In August 2006, the Newport Daily News ran this story about how surfers in Newport and Middletown were sick of being cut off from the beaches, being told they can’t go in the water because it is polluted, and of seeing beach landscapes deteriorate.

That group of surfers went on to form Clean Ocean Access! They hoped to form a large group that would pack meetings of the Newport City Council and Middletown Town Council when issue that were important to them came up.

Take a trip down memory lane and read the full article from 2006 here!