Rhode Island
When is Walz coming to R.I.? Event planners still ironing that out
Construction lifts, staging and storage are shown on the grounds at the entrance to Belcourt Castle at 657 Bellevue Ave., Newport on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
Democratic party fundraisers appear to be still looking for a venue to host Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the coming weeks, and it’s unclear just how long the guest of honor could stay at such an event.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is invited to attend a fundraiser that organizers hope will raise $500,000, said Rhode Island Democratic National Committeeman Joe Paolino Jr.
Paolino, who is among those working to put the event together, on Friday reiterated the state party’s message that no details have been finalized.
“That’s all I can tell you. I’d hate to speculate since I don’t have all the facts,” Paolino said in an interview. “We want to do something, and if they tell us the date, we’ll be there for them.”
WPRI first reported that an invitation it had obtained suggested Walz would attend an event on Friday, Aug. 16, in Newport.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi told the Boston Globe Wednesday that the “plan is to host something in Newport next Friday at Belcourt (Castle).” But the grounds of the mansion on Bellevue Avenue in Newport owned by Carolyn Rafaelian is being used as a construction staging area for an event across the street at the Miramar estate through Aug. 18, said the house manager David Bettencourt.
Bettencourt deferred to Rafaelian for comment, but she did not immediately respond to a message.
“That was one of many options,” House spokesperson Larry Berman said Friday of Belcourt Castle. Berman could not immediately answer how many venues were being considered.
City of Newport spokesperson Tom Shevlin told Rhode Island Current he was not aware of any assigned police details for a major fundraising event over the next week. Rhode Island Democratic Party Chairwomen Liz Beretta-Perik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Whenever and wherever the state’s high-profile Democratic donors meet, Paolino said any money raised will go toward the Harris-Walz campaign efforts in battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
“We need them there in order to win this election,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign did not return a request for comment. Since Walz’s selection as Harris’ running mate Tuesday, Democrats have raised over $78 million in donations through their ActBlue platform, according to a third-party tracker.
This is a developing story.
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Rhode Island
CRMC asks RI Superior Court to force Quidnessett Country Club to take down rock wall
Rhode Island
Why a Taylor Swift wedding might shut down Westerly streets
Forget limos, Taylor Swift will need buses for her wedding guests
Airline Express Limousine Owner Chuck O’Koomian tells us why.
As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce eye possibly getting married at her Watch Hill, Rhode Island, mansion, The Providence Journal is surveying various wedding vendors about what it would take for the Ocean State to host a wedding befitting the most popular woman in the world.
Imagine a crowd of A-list celebrities descending on the village of Watch Hill in Westerly this summer to attend the wedding of mega celebrity Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce.
To Chuck O’Koomian, who owns Airline Express Limousine and Car Service with his wife Ginny Cauley, it’s like a scene out of a horror movie.
“It’s gonna be a logistical nightmare,” O’Koomian told The Providence Journal.
How will guests arrive at Taylor Swift’s wedding in Westerly?
While Swift has not announced when or where her wedding will be, O’Koomian talked about what would be involved in getting a large celebrity crowd to the wedding, if it were held at her Bluff Avenue mansion, the nearby Ocean House resort or the Watch Hill Chapel, where Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo tied the know with football player Christian McCaffrey in 2024.
O’Koomian, who has provided transportation for comedian Jay Leno, who has a home in Newport, said there would be three distinct phases of ground transportation:
- Getting people from airports to their hotels
- Getting people from their hotels to the wedding activities
- Getting them back to the airports
The middle phase, delivering people to wedding activities, very well may not be just a one-day affair. Many say Swift won’t have a wedding day; they’re expecting a wedding week.
While some guests, especially those in New York or Connecticut, would probably just have their drivers bring them to Westerly, others would fly in by private jets, probably landing at Westerly State Airport or Quonset State Airport, whose military runway is long enough to handle larger jets. From there, guests would need a ride to where they are staying.
What Westerly residents have to say
Folks in Westerly have surmised that, even if it’s not the site of the ceremony or reception, the Ocean House, along with its sister property the Weekapaug Inn, plus several rented, private mansions would be needed to accommodate guests.
O’Koomian expects that a large limousine company – such as Boston Corporate Coach or Carey Limousine, in Massachusetts, or Hy’s Limousine, in Connecticut – with more than 120 cars each, would get the contract to serve Taylor Swift’s wedding. “There’s not even 120 cars in Rhode Island, all the companies combined,” he said, adding that, as a subcontractor, he would hope to get a piece of the business.
Could a fleet of private cars filled with stars snarl traffic in Westerly?
This first phase of local transportation would involve many trips of smaller parties. “They may come in two, three, four at a time,” he said.
While that is suitable for limousine service, getting from hotels to the ceremony, reception and other events, would require a different strategy for that second phase. “It’s like they’re transporting a football team,” he said.
That would mean “coaches,” the upscale version of buses. They would ease the traffic burden that would be created by limousines ferrying some 300 wedding guests around the tiny village of Watch Hill.
“It’s gonna take a lot of coordination if it’s Westerly,” O’Koomian said. “They’re going to have to shut down half the city. Police would have to shut down streets.”
Rhode Island
Rhode Island man crashes into house in Raynham after apparent medical episode
A car crashed into a home in Raynham Tuesday afternoon.
Police said they responded to a report for a vehicle that crashed into a home shortly before 1 p.m. on Broadway Street.
Officers at the scene said they found a sedan that had crashed into the lower brick portion of the home.
Investigators said a man from Rhode Island appeared to suffer from a medical episode before leaving the roadway and crashing into the home.
Police said the driver suffered non life-threatening injuries. He was transported to Boston Medical Center – South in Brockton.
Officers said the home was empty at the time of the crash.
The Raynham Building Department responded to assess the home for structural damage.
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The crash is under investigation.
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