March 2022

After many months of discussion, the Shellfish Commission has decided to try raising softshell clams in its upweller during the 2022 growing season.Softshell clams have declined enough that they are prohibited from being taken from the Great Salt Pond.The decline in the softshell populations is attributed to various factors, predation by green crabs being the […]

Rhode Islanders may soon gain more public access to the state’s shoreline, as the legislature prepares to examine a bill that will move the boundary between private property and the public land inland from the wrack line, an additional ten feet. The citizens of Rhode Island are guaranteed “shore privileges” under the state constitution, including

After receiving permission, I called Seamus Hemingway one night to catch up on Block Island’s unsung hero, a remarkable young man who exudes quiet leadership through his actions, something sorely lacking in today’s self-centered, social-media-driven society. One of my initial encounters with Hemingway went back a year as a player on the Hurricanes’ High School

After 34 years at the Block Island School, Kristine Monje plans to retire after this spring. Monje grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island and graduated from Cranston East High School. After graduating, she attended the University of Rhode Island with a double major in elementary education and communication disorders. Monje was first introduced to the

“Rentals are what is needed, and this is the (property) to try it on,” Housing Board Vice-Chair Rosemary Tobin told the board at its March 8 meeting. Tobin laid out the case for the development of rental units at the Ball O’Brien Property, which is next door to the E. Searles Ball property, itself a

The long-awaited and even longer negotiated purchase of a major portion of the Overlook property on the shores of the Great Salt Pond has finally been completed.In anticipation of the closing of the Overlook purchase on March 15, members of the Block Island Land Trust did a little daydreaming at their meeting on Thursday, March

Town engineer James Geremia joined the Town Council via Zoom last week to describe the restoration plan for the south parking lot at Fred Benson Town Beach. The parking lot has experienced severe flooding ever since Orsted used the lot as a staging area for repairs made to its undersea cable that leads to its

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation was back before the Town Council on Monday, March 7, to discuss its newest plan to address parking at the Block Island Airport. RIAC spokesman John Goodman described the plan as “free, but managed, short-term parking.” He said the goal was to ensure the airport parking lot would be available

A theme emerged at the latest Police Advisory Commission meeting – one that involved traffic, parking, and road congestion. It started off with a comment by Chair Jim Hinthorn that while he was impressed with Chief of Police Matthew Moynihan’s recent report to the Town Council on 2021 statistics, “You can’t manage what you don’t

The Chamber of Commerce hosted a Zoom meeting on Monday with Alison Rogers, founder of Usefull. Usefull provides reusable to-go cups and bowls to restaurants, and is launching a pilot program on Block Island, March 14, at The Cracked Mug.The cups and bowls are made of stainless steel and are used by patrons and then