For good and bad, it was a memorable year
Maybe it’s human nature, a ritual of closure we all enjoy. But at year’s end, we look back at what we accomplished, what gave us joy, and what upset us, what we endured.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
And in 2006, for good and bad, Rhode Island had plenty of memorable moments.
It started with scandals: The John Celona corruption probe, which imperiled Roger Williams Medical Center and still threatens to cast shadows on the CVS Corp. and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; and the fiasco at The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co.
Both brought down CEOs and tarnished formerly well-respected business names. Both reminded us that political corruption and insider deals remain part of the Rhode Island culture, despite great efforts to eradicate them.
But the new Rhode Island was in top form as well. It thrived in Providence, especially, with cranes all over downtown and multimillion-dollar investments in new construction and historic rehabs, hotels, condos and mixed-use complexes, including two major projects by Baltimore-based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse.
The relocation of Interstate 195, long in the works, started seriously taking shape.
And in a twist that few could have imagined years ago, Democratic legislative leaders joined forces with the business community to pass not one, not two, but three key pieces of tax legislation: the biotech investment tax credit, a personal income-tax reduction, and property-tax reform. All this, and the historic tax credit came out unscathed. A banner year indeed.
In health care, on the other hand, 2006 was a year of serious debate but little progress – in part because we are far from agreeing on how, precisely, to solve the affordability crisis.
As Massachusetts took a bold step toward near-universal coverage, Rhode Island settled for a smaller measure to create a new, lower-cost, prevention-focused type of health plan, but no consensus could be reached on financing.
A local version of Maryland’s Wal-Mart law, meanwhile – a coverage mandate for large employers – got plenty of attention but ultimately failed.
To a great extent, national and global forces defined the year, and for the most part, they weren’t kind. The Iraq war loomed large. Manufacturers continued to struggle, from tiny shops to major players such as Paramount Cards, which shut down in what seemed like an instant. The cooling residential real estate market brought a chill to Rhode Island as well.
Interest rates took a path that hurt consumers and banks simultaneously: Mortgage costs soared, deepening the state’s affordable-housing crisis and removing the engine that had driven many local banks’ recent growth. At the same time, banks’ interest margins narrowed, cutting into their profits.
Worldwide, it was a big year for mergers and acquisitions, and Rhode Island wasn’t exempt. GTECH Corp. became part of Rome-based Lottomatica S.p.A. Brooks Eckerd is being acquired by Rite-Aid. CVS is trying to buy Caremark Rx Inc. – though that may still fall through. And American Power Conversion is being bought by the French Schneider Electric.
The Providence media market saw changes as well. LIN TV, owner of the local CBS and Fox affiliates, saw its longtime president and CEO, Gary Chapman, retire. NBC sold its local affiliate, WJAR-Channel 10, to Media General. ABC 6 is for sale. WRNI, the state’s NPR news station, is rebuilding itself under new leadership.
The courts also made headlines, most notably with: the state’s victory against lead paint makers and the prosecution of Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, owners of The Station, and Great White tour manager Dan Biechele, which ended in controversial plea deals.
Then came the election: the casino war with its big-budget ad campaigns, the remarkably close gubernatorial race, and the U.S. Senate race, which ultimately cost Lincoln D. Chafee his seat.
So was it a good year? It depends, we suspect, on where you were standing.
Either way, in the spirit of closure, we present our wrap-up of the biggest business stories of 2006.
Happy New Year!
