Hot Topic

VALUABLE EXPERIENCE: Zach Corey, standing, senior at Roger Williams University and associate director of its student-run investment fund, speaks with juniors Lauren Ryan, seated left, and Matthew Leary. /  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

These investment funds put students in charge of the money

Hot Topic 03/04/2022

Eric Baxter and Lauren Ryan recently spent an all-nighter in the Roger Williams University student investment room, where they anxiously pondered what shares they...

SUSAN MOCARSKI, owner and principal designer of Providence-based Cleverhood LLC, is eager to make trips overseas again so the company can better connect with distributors and large retailers in markets where Cleverhood's outerwear is already popular. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

For R.I. business community, in-person trade missions making a comeback

Hot Topic 02/25/2022

As more countries ease COVID-19 travel restrictions, in-person trade missions are making a return, and some in the Rhode Island business community already have...

Mask mandate is over; divide endures

Hot Topic 02/18/2022

The state may have ended its COVID-19 mask mandate, but now some consumers are making decisions on where to spend their money based on...

THE R.I. OFFICE OF REVENUE ANALYSIS, part of the R.I. Department of Revenue, last month issued a report asking state legislators to address flaws in the Jobs Development Act tax incentive program. PBN FILE PHOTO/CASSIUS SHUMAN

Legislators slow to address tax incentive program deemed ineffective

Hot Topic 02/11/2022

An R.I. Office of Revenue Analysis report critical of a 28-year-old tax incentive program intended to create jobs hasn’t exactly inspired legislators to move...

Some call for reworking of Providence’s expiring tax agreements

Hot Topic 02/04/2022

With many of the tax deals Providence has with nonprofit colleges and hospital systems set to expire soon, some say it’s time to devise...

THE R.I. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION would like to add a second platform and new track for an Amtrak stop at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, but not everyone agrees that spending $247 million on it is wise. / PBN FILE PHOTO

Proposed $247M Amtrak station at Warwick airport draws mixed reaction

Hot Topic 01/28/2022

A proposed Amtrak stop at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport has public transit advocates and members of the business community divided over whether...

R.I.’s ban on happy hours questioned

Hot Topic 01/21/2022

After nearly three decades devoid of after-work drink specials, a push to legalize happy hour in Rhode Island is brewing again. Rep. Karen Alzate, D-Pawtucket,...

CHRISTOPHER C. BICHO stands in a renovated, antique firehouse in Newport in 2019. He rents the firehouse as an Airbnb site. Bicho says he doesn't mind registering his site with a regulator, but he thinks oversight of short-term rental properties should be handled by either the state or the local government, not both. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Will R.I.’s new short-term rental property registry be too burdensome?

Hot Topic 01/14/2022

Now that every short-term rental property in Rhode Island listed on online sites such as Airbnb and VRBO will be required to register with...

Unemployment scams adding up in R.I.

Hot Topic 01/07/2022

Scam unemployment claims continue to cost Rhode Island, with more than $70.5 million in fraudulent payouts racked up since the start of the COVID-19...