Richard De Almeida has been named assistant vice president/mortgage lending at BayCoast Bank, where he will originate residential mortgage loans for customers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. more

Jeremy Lake has joined the board of directors of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects. more

Raymond Way has been hired as a project manager at Site Specific, where he will be responsible for managing commercial, institutional and residential construction projects in the Rhode Island area. more

PROVIDENCE – The Humane Society of the United States has awarded Sen. Dominick Ruggerio, D-North Providence, and Rep. Patricia A. Serpa, D-West Warwick, as Rhode Island’s Humane State Legislators for 2012. more

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island last week officially returned control of financially troubled Central Falls to local elected officials, the Associated Press reported last week. City officials are now charged with guiding the municipality through a recovery plan crafted under state oversight and approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. more

BOSTON – The West Broadway Neighborhood Association and WaterFire Providence are the two Rhode Island recipients of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfield grants aimed at protecting health and cleaning up communities. more

Peter Forsstrom has been named a digital designer at RDW Group Inc. Fors-strom has more than 10 years of experience in video production, Web design and flash animation. more

A workshop on Disaster Preparedness for Small Business will be held in Providence on May 30. The workshop will focus on developing an emergency plan that protects the business and employees and keeps the company functional during the rebuilding process. more

Miles Hunter has been named vice president of corporate development for Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. more

Bridge Technical Solutions recently broke its record for items collected during its fourth electronic waste recycling drive. more