One of the most important goals that former R.I. Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Keith W. Stokes set when he took the job in early 2010 was the need to measure the results that the state’s various economic-development programs were producing. The lack of any such controls was exposed by a two-part series in Providence Business News in June 2010 that documented how little the state knew about the companies it had supported through the federally funded Small Business Loan Fund and its related microloan fund. Despite federal reporting requirements, the state had no idea how many jobs the recipient companies currently had. In addition, the failure rate of the loans was double that of similar commercial loans made by banks. more

The recent event hosted by Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I., and the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center on June 25 at the Johnson & Wales University Culinary Arts Museum to help small businesses was an excellent effort to highlight and spur the development of new, innovative business ideas. more

Downcity’s Westminster Street is a virtual smorgasbord of boutique shops with unique clothing, craft, and coffee shops lining a path from Empire Street to near Kennedy Plaza. more

As lenders across the country struggle to sort out confused, sloppy or abusive foreclosure practices, a 2-year-old state mortgage-counseling law in Rhode Island has turned into a stumbling block for many banks trying to move distressed properties off their books. more

PROVIDENCE – Calling for a system that acts as a “dynamic catalyst for new ideas,” a group of economic-development and public-policy officials want an aggressive overhaul of Rhode Island’s infrastructure that would eliminate the R.I. Economic Development Corporation. more

The Rhode Island Current Economic Indicator for the second quarter of 2012 grew 0.4 percent, indicating that the Ocean State’s economic growth has slowed significantly in the first half of 2012, according to a report by Bryant University and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. more

Cape Wind Associates plans to base its wind farm operations in Falmouth, Mass., reported the Boston Business Journal. more

Central Falls, the first city in Rhode Island’s 222-year history to go bankrupt, is preparing to exit court protection after 13 months by keeping bondholders whole while raising taxes and cutting workers and pensions. more

When Cherie Daniel, a website designer based in Bristol, was an agency employee she relied on occasional freelance work to supplement her income. When that agency folded, she started to rely on it for much more. more

When the state tried to sell the former Shooters nightclub property on Providence’s Fox Point waterfront to developers three years ago, neighbors revolted over the thought of a 15-story condominium tower looming over India Point Park. more