Providence Business News

01/09/2026

Correctional officers union: ‘Our prison is out of control’ -

Conflict between the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers and R.I. Department of Corrections Director Wayne T. Salisbury Jr. over prison operations has once again put Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s oversight of a major state agency under a microscope. Union President Richard Ferruccio said es...

01/08/2026

New England Tech announces new building for trades education -

EAST GREENWICH – New England Institute of Technology announced plans Wednesday to build a $40 million Innovation Center for Building Sciences, a major campus expansion aimed at addressing growing regional and national demand for skilled trades workers. The 53,000-square-foot facility will be const...

01/08/2026

Demand only heating up for kitchen facilities -

Often noted as “the smallest town in the smallest county in the smallest state,” Warren boasts the highest number of food processing licenses in Rhode Island, outpacing even Providence. The statistic may seem strange, says Lisa Raiola, founder and president of the food business incubator Hope & ...

01/07/2026

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01/07/2026

Job openings slide to 2nd lowest level in 5 years as hiring remains sluggish -

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. employers posted far fewer jobs in November than the previous month, a sign that employers aren’t yet ramping up hiring even as growth has picked up. Businesses and government agencies posted 7.1 million open jobs at the end of November, the Labor Department said Wednesday...

01/06/2026

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01/06/2026

Rhode Island Foundation panel urges R.I. to rewrite school funding formula, boost state share -

Boosting Rhode Island’s share of funding to K-12 public schools could relieve some pressure on municipal property taxes, according to a commission calling for an overhaul of the state allocation to local school districts. The group convened by the Rhode Island Foundation found the state only cover...

01/05/2026

R.I. hashing out rules for h**p-infused beverages -

Derek Gould, chief marketing officer of Monarch Emulsions LLC, says that while craft beer and spirit brands continue to roll out their own h**p-infused products to meet current market demands, Rhode Island’s h**p market is still in its infancy. And that means the state is still trying to work out ...

01/05/2026

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12/23/2025

Brown University police chief placed on leave pending campus safety review -

Brown University’s head of public safety is now on administrative leave as the Ivy League school undergoes two outside reviews of its security practices and its response to the Dec. 13 mass shooting that killed two students and injured nine others. University President Christina H. Paxson wrote in...

12/23/2025

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12/23/2025

City provides $3.75M spark for WaterFire; is it enough to keep flames going? -

The city of Providence is using a $3.75 million sale-leaseback deal to come to the financial rescue of the popular WaterFire Providence, and supporters say the move was crucial to save a nonprofit that provides a frequent economic boost to downtown. But the leader of WaterFire acknowledges that the....