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 Sammy Fretwell — About eight years ago, with then-state Rep. Stephen Goldfinch seeking election to the S.C. Senate, a wealthy property owner agreed to hold a fund-raising reception in a grand beach house along Georgetown County’s eroding seashore.

By Nancy Lavin — Country club restoration plans appear ‘incomplete,’ says Save the Bay

By Nancy Lavin — CRMC hearing on proposal to ease water protections pits club members against environmentalists

By Alex Nunes — Two lawsuits are challenging a law enacted in 2023 that sets a new definition for the public trust shoreline in Rhode Island

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 Brian Amaral — “This lawsuit is about two things: property rights and abuse of government process for political gain,” Weekapaug Fire District moderator Bob McCann said of the would-be shore access path in Westerly

By Savan Dunning — Conrad Ferla’s love of surfing led him down the path to becoming a shoreline-access advocate.

RIpodcast.com — Coastal access activist and Bartholomewtown regular Conrad Ferla joins Bill Bartholomew for a discussion on what progress was seen in Rhode Island shoreline access during 2023 and what to watch for in 2024.

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.

PODCAST By Colleen Cronin, Joanna Detz, and Rob Smith — Beach season may have ended, but conflicts over shoreline access have not. ecoRI News reporters Colleen Cronin and Rob Smith break down pending and settled lawsuits, and explain recent legislation that determines where the public beach begins and where private property ends.

By Brittany Bowker — “Our physical location in the theater is more harmful to the Theatre than it is beneficial,” said Torey Malatia, chief executive of The Public’s Radio.

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 Savana Dunning — A viral video confrontation between a Middletown property owner and a Newport resident trying to access a public right of way has generated over 6 million views on TikTok, sparking social media interest and conversation about public access to the shoreline.

By Carolyn Kruse — I may be late to the party, but hey it’s never too late to share information. I just found out that Rhode Island passed a new law in June which opens all beaches to the public. But there’s a caveat. According to an article in boston.com, every beach in the Ocean State is now open to the public…

By Rhode Island Sea Grant — …Below is a breakdown of what this law means, as well as tips for advocates and the webinar sponsored by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and Rhode Island Sea Grant.

By Brian Amaral — a lawsuit filed Friday by the Rhode Island Association of coastal taxpayers opens a new chapter in Rhode Island long-running fight over shore access

By Alex Nunes — A group of coastal landowners is asking a federal District Court judge to block enforcement of a new state law intended to clarify where beachgoers can be along the state’s shoreline.

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.