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 — Beachgoers say time-limited parking along the seawall in Narragansett will make it harder to enjoy the town beach and make the coastal community more exclusive. State officials want more time to review the restrictions that have already been approved by the town.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Unable to afford fertilizer back in the Azores, Raymond Xavier's great-grandfather would gather seaweed and plow it into the ground…

By Olivia Ebertz — As structures like the carousel and snack bar building are being demolished at Easton’s Beach, city officials are grappling with how to save an eroding beach.

By Luis Hernandez — Beach erosion and extreme flooding are forcing South Coast officials to think more urgently about how to adapt to a rise in sea levels. New Bedford Light reporter Adam Goldstein joins Morning Edition host Luis Hernandez to discuss the many options under consideration.

By Luis Hernandez — “Can we renourish the beaches? Can we find a way to put back what’s been taken away over the years?” We talk with the city’s public services director about the ways Newport is grappling with the ongoing threat of coastal erosion.

By Alex Nunes — Members of Nope’s Island Conservation Association say the town of Charlestown should change a town ordinance to help prevent drivers from damaging a barrier beach. Shoreline access advocates portray the proposal as a Trojan Horse for blocking public use of the beach.

By Luis Hernandez — Severe storms and rising sea-levels are reshaping Rhode Island’s shoreline in dramatic ways. As part of our ongoing series on coastal erosion, Morning Host Luis Hernandez spoke with J.P. Walsh, a coastal scientist at the University of Rhode Island, who is trying to quantify just how much beach we’ve lost in recent decades.

By Alex Nunes — The summer beach season is here, but the beaches themselves look very different this year. Coastal communities are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair shoreline damage from last winter’s severe storms. The damage is a warning sign to Rhode Island of the tough road ahead as climate-related sea level rise and increasingly heavy storms continue to swallow up the beaches.

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. 

By Antonio Noori Farzan — The Quidnessett Country Club already went ahead and built a massive seawall near the 14th hole without getting permission from the Coastal Resources Management Council. Now, the CRMC has to decide if it's willing to rethink its regulations.

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. 

By Alex Nunes — Westerly’s Harbor Management Commission is recommending the town council begin addressing “exclusionary” parking policies in shoreline areas. An attorney for Watch Hill property interests calls suggestions of discrimination “absurd.”

By Alex Nunes — The Rhode Island ACLU says the fire district’s lawsuit is targeting a Westerly resident fighting for a public shoreline right-of-way in a move to discourage public participation in the dispute.

By Sabrina Shankman — In the age of climate change, as sea levels rise and more intense storms wear away the natural landscape that had protected coastal communities for generations, state and local officials are considering more radical measures, including paying people to abandon their waterfront properties altogether.

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 Savana Dunning — With little warning, Clean Ocean Access, the nonprofit agency that has cleaned up Aquidneck Island beaches for nearly a decade, announced that it will dissolve.

Clean Ocean Access (COA), a nonprofit organization with the vision of A Clean,

Healthy Ocean that is Accessible to All in its 10 year anniversary has made the difficult decision to dissolve the organization.

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.