☀️ What's Up Today: Monday, July 21

Good morning, Newport!

🗓️ Today is Monday, July 21, the 202nd day of 2025. There are 163 days left in the year.

WUN is offering today’s Press Club Morning Briefing to all newsletter subscribers. If you’d like to sign up to receive this newsletter every weekday morning and help support local journalism, you can sign up to become a Press Club Member here

🪕 Folk Festival week is here. The fun and festivities kick off with a Newport Folk All-Star Game at Cardines Field on Thursday night (tickets still available). The sold-out festival will take place at Fort Adams State Park Friday through Sunday.

🚲 Newport is preparing for another record-breaking year of bicycle traffic to the Newport Folk Festival, with organizers implementing an enhanced safety plan to accommodate the estimated 1,600 cyclists expected daily.

🎶 The near sold-out crowd at Jane Pickens Theater hung on every word as husband-and-wife duo Drew and Ellie Holcomb delivered two sets of largely original material on Friday, July 18th. WUN’s Jack Casey has the story and photo gallery.

🍻 More than 1,300 runners laced up their shoes Saturday for the ninth annual Newport Beer Run at Fort Adams State Park, combining a scenic 5K race with craft beer sampling in one of Newport’s most popular summer events. WUN’s Justin Walker has the story and photo gallery.

🤷 Tariffs, economic uncertainty, AI, and rising housing prices have all had a significant impact on the region, and Rhode Island’s economy, according to the Boston Fed reports. WUN’s Frank Prosnitz has the story.

👉 Helen Hames latest column for WUN is here - Unseen and Unsheltered: The rising crisis of homelessness among Rhode Island’s older adults.

✍️ Newport City Councilor Stephanie Smyth writes in with a Letter to the Editor - Birthing Center closure could trigger community decline.

👏 Governor McKee will deliver remarks this morning at a ceremony at the Department of Administration recognizing the State's Rose Island Lighthouse charity license plate as the “Best Plate” of 2024, as named by members of the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA).

-Ryan Belmore

Police and Bike Newport partner to manage growing cyclist numbers with dedicated bike lanes and traffic restrictions

Bregman is a key player for Boston as it fights for a playoff spot in the last part of the season.

The near sold-out crowd at Jane Pickens Theater hung on every word as husband-and-wife duo Drew and Ellie Holcomb delivered two sets of largely original material on Friday, July 18th.

Across the country, nearly half of all homeless single adults are over the age of 50–a dramatic shift from just 10% in the early 1990s, according to a 2024 Governing magazine article titled “The Nation’s Homeless Population is Aging Dramatically.”

Photo gallery by Justin Walker

Tariffs, economic uncertainty, AI, and rising housing prices have all had a significant impact on the region, and Rhode Island’s economy, according to the Boston Fed reports.

Newport City Councilor Stephanie Smyth warns hospital cuts could accelerate exodus of working families, threaten schools and city’s future

49th annual Newport-to-Jamestown crossing raises funds for Narragansett Bay protection

March 22, 1945 — July 16, 2025

June 7, 1940 — July 18, 2025

Forbes: Here’s Where To See The Gilded Age Across The United States

Newport Daily News: Norman Bird Sanctuary was being choked by vines. A Boy Scout helped stop the spread

Rhode Island Current: World’s largest license plate hobbyist organization picks Rose Island plate as the best

WJAR: Fundraiser held for Portsmouth teen injured in stair collapse

WPRI: Fundraiser held for teen injured in Portsmouth building collapse