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RETURN TO THE ROSTRUM: Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio takes his place at the front of the Senate chambers on Jan. 3, the first day of the 2023 General Assembly session. It’s a position Ruggerio has held since 2017.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Surplus of question marks: Decisions on tax cuts, housing policies, education...

Print Featured 01/06/2023

No one would blame the General Assembly leadership if it breathed a little easier in the 2023 legislative session. After all, the top Democratic leaders...

POWERS THAT BE: Peter Kaczmarek, president of Mearthane Products Corp. in Cranston, has decided to add rooftop solar panels to his facility in part because of concerns about increasing electricity rates in the region.  PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Firms fret about how big their power bills will grow

Print Featured 01/06/2023

The massive milling machines and grinders used to make Hindley Manufacturing Co.’s signature wire hardware are power hungry, so it’s no surprise that President...

ADVOCATES FOR the unhoused say Rhode Island's "Homeless Bill of Rights" should have protected those camped out on the Statehouse lawn last month when Gov. Daniel J. McKee ordered them removed from the grounds. A Superior Court judge sided with McKee. / PBN FILE PHOTO/CASSIUS SHUMAN

Does ‘Homeless Bill of Rights’ need an update?

Print Featured 01/06/2023

Rhode Island’s adoption of a “Homeless Bill of Rights” may have won state leaders praise when it was passed in 2012, but the weakness...

TAKING STOCK: Rhode Island Community Food Bank Chief Philanthropy Officer Lisa Roth Blackman says empty shelves are a common sight at the organization’s Providence warehouse because demand is so high lately.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

HELPERS HURTING: Nonprofits overwhelmed by needs and no end in sight

Print Featured 12/23/2022

In nearly 15 years of working at poverty relief nonprofit Amos House, Jessica Salter has seen the toll that food and housing insecurity has...

TIGHT WEAVE: Theresia Joseph works in the packaging and receiving department at Lotuff Leather, a handmade leather goods manufacturer in Providence that designs and sells bags, suitcases and other accessories. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Lotuff mastering art of the heirloom

Print Featured 12/23/2022

(Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the...

SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS between the developer for the Revolution Wind project and Rhode Island fishermen over the installation of power cables in the fishing grounds off the Rhode Island coast may be the model on how to resolve future disputes as more offshore wind projects seek approvals. / SOURCE: R.I. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT / PBN GRAPHIC/ANNE EWING

Is this a path to peace between offshore wind, fishermen?

Print Featured 12/23/2022

Fishermen and offshore wind developers say a recent agreement over the installation of undersea cables for the 100-turbine Revolution Wind project marks a turning...

POP-UP BAKERY: Thrive Cakery LLC owner Jasmine Mendez speaks with John Shaw of Cumberland about her products, which she will be offering through a pop-up kiosk on the second floor of the Providence Place mall through the new year. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Holiday cliffhanger: How long will merry feeling last for shoppers, retailers?

Print Featured 12/09/2022

Karen Beebe’s Christmas season began months ago, in the heat of August, when she placed an order for 360 holiday ornaments. For Beebe, the owner...

GOING UP: Michelle Murphy, owner of Roots Hair Salon LLC in Cranston, works on Talias Oakane of Cranston. Murphy says she may have to raise the rent she charges her stylists, who recently raised their prices due to the increased cost of products, because her monthly payment to rent the building space for the salon recently increased. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

More businesses struggle with their rent payments

Print Featured 12/09/2022

When Michelle Murphy renewed her lease recently for a 5,000-square-foot beauty salon she rents in Cranston, there was some bad news that came with...

CANNABIS PRODUCTS are on display at Mother Earth Wellness Center in Pawtucket, one of the five Rhode Island locations that started selling recreational marijuana on Dec. 1. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Is R.I.’s cannabis rollout fair?

Print Featured 12/09/2022

With legal recreational cannabis sales underway in Rhode Island, not all retail dispensaries will start on equal footing. Industry observers say the state’s delay...