Rhode Island
What's Up in Newport: Friday, November 15 – What's Up Newp
Good Morning! It’s Friday, November 15. 🗓️ Today is the 320th day of the year; 46 days remain in 2024.
Today, we’re covering the end of Singing for Shelter, a jewelry collaboration involving Snoop Dog, Yacht Rock, an open call to serve in Newport’s legal roles, and more.
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What’s Up Today
☀️ Weather
Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph.
⚓ Marine
N wind 7 to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Mostly sunny. Seas 1 ft or less.
🌔 Sun, Moon, & Tide
Sunrise at 6:34 am, sunset at 4:25 pm. Low tide at 12:51 pm. High tide at 6:43 am & 7:08 pm. The lunar phase is a Waxing Gibbous.
🎭 Things To Do
🎶 Live Music & Entertainment
🗓️ Newport County Public Meetings
- No public meetings are scheduled.
Community Calendar
What’s News Today
News
🏘️ Portsmouth breaks ground on affordable 55+ housing and senior center
On Wednesday, local housing organizations, community partners, and several state officials celebrated the groundbreaking of a new, age-restricted housing development in Portsmouth. Read the story on WPRI —>
🏘️ Newport City Council-elect calls for letters of interest for key legal roles
Residents can apply for City Solicitor, Municipal Court Judge, and Probate Judge positions by November 19. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
⛽ How Rhode Island’s decreasing gasoline sales compare nationwide
Rhode Island gas consumption falls by 150,200 gallons in 5 years, as nationwide demand drops 5.7%. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
⚡ Rhode Island becomes first state to launch Community EV Charging Expansion
$10M available for public, non-profit, and private entities to install publicly accessible EV chargers. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
🚨 Newport Police Arrest & Dispatch Log: Nov. 13 – 14
Two individuals were arrested on various charges. Read the story on What’sUpNewp —>
👏 NUWC Division Newport Team Honored for Torpedo Milestone
Successful firing of Mark 48 Mod 4 from U.S. submarine after 20-year gap. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
💰 Quonset Port secures $11.25 million for infrastructure upgrades
Port of Davisville project aims to boost cargo transport, security, and future expansion. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
Business & Nonprofit
🎶 Singing for Shelter ends its run – annual fundraising concert will not return this season
But homeless shelters still need your support – We speak with founder Mark Gorman about the legacy of the concert which raised nearly $200,000 for local shelters. Read the story on What’sUpNewp —>
✨ Jewelry designer Carolyn Rafaelian partners with Snoop Dogg for new brand
Lovechild aims to blend craftsmanship, positive energy in Rhode Island-made pieces. Read the story on What’sUpNewp —>
📰 Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
The sale price was not immediately disclosed. Read the story on What’sUpNewp —>
Food & Drink
☕ ‘It wasn’t just about coffee’: R.I. cafe owner is growing her brand while boosting other women in business
Entrepreneur Andreea Marin owns three Kaffeology coffeeshops in Rhode Island — in Newport, Portsmouth and Cranston. Read the story on The Boston Globe—>
Life & Culture
🗓️ Out with the Astors, in with the Calders: revisiting Newport, Rhode Island’s 1974 public sculpture extravaganza
Fifty years later, Monumenta’s organisers and attendees reflect on what was arguably the most ambitious school project ever. Read the story on The Art Newspaper —>
💃 Salve Regina University to present ‘True North’ dance concert
DJD artists join students and faculty for contemporary and jazz performances November 21-23. Read the story on What’sUpNewp —>
🎾 International Tennis Hall of Fame unveils ‘Be Legendary’ youth program
The initiative will teach the rich history of tennis, provide memorable experiences with Hall of Famers and current tennis stars, and showcase what it means to Be Legendary. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
🎬 ‘Yacht Rock’ docks in Newport: HBO documentary gets special screening
HBO film exploring soft rock’s cultural impact to screen at newportFILM event with trivia and prizes. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
Obituaries
🕊️ Donnell Shea
Opinion
✍️ Letter to The Editor – Dennis Turano: Thank you to Middletown voters for selecting me to represent you
By Dennis Turano, Middletown. Read on What’sUpNewp—>
✍️ We Can’t Wait for Promise of Unproven Nuclear Technology to Save Planet from Roasting
We need a diverse blend of responsibly sited non-fossil-fuel energy, from on and offshore wind to various solar and nuclear technologies. This mix may someday include small modular reactors, but we can’t afford to wait years, perhaps even a decade or more, for this technology. Read more on ecoRI News—>
People
🕰️ An Auctioneer as Rare as Any Antique
For some, an even bigger draw than the silver, furniture and artwork at Michael Corcoran’s auctions (in Newport) is the 96-year-old auctioneer himself. Read the story on NY Times —>
👉 Gina Raimondo is considering another run for governor of Rhode Island
Former Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo — a Democrat who is facing the end of her tenure as U.S. Commerce secretary due to Donald Trump’s victory last week. Read the story on The Public’s Radio—>
Sports
🏒 Dadonov scores 2 goals, including a penalty shot, as the Stars beat the Bruins 7-2
Evgenii Dadonov scored two goals, including the first successful penalty shot in the NHL this season, and the Dallas Stars beat the Boston Bruins 7-2 on Thursday night. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
🏀 Bryant defeats Buffalo 87-64
Rafael Pinzon’s 15 points helped Bryant defeat Buffalo 87-64 on Thursday night. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
🏈 Matthew Stafford will be trying to erase bitter memories when Rams visit Patriots
Matthew Stafford remembers what didn’t go right during his last visit to New England, in 2014 when he was still with the Detroit Lions. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
What’s Up This Week + Weekend
🗓️ What’s Up in Newport: Nov. 11 – 18
Newport Classical, Holiday Festival, Steve Hofstetter, Jesse Cook, and more. Read the story on What’sUpNewp —>
🎶 What’s Up Interview: Grammy-winning singer Lucinda Williams, playing The Vets tonight
Iconic performer to present ‘Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets,’ a show based on her recently published book. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
🎭 Theatre Review: ‘Mamma Mia!’ continues to delight audiences with standout performances and energetic dance numbers
Popular jukebox musical runs through Sunday at Performing Arts Center. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
“Nationally there are 59 million Americans who are providing care for a loved one and that is 49.5 billion hours of care annually. It’s valued at a trillion dollars,” said Catherine Taylor, the director of AARP Rhode Island; AARP, the nation’s largest non- profit, dedicated to empowering people 50 and older.
In Rhode Island, the report shows 155,000 people serve as caregivers, providing 111 million hours of care.
Barbara Morse reports on unpaid caregivers. (WJAR)
“The total impact is $2.8 billion a year,” said Taylor.
It’s not just babysitting a loved one.
Catherine Taylor, the director of AARP Rhode Island, spoke with NBC 10’s Barbara Morse about the value of caregiving. (WJAR)
“People are doing a lot more nursing tasks, you know–wound care, injections and things like that and they’re doing a lot more intensive daily care, like bathing, and dressing and feeding than we used to,” she said.
Its latest report–“Valuing the Invaluable.”
“The whole point of this report is to draw attention to how many family care givers there are and what the magnitude of what the need is for their support,” said Taylor.
That includes financial support and respite care.
AARP wants you to know this:
An older man using equipment in a gym. (FILE)
In Rhode Island, temporary caregiver insurance or TCI is available to folks who qualify, for up to eight weeks.
There are federal tax credits you may qualify for. There is help.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
“All you have to do is call 211 and say you’re a family caregiver and they will connect you to all of AARP’S trusted information, including a Rhode Island specific guide on resources for caregivers,” she said.
Rhode Island
A new safety role at Rhode Island College comes into sharper focus after Brown shooting – The Boston Globe
Lawrence was recently named RIC’s first emergency management director, a role college leaders had been planning before the December mass shooting across town at Brown University, but which took on new urgency after the tragedy.
Few resumes are better suited to the job.
A 20-year career in the New York Police Department. Commanding officer of the NYPD’s Employee Assistance Unit. A master’s degree from Harvard.
Lawrence got to Rhode Island the way a lot of people do: through someone who grew up here and never really left, at least not in spirit. Her husband, Brooke Lawrence, grew up in West Greenwich, and is director of the town’s emergency management agency.
“I couldn’t imagine retiring in my 40s,” Lawrence told me. “And I couldn’t imagine not giving back to my community.”
Public service has been part of Lawrence’s life for as long as she can remember. A New Jersey native, she dreamed of following in the footsteps of her mentor, a longtime FBI agent. She graduated from Monmouth University and earned a master’s degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College in 2001, shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks.
There was high demand for police in New York at the time, so Lawrence raised her hand to serve. She worked her way up the ranks from patrol to lieutenant, eventually taking charge of the department’s Employee Assistance Unit, a peer support program that helps rank-and-file officers navigate the most traumatic parts of the job. She later earned a second master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School.
“It’s making sure our officers are getting through their career in the same mental capacity as they came on the job,” Lawrence said.
There’s a version of Lawrence’s new job that feels routine, especially at a quiet commuter campus like Rhode Island College. And when Lawrence was initially hired part-time last fall, it probably was.
Then the shooting at Brown University changed the stakes almost overnight.
On Dec. 13, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national and one-time student at Brown, opened fire inside the Barus and Holley building, killing two students and injuring nine others. Neves Valente also killed an MIT professor before he was found dead in a New Hampshire storage unit of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In eerie videos recorded in the storage unit, Neves Valente admitted that he stalked the Brown campus for weeks prior to his attack. He largely went unnoticed by campus security, which led the university’s police chief to be placed on leave and essentially replaced by former Providence Police Chief Colonel Hugh Clements.
Lawrence assisted with the response at Brown. She leads the trauma response team for the Rhode Island Behavioral Health Medical Reserve Corps, which staffed the family reunification center in the hours after the shooting.
RIC’s campus is more enclosed than Brown’s — there are only two major entryways to the college — but there are unique challenges.
For one, it’s technically located in both Providence and North Providence, which requires coordination between multiple public safety departments in both communities.
More specifically, Lawrence noted that every building on campus has the same address, which can present a challenge in an emergency. Lawrence has worked with RIC leadership and local public safety to assign an address to each building.
Lawrence stressed that she doesn’t want RIC to overreact to the tragedy at Brown, and she said campus leaders are committed to keeping the tight-knit community intact.
But she admits that the shooting remains top of mind.
“Every campus community sees what happened at Brown and says ‘please don’t let that happen to us,’” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said everyone at RIC feels a deep sense of responsibility to keep students safe during their time on campus.
And she already feels right at home.
“I want to come home from work every day and feel like I made a difference,” she said.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
If you thought the smart money was on pop icon Taylor Swift and gridiron star Travis Kelce tying the knot in Rhode Island, an online crypto casino and sportsbook is here to tell you you’re wrong.
The Ocean State was the second favorite at +155 and 39.22%, and Pennsylvania and Ohio were together at a distant third at +1,600 and 5.88%.
Tennessee was the fifth choice at +2,000 and 4.76%.
“New York is the favourite because it’s the city most closely tied to Taylor Swift’s public life, with multiple residences, strong emotional branding, and world‑class venues that offer privacy and security for a high‑profile event,” an unidentified spokesperson said in a media release.
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