WARWICK, R.I. (WJAR) — Rhode Island’s Lego Fan Convention Returned to the West Warwick Civic Center.

Professional Lego artists from around the country displayed their creations and connect with fans.

There are meet and greet opportunities with Lego celebrities too.

Fans can also show off their own skills in the event’s Brick Pits.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce initially had their sights set on a marvelous coastal wedding, multiple sources exclusively tell Us Weekly.

“Taylor and Travis really wanted their wedding in Rhode Island, and June 13 was the date, but security wouldn’t have worked because it could get out of hand with that kind of scale of an event,” an insider says.

Though everything was initially being planned in Rhode Island — where Swift, 36, has a mansion in the lavish Watch Hill neighborhood of Westerly — the insider notes the pop star had booked multiple venues from coast to coast on different dates.

According to the source, “Ocean House [in Westerly] was planned at one point, and then plans changed to New York.”

The insider, meanwhile, tells Us that Swift’s security “had to assess all the venues to see what made sense.”

“Rhode Island wasn’t great because the nature of the access and the perimeters were too difficult to secure,” the source explains. “So the main issue with Rhode Island ended up being security.”

“Everything was being planned in Rhode Island,” added a source. “And so many people wanted to come that plans had to change because it became bigger.”

Swift and Kelce, 36, are now rumored to be tying the knot at Madison Square Garden in New York City over the July 4 holiday weekend. While the exact location and date of the nuptials have not yet been confirmed, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared to hint at the wedding taking place in the city during a June 15 press conference earlier this month.

“I am fully confident in the work of the NYPD, as well as our state partners, in delivering that safe experience,” he told reporters. “We are the biggest city in the country. We are used to big events, and we are incredibly excited for the [World Cup]. We know it coincides with the Knicks’ [NBA] Finals run. We know it coincides with July 4, America 250, Taylor Swift’s wedding — all happening at the same time — and we are so excited to welcome the world here.”

Additionally, a permit was filed with NYC in June, the mayor’s spokesperson Dora Pekec confirmed to Us after The New York Times reported on a permit to close the streets surrounding MSG from July 2 to midday July 4 for an event on July 3.

City sources also confirmed to Us that the Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO), which issues the permits, is in touch with the NYPD regarding a possible influx of street and pedestrian traffic.

Though Swift and Kelce’s Rhode Island wedding plans fell through, the “I Knew It, I Knew You” singer’s Watch Hill mansion had an uptick in action last week when security was spotted swarming the area. A group of unidentified women were reportedly seen on the balcony wearing matching robes — three in black and one in white — sparking speculation about a bachelorette party.

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A woman who appeared to be Swift’s childhood friend Abigail Anderson Berard was also seen on the property with her 2-year-old son.

Meanwhile, Travis celebrated what was perceived as his bachelor party in Los Angeles and San Diego. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end and his brother, Jason Kelce, as well as Travis’ teammate Patrick Mahomes and others, were spotted at a Chris Lake concert, a Dave Chappelle comedy show, a night out at the members-only Bird Street Club and more.

Swift and Kelce began dating in the summer of 2023 and got engaged in August 2025.

• Rhode Island Energy is installing advanced smart meters for all electricity customers.
• The new meters allow for Time-Varying Rates, which can lower costs for customers and the grid.
• While the utility profits from the $188 million meter investment, the system for customer benefits is delayed.
• The utility is currently seeking to increase its profit margin in a new rate case before state regulators.

Rhode Island Energy is currently installing advanced smart meters for all electricity customers. Clean energy and environmental advocates have championed advanced metering for decades because the systems enable incentives for conservation, solar integration and energy storage. The primary vehicle for realizing these benefits is Time-Varying Rates (TVR).

Unlike legacy meters, advanced meters track when electricity is used, not just how much is used. TVR encourages customers to shift heavy usage, like running a clothes dryer or charging an electric vehicle, to off-peak overnight hours when wholesale power is cheap and cleaner. This flattens the grid’s peak demand, brings down wholesale energy costs for everyone and reduces our reliance on polluting “peaker” power plants.

The Rhode Island Public Utility Commission (PUC) is charged with balancing the interests of utility customers with value to utility shareholders. It sets the formulas by which the utility is compensated.

The primary means the utility is compensated is based on a Return on Equity invested (ROE) that is predetermined by the PUC and currently set at 9.275%.  Rhode Island Energy’s capital investments are funded through roughly 51% equity (shareholder capital) and 49% debt. For every $100 million the utility spends on infrastructure, about $51 million is financed via equity, allowing shareholders to collect an annual pre-tax profit of 9.275% on that portion, or roughly $4.73 million. The more the utility spends, the more their shareholders earn.

At a cost of over $188 million for the new meters, Rhode Island Energy shareholders will collect nearly $9 million a year in profit for 20 years from the equity portion of that investment alone, while also saving money on labor by eliminating the need for truck based drive-by meter readers. 

But advanced metering was supposed to benefit ratepayers as well as the utility. Though the meter expenditures were approved by the PUC in 2023 and the meters installations are expected to be completed by the end of this year, it is expected to take until at least 18 months after the meter rollout is completed to implement the billing system infrastructure needed to enable Time-Varying Rates.

The upgrades that deliver more profit to the utility bottom line was fast tracked, while the investment needed to implement the primary benefits to ratepayers is being slow walked. Why weren’t the software upgrades and hardware deployment run in parallel?

Right now, the PUC is weighing a huge general rate case (Docket No. 25-45-GE). Rhode Island Energy has proposed aggressively hiking its profit margin, seeking to raise its ROE from 9.275% to 10.75% and expand its equity share from 51% to 57%.