee
Kendra Wilson Muenter knows the committee’s threefold job — budget, policy, accountability — and knows no member can move anything alone
Housing Fact Book: It now takes $459,600 a year to afford a median-priced house in Newport
The city’s median single-family price hit $1.51 million, up 94% in five years. Across Newport County, Little Compton and Portsmouth have the state’s thinnest supply of affordable housing
Op-Ed: What a functional School Committee could look like
Susan Taylor, vice chair of the Newport Democratic City Committee, endorses Kendra Wilson Muenter and four candidates running alongside her, writing that the League of Women Voters forum showed “government that works”
Newport City Council takes final vote Oct. 28 on rezoning the former Navy Hospital site
Also on the docket: a first reading on a stormwater utility, two Council 94 union contracts, a letter of intent for solar on school roofs, and 2027 dates for the Folk and Jazz festivals
Rhode Island’s new affordability program takes effect as open enrollment starts Nov. 1
Premiums jumped an average of 101% this year when enhanced federal tax credits expired. The state’s new RIMAP program is expected to help more than 20,000 people in 2027, and a separate rate change will lower costs for 10,000 more households
Middletown Democrats endorse four of 11 Town Council candidates
The committee backed incumbents Paul Rodrigues, Barbara VonVillas and Christopher Logan, along with former councilor Henry “Rick” Lombardi, and reminded voters they need not use all seven votes
Trump again targets offshore wind, risking deal to speed approvals of new energy projects
The Trump administration is asking a federal judge to let it reconsider a major federal permit granted for a large offshore wind farm, making it the fourth project the Republican leadership has targeted in recent months.
Eight days in, 30,000 Rhode Island voters cast ballots early
Warwick leads in early voting turnout; Providence leads in mail ballots
Rogers graduate Christine Dunbar named assistant principal at her alma mater
Dunbar, a math and computer science teacher and instructional coach at Providence’s Classical High School, starts Nov. 2
Rhode Island Energy replacing 65 transmission poles in Middletown in $8.2 million project
Steel monopoles are going in where wooden structures stood, with guards to keep ospreys off the new equipment. Work started in 2025 and is due to finish by year’s end
‘Spooky State House’ returns to Providence on Oct. 29 with free trick-or-treating
Offices of the governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, lieutenant governor and both legislative chambers hand out treats from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Bring a canned good for the food bank and get a raffle entry
Letter to the Editor: James Dring is ready to take on Newport’s challenges
A Kay Street homeowner who has lived in Newport since the early 1960s writes that the at-large council candidate shows up, listens and knows the city firsthand
Pell Center survey: Foulkes leads for governor, but Loughlin leads Matos in the Bristol/Newport region
Salve Regina’s poll of 815 likely voters finds a statistical tie statewide for lieutenant governor and a three-way governor’s race in which Ken Block and Aaron Guckian’s combined support exceeds Helena Foulkes’s in every county
McKee extends pause on new license plate readers, releases model policy civil liberties groups say they had no hand in
The policy bars using the cameras for immigration enforcement and for reproductive and gender-affirming care investigations, and requires data deletion within 30 days. The ACLU and three other groups told State Police on Oct. 9 that the review sought no public input
Chamber volunteers to knock on business doors across Newport County on Friday
The seventh annual Business Walk sends teams of elected officials and community leaders into local businesses for 15-minute conversations. Owners who can’t take part can answer a survey instead
RIPEC: Rhode Island’s taxes and spending are rising faster than residents’ incomes
The business-backed group’s annual 50-state comparison ranks Rhode Island 1st in fire protection spending and 5th in overall public safety, and attributes much of it to the number of small local governments
Coastal regulators OK revised Cliff Walk repair plan; path could reopen as soon as 2028
The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) approved a revised repair plan at its meeting Tuesday.
Rhode Island tax amnesty opens Dec. 3, waiving penalties and cutting interest 25%
The 75-day program covers state taxes owed for periods ending on or before Dec. 31, 2025. Statements go out in November, but no payments are accepted until the window opens
Letter to the Editor: Let’s talk about what candidates will actually do
A Newport resident writes that the Ward 2 race has turned to personal attacks on Emily Conklin from people who aren’t on the ballot
Build the Bench RI endorses five Newport candidates in its second round
The new group, which backs progressive women and gender-expansive candidates, picked Emily Conklin and Taryn Mazza for City Council and Elizabeth Barron, Penelope Hunt and Kendra Wilson Muenter for School Committee
The Preserve’s Hobbit House is open for pumpkin photo sessions through Nov. 2
An hour slot at the Richmond resort’s Tolkien-inspired cottage runs $200 for up to four people — bring your own photographer
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