Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for May 23
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, managing editor for The Daily News, and today is May 23, the 143rd day of the year — 222 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1934, the crime duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, after a two-year string of bank robberies, were shot and killed by state police while driving a stolen car in Sailes, Louisiana.
Here & Now
• The area surrounding Equality Park on Broadway could be getting a little more colorful.
The City Council on Wednesday night will consider a resolution asking the city to work alongside the organization Newport Out to paint the three nearby crosswalks in rainbow colors “as a symbol of support and inclusivity for one of the most marginalized communities” in the U.S.
I caught up with Newport Out co-founder Sean O'Connor last week and asked why having such a symbol in the city is important. Read my story here.
• St. George's School recently received its largest one-time gift — a whopping $15 million — as the Middletown institution celebrated its 125th anniversary. Spoiler alert: I'm not the donor. Read the story here.
• With the week of May 15 serving as National Police Week, restaurants around Tiverton showed their love for the men in blue by supplying a copious amount of food to the Police Department. Editor Will Richmond has the story.
• The Portsmouth Town Council will meet tonight, and among the items on the agenda is a request from the chief of police to purchase two new patrol vehicles for $140,977. Find the full agenda below.
• The Tiverton Town Council will meet tonight, and among the items on the agenda is discussion and possible vote to "work with Rep. Jay Edwards on enabling legislation to authorize cities and towns to license short-term rentals." find full agenda below.
• The state Department of Transportation has provided its roadwork schedule for the coming week in Newport County and throughout the state. Find it here.
• During our family travels Sunday, I ran into Mike Falcone, head of baseball operations for the Newport Gulls, who are still in need of host families for the upcoming season. If you have the room, they could use your help. Learn more here.
• Kudos to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center (Imagination Library Day) and the Newport County Prevention Coalition (Newport County Wellness Fair) for putting on great events Sunday. We attended both of them, and both were very well done.
• From the inbox: According to a recent study, Rhode Island ranks No. 6 nationally in internet speed. Delaware tops the list, while West Virginia has the slowest. Find the state-by-state rundown here.
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Born today
Jewel (singer), 48
Drew Carey (game show host), 64
Mitch Albom (author), 64
Joan Collins (actress), 89
Weather report
Low tides: 9:31 a.m., 10:05 p.m.
High tides: 2:38 a.m., 3:12 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:17 a.m. Sunset: 8:06 p.m.
Water temperature: 55.4 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
School Building Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Energy and Environment Commission, 6:30 p.m.
Zoning Board of Review, 6:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
Town Council, 7 p.m.
Tiverton
FTR and Personnel Changes Advisory Subcommittee, 4 p.m.
Wastewater District, 5:30 p.m.
Town Council, 7 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is ….
National Lucky Penny Day
World Turtle Day
National Taffy Day
Where in Newport County?
Church of the Holy Cross. I drive past this site — at the corner of West Main Road and Oliphant Lane — almost daily and always wondered who "Rogers" was until I stopped in last week. The marker is for Thomas George Rogers, who once owned the land on which the church was built. Learn more about that here. This seemingly was a tough one because nobody got it.
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 23
