Federal Judge Dismisses Suit Challenging Shoreline Access Law PROVIDENCE — Shoreline activists around Rhode Island celebrated when a federal judge dismissed a legal challenge to the state’s new shoreline access law on September 19. The lawsuit, filed by the Rhode Island Association of Taxpayers (RIACT), claimed the law, which expands the boundary for public shore […]
R.I. Sees Highest Number of Beach Closures in Nearly 20 Years PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island has seen the highest number of beach closures in nearly two decades this year. According to data from the state Department of Health’s beach monitoring program, freshwater and saltwater beaches around the state have been closed for a combined 284 […]
RIDOT Director Alviti Takes Helm of RIPTA Board PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island Department of Transportation director Peter Alviti took the helm of the state transit system’s governing board last week, asking for detailed information from staff and suggesting ways the agency could be run more like his own. Alviti began the meeting by telling the […]
At Providence, air pollution from particulate matter at least 2.5µm (PM2.5) is expected to reach “moderate” levels (51-100) Mon and Tue as a result of continuing wildfires in Canada, possibly reaching “unhealthy for sensitive groups” (101-150) or even “unhealthy” (151-200) levels. This is a return of conditions seen a few weeks ago that resulted in […]
“I’ve yet to meet a little girl or a little boy who hasn’t told me they’ve always wanted to be a mermaid or a merman,” said Jessie Jewels, the recent titleholder of Miss Rhode Island Mermaid, Miss Mermaid Rhode Island, and Queen of the Seas, Rhode Island. “I think it’s in our psyche to imagine […]
1989 Law Says Nips Are Illegal in RI The law has gone unenforced for three decades. In fact, few people walking the halls of the Statehouse or working inside the state Department of Environmental Management headquarters on the other side of I-95 even know it exists. In 1989, the Legislature passed the Beverage Container Recyclability […]
Climate change and habitat loss are making things difficult for our local feathered friends, as revealed in a 2023 report from the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. On January 28, 2023, the first Audubon State of Our Birds Report was presented to a sold-out “Birds Across New England: The Audubon Regional Conservation Symposium” at the Audubon Nature […]
For Motif’s new environmental podcast, Earth, Wind and Water: We Will Be Ancestors, Sam Zimmer sat down with Mel Thibeault, founder of RI Queer Hikes to talk about hiking around the Ocean State. Here’s an excerpt with advice for the beginning or casual hiker. You can follow Thibeault at @ri.queer.hikes and catch the podcast at […]
It is gearing up to be another crazy summer in the Ocean State. The millionaires are fighting for free parking spots on Ocean Road, and $50,000 houses are selling for a couple mil. If you don’t own a place by the shore, you certainly won’t be able to get one now, unless you are very […]
Resurrection of Environmental Bills Held for Further Study in 2021 RI legislators returned to the General Assembly chambers in January, and environmental advocates are hoping to pass an ambitious agenda. The legislature is expected to consider several environmental and climate-related bills that fell by the wayside last session. At the top of the list of […]