Rhode Island’s favorite Olympic swimmer got married earlier this month, and now People magazine offers a peek behind the scene at the festivities – including details about the Ocean State vendors the bride used.

Elizabeth Beisel, the Saunderstown native who competed in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games, winning two medals and being named captain of the 2016 team, married Jack Nichting, whom she met when they were both contestants on “Survivor,” on Sept. 7 at Bonnet Shores Beach. A reception followed at Casey Farm in Saunderstown.

And if getting married barefoot on a beach in Narragansett isn’t enough, Beisel found other ways to highlight her home state during her festivities.

According to People, the reception featured a charcuterie table from Grapes and Gourmet in Jamestown, and an oyster and shrimp boat by Watch Hill Catering in Westerly. Dinner was catered by Perro Saldo, of Newport, which included some of the restaurant’s Mexican favorites like tostones, guacamole, burrito bowls and more. The cake, made by Nichting’s mom, was accompanied by ice cream from Baron’s in Narragansett.

The newlyweds also hosted an informal breakfast the day after the wedding at King Park in Newport, where guests were invited to enjoy a picnic of coffee, pastries and a beautiful view of the harbor.

Like true Rhode Islanders, the lovebirds included on their wedding website some suggestions for great spots for their guests to eat during their stay in Rhode Island. Nichting, who according to the site has also worked in the local service industry for years, recommends places like Matunuck Oyster Bar (where the couple celebrates every anniversary), Perro Salado in Newport, and even Frosty Freez in Middletown. And they encouraged visitors to check out Newport’s famed Cliff Walk, Ocean Drive, Norman Bird Sanctuary and the Gilded Age mansions on Bellevue Avenue.

The celebration attracted some famous guests, including fellow Olympians Katie Ledecky, Katie Hoff and Missy Franklin and Caeleb Dressel.

More: Before Olivia Culpo, these four famous couples got married in Rhode Island. Here’s a look.

Beisel wasn’t the only Rhode Island celeb to tie the knot this summer. She joins fellow Rhode Islanders who have tied the knot here this summer − Olivia Culpo, who wed San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey in June at a star-studded affair at the Ocean House in Westerly, and Billy Gilman, who married Anthony Carbone last month.

By ADAM ZANGARI

Friday was a very transportation-heavy morning at the Community College of Rhode Island, as college, city and state officials celebrated the opening of four modernized bus stops at the Knight Campus.

The stops are directly outside the campus main academic building. The $1.6 million project was funded by a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Bus and Bus Facilities grant, according to the office of Sen. Jack Reed.

A veritable who’s who of Rhode Island and Warwick politicians showed up to the college, with Reed and Gov. Dan McKee joined by Speaker of the House Joe Shekarchi, Treasury Secretary James Diossa, Mayor Frank Picozzi, State Sen. Matthew LaMountain, State Reps. Joseph Solomon, Jr. and Tom Noret and Warwick City Councilmen William Foley, Jim McElroy and Steve McAllister.

Reed noted a recent groundbreaking at the Pawtucket-Central Falls Train Station, opened last year, as proof of the state’s commitment to public transportation. That, he said, tied closely with education.

“Making higher education accessible — everyone talks about that, but they usually mean making the resources available for tuition, et cetera,” Reed said. “Another aspect of making college accessible is being able to get there, and this is going to help lots of students, particularly those from middle- and low-income families, get here on time to do their studies.”

McKee, who started the Learn365RI program as governor, said the new stops would be a major boon to CCRI students and make sure that more Rhode Islanders could receive a college education.

“It’s really important that we create access to our universities, our community college here, to make sure people can get here, so they can participate in the real learning experiences that CCRI provides under the leadership of [interim] President [Rosemary] Costigan,” McKee said.

The governor also said that the CCRI stops would provide a blueprint for future RIPTA bus stop projects throughout the state.

The stops themselves also include screens showing when the next buses will arrive as well as destinations, in addition to solar lighting.

“They’re a wonderful blend of modern technology, powered by an alternative energy source, and they’re also very aesthetically pleasing,” Picozzi said.

Those in attendance said that the stops would make transportation easier for CCRI’s students and faculty, and would give students one less thing to worry about as they head to their classes. 

“Here at CCRI, we know that access is everything,” Costigan said.

The Bridge

Minutes before the event began, the governor and congressional delegation announced that the state had received a $125,390,467 grant for the rebuilding of the westbound Washington Bridge from the federal government.

The funds came from the “mega grant” program within the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021. Reed said that the grant was a good start, but the state needs to secure more funding in the future.

“This mega grant of $125 million is a good down payment, but we’re going to continue, after thanking the Secretary, to urge that we receive additional funds,” Reed said.

McKee noted meetings that he had with Rhode Island’s delegation and Senior Advisor to the President Tom Perez as positive, and said that meetings on Thursday with his predecessor — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo — and on Friday with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went well. The governor visited Washington, D.C. two weeks ago to meet with Perez and other federal officials to convince them to give Rhode Island grant funding for the bridge.

Those meetings, he said, would continue as the state looks for more funds for the replacement of the bridge.

McKee had initially asked the federal government for a $221 million grant. Though the state did not get that much, he said that the $125 million was still a win for Rhode Island, especially considering the percentage of the federal grant that the state is receiving.

“When you talk about a competitive grant — the section that we qualified for was around $850 million [split between different projects nationwide] — we got $125 million of that,” McKee said. “That’s a big win for Rhode Island, and it’s a vote of confidence that the Biden administration had in our office, as well as the state, around the ability to actually rebuild a bridge that we didn’t know was going to have to be taken down.”

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Providence Fire Department said that it responded to Clemence Street and Washington Street for reports of an explosion.

At 2 p.m. firefighters on scene determined a “small underground electrical fire” caused a manhole to dislodge.

At 2pm today, members of the PFD responded to Clemence and Washington Streets for a reported explosion. FF’s determined a small underground electrical fire, causing a manhole to dislodge. There is no immediate danger or threat to the public. This will be turned over to RI Energy.

— Providence Fire Department (@PVDFireDept) September 25, 2024

There was no immediate danger and the scene was turned over to Rhode Island Energy.