Press & News

Cate Brown 5/24/21 Cate Brown 5/24/21

ecoRI News — Climate Change, Private Interests Erode Public Access to Shore

By Frank Carini — The seed that became a nonprofit ocean advocacy group was planted on a cold January day in 2006, when Dave McLaughlin…

Cate Brown 5/17/21 Cate Brown 5/17/21

ecoRI News — No Trespassing: Coastal Land Taken from Indigenous People Walled Off with Signs, Fences and Chains

By Frank Carini — These testaments to historic theft — not by the current owners but by centuries of violence against this land’s Indigenous people — don’t escape the notice of Narragansett Indian Tribe members…

Cate Brown 5/17/21 Cate Brown 5/17/21

Positively New Jersey — VIDEO (New Jersey coverage of Narragansett)

By Brian Donohue — VIDEO coverage of New Jersey Mayor in Narragansett

Cate Brown 5/5/21 Cate Brown 5/5/21

Boston Globe — A New Jersey mayor makes waves over beach access in Rhode Island

By Brian Amaral — The mayor of Jersey City owns a house in Narragansett, and has waded into the battle over how the public — including local surfers — use the beach

Cate Brown 4/29/21 Cate Brown 4/29/21

SO Rhode Island — Saving South County Shores, One Community Cleanup at a Time

By Megan Monte — A Narragansett surfer runs local nonprofit’s beach cleanups to build community and keep shorelines healthy…

Cate Brown 4/16/21 Cate Brown 4/16/21

What’s Up Newport — Rep Ruggiero legislation would explore the possibility of reorganizing CRMC

By Ryan Belmore — Ruggiero files bill to study CRMC reorganization. Following two high-profile development decisions that landed in court and have been criticized by the attorney general…

Cate Brown 4/8/21 Cate Brown 4/8/21

The Independent — Officials see no easy fix as erosion hammers SK beaches

By Bill Seymour — Erosion is a fight, and this town’s beach seems to be losing it. This year, again, chunks of sand have disappeared.

Cate Brown 4/8/21 Cate Brown 4/8/21

WNCT News — Judge sides with OBX surfer in battle over public vs. private beach access

By Kayla Gaskins — Duck, NC — A surfer had a big win for public beach access in Duck, North Carolina, after a judge made a ruling recently.

Cate Brown 3/31/21 Cate Brown 3/31/21

The Public’s Radio — In coastal South County, fire districts fight shoreline access instead of fires

By Alex Nunes — Rhode Island boasts of its nearly 400 miles of shoreline, yet the state’s eight public saltwater beaches border less than seven miles of that waterfront…

Cate Brown 3/22/21 Cate Brown 3/22/21

Newport Life — Rights-of-way offer easy coastline access

By Bob Curley — Often overlooked, rights-of-way offer easy access to Aquidneck’s captivating coastline…

Cate Brown 3/21/21 Cate Brown 3/21/21

NPR — California Has A New Idea For Homes At Risk From Rising Seas: Buy, Rent, Retreat

By Nathan Rott — At a normal tide on a normal day on the Southern California coast, ankle-high waves glide over a narrow strip of gold sand…

Cate Brown 3/18/21 Cate Brown 3/18/21

Narragansett Times — Narragansett ranks among top coastal towns in nation

By Philip Cozzolino — Narragansett was recently named among the top three coastal towns in the country by travel website Big 7 Travel…

Cate Brown 2/21/21 Cate Brown 2/21/21

ecoRI News — Expired Terms and Illegal Appointments Cast Doubt Over Rhode Island's Powerful Coastal Council

By Frank Carini — All seven appointed members to the currently shorthanded Coastal Resources Management Council board have expired terms…

Cate Brown 2/5/21 Cate Brown 2/5/21

Projo — “The Hummel Report”Blocked out: 'Backroom deal' riles opponents of Block Island marina expansion

By Jim Hummel — Opponents of a controversial marina expansion are furious about what they call a “secret backroom deal” that froze them out of an agreement to settle a 17-year-old case.

Cate Brown 1/12/21 Cate Brown 1/12/21

Narragansett Times — Council largely expands coastal access parking in Point Judith

By Philip Cozzolino — In a victory for surfers, water enthusiasts and coastal access advocates, the Narragansett Town Council Monday night amended its parking ordinance to allow on-street parking…

Cate Brown 1/6/21 Cate Brown 1/6/21

ecoRI News — Ocean Access Activists and Surfers Ride Wave to Victory

By Grace Kelly — Narragansett, RI — After a year of ebb and flow, an effort to allow and expand parking for surfers in Point Judith has been approved.

Cate Brown 1/5/21 Cate Brown 1/5/21

The Public’s Radio — Advocates for shoreline access in RI score victory in Narragansett

By Alex Nunes — Officials in Narragansett are taking several steps towards improving shoreline access in the Point Judith section of town.

Cate Brown 12/31/20 Cate Brown 12/31/20

ProPublica — Officials Let Hawaii’s Waterfront Homeowners Damage Public Beaches Again and Again

By Sophie Cocke — Everybody knows that seawalls cause beach loss, and Hawaii law forbids building them. But Honolulu County officials have granted exemptions to 46 homeowners over the past two decades even as a quarter of Oahu’s beaches have disappeared.

Cate Brown 12/8/20 Cate Brown 12/8/20

RI Ethics Commission — Advisory Opinion No. 2020-51

RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION Advisory Opinion No. 2020-51 Re: Richard Constantine … It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a member of the Westerly Planning Board …

Cate Brown 10/1/20 Cate Brown 10/1/20

Pew — Repeatedly Flooded Properties Will Continue to Cost Taxpayers Billions of Dollars

By Laura Lightbody, Brian Watts — Action needed from Congress to reform outdated policies and reduce flood impacts