What's Up in Newport: Thursday, May 9

Good Morning! Today is Thursday, May 9.

🆕 In a 46-minute Special Meeting last night, Newport City Council approved the appointment and engagement of Colin Kennedy as Newport’s next City Manager. The vote was 5 - 2, with Councilors Ceglie and Napolitano opposing Kennedy’s appointment. You can watch the meeting here. Newport City Council’s Regular Council Meeting last night lasted 1 hour and 18 minutes. You can watch it and jump to an item of interest here.

📖 Joan Baez, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, social activist, artist, and poet, will discuss her new poetry collection When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance at a Charter Books event at The JPT on July 29. Tickets go on sale at 1 pm today here.

🎞️ newportFILM will screen the Apple Original Films documentary “Girls State” at the Casino Theatre tonight. “Girls State,” from the acclaimed Emmy-award-winning filmmakers of “Boys State”, examines what American democracy looks like through the lens of teenage girls engaged in a weeklong government-building experiment.  Tonight’s event will include a post-film conversation with one of the film’s subjects and Girls State alum, Cecilia Bartin. Tickets are available here.

🎶 The iconic 90s band Crash Test Dummies roar into Newport this evening to play a show at The JPT. We recently spoke with lead singer and guitarist Brad Roberts about the show and band. Read the interview. Tickets are available for the show here.

🎺 I’m in New York City for a journalism-related event for a couple of day this week. Last night I was lucky enough to have a Newport-related evening at the Blue Note Jazz Club where Grammy-award winning Christian McBride (who is the Artistic Director of the Newport Jazz Festival) & Ursa Major were performing. Their show was full of energy and excitement - a great reminder of just how beautiful the genre of music is. If you happen to be in New York City this week (or can get to New York City), catch Christian and the band through May 12 at the Blue Note!

Have a great Thursday on purpose.

~ Ryan

What’sUpNewp stories related to this week.

What’s Up in Newport This Week: May 6 – 12

What’s Up Interview: Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies, band playing Newport May 9

Sundance premiere ‘Girls State’ to screen in Newport

Annual Restoration Celebration to be held at Greenvale Vineyards on May 11

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to perform at The JPT on May 11

Green Animals Topiary Garden to hold plant sale, open for the season

Mother’s Day in Newport: Here’s where to go for brunch, tea, cruises, and dinner

Here’s what’s coming up next on the 2024 Cruise Ship Schedule.

Remained in Newport for the duration of the Civil War.

Newport Police Department provided the following arrest and dispatch logs from 7 am on May 8 through 7 am on May 9, 2024.

Marcell Ozuna kept up his torrid start with two more homers and Chris Sale pitched six innings against his former team, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox and a sweep of their two-game interleague series Wednesday night.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a concentration in Oceanography, Kennedy has over two decades of executive-level management expertise as an officer in the United States Navy.

Spectacle Live, which has been producing concerts at The JPT in Newport, announced that the Park Theatre & Event Center in  Cranston is the latest addition to its portfolio of live event venues. 

In a small but moving ceremony at the historic City Hall, Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong officially proclaimed May 2024 as “Mental Health Month” in the City of Newport.

When the story broke recently that South Dakota’s governor shot her German wirehaired pointer after its exuberance ruined a pheasant hunt, cancer was stealing the life of our beloved Tibetan terrier, Buddy.

David Toth, who serves as the lead of digital engineering at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, has received the Department of the Navy’s Superior Civilian Service Award.

Rhode Island Attorney General Announces Indictment of Two Individuals for Straw Purchasing Firearms

Middletown Public Library to host free floral wall art class

Tiverton Public Library to Host “Solito” Performance as Part of Statewide Reading Program

OceanPoint Financial Partners, MHC, the mutual holding company of BankNewport, announced the election of two new members to its board of trustees and four new corporators for the organization at the annual meeting held on Monday, April 22, 2024.

It’s been 47 years since Rhode Island established its statewide school transportation system, and Sen. Linda Ujifusa and Rep. Terri Cortvriend believe it’s time to re-examine its oddly configured regions, its costs and whether there might be a more efficient way of getting schoolchildren to out-of-district schools.

By Kendra Wilson Muenter, NPS Parent/Newport School Committee Member

The two state beaches will be open Saturdays and Sundays only, weather permitting, from Saturday, May 11, until Memorial Day to accommodate early beachgoers.

Rhode Island to receive $60.1 million in federal funding to improve public transportation

Brown scored 32 points, White made seven 3-pointers and added 25, and the Celtics powered past the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

WJAR: Former Tiverton school resource officer convicted of disorderly conduct

WPRI: Former Tiverton SRO found guilty of disorderly conduct

What did you think of today’s newsletter? Share your thoughts below.