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.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — A blanket ban on new seawalls and rock revetments along certain parts of the coastline means that homeowners have limited ability to defend their properties against erosion. A class action lawsuit seeks to overturn that policy, which would have major implications for Rhode Island's coastline.

By Alex Nunez — As rising seas and stronger storms, due at least in part to climate change, are carrying off tons of sand from Rhode Island beaches, a legislative commission tasked with developing ways to slow beach erosion met at the State House for the first time on Monday.

By Ruth Rasmussen — Not all happy with state's declaration that spot is open to all, not just locals.

By Catie McNeill, Paige Messier — While the focus seemed to be on inland flooding over the past few weeks of weather, all eyes are now on Rhode Island’s coast, which experts say may not have enough protection to weather future storms.

By Alex Nunes — The increasingly litigious shoreline fire district wants to end a state review that could result in a new beach right-of-way being designated in Westerly.

By Alex Nunes — The disclosure contradicts characterizations of an agreement made public in July by Rhode Island U.S. Senator Jack Reed.

By Alex Nunes — Council President Edward Morrone had been under scrutiny for his ties to private interests in the Watch Hill community as disputes over shoreline access became a focal point for the Westerly Town Council.

By Alex Nunes — The Weekapaug Fire District has filed a motion in Rhode Island Superior Court, asking a judge to find the town of Westerly in contempt of a decades-old agreement that covers use of a road known as the Sand Trail that runs down the middle of the Quonochontaug Barrier Beach.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — The Watch Hill Lighthouse Keepers Association, which has maintained the property since the 1980s, says it will continue to provide public access once it takes over. But some in Westerly have doubts.

By Nancy Lavin — The group of coastal taxpayers seeking to stop state agencies from enforcing the new shoreline access law has no grounds to sue.

By Alex Nunes — The move comes three weeks after U.S. Sen. Jack Reed announced the property was slated to be transferred to a private non-profit in Watch Hill.

By Sarah Doiron, Anita Baffoni —The legislation requires dam owners to get clearance from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) before raising or lowering water levels.

By Michael DeFusco — The National Park Service is recommending transferring ownership of three historic Rhode Island lighthouses from the federal government to the state government.

By Gino DeAngelis — Sen. Jack Reed said that three historic Rhode Island lighthouses are expected to be turned over to new owners for preservation. The trio of lighthouses are currently owned by the federal government, but were deemed “excess property” and needed to be sold or demolished.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Coastal property owners have filed a federal lawsuit to overturn Rhode Island's new shoreline-access law. The suit claims that the new legislation, which allows the public to use the shoreline up to 10 feet inland of the seaweed line, amounts to an unconstitutional taking under the Fifth Amendment.

The Ocean Race Press — The event held during the stopover of the round-the-world sailing race gathered together over 150 government, civil society and private sector representatives

By Sarah Doiron, Anita Baffoni — Soscia Holdings, LLC, sent a letter to the town late last month demanding the removal of all “illegal structures” built on the pond.

By Jim McGaw — Motor vehicles would be banned from the narrow access road to the peninsula under RIDEM plan, ending a 70-year tradition

By Rob Smith — The calls for reforming the state’s coastal management agency are growing stronger in the General Assembly. Last week, members of the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee heard a package of five bills to overhaul the Coastal Resources Management Council, the regulatory agency responsible for permitting offshore wind, aquaculture, and development along Rhode Island’s more than 400 miles of coastline.