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

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

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

    Newport Warns of Sophisticated Scam Targeting Permit Applicants

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

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    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.

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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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