Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for Aug. 22
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, managing editor for The Daily News, and today is Aug. 22, the 234th day of the year — 131 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1959, after more than a half century as a protectorate of the United States, Hawaii was welcomed into the union as the 50th member.
Here & Now
• The next community engagement sessions on the proposed Middletown-Newport school district merger are scheduled for tonight (learn more about that here), though it's getting to the point where the rubber meets the road.
With about three weeks left until the deadline to place the referendum question on the November ballot, one Newport City Council member is requesting the process be postponed to a special election in May. Reporter Savana Dunning has the story.
• U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona will be at the International Tennis Hall of Fame this morning for the RENEW Summit, which kicks off a regional collaboration to accelerate student learning and build pathways for college and career success.
• It will be a busy day for Dr. Cardona, who is also scheduled to head over to Salve Regina in the afternoon to mark the 50th anniversary of the federal Pell Grant program, named for the late U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell.
• Jamestown resident Harrison Leonard was a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team for three years. Now that he's received his diploma and still has NCAA eligibility remaining, he's coming to play for URI. Read more from Daily News sports reporter Steve Rogers here.
• The horses are back in their stables, the coaches gone until 2025. If you missed A Weekend of Coaching, hosted by the Preservation Society of Newport County, you'll want to check out our photo gallery here.
• The state Department of Transportation provided its roadwork schedule for the upcoming week in Newport County and the rest of the state. Find it here.
• It's a busy night for municipal meetings, with the Portsmouth, Tiverton and Jamestown town councils set to convene. You can find all of the agendas below.
• One meeting not happening is the Newport Zoning Board of Review, which canceled its scheduled assembly for tonight. Find out what would have been on the agenda here.
• Speaking of getting canceled, the fall Secret Garden Tour in Newport has been called off "due to severe drought conditions," according to organizers.
• Residents in Newport's North End are being advised that smoke testing in sewer lines will be conducted during the week of Aug. 22. Learn more here.
• From the inbox: According to a recent study, Providence ranks No. 83 on a list of the most stressed cities in the U.S., while Warwick comes in at No. 128. Which city tops the list? That would be Cleveland.
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Born today
James Corden (TV host), 44
Kristen Wiig (actress), 49
Ty Burrell (actor), 55
Cindy Williams (actress), 75
Carl Yastrzemski (athlete), 83
Weather report
Low tides: 10:10 a.m., 11:51 p.m.
High tides: 4:57 a.m., 5:36 p.m.
Sunrise: 6 a.m. Sunset: 7:36 p.m.
Water temperature: 72.3 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
School Building Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Middletown
School Building Committee, 3 p.m.
Portsmouth
School Committee — negotiations subcommittee, 10 a.m.
Town Council, 6 p.m.
Tiverton
Housing Authority, 5:30 p.m.
Town Council, 7 p.m.
Jamestown
School Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Town Council, 6 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is …
National Heroes’ Day
National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day
National Tooth Fairy Day
Where in Newport County?
Miantonomi Park tower. Kudos to Andrew Lindh, the only person to correctly identify this one. It should be noted the tower is open to visitors each Monday in August from 2 to 6 p.m. Go check it out!
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. 22, 2022
