• Hailey Rhode Bieber’s beauty brand began its summer station tour in Newport on June 11.
• The pop-up will run until June 14 and offers fans the chance to buy makeup and Rhode Island-exclusive merchandise.
• People flocked to the pop-up with some waiting over 12 hours in line.

NEWPORT – Some people lie splayed out on top of a pile of blankets at Bowen’s Wharf. Others sit in lawn chairs, fanning themselves in the Friday morning heat.

Employees in white shirts walk down the long line of people handing out water, sunscreen, fans and umbrellas.

A passerby walks past the large booth shaped as a lowercase r and wonders aloud, “What is going on here?”

The well-known beauty brand Rhode, founded by Hailey Rhode Bieber, kicked off its international summer station tour with a pop-up in Newport from June 11 to June 14.

Fans began lining up at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night, June 11, to have a chance of walking away with items from the brand’s summer collection and an exclusive Rhode Island sweatshirt on Friday.

Brandon Lodge and Sam O’Malley, who were first in line on Thursday night, had been awake for almost 36 hours by the time the pop-up opened at 11 a.m. on Friday.

Q: When Grow Smart Rhode Island launched in 1997, the state’s political conversation was very different. What has changed most about the way Rhode Island’s elected leaders, the business community, and residents think about growth and development since then?

Wolf: There’s been growing acceptance by our elected and civic leaders of the benefits of prioritizing development and redevelopment in our Main Streets, downtowns, and other areas with infrastructure and access to key services. There’s also increased recognition that Rhode Island can and should aim high when it comes to community and economic development – that we have significant assets to safeguard and capitalize upon, ranging from our vast collection of historic buildings in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, to our transit and public health-friendly compact development patterns, along with our deep water ports, exceptional urban/rural balance, and strategic location along the northeast corridor.

Q: You’ve spent decades trying to shape public policy in Rhode Island. What’s something that happened over the last quarter-century that surprised you — either because progress came faster than expected or because it took much longer than you thought it would?

Wolf: My biggest surprise has been how challenging it has been to persuade a critical mass of Rhode Island’s leaders that making significant investments in a more robust and integrated public transportation system is a sound move, with major short and long-term dividends. Our failure so far to fund RIPTA enough for it to be a viable transportation choice for a lot more Rhode Islanders is a substantial missed opportunity. Fortunately as a state I think we’re getting closer to recognizing this and doing the necessary course correction.

Q: Every long career leaves behind a few projects that never quite got across the finish line. What issue or opportunity do you most wish Rhode Island had tackled more aggressively during your time at Grow Smart?

Wolf: Several within the transportation sector, most notably implementing aggressively the thorough, sound, and bold State Transit Master Plan, an excellent blueprint both for doubling the daily frequency and duration of RIPTA service, and establishing an 18-mile light rail or dedicated bus line through the most populous part of Rhode Island.

Compared to most of our New England neighbors, our state has also under invested in our bike and pedestrian network. This has negative implications for our collective public health, tourism marketability, and talent recruitment/retention.

And finally, I believe we could’ve further expanded economic opportunity and smart economic growth by seeking to execute detailed and well-vetted plans to improve dramatically commuter rail service between Providence and Boston.

Q: You’ve spent nearly three decades helping Rhode Islanders think about housing, transportation, downtowns, and economic opportunity. As you look ahead, what challenge — or opportunity — do you believe will define Rhode Island’s next 20 years, and where do you hope to contribute?

Wolf: I think a key to strengthening Rhode Island’s economy and quality of life over the next 20 years will be further integrating our state strategically with the nearby economic powerhouses of metro Boston and metro New York, and doing so in a way that avoids exacerbating our housing crisis or losing our own beauty, magic, and soul. There are several ways I think I can contribute to this important needle threading exercise, including:

• Continuing to be a sharer of smart growth best practices from within and outside Rhode Island;
• Being an advocate and thought leader for better regional transportation and employment connectivity, as well as for housing and transit-friendly investments land use reforms that accelerate the revitalization of our downtowns and Main Streets and defy the predictions of population decline;
• Mentoring a new generation of creative economic and community development change agents.

This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.

(WJAR) — Who is Rhode Island FC Head Coach Khano Smith?

“I think to my core little boy from Bermuda, a small island. Still very much connected to my family, all my families there. Really close to his family. Really close to his mom. I have a daughter, she’s 20. Have a dog. I love dogs. Love soccer. Soccer is my hobby and my job.

At 6’5. The 45-year old’s mom is still the towering force in his life. He recalls a story of him as a young student back home.

Rhode Island FC Head Coach Khano Smith spoke with NBC 10’s Dan Jaehnig. (WJAR)

“My grades were dropping and my mom was trying to figure out a solution. She tried everything. She sat in class with me one day.”

At age 14 she sent her son from the warmth of Bermuda to a boarding school in Maine.

“Yeah, I was probably a terrible 14-year-old. That was the only time I didn’t call my mom on her birthday because I was still upset.”

But mother knows best.

“Yeah, it was the best thing she could have done for me. It taught me to grow up quickly. It taught me to be independent.”

Then to North Carolina for college playing soccer. After two successful seasons in Bermuda, he played for the New England Revs, then in 2023 the head coach and general manager of Rhode Island football club. The pressure is there.

“Yeah, but then you need to realize how fortunate you are and stick to the long term and for me you just need to stay grounded and stay in the middle. Never get too high and never get too low.”

He’s passionate about the game, the club and connects with his players. He has been there. He is hard on himself still.

“The goal of chasing perfection, like I know you can never achieve it, but you can always just chase it.

Off the field the single 45-year-old father of a 21-year-old who lives with her mom in Bermuda is challenged with the lack of time to do it all. He prefers to be single and spend time with his dog.

When he is not watching soccer, “Dances with Wolves” is his favorite movie.

“He is with a group of people that he becomes friends with and becomes friends with a dog. And then he ends up becoming one of those people. I think it was probably at the time impressionable in my life.”

Michael Jordan is his favorite athlete because of his mindset.

When you sit and talk with him you learn that Khano Smith is self-aware. He knows who he is. A little boy from Bermuda who is following his dream.

When asked about what that little boy would think of him now.

“I think, I think he would admire me. I think he would be yeah, I wanted to do that and I think I’ve been fortunate.”