Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for July 26
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, managing editor for The Daily News, and today is July 26, the 207th day of the year — 158 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that prohibited discrimination based on disability.
Here & Now
• Twenty years ago, a group of 12-year-old boys from Portsmouth gave Newport County baseball fans quite a thrill as they won the state championship and came within a single victory of qualifying for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Led by Ryan Westmoreland and John Pedrotty, both of whom went on to professional careers in the game, the Portsmouth all-stars fell one run short in 2002 against a team from Worcester that finished second in the U.S. and fourth in the world.
Sports reporter Steve Rogers recently caught up with a number of players from that squad, who vividly remember the ride. Read his story — and be sure to check out the photo gallery from our archives — here.
• Speaking of Portsmouth Little League, this year's team took one step closer to winning the state championship on Monday night when it defeated North Kingstown. Read the story here.
• A Tiverton restaurant is apologizing after a social media post late last week was viewed as anti-Semitic and caused a severe backlash. Read my story here.
• The Newport City Council tonight will hold a workshop to discuss proposed city charter amendments recommended by the Charter Review Committee. The meeting at City Hall starts at 5:30 p.m.
• If you missed Monday's school regionalization community meeting at Innovate Newport, a virtual session will be presented tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. Learn more here.
• All of the times and distances have been recorded as another high school track season is in the books. Which student-athletes were chosen as MVP of the eight Newport County boys and girls teams? Find out here.
• Tickets go on sale today for the 2022-23 Chamber Concert Series hosted by Newport Classical. Learn more here.
• Speaking of music, catch the band Bar Fly performing tonight at 6 p.m. at Easton's Beach.
• Keep your eyes peeled for Julian Fellowes, creator of "The Gilded Age" and "Downton Abbey," who will be in Newport today as a guest of the Preservation Society of Newport County. You know who else is in town? Bill Murray, who is giving a benefit performance for the Redwood Library.
Both events are sold out, but it's always cool seeing a celebrity make their way through the city, and you never know where they could pop up.
• Rhode Island’s average gas price dropped 12 cents from last week to $4.48 per gallon. That's 43 cents lower than a month ago, $1.45 higher than a year ago and 13 cents higher than the current national average.
• From the inbox: If you spend the bulk of your time in Rhode Island waters, you have a 0.3% chance of being attacked by a shark, based on historical data. If you're in Florida, that number is a lot higher. Check out the list of states in which you're most likely to be attacked by a shark.
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Born today
Jason Statham (actor), 55
Sandra Bullock (actress), 58
Dorothy Hamill (athlete), 66
Hellen Mirren (actress), 77
Mick Jagger (musician), 79
Weather report
Low tides: 12:51 a.m., 12:09 p.m.
High tides: 7:08 a.m., 7:31 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:32 a.m. Sunset: 8:10 a.m.
Water temperature: 73.6 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
Cliff Walk Commission, 4:30 p.m.
City Council, 5:30 p.m.
School Committee, 6:30 p.m.
Tree and Open Space Commission, 6:30 p.m.
Tiverton
Solar Ordinance Advisory Committee, 6:30 p.m.
Recreation Commission, 6:30 p.m.
Jamestown
Technical Review Committee, 1:30 p.m.
Zoning Board of Review, 7 p.m.
Little Compton
Beach Commission, 7 p.m.
Local obituaries
None new today
Today is ...
National All or Nothing Day
National Aunt and Uncle Day
National Coffee Milkshake Day
Trivia Tuesday
Head of the Newport Recreation Department for 26 years, this man was better known for his knowledge of area sports — especially baseball — and wrote about them often, right up until his death in 1991. Who was he? Send guesses to sbarrett@newportri.com.
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This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for July 26
