Whitehouse makes whirlwind tour of island

Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse spent the better part of the day on Block Island on Tuesday, August 23.With a full itinerary, he started out at Town Hall meeting with the Town Council, Town Manager Maryanne Crawford and Finance Director Amy Land.From there he and his staff did a downtown walk visiting island businesses before a luncheon with business owners at the National.Later in the afternoon he met with Town Planner Alison Ring and Judy Gray, chair of the New Shoreham Sea Level Rise Committee at the beach to discuss problems facing the island, and to be apprised of the areasthe Sea Level Rise Committee has prioritized. All this before ending his trip with a visit to the Block Island Medical Center.At Town Hall, it was the council’s chance to share with Whitehouse their concerns about local matters and to ask for help in furthering their goals. Recent legislation passed by the United States Congress, especially the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Act that includes money for broadband and the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act could make some funds available for the island, but tapping into them is difficult, especially for a small town.When it came to divvying up

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