Rhode Island
2024 Olympics: From basketball to sailing and everything in between here’s how RI is contributing
There is a certain feeling that comes with having a local connection to Team USA.
The Olympics have the ability to awaken something visceral inside us. It’s our nation against the rest on a grand stage, and our fellow citizens have provided us with more than a few recent memorable moments.
Elizabeth Beisel is perhaps the best example of this. Her three trips to the summer games in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro brought two medals back to her North Kingstown home.
This comes back to the surface now with the Summer Games in Paris. Here are the folks the Ocean State has put on the world stage to represent Team USA.
- Tammi Reiss, assistant coach, 3×3 basketball
- Stu McNay, sailing
- Emily Sisson, distance running
- Emily Kallfelz, rowing
- Jovana Nogic, basketball
Be sure to follow along at Providencejournal.com for all the news about RI’s Olympic athletes.
Here’s what we know so far: Who are the Summer Olympians with RI connections?
In detail: Now that Rhode Island women’s basketball coach has reached the Olympics, she has one more goal
When RI’s acclaimed woman’s basketball coach, Tammi Reiss was growing up there was no WNBA there was only the Olympics and she’s had her sights set on that podium since elementary school.
Reiss was a star at Virginia — that’s one dream down. The next will come true later this month when the University of Rhode Island women’s coach travels to Paris as a member of the Team USA 3×3 women’s basketball staff.
She’s chancing a gold medal on the sport’s biggest stage.
More: Now that Rhode Island women’s basketball coach has reached the Olympics, she has one more goal
In detail: Former Providence basketball star Jovana Nogic eager to play for native Serbia in Olympics
Jovana Nogic’s time on the Providence College’s women’s basketball team reminded her of the “American Dream” she saw in movies and television shows as a youngster in Portugal. But competing in the Olympics for Team Serbia is a whole different type of dream come true.
“It’s something that I’ve worked toward for my entire life and something that I had set up as a goal since I was a little girl,” Nogic said. “It’s a fulfillment of a dream.”
Born in Serbia, Nogic didn’t live there for long as her parents left when she was 2 years old.
Now she’s representing them on the big stage.
More: Former Providence basketball star Jovana Nogic eager to play for native Serbia in Olympics
In detail: Jamestown’s Emily Kallfelz lands on U.S. Olympic rowing team for 2024 Summer Games
Emily Kallfelz’s rowing career began levels above water.
Her training started in the attic of her family’s Jamestown home. There, Kallfelz learned the grueling sport on the family’s rowing machine during sessions every morning with her father in their home. It eventually produced
.
The 27-year-old qualified for her first Olympics and will compete at the Paris Games in the Women’s Four.
“It’s not necessarily like being anxious or nervous, but I’m definitely feeling like this is kind of the culmination of what we all have been working toward for so long,” Kallfelz said of the Olympics.
More: Jamestown’s Emily Kallfelz lands on U.S. Olympic rowing team for 2024 Summer Games
In detail: NBC broadcaster on Providence’s Stu McNay’s chances at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
The world-class sailor from Providence will compete in his fifth Olympic Games this summer, this time in the mixed-470 class alongside Lara Dallman-Weiss. This is the first time the 470 will be a mixed class at the Olympics and McNay attempts to improve on his ninth-place finish at Tokyo in 2020 and fourth-place spot at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The 42-year-old also scored 14th and 13th finishes at London (2012) and Beijing (2008). McNay was a two-time All-American at Yale and is a three-time national champion.
More: Gary Jobson on Providence’s Stu McNay’s chances at the 2024 Summer Olympic in Paris
What about the 2022 Olympics? 8 people with ties to Rhode Island who will be at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
While there are several other states without native athletes competing in the Olympics, a closer look finds that there are multiple connections to the Ocean State in these Games, which are to open officially on Friday.
Here are the Rhode Island connections to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games:
More: 8 people with ties to Rhode Island who will be at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
It’s filled in now, but in its prime Rocky Point pool hosted Olympians. Here’s the story.
At Rocky Point State Park, vestiges of an old saltwater pool remain along the right side of the road that used to be the main entrance to the amusement park.
These days, it’s full of grass, outlined by the cement perimeter from which kids used to jump in on a hot summer day. It’s marked by a sign explaining what used to be there — how it was 12 feet deep in the center and had three diving boards and two slides.
A note on the bottom of the sign reads, “Fun Fact: The 1936 U.S. Olympic Men’s swimming trials were held at this pool.”
Here’s the story: It’s filled in now, but in its prime Rocky Point pool hosted Olympians.
Did you know RI Olympic medalists get a special license plate? Here’s who has one.
In Rhode Island, scoring a coveted single-digit license plate is almost like winning the Olympics.
And winning an Olympic medal entitles you to a low-number plate.
Since 2016, the Division of Motor Vehicles has honored local Olympians with a special series of plates featuring bronze, silver and gold medals and the interlocking Olympic rings. Text printed at the bottom identifies the driver as an Olympic medal winner.
Currently, the plates are only registered to five vehicles, according to DMV spokesman Paul Grimaldi.
The bodies of two Massachusetts brothers who went missing near a Rhode Island beach Saturday night were recovered by authorities Sunday morning, according to police.
Stoughton residents Aldino and Valdir Centeio, 27 and 31, respectively, went missing following an incident near Warrens Point Beach in Little Compton on July 12, according to an email from Little Compton police. Little Compton Fire Rescue and a state emergency management department boat recovered their bodies around 11:15 a.m. the following day near where they were last scene.
The Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s Office has taken custody of the Centeios’ bodies, police said.
The initial distress call reported that a man had fallen from rocks along the shoreline into the water near the Warren’s Point Beach Club, The Boston Globe reported. Witnesses told police a second fisherman jumped into the water to try to rescue the first man, but both were swept away by the current.
A third man also went into the water to try to help the first two men, but he had to be rescued, the Globe reported.
No further information has been released.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Rhode Island
Newport City Council fights to save hospital birthing center from closure – What’s Up Newp
The Newport City Council will convene a special meeting Tuesday evening to consider a resolution advocating for the continued operation of the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital, as the facility faces potential closure due to budget constraints.
The meeting, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, comes as Newport Hospital’s parent company, Brown Health, grapples with “substantial budget shortfalls” that are forcing consideration of cuts to programs and services across the system.
In his weekly newsletter to supporters Sunday, Councilor Xay Khamsyvoravong outlined the stakes facing the community, warning that closure of the birthing center would create “The Last Generation of Newporters” if expectant mothers are forced to travel off-island for delivery services.
“Newport Hospital is considering cuts to services and is specifically considering closing the Birthing Center, where the next generation of Newporters are delivered,” Khamsyvoravong wrote in the email titled “The Last Generation of Newporters?”
The timing is critical, as Newport Hospital welcomes a new president on Monday who will immediately begin working on the hospital’s fall budget—with the birthing center’s fate “put squarely on his agenda.”
Economic and Safety Concerns
The proposed resolution outlines several concerns about closing the birthing center, including impacts on emergency services and the local economy. According to the document, expectant mothers typically make 2-4 impromptu trips to a delivery unit before giving birth, and without local services, they would likely overwhelm Newport Hospital’s already strained emergency room before being diverted elsewhere.
The resolution also warns that closure would increase demand on the city’s Fire and Rescue Department, whose ambulances would be “increasingly called upon to transport expectant mothers to off-island hospitals, potentially during time-sensitive and medically urgent situations.”
From an economic perspective, the resolution argues that poor access to healthcare would be “yet another reason young families with flexibility won’t move here,” further exacerbating Newport’s challenges with attracting and retaining families.
Personal Stakes
Khamsyvoravong brought a personal perspective to the issue, sharing memories of accompanying his mother, pediatrician Dr. Linda Rexford, on weekend hospital visits throughout her nearly five-decade career. He noted the irony that he wasn’t born at Newport Hospital himself, but spent countless hours there as a child.
“I have forty-one years of being told the people we rely on most are valued the least,” Khamsyvoravong wrote, referencing the compensation challenges facing primary care providers in Rhode Island.
Call to Action
The councilor is urging community members to make their voices heard before Tuesday’s meeting. He specifically called on residents to contact Sarah Frost, Executive Vice President and Chief of Hospital Operations at Brown University Health, as well as members of the Hospital Foundation’s boards and major donors.
“We need you to tell your story,” Khamsyvoravong wrote. “Newport Hospital and their parent, Brown Health, needs to hear it from you.”
The resolution, if passed, would be sent to Brown Health leadership, the President of Newport Hospital, the Governor of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Health, Newport County state legislators, the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, and the town councils of Jamestown, Middletown, and Portsmouth.
The special meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, at Newport City Hall, 43 Broadway. The resolution is sponsored by Councilors Xay Khamsyvoravong, Stephanie Smyth, Jeanne-Marie Napolitano, Ellen Pinnock, and David R. Carlin III.
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run homer, Brayan Bello pitched one-run ball into the seventh inning and the Boston Red Sox extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 4-1, series-sweeping victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
Read More
As more healthcare professionals earn doctoral degrees, patients struggle to navigate a system that prioritizes profit over personal care
Read More
Nine Homes Under $600K: Aquidneck Island’s Housing Market Reality
Read More
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
A search was underway Saturday for two brothers who reportedly went missing in the water off of Warren’s Point Beach Club in Little Compton, Rhode Island.
NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR reports several agencies are involved in the search for the fishermen, including the Rhode Island Department of Emergency Management, the Coast Guard and marine unites from Middletown, Tiverton, Newport and Little Compton.
Witnesses told WJAR the brothers are 31 and 29 years old.
Maritime and land searches were conducted through the day Saturday before being called off. First responders will meet to discuss plans for continuing their searches, WJAR reports.
No other information was immediately available.
Georgia gas prices remain unchanged compared to a week ago
Pahala man, 44, charged with multiple drug and firearm crimes | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on July 14, 2025
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan files motion for release during appeals process
Indiana outfielder makes program history with high MLB Draft selection | Sporting News
-
Politics1 week agoVideo: Trump Signs the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Into Law
-
Education1 week agoOpinion | The Ugliness of the ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill, in Charts
-
News5 days agoVideo: Trump Compliments President of Liberia on His ‘Beautiful English’
-
Technology1 week agoCyberpunk Edgerunners 2 will be even sadder and bloodier
-
Culture1 week agoTry to Match These Snarky Quotations to Their Novels and Stories
-
Business1 week ago
Companies keep slashing jobs. How worried should workers be about AI replacing them?
-
News1 week agoTexas Flooding Map: See How the Floodwaters Rose Along the Guadalupe River
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
‘Hebbuli Cut’ movie review: A sharp narrative on caste bias with an engaging screenplay
