Letters: Put Newport residents first

Is Middletown school project truly on budget?

Last fall Middletown politicians promised voters a new middle/high school and elementary school upgrade projects for a $190,000,000 bond. Voters narrowly approved the projects. Then the politicians, without any public review, requested state approval for $210,000,000. Major work has not started and bonds have not been issued. Politicians just applied for $12.25 million in grants for additional school building costs. Politicians claim the projects are on time and on budget. How is that true?

Paul Mankofsky, Middletown

Put Newport residents first

Newport is changing and not for the better. Someone needs to say it so it might as well be me. We need to seriously reconsider our elected officials and the mess that Newport is right now, starting with the mayor and Aramli. They’ve got to go. Newport residents deserve better than what we got when those two were elected and need to be replaced with people who understand the city. Someone on the council needs to show some guts and speak out. No more out-of-state residents buying up our houses and not living in them full-time, that’s the first thing that has to change. We need to make sure that kids born in Newport come first and not a single program or teacher should be cut to free up money to accommodate outsiders. How about getting grown adults on bikes off of our sidewalks, kids fine but the rest?

All city council members should walk as a group from the hospital to Brick Market on Broadway and get a good look at what welcomes tourists as they come into the city.

Hans Bogaars, Newport