The last few months have been noteworthy for news of companies moving operations to Rhode Island.
GE Digital, Virgin Pulse and Johnson & Johnson have committed to bringing nearly 500 jobs to the Ocean State, success of the kind that has not been seen much for more than a decade.
The good news has more than a little to do with the efforts of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, who has crafted a package of tax incentives that is starting to bear fruit.
But it's possible that the financial incentives are not the only difference-makers in the state's economic-development efforts. It also could be the verbal emphasis that the governor has placed on jobs.
In the last 12 months, a search of Providence Business News' archives yields 169 stories that include "Raimondo" and "jobs." In all of 2014, former Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee's last year as governor, "Chafee" and "jobs" yielded 57 stories.
Is this the last word on how Rhode Island has enticed major employers to open shop here? No, it is not. But it certainly is part of the story. •
The print version of this editorial misidentified former Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee's last year in office and subsequently also miscounted the number of stories in which his name and "jobs" appeared together.