Monday, June 16, 2025

TOPICS

Editorials

SIGN OF ­PROGRESS?
East Bay Community Development Corp. Executive Director Diane Mederos, left, and consultant Frank Spinella stand at the future site for Penny Lane, a 40-unit affordable housing project planned along Child Street in Warren that gained approval despite opposition from neighbors. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Communities must be all-in on affordable housing

Since the onset of the pandemic, the state has committed more than $450 million to housing initiatives. A low-income housing tax credit program was also...

Commerce needs thought leaders now

New leaders will be coming to the state’s primary economic-development arm – and the sooner the better. R.I. Commerce Corp. has lost two top leaders...

Tariff war not helping manufacturers

Local manufacturers were hopeful during pandemic-fueled supply chain disruptions for an eventual return of manufacturing jobs that were shifted overseas in previous decades. But that’s...
DRINKING UP: Jeremy Duffy, co-founder of Isle Brewers Guild LLC, thinks the Pawtucket-Central Falls Transit Center has helped his business, though others say the station has not noticeably boosted foot traffic along nearby Main Street. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Train station sparks hope in city eyeing new direction

Positive economic changes don’t come easily in old mill cities, and Pawtucket has been no different. For every step forward, there’s often another backward....
NEW PLANS: After more than a decade marked by delays and false starts, state transit leaders are now considering two new locations near Providence’s train station for a new transit hub that would move most buses out of Kennedy Plaza. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Transparency key to public trust in transit hub choice

Why can’t state transit leaders stick with a single location for a new Providence transit hub? After 11 years and 10 potential locations, there...

Work with industry to fix primary care

Sixty-six percent of respondents to a recent PBN.com poll said state leaders were not responding to Rhode Island’s primary care crisis. So, give Gov. Daniel...
EVOLVING MIX: Housing and open space, including the 195 District Park, seen above, are prominent in the I-195 Redevelopment District. But more commercial development is still possible on 7 acres of available land. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/­ARTISTIC IMAGES

Fiscally healthier city will help spur private investment

Housing was never expected to be at the forefront of development in Providence’s I-195 Redevelopment District. Back in 2011, then-Mayor Angel Taveras called the newly...

Time for new bet on sports gambling

The more people spend on legal sports betting nationally, the smaller Rhode Island’s take has gotten. The state’s sports betting revenue has steadily declined in...
BEATING A PATH: Providence Public Library Executive Director Jack Martin says foot traffic at the community hub is way up since a $28.5 million renovation was completed in 2020. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Library workforce training a vital community lifeline

A $28.5 million modernization of the Providence Public Library has, by all accounts, been a success, despite being completed at the onset of the...

State needs Rx for ailing health system

“We could be heading for a catastrophe,” Dr. Michael Wagner, Care New England Health System CEO and president, said when asked to assess Rhode...
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