Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: What could a $7.4M Forest Avenue renovation mean for Middletown families?

Make time for Joe Rocco's Newport Comedy Series on the Middletown Patch calendar

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Hi there, Middletown! We've got your morning read ready! Read on to stay connected. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • What could a $7.4M Forest Avenue renovation mean for Middletown families?
  • Could a vacant McDonald's reshape Middletown's housing rules?
  • How Middletown's new deputy administrator could shape the town's future

Also on today's calendar: Joe Rocco's Newport Comedy Series and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What day of the year is trucker's day? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high of 80 and low of 53 degrees.
  • Saturday: Clouds and sun; not as warm, temps: high: 67, low: 54.
  • Sunday: Cloudy with afternoon rain, with a high of 65 and low of 61 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Middletown, RI Town Council — September 21, 2026 (meetingwatch.org) — Middletown's Town Council will weigh a $7.47 million renovation budget for Forest Avenue Elementary School, funded by school improvement bonds. Councilors will also debate a new Green and Complete Streets ordinance, upgrades to backup power for library technology, and a range of local business licenses and patio and alcohol approvals.
   

2. Builder's Bid to Convert Empty Lot Spurs Possible Housing Changes (newportthisweek.com) — A developer's push to turn the long-vacant former McDonald's at 149 West Main Road into housing has Middletown's Planning Board weighing broader changes to density rules. Officials are considering updates to the town's comprehensive plan that could open more empty lots to workforce housing, though any zoning changes would depend on action by the next Town Council.
   

3. Middletown Names First Deputy Administrator (newportthisweek.com) — Middletown has created its first-ever deputy town administrator position and promoted longtime finance staffer Patrick Guthlein to the role, aiming to ensure leadership continuity as major projects advance. The council also filled key finance and health services posts, made several fire department promotions, and honored the Middletown Babe Ruth baseball team for winning the Aquidneck Island League championship.
   

4. Watch a massive swarm of birds take over the Rhode Island sky: video (milforddailynews.com) — Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown just hosted a dramatic swarm of migrating tree swallows, captured on video as they wheeled over the shoreline. The spectacle highlights how Middletown's coastal refuge sits on a key migration route, drawing huge flocks each fall alongside similar gatherings across New England.
   

5. Middletown man arrested on DUI warrants in Middletown (newportdispatch.com) — Middletown police and the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested 20-year-old Middletown resident Zachary Bidlack on multiple outstanding DUI- and license-related warrants from Newport and Kent County courts. He was taken into custody in Middletown without incident and turned over to local police, underscoring ongoing enforcement of impaired driving and license violations affecting area residents.
   

📸 Around Middletown

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Middletown

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Taco Bell posted a job opening for Team Member in Middletown. Apply here.
  • Chili's Grill & Bar posted a job opening for Line Cook - Middletown Chili's in Middletown. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Middletown here.

Ok Middletown! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: 10-4, good buddy! (Thank you Jean H. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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