Posted inLocal, Shoreline Access, South County Bureau

Westerly voters seek to oust town council president over beach access settlement talks

Shoreline access advocates who want to remove Westerly Town Council President Chris Duhamel from office have initiated the process to force a recall election, submitting a “declaration of intent to petition for recall” at Monday night’s council meeting. The declaration was formally submitted towards the end of a public comment period in which numerous speakers […]

Posted inEnvironment, Local

Settlement talks underway in contentious Westerly shoreline access case

Settlement talks are ongoing between the town of Westerly and a shoreline fire district that wants a judge to invalidate a town-designated public right-of-way to the beach.  The Watch Hill Fire District is objecting to the town’s 2008 resolution to designate the Fort Road right-of-way. Beachgoers use the path to walk onto Napatree Point beach […]

Posted inLocal, Shoreline Access, South County Bureau

Is Westerly’s solicitor botching legal work on shoreline access? Town councilors want answers.

Some members of the Westerly Town Council are questioning whether the town misspent taxpayer money on legal research into a closely-watched public access matter involving the Watch Hill Lighthouse that wasn’t submitted before a critical deadline and still hasn’t been released to the public. The matter is expected to come up at a special town […]

Posted inLocal, Shoreline Access, South County Bureau

CRMC approves incomplete yacht club dredging application over public protest

On Tuesday, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council unanimously approved an incomplete dredging application for Watch Hill Cove, despite public opposition from shoreline access advocates who faulted the proposal for failing to disclose a town-designated right-of-way that will be obstructed while the work is being done.  State regulations say dredging applications must disclose all […]

Posted inLocal, South County Bureau

Westerly councilor flips off audience, makes ‘obscene’ gesture at public meeting

Members of the public are calling on the Westerly Town Council to take action against a councilor who repeatedly gave the audience the middle finger at a council meeting Monday night and made what several witnesses interpreted as an “obscene gesture.” Video of Monday night’s council meeting shows Councilor Robert Lombardo sticking up his middle […]

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