Rhode Island
CRMC under fire after postponed hearing on Quidnessett Country Club • Rhode Island Current
 
																								
												
												
											 
The embattled Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is awash in criticism again — not for a controversial decision, but for the lack of one.
In a Nov. 25 email to the council, also shared on its website, Save the Bay Executive Director Topher Hamblett accused the panel of coastal regulators of “political favoritism and abuse of power.”
A council subcommittee was scheduled to hold a hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday on Quidnessett Country Club’s application to ease development restrictions for its waterfront property in North Kingstown. But the meeting was cancelled, extending the saga over an illegal seawall built along the club’s shoreline nearly two years ago.
Hamblett alleges the delays are intentional.
“The Council’s months-long series of delays gives the country club an unfair economic advantage over law-abiding coastal landowners and businesses who spend money and time applying for permits to comply with the law,” he wrote in the email.
“The Council is opening the door for more violations and sending the message that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Additionally, the Council’s lack of consistency and fairness undermines the integrity of Rhode Island’s coastal governance, the protection of our coastal ecosystems and the public’s ability to access the shore.”
In January 2023, the country club built a 600-foot-long stone wall between its golf course and the shoreline — violating existing coastal regulations intended to protect the sensitive coastal marshes that feed into Narragansett Bay. After the rock wall was discovered, with subsequent fines and warnings levied by state and federal regulators, the club sought to retroactively keep its illegal barrier in place.
Quidnessett’s April 12 petition, if approved, would downgrade the water classification from the existing Type 1 “conservation area” to a less stringent Type 2 “low intensity use,” which could — though it doesn’t have to — allow for a permanent structure like a seawall. Under the existing designation, all permanent structures are banned.
A council subcommittee took public comment, but postponed a vote on the water type redesignation at a September meeting, in order to give the country club more time to make its case. The club, through its attorneys, said a permanent barrier is needed to protect the flagship 18-hole golf course against rising sea levels.
Tuesday’s meeting would have been the next occasion to consider, and potentially make a recommendation on the application. The panel vote would advance the proposal to the full council, which would then review and make its own decision at a later date.
The Council’s months-long series of delays gives the country club an unfair economic advantage over law-abiding coastal landowners and businesses who spend money and time applying for permits to comply with the law.
– Topher Hamblett, executive director for Save the Bay
Meanwhile, the seawall still stands, much to Hamblett’s dismay.
“This has all the appearances of the council wanting to accommodate Quidnessett Country Cub’s request to, in effect, let the wall stand,” Hamblett said in an interview Tuesday. “I think that, left to its own devices, they would do just that.”
Hamblett acknowledged that he did not know why the meeting was cancelled; the council has been plagued by vacancies which have led to a string of postponed meetings and key decisions.
Laura Dwyer, a spokesperson for the CRMC, said in an email late Tuesday that the meeting was postponed due to “scheduling issues.” She did not answer specific questions seeking comment about Hamblett’s letter.
Janice Matthews, vice president of The Jan Companies, which owns the country club, also did not respond to inquiries for comment.
The council’s staff in a Sept. 20 report argued against approving the water type reclassification, stressing the importance of the sensitive salt marshes surrounding the shoreline, along with marine wildlife, which were the very reason why the agency restricted development there in the first place — formally codified under state water type classifications created in the early 1980s.
But the politically appointed council doesn’t have to follow the recommendations of its expert staff; it hasn’t in other high-profile decisions.
Most notably, the council in 2020 approved a contested expansion of Champlin’s Marina on Block Island, against advice of staff, with terms brokered in what the town and conservation groups alleged was a “backroom deal.” The Rhode Island Supreme Court tossed the council’s decision in a 2022 ruling, agreeing with Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha that the council flouted its own public notice requirements.

A question of accountability
Hamblett sees parallels between Champlin’s case and Quidnessett, in the council’s actions, and in reactions among top state officials.
“The common denominator between Quidnessett and Champlin’s is there’s been no action from the governor or the General Assembly in terms of accountability,” Hamblett said Tuesday. “We’re concerned we’re going to see that silence continue as it relates to the country club’s accountability to the council.”
Other state officials who were copied on Hamblett’s email, including Gov. Dan McKee, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, had also not responded to him as of midday Tuesday, Hamblett said.
McKee and Ruggerio did not immediately respond to inquiries from Rhode Island Current for comment on Tuesday.
Shekarchi was not available for comment due to being away for the holiday, Larry Berman, a spokesperson, said in an email on Tuesday.
One exception: Neronha, whose office has already critiqued Quidnessett for flouting state coastal regulations.
“With each public hearing that is canceled, CRMC continues to demonstrate why it cannot be trusted with environmental oversight,” Neronha said in a statement on Tuesday. “Normally, when a person or entity breaks the law, there are consequences. Here, Quidnessett Country Club decided that the rules don’t apply to them, acting in total disregard of laws designed to protect our coast, and thus far, getting away with it.”
Earlier this year, Neronha joined Save the Bay to call for eliminating the politically appointed council, and reshaping the agency as an administrative department akin to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Legislation outlining these changes was introduced but stalled in the last two legislative sessions.
“The time for CRMC reform was long ago, but we must continue the fight to place decision-making power into the hands of those who wish to protect and preserve our most treasured natural resources,” he said. “Because each day that passes without consequences for Quidnessett is another day of environmental justice delayed and denied.”
Hamblett said Save the Bay plans to push for a similar bill in the upcoming 2025 session, hoping that public attention — including 300 pages of written comment submitted to the CRMC — on Quidnessett might build support among lawmakers.
“We need top elected officials to be paying attention to our coastal agency,” Hamblett said.
The CRMC rescheduled its hearing on Quidnessett to Dec. 10. If the water reclassification is granted, the club must then apply for a permit to build any kind of permanent structure along the shoreline.
Updated to include a response from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.
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RI Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Oct. 29, 2025
 
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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
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When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
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- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Rhode Island
ACLU of RI sues McKee alleging denial of access to regularly used State House rally area | ABC6
 
														 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorneys for the ACLU of Rhode Island have filed a lawsuit against RI Governor Dan McKee, alleging the governor’s office explicitly told state and capitol police to bar protesters from accessing the State House rotunda and upper floors.
The rally was planned to take place in the rotunda an hour before McKee’s January 2025 State of the State address.
The event was to be attended by local groups including Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and by activist Harrison Tuttle.
Tuttle was the President of the now dissolved Rhode Island Black Lives Matter PAC at the time.
The suit claims that Tuttle and fellow protesters arrived to be told that McKee’s office instructed police from letting them enter.
Tuttle was told by police that he in particular was not allowed to enter the areas, according to the suit.
The suit also claims that other people were allowed to access those areas of the State House.
The suit states that the rotunda is commonly used by protesters, and that its entrance was blocked off by capitol and state police.
A sign accompanied the officers that said the rotunda was reserved from 4:30-10 p.m., and the governor’s office didn’t reserve the area until 4:39 p.m., according to records cited by the ACLU of RI.
The protesters were directed by police to the “Bell Room” for their event, which is a less visible area in the back of the State House’s first floor, according to the suit.
The ACLU of RI statement reads in part:
In any event, despite being ‘reserved,’ the rotunda was not used for any purpose during that timeframe. The lawsuit argues that the Governor’s reservation of the space and the Capitol and State Police’s actions were undertaken to stifle the protesters’ exercise of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
Executive director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project Eric Hirsch, a participant in the suit stated:
I’ve been advocating for an end to homelessness in Rhode Island for a long time. I was shocked to see the Rotunda at the Statehouse roped off when I arrived for the People’s State of the State rally. I had attended dozens of rallies there over the years. To make matters worse, we were also prevented from getting anywhere near the Governor’s address. We were confined to a lower floor of the Statehouse. This is unacceptable. We have a right to express our view of the Governor’s policies toward people experiencing homelessness.
ABC6 has reached out to the office of Governor Dan McKee for comment in this matter but has not yet heard back.
Rhode Island
RI GOP asking for resident input for upcoming Washington Bridge oversight hearing | ABC6
 
														 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island Republican leaders are asking for public input ahead of an upcoming oversight hearing on the Washington Bridge forensic report.
The report, recently revealed to have been withheld by Governor Dan McKee at attorneys’ advice, will be the subject of the planned November 13 oversight hearing.
McKee stated that he knew that repairs were needed on the bridge for two years before its December 11, 2023 westbound side closure, but was confident that work was underway.
McKee said that once he was aware the bridge deficiencies were irreparable, he approved the closure.
Rhode Island House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale said in a statement, in part:
Now that the Speaker and Senate President have committed to ‘a thorough and rigorous examination’ of the Washington Bridge failure and have empowered the Joint Oversight Committee to take testimony under oath, Rhode Islanders deserve answers without delay on this on-going administrative disaster.
Residents can contribute questions to the hearing process via email at rigopcaucus@gmail.com.
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