Block Island Times | News, Classifieds, Events, and Business in Block Island, RI

Block Island Ferry to add more winter boat...

With the community cheering, Lady ‘Canes...

James Alan MacKenzie, 93

Brenda Joy Shaw

Lady Hurricanes head to state finals

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Top News

Block Island Ferry to add more winter boat trips

Wed, Nov 20

Category:

News

The following press release was issued by Interstate Navigation on Wednesday, Nov. 20: Interstate Navigation Company/Block Island Ferry...
Offshore wind developers agree to one mile spacing

Tue, Nov 19

Category:

News, B.I. Wind Farm

The following press release was sent to The Block Island Times from the publicist for Deepwater Wind/Ørsted: New England Offshore...
With the community cheering, Lady ‘Canes finish second

By

Lars Trodson

Sun, Nov 17

Category:

News

Before a cheering community at the gym at Rhode Island College, and a packed room at the Yellow Kittens watching online, the Lady ‘Canes Varsity...
Lady Hurricanes head to state finals

By

Coach Rob Martin

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

D espite the odds, the Girls Varsity Volleyball team won again. This time, they went up against the defending Division III Champions of 2018, Rogers...
Cabbies disapprove of council’s jitney proposal

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

A taxicab owner on Block Island called the New Shoreham Town Council’s concept of operating an island jitney service in order to pass anti-Uber...
Council, moped operators debate issues

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

The New Shoreham Town Council hosted a spirited debate with the island’s moped operators at its work session on Nov. 6, about issues associated with...
Cherry Hill Lane homes getting solar

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

On a cold and snowy evening, Block Island Housing Board Chair Cindy Pappas delivered good news to her board. All five of the homes in the Cherry Hill...
Town pool discussion revisited

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

The possibility of building and maintaining a public pool on Block Island is surfacing once again, but the vexing challenges of not only paying for...
Anna C getting an upgrade

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

The Anna C , one of Interstate Navigation’s older, larger vessels, is being renovated. The second largest vessel in a six-vessel fleet that...
Utility finance executives visit Block Island

By

Renée Meyer

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

When the Block Island Utility District acquired the assets of the Block Island Power Company in March, it found a willing partner with the National...
Lady ‘Canes head to state finals

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

The Block Island Girls Volleyball team heads to the finals! The Hurricanes won their Division III title last night against Rogers High School at...
Town manager search begins

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

The Town of New Shoreham has begun its search for a new town manager. The search began this week with the town disseminating advertising for its...
How the Tuskegee Airmen inspired a young boy from Albany

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

Willis Brown was six years old when America was brought into World War II in 1941. His family was living in Albany, New York, and inside the local...
Police facing traffic and staffing issues

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

The New Shoreham Police Department is struggling to find solutions to two issues that it’s facing: seasonal traffic on Block Island, and an impending...
Board cautious about accessory hotel rooms

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

The New Shoreham Planning Board expressed caution and concerns for the potential impacts of adding language to the towns hotel ordinance for the Old...
Preserving and protecting fish stocks

By

Vin Carlone

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

Several weeks ago, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management Enforcement Division, led by Chief Dean Hoxsie, former police chief and acting...
Land Trust replacing trees at Ball O’Brien Park

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

Ball O’Brien Park will be home to 15 newly planted trees, which will be planted in the coming weeks. Three years ago, 22 trees at the park were...
Lady Hurricanes end season at number one

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

The Girls Varsity Volleyball team finished the season as the first seed in Division 3 and now it’s off to the playoffs. With the big win over St...
Senior Advisory Committee to request reduced cab fares

By

Pat Tengwall

Thu, Nov 7

With its Senior Ride Service reinstated for the fall, the Senior Advisory Committee is looking to formalize the program by asking the town’s...
360 VIDEO

Walk the shoreline of the Great Salt Pond

By

Cassius Shuman

Wed, Nov 6

Category:

News

(360 VIDEO) Walk the picturesque shoreline of the Great Salt Pond near the boat launch in New Harbor at low tide courtesy of The Block Island...
Council to begin search for new Town Manager

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

A somber looking, serious-toned Town Council expressed its reaction to the resignation of Town Manager Ed Roberge at Wednesday night’s council...
25 years studying Lyme disease on Block Island

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

Sometime near the middle of an hour-long talk about a 25-year study of Lyme disease on Block Island, Peter Krause, M.D., mentioned a newer tick-borne...
National Hotel installing air conditioning system

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

The National Hotel will be joining the ranks of hotels and inns on Block Island that have air conditioning throughout their buildings. The four-story...
Mott seeking location for impound business

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

Resident Peter Mott, who has operated a towing and repair business on Block Island for 35 years, is caught “between a rock and a hard place,” as his...
Town Council exploring slip merger at Old Harbor

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

Everything from merging the commercial and charter boat slips at Old Harbor to enforcing a speed limit on the Great Salt Pond was part of a two-hour...
Residents celebrate island’s first responders

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

It was Sunday afternoon, a little before 3 p.m., and the rain was coming down in heavy, gray sheets. The wind was gusting and the purple flag was up...
School faces projected $132,000 deficit

By

Pat Tengwall

Thu, Oct 31

Three months into the new fiscal year, and not yet two months since opening day, the Block Island School Department is projecting a deficit of over $...
No ‘killing frost’ yet

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

“No killing frost yet.” Al Gettman, coordinator of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's Mosquito Abatement program, told The...
Vessel surveying cables at Town Beach

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News, B.I. Wind Farm

The 32-foot R/V Able II cruised through choppy surf off Crescent Beach conducting benthic surveys of National Grid’s sea2shore cable and...
National First Responders Day

Mon, Oct 28

Category:

News

Today is National First Responders Day. Without our dedicated team of professional and volunteers first responders, Block Island would not be the...
Roberge letter of resignation

Mon, Oct 28

Category:

News

The letter of resignation submitted by outgoing Town Manager Ed Roberge has been posted on new-shoreham.com as part of the Town Council’s Oct. 30...
Roberge resignation a ‘stunner’

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

“It was a stunner. I’m disappointed we only got two years with him, because I think he was a great fit for the island.” First Warden Ken Lacoste made...
Five chosen for Cherry Hill Lane homes

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

“Big moment.” Rosemary Tobin uttered those words prior to announcing the winners of the Housing Board’s lottery involving the five affordable homes...
Rate case holds rates steady, according to utility board

By

Renée Meyer

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

The Block Island Utility District Board of Commissioners had a lot of ground to cover at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22. After welcoming newly...
Lark Hotels seeking to amend zoning ordinance

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

Lark Hotels, the company that renovated The Surf Hotel this year, is seeking to amend the Town of New Shoreham’s zoning ordinances to clear the way...
Town Council revising food truck ordinance

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

A change to the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation’s food truck statutes is requiring the Town of New Shoreham to revise its General...
On signage, surveys and the Solviken

By

Renée Meyer

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

Although they hadn’t received the results yet, the Block Island Land Trust appeared pleased with the number of people who responded to the public...
Water project may get some federal relief

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

Water Supt. John Breunig was feeling some sense of relief when he was able to tell the members of the Water Commission that federal grant and loan...
Seniors seeking year-round ride service

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

Members of the Senior Advisory Committee are hoping to create a senior ride program that will last all year, but the Motor Vehicles for Hire...
Prohibiting seasonal dock storage discussed

By

Cassius Shuman

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

The topic of dock storage during the winter months at Rat Island turned from a seemingly innocuous item on the Town Council’s agenda into a lengthy...
Recreation Board mulls a town-run pool, maybe

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

The possibility of building a municipal pool for year-round use made a reappearance at the Recreation Board meeting this past week. Board member...
Some helpers needed for tree lighting setup

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

John Cullen was in no mood to mince his words. “It’s a pain in the ass,” he said. “It’s not fun.” The unlikely subject of this particular piece of...

Latest News

Brenda Joy Shaw

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

Obituaries

Brenda Joy Shaw, of Palm City, Florida, passed away suddenly on Oct. 27, 2019. Daughter of the late William and Pauline Harrison, and deceased sister...
James Alan MacKenzie, 93

Thu, Nov 14

“None of us are deities,” James Alan MacKenzie reminded his loving family, who surrounded him when he made the decision to live his remaining time on...
The Scouts help beautify the Solviken

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

News

The Scouts of Block Island Troop 361, with an assist from the Block Island Gardeners Club and the Block Island Conservancy, planted some new bulbs of...
Island Profile: Paul Cotter

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

Island resident Paul Cotter is being inducted into his high school’s Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame. Cotter received a note from his alma mater,...
Stephen F. Honan, 86

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

Obituaries

Steve Honan died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019 while surrounded by his loving family. He was the dedicated husband of Frances (Goodwin) Honan, with whom...
Frank H. Leslie

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

Obituaries

Frank H. Leslie passed away on Oct. 23, 2019. The family will honor him in the spring.
Winning big at the World Food Championships

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

Columnists

Last week, the largest food sporting event in the world occurred in Dallas, Texas. The World Food Championships (WFC) is a multi-day culinary...
Music to his ears

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

News

”Thank you, Ernie!” the class cried in unison. The students were in Miss Megan Hennessy’s music room, sitting on the floor and in two neat rows of...
Lorraine Blansfield, 91

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

Obituaries

Lorraine L. Blansfield, 91, of 1 Cedar Crest Drive, Danbury, Conn., passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. She was the wife...
Zarella named co-chair of Trump’s re-election effort in R.I.

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Oct 24

Category:

News

Jerry Zarella and Doreen Costa are driving in the car and they are all fired up. Both have been recently named Co-chairs of President Donald Trump’s...

Featured News

Letters

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

Opinion, Letters

Put community first To the Editor: We have learned through the Block Island Times that some Town Council members and staff were “...
Diving in

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

Opinion, Editorials

I t seems as though the members of the town’s Recreation Board have got it exactly right when it comes to the idea of building and operating a...
In the Afternoon

By

Martha Ball

Thu, Nov 14

Category:

Island Notes

In the afternoon one or more of the horses are often near the gate, either waiting for dinner, or hoping for a second serving. The other day there...
Turning the Tide: Understanding whale migrations

By

Rosemary Connelli

Fri, Nov 8

Category:

Columnists

Marine mammal species, including whales and dolphins, have occasionally been found by the island’s coasts. Certain species, such as the humpback...
Block Island is more than sand and beaches

By

Ella Mattingly

Fri, Nov 8

Category:

News

This past summer was the first time my dad’s side of the family visited Block Island, partially to honor my Block Island grandfather, Jon Emsbo, who...
Wind

By

J.V. Houlihan, Jr.

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

Fall is the best time of year to pump the halyards and go sailing in Narragansett Bay. Late September and October of 2019 provided this sailor with...
Letters

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

Opinion, Letters

An island resource To the Editor: In a letter in last week’s Block Island Times , we were again reminded of the extraordinary group of...
Go Lady ‘Canes

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

Opinion, Editorials

Wow! The Lady Hurricanes Volleyball team has certainly made an impact in the two seasons since its inception. What was, just a couple of years ago, a...
Come Along

By

Martha Ball

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

Columnists, Island Notes

“W e're going out to the wind farm, come along,” the late Norris Pike cajoled me one day in the Town Hall. I did not go. I was up against a hard...
A new book with a gentle theme

By

Lars Trodson

Thu, Nov 7

Category:

News

Add local business owner Karin Carlone to a growing list of island authors. Carlone has written a charming children’s book, titled “Wee Biscuit’s...

Community