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PROCEED WITH CAUTION: Nicole J. Benjamin, an attorney at Adler Pollock & Sheehan PC, says lawyers should fully understand the weaknesses of artificial intelligence chatbots before using them in a professional capacity. 
PBN PHOTO/­ELIZABETH GRAHAM

R.I. lawyers navigate new AI guidelines

Artificial intelligence has become another tool in the lawyer’s toolbox, but the R.I. Supreme Court is making it clear that lawyers need a solid...
TROUBLE SPOT? A fatal stabbing across the street from the Mezzo Lounge in Providence led to the business being brought before the Providence Board of Licenses. 
PBN PHOTO/CHRISTOPHER ALLEN

Nightclub case tests city’s licensing powers

The Providence Board of Licenses has the power to put a bar or nightclub out of business by revoking the licenses that allow it...
NOT WORRIED: Despite the largest month-over-month drop in hiring in the professional and business services industry occurring from June to July in 2026, Devendra Kale, associate professor at the University of Rhode Island’s College of Business, says he hasn’t seen an obvious decline in job opportunities.
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

MBA programs respond to workforce shifts spurred by AI

Volatility has been the name of the game when it comes to the job market in the business sector this year. In July, the U.S....
SAFE SITE: Colleen Daley Ndoye is the executive director of Project Weber/RENEW, which operates an opioid overdose center in Providence, where people are provided with clean equipment to take illicit drugs with medical staff to supervise.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Providence overdose center shows early impact

The sun is peeking through the blinds as the nation’s only state-sanctioned overdose prevention center prepares to welcome the day’s clients. Six stations lining...
SPREADING OUT: University of Rhode Island public health professor Wenhui Feng examines a map of dollar stores in Rhode Island, most of them concentrated in urban areas. Feng is leading a new study on dollar stores and the food that is purchased there. 
PBN PHOTO/STEPHANIE BERNABA

Dollar stores and diet the focus of URI-led study

For Rhode Islanders who live in neighborhoods without a full-service grocer, a so-called dollar store can be a convenient and affordable place to buy...
FEDERAL CHANGE: Citizens Bank, the state’s largest nationally chartered bank, and other national banks could see some benefit from a new rule issued by federal regulator Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on mortgage escrow accounts. 
COURTESY CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP INC.

New federal escrow rule could cloud mortgage market


For thousands of Rhode Island homeowners, the outcome of a legal fight over mortgage escrow accounts could determine whether money they set aside for...
FASTER ACTION: Johnson & Wales University is one of two Rhode Island colleges that offer three-year degree programs in certain fields of study. The other is New England Institute of Technology. A growing number of U.S. higher education institutions have established three-year programs in recent years. 
PBN PHOTO/ANNE EWING

Three-year degrees gain ground on campuses

Giles Sims, 34, was sick of getting passed over for jobs because he didn’t have a college degree. But with a wife and a widowed...
DEBT DANGER: Alan Krinsky, director of research and fiscal policy at the Economic Progress Institute in Providence, says high interest rates offered by payday lenders, such as Advance America in Pawtucket, pictured, can leave struggling borrowers in a cycle of debt.
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Payday lending ending in R.I., but a gap will remain

Rhode Island is preparing to shut down traditional payday lending next year. Beginning in 2027, payday lenders will no longer be exempt from the state’s...
JUST THE FACTS: ­Attorney Lawrence J. Signore says dashboard cameras can be helpful in insurance claims, but sometimes it can work against the claimant. 
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Dash cams can offer evidence, not certainty

While debate over the use of automated license plate readers has crowded headlines in recent months, another type of surveillance is constantly capturing Americans...
CLOSER INSPECTIONS: As property insurers tighten their underwriting requirements, they now must give homeowners more notice of nonrenewal, according to a new state law intended to give the owner more time to find a replacement policy.  
COURTESY MOTT & CHACE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Homeowners facing nonrenewal get more time to find coverage

When Sen. ­Victoria Gu went looking for homeowners’ insurance for her house in Westerly six months ago, she found that both where a house...
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