Frank Prosnitz

Newport and Middletown are among 20 regions statewide that will receive millions of federal dollars to fund community learning centers that Gov. Dan McKee hopes will create “a culture of learning throughout Rhode Island,” and elevate income for hundreds of families. ” The more educated we are, the more income,” McKee said at a press […]

With deadlines past now for local candidate declarations, signatures, validation of signatures, ballot placement, and candidate withdraws – the field for local elections, cities and towns and state legislature, is set. No surprises. Little has changed since individuals declared their candidacies in June. Very few candidates statewide either withdrew by the July 19 deadline or […]

Since 2003, when David Isay founded StoryCorps, he has been on a mission of finding hope, even at the darkest times. Now, more than two decades later, StoryCorps has just launched One Small Step, a project meant to bridge the political divide. The intent is to produce thousands, perhaps millions, of one-on-one conversations between political […]

With the opening of school just over a month away, the dispute between the Newport teachers' union and school administration is still unsettled, with a third and perhaps final day of mediation scheduled for Tuesday, according to Jennifer Azevedo, deputy director of the National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI).

This may be the dog days of summer, but for school administrators they are days filled with planning for a new school year, which in Newport begins September 6. Superintendent of Schools Colleen Burns Jermain joins WhatsUpNewp for her monthly videocast tomorrow (July 31) at 1:30 p.m. And there's no shortage of subjects to address.

A mediation session, the third, between Newport teachers and the administration over the layoff and displacement of 20 percent of the school faculty, ended without agreement on Tuesday. It had been characterized as perhaps the final mediation session in an effort to resolve the dispute.

The calendar may say Rhode Island's gubernatorial election is two years away – but make no mistake it is gearing up, and the cash register is ringing.

In just about a month, Sept. 10, Rhode Islanders will go to the polls in a statewide primary election that will determine who will be running for U.S. Senate from both parties in the November general election, along with deciding general election candidates in several legislative districts.

Despite an effort at mediation over the summer, the dispute between the Newport teachers' union and school administration that began in late winter has spilled over into the early days of the new school year, with little indication that it will be resolved soon.

House prices in New England are rising significantly faster than the national average, with Vermont leading the nation and Rhode Island just slightly behind, with the third fastest house price growth for the second quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.