Lifespan president to resign
PROVIDENCE – Steven D. Baron, resident of Lifespan Rhode Island has announced his plan to resign as of April 30. Baron, 53, said he had not decided what he would do in the future. In 1994 Baron, who was president of Miriam Hospital and William Kreykes, who was president of Rhode Island Hospital organized the merger of the hospitals that became Lifespan. Newport and Bradley hospitals have since joined the group, which now also includes the Visiting Nurse Association, and, in Massachusetts, New England Medical Center.
Delta Dental head announces retirement
PROVIDENCE – Colin A. MacGillvray, 64, president and chief executive office of Delta Dental of Rhode Island has announced he will retire from the company June 30. He will be replaced by Joseph A. Nagle, executive vice president and chief financial officer. MacGillvray has been president of Delta Dental since 1992. Nagle, who had been a founding partner of the Capstone Group, a Providence-based health care consulting firm, joined Delta Dental Rhode Island in 1992.
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Unemployment at lowest in 11 years
PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island’s unemployment rate in March fell below the national average to 3 percent, its lowest level since July 1988. The Department of Labor and Training reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 3.9 percent in February and is well below the 5.3 percent rate of March 1998. The national unemployment rate was 4.2 percent last month. Local economists said the latest rate reflects a vibrant economy in Rhode Island and New England, but predict that the low levels will not be maintained. In the 12-month period through March, local companies increased employment by 7,400 to 464,900, a 1.7 percent annual growth rate that is relatively strong for Rhode Island. Over the same period, the number of Rhode Islanders holding a job increased by 15,600, to a total of 487,600, suggesting that many residents continue to travel outside the state, primarily to eastern Connecticut and greater Boston, to find employment.
CVS demolition plan draws community’s ire
BALTIMORE — CVS Corp., besieged by preservationists over its plans to demolish 10 Victorian buildings in north-central Baltimore for a store site, said it will go ahead with the demolition. The decision follows months of dialogue between CVS officials and neighborhood activists, who tried in vain to convince the drug chain that saving the facades of the street-corner rowhouses would be in the best interest of the business and the community. Domenic Schiavone, a real estate manager for Rhode Island-based CVS, said keeping any remnant of the buildings at the corner of Charles and West 25th streets in the commercial heart of Charles Village, would prove too costly. Schiavone confirmed that CVS will build an 8,900-square-foot drugstore on the intersection’s northwest corner, in an area known as the “book block” for its book stores. Demolition will begin as soon as city permits are issued. Construction should be done by the end of the year, Schiavone said. Doug Armstrong, a film location scout and a vocal critic of the CVS demolition plan, accused the chain’s CVS officials of playing a “numbers game” in which money outweighed residents’ concerns. He declared, “They obviously have no concern about community goodwill,” Armstrong said.
Infinite Group adds Osley & Whitney
WARWICK – Infinite Group, with headquarters here, reports it has bought Osley & Whitney of Westefield, Mass., for $1.5 million cash. O & W, a 49-year-old plastics injection molding company, sells to the automotive, consumer, office machine industries, and sporting goods market. The company employs 54 and will remain in Westfield, according to the announcement. Infinite also reported that its Express Tool division will remain in Warwick, but will report to O & W.
State begins Y2K forums
PROVIDENCE – The state has begun a series of public forums to consider readiness for dealing with potential problems related to utilities and emergencies. The state Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Administration will oversee the two-hour forums. Utility companies have been asked to participate. The potential problem is linked to the binary system on which computers are based, specifically the question of whether computers will recognize 00 as the year 2000 at the end of the century or revert to 1900. Those computers that don’t recognize the difference could fail and disrupt systems they control, experts predict. Computers and computer have to be reprogrammed or replaced if there is any question about their ability to deal with the problem. The first and second forums were held in Providence and Middletown last week. Other forums are scheduled for April 27 at Westerly High School, May 4 at Woonsocket City Hall, and May 6 at Warwick City Hall. All three of the forums are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Minimum wage bill passes Senate committee
PROVIDENCE — The Senate Labor Committee unanimously voted to increase the state’s minimum wage to $5.65 as of July 1. If the bill is successful before the full House and full Senate, it would boost the minimum wage from its current level of $5.15. With little discussion, the Senate panel approved a reduced increase from what the original bill suggested, which would have increased the minimum wage gradually to $6.15 beginning Oct. 1, 2000. The original bill would have also provided for cost of living increases. The Senate bill is similar to one passed by the House Labor Committee.
Water tower down at Quonset
NORTH KINGSTOWN – An old Quonset water tower, its checkerboard paint pattern a landmark for pilots and motorists alike for many years, was deliberately leveled last week. The 100-foot tower was brought down with a persistent yank on a cable attached to a powerful earth mover to clear land in Commerce Park. A warehouse and distribution building is scheduled to be built on the site by the American Meats and Seafood Corp. The park is owned by the state Economic Development Corporation. The tower had been in use until about three months ago when two new towers capable of storing about1 million gallons of water were completed and placed in service. The tower was the first of six old Navy towers scattered about the park that are being removed by the EDC to clear more land for development. The process is expected to be completed by the end of June, according to the EDC. Removal of the towers is being paid for with proceeds from a $22 million bond issue approved in 1996 by the voters for park improvement and building (and tower) demolition. So far, according to an EDC spokesperson, 27 of about 100 buildings targeted have been brought down.
State charges 29 with unemployment fraud
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Twenty-nine people were charged with unemployment insurance fraud in statewide crackdown. People from 15 Rhode Island cities and towns allegedly scammed $184,000. Twenty-five of the suspects were rounded up by police and were arraigned in District Court in Providence. Another four turned themselves in. All but one suspect was released on personal recognizance bail. One man was held on a $5,000 warrant. Police were still searching for 10 additional suspects. The people allegedly obtained between $2,200 and $8,500 apiece in unemployment benefits while they were working, according to The Providence Journal. In the past four years, 160 people have been arrested for fraudulently obtaining $850,000 in unemployment benefits. Of that amount, the state recouped $432,000.
