Artist Todd McGrain (center in hat) helps lower his sculpture, “Carolina parakeet,” into the ground at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown. While the Carolina parakeet was declared extinct in 1939 and weighed only 10 ounces, the cast bronze version weighs in at 800 pounds and is one of five McGrain sculptures he calls The Lost Bird Project, an installation […]
Anger Unleashed Over School Conditions
Rats. Mice. Mold. Leaks. Forgotten children in Special Education. Those were just a few of the charges hurled at the Newport School Committee on Sept. 17 as more than two dozen parents, teachers, and students railed against budget cuts that have resulted in what they say are children regressing in the Rogers High School Special Education program and a building […]
Firm to Study Damage to Old Stone Mill
The City Council appropriated $27,180 at its Sept. 12 meeting to pay a consultant firm to analyze the current structural condition of the Old Stone Mill in Touro Park, the first step in developing a strategy to conserve it. The Old Stone Mill, also called the Newport Tower, has stood for at least 350 years. Many books have been written […]
PFLAG Brings Hope to Local LGBTQ Allies
It is 1980, and five of us on the “steering committee” for the Gay and Lesbian Youth of New York (GLYNY) sit cross-legged on the sidewalk in front of the Metropolitan Community Church, in Manhattan’s West Village. We’re waiting for a room to open up for our weekly meeting. Little by little we are joined by other teens. Many of […]
Benefit at the Beach a Sell-Out
Nearly 200 Museum of Newport Irish History supporters gathered at Easton’s Beach Rotunda ballroom earlier this month for “Shamrocks & Seashells,” the ninth annual benefit for the museum’s Interpretive Center. Festive bagpipe music welcomed the guests to the Rotunda, followed by traditional Irish music performed throughout the evening by “The Exiles,” back by popular demand. The group featured award-winning Irish […]
Middletown’s Historic Mile Marker Back in Place
If you have been forced to slow down at the construction project at the intersection of East and West Main roads over the past two years, you may not have noticed that, reset in the middle of the traffic island, facing Walgreens, is a piece of our history that might have been forgotten: the two-mile corner milestone that has stood […]
School Open Houses
The Newport Public School Dept. is holding open houses at each of its school properties: Sept. 25, at Pell for K and grade 1, 5:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 25, at Pell Annex, 4:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 26, Thompson Middle School, 5 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 27, Rogers High School, 5 p.m.
Touch Lots of Trucks
Child & Family’s “Touch-A-Truck” will allow children of all ages to see and touch approximately 15 vehicles, including Middletown Fire Department fire and rescue trucks, a dump truck, a bulldozer, excavator, tractor, a U.S. mail truck, a RV camper and more. Other activities include a police canine demonstration, Kindermusik, TumbleBus and more. The family-friendly outdoor event to benefit Child & […]
Palladium Musicum
The Newport début of Palladium Musicum, a non-profit organization devoted to classical music, culture and the arts, is presenting two programs: A lecture on Persian poetry in the Classical Era and the poet, Hafez on Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. The second, is an opera concert performed by rising young opera […]
Portsmouth Community Theater Performance
On Saturday, Sept. 22, the Portsmouth Community Theater will perform “Stories from the Churchyard” at St. Mary’s Church, 324 East Main Road, Portsmouth. It is a dramatic presentation based on the life stories of some of the residents of St. Mary’s Cemetery. The play was researched by Gloria Schmidt, written by Cindy Killavey, and features actors from the theater and […]
