Zipcar is measuring environmental progress in the number of green-decaled cars it’s spreading through the streets of Providence. more

BOSTON – Twenty-nine private truckers and food-processing companies, including several in Bristol County, Mass., will receive $817,896 in federal and other grants to install technologies to reduce the diesel exhaust emissions of 63 long-haul trucks and diesel engines serving local wholesale markets and warehouses under MassCleanDiesel, a state-sponsored grant program. more

After a six-month wait for needed approvals, Metropark LTD. recently opened a new surface parking lot at 43 Weybosset St. behind the old National Bank façade. “Restaurants are doing better than last year and, yes, there are more people working downtown. … Demand [for parking] is up,” said Charlie Meyers, president of Metropark. The company’s citywide revenue is up 10 percent this year. Revenue from city parking meters is also up, 55 percent since 2009, according to Providence Parking Administrator Leo Perrotta. more

PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc. is considering a bid for part or all of Hawker Beechcraft Inc., the bankrupt business-jet maker in exclusive talks with China’s Superior Aviation Beijing Co., Bloomberg News reported. more

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Transportation and Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin are joining forces to bring AT&T’s “Txting & Drivng … It Can Wait” campaign to Rhode Island schools. more

After a winter respite, sewer-line installation along Providence’s Hope Street has returned, along with traffic detours, parking woes and inconveniences to pedestrians, all of which are causing disruptions and headaches for the area’s small businesses. more

WASHINGTON – Mass. Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray joined President Barack Obama at the White House this month for the signing of the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, legislation expected to create jobs in Massachusetts and across the country repairing the nation’s aging roads and bridges. more

Roads, bridges and other infrastructure in the United States are steadily growing older and weaker. Given low interest rates and elevated unemployment, this is an ideal moment to invest in fixing them. more

EAST PROVIDENCE – Motorists traversing north on Route 114 at Mink Street can glimpse estimated travel times to Interstate 95 and T.F. Green airport on pre-existing electronic message boards, the R.I. Department of Transportation announced. more

Solar energy to date has largely been focused on buildings – business and residential – and ways in which their inhabitants can reduce carbon footprints via personal responsibility. more