The first medical-marijuana dispensary has opened in Rhode Island and likely will soon be followed by another, despite uncertain business prospects due to scaled-back plans following years of legal and legislative wrangling. more

PROVIDENCE – Property-tax rates for homeowners would rise with rates for businesses holding flat under a $663 million fiscal 2014 budget proposed by Mayor Angel Taveras Thursday. The spending … more

A test for state legislators: more

How do you stack up as a potential mortgage candidate in this year’s increasingly tough underwriting environment? Do you have the right stuff – credit score, debt-to-income ratio, equity or down payment – to get you through the minefield? more

PROVIDENCE – A Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association official testified in Washington last week in favor of federal legislation that could secure funding to protect the Pawcatuck River and other streams in the region, The Associated Press reported. more

PROVIDENCE – The effort to build a rock-climbing playground for Jamestown children got a push recently when the R.I. Department of Environmental Management awarded the project a $38,000 grant. more

BOSTON – The Mass. Gaming Commission is hoping lawmakers push back a key deadline by as much of a year, saying taking over the work of the state racing commission will make it more difficult to get new casinos up and running, The Associated Press reported last week. more

NEW BEDFORD – Four federal grants totaling $600,000 aim to enhance broadband adoption and support for small businesses and nonprofit organizations across Massachusetts. more

Once known by the buzzword “consolidation,” municipally shared services is a concept that’s been kicked around for years by towns throughout the state, but has rarely gotten past the planning phase. But in financially ailing cities like Pawtucket and Central Falls, it might be an idea whose time has finally come. more

Brown isn’t typically the color a golfer would use to describe his ideal fairway but at public and private courses around the state it’s becoming quite in fashion as clubs have pushed for formalized conservation programs. more