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.

By Alex Nunes — Public records show Town Council President Edward Morrone accepted $30,000 in consulting fees to “monitor issues” for property owners in the Watch Hill vacation community, an area that's become the focal point of ongoing coastal access debates.

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.

Barrington, South Kingstown, Westerly (but not Charlestown) are CoastSnap kickoff municipalities

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.