With a presidential mandate to “expand and modernize” the nation’s fleet of naval warships, Philip M. Bilden, a Newport resident and retired venture capitalist, has been nominated by President Donald J. Trump to be the 76th secretary of the Navy. “Our number of ships is at the lowest point that it has been in decades,” Trump said in a press […]
Proposed Substation Presentation, Feb. 8
Area residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on a hotly debated National Grid initiative – intended to improve Aquidneck Island’s electrical capacity and reliability – on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. in the Portsmouth Town Council chambers, located at 2200 East Main Road. National Grid has a proposal to build a three-acre, 360-by-390- foot electrical substation with […]
NRF ‘Leader and Influencer’ Moves On
The Newport Restoration Foundation announced on Tuesday, Jan. 24, that Wendy Nicholas, a Boston-based nonprofit administrator, had been appointed interim executive director at the NRF. Board President Roger Mandle, who made the announcement, cited Nicholas’ “wealth of experience in nonprofit leadership as well as historic preservation.” Nicholas follows Pieter Roos, who is moving on after nearly 20 years at the […]
Navy Surplus Land Ready for Transfer
Middletown Officials Foresee Mixed Use for West Main Road PropertyAfter 12 years of environmental cleanups and careful planning, the U.S. Navy is ready to transfer a valuable piece of land to the Town of Middletown. A three-acre parcel at the former Navy Lodge site, located at Coddington Highway and West Main Road, would be the first of several Aquidneck Island parcels set to be transferred as part of the […]
Project Purple Initiative
The Dean of Students at Middletown High School, Dennis Soares, is joined by officer John Patterson and MHS student Madi Holden at one of the many Project Purple activities last week. Middletown and Newport schools will culminate the initiative on Thursday, Feb. 2 with schoolwide assemblies. (Photo by Meri Keller)
V Rings Heading to Sail Newport
On Friday, Jan. 20, Bill Belichick was running his AFC East Champion New England Patriots through their final practices in Gillette Stadium as they prepared to face their dreaded arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the AFC Championship game on Jan. 22. Belichick called a series of passes, several runs, various defenses and specific special team drills. Somehow, he also found […]
Ruggiero Offers Office Hours on Feb. 4
Rep. Deborah Ruggiero invites the public to stop by her “office hours” at the Middletown Library on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. to discuss any legislative issues that are on your mind. She will share updates on her legislation “Aging in the Community” for seniors, which includes increased funding for senior centers in Rhode Island and property […]
Meeting on National Grid Substation
Residents will have an opportunity this week to weigh in on a strongly debated National Grid initiative designed to improve Aquidneck Island’s electrical capacity and reliability. The main component of the $93 million initiative is to construct a 3.1-acre electrical substation on Jepson Lane. Despite sharp criticism from the Middletown Town Council and residents, National Grid has asserted they plan […]
Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission
The next meeting of the Newport Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission will be held Thursday, Feb. 2, at 5 p.m., at the Bike Newport Office, 62 Broadway, across from City Hall. The meeting is open to the public. Interested Newport residents are encouraged to apply for one of the open commission seats. For more information, contact Chuck Flippo at chuflippo@gmail.com.
Scholarships
Slom Scholarship for Freedom and Diversity The Slom Scholarship will provide up to two college scholarships for high school seniors who submit an interpretive work on the George Washington Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport relating to the present day. Application available at tourosynagogue.org. For more information, email ritaslom@aol.com or call the Touro Synagogue Foundation office at 401- 847-4794 […]
