Seastreak’s seasonal ferry service between Providence and Newport returns Friday, June 12, with multiple trips daily and weekend service to Bristol, the company announced. The one-hour route, run in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, offers passengers views of lighthouses, the Newport Pell Bridge and the Providence port. Adult fares start at $12 […]
Rhode Island
Posted inCity & Government
Chamber’s Politics & Pancakes returns June 23 with finance chairmen Abney, DiPalma
The Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce will host its next Politics & Pancakes event Tuesday, June 23, at Ochre Court, featuring the two lawmakers who chair the General Assembly’s finance committees. House Finance Chairman Rep. Marvin L. Abney and Senate Finance Chairman Sen. Louis P. DiPalma are slated to speak to the local business community […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Charter Books to host Juneteenth author talk on slavery and freedom in Newport
Charter Books, in collaboration with the Newport Historical Society, will host an evening with Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes on Wednesday, June 17, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the bookstore, 8 Broadway. De Barros Gomes, director of the Edward W. Kane and Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History and a Brown University lecturer, […]
Posted inCity & Government
Local Democratic party leaders endorse Foulkes and Khamsyvoravong over incumbents
by Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island CurrentJune 9, 2026 The Democratic challengers for governor and lieutenant governor, Helena Buonanno Foulkes and Xay Khamsyvoravong, won the backing of local party leaders during a closed-door meeting at the Rochambeau Library in Providence Monday night. The Rhode Island Association of Democratic City and Town Chairs did not disclose vote […]
Posted inSports
Díaz hits leadoff homer and Aranda delivers go-ahead single to lift Rays over Red Sox 3-1
By ZAK GILBERT Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yandy Díaz hit a leadoff homer and drove in two runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Monday night. Jonathan Aranda knocked in the tiebreaking run with a fifth-inning single for the AL East leaders, who had lost five […]
Posted inColumns
The wisdom we carry: Celebrating the voices of older adults by listening to their lived experiences
“I want to live in a world where we aren’t focused on what aging takes away from us, but rather what it gives to us,” Helen Hames, founder of Age Ambassador and a regular contributor to What’s Up Newp, told a standing-room-only, multi-generational audience last week. “As I began listening more deeply to the older […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Officials warn against contact with Newport’s Almy Pond over algae bloom
The Rhode Island Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Management are advising people to avoid all contact with Almy Pond in Newport because of a harmful algae bloom. The agencies said all recreation at the pond, including swimming, fishing, boating and kayaking, is high risk and should be avoided. The bloom is caused […]
Posted inCity & Government
Salve Regina lecturer Michael Bahry launches independent U.S. Senate bid
Michael Bahry, a visiting lecturer at Salve Regina University and former construction executive, announced he is gathering the 1,000 signatures needed to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate. Bahry would be running for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, who is seeking re-election to a term he […]
Posted inCity & Government
State budget includes Carson proposals to preserve Newport Hospital birthing center
The fiscal year 2027 state budget approved by the House of Representatives on Friday includes proposals from Rep. Lauren H. Carson to provide $1.6 million for Newport Hospital’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center and to make it harder to close any birthing center in the state. Carson proposed the funding in response to Brown University […]
Posted inRhode Island
Rhode Island slips to 26th for child well-being in national KIDS COUNT report
Rhode Island ranks 26th among the 50 states for child well-being, according to the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a drop from 20th the year before. The state’s overall rank, based on 2024 data, fell as it slid in two of the report’s four domains. The annual […]
Posted inNews
Cranston’s Ocean State Academy wins Rhode Island title in national math competition
Ocean State Academy, a private school for students with disabilities, has won a Rhode Island State Championship in the Prodigy State Challenge, billed as the world’s largest math competition, and went on to place near the top of the national field. The school said 98 percent of its elementary and middle school students took part, […]
Posted inNews
Newport’s Secret Garden Tour returns June 26-28 with a focus on the Point
The Secret Garden Tour returns for its 42nd year June 26-28, opening the gates to 14 private gardens in Newport’s historic Point neighborhood for a series of self-guided walking tours. The tour, which begins at Storer Park near the causeway to Goat Island, features a mix of returning favorites and gardens new to the route, […]
Posted inCity & Government
Middletown, Jamestown and Block Island among 10 communities awarded state stormwater grants
The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank has awarded nearly $1.1 million in grants to 10 communities, including three in Newport County and the Islands, to design and engineer systems aimed at reducing flooding from increasingly intense storms. The bank awarded a total of $1,095,800 to Bristol, Coventry, East Greenwich, Hopkinton, Jamestown, Middletown, New Shoreham, Pawtucket, Providence […]
Posted inOpinion
Letter to the Editor: Thank you for making Elliot’s Ride for Everyone a success
To the Editor: What an amazing day! We want to thank everyone who made Elliot’s Ride for Everyone such a success. On Saturday, June 6th, Bike Newport presented “Elliot’s Ride for Everyone – the annual event when the iconic Ocean Drive closes to cars and opens to people biking, walking, rolling and strolling – creating […]
Posted inNews
RI Voting Rights Act would prevent voter discrimination
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a jarring ruling recently, literally gutted the voting rights act, which had protected minority voters in many southern districts. Several organizations have been championing a Rhode Island version that would establish procedures to prevent discrimination in the voting process. In April, the bill was held for further study, although some […]
Posted inSports
Contreras homers and drives in 3 to lead Red Sox to 5-3 win over Yankees
By LARRY FLEISHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Willson Conteras homered and drove in three runs on Friday night to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees, who put Aaron Judge on the injured list with a stress fracture in his right rib. Contreras homered for the second straight […]
Posted inCity & Government
R.I. House approves Carson bill to create permanent commission on aging and statewide multisector plan
The Rhode Island House of Representatives has approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Lauren H. Carson, D-Newport, to create a permanent joint commission on aging charged with developing and regularly updating a statewide multisector plan on aging. The bill (2026-H 8402A) now heads to the Senate. It would establish a 19-member permanent commission with representation from […]
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Newport School Committee names Dr. Peter Sanchioni interim superintendent
The Newport School Committee has named Dr. Peter Sanchioni interim superintendent of Newport Public Schools, the committee announced Friday tapping a veteran administrator to lead the district through a period of fiscal strain and an unsettled regionalization timeline. The committee voted Thursday evening to appoint Sanchioni, according to an announcement shared by the superintendent’s office. […]
Posted inCity & Government
Newport City Council agenda for June 10 includes proposals on hotels, housing and tree preservation
The Newport City Council will meet Wednesday, June 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 43 Broadway, with a long agenda spanning policy resolutions, special event licenses and presentations from the city manager. Several resolutions sponsored by Councilor Steph Smyth are likely to draw attention. One would direct the city to […]
Posted inJobs
Movies and TV shows casting in Rhode Island
The glitz and glam of Hollywood captures the attention of Americans starting from an early age. Beyond celebrities’ Instagram Stories and red carpet poses, there are actors out there paying their dues and honing their craft in pursuit of a sustainable career or a fulfilling sideline. Submitting to casting calls is a big part of […]
Posted inCity & Government
R.I. Senate passes pair of DiPalma bills on dementia services and pension revocation for sex crimes
The Rhode Island Senate passed two bills sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Louis P. DiPalma, D-Middletown, on Thursday — one creating a state dementia services coordinator and another allowing the state to revoke pension benefits from public employees convicted of job-related felony sex crimes. The first bill (2026-S 2874) would create a dementia services […]
Posted inOpinion
Letter to the Editor: Restore daffodils this fall destroyed during bridge ramp construction
Newport in Bloom and the founders of Daffodillion are formally requesting that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the Newport City Council restore the approximately 90,000 Dutch Master daffodil bulbs along the Pell Bridge off-ramps, Roundabout, and the Farewell-America’s Cup Avenue corridor. These areas underwent major renovations which resulted in the removal of […]
Posted inSports
Newport Gulls’ home opener set for June 5 at Cardines Field as team begins 25th season
The Newport Gulls will play their home opener against the Upper Valley Nighthawks on Friday, June 5, at Cardines Field as the team begins its 25th season. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. Opening night is sponsored by University Orthopedics, and the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a free magnet schedule […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Rosalind Weir to receive Arts & Cultural Alliance’s 2026 Dominique Award
The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County will present its 2026 Dominique Award to Rosalind Weir at its annual Raise Up the Arts celebration on Tuesday, June 24, at Johnny’s Restaurant at the Wyndham Newport Hotel, 240 Aquidneck Ave. in Middletown. The award, created in 2010, honors people who have contributed time, influence and […]
Posted inNews
Portsmouth Democrats back Foulkes over McKee, support Reed and Amo for federal delegation
The Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee voted at its monthly meeting to support Helena Foulkes over incumbent Gov. Dan McKee in the 2026 Democratic primary for governor, the committee announced. Chairman Juan Carlos Payero said in a statement that committee members spoke at length about “persistent East Bay frustration” with McKee’s handling of the Washington Bridge […]