Cover Story

CHANGING INDUSTRY: Cheryl Burrell, right, associate director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity in the R.I. Department of Administration, is heading the state’s efforts to further diversify the construction industry. At left are Dorinda Keene, assistant administrator of MBE, or minority business enterprise, and Elvys Ruiz, chief supplier to diversity officer.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Diversity elusive in construction

Cover Story 11/02/2018

White men still dominate construction, though some companies are committed to changing that Born to immigrant families struggling to get by in Providence, Edwin A....

BUSY DEVELOPER: Arnold “Buff” Chace is the managing partner for Cornish Associates LP, which has several ongoing projects in downtown Providence, including three historical buildings on Westminster Street that are being renovated into apartments/retail. Chace stands in front of one of the properties, The Peerless Building at 150 Union St.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Despite some permitting improvements, developers often ‘going nowhere fast’ in Providence

Cover Story 10/26/2018

The developer of a riverfront hotel proposed for Providence gained initial approval from the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission a year ago, giving him clearance...

Will 2018 be the year Rhode Island voters take a stand...

Cover Story 10/19/2018

“Embarrassing,” is how R.I. Department of Education Commissioner Ken Wagner described the state of local public elementary, middle and high schools. “When I visit a...

HITTING THE PAVEMENT: Gubernatorial candidate Joseph A. Trillo, a former Republican state representative who has owned several manufacturing and retail businesses in Rhode Island, is running as an independent in the Nov. 6 general election. Trillo uses two buses and a truck to travel around the state and spread his message to voters.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

In a year of highly partisan politics, can independents boost political...

Cover Story 10/12/2018

From his lofty perch atop the Statehouse, the Independent Man seems like a lonely soul, but he really isn’t. With spear in hand, the statue...

FRUSTRATED: Steven Porter, co-owner with his wife, Dawn, of Stillwater Books on Main Street in Pawtucket, said the decision of the Pawtucket Red Sox to move to Worcester, Mass., is a missed opportunity to “revitalize the downtown in one fell swoop,” adding the city will lose hundreds of thousands of potential visitors. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

After PawSox: What’s next for city?

Cover Story 10/05/2018

Out the picture windows of his Pawtucket bookstore, Steven Porter can see what might have been. With a sweep of his hand, he identified the...

TAKING THE LEAD: Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza says he’s proud that the Providence Police Department was the first in the state to adopt body cameras for its police officers. He said the program has been well-received, adding it helps to calm people down because they know they are being recorded, while also allowing “the entire picture” of an incident to get out.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Can a self-described ‘pro[business]-growth progressive’ mayor boost investment in Providence?

Cover Story 09/28/2018

The son of Guatemalan immigrants who settled in the West End of Providence, Mayor Jorge O. Elorza is a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps story: The first in...

FAVORABLE CHANGES: Rick Simone, executive director of the Federal Hill Commerce Association, said merchants in the Federal Hill section of Providence are pleased with changes to the city’s licensing and permitting system that have made the process faster and easier, adding the city’s Board of Licenses has been more responsive to merchant concerns.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Providence mayoral candidates vie for pulse on small businesses

Cover Story 09/28/2018

It may be hard to think of the many rundown and abandoned houses that have tarnished Providence’s neighborhoods in the context of small business...

Is liberal-leaning Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse making a difference in a deeply...

Cover Story 09/21/2018

A consistently liberal voice on both fiscal and social issues since joining the Senate in 2007, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has made a name...

Can a onetime garbageman who served on the state’s highest court...

Cover Story 09/21/2018

A onetime garbageman who became an attorney and member of Rhode Island’s highest court, Robert G. Flanders Jr. has called himself the “embodiment of...