By News Staff
news@abc6.com
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SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) - Superstorm Sandy may have only brushed Rhode Island, but it ravaged its southern shore, carrying off thousands of tons of sand and disfiguring the Ocean State's pride and joy.
Now, officials are grappling with ways to restore the beaches. Business owners say fixing the shoreline is an economic imperative, but beach replenishment projects are costly and environmentally challenging.
In the meantime, one beach community is moving back from the ocean. The two rows of cottages closest to the sea at Roy Carpenter's Beach are being moved back after several were destroyed or damaged by Sandy.
The retreat from the beach is a mixed blessing for Jim Szymanski, a longtime cottage owner whose third-row cottage will soon be oceanfront. But he wonders whether his cottage could succumb to the next storm.
