Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for Jan. 5
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, digital editor for The Daily News, and today is Jan. 5, the fifth day of the year — 360 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1643, Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was granted the first legal divorce from adulterous husband Denis Clarke by the Quarter Court of Boston.
Here & Now
• Despite what you might have heard on social media, Newport Hospital is open and operating at full capacity. “The emergency room and the hospital never close," said Dr. Anthony Napoli, the emergency room director. "They are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, essentially no matter what.”
That's not to say there aren't challenges. Hospital officials held a press conference Tuesday, and reporter Sean Flynn has the latest on what's happening locally as the COVID pandemic surges once again. Read his story here.
• Speaking of Newport Hospital and COVID, when the strain on healthcare workers drained her spirit, Tiverton resident Heather Thomas decided to leave her nursing job to follow her passion and open her own business. Check out this great story from reporter Savana Dunning here.
• Speaking of business owners, a Newport entrepreneur will try to find love as a contestant on the Fox reality television show "Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer," which premieres this week. Read more here.
• And speaking local residents appearing on television, Tiverton writer Gregg Morrow was a contestant Tuesday night on the quiz show "Jeopady!" He couldn't knock off reigning champion Amy Schneider and finished third. Find a recap of the show here.
• Portsmouth High School student Steve Dutra waited patiently as a backup goaltender for the hockey team. Now it's his turn in the spotlight, and he's taking advantage. Sports reporter Steve Rogers has the story.
• Find the latest home sales and property transactions — including the sale of two established businesses — in Newport County here.
• The General Assembly got back to work on Tuesday, and one of the first orders of business was overriding a veto of a short-term rental bill. Find a roundup of the activity on Smith Hill here.
• The town of Portsmouth has allocated funds from the Amercan Recovery Plan Act for a "Buy Local" initiative and is seeking input from owners and managers of local businesses via a survey. Check it out here.
• See something that needs fixing in Middletown? There's an app for that. Using SeeClickFix, you can submit concerns to the town and receive status updates on their progress. Learn more here.
• Wednesday is normally the day when the state Department of Health updates its town-by-town COVID case data. If that is the case, I'll have it for you on NewportRI.com.
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Born today
January Jones (actress), 44
Bradley Cooper (actor), 47
Marilyn Manson (singer), 53
Diane Keaton (actress), 76
Robert Duvall (actor), 91
Weather report
Low tides: 2:40 a.m., 3:39 p.m.
High tides: 9:38 a.m., 10:04 p.m.
Sunrise: 7:10 a.m. Sunset: 4:31 p.m.
Water temperature: 46.8 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
Beach Commission, 5 p.m.
Middletown
Technical Review Committee, 11 a.m.
Planning Board, 2 p.m.
School Building Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
School Committee — Negotiations Subcommittee, 4 p.m.
Melville Park Committee, 7 p.m.
Harbor Commission, 7 p.m.
Tiverton
Zoning Board of Review, 7 p.m.
Jamestown
Library Board, 5 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is …
National Screenwriters Day
National Keto Day
National Bird Day
Trivia answer
Q: In 1993, Paul Sprague, a 21-year college student, gained approved to begin operating this type of business that offered a service hadn’t been available in the area since 1969. What was it?
A: Sprague, then an oceanography student at CCRI, founded the Jamestown Water Shuttle, which ferried passengers — six at a time — between Jamestown and Newport on a 28-foot wood cabin cruiser he named after his father, William Lowell. Kudos to Pam Bush, David Bentley, Michael Kelly and Ann Arnold, all of whom answered correctly 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 Jan. 5
