NEWPORT – U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans announced that the Economic Development Administration plans to invest $1 million to help the city of Newport transform a former Naval housing site. Plans call for developing the site into an office complex that will also house the Community College of Rhode Island’s technical training program. A Head Start program would also be operated on the site, which would include additional professional space.
EDA serves as a venture capital resource to meet the economic development needs of distressed communities throughout the United States. One of the EDA’s missions is to partner with states, units of local government and community nonprofit organizations in economically distressed areas, regions and communities in order to alleviate conditions of poverty and substantial and persistent unemployment.
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‘Sign a tile’ campaign raises fund for Breakers
NEWPORT – The Preservation Society of Newport County has undertaken a $2 million restoration of the Breakers Mansion, a National Historic Landmark. Plans call for replacing the century-old roof, repairing sagging chimneys, and cleaning and repointing exterior walls.
To fund the project preservation society officials have begun selling tiles that will eventually become part of the structure’s new roof. Purchasers of the new tiles will be allowed to sign them before installation.
RI to get $50,000 for solar energy implementation
PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island will receive $50,000 to promote buildings and building codes with solar energy. U.S. Senator Jack Reed announced the grant funding, which comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Programs Special Projects funds, which are part of Fiscal Year 2003 Interior Appropriations, which Reed supported.
The Rhode Island State Energy Office will manage the ‘Million Solar Roofs Initiative.’ RISEO will work with Rhode Island builders, state officials and legislators, the department of Labor and Training and Rhode Island Collaborative to modify building codes or use market forces to make it easier to build solar homes; modify the interpretation of renewable energy technology licensing requirements; and modify rules prohibiting the funding of solar assisted water heating.
Bristol firm completes phase one of ferry design
BRISTOL – Bristol Harbor Marine Design, a division of Bristol Harbor Group Inc., has completed the advanced concept phase of a new fast ferry design that is targeted for construction by small to medium size shipyards. The 125-foot (38-meter) aluminum vessel will have a passenger capacity in excess of 300.
The design effort has been financed in part by a business development loan awarded to BHMD earlier this year by the Slater Center of Ocean Technology. The BHMD design is exceptional in that it will be a U.S. design/build effort originated by a U.S. architecture and marine engineering firms.
Total annual domestic fast-ferry construction is estimated to reach $600 million per year over the next five years. BHMD is located at 103 Poppasquash Road in Bristol.
Restivo Wisehart merges with New Bedford firm
PROVIDENCE – Restivo Wisehart has merged with New Bedford-based Rosenfield, Holland, Raymon & Pielech to create Rosenfield Raymon Restivo PC, a firm of certified public accountants and business advisers.
According to company officials, the merger results from both firms’ interest in providing greater depth and a wider range of services to their clients. The new company will offer a full line of traditional services including accounting and tax, business strategy planning and information technology consulting. The company will have offices in Providence and New Bedford, as well as satellite offices on Martha’s Vineyard and in Somerset, Mass.
Homestead exemption bill becomes law
PROVIDENCE – Rhode Islanders will no longer have to file any paperwork to qualify for the $150,000 homestead exemption under a new law sponsored by Rep. Gary M. Hogan, a Smithfield Democrat. The law, which passed the House and Senate in May and took effect last month, amends an existing statute to make it clear that homeowners don’t have to do anything to qualify for the homestead exemption.
That exemption allows homeowners protection from legal judgment that could otherwise leave them homeless. For example, before the original law was enacted in 1998, if someone had been involved in an auto accident and his or her insurance policy was insufficient to cover the full amount of the settlement, there was nothing to prevent the suing party from attaching the individual’s home. However, the initial legislation did not specify whether a homeowner is automatically entitled to the exemption.
RI Good Neighbor Fund concludes successful campaign
PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Good Neighbor Energy Fund, a cooperative effort between the state’s energy companies, its customers, and the business community to provide energy assistance to families in temporary financial crisis, has announced its 2002-2003 "Warm Thy Neighbor" campaign helped more than 1,200 families and raised more than $325,000. It’s the third largest total raised in the fund’s 16-year history. The fund, which is often the last resort for families who have not qualified for federal and state assistance, has collected more than $4 million in contributions and helped more than 22,750 families since its inception in 1986.
(Compiled from news reports and releases.)
