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
TF Green Airport to undergo rehabilitation work on primary runway
WARWICK, R.I. (WJAR) — The Rhode Island Airport Corp. said Thursday that it will begin rehabilitation work on its 8,700-foot runway at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport in April.
According to officials, the months-long project on Runway 5-23 will include milling and resurfacing the pavement, as well as upgrades to runway lighting, electrical systems, signage, and pavement markings.
Airport officials said aircraft will mainly use Runway 16-34, which is 6,100 feet, during construction.
“While fully capable of supporting safe operations, the shorter runway may require airlines to adjust aircraft operations under certain conditions,” RIAC said in a release.
The work is expected to last through October.
RIAC said passenger volumes at T.F. Green may temporarily decline by up to double digits during certain months of the construction.
“PVD continues to experience strong underlying demand for air travel and RIAC remains focused on completing the runway rehabilitation project efficiently,” Dawn Mineker, executive vice president of infrastructure and operations, said. “We continue to invest in our infrastructure to keep pace with increased growth and passenger demand both on the airfield and within the terminal.”
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Airport officials said the project is funded with federal airport improvement grants and will cost around $30 million.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island hockey team wins state title after deadly rink shooting
Staff made sure operating rooms were ready for Pawtucket shooting victims.
Nurse Lorri Provencal had to make sure operating rooms were available when Rhode Island Hospital learned of the shooting at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena.
A Rhode Island high school hockey team won the state championship just weeks after a deadly shooting at a local rink.
The February shooting at a hockey arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, left three people dead, plus the gunman.
The three people killed were all related to Colin Dorgan, a high school senior who is a member of the Blackstone Valley team that beat Lincoln 3-2 in quadruple overtime in the Division 2 state championship game on Wednesday, March 18.
“I truly felt it in my heart and my soul that they’re still with me,” Dorgan told the media after the game. “I love them so much, and they’re still here and I know it.”
Dorgan tied the game late, before his team prevailed in the fourth overtime.
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