PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island last week officially returned control of financially troubled Central Falls to local elected officials, the Associated Press reported last week. City officials are now charged with guiding the municipality through a recovery plan crafted under state oversight and approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. more

BOSTON – The West Broadway Neighborhood Association and WaterFire Providence are the two Rhode Island recipients of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfield grants aimed at protecting health and cleaning up communities. more

PROVIDENCE – Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis last week warned Rhode Island LLCs to be wary of a direct-mail solicitation from an nonexistent entity calling itself “Rhode Island Corporate Compliance.” The latest notice comes just two months after the company mailed a similar letter to for-profit corporations. more

NEW BEDFORD – Gov. Deval L. Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray this month broke ground on the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, which will become the first port in the United States equipped to support offshore wind-turbine deployment. more

Rob Hancock, president of the board of directors of Save Bristol Harbor, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to repairing the coastal waters of Bristol, doesn’t see a time when the organization won’t be needed. more

Having documented Rhode Island’s projected future need of hospital beds in a report delivered on April 30 to the R.I. General Assembly, the state’s Health Care Planning and Accountability Advisory Council is laying the groundwork for a statewide plan to help control ever-rising care and insurance costs. more

Slater Technology Fund is waiting patiently - but still waiting – for the bulk of $9 million in federal stimulus crucial to its transformation from a state-funded investment vehicle to a self-sustaining, venture-capital firm. more

Marion Gold is Rhode Island’s second commissioner of energy resources, leading the state’s environmental planning at a critical time when climate change, increasingly intense storms and a sluggish economy have to merge into viable energy policy. more

PROVIDENCE – Jamestown and the Narragansett Bay Commission were among the winners at the annual Narragansett Water Pollution Control Association banquet held in May, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management announced. more

WASHINGTON – Less than one in four small businesses affected by Superstorm Sandy – including those in Rhode Island – have had their U.S. Small Business Administration loan applications approved, according to the Government Accountability Office. more