Gary Sasse - Providence Business News

NAVIGATING SHORTAGES:  R.I. environmental police officer Jacob Malone, left, checks the size of striped bass caught by two unidentified fishermen in Narragansett Bay. The R.I. Department of Environmental Management says staff shortages have made it difficult to schedule such law enforcement operations.  PBN PHOTO/ DAVID HANSEN

HELP WANTED: There are 1,700 unfilled state jobs, but has anyone...

Cover Story 05/26/2023

Stacy Smith says the job for “front-line” workers at the R.I. Department of Human Services isn’t easy in normal times, but the labor market...

PAWTUCKET OFFICIALS gave decided to delay issuing $27 million in public bonds planned to help finance the Tidewater Landing project. / COURTESY FORTUITOUS PARTNERS

Opinions differ how funding delay impacts soccer stadium project

Economic Activity 03/24/2023

PAWTUCKET – With a timeout called on the central part of the funding for the Tidewater Landing project, supporters and detractors of the 10,500-seat...

R.I. primary reform debate reemerges in 2023 legislative session

Elections 02/13/2023

The series of crowded, September state and local primaries that crowned victors with less than 50% of the vote reignited calls for voting reform...

Critics say state funding for electric bills isn’t enough

Economic Activity 09/26/2022

PROVIDENCE – Faced with historic winter electric rate hikes, state officials stepped in with nearly $36 million in funding to soften the blow. While the...

Legislation on ‘no-poaching’ between states raises questions about enforcement

Economy 04/08/2022

Two Rhode Island lawmakers are calling for a truce in the economic border war waged with tax incentives with neighboring states, but some authorities...

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

Government 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...

Survey: R.I. voters want federal aid used on small businesses, education

Government 05/12/2021

PROVIDENCE – A public-opinion survey of Rhode Island registered voters conducted by the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University found that a...

PRODUCT TEST: Amanda Jamieson, left, assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Brown University, holds plaque assays of GC Ink, a graphene ink developed by Graphene Composites USA Inc. that is believed to kill viruses when applied to surfaces. Brown researchers, including Delia Demers, center, and Meredith Crane, are testing the product thanks to a grant GC received from the R.I. Commerce Corp.’s Innovation Voucher Program. / COURTESY GREG SERPA

Where is Commerce headed? McKee may give R.I. agency new direction...

Coronavirus 04/16/2021

Amid the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic last June, Daniel J. McKee appeared frustrated. McKee, then Rhode Island’s lieutenant governor, took the unusual step of...

Is priority vaccine list overcrowded?

Coronavirus 03/05/2021

Educators and child care employees are poised to become a COVID-19 vaccination priority for Rhode Island, which raises a question for everyone else in...