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Redirecting state funding can spur economic development
Since finishing fourth in a 2010 bid for governor, Sympatico Software Systems President and Moderate Party founder Ken Block has remained an active presence in the Rhode Island political arena. This year, Block is working with fellow business leaders in the Smaller Business Association of New England to develop and promote an economic-policy plan for the state. The plan, which Block and other SBANE members are pitching to elected officials this winter, calls for a series of economic-development and education reforms to spur growth. The SBANE plan would redirect state English-as-a-second-language funding to economic development, investigate use patterns in unemployment insurance, potentially eliminate the state temporary-disability insurance program and exempt new investments in Rhode Island companies from capital gains tax. The education ideas include increasing instructional time, reducing teacher absence and moving the start of teacher contracts away from the beginning of the school year. more

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer | 1/7/13

Arts has key role to play in bolstering state economy
When the board of directors of the Gamm Theatre looked for someone to replace former Executive Director Yvonne Seggerman, who went on a sabbatical in June and resigned in October, the focus turned to David Wax, with his extensive arts-management experience and his knowledge of the Gamm, gained while serving as a member, then president, of the board. Wax is also a member of the Rhode Island Council for the Arts. more

By Rhonda Miller
PBN Staff Writer | 12/31/12

Dose of discipline can help cure state’s budgetary woes
After merging state financial offices into a single Office of Management and Budget this year, Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee needed someone to lead the new entity and turned to the General Assembly, where many of his fiscal proposals have died. In then-Senate Fiscal Adviser Peter M. Marino, he found someone with experience shaping the state budget and critiquing it with the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. In addition to the traditional roles of the offices it combined, the new OMB will do more data analysis, a common refrain in suggestions for improving the Rhode Island economic climate. Five months after taking the job, Marino is now working on the first state budget proposal crafted under the new structure, one that, as always, promises tough decisions. more

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer | 12/17/12

History proves education investments get best return
Brown University sociology professor John R. Logan came of age in the mid-1960s during a time when the country was undergoing tremendous social, political and economic changes. While many of his fellow college students at the time immersed themselves in those changes, Logan was so fascinated that understanding how they occur and impact society became his life’s work. more

By Rhonda Miller
PBN Staff Writer | 12/10/12

Minority-owned companies not getting share of contracts
When Lisa Ranglin helped announce the creation of the Rhode Island Black Business Association in October 2011, she said there was a serious need for a central advocacy program for small businesses owned by minorities and females in Rhode Island. more

By Rebecca Keister
PBN Staff Writer | 12/3/12

Death of a firm can breathe life into others at auction
SJ Corio Co. President Salvatore Corio Jr. has been running liquidation auctions in Rhode Island since 1983, so when he took on the 38 Studios LLC bankruptcy sale, he knew he was in for a big job. With over 2,000 lots on the block, selling everything in one session while maximizing returns for taxpayers would take speed and endurance. Over a nearly uninterrupted 10 hours of bidding, the auction recovered $650,000 for the state as Corio mixed his trademark blend of rapid-fire humor with salesmanship. More than once, he asked for a bid of $75 million, the amount of the 38 Studios loan guarantee. more

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer | 11/26/12

Former dropout now inspires her students to persevere
There was a time when 2013 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year Jessica Waters’ future might not have included a high school diploma, never mind a successful tenure as part of the Beacon Charter High School for the Arts’ staff that has helped students double their proficiency level in science. more

By Rebecca Keister
PBN Staff Writer | 11/12/12

Market warming for storing energy to be used as heat
Providence-based VCharge Inc. coined the term “transactive load” to describe a concept company founders believe will change the world. It’s the idea that end users of electricity can save money by determining when they buy power, taking advantage of the pre-dawn hours when demand is low and generators are pumping out far more energy than needed. To take advantage of this concept, VCharge is developing smart-grid applications, such as its Smartbricks for electric thermal-storage systems, that could potentially balance supply and demand on the electric grid and pave the way for alternative energy. Jessica Millar is VCharge’s founder and chief security officer. more

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer | 11/5/12

Catering to customers has TD Bank in growth position
Mark Crandall has been regional president for Massachusetts and Rhode Island at The Toronto-Dominion Bank and TD Banknorth Inc., since Dec. 31, 2006. He also became regional president for Connecticut in April 2012.Crandall also serves as senior vice president of U. S. personal and commercial banking at TD Bank. He has served as an executive vice president and regional commercial-lending manager of TD Banknorth Inc. Crandall discusses TD Bank’s growth plans and its growing presence in Rhode Island. more

By Michael Souza
PBN Staff Writer | 10/29/12

More investment needed in efforts to aid small business
When the opportunity came up in 1983 to help establish the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center program at Bryant University, Douglas Jobling didn’t think twice. more

By Rebecca Keister
PBN Staff Writer | 10/22/12

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