Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for Aug. 31
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, managing editor for The Daily News, and today is Aug. 31, the 243rd day of the year — 122 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1997, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris after her driver attempted to elude members of the paparazzi. She was 36 years old.
Here & Now
• For four years, Jennifer Corcoran has watched as an abandoned house in her Portsmouth neighborhood has fallen into complete disrepair. She says there is no electricity and the basement is flooded with a mixture of water and oil. The lawn, which she cut for a time, is completely overgrown.
Corcoran has attempted to call town officials and those with the state Department of Environmental Management, but has received no answers. Reporter Zane Wolfang met with Corcoran at the shuttered home last week, then stopped by Portsmouth Town Hall to gather information on the property. Read his story here.
• While a number statewide races will decided during the primary election on Sept. 13, there's just one in Newport County — between Democrats Linda Ujifusa and Matt Chappell for the state Senate nomination in District 11. Zane Wolfang recently caught up with both to talk about their campaigns and platforms. Learn more about the candidates here.
• During election time, we get a lot more letters to the editor. If you want to let your voice be heard, we've put together a guide that includes what is required when writing. Learn more here.
• The Newport Zoning Board of Review will conduct a special meeting tonight to discuss the proposed Salve Regina dormitories, a story we've closely followed since 2017. Reporter Savana Dunning last wrote about it in April. For a refresher, read her story here. Find the agenda below.
• A man who was convicted of robbing a Newport bank 13 years ago has been charged with a series of break-ins at city businesses. Read my story here.
• Ben Hurd was an all-world quarterback for Portsmouth before graduating in June. So who will replace him under center for the 2022 season? Sports reporter Steve Rogers answers that and other burning questions here.
• The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the addition to Pell Elementary School this morning at 10 a.m. Learn more here.
• A lot of the online chatter this week has been around the new protocols to enter Naval Station Newport and the resulting traffic backups. Well, good news. That no longer will be a concern. Learn more here.
• The next edition of Your Photos, our monthly feature that showcases reader-submitted images, will be compiled later this week. So if you've snapped a great shot lately and want to share, be sure to send it to yourphotos@newportri.com.
• From the inbox: Many of the photos sent to us are landscapes, because we do have some beautiful areas here on the island. But according to a recent study, Honolulu in Hawaii is atop the list of cities with the best residential views. Providence comes in at No. 120. Check out the complete rankings here.
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Born today
Chris Tucker (actor), 51
Debbie Gibson (singer), 52
Marcia Clark (prosecutor), 69
Richard Gere (actor), 73
Van Morrison (musician), 77
Weather report
Low tides: 4:13 a.m., 4:44 p.m.
High tides: 11:11 a.m., 11:29 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:09 a.m. Sunset: 7:21 p.m.
Water temperature: 73.9 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
Zoning Board of Review, 6:30 p.m.
Middletown
Technical Review Committee, 9 a.m.
Planning Board, 6 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is …
Eat Outside Day
National Matchmaker Day
National Zoo Awareness Day
Trivia answer
Q: When Portsmouth High School was under construction in the early 1960s, it was built onto an existing school that had opened a few years earlier. What was the name of that school?
A: Fort Butts School, which was completed in 1961. A tidbit about Portsmouth High School: It opened on Nov. 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Kudos to Arlene Siderski, Sean FitzGerald, Sue Mayes, Jason Dunn, Mike Mello, M. Francis Ferris, all of whom answered correctly.
Got a news tip, story idea or just want to drop me a line? Don't be a stranger. Send an email to sbarrett@newportri.com.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for Aug. 31, 2022
