Newport Daily News
Editor s note: With the unofficial start of summer on the horizon, The Daily News is examining issues related to Aquidneck Island s beaches. This is the third in a four-part series to get you ready for the season.
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority plans to run a beach shuttle from the North End of the city to Easton’s Beach in Newport and Sachuest Beach in Middletown on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays between June 19 to Aug. 22.
While the service is being welcomed by Newport officials, the same cannot be said of the reception it has received from some members of the Middletown Town Council.
Newport Daily News
NEWPORT – The City Council wants the power to prohibit recreational marijuana sales in the city if the General Assembly passes legislation this year that allows such sales in the state.
City and town councils would not have that power under Gov. Dan McKee’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2022, which begins on July 1.
Any community wishing to prohibit marijuana establishment licenses within the city or town’s jurisdiction would be required to hold a local referendum on or before Nov. 2 this year, according to McKee’s proposal.
The governor details the rules, regulations, oversight, and sales and excise taxes for all marijuana operations in the 79 pages of the budget s Article 11.
NEWPORT The City Council will take up a proposed ordinance change Wednesday that could prevent food trucks from operating on Bellevue Avenue.
Last summer, the City Council voted to postpone a proposed ordinance change that would prevent food trucks and other mobile food establishments from operating on Bellevue Avenue.
The ordinance, enacted in August 2019, allowed food trucks to operate in General Business Districts, which sparked controversy once the pizza truck A Mano began operating near a Bellevue Ave brick-and-mortar pizza joint, Mamma Leone’s.
“They just didn t feel that it was fair for a brick-and-mortar restaurant that has to pay taxes and rent and all of that to be competing with another truck that sells the same product and basically parked in the front of the lot,” Councilor Lynn Ceglie-Underwood said. “I think that you know we could find another spot that will serve the same area, but perhaps not on Bellevue Avenue.”
Newport scores below national average for LGBTQ inclusive policies
Newport Daily News
NEWPORT Newport received a below-average score on LGBTQ inclusivity from the Human Rights Campaign, prompting local LGBTQ leaders and advocates to say the mark shows the city needs to do more for its queer citizens.
The advocacy group s Municipal Equality Index examines the laws, policies and resources of a city to see how inclusive they are of LGBTQ residents. The score awards points for specific inclusive policies, such as explicit non-discrimination laws for municipal workers and the establishment of a human rights commission for the city council, as well as bonus points, or “flex” points, for resources and services for LGBTQ youth and people living with HIV/AIDs.