Press & News
Projo — Is RI's coastal agency broken? Why former members are speaking out for reform.
By Alex Kuffner — When Catherine Robinson Hall was appointed to a seat on the Coastal Resources Management Council in 2022, she represented something different for the powerful state agency that controls development along the Rhode Island shoreline…
ecoRI News — CRMC Council Loses Member to Resignation, Reducing Coastal Decision-Making Body to 6
By Rob Smith — The state’s coastal regulating agency is already starting the new year on the wrong foot. The Coastal Resources Management Council quietly announced last month that longtime council member and Little Compton resident Donald Gomez was resigning. Gomez, who prior to his professional retirement worked as an electric engineer for the Navy in Newport, had been serving in some capacity on CRMC’s executive panel since 2007.
Projo — Advocates push for reform of Rhode Island coastal council, but legislative leaders have questions
By Alex Kuffner — Attorney General Peter Neronha and others are calling on General Assembly leaders to move forward with legislation that would reform the embattled state agency that regulates coastal development in Rhode Island.
Projo — 'Relic of the bad old days': Why the AG has joined the push to reform RI's coastal council
By Alex Kuffner — …Neronha’s office is working with lawmakers and environmental advocates to try to ensure that more questionable decisions aren’t made by the powerful state agency whose responsibilities range from offshore wind power permitting to climate change planning.
Boston Globe — Ballard’s faces $50,000 in fines over tiki bars, fences
By Brian Amaral — The legendary Block Island bar had a tumultuous season last year, culminating in a chaotic music festival last August.
Projo — How to go to the beach for free before the season (mostly) starts on Memorial Day
By Wheeler Cowperthwaite — Want to go to the beach, but you're not sure where to go or what is open before the official opening of the beach season? Then this guide is for you.
ecoRI News — Long-Serving Member Resigns from R.I.’s Coastal Agency
By Frank Carini — For years the board that oversees the Ocean State’s coastal regulations has been operating with vacancies, and last month it lost a long-serving member.
Projo — Opinion/Stone: R.I. Supreme Court decision shows why CRMC needs reform
By Jonathan Stone OPINION — The R.I. Supreme Court’s rejection of the “settlement” between Champlin’s Marina and the Coastal Resources Management Council should serve as a wake-up call to all Rhode Islanders. The decision makes it clear that the agency’s structure is fundamentally flawed and in need of immediate correction by the governor and General Assembly. Rhode Island’s coastal environment and Rhode Islanders themselves deserve nothing less.
Projo — Champlin's Marina expansion on Block Island struck down by state Supreme Court. Here's why.
By Jim Hummel — The Rhode Island Supreme Court has rejected — for a final time — a proposed marina expansion on Block Island, bringing an end to nearly two decades of hearings and litigation over the controversial project.
Block Island Times — Rhode Island CRMC issues violations notice to Ballard’s
By Renee Meyer — Following on the heels of the incidents that fell on Victory Day in August, with the throngs of concertgoers packed onto Ballard’s Beach and the ensuing fights at Ballard’s and on the Block Island Ferry in the evening, residents and officials on Block Island started asking questions about just how Ballard’s Resort came to grow under the radar over the past few years.
ecoRI News — Brief Supports Overturning Ruling that OK'd Expansion of Controversial Block Island Marina
Interceding in a case raising significant issues involving government transparency in environmental disputes, four organizations recently filed a “friend of the court” brief in Rhode Island Supreme Court in a long-standing controversy involving the proposed expansion of Champlin’s Marina & Resort on Block Island.
Save the Bay — Save the Bay, ACLU of Rhode Island, RISAA and Common Cause Rhode Island File “FRIEND OF THE COURT” Brief
Interceding in a case raising significant issues involving government transparency in environmental disputes, Save The Bay, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and Foundation, and Common Cause Rhode Island today filed a “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) brief in the Rhode Island Supreme Court in a long-standing controversy involving the proposed expansion of Champlin’s Marina on Block Island.
The Public’s Radio — R.I. Superior Court finds no wrongdoing in coastal agency’s mediation with Block Island marina owner
By Sofie Rudin — Rhode Island’s coastal agency followed the law when it went into mediation with a Block Island marina owner. That’s the decision released Thursday by Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear.
Projo — Sept. 9 deadline looms for ruling on controversial Block Island marina deal
By Jim Hummel — The mediated settlement of a controversial marina expansion on Block Island was a common-sense solution to nearly two decades of litigation. Or, it was a secret backroom deal that violated state law and excluded opponents who had fought the proposal every step of the way.
Projo — “The Hummel Report”Blocked out: 'Backroom deal' riles opponents of Block Island marina expansion
By Jim Hummel — Opponents of a controversial marina expansion are furious about what they call a “secret backroom deal” that froze them out of an agreement to settle a 17-year-old case.