WPRO News and the Associated Press
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The Rhode Island Supreme Court has agreed to wade into the battle over a proposed welcome center at the grounds of The Breakers, the Vanderbilt family’s seaside mansion in Newport that is among the state’s top tourist attractions.
The Newport Daily News reports that Justice Francis Flaherty decided on Monday that the five-justice court will hear two appeals over the project. No date has been set for the arguments.
The Preservation Society of Newport County owns The Breakers and several other mansions. The society’s director of museum experience, John Rodman, says the organization is confident the process will unfold in a fair way.
The Bellevue Ochre Point Neighborhood Association opposes the center. Its chairman, James Moore, says the issue deserves to be resolved by the courts.
