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Aquidneck Island is an expensive place to live — on that most people can agree. But what to do about it? Members of the local legislative delegation told a crowd of about 100 people Thursday morning at the local Community College of Rhode Island campus they’re more than aware of the reality — and more needs to be done to help make Newport County affordable.

A developer based in the city is offering to purchase the former Cranston-Calvert School off Broadway and convert it into a 34-unit apartment complex that includes two-bedroom and one-bedroom apartments.

Since the General Assembly passed the state’s affordable housing law in 1991, only five communities have met the law’s basic requirement: a housing stock that is at least 10-percent affordable.

House sales increased in Rhode Island for the fifth consecutive year in 2017, creating a “hot” market despite falling inventory, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

With temperatures expected to plunge into the teens and single digits in the next few nights, some local organizations are functioning as warming centers for the homeless.

About 150 people from all walks of life with a range of experiences gathered Thursday afternoon at the Seamen’s Church Institute for a Thanksgiving dinner that is an annual celebration of community.

A recently released housing report for Rhode Island shows that Newport is second only to Woonsocket in the percentage of residents who are classified as low- or moderate-income.

Several Rhode Island towns are facing negative impacts after being notified in late July that many of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applications for local programs and agencies will not receive the funding they typically see. Locally, six social services programs applied for a total of $136,702 to fund several projects in the area, and after the meeting in late July, East Greenwich, along with many other towns across the state, were notified that none of their applications from the Plan Year 2016 will receive funding.