Hot Topic

PROVIDENCE may have the policies of a "sanctuary city," but leaders would rather not refer to it that way. / PBN FILE PHOTO/CHRIS BERGENHEIM

For local leaders, ‘sanctuary’ has become a word to avoid

Hot Topic 03/21/2025

Rhode Island and its capital city may have adopted policies that limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities in many cases,...

Is purchasing nuclear power a good option?

Hot Topic 03/14/2025

With the development of offshore wind farms under attack by President Donald Trump’s administration, some Rhode Island legislators are now looking to help utility...

THOMAS SPERRY is co-founder and managing partner of Rogue Venture Capital, the firm hired to manage R.I. Commerce Corp.'s new $2 million Rhode Island Venture Capital Fund. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Commerce board members want close eye kept on new venture capital...

Hot Topic 03/07/2025

When a $2 million proposal to start a state-sponsored venture capital fund to spur more high-potential startups came before the R.I. Commerce Corp. board...

R.I. life sciences effort could take hit from NIH funding cut

Hot Topic 02/28/2025

Rhode Island researchers are on edge. Proposed cuts to National Institutes of Health funding could have extensive ramifications for local universities, hospitals and the effort...

THE R.I. COASTAL Resources Management Council voted unanimously in January to deny the Quidnessett Country Club’s attempt to keep its illegal seawall, but that popular decision did little to quell calls for the CRMC to be abolished. / COURTESY SAVE THE BAY STAFF VIA THE RHODE ISLAND CURRENT

Several CRMC bills to consider, but will there be any change...

Hot Topic 02/21/2025

Some state leaders and one of Rhode Island's largest environmental groups have failed in recent years to dismantle the embattled R.I. Coastal Resources Management...

On Aquidneck Island, the ripple effect of returning to office

Hot Topic 02/14/2025

Naval Station Newport was on high alert on Feb. 10, but it wasn’t because of a security threat. It was because the base was...

FOR SALE: A sign outside Oak Hill Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing in Pawtucket during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nursing home is one of two in Rhode Island that Pointe Group Care LLC, a for-profit company, is looking to buy. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Divided views on for-profit company buying R.I. nursing homes

Hot Topic 02/07/2025

Two struggling skilled nursing facilities are on track to be sold to a Massachusetts-based company, reigniting the debate over whether businesses looking to maximize...

Trump order a risk for wind hub

Hot Topic 01/31/2025

President Donald Trump’s executive order to temporarily stop the sale of offshore wind leases in federal waters is threatening the plans of local and...

RISING CONSTRUCTION COSTS and higher interest rates have affected the work to transform the Industrial Trust Co. Building in Providence into nearly 300 apartments. Mayor Brett P. Smiley has proposed a change to the tax incentives plan to give the building owner High Rock Westminster LLC help in closing the financial gap. PBN PHOTO/WILLIAM HAMILTON

Smiley has proposal to help ‘Superman Building’ overhaul get past money...

Hot Topic 01/24/2025

More than a year after interior demolition and asbestos removal started at the Industrial Trust Co. Building in downtown Providence, the future of the...