In the Arena with Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong

This week Joe Paolino, Jr. interviews the new Mayor of Newport, Xay Khamsyvoravong. Xay says he sees Newport as providing a role model for other cities and towns. Yet its uniqueness in terms of history, culture, and more, leave it as a city worth serving.

Housing, education, and transportation are his three priority areas. Housing concerns include affordable plus middle class, and workforce housing. Newport has the highest concentration of affordable housing per capita in the state, a surprising statistic. Developments need to be multi-use for success.

They also discussed tourism, summer development, and the idea of putting in bike lanes and turning America’s Cup into one lane, which has been shot down.

Watch In the Arena on ABC, Channel 6 every Sunday, 7am.