Amid the unending and thoroughly confused debate out of Washington on imposing an austerity agenda on federal government spending, one crucial fact that is being consistently ignored is that small businesses throughout the country have been starved of credit since the onset of the 2007-09 financial crisis and Great Recession. That is, small businesses already have been on an austerity budget for more than four years. more

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee announced this month that the R.I. Department of Labor and Training is working with the RI Temps placement agency of Warwick to recruit unemployed veterans for nearly 40 short-term, disaster-relief worker positions at beaches and parks managed by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. more

Almost everyone thinks we should broaden the tax base; that is, reduce the number and size of tax deductions, exclusions and credits. more

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee and members of the General Assembly are backing legislation designed to improve benefits and services for veterans and their families. more

TIVERTON – Carpionato Group has made an introductory pitch to the Tiverton Town Council and Planning Board for a large-scale, mixed-use development that could be as large as 62 acres, The Herald News of Fall River reported. more

There are some things that don’t get better simply with time. more

After a lengthy and often frank discussion, the state’s Health Planning Advisory Council reached consensus at its May 13 meeting on future priorities for its work in the coming year, in alignment with the R.I. General Assembly’s statutory directions. more

Though diminished in size, manufacturing still exhibits a strong presence in the regional economy and in the job-growth policies of political leaders. more

Almost 70 percent of Americans have been overweight or obese in recent years, and more than 78 million people in the country have been counted as obese. more

An awful lot has been espoused of late supporting the elimination of the sales tax in Rhode Island. In theory I can’t say that I disagree with the many pundits promulgating the idea – or, maybe I should say I don’t fully agree with them. more