Christopher Allen

(Editor’s note: This is the 35th installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s ­unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life. See previous installments here.) Haverhill Leach was by birthright heir to a Rhode Island family jewelry-making dynasty spanning five generations. Her great-grandfather, […]

EXETER – Gov. Daniel J. McKee and Cranston Mayor Kenneth Hopkins alongside state and local officials on Friday marked the completion of the 6.5 megawatt ‘Exeter Mail’ solar farm.  The first solar array installation of its kind, spearheaded by Nautilus Solar Energy, the Public Housing Association of Rhode Island, and Veolia North America, will supply […]

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Senate, by a 33-2 vote, approved a bill on June 4 that would dismantle the state’s current sports betting monopoly and pave the way for the introduction of up to five additional operators by 2026. The state legalized sports betting in 2019 with International Gaming Technology PLC managing Sportsbook Rhode Island, […]

Only 30% of business owners looking to sell find a buyer for their company, and only 10% get what they want. Interestingly, roughly the same percentage have a robust and documented succession plan, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2023 Global Family Business Survey, which shows that 31.4% of respondents said they have no estate plan beyond a […]

PROVIDENCE – Senate Majority Leader Valarie J. Lawson, D-East Providence, and Rep. Megan L. Cotter, D-Exeter, have introduced legislation to require social media platforms, apps, and other online services and products that are likely to be used by children “to design their products to protect them,” according to a legislative news release. Roughly 97% of […]

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Commerce Corp. board of directors on Monday unanimously awarded four innovation vouchers totaling $282,921 to accelerate product innovation and expand high school career technical education in ocean technology.  Created in 2016, the Innovation Voucher Program offers eligible entrepreneurs and small businesses up to $75,000 in grant funding to expand research and development. […]

PROVIDENDCE – Offshore wind energy development has positive and negative effects in several areas, but it is too early in the deployment of commercial offshore wind projects to know the full extent of some of those impacts, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The office convened a panel of 23 experts, with assistance from […]

PROVIDENCE – Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is urging the Trump administration to release around $80 million in previously awarded federal funds “to help Rhode Island accelerate its clean energy transition, lower prices, and drive economic growth,” according to a news release. Calling energy subsidies for products such as heat pumps “a win-win that lowers energy costs, […]

WARWICK – The R.I. Cannabis Control Commission has approved its long-awaited draft rules and regulations governing the state’s adult-use industry. Effective May 1, the approval of the regulations marks a major step in the implementation of the Rhode Island Cannabis Act and paves the way for the awarding of 24 new retail recreational licenses, half […]

PROVIDENCE – R.I. Commerce Corp. is now accepting proposals for projects under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program aimed at providing low-cost high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved communities. The state was awarded $108.7 million from the $42.45 billion program, which was approved in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and […]