Cover Story

SHELF DISPLAY: Kelley McShane, right, co-owner of beverage manufacturer The Granny Squibb Co. LLC, with Tony Melo, who approves brands to put on the shelf, at Eastside Marketplace in Providence. PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

FADING FEARS: Despite lingering concerns, businesses regaining swagger

Cover Story 09/29/2023

After weathering a year largely overcast by fears of a looming recession, business owners are feeling more buoyant as they look ahead despite lingering...

HOMEGROWN: Amelia Lopez, left, Southside Community Land Trust food access associate, and Appoline Alphonsine, a college intern, sort through vegetables harvested by the Providence nonprofit. SCLT recently received an $80,000 grant from the city that was not part of the $10 million racial reparation initiative. Some have complained that the city is moving too slow on deploying the $10 million equities program. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

What happened to Providence’s reparations initiative?

Cover Story 09/15/2023

Jim Vincent threw himself into the work when he was appointed to the Providence Municipal Reparations Commission in early 2022 because he saw an...

Meet the new guard: Whelan’s presidency brings Wheaton ‘full circle’

Cover Story 09/01/2023

When Michaele Whelan became Wheaton College president in January 2022, it brought the Norton-based liberal arts college back to its roots in a way. The...

The A.I. angst: Businesses, workers grapple with navigating uncharted tech territory

Cover Story 08/18/2023

For most of the 10 years she has operated TIB Creative Studio LLC in Providence, graphic designer Theresa Barzyk has relied on a low-tech...

ON GUARD: Becky and Tim Clark, owners of The Beachead restaurant on Block Island, say business hasn’t been quite as robust so far this summer.  PBN PHOTO/ K. CURTIS

R.I. tourism stays local: Regional campaigns lead the way this summer

Cover Story 08/04/2023

Just days before the start of the high season in Newport in early July, local tourism officials gathered to talk status and strategy. At the...

FOR GOOD MEASURE: Machinist Dennis Sullivan checks his calculation on an order of spur gears Tracey Gear has just made for a food processing company.  PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

THE DAILY GRIND: Family-owned Tracey Gear machines parts for clients ranging...

Cover Story 07/21/2023

Doug Tracey’s company churns out thousands of meticulously crafted gears, shafts, splines and sprockets each year, but don’t ask him where all those parts...

STILL STANDING:  There is vacant office space in downtown Providence, but people in the local commercial real estate sector say landlords and banks haven’t reached a crisis level as others have nationwide.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

SHAKY GROUND: Distressed office real estate could undermine banks, wider economy

Cover Story 07/07/2023

The former mayor of Providence is distressed. When Joseph R. Paolino Jr. walks through the city’s financial district, he’s anxious about what he sees. He...

STEADY PACE: Toye Onikoyi has founded two tech-related businesses in Rhode Island, including a virtual reality arcade called Bubbler VR. Unlike in bigger hubs, Onikoyi says, Rhode Island’s tech sector seems to move at a more deliberate speed, which sometimes can be an advantage.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

TOO SMALL TO FAIL? R.I.’s low-profile tech sector avoiding carnage felt...

Cover Story 06/23/2023

After John MacKrell launched an app-based laundry pickup and delivery service more than three years ago, a question sometimes came up during his search...