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    Parade Grand Marshals Mike and Tish (Curtis) Behan Celebrated at Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast

    Buzzing Around Newport: “Behan I Am” — Parade Grand Marshals Celebrated at Green Eggs and Ham Fundraiser 🍀

    Newport City Hall where officials issued a warning about a scam involving fake Planning Commission invoices.

    Newport Warns of Sophisticated Scam Targeting Permit Applicants

    Newport’s Property Tax Loophole: Some Landlords Pay $0 in Property Tax While Neighbors Pay Thousands

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    The Buzz

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    Parade Grand Marshals Mike and Tish (Curtis) Behan Celebrated at Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast

    Buzzing Around Newport: “Behan I Am” — Parade Grand Marshals Celebrated at Green Eggs and Ham Fundraiser 🍀

    Newport City Hall where officials issued a warning about a scam involving fake Planning Commission invoices.

    Newport Warns of Sophisticated Scam Targeting Permit Applicants

    Newport’s Property Tax Loophole: Some Landlords Pay $0 in Property Tax While Neighbors Pay Thousands

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    Real Estate

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    27 Marcello Drive contemporary coastal home in Jamestown RI with Newport Bridge and ocean views sold for $3.295 million

    Jamestown Home With Newport Bridge Views Sells for $3.295 Million, Highest Sale of 2026

    Modern coastal estate perched above Sakonnet Passage

    Architectural Masterpiece with Panoramic Coastal Views Lists for $4.45M in Little Compton

    The Walcott Avenue Collection, three waterfront properties in Jamestown overlooking Narragansett Bay

    The Walcott Avenue Collection – A Rare Waterfront Legacy in Jamestown. Three Properties, Endless Possibility.

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    Obituaries

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    Jeremy Alan “Jed” Plotkin of Cary, North Carolina, formerly of Newport, Rhode Island.

    Obituary: Jeremy Alan “Jed” Plotkin (1975-2026)

    Joseph Angelo Belli of Middletown, Rhode Island, who died March 3, 2026

    Obituary: Joseph Angelo Belli (1930-2026)

    Jonathan Cooper Newport RI obituary

    Obituary: Jonathan Cooper (1967-2026)

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    Newport City Hall where officials canceled a meeting after a City Charter violation was discovered in the proposed residential parking permit ordinance.

    City Pulls Emergency Meeting After Newport Buzz Flags Charter Violation in Parking Plan

    Jeremy Alan “Jed” Plotkin of Cary, North Carolina, formerly of Newport, Rhode Island.

    Obituary: Jeremy Alan “Jed” Plotkin (1975-2026)

    URI students walking across Quadrangle after Wall Street Journal ranking announced

    URI Police Warn of Video Voyeurism Incidents in Dorm Shower Areas

Local

“Newport firefighters and police escort Santa during annual neighborhood tour”

Santa Claus Returns to Newport for Four-Night Neighborhood Tour Beginning Dec. 9

“Exterior of Crazy Burger Café & Juice Bar in Narragansett on Boon Street.”

Crazy Burger Calls It Quits: Narragansett Staple Shutters After 30 Years

“Maurice Taylor behind the bar at The Brenton Hotel’s Living Room, smiling while preparing a cocktail.”

What She’s Having: At The Brenton Hotel’s Living Room Bar, Beloved Maurice Taylor Steers the Ship

Traffic camera at Hillside Avenue and Admiral Kalbfus Road in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport’s Automated Traffic Camera Program Under Fire After Court Delays and Compliance Questions

The Votta, Restrepo, Buroker, and Borton family

Buzzing Around Newport: Turkey Day Tradition Hits 40 — The Pie Run Just Keeps Getting Sweeter

“Historical illustration of the 1621 First Thanksgiving between Pilgrims and Wampanoag in Plymouth”

Turkey, Tragedy, and Triumph: The Story of the First Thanksgiving

Former RISP Colonel Steven O’Donnell, appointed to lead Rogers High School investigation

Newport Hires Former RISP Colonel Steven O’Donnell to Lead Probe Into Assaults on Special-Needs Student

Anthony’s Seafood Newport after its acquisition by Audrain’s Heritage Restaurant Group.

Audrain Gobbles Another Newport Classic — Just in Time for Thanksgiving: Anthony’s Seafood Swallowed Whole

Undersized tautog and black sea bass seized by RI Environmental Police

REEL DUMMIES: Three Massachusetts Men Busted With With Massive Haul of Illegal Fish in Newport

Overhead view of Aquidneck Village in Portsmouth, Rhode Island with proximity to Narragansett Bay

A New Residential Development Is Quietly Taking Shape in Portsmouth, Offering a Different Kind of Coastal Living

Hydroponic growing beds inside Emmanuel Church producing fresh greens for the MLK Center.

Emmanuel Church Unveils New Pollinator Garden to Boost Food Security and Community Access

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NEWPORT, R.I. — City officials are warning residen NEWPORT, R.I. — City officials are warning residents and businesses about a sophisticated scam targeting people with applications pending before Newport boards and commissions. According to the city, scammers are sending emails that appear to come from the Newport Planning Commission, referencing legitimate applications listed on public dockets. The messages include fake invoices demanding payment for permit reviews or Planning Commission fees. The emails often use official-looking city branding and instruct recipients to wire money to complete permit processing, officials said. City leaders stressed that Newport will never request permit or application fees via wire transfer and will never ask applicants to send payments outside the city’s official systems. “All official payments are processed through the city’s official payment systems or in person at city buildings,” officials said. Residents and business owners are urged to be cautious and avoid responding to suspicious messages. If you receive a questionable invoice, do not send payment or reply to the email, the city warned. Anyone who may have already paid a fraudulent invoice should immediately contact their bank and notify law enforcement. The city said warning signs of the scam include invoices claiming to be from the “City of Newport Planning Commission,” requests for wire transfer payments, instructions to email for payment details, and sender addresses that do not come from official city domains such as @cityofnewport.com or @newportri.gov. Messages sent from generic email services like Gmail or USA.com may also be part of the scheme. Anyone who receives a suspicious invoice is asked to contact the Newport IT Department at (401) 845-5400 or the Newport Police Department at (401) 847-1306. #newportri #newportbuzz
A quirk in Newport’s property tax system is allowi A quirk in Newport’s property tax system is allowing some condo owners to pay nothing in property taxes — even while collecting thousands of dollars a month in rent. The issue stems from the city’s two-tier property tax program, which exempts a large portion of a home’s assessed value before taxes are calculated. Right now, that exemption is about $284,433, roughly 24% of the average value of eligible homes after the last revaluation. For many smaller condos in Newport — especially one-bedroom units assessed between $225,000 and $275,000 — that exemption wipes out the entire taxable value. The result? A $0 property tax bill. Some of those units are rented year-round. In one example uncovered by Newport Buzz, a condo owner reportedly collects about $2,500 a month in rent — $30,000 a year — while paying no property taxes at all. Meanwhile, other Newport homeowners are paying thousands. A home assessed at $500,000 would have roughly $219,000 in taxable value after the exemption, resulting in an annual property tax bill of about $1,572. A home assessed at $700,000 would have about $419,000 taxed, producing a bill of roughly $3,007. And a home assessed at $900,000 would have approximately $619,000 in taxable value, resulting in an annual property tax bill of about $4,444 at Newport’s residential rate of $7.177 per $1,000. The system was originally designed to ease the burden on homes owned and occupied by full-time residents in a city where property prices have soared. But critics say the policy appears to contain a major loophole: the tax break applies whether the property is owner-occupied or used as an income-producing rental. That means some landlords are benefiting from the same tax relief intended for residents — leaving other homeowners to shoulder a larger share of the tax burden. Newport Buzz has reached out to the City of Newport for comment. #newportri #newportbuzz
Happy Wednesday, March 11th! Here’s What’s Happeni Happy Wednesday, March 11th! Here’s What’s Happening In and Around Newport Today! @bottegabocconi @hookednewport @sardellas_italian @tavernonbroadway @thequenchernewport @nikolaspizza @forty1north @adventuresinerindelle @newportcannaco
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