By Alex Malm On March 26, a 30-year-old New Jersey man leapt to his death off the Pell Bridge. Not long after, on Easter Sunday, a 69-year-old man jumped off the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge. In the past 12 years, 28 people have committed suicide by jumping off a Newport County bridge, including four in the past two years at the Pell Bridge. One local legislator is hoping to prevent such tragedies in the future. Sen. Lou DiPalma, who represents Newport, Middletown, Little Compton and Tiverton, introduced a bill earlier this year that would direct the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, i ..read more

Two years ago, officials for the Florence Gray Center were concerned that they would be forced to close due to not being able to afford the cost of maintaining it. But now, with the support of numerous grants and donations, the important neighborhood building is receiving key repairs, with the hopes of eventually adding more programming and space. After a public outcry in support of saving the center, funding was secured, and today it continues to house a variety of programs and organizations, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Newport County, Fab-Newport, the Newport Health Equity Zone and ..read more

To the Editor: Regarding the Newport This Week article on the draft ordinance for an airport overlay district for the Newport airpark located in Middletown (“Proposed Airport District Revisited,” April 15), I have learned that the Rhode Island Airport Corporation has continued to seek a de facto wide-ranging eminent domain authority, with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation acting as its surrogate. This is repugnant, in that the town’s home rule, and the town’s and citizens’ rights to due process, are intentionally circumvented. During the hearing, it became obvious RIAC hasn’t given ..read more

Bisa Butler: Pride and Presence: An Artist Talk with Bisa Butler, Quilt Artist and Storyteller A quilt is a potent object. Made by hand, even the most minimal quilt design is a material record of the life, inspirations, tastes, history, and beliefs of the maker and recipient. Bisa Butler’s glorious contemporary quilts utilize the medium to lift up the stories of African American individuals both known and unknown. The vibrant colors and patterns of African fabrics from her ancestral Ghana, batiks from Nigeria, and prints from South Africa create a visual cacophony, a blissed-out intensity ..read more

    Jay Leno’s Newport home was featured on an episode of PBS’s Antiques ROADSHOW on Monday, May 3. According to PBS they are celebrating its 25th season of the ROADSHOW with new superstar special visits with notable people from the worlds of comedy, film, TV, literature, music, and sports. Watch stories of celebrities’ favorite things; inherited, gifted, and collected as ROADSHOW appraisers provide expert insights and explore history through their personal stories. To watch the video of Leno’s mansion pbs.org/video/celebrity-edition-jay-leno-hfjzw5/ The post Leno on PBS's Antiques ..read more

To the Editor: I read Krista Haskell’s letter, “Re-Open Third Beach to Nonresidents” in the April 15 edition of Newport This Week with interest. She is right. The issue of ‘non-resident’ for each of the three towns on Aquidneck Island should be reciprocal, as it applies to the use of beaches, a precious natural resource. The taxpayers of all three towns should be considered as ‘residents’ and use our towns’ beaches as such. The nomenclature, “non-resident” should only apply to those not owning property on Aquidneck Island. I was born in Newport, currently own property in Portsmouth and for dec ..read more

In a four-hour meeting that saw many tense moments and even accusations flying back and forth, the Newport Planning Board approved the demolition on May 3 of three buildings on the site of the proposed 150-room hotel at Waites Wharf. In a separate 8-0 vote, the board also approved the demolition of At the Deck Restaurant, also in the project’s footprint, deciding to consider it singularly as they felt it had no historic significance. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the state’s Coastal Resources Management Council and the Newport Zoning Board must also still approve the ..read more

Mayor Jeanne-Marie Napolitano and Deputy Fire Chief Harp Donnelly chat with a volunteer before the clinic opened. (Photo by David Hansen) By Alex Malm More than 400 people in the local community were vaccinated during the COVID-19 pop-up clinic at the Gateway Center on April 21. The clinic was part of a statewide effort by the Rhode Island Department of Health to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccine doses to high-density urban neighborhoods. The second doses will be administered at the Gateway Center on May 12. While anyone was eligible to receive the vaccine, the clinic was primaril ..read more

Sponsored by Hogan Associates NEWPORT 63 John St. was sold by the Phylis Satin Trust to Miller Family Trust for $1,800,000 495 Spring St. was sold by Mariam Han & Jake Huggins to Marcia Mavrides for $1,300,000 27 High St. Unit 7. was sold by Crawford Hindermann, III to Tom Axbey for $1,300,000 119 Spring St. was sold by Florence Tobin to Jonathan & Bridget McClean for $1,175,000 27 High St. Unit 6. was sold by Tom Axbey to Sarah Kanwal for $951,000 28 W. Narragansett Ave. was sold by Eva Longobardi to Oliver & Lisa O’Neil ..read more

To the Editor: We are happy to share that on Tuesday, May 4, at 5:30 p.m. there will be a Zoom community meeting for all Newport residents to hear updates and ask questions on the new Rogers High School and the Pell addition. This meeting is not to be missed. The session will be hosted by the School Building Committee and led by the Owner’s Project Manager, Downes Construction Company, along with the architects and construction companies for both projects: Behan Brothers and Studio JAED for the Pell expansion, and SLAM and Gilbane Construction for the new Rogers High School. Both projects are ..read more