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CHALLENGING MARKET: Butler & Messier Inc. insurance agent Ernie Shaghalian, left, chairman of the Government Affairs Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of Rhode Island, meets with Mark Male, CEO and president of Rhode Island Association of Insurance Agents Inc. Shaghalian says the property insurance market is the worst he’s seen it in 45 years.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Pullback by insurers adds to difficulty of house hunting

Finding a home in Rhode Island is difficult enough these days, but after prospective homebuyers pinpoint the rare house in their price range and...
FIRST OF A KIND: Ten years ago, this South Kingstown house on Teal Drive was the first in Rhode Island to be constructed to the Fortified building standard developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety in 2010. There are bills in the state Senate and House to make funding available for more homes to be “hardened” against extreme weather. 
PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Fortified homes needed, but they’re not cheap

The 2,400-square-foot clapboard-covered home overlooking Green Hill Pond in South Kingstown didn’t look particularly extraordinary among the other houses along Teal Drive when it...
AT IT AGAIN: State Rep. Karen Alzate, D-Pawtucket, says the first bill she filed this legislative session was one that would restrict payday lenders, a measure that some legislators have been trying to get passed for more than a decade. 
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Payday lender opponents renew legislative effort

Advocates for payday lending reform celebrated lin 2023 when the House voted overwhelmingly for a bill they believed would finally curtail so-called “payday lenders,”...
MICHELLE A. REDDISH, left, administrator for the R.I. Cannabis Commission, speaks at Providence Business News' The Business of Cannabis Summit at the Providence Marriott on Thursday. Also on the panel is, from left, Benjamin L. Rackliffe, partner of Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC; Sasha Gorski, co-owner of Talaria LLC; and Ronald Crosson II, executive director of Urban Ventures Inc. and chairman and so­cial equity officer of the R.I. Cannabis Advisory Board. PBN Editor Michael Mello, standing, moderates. / PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI 

PBN summit: Past missteps, current limbo still hampering legal cannabis sector

PROVIDENCE – In some ways, challenges facing Rhode Island’s legal cannabis industry were born from decisions made years ago. The panel discussion during Providence Business...

Gu and Casimiro introduce bill to regulate crypto ATMs in Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Islanders lost more than $10 million to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, according to the FBI. As a response, a bill filed by Sen. Victoria...
RHODE ISLAND and 74 other states fined Block Inc., the company that operates Cash App, $80 million for violating federal anti-money laundering laws.

R.I., 47 states fine Cash App operator $80M for money laundering...

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island and 47 other states have fined national technology company Block Inc. – which operates Cash App - $80 million for...

Minimum wage hike among new laws starting Jan. 1

PROVIDENCE – Another minimum wage hike and several housing regulations are among a host of new laws that will take effect Jan. 1.  After a...

Cannabis Control Commission advances dispensary licensing regs

PROVIDENCE – The Cannabis Control Commission on Friday voted to proceed with a draft regulation that will govern the selection process for new dispensaries. The...

Recreational cannabis tax collections uneven across state, tax data shows

PROVIDENCE – In a city or town with only one store licensed to sell recreational cannabis, the financial performance of that dispensary can boost...
RHODE ISLAND cannabis regulators have moved slowly to enact regulations and issue licenses for the retail cannabis industry in the state, which has upset some of the players involved. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

R.I. cannabis agency plodding ahead as counterpart in Mass. in chaos

The state of recreational cannabis in Rhode Island has been in a peculiar grey area for months, with regulations that will govern the multimillion-dollar...
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