Focus

NEW HIRE: Jody Jencks was recently hired as director of PVD HeatlhWorks, a training program for residents interested in jobs in the health care and social-assistance field.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

City building pipeline to jobs in growing field

Focus 10/19/2018

Under Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Providence is the first community in Rhode Island to create a training program for residents interested in jobs in...

Classroom experiment eyes wind-energy jobs

Focus 10/12/2018

In some places, wind energy is still thought of as a grand experiment. In Rhode Island, it’s already seen as a promising industry of...

BROAD SPECTRUM: Matthew Shenoda, vice president of social equity and inclusion at the Rhode Island School of Design, said he hopes to focus on more strategic admissions practices to cultivate a student population reflective of a broad spectrum of gender identities, races and socio-economic backgrounds. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

RISD working to recruit more-diverse students, faculty

Focus 10/12/2018

For Matthew Shenoda, being the first to tackle an issue on a college or university campus isn’t daunting. Settling in as the Rhode Island School...

HEAVY LIFT: Goodwin-Bradley Pattern Co. members Rod O’Neil, left, journeyman machinist, and Kendal Delgado, right, machinist and composite assembler, get ready to lift a slab of aluminum onto the 3 Axis Milltronics. Christopher Goodwin, rear, owner and vice president of sales, looks on at their Providence facility. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Younger professionals entering C-suite, top-level positions in manufacturing

Focus 10/05/2018

Thirty-six-year-old Christopher R. Goodwin, fourth-generation owner of 106-year-old Goodwin-Bradley Pattern Co. in Providence, knew from a very young age he wanted to lead the...

EXPEDITED SHIPPING: AVTECH Software President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Grundy, left, and Marketing and Channel Communications Manager Russell Benoit at the company’s Warren office. AVTECH recently opened a distribution facility in Shannon, Ireland, to provide a cheaper, expedited means of shipping its products to its European customers. / PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

AVTECH opens distribution center in Ireland

Focus 10/05/2018

For years, AVTECH Software Inc. has built a customer base in Europe and beyond, for its primary product, the Room Alert environmental-monitoring system. But the...

DENSELY POPULATED: The Fox Point neighborhood on the East Side of Providence is filled with 18th- and 19th-century structures, and a mix of other buildings. In recent months, three new apartment buildings have started construction, two of them replacing much older buildings, including one at 298 Wickenden St.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Fox Point residents concerned about infill construction displacing long-term renters

Focus 09/28/2018

After years of inactivity, new residential construction has made inroads into city neighborhoods in Providence. Lot by lot, older houses or vacant parcels are...

TOWER CONCERNS: Pictured at the ArtProv Gallery in Providence are from left: gallery staff members Nicholas Dupont and Victoria Rogers, owner Michele Aucoin, Susan Petree of Newport, and Luke Morrison of Providence. Aucoin said she’s concerned the proposed Hope Point Tower by the Fane Organization would be too overpowering and not “fit in.”  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Business community divided over Fane tower proposal

Focus 09/28/2018

While city officials debate whether to approve the proposed 600-foot Hope Point Tower in Providence’s Jewelry District, businesspeople in and around the neighborhood are...

RIGHT FIT: Sarah Lassor and Howard Thorp, of Thorp & Trainer Insurance, are on a deck on Atlantic Avenue in the Misquamicut section of Westerly. Thorp says private flood insurance isn’t right for everyone.  / PBN PHOTO/ BRIAN MCDONALD

Read the fine print on private flood insurance

Focus 09/21/2018

The flood-insurance market for Rhode Island has opened up in recent years, with more private options now available. But before businesses and homeowners try...