This year, 17 Rhode Island communities will go through the rite of passage known as the revaluation cycle. State law requires a full property revaluation by the tax assessor in each city and town every nine years with less-detailed updates every three years. These values are important because, absent additional improvements or damage to the property, the values will stay the same for the entire cycle even though the tax rate will change each year. For many of us, that means this spring we’ll learn that the tax assessor, or a company hired by the assessor, has come up with a new tax value for any real estate we own. more

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick last week swore in Andrea Cabral as secretary of the Mass. Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. more

BOSTON – More than $2.8 million in insurance refunds have been returned to Massachusetts motorcycle owners, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last week. more

BOSTON – A Colorado-based insurer last week agreed to pay $42,000 to resolve allegations that it illegally and prematurely canceled certain auto-insurance policies belonging to roughly 50 Massachusetts customers, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced. more

PROVIDENCE – The State Police have agreed to open an investigation into the Central Coventry Fire District, the Coventry legislative delegation announced last week. more

Modern payday lending was legalized in Rhode Island in 2001 and didn’t cause too much outcry until the recession began adding to the number of local families falling deeper into debt and bankruptcy. more

PROVIDENCE – The charitable arm of the Rhode Island Bar Association is seeking applications for two $20,000 scholarships for first-year Rhode Island law school students. more

PROVIDENCE – The General Assembly complied with the state Open Meetings law 96 percent of the time last year, according to Secretary of State’s A. Ralph Mollis’ office. more

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lender Processing Services Inc. last week reached a multistate settlement to resolve claims of improper foreclosure practices, including the “robosigning” of documents used to repossess homes, Bloomberg News reported. more

The fraud and misconduct alleged in Rhode Island’s lawsuit against the architects of the 38 Studios LLC loan guarantee haven’t stopped the state from doing business with some of the firms implicated. more