Good morning, Newport.

At Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard from 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct.

23, the annual Pumpkin Regatta will feature a relay-style race to raise funds for Sail Newport. Participants pay $25 to enter, and a silent auction plus food from A Mano Pizza truck will be available.

Looking Upwards held its Awards for Excellence today to honor state Rep. Terri Cortvriend for governmental service and the Mello family for lending Bayview Hall in Middletown, while SWAP, Inc. transformed a building in Jamestown into 12 affordable apartments.

Planners plan a 'Rail with Trail' along the Newport Secondary rail corridor to add a path for cyclists and pedestrians.

Public sessions run Oct. 27 at Innovate Newport and Nov. 1 in Portsmouth, led by local partners including the Aquidneck Island Land Trust & Bike Newport.

Newport County has several updates including bridge night work starting Oct.

19, an Irish History lecture at the Wyndham, volunteer tree planting at Miantonomi Park, a Faust screening at Pickens Theatre, and a new executive director at the Edward King House Senior Center.

Newport Middle Passage Memorial will host a preview of the memorial design on Saturday, Oct.

24 from 9 a.m. until noon at the proposed site in the downtown park (located between Thames Street and America’s Cup Avenue) so neighbors can engage with the design details and speak directly with organizers.

Local organizations have turned rooms of the historic Vernon House on Clarke Street into The Cato Vernon Freedom Library exhibition that tells the story of an enslaved Revolutionary War soldier.

The free exhibit opens Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.—featuring tours, a timeline and a reading room.

Discover Newport reported on Oct.

6 that measures are underway to boost local approval of tourism, which is doing well economically yet faces community criticism. The agency is expanding offseason promotions, town halls, and transit support while aiming to attract more visitors from New York and Boston.

NOAA will open its new Marine Operations Center + Atlantic at Naval Station Newport early next year, with full operations by end of January.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed toured the $147M facility that will support NOAA’s ships and shore-side jobs in ocean research.

State regulators approved a $23 million taxpayer-funded plan on Oct.

14 to repair a collapsed 550-foot section of Cliff Walk, which includes fixing a private stone arch bridge and adjacent outcropping passed by walkers and students (the city’s future maintenance responsibilities remain unclear).