Founder and executive director of the SpeakYourMind Foundation using low-cost, off-the-shelf hardware and custom software to create communications solutions. more

Despite some signs of strength, the Ocean State economy turned in an overall “disappointing” performance in April, according to University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro, who … more

With the launch last week of the first two of three free Massive Open Online Courses, Brown University has joined the cutting edge of online higher education for the masses. more

The Providence Business News Executive Poll is a weekly survey of 70 business leaders throughout the state, representing small and large companies in a variety of industries. more

Workers unload food delivered by Express Employment Professionals for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s summer food drive, which began on June 3. From left, food-bank workers Sylvestre Lopes, Al Daluz and Jim Borrelli help Ray O’Neill (white shirt), Northeast regional developer for Express. The food bank hopes to collect 150,000 pounds of food this summer from private businesses and the general public. more

Amid the push and pull of developing and implementing new models for payment and delivery of health care, two parallel systems have emerged in Rhode Island – large, consolidated hospital networks and community-based health centers. As the state moves into the new world of health care reform, their points of convergence are still unmapped and potential opportunities for collaboration largely untapped. more

As real estate projects, the HP Pavilion arena in San Jose, Calif., and the George C. Arnold Building on Washington Street in Providence are worlds apart. more

Barbara R. Carroll has long known how hard the Italian immigrants in her own family worked when they first came to Rhode Island: Her grandfather had worked in mills operating by the B & B Knight Co. in West Warwick starting at the age of 12. more

Blair Bailey, New Bedford’s tax title attorney, can’t say exactly how many vacant lots there are in the city, only that the number hasn’t dropped significantly since the height of the foreclosure crisis. more

There’s no point telling Brenda Brock that the number of small businesses in Rhode Island has declined over the past few years as they’ve succumbed to state and national economic pressures. more