Rhode Island
Why a Taylor Swift wedding might shut down Westerly streets
Forget limos, Taylor Swift will need buses for her wedding guests
Airline Express Limousine Owner Chuck O’Koomian tells us why.
As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce eye possibly getting married at her Watch Hill, Rhode Island, mansion, The Providence Journal is surveying various wedding vendors about what it would take for the Ocean State to host a wedding befitting the most popular woman in the world.
Imagine a crowd of A-list celebrities descending on the village of Watch Hill in Westerly this summer to attend the wedding of mega celebrity Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce.
To Chuck O’Koomian, who owns Airline Express Limousine and Car Service with his wife Ginny Cauley, it’s like a scene out of a horror movie.
“It’s gonna be a logistical nightmare,” O’Koomian told The Providence Journal.
How will guests arrive at Taylor Swift’s wedding in Westerly?
While Swift has not announced when or where her wedding will be, O’Koomian talked about what would be involved in getting a large celebrity crowd to the wedding, if it were held at her Bluff Avenue mansion, the nearby Ocean House resort or the Watch Hill Chapel, where Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo tied the know with football player Christian McCaffrey in 2024.
O’Koomian, who has provided transportation for comedian Jay Leno, who has a home in Newport, said there would be three distinct phases of ground transportation:
- Getting people from airports to their hotels
- Getting people from their hotels to the wedding activities
- Getting them back to the airports
The middle phase, delivering people to wedding activities, very well may not be just a one-day affair. Many say Swift won’t have a wedding day; they’re expecting a wedding week.
While some guests, especially those in New York or Connecticut, would probably just have their drivers bring them to Westerly, others would fly in by private jets, probably landing at Westerly State Airport or Quonset State Airport, whose military runway is long enough to handle larger jets. From there, guests would need a ride to where they are staying.
What Westerly residents have to say
Folks in Westerly have surmised that, even if it’s not the site of the ceremony or reception, the Ocean House, along with its sister property the Weekapaug Inn, plus several rented, private mansions would be needed to accommodate guests.
O’Koomian expects that a large limousine company – such as Boston Corporate Coach or Carey Limousine, in Massachusetts, or Hy’s Limousine, in Connecticut – with more than 120 cars each, would get the contract to serve Taylor Swift’s wedding. “There’s not even 120 cars in Rhode Island, all the companies combined,” he said, adding that, as a subcontractor, he would hope to get a piece of the business.
Could a fleet of private cars filled with stars snarl traffic in Westerly?
This first phase of local transportation would involve many trips of smaller parties. “They may come in two, three, four at a time,” he said.
While that is suitable for limousine service, getting from hotels to the ceremony, reception and other events, would require a different strategy for that second phase. “It’s like they’re transporting a football team,” he said.
That would mean “coaches,” the upscale version of buses. They would ease the traffic burden that would be created by limousines ferrying some 300 wedding guests around the tiny village of Watch Hill.
“It’s gonna take a lot of coordination if it’s Westerly,” O’Koomian said. “They’re going to have to shut down half the city. Police would have to shut down streets.”
Rhode Island
100+ Rhode Island water bodies stocked with 60,000 fish before start of trout season
RICHMOND, R.I. (WPRI) — Break out those fishing rods. Opening day for trout season in Rhode Island is this Saturday, April 11.
In a press release Wednesday, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management shared that it has stocked over 100 freshwater locations, including children’s only ponds, with more than 60,000 fish.
The stocked fish include brook, brown, rainbow and golden rainbow trout. Anyone who catches a golden rainbow trout between April 11 and May 3 will be eligible to receive a golden trout pin.
Anglers who catch a golden rainbow trout between those dates must snap a picture of their catch and email it to dem.fishri@dem.ri.gov. Submissions received after May 4 will not be considered. There is a limit of one pin per person.
ALSO READ: New pedestrian bridges open on East Bay Bike Path with new spots for fishing
Due to a study being conducted by the DEM and the Rhode Island Department of Health on how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals, accumulate in stocked trout, Upper Melville Pond in Portsmouth will be closed to fishing from May 4 until July 2. The pond, also known as Thurston Gray Pond, will be open for the start of the season, but not stocked with fish.
A 2026 fishing license is required for anglers 15 and older. Anglers between the ages of 15 and 65 must have a Trout Conservation Stamp to keep their catch, with some exceptions. You can find information on size and creel limits here. Fishing licenses can be purchased here.
The annual free fishing weekend in Rhode Island will be on Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3. Residents and visitors alike can fish for all species of freshwater fish without a license or trout conservation stamp on those days.
Fishing in trout-stocked waters before April 11 is prohibited. You can find a full list of stocked waters here.
DEM: Designated trout waters in Rhode Island
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Rhode Island
Rhode Island lawmakers to consider several firearm bills
(WJAR) — Rhode Island lawmakers are considering several firearm bills on Wednesday.
The House Judiciary Committee will discuss these bills after two mass shootings happened in the region in just six months.
It’s also been nearly a year since lawmakers banned the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons in Rhode Island.
Some of those Bills include:
- A ban on buying more than one gun in a 30-day period
- Requiring anyone looking to possess a firearm excluding police and military, to complete and pass firearm safety training
- One that would ban people with felony convictions from owning a gun
- There is also a bill that would make it permissible for students, professors or employees of any public or private university to carry, and possess a stun gun or pepper spray for purposes of self-defense
One that may not be talked about today but has been introduced, a bill that would outright ban the possession of military-style semiautomatic guns.
Second Amendment advocates are expected to don yellow shirts and pack the state house for the hearing to make their voices heard.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Drivers Most Attentive In Nation: Study
Rhode Island drivers are the most attentive in America, a recent study revealed.
The study, conducted by personal injury law firm Easton & Easton, examined National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System data and Federal Highway Administration licensed driver statistics from 2019 to 2023 and determined Rhode Islanders died in distracted driving crashes less than the residents of any other state, according to a media release accompanying the results.
See also: As Iran Conflict Continues, Here’s What Gas Could Cost In Rhode Island
“That gamble has cost thousands of American families a loved one in the past five years,” according to the release. “Now, with Google rolling out its voice-interactive ‘Ask Maps’ feature, the question is which parts of the country can least afford one more distraction.”
See also: Rhode Island’s Truck Traffic Densest In Nation: Study
A mere 2.6 Rhode Islanders were killed in distracted driving crashes per year from 2019 to 2023, compared to 639.8 Texans.
But the rate per 100,000 drivers was also impressively the lowest in the nation at 0.34. The state with the highest number per 100,000 drivers was New Mexico with 16.95
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