Gina B. Palmer has been named branch manager and assistant treasurer of BayCoast Bank’s Westport location. more

“We are honored to donate these funds to support our local community and local business owners who were affected by Hurricane Sandy,” said Steve White, president and CEO of Westerly Community Credit Union. more

Paul A. Pyne has been named chief operations officer of Amica Mutual Insurance Co. more

Kevin E. Fernandes has been promoted to commercial-loan operations officer of BayCoast Bank, formerly Citizens-Union Savings Bank. more

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The University of Rhode Island has been awarded a $94,000 grant from the Amgen Foundation to continue its Amgen-Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Lab program for high school students throughout the state. more

Paul T. Dzurinda has been named fire and emergency-management consultant at Russell Phillips and Associates. more

Jacob Peterson has been promoted to senior accountant at Sullivan & Co. more

While new construction has yet to recover from the end of the real estate bubble, home improvement is thriving for companies like Woonsocket’s Moonworks that have the skills and reputation to attract new clients. President Jim Moon, pictured above, started the company in 1993 with a single product, gutter guards. He’s since grown the firm, which now employs 90, and its services. Moonworks also does roofs, installs replacement windows and, most recently, energy-efficiency retrofits. Gutters, however, are still the main product, accounting for roughly half of current sales. more

Daniel R. Dwight, president and CEO of The Cooley Group, has joined the board of directors of Family Service of Rhode Island. more

Kids Count policy analyst talks about the current well-being of children in Central Falls. more