Rise & Shine! Your Newport County guide for Feb. 1
Rise & Shine! I’m Scott Barrett, digital editor for The Daily News, and today is Feb. 1, the 32nd day of the year — 333 days remain in 2022. On this day in 1932, Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the family’s new mansion in New Jersey. German immigrant Bruno Hauptmann was later charged with the crime, convicted and sentenced to the electric chair.
Here & Now
• It's been said Newport has million-dollar views, though they could be worth a lot more than that. With more than 200 wind turbines planned offshore, some as close as 15 miles away, the city has hired a law firm to represent its interests in the permitting process and perhaps reach a multi-million dollar financial settlement.
Newport should be compensated for adverse visual effects, which could mean losses of heritage tourism and potentially even property values, said Will Cook, an attorney with the firm Cultural Heritage Partners of Virginia.
“We would advocate for Newport to secure a meaningful, proportionate and significant financial mitigation package tied to your historic resources, coastal resiliency, and land conservation in support of your historic properties,” he said.
Just how much are we talking here? That remains to be seen, but Nantucket got $34.4 million. You'll want to read this story from reporter Sean Flynn here.
• Speaking of the City Council, it has proposed ordinance changes that would prohibit short-term rentals in all residential districts of the city. Sean Flynn breaks it down and writes about what's next here.
• The storm is over but the cleanup continues with all that snow. Reporter Savana Dunning has a town-by-town breakdown about what you should do if your car was towed — there were 32 of those in Newport — or if your property was damaged by street plows. Read more here.
• Speaking of towing cars, Newport has implemented a mandatory parking ban Wednesday for certain streets in the heart of the city. Learn more here.
• Gov. Dan McKee and state Department of Health interim director Dr. James MacDonald will provide a COVID-19 update today at 2:15 p.m.
• Speaking of COVID, there will be a vaccination clinic today from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Edward King House in Newport. Registration is recommended for these clinics. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.”
• Have a small business that's been impacted by the pandemic? You can now take advantage of the Rhode Island Rebounds small business grant program. Learn more here.
• The Newport Canvassing Authority will hold a virtual public information session this morning at 11:30 a.m. on the city's redistricting process. Find login information below.
• Check out the nominees and cast your ballot for The Newport Daily News Athlete of the Week here.
• On Feb. 9, the gymnasium at Gaudet Middle School will be named in honor of the late Barry Clark, the longtime wrestling coach at the high school. Mr. Clark was one of the good ones. I wrote this story the day after he died in 2018.
• Rhode Island’s average gas price is up 4 cents from last week, now at $3.38 per gallon. That's 1 cent higher than a month ago, 99 cents higher than a year ago and 2 cents higher than the current national average.
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Born today
Harry Styles (singer), 28
Julia Garner (actress), 28
Ronda Rousey (athlete), 35
Michael C. Hall (actor), 51
Lisa Marie Presley (singer-songwriter), 54
Weather report
Low tides: 12:46 a.m., 1:53 p.m. High tides: 7:41 a.m., 8:02 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:55 a.m. Sunset: 5:02 p.m.
Water temperature: 41.9 degrees.
Municipal meetings
Newport
Canvassing Authority, 11:30 a.m.
School Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Tiverton
Library Trustees Board — Budget Subcommittee, 4 p.m.
Planning Board, 6:30 p.m.
School Committee, 7 p.m.
Jamestown
Fire Department, 7 p.m.
Local obituaries
Today is …
Chinese New Year
National Dark Chocolate Day
National Freedom Day
Trivia Tuesday
In August 1987, a developer approached the town of Middletown with an offer to buy a former elementary school that would have been turned into a 12-unit condominium complex. Instead, the Town Council voted to demolish the building and use the land for a park that is still enjoyed by children today. What was the name of that school? 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 Feb. 1
