General Assembly - Page 9 of 47 - Providence Business News

BUCKLE UP: The Special Legislative Commission to Study Housing Affordability meets at the Statehouse in December. When the full General Assembly reconvenes this month, health care, housing and a budget deficit will be atop a long list of issues awaiting state lawmakers.  PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Health care, affordable housing on GA’s election-year docket

Editorial and Op-Ed 01/02/2026

Compared to last year, the $101 million fiscal 2027 shortfall facing state lawmakers as they return to work this month may be cause for...

SPECIAL DRINK: Katie Hamilton, bartender at Fleur Providence in the Omni Providence Hotel, serves a mango lemon spritz made with lemonade infused with THC. The restaurant is one of a limited number of the locations in Rhode Island licensed to sell beverages containing hemp-derived THC, and consumer demand is growing, Hamilton said.  PBN PHOTO/CHRISTOPHER ALLEN

R.I. hashing out rules for hemp-infused beverages

Focus 01/02/2026

Derek Gould, chief marketing officer of Monarch Emulsions LLC, says that while craft beer and spirit brands continue to roll out their own hemp-infused...

Minimum wage hike, short-term rental tax among new laws going into...

Economy 12/29/2025

PROVIDENCE – Another minimum wage hike and several requirements for Rhode Island employers are among a host of new laws that will take effect...

Health care, housing among priorities for General Assembly leaders in 2026...

Economy 12/18/2025

PROVIDENCE – General Assembly leaders in both chambers said protecting the state's health care system will be the top priority in the 2026 legislative...

DEALING WITH IT: Gregory Stevens, owner and operator of Pat’s Italian Restaurants, says market forces have driven wages higher at his eateries in recent years, so the Rhode Island minimum wage hike going into effect on Jan. 1 will have a limited impact on his business.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

New minimum wage has some bracing for impact

Economy 11/21/2025

Gregory Stevens, owner and operator of Pat’s Italian Restaurants, remembers only a few years back when he paid his line cooks $15 an hour. “And...

TESTING: Brewer Matt Von Holten, foreground, and cellarman Eric Gonzalez, who oversees the day-to-day post-brewing processes, test the wort – the liquid extracted from the mashing process when brewing beer – at The Guild Brewery in Pawtucket. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

SOBER REFLECTION: With the craft beer boom over, breweries look...

Cover Story 11/07/2025

Matthew Gray has cleared many hurdles to keep Ragged Island Brewing Co. running. And the obstacles are still coming. Gray opened Ragged Island Brewing with...

HEALTHY TALK: Dr. Edward McGookin, third from the left, speaks during a panel discussion at Providence Business News’ Fall Health Care Summit: Shaping the Future of Care on Oct. 30. McGookin is chief of primary care at Brown Health Medical Group Primary Care. With him during the first of two panel discussions are, from left, Victoria Williams, assistant professor of health care administration at Rhode Island College; Dr. Roger Mitty, president and chief operating officer of Care New England Medical Group; and Sen. Pamela Lauria, a nurse practitioner. Moderating is PBN Editor Michael Mello, standing.  PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

PBN Health Summit panel: Could R.I. fix doctor shortage by looking...

Health Services 11/07/2025

Despite the state’s ongoing shortage of primary care providers, Rhode Island’s largest health system has seen success in recruiting doctors from surrounding states. However,...

READY FOR CHANGES: John Elkhay, co-owner of Chow Fun Inc., stands in the dining room of Ten Prime Seafood, a restaurant the company is preparing to open on Empire Street in Providence. Elkhay says he’s trying to provide clarity to his employees on new federal rules about tax on tips.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

New federal tax rules on tips spark confusion

Economy 11/07/2025

John Elkhay, co-owner of the restaurant company Chow Fun Inc., is no stranger to navigating regulatory curveballs. With his company managing more than 200 employees...

Is AG cold-case unit worth the cost?

Coronavirus 11/07/2025

It’s been more than two years since state lawmakers granted Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s request for a $300,000 budget appropriation to create a...