Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for Aug. 24
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, managing editor for The Daily News, and today is Aug. 24, the 236th day of the year — 129 days remain in 2022. On this day in 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted to demote Pluto from one of the nine planets revolving around the sun to one of the dozens of known dwarf planets.
Here & Now
• The thing about technology is it kind of does whatever it wants, when it wants, and there is little you and I can do about it. Only a select few can whip technology into shape, and unfortunately, I’m not among that group.
As I’m sure most of you noticed, the Rise & Shine! edition for Aug. 22 went out Tuesday morning when I had written a perfectly good Aug. 23 newsletter — including a killer Trivia Tuesday question (you can find that below).
I had to furiously start rattling off emails to the powers that be (the IT department) to get the issue resolved — and as quickly as possible with the hopes of getting it sent at a reasonable hour in the morning. No dice.
Perhaps the only good news is I now know many of you wake up with me. The duplicate newsletter went out at 7:03 a.m., and by 7:16, I had four emails in my inbox informing me of the error. Over the course of the next two hours, I had received probably a dozen emails and text messages.
With any luck, this won’t happen again and, as always, thanks for reading!
• As a new academic year dawns, why are the Newport and Middletown public school departments having such trouble filling teaching positions? Rosemarie Kraeger, the superintendent of schools in Middletown, says it's been tougher this year than in the past and wonders if people are just leaving the profession. Reporter Savana Dunning has the story.
• Speaking of education, U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona was in Newport for the inaugural Reimagining Education and New England's Workforce summit on Monday. Among the speakers was Rogers High School senior Dellicia Allen, who made her mark on the event. Read more from reporter Zane Wolfang here.
• The Newport City Council will meet tonight and there are two interesting items on the agenda — both of which Savana Dunning has written about in the past few days: Jamie Bova's call to postpone the vote on the proposed school district merger, and Kathryn Leonard seeking the regulation of electric bikes in the city through an ordinance. Find the full agenda below.
• Ready, set, vote! Today marks the first day of in-person voting for the primary election on Sept. 13. Find a list of important election dates and some of the interesting Newport County races to watch here.
• As high school football players prepare for the upcoming season, sports reporter Steve Rogers has combed through the schedules of the local teams and plucked out some must-see games this fall. Read about them here.
• Have thoughts on the proposed Middletown Center project? Residents can apply to join the Middletown Center Citizens Advisory Committee to "help shape the landscaping, look and elements to give the proposal even more of a Middletown feel." Learn more here.
• Attention Little Compton lovers: Rhode Island PBS tonight at 6 p.m. will host a virtual meeting to gather ideas for its "Our Town" series. Residents, business owners and others are asked share their favorite spots or things to do in Little Compton. Learn more and register here.
• There are two chances to catch live music outdoors tonight. Those Guys will be playing at Fort Adams State Park, while the Music on the Lawn series at St. John's Church continues with the Lois Vaughan Jazz Quartet.
• Rhode Island’s average gas price fell 11 cents from last week to $4.08 per gallon. That's 45 cents lower than a month ago, $1.03 higher than a year ago and 18 cents higher than the national average.
• Doing your back-to-school shopping? Add a two-year digital subscription to The Daily News to your list for just $22. This limited-time offer will keep you on top of all the latest, from high school sports to what's happening with regionalization to the building of the new Rogers High School and more. Click here to take advantage.
Rise & Shine! has become the go-to source for Newport County residents. Help spread the word. Forward this to a friend, who can get their own copy by signing up here.
Born today
Rupert Grint (actor), 34
Dave Chappelle (comedian), 49
Marlee Matlin (actress), 57
Reggie Miller (athlete), 57
Vince McMahon (businessman), 77
Weather report
Low tides: 12:27 a.m., 11:54 a.m.
High tides: 6:40 a.m., 7:05 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:02 a.m. Sunset: 7:33 p.m.
Water temperature: 73.0 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
City Council, 6:30 p.m.
Middletown
School Building Committee, 5 p.m.
Out-reach Subcommittee, 5:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
School Committee — District Building Committee, 4 p.m.
Water and Fire District, 7 p.m.
Tiverton
Library Trustees, 7 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is …
International Strange Music Day
National Waffle Day
National Peach Pie Day
Trivia Tuesday (on a Wednesday!)
The Rogers High School football team holds its daily practices at Murphy Field, which is affectionately called "The Rich." How did it get its nickname? Send guesses to sbarrett@newportri.com.
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This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for Aug. 24, 2022
