As Deepwater Wind LLC fights to install five wind turbines off Block Island, a much bigger contest to harness the wind in southern New England waters is about to begin in earnest. more

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. House of Representatives last week approved legislation to increase accountability and transparency in tax credit programs and state agency reports. more

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has award $2.5 million in grants to the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. to help “protect children and families from the hazards of lead-based paint and from other home health and safety hazards,” HUD announced Friday. more

A proposal in the General Assembly is designed to combat long-running water-shortage issues across the south of the state, but unanswered questions and entrenched interests make consideration of the bill, much less enactment, less than a sure thing in the last month of the legislative session. more

The St. Joseph’s Day salmonella outbreak that sickened 66 people and killed two in 2011, allegedly from a batch of bad zeppoles, was a turning point for food-safety inspection in Rhode Island. more

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick last week announced a new housing compact that creates a goal of providing 10,000 mortgage loans to first-time homebuyers over the next five years. more

BOSTON – Calling scientific research “critical” to the future of the state’s fishing industry, Attorney General Martha Coakley is urging the legislature to keep funding for fisheries research within the proposed fiscal 2014 budget. more

Fitch Ratings announced last week that it has downgraded the R.I. Economic Development Corporation’s approximately $243 million in outstanding R.I. Airport Corporation senior-lien general airport revenue bonds to “BBB+” from “A-.” Fitch revised the rating outlook to stable. more

PROVIDENCE – The Senate has passed legislation that would make Rhode Island the 40th member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, an agreement between states that promotes uniform wildlife law enforcement across state boundaries. more

PROVIDENCE – Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin this month commended the Connecticut Legislature’s decision to let a tax on electricity production expire on Sept. 30, a move he said will benefit taxpayers throughout New England. more