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Columnists

Shimmering October blue

Martha Ball

Thu, Oct 15

Category:

Island Notes

The boats did not run yesterday. The long spell of good summer weather was, I think, more a blessing than a curse. While it surely lured more people to Block Island, it also kept life outside, windows stayed wide open, air circulated and for all that went terribly wrong the over-riding fear of the...
EVs for EVeryone?

Tony Pappas

Thu, Oct 8

Category:

Columnists

What’s an EV and is it contagious? EV is short for “electric vehicle,” and while it is not contagious, we hope EVs will catch on out here on Block Island. At the moment gasoline is relatively cheap and so you may not be thinking of alternative ways to power your car or truck. But don’t count on low...
A lesson in perception

Martha Ball

Thu, Oct 8

Category:

Island Notes

Well, drat, someone pointed out the obvious, that I do not need two hands to type, only a keyboard, although I am finding it a tough adjustment using both hands on a plug-in keyboard. Back to the old system of up and down arrows, which predated the computer mouse, which predated touch pads. Both of...
Porches and bird’s nests

Martha Ball

Thu, Oct 1

Category:

Island Notes

Ed. Note: Our columnist Martha Ball broke her arm this week. She’s fine — it was set at South County Hospital. But she is out of commission for a while, so we grabbed a column that describes an August in 2014. Another note: this week’s photo was taken by Chris Blane. While I have never...
360 VIDEO

Walk Clay Head Trail

Rosemary Connelli, at rconnelli@blockislandtimes.com

Mon, Sep 28

Category:

Video

(360 VIDEO) Walk along the Clay Head Trail to view the ocean and surrounding bluffs, courtesy of The Block Island Times. The Clay Head Trail is located off of Corn Neck Road on a dirt road, about three miles from town. The video was taken early last week, Monday, Sept. 21. Note: Turn up...
Sailing Ships

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Sep 24

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

I’ve been around Newport Harbor since the 1960s and I’m never bored in my roaming and hacking. The place has been the locus for centuries of maritime tradition and history since the early days of the American Revolution. It’s where the French fleet mustered their ships and land forces — about six...
Knife in the Road

Martha Ball

Thu, Sep 24

Category:

Island Notes

The first time I noticed the knife in the street near Rebecca, it was bright and shiny, the white of new plastic in the sun. Another year I might have picked it up but this year we are all more hesitant to touch things we would not — or I would not — have given a second thought in the past. Instead...
Order this…

Seaside hospitality at The Beach House

Amy Lockwood MacDougall

Fri, Sep 18

Category:

Columnists

The Block Island Beach House (formerly known as “The Surf Hotel”) is sporting some great new dining areas this year. While the inside and outside have been lovingly spruced up and redesigned, the backside of the hotel has undergone the biggest transformation. A lovely seating area called The Shells...
Of foils and sails

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Sep 17

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

One day this August I was sailing across Narragansett bay toward the Pell Bridge and saw this kid tear-assing by me on a foiling boat called a WASZP. It’s a sailboat with a foiling rig and the kid displayed some skills as he powered by my bow. He flew by me going 10 to 14 knots — maybe faster. This...
Seven years

Martha Ball

Thu, Sep 17

Category:

Island Notes

Fall comes next week, officially, astronomically. It used to come sometime in the week after Labor Day, then to the holiday and earlier as schools opened sooner and sooner. Oddly, September seems to be our first and last gasp of a normal summer, people still on the streets as the days turn crisp...
360 video

Walk to New Harbor Boat Basin

Rosemary Connelli, at rconnelli@blockislandtimes.com

Wed, Sep 16

Category:

News, Video

(360 VIDEO) Walk along the beach by the New Harbor Boat Basin, courtesy of The Block Island Times. The Boat Basin is located close to Payne’s Dock in New Harbor. The video was taken on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Note: Turn up the volume to fully immerse yourself in the environment, and pause, and click...
Weather anomalies

J.V. Houlihan

Fri, Sep 11

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

“If you don’t like weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.” — Mark Twain Twain’s quote is baked into the psyche of many New Englanders who reside in the mountains or along the coast. We can all cite our own personal experiences regarding, hail, twisters, squalls, blizzards,...
There is green, and then there is green

Tony Pappas

Fri, Sep 11

Category:

Columnists

The following was submitted by Tony Pappas of the Solar Initiative project: Most folk would like to make the environment greener without making their wallet less green. So let’s look at the economics of going solar. The cost for a basic roof top solar array now being installed on a...
The Tractor

John Willis

Fri, Sep 11

Category:

Columnists

This is a story about a tractor that has spent much of its life on Block Island. A good piece of equipment out here may spend many years toiling the turf, with many different owners, and be passed on — sometimes to family, friends or neighbors. I purchased a 1967 International Cub farm tractor from...
Lost a pedal?

Martha Ball

Thu, Sep 10

Category:

Island Notes

This morning I heard a rumbling while I was still lolling around, discussing the upcoming day with my dog. It happens, sometimes the town road crew early to work, over the past weekend, engine noise punctuated by the slamming of little motorboats out on the ocean. This sound was coming up the road...
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Fresh air, fresh food at The Spring House

Amy Lockwood MacDougall

Fri, Sep 4

Category:

Columnists

With unmatched 180-degree views of the Atlantic Ocean, the lawn and porch at The Spring House offer you a place to take a seat, take a breath, and let your cares melt away. Expanded seating on the lawn allows diners to enjoy drinks and tapas, while porch-dining patrons can enjoy the dinner menu in...
The Treehouse Chronicles —Revisited

Questions in the time of Covid-19

Gloria Redlich

Fri, Sep 4

Category:

Columnists

What’s so different about our daily lives today? So much that it’s hard to imagine let alone describe. And yet... Let’s face it: we still brush our teeth, shower, dress, get meals, take vitamins, hold hands, pay bills, do laundry, read books, watch TV, and sometimes write... Note the variation on a...
Two wheels

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Sep 3

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

“I’ve had this particular bike going 180 miles an hour. It feels like you’re floating at that speed,” said biker number one. “A guy ran a red light up in Providence and missed me by an inch. He was on his iPhone because I saw him never look up while nearly running into me,” said biker number two. “...
Now, it is lace

Martha Ball

Thu, Sep 3

Category:

Island Notes

The day did not begin well. This morning, I closed the door behind me, leaving Autumn, my drizzle damp dog, in the house and looked over through the misty rain to see the windows of my car wide open. “That’s impossible” I thought, remembering looking at the forecast the night before and thinking...
360 video

Walk to Dorry’s Cove

Rosemary Connelli, at rconnelli@blockislandtimes.com

Wed, Sep 2

Category:

News, Video

(360 VIDEO) Walk along the beach at Dorry’s Cove, courtesy of The Block Island Times. The cove is located on the west side of the island, and during today’s rainy walk, cormorants and various gulls were found resting along the shoreline. The video was taken on Wednesday, Sept. 2, with a rainy and...
I’m tired.

Kim Gaffett

Thu, Aug 27

Category:

Ocean Views

Like many locations on the Island, the Ocean View Foundation (OVF) Pavilion site has had a hard summer, and as usual, it is a tale of two communities. The good The OVF Pavilion was built in 2000, presented to the community of residents and visitors, an open-air oasis in the Old Harbor. Over the...
Hideouts

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Aug 27

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

In mid-April during the early days of pandemic isolation, my little brother called to tell me about a place along the south coast of Rhode Island that very few people frequented. It was a little hideout he’d found and he was wanting to tell me about the place to hang out and avoid people and walk...
August Sky

Martha Ball

Thu, Aug 27

Category:

Island Notes

Late this morning it seemed time was standing still. It took longer than I care to admit for me to realize it was the clock, or more accurately, the clock battery, that was the problem, and I had managed to lose almost three hours of a precious summer day out of town. The days are markedly shorter...
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The Atlantic Inn…The perfect end to a Block Island day

Amy Lockwood MacDougall

Fri, Aug 21

Category:

Columnists

The Atlantic Inn is a Grand Gal, high on the hill overlooking Old Harbor with sunset views from the lawn. A lovely airy dining room is just off the inn’s lobby, and guests can eat breakfast on the wide covered porch. Covid has brought about some changes to this venue, and there is a silver lining...
Reckoning

Martha Ball

Thu, Aug 20

Category:

Island Notes

Last night I came home to find kindness on my doorstep, summer’s bounty in a basket of cherry tomatoes, topped by a gift of a bag of those homemade cookies filled with enough oats and raisins that they seem they have to be healthy, despite being cookies. I opened the door to let the dog out and...
360 video

Walk through Nathan Mott Park

Rosemary Connelli, at rconnelli@blockislandtimes.com

Wed, Aug 19

Category:

Video

(360 VIDEO) Walk the path through Nathan Mott Park, courtesy of The Block Island Times. The park is near the Block Island State Airport, and is the first property to be permanently protected on Block Island. Throughout the park, there is diverse wildlife that can be found and heard in the park’s...
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Winfield’s: Bright, airy... and delicious

Amy Lockwood MacDougall

Fri, Aug 14

Category:

Columnists

I thought of the jingle from an old Cover Girl commercial when I walked into Winfield’s: “Easy, breezy, beautiful.” The dining room has half its tables and lovely vintage sails are hung between each seating area to separate diners from one another. Plexiglass partitions demarcate areas of the bar...
Isaias

Martha Ball

Thu, Aug 6

Category:

Island Notes

The yellow flag was flying at the Town Beach when I went out in the early afternoon on Tuesday. The much heralded storm had already been downgraded, the predicted westward shift of its path holding steady. The hurricanes of my childhood had familiar names, the still gold standard of 1954 was Carol...
Deep Pockets

J.V. Houlihan

Fri, Jul 31

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

The word around the campfire of late is that music mogul David Geffen’s boat, Rising Sun, was anchored off Block Island, along with Johnny Depp’s former boat. These are big sleds. Geffen’s rig is on the ostentatious side at 452 feet, while Depp’s old boat is a much smaller ride at a mere 156 feet...
Great food is popping up all over the island

Amy Lockwood MacDougall

Fri, Jul 31

Category:

Columnists

Some say necessity is the mother of invention; in the case of some new pop-up places, Covid-19 was the spark that lit an innovative fire in three entrepreneurs. Three Sisters is housing two exciting new dining options, and The 1661 Farm and Garden homes another. Each place is super small and...
Order this...

Fresh air and fresh food at the Manisses

Amy Lockwood MacDougall

Fri, Jul 31

Category:

Columnists

Dining on Block Island isn’t just about the food. It’s also about the ambience and, in many places, the view. Hotel Manisses hits the mark on food and view—their garden setting for dining is one of the prettiest on the island. Sprawling lawn and patio areas lend themselves to natural social...
A kinder time...

Martha Ball

Thu, Jul 30

Category:

Island Notes

There are few certainties to life on Block Island and today with the news of Merrill Slate’s passing there is one less. We all knew it was coming, we had watched him decline with age and the loss of his wife, but a decline temporarily halted, maybe even reversed a bit, by reconciliation with the...
Order This...

Eli’s... A wonderful mosaic of flavor

Amy Lockwood MacDougall

Thu, Jul 23

Category:

Columnists

What do you do when you’re a small restaurant with indoor seating only and a pandemic comes along? Eli’s decided to pivot to take-out and sold out the first night they opened on April 23. On those early spring weekends, you could enjoy Chef Erica’s food on your own plates, with a bottle of wine...
Normal routines

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Jul 23

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

Since mid-March the world as we know flipped over on us, and now we are all seeking to find a sense of normality and stability in our daily lives. We all need and want routines, schedules, timetables, appointments, and deadlines. Things get done because of these daily structures, and because of...
Eastport to Block Island

Martha Ball

Thu, Jul 23

Category:

Island Notes

The past weekend was another Perfect Storm, fueled by the start of the first real heat wave of the summer, prompting people to want to get away, to the beaches, to the water, to Block Island. It was simply too hot, and there were too many people both from within the state and beyond our borders,...
Two geezers acting un-geezer-like

Fri, Jul 17

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

Eight weeks ago, I was standing in the Dog Park at the old Charlestown Naval Air Base, and was pondering what to do to help our new charge, Maddox, also known as “Mad Dog,” burn up some of his unbridled, Cairn terrier energy. Yup, I felt pretty stupid standing there with arms akimbo and looking...
A society of friends living together on the pond

John Willis

Fri, Jul 17

Category:

Columnists

Beacon Hollow is a small farm on Block Island. It is home to many animals large and small — mostly rescued. There are feathered animals, furry animals and scaled or shelled animals such as turtles and fish. There are two ponds at Beacon Hollow, man-made many years ago as retention ponds to provide...
The Column About The Airport

Martha Ball

Thu, Jul 16

Category:

Island Notes

This morning I was reminded by Bob Champagne Willis, Block Island Historical Society President, via a photo of a medallion, that it is not only 2020, that this day, July 15, marks, without fanfare, the seventieth anniversary of the ceremonial opening of our State Airport. The fact the airport was...
A nod to the new way

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Jul 9

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

In early March, I took a trip over to Martha’s Vineyard to see some friends, and grab some slack time before the season cranked up at the ferry docks. I do the same trip every year in late March; however, this year I went early and I’m glad that I did because a series of events were in play; going...
Amber Waves

Martha Ball

Thu, Jul 9

Category:

Island Notes

When the media exploded with the removal of characters long associated with certain products, one was the hot cereal, Cream of Wheat. I had bought some over the winter, when it was on sale, thought fleetingly that the box looked different, before I emptied its contents into a glass canister and...
360 video

Walk through Rodman’s Hollow

Rosemary Connelli, at rconnelli@blockislandtimes.com

Thu, Jul 9

Category:

Video

(360 VIDEO) Walk the path through Rodman’s Hollow, courtesy of The Block Island Times. This preserve, located in the southwest part of the island, is considered the birthplace of conservation on Block Island. The video was taken on Wednesday, July 8, a bright and sunny afternoon with temperatures...
Waves Rising

Martha Ball

Thu, Jul 2

Category:

Island Notes

Every year I refer to “the egret” in the pond behind my house, but always wonder if there is more then one. There used to be a heron, great and blue — or blue-gray — that nested at the edge of the swamp, just to the north, over the wall, in a bayberry bush grown so tall it seemed a tree. It once...
Wind, redux

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Jun 25

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

On a late April weekend in 1965, my parents piled their four kids into our 1962 red Plymouth Valiant and we took off on a day trip to Falmouth, Mass. Our dad liked to visit the Cape when we were kids; we’d visit the outer Cape beaches, Truro and Provincetown. I can see now that he and my mom were...
Ice Plant Remains

Martha Ball

Thu, Jun 25

Category:

Island Notes

We used to start school the Monday after Labor Day. It was long one of those impossible memories, but underscored by another, of the first year we started on the Friday after the holiday, a half day. That and more memories came rushing back when I heard the announcement that all schools in Rhode...
360 Video

Walk the path through the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge

Rosemary Connelli, at rconnelli@blockislandtimes.com

Wed, Jun 24

Category:

Video

(360 VIDEO) Walk the path through the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge at the North Light, courtesy of The Block Island Times. The refuge is a haven for gulls, swallows, sparrows and more. The video was taken on Tuesday, June 23, a bright and sunny afternoon with temperatures in the 70s. Note...
The thick-billed murre

Brielle Chase

Thu, Jun 18

Category:

The Bird Corner

Block Island has always been a wonderful spot to go birding, not only because it is an important stopover during migration. Many thanks to Elizabeth Dickens who started the bird program with the Block Island School students in the early 1900s, and to Kim Gaffett for continuing it....
Down the beaten path

Martha Ball

Thu, Jun 18

Category:

Island Notes

It is almost summer and, much as some believe they can wish away the uncertainty that has engulfed us for so long, the reality is we have yet to see the back side of the hurricane. It is all speculation, from educated guesses to wildly uninformed declarations. “But you don’t have COVID out here” we...
The Sharp-Shinned Hawk

Noah Rocha

Fri, Jun 12

Category:

The Bird Corner

Block Island has always been a wonderful spot to go birding, not only because it is an important stopover during migration. Many thanks to Elizabeth Dickens who started the bird program with the Block Island School students in the early 1900s, and Kim Gaffett for continuing it. Each...
Arcs of June

Martha Ball

Thu, Jun 11

Category:

Island Notes

Every year, around this time, when the grass is tall and heavy laden with seed, we get a big rain; this year was no exception. We experienced a summer squall Saturday night. It had been foggy in the morning, then it seemed to clear to sunny warm. Some serious system on the radar mappings looked to...
Rumrunners

J.V. Houlihan

Thu, Jun 4

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

“Hi there,” said the man on a Ocean Avenue front porch. “Nice night.” The man’s home was midway between Old Harbor and New Harbor. His name was Murphy and was from my hometown of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. I noticed the austere and gabled house had a brass plaque that read Spartan — it was once a...

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Posted By

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You want the best for yourself and your family. So do we. Live safely and vibrantly at Solstice Senior Living at Groton...

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