By Alex Nunes — The official transfer of the property deed to a private nonprofit comes after months of delays and legal research that didn’t result in public access protections to the historic property and popular fishing grounds.

By Alex Nunes — Advocates for coastal access point to the town’s tepid pursuit of beach rights-of-way, questionable changes to boat mooring policies, and highly restrictive parking rules in exclusive shoreline areas. Now access advocates say the general public faces a newer threat: Westerly’s own town solicitor. They say his past actions in shoreline access matters continue to raise doubts about whose interests he’s serving in critical ongoing legal cases.

By Alex Nunes — The U.S. General Services Administration now says the deal to transfer the lighthouse to the Watch Hill Lighthouse Keepers Association won’t be finalized until Westerly investigates concerns about public access to the land.

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 Alex Nunes — A legal fight over a town-designated path to the beach has put the town council president’s connections to the Watch Hill resort community in the spotlight.

By Ryan Blessing — A public hearing on whether Westerly’s Spring Avenue extension should be designated a state public right of way is expected to begin in late June.

By Ryan Blessing — In tackling whether two streets in Watch Hill are considered public rights of way, the Town Council had both an easy and a hard time. After some discussion and a consensus among members Monday, the council first voted unanimously in support of the state Coastal Resources Management Council's designation of Everett Avenue as a right-of-way.

By Dale P Faulkner — Members of the Town Council say they will soon look into finding ways to ensure the premium real estate is only available to individuals who applied for and received parking passes for the beach and consider whether use of the beach can and should be limited to residents.

By Dale Faulkner — On a night when they were not even scheduled to discuss the topic, members of the Town Council heard from citizens …