Thursday morning, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management completed the purchase of the remaining 82 acres of land at Rocky Point Park from the U.S. Small Business Administration. more

(Updated, 3:30 p.m.) The state of Rhode Island is slated to receive $6.7 million for wildlife and sport fish restoration programs, announced U.S. Sen. Jack Reed. more

Kent Dresser was recently appointed executive director of Clean The Bay, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit. He brings to his role more than 20 years of maritime-industry experience, including 14 years serving as a captain for Safe/Sea. Dresser is the founder and president of Confident Captain/Ocean Pros., a maritime training facility in Newport. He holds a bachelor’s degree in coastal and marine-policy studies from the University of Rhode Island as well several professional certifications. more

Rhode Island and Massachusetts both joined New York and four other states in saying they plan to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating federal law by failing to regulate methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry, Bloomberg News reported. more

The RENEW Energy Initiative, along with KLR, Hays Companies, the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center and the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, will hold its third panel discussion of 2012 . more

BOSTON – The Westport Land Conservation Trust last month received an $85,000 grant to protect 32.5 acres of land tied to Noquochoke River Conservation Project. more

Cold will sweep across the eastern U.S. starting this weekend, driving temperatures at least 3 degrees Fahrenheit below normal from the Great Plains to the Atlantic. more

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee and the R.I. Department of Transportation said this month that the next repair project for road damage caused by the effects of Hurricane Sandy was scheduled to begin on Block Island. more

For years, efforts by Rhode Island regulators to clean up Narragansett Bay have been hampered by the state’s neighbor to the north and east. Thus, despite a 14-year ban on discharging boat sewage into Rhode Island waters, untreated discharge could legally be dumped in Mount Hope Bay in Massachusetts and find its way down into the Ocean State. Until now, that is. more

Hooray for Providence! Finally the city has started dismantling the on-street, overnight parking ban that has hampered its residential real estate market for so long. more