Press & News

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Rhode Island Current — ‘Do it again, but the right way.’ Judge tosses CRMC decision letting Matunuck restaurateur expand

By Nancy Lavin — Says coastal regulators violated their own rules when they approved scaled-down scallop farm… The 48-page order from Associate Justice Joseph Montalbano reopens the longstanding battle between acclaimed restaurateur and oyster farmer Perry Raso and nearby property owners, remanding the case back to the council for additional public hearings and consideration. 

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Projo — A storm damaged his beachfront property. Why is he suing over RI's shoreline access law?

By Katie Mulvaney — Rhode Island beachfront property owner David Welch is suing the state's Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) over public access requirements for storm damage repairs. Welch argues the CRMC's requirement that he provide public access up to 10 feet inland of the high tide line is an unconstitutional taking of his property. This is Welch's second lawsuit against the state regarding beach access; the first challenged the 2023 shoreline access law and is pending before the Supreme Court.

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The Public’s Radio — ‘I have real concern’: URI coastal scientist tracks decades of coastal erosion data

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.

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The Public’s Radio — Dude, where’s my beach?

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.

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