The future of the former Shooters nightclub property on the Providence waterfront sits delicately poised between the destination performing-arts venue a community group envisions and the sad, vacant lot it is today. more

The success of Rhode Island’s Health Benefits Exchange requires a “thoughtful approach,” according to a report from the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council issued Wednesday. more

Following the nightmare at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it became clear that the shooter in Newtown, Conn., suffered from mental illness. The same cannot be said of the vast majority of gun deaths in America. In Detroit, Chicago, New York City, all across the country, predominately young, minority men are killing each other by the thousands. And the deaths have nothing to do with mental illness. Their genesis lies in the economic inequality of our society. more

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick this month filed legislation that will “professionalize, modernize and regionalize” the operations Massachusetts’ housing authorities. more

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick this month filed legislation that would close loopholes to Mass. Municipal Unemployment Insurance. more

PROVIDENCE – Rep. Brian C. Newberry, R-North Smithfield, this month introduced two bills on government computing, including one to create a study commission to determine the state’s potential savings in adopting and converting to virtualized, cloud-based computing. The other would authorize the Department of Administration to incorporate virtual cloud-based technologies so that agencies can obtain maximum effectiveness in the management of public resources. more

Nearly a year-and-a-half since Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee created the R.I. Health Benefits Exchange by executive order, the Ocean State has yet to see any tangible evidence of what will become the centerpiece in the state of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. more

The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and the R.I. Economic Development Corporation have established a collaborative partnership with the state’s General Assembly to build a legislative database as a resource for Rhode Island businesses. more

More than 20 percent of children in the Ocean State live with a parent who is either unemployed or underemployed, according to a report from the Urban Institute. more

Included in Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee’s budget proposal was $500,000 earmarked for designs of a joint Rhode Island College and University of Rhode Island advanced nursing center in Providence’s Knowledge District. It follows a failed attempt to get a $65 million bond question on last fall’s ballot and comes three years after URI President David M. Dooley first floated the idea. more