Thursday, March 28, 2024

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WORK SITE: Amy Grzybowski, future director of a planned higher education center in northern Rhode ­Island, visits the building in downtown Woonsocket that will be converted into the center by late 2021 or early 2022. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Downtown Woonsocket getting a higher ed boost

The workforce in southern Rhode Island got a helping hand in getting crucial training when the state opened the Westerly Education Center four years...
POINT OF CONTENTION: State Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy overlooks the Potter Hill Dam at the Pawcatuck River. The town of Westerly wants to remove the dam, but some residents in Westerly and Hopkinton are concerned about the aftereffects. / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

R.I. dam dangers remain, but awareness rises

Plans to remove a deteriorating dam along the Pawcatuck River in Westerly and Hopkinton have riverfront residents in both towns upset that lower water...
DIGGING IT: Workers for the contractor CB3A start working on the main shaft of the combined sewer overflow tunnel that will run more than 100 feet below the city of Pawtucket. The shaft, located on School Street in Pawtucket, will be 60 feet in diameter and will allow a boring machine to be lowered in. / COURTESY NARRAGANSETT BAY COMMISSION/PETER GOLDBERG

After decades of work, light at end of CSO tunnel

What happens beneath the streets of Providence and surrounding cities is unseen by residents, but after heavy rainfall, the result always ends up in...
THE COMEBACK: Jennifer Vinalon returned to the classroom at the University of Rhode Island’s Providence campus 10 years after she stopped pursuing a bachelor’s degree. She graduated in the spring and was a commencement speaker. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Some colleges focus on persuading older students to finish what they...

Graduating college is a milestone for many, perhaps more so in a pandemic. For Jennifer Vinalon, the diploma holds even more significance. Vinalon, 37, earned...
SPECIAL ­FLAVOR: Leo Lin, foreground, is the manager of Good Fortune Supermarket, a Providence grocery store that offers a wide variety of Asian foods. / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Specialty markets filling need and vacant properties

Andre and Angeline Dumas pushed a small metal carriage past the voluminous seafood displays at Good Fortune Supermarket recently. Twice a month, the couple...
REBIRTH? Jan Brodie, executive director of the Pawtucket Foundation, stands outside an abandoned industrial building at Conant and Pine streets in Pawtucket that city officials hope will be part of the redevelopment envisioned around a commuter rail and bus station scheduled to be finished in 2022. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Industrial area on cusp of revival in Pawtucket

When Eric DaRosa’s family opened North East Knitting Inc. on Conant Street in Pawtucket, the neighborhood was in rough shape. Many of the historic mill...
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT: David A. Caldwell Jr., vice president of North Kingstown custom-homebuilding company Caldwell & Johnson Inc., at the construction site for a Jamestown home that will be capable of net-zero energy use.  / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Measures aim to boost desire for greener buildings

When Peter Gill Case founded his sustainability-focused architectural firm, Providence-based Truth Box Inc., in 2002, he had lofty expectations. “I thought there was this race,...
HIGH DEMAND: Brendan Moran, director of facilities for Premier Land Development Inc., which owns the Wanskuck Mill development in Providence, says the pandemic appeared to have no effect on demand for Wanskuck’s residential units, which are 95% leased. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Textile mill renovations now paying dividends

The conversion of abandoned textile mills into loft apartments is slow, methodical and expensive. It can take years and tens of millions of dollars...
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Christian Cowan, executive director of 401 Tech Bridge in Portsmouth, and Mary Johnson, manager, outside the location of what will become the organization’s Advanced Materials and Technology Center, a 17,000-square-foot research and development facility slated to be completed by the end of the year. / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

R.I. tech ‘super connector’ gaining momentum

Christian Cowan experienced a lot of sleepless nights last year. Cowan is in charge of 401 Tech Bridge, an economic development initiative launched in 2019...
CASH FLOW: Russell Morrill of Westerly uses an ATM at The Washington Trust Co. branch in Westerly recently. Banks and credit unions are expecting to see a decline in the size of deposits as the COVID-19 crisis passes. / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

As new deposits slow, bank strategies evolve

The billions of dollars doled out in forgivable small-business loans and personal stimulus checks made their way to recipients through their bank accounts. The result:...
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