September 2020

The good news coming out of the Water and Sewer Commissions meeting on Monday, Sept. 21, is that billings for the month of August came in far better than anyone had predicted. Assistant Finance Director Mona Helterline provided the numbers. The Water Department billed just 14 percent less than it had in 2019. The Sewer […]

The following message was shared to The Block Island Times from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management on Monday, Sept. 21: With Hurricane Teddy expected to pass New England offshore tomorrow, [Tuesday, Sept. 22], the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is warning Rhode Islanders of the dangerous conditions it will bring to shorelines: winds

With the hustle and bustle of a particularly fraught summer come and gone, there’s now time to reflect back on one of this season’s more interesting visitors. Freedom, the sister ship of presidential yacht Sequoia, made its way into Great Salt Pond on Sunday, July 12. The 104-foot vessel, which is nearly identical to the

The New Shoreham Shellfish Commission held its first meeting since February on Tuesday, Sept. 15 via Zoom. It was both a wrap-up of the summer season and planning for next year. Covid did not keep clammers from clamming this summer, with the sale of seasonal shellfish licenses on a par with last year. Administrative assistant

Even with fewer cabs on the streets, and fewer seats in those cabs, cab owner and Motor Vehicles for Hire member Sue Ann Millikin described what was, overall, a pretty busy and safe summer, though it is not quite over yet. Out of 32 cabs, only 15 were on the road this year, said Millikin,

Cultural and civic landmarks on Block Island tell the visitor and resident that the island is 359 years old; that it was “settled” in 1661 by a group of families, all with familiar European names. Anniversaries and events have been organized around that year, and the names of the “founding families” of Block Island are

With traditional fall sports such as basketball and volleyball sidelined due to health and safety concerns, the members of the Recreation Board spent their meeting this week discussing ideas on how to create some kind of sports programming for Block Island kids. Other activities, such as ski trips and participation in a mainland soccer league,

Due to technical difficulties, the Town Council had to cancel its Sept. 16 meeting and reschedule. The Zoom access number for dialing in and listening to the meeting was not working. The meeting was rescheduled for Monday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. “Not a legal meeting if no one can get in,” said First Warden

After the scare with some island residents receiving seeds from China, one resident, Alex McCabe, reached out to The Block Island Times after receiving seeds in the mail from the Washington Trust Company. Being a customer of the bank, McCabe was curious as to why she had received the Money Plant seeds and wondered what

Ed. note: The Block Island Yacht Club created the Short Story Contest several years ago as an opportunity for seniors and juniors attending the Block Island School to write creatively about the island. The format is that the opening paragraph, created by the BIYC, must be used for all entries, but then the writer can