Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for March 21
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, digital editor for The Daily News, and today is March 21, the 80th day of the year — 285 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1980, President Gerald Ford announced the United States was boycotting the Moscow Games set to take place that summer after the Soviet Union failed to comply with Carter’s Feb. 20 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
Here & Now
• The return of cruise liners, European travelers and rising gas prices are among the factors Newport’s tourism board is examining to predict how summer 2022 will impact the city’s hospitality and restaurant sectors.
In preparation for the upcoming tourism season, Discover Newport, the tourism board for Newport and Bristol counties, discussed travel expectations for the year at its March board meeting. Reporter Savana Dunning was there, and you can read her story here.
• While Rhode Island as a whole saw a year-over-year decline in the number of single-family home sales in February, that wasn't the case in Newport County. Find the latest numbers from the Rhode Island Association of Realtors here.
• Spring officially is upon us, and the first day was rather glorious, no? It won't be long before local high school baseball teams begin the season, though two of those teams — Rogers and Portsmouth — have new head coaches. Read more from sports reporter Steve Rogers here.
• The Newport Planning Board tonight will take up the proposed 133-room hotel on Waites Wharf. Find the meeting agenda below and learn more about the project here.
• The Middletown Town Council will meet tonight, and among the items on the agenda is a "request for support of a performance audit of the School Department’s finances." Find the meeting agenda below.
• The Portsmouth Town Council will hold a public hearing tonight on the Comprehensive Community Plan, which you can check out here. Find the meeting agenda below.
• The state Department of Transportation provided its roadwork schedule for the week in Newport County and throughout the state. Check it out here.
• This is the last day to vote in the Best of Newport County Awards. Cast your ballot here.
• From the inbox: According to a recent survey, nearly 2 out of 3 party-starved parents in Rhode Island plan to take a child-free spring break trip this year. The top destinations are Key West, Cabo San Lucas and Las Vegas. For what it's worth, I'm the third parent — I'll be spending spring break right here.
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Born today
Adrian Peterson (athlete), 37
Matthew Broderick (actor), 60
Gary Oldman (actor), 64
Timothy Dalton (actor), 76
Weather report
Low tides: 3:27 a.m., 3:31 p.m.
High tides: 10 a.m., 10:24 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:46 a.m. Sunset: 6:58 p.m.
Water temperature: 42.8 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
Planning Board, 6 p.m.
Energy and Environment Commission, 6 p.m.
Middletown
Personnel Board, 11 a.m.
Town Council, 6 p.m.
Portsmouth
Town Council, 7 p.m.
Tiverton
Tax Assessment Board of Review, 10 a.m.
Wastewater District, 5:30 p.m.
Open Space Commission, 6 p.m.
Harbor Commission, 7 p.m.
Library Trustees, 7 p.m.
Town Council, 7 p.m.
Jamestown
Town Council, 6:10 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is …
World Puppetry Day
National Single Parent Day
International Day of Forests
Where in Newport County?
Clements' Marketplace in Portsmouth. Kudos to Liz Gagne, Kim Brilhante, Penny Fitch, Mary Mack, Sue Kesson, Andrea Borges and Arlene Siderski, all of whom corr identified the spot.
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 March 21
