January 1970

March is Women’s History Month, a time to honor and celebrate the contributions of women in society. Block Island is benefited every day by the work of a diverse and hard-working group of women: the majority of high-level island positions are held by women. The Block Island Times will be honoring the contributions of these women with […]

The New Shoreham School Committee moved closer to a decision on its 2020-2021 school year budget on Tuesday night, but has not committed to a final set of budget cuts, nor to a specific percentage increase for the overall school budget that it must forward to the Town Council. The scenarios discussed on Feb. 4,

The New Shoreham School Committee has approved a $5,526,839 budget for fiscal year 2021, an overall increase of $284,046 or 5.4 percent, over the current year. Although the overall budget increase will be 5.4 percent, the town’s allocation will be less. The budget request asks $203,416 more from the town, an increase of four percent

Acting on the recommendations of the town’s three leading conservation groups, and after receiving more than 50 emails and other forms of communication, the majority of which were in favor, the Planning Board approved zoning amendment language changes that will exclude conservation easements from a land parcel’s developable land calculation, with the stipulation that the

There were only two school employees included in the revised list of recommended budget cuts on the School Committee’s agenda on Monday Jan. 27: Co-Principal John Canole, who resigned effective Tues. Jan. 28; and a special education teacher who is retiring in June. Neither is recommended to be replaced next year, reducing the budget by

Councilor Sven Risom presented what he termed a “fairly radical proposal” for how the Visitor Center will be operated for the 2021 summer season. “In 2021 we need to do something different,” Risom said at the Town Council’s meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 15. “I want to make it happen.” Risom presented the members of the

For the third year in a row, the town’s Senior Advisory Committee will ask the Town Council to substantially increase its operating budget for the next year. At their Jan. 18 meeting, the committee unanimously approved a $36,100 budget request for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The proposal is $13,000 or 56 percent more

Failed pump wiring was responsible for shutting down the water supply at the Block Island Airport over Christmas week, but service was restored on Thursday, Dec. 26, according to a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. This was the third interruption of water service at the airport since the Memorial Day Weekend. The most

Careful management by the Block Island School administration has helped to reduce the projected deficit for the current school year by 41 percent, making the shortfall about $78,000 more than the school’s approved budget. But, as the School Committee members stressed to the Town Councilors who came to their Dec. 17 meeting, the items that

In a candid letter announcing her resignation, Cindy Kelly, the School Food Service Manager for the Block Island School, raised issues of sanitation, questionable food handling practices and under-staffing in the school’s lunch program. The letter did not give an effective date of her resignation. Kelly suggested that the vacancy be posted immediately, and said she