Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for May 4
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, managing editor for The Daily News, and today is May 4, the 124th day of the year — 241 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired their weapons at anti-war demonstrators at Kent State University, killing four students.
Here & Now
• Kim Evans drives past Pottsy Field on a daily basis and, each time she does, she can’t help but think of her brother, Staff Sgt. Christopher Potts, who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq on Oct. 3, 2004 — his 38th birthday. The field that runs along West Main Road in Middletown was renamed in his honor.
As the Middletown Center development project moves forward and the fate of Pottsy Field is mulled by town officials, I reached out to the family to see what they had to say. Read my story here.
• With Mother’s Day on the horizon, it’s time to start turning our attention toward mom and the ways in which we can give her a special day come May 8. I came up with a list of local ideas you can read about here.
• Highlighted by the sale of a dozen more properties that exceeded the $1 million mark, check out the latest home sales and real estate transactions in Newport County here.
• The Rogers High School boys lacrosse team posted a dramatic 8-7 victory over Lincoln on Monday, scoring the game-winner with no time left on the clock. Sports reporter Steve Rogers recaps how the Vikings did it here.
• Speaking of high school sports, check out the latest Newport County standouts with the Stars of the Day.
• Newport City Hall and other city offices will be closed today for Rhode Island Independence Day. The transfer station will be opened and it will not impact trash collection. Learn more here.
• Some consider today to be Rhode Island Independence Day (though that could be debated), while others use this day to pay homage to Star Wars (May the Fourth be With You). But May 4 also has a special significance for this newspaper: The Newport Daily News published its first edition on this date in 1846.
In it contained this item: “It is our intention to furnish the inhabitants and visitants of this goodly town, and the public at large, with the perusal of a daily sheet, of moderate dimensions, and humble pretendings; but filled, as far as it may be, with reading matter of general interest and entertainment."
Each and every day, I'm still quite thankful I get to provide you with a daily sheet (these days in email form) with reading matter of general interest and entertainment. Happy 176th birthday, Newport Daily News!
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Born today
Rory McIlroy (athlete), 33
Lance Bass (singer), 43
Will Arnett (actor), 52
Randy Travis (musician), 63
Weather report
Low tides: 4:19 a.m., 4:04 p.m.
High tides: 11:04 a.m., 11:12 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:36 a.m. Sunset: 7:47 p.m.
Water temperature: 49.0 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
School Committee — Policy Subcommittee, 5:30 p.m.
Middletown
School Building Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Town Council, 5:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
School Committee — Personnel Subcommittee, 3:30 p.m.
School Committee — Negotiations Subcommittee, 5 p.m.
Melville Park Committee, 7 p.m.
Harbor Commission, 7 p.m.
Tiverton
Zoning Board of Review, 7 p.m.
Jamestown
Planning Commission, 7 p.m.
Local obituaries
None new today
Today is …
Rhode Island Independence Day
Star Wars Day
National Skilled Trades Day
Trivia Tuesday
Q: This gathering place in Portsmouth has been around since at least 1919. A century later, it received a significant upgrade. What's the name of the place?
A: Common Fence Point Community Center. The earliest reference I can find for a Common Fence Point "Community House" is August 1919, when an advertisement for an upcoming dance appeared in the Journal Evening Bulletin. In 2019, the facility underwent a transformation. Kudos to Liz Gagne and Arlene Siderski, the only two to correctly answer this week.
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 May 4
