Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for June 14
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, managing editor for The Daily News, and today is June 14, the 165th day of the year — 200 days remain in 2022. On this day 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating the national flag is to consist of 13 alternate red and white stripes and 13 white stars over a blue field.
Here & Now
• The votes are in and the best of the best have been named.
Ballots for the Best of Newport County Awards were cast between Feb. 21 and March 21, and 120 winners recently were named across a number of categories, including Dining Out, Entertainment, Food & Drink, Health & Beauty, Home, Professional Services and Shopping.
There are old favorites among the winners, like the Brick Alley Pub & Restaurant, which won for Best Newport Restaurant, and some newcomers like Breakwaters Cigar & Whiskey Lounge, which took the top prize for Best Boys Night Out.
Also included were fun categories like Local I'd Most Like to Have Lunch With (spoiler alert: I didn't win. It was some guy name Jay Leno) and Best Instagrammer. You can check out all of the winners here.
• Love being down by the water? Did you know that Newport County has 75 coastal rights-of-way identified by the Coastal Resource Management Council? We've put together a list of where you can find them here.
• Middletown native Frank Holbrook grew up watching the Newport Gulls. He played for the local NECBL team when he was attending Wheaton College, and now he's the team's manager. "It's pretty surreal. It hasn’t really hit me yet," he told Daily News sports reporter Steve Rogers. Read the story here.
• Rhode Island’s average gas price jumped up 8 cents from last week to $5.02 per gallon. That's 57 cents higher than a month ago, $2.05 higher than a year ago and 1 cent higher than the current national average.
• How rare is it for a Portsmouth High track and field athlete to win a New England championship? Only three people have ever done it, and two of them came this past weekend. Read more here.
• Piping Plovers are back at Middletown beaches and visitors are being asked not to disturb the shorebirds. Learn what you can do assist in the effort here.
• State Sen. James Seveney, who represents Portsmouth, Bristol and Tiverton, announced Monday he will not seek reelection in November and plans to retire. He had served on the Portsmouth School Committee and Town Council before being elected to the General Assembly since 2016.
• The next Bike Newport Full Moon Ride is scheduled for this evening. Learn how you can participate here.
• The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Jane Pickens Theater have teamed up to screen "The French," which chronicles the 1981 tournament at Roland Garros, tonight at 7:30 p.m. Learn more here.
• From the inbox: Is Rhode Island fun? Not according to one recent study, which puts Rhode Island at No. 47 on a list of the most fun states. California is the most fun place to be in the U.S., while West Virginia ranks last. Find the state-by-state breakdown here.
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Born today
Steffi Graf (athlete), 53
Boy George (musician), 61
Donald Trump (former president), 76
Marla Gibbs (actress), 91
Weather report
Low tides: 1:54 a.m., 1:32 p.m.
High tides: 8:15 a.m., 8:40 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:09 a.m. Sunset: 8:22 p.m.
Water temperature: 65.2 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
Discover Newport, 8:30 a.m.
School Committee, 6:30 a.m.
Middletown
Beach Commission, 4:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
Board of Canvassers, 3 p.m.
Tiverton
Recreation Commission, 6:30 p.m.
School Committee, 7 p.m.
Jamestown
Affordable Housing Committee, 8:30 a.m.
Library Board, 5 p.m.
Conservation Commission, 6:30 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is …
Flag Day
Monkey Around Day
National Strawberry Shortcake Day
Trivia Tuesday
This Newport institution, which started as a 12-bed cottage on donated land, is still standing tall today and will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year. Can you name it? 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 June 14
