Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Rhode Island reaped far less from holiday shoppers at Providence Place mall last year than in previous years. The December total was the lowest since at least 2005.

Sales tax receipts in December plunged by 31.5 percent, or about $820,000, compared to December 2007, according to the state Division of Taxation. Last December, stores and eateries paid $1.78 million in sales taxes, far below the record $2.6 million they turned over to the state from sales in December 2007.

The financing and legislative requirements necessary to make Providence Place a reality put a unique requirement on the mall: It is the only shopping center in the state that must publicly disclose sales-tax returns.

All retailers and restaurants submit sales tax revenues to the state monthly. Typically, chain stores send one consolidated amount to the state, no matter how many outlets they have in Rhode Island. But a chain with an outlet in Providence Place sends one tax return for that store and a consolidated return for all its other Rhode Island locations.

Less than half the sales at the mall fall under the state sales tax, because Rhode Island exempts clothing, movie tickets, medications and packaged grocery items.

For more information about the state's struggling economy, read past Providence Journal coverage here:

"Sovereign Bank forum predicts a gloomy outlook for R.I. economy in 2009," Feb. 4, 2009
"Marine industries navigating through troubled waters," Jan. 30, 2009
"Rhode Island unemployment rate hits 10 percent," Jan. 23, 2009

For years, local businesses have been urged to adopt "green" business practices, promised that it would help cut operating costs and attract a growing segment of the tourism market that favors low-flow faucets and compost piles.

But despite severe economic strains, "green" initiatives have not yet been widely embraced in the Providence area, according to a survey by Sovereign Bank.

Of the roughly 350 businesses polled for this year's Economic Outlook report, only 5 percent of respondents said "green business practices" have had a "significant impact" on their company. Nearly one-quarter of companies said environmentally progressive initiatives have had "no impact," while 71 percent reported a "moderate" or "low" impact.

>> Continue reading: R.I. companies, deep in the red, but not going green

Journal photo/ Steve Szydlowski
Governor Carcieri was among those attending this morning's Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.

Eighty percent of Rhode Island businesses have no plans to hire new employees this year, according to a report released this morning by Sovereign Bank.

The report, based on the bank's annual Economic Outlook survey, offers little reason to hope for a quick economic recovery in Rhode Island, where unemployment hit 10 percent in December.

More than half of business leaders surveyed (55 percent) forecast no change in staffing levels this year. Twenty percent predicted a "slight decrease," and 5 percent said there would be a "significant decrease."

The number of unemployed Rhode Islanders rose in December by 3,700, boosting the unemployment rate from 9.3 percent. The state ended the year with 56,800 unemployed residents, the highest unemployment rate in New England and the second-highest in the country.

For more breaking business news, visit the Projo Biz Blog.

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Attendance at the Providence Boat Show grew by 10 percent this year, despite declines in consumer spending that have had devastating effects on many boat builders.

In a statement released today, the producers of the show, the Newport Exhibition Group, said, "Saturday attendance is up by about 30 percent, while Thursday and Friday totaled just about the same as 2008. Sunday attendance saw an up-tick as well, but with Saturday always being the biggest day of the show, overall attendance is likely to be up at least 10 percent once all the ticket sales are counted."

The statement did not cite specific ticket or product sales figures from the event, which has drawn as many as 20,000 participants in the past. The show offers an important opportunity for boat builders and other marine trades businesses. This year, the four-day show featured powerboats as well as small sailing craft, personal water craft and inflatables, displayed in 140,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

The marine traders sector is an important source of jobs and tax revenue in Rhode Island, and this year's boat show was closely watched to see how the industry is weathering the deepening recession.

For more news about the state's marine trades industry, read recent Providence Journal coverage here:
"Resumption of work on $8-million yacht contract brings back workers," Jan. 30, 2009
"Marine industries navigating through troubled waters," Jan. 30, 2009
"Providence Boat Show opens Thursday," Jan. 25, 2009
"Pearson lays off half its workers, citing sales drop," Jan. 20, 2009

For more breaking business news, read the Projo Biz Blog.

Coming off a year in which Rhode Island recorded the highest rise in unemployment in the country, Sovereign Bank is issuing a report about the prospects for recovery.

The bank's annual "economic outlook" focuses on the region around Providence, and it incorporates results of a survey of business leaders and consumers. It will be released tomorrow and distributed to participants at a discussion of the survey at The Westin Providence hotel.

The event is hosted by the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and Sovereign Bank, and it will include remarks by Laurie White, the chamber president, and Steven J. Issa, Sovereign's market chief executive officer for the "New England South region," which includes Rhode Island, Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Also discussing the report's findings will be Steve Andrews, senior vice president of the Capital Markets Group at Sovereign Bank; Sandra Coletta, president of Kent Hospital;
Charles T. Francis, president of the Rhode Island office of CB Richard Ellis; Hank L. Gutman, a principal at KPMG; Jack Templin, a principal at ThoughtCap; and Jennifer Weiner, a policy analyst at the New England Public Policy Center.

In last year's economic outlook, 37 percent of consumers surveyed "reported that their personal financial situation is worse than it was a year ago, compared with 24 percent in last year's survey," The Providence Journal's Lynn Arditi reported. "The share of consumers who said they were better off fell in the latest survey to 18 percent, compared with 24 percent a year ago."

But businesses were not suffering at the time. "Business, meanwhile, appeared to be holding up much better," Arditi reported. "Sixty-eight percent of businesses surveyed reported that their companies' finances were either the same or stronger than a year ago - roughly the same percentage as in last year's survey."

This year's report is likely to find business owners less upbeat. "The state's largest employers -- those with at least 1,000 employees -- account for 17 percent of all private sector workers. They bled jobs throughout the year, leading to the doubling of the unemployment rate," The Providence Journal reported last month about the continuing economic downturn.

>> Continue reading: Sovereign Bank to release 'economic outlook' report

The 4.8 percentage point increase in the state's unemployment rate last year led the nation, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Only North Carolina, where unemployment grew by 4 percentage points, and Nevada, where it rose by 3.9 percentage points, came close.

Rhode Island's year-end rate, at 10 percent, was not the worst in the country. That was Michigan's ignominy.

But the Ocean State's economy is by far the most troubled in New England. Connecticut, where 7.1 percent of job seekers cannot find a job, has the region's second-highest jobless rate. It is followed by Maine (7 percent), Massachusetts (6.9 percent), Vermont (6.4 percent) and New Hampshire (4.6 percent).

For more breaking business news, visit the Projo Biz Blog.

A '32 Century power boat on display at the 2009 Providence Boat Show, which runs through Sunday. Providence Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski

PROVIDENCE, RI -- The Providence Boat Show opened today against a backdrop of depressed consumer spending and low expectations for sales.

Experts in marine trades are watching closely for positive signs at the four-day event, given the drumbeat of negative news lately in the industry. In the past year, boat builder Pearson Composites has dismissed almost half its staff and Freedom Yachts, in Middletown, and Albin Boats, in Portsmouth, have closed their doors.

Typically, 20,000 people attend the show, the first major sales event of the year for boat builders. The marine sector is a key source of jobs in Rhode Island, and until last year, it had been growing steadily.

At the show's opening, at noon today, scattered shoppers circulated through the cavernous exhibition halls, where salespeople spoke of layoffs and bloated inventories.

"Times are tough," Jeffrey Potter, 41, of Warwick, said this morning as he strolled past $25,000 fishing boats at the Rhode Island Convention Center. "You never know, your job could be gone in two months."

The Rhode Island Science & Technology Advisory Council is asking lawmakers to spend $1.5 million to help local researchers develop technologies that could "lead to commercialization."

In the past, part of the annual appropriation for the council has funded the Collaborative Research Awards, grants that reward university scientists who have found partners in the private sector or at other academic institutions. State officials hope the research will eventually create innovative companies in Rhode Island and generate high-wage jobs.

"An aggressive science and technology policy agenda for our state is imperative. We must continue to invest in the building blocks of innovation by increasing basic research funding, building our capacity for transferring discoveries into the marketplace and developing a highly skilled workforce," Governor Carcieri said in a statement today. "Pursuit of this agenda will allow for further opportunities to attract federal funding to complement state funding and drive economic growth."

Recipients of this year's Collaborative Research Awards will be announced today at 1 p.m. at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation headquarters in Providence.

For more breaking business news, please visit the Projo Biz Blog.

People looking for a way to get rid of unwanted electronics can bring them to Best Buy stores starting Feb. 15 as the retailer expands its recycling program nationwide.

People can bring up to two electronic items per day, per household, for recycling at any Best Buy store, according to a company statement. The stores will accept most consumer electronics, including televisions up to 32 inches wide, computer CPUs and notebook computers, some computer accessories, VCR and DVD players and phones.

The stores will charge a $10 recycling fee, per unit, for items with screens, such as televisions, computer monitors and laptops. Anyone dropping off those items will receive a $10 Best Buy gift card equal to the fee. There are some exceptions to the charges. The stores will not accept console televisions, items containing Freon, microwaves and appliances.

Starting Sunday, homeowners in Rhode Island are expected to find that disposing of electronics will be easier in general, due to the Electronic Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling Act passed last year.

Instead of sporadic weekend collections, the Central Landfill, in Johnston, will accept electronics every day it's open. The landfill also drops the $5 charge for televisions next week.

Providence Journal archive photo by John Freidah.

The state's top economic development official, J. Michael Saul, has called on lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it easier for small businesses to borrow money.

Saul, acting executive director of the state Economic Development Corporation, said the loan guarantees are a "crucial component" of Governor Carcieri's proposed $200 million small business stimulus bill.

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers a program guaranteeing between 40 percent and 75 percent of bank loans to small businesses. Under Carcieri's plan, the state would also guarantee a portion of bank loans, allowing banks to loan money confident that at least 90 percent of the loan would be repaid if the business defaults.

The plan, a key priority of the SBA, has run into opposition at the State House. "We have our own debt issues that we're concerned about, and quite frankly, there's a lot of sensitivity about bailouts right now," House Finance Committee Chairman Steven M. Costantino said at a recent hearing. "Without tremendous safeguards and performance standards of increased jobs, state taxpayers should not be on the hook."

For more information on Carcieri's stimulus plan and the criticism it has faced on Smith Hill, read Providence Journal stories by Steve Peoples and Neil Downing here and here, and an EDC description of the legislation here.

For breaking Business news, see the Biz blog.

Providence Journal archive photo of Rep. Costantino by Bob Thayer.

Colibri, the jewelry and cigarette lighter company, has closed. There is a notice on the door that says it is out of business. Providence Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski

The Colibri Group, one of the region's best-known jewelry makers, unexpectedly shut down, laying off its 280 employees and preparing to sell all remaining jewelry, gold and silver to pay creditors.

Founders Equity SBIC filed the petition in Superior Court, Craig N. Berke, the court spokesman, confirmed today. Executives at Colibri, a jewelry and clock maker, could not immediately be reached for comment.

"Our customers aren't ordering because no one is buying," Kelly Fusaro, a Colibri designer who was laid off in December, said in an interview this morning. "It was a temporary layoff before Christmas, but it might not be a temporary layoff."

Colibri, manufacturer of well-known brands such as Dolan Bullock and Krementz, opened in 1928. Colibri has a headquarters in East Providence and a manufacturing plant in Providence.

For more breaking financial news, click here to visit the Projo Biz Blog.

Legislators who represent North Kingstown, where proposals to expand the state-owned Quonset port are highly unpopular, say they are "watching closely" a new legislative commission to study port development.

"Given the language in a news release that accompanied the resolution creating this study commission and published comments of the resolution sponsors," state Senators James C. Sheehan and J. Michael Lenihan said in a statement this morning, "the wording sounds ominously similar to what we heard from the (Gov. Lincoln) Almond administration the last time a mega-container port proposal was put forward."

The study commission will have 12 members, 6 each from the House and Senate, The Providence Journal reported yesterday. Its findings are due Sept. 1.

"In the past, Quonset officials have expressed frustration with the container-port debate, arguing that it overshadows the growth in operations at the existing port, including the expansion of auto-importer NORAD," the Journal reported. "But with the recession starving the state of tax revenue and unemployment approaching 10 percent, lawmakers say the Ocean State should benefit more from its seaside real estate."

"It's imperative that we take advantage of the economic development opportunities that exist at both Quonset and Providence," House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox said in a statement announcing the commission.

For more breaking financial news, click here to visit the Projo Biz Blog.

Archive photo of the Quonset port by Bill Murphy.

PROVIDENCE -- Financially strapped mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. is shopping around Providence Place mall to help cut its $27-billion debt, a company spokesman told The Providence Journal today.

General Growth began marketing the mall for sale amid last month's Christmas rush, confirmed David Keating, senior director of corporate communications for Chicago-based General Growth.

He did not disclose an offering price on the upscale mall in downtown Providence. The offering is being handled by Savills Granite LLC, a New York brokerage.

While its parent company is suffering from a buying binge earlier in the decade, Providence Place apparently stands on firmer footing. At least one analyst, Jeff Green of Jeff Green Partners in San Francisco, estimated the mall registers sales per square foot around $525.

"Providence Place performs darn well," Green said in an interview today. "[The offering] means there's a lot of value in it and they're trying to sell it to pay off other debts."

For more business-related news, visit the Biz Blog.

State Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston, will head the Corporations Committee, which controls key legislation regarding state business regulations.

Miller, who runs two restaurants in downtown Providence, learned of his appointment this morning. He announced his new role today at the Rhode Island Economic Summit, a gathering of small business owners.

Miller, owner of the Trinity Brewhouse and Local 121 restaurants, replaces William A. Walaska, D-Warwick. The leadership change follows the election of M. Teresa Paiva Weed as the state's first female Senate president.

For more business news, visit the Projo Biz Blog..

New data from the secretary of state's office reveals a deep decline in new businesses moving into Rhode Island last year, the sharpest drop since the state began keeping records more than a decade ago.

The number of new business registrations last year (7,138) was down 9 percent from 2007, the most extreme decline since at least 1996. In that period, the number of new businesses rose every year except in 2005, when the total fell by less than 1 percent.

"This stood out," Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis said in an interview today.

For more business news, visit the Projo Biz Blog.

Wire photo
Southwest Airlines, the dominant carrier at T.F. Green Airport, was recently fined $10.2 million for failing to properly conduct safety inspections on its planes.

WARWICK - The maintenance concerns at Southwest Airlines have not caused any delays at T.F. Green Airport, spokeswoman Patti Goldstein says.

Yesterday, Southwest grounded 43 planes to examine if they were structurally sound enough to carry passengers, the Associated Press reported today. The inspections followed criticism from the Federal Aviation Administration that the airline had missed required inspections of some planes for cracks.

Southwest, the dominant carrier in Rhode Island, had cancelled 118 flights nationwide by midday yesterday, about 9 percent of its scheduled flights.

"It didn't impact us at all. We were pleased with that," Goldstein said. "It's an airline with a very good safety record. They addressed the problem."

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Journal archive photo / Bill Murphy
Car importer NORAD is the main user of the port at the Quonset Business Park.

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Automobile importer North Atlantic Distribution plans to start exporting truck cabins from the pier at the Quonset Business Park, a major shift for the company that could boost employment.

Until now, NORAD has concentrated on importing cars, sending away empty, hulking vessels after they unload their cargo.

On Monday, the company plans to load 100 truck cabins, known as cabs, into a ship headed for Emden, Germany, according to Dyana Koelsch, spokeswoman for the Quonset Development Corporation, the agency that runs the state-owned park. The used cabs, which have already begun arriving in Rhode Island, originated in Baltimore, Maryland and were transported on trailers.

"It's definitely a milestone for Quonset," Koelsch said this morning. "It opens that whole activity channel, establishing it as an export port."

NORAD expects to export 300 cabs every month. (The cab is the enclosed space in a truck where the driver sits.) If it reaches that level, the company would likely add employees and hire additional longshoremen at the pier.

NORAD has about 250 employees in North Kingstown. Thirty longshoremen work at the pier unloading more than 100,000 cars from about 120 ships that supply NORAD. The company is the only major user of the port.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog.

>> Continue reading: NORAD to begin exporting truck cabins at Quonset

Journal archive photo / Bill Murphy
Car importer NORAD is the main user of the port at the Quonset Business Park.

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Automobile importer North Atlantic Distribution plans to start exporting truck cabins from the pier at the Quonset Business Park, a major shift for the company that could boost employment.

Until now, NORAD has concentrated on importing cars, sending away empty, hulking vessels after they unload their cargo.

On Monday, the company plans to load 100 truck cabins, known as cabs, into a ship headed for Emden, Germany, according to Dyana Koelsch, spokeswoman for the Quonset Development Corporation, the agency that runs the state-owned park. The used cabs, which have already begun arriving in Rhode Island, originated in Baltimore, Maryland and were transported on trailers.

"It's definitely a milestone for Quonset," Koelsch said this morning. "It opens that whole activity channel, establishing it as an export port."

NORAD expects to export 300 cabs every month. (The cab is the enclosed space in a truck where the driver sits.) If it reaches that level, the company would likely add employees and hire additional longshoremen at the pier.

NORAD has about 250 employees in North Kingstown. Thirty longshoremen work at the pier unloading more than 100,000 cars from about 120 ships that supply NORAD. The company is the only major user of the port.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog.

>> Continue reading: NORAD to begin exporting truck cabins at Quonset

James P. McCarvill, the executive director of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, says there is probably little demand for the building's naming rights.

State Rep. Deborah A. Fellela, D-Johnston, has introduced legislation that would require the authority to solicit bids for the naming rights. The bill, backed by House Finance Committee chairman Steven M. Costantino, would use the revenue to help plug the state's budget gap.

"Every little bit will certainly help the state," House spokesman Larry Berman said last month.

A little bit is all the state should expect, McCarvill told The Providence Journal today.

Sports arenas bring in big bucks for naming rights because the company's name is mentioned on radio and TV and in newspapers whenever a big sporting event or concert is held at the arena, he said. Typical convention center events, such as the New England Saltwater Fishing Show scheduled for April, generate less publicity.

"It's not an easy sell," McCarvill said. "Convention centers are not usually prime prospects for these type of agreements."

Of the money the state brings in for naming rights, McCarvill said, a portion would be spent on changing all signs and stationary for the facility and on giving special access to events to the sponsor.

Dunkin' Donuts has been paying $425,000 a year since 2001 as part of a 10-year agreement for the naming rights to the arena formerly known as the Providence Civic Center. The company, based in Canton, Mass., also provides $100,000 annually in event sponsorship assistance, such as advertisements.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog.

James P. McCarvill, the executive director of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, says there is probably little demand for the building's naming rights.

State Rep. Deborah A. Fellela, D-Johnston, has introduced legislation that would require the authority to solicit bids for the naming rights. The bill, backed by House Finance Committee chairman Steven M. Costantino, would use the revenue to help plug the state's budget gap.

"Every little bit will certainly help the state," House spokesman Larry Berman said last month.

A little bit is all the state should expect, McCarvill told The Providence Journal today.

Sports arenas bring in big bucks for naming rights because the company's name is mentioned on radio and TV and in newspapers whenever a big sporting event or concert is held at the arena, he said. Typical convention center events, such as the New England Saltwater Fishing Show scheduled for April, generate less publicity.

"It's not an easy sell," McCarvill said. "Convention centers are not usually prime prospects for these type of agreements."

Of the money the state brings in for naming rights, McCarvill said, a portion would be spent on changing all signs and stationary for the facility and on giving special access to events to the sponsor.

Dunkin' Donuts has been paying $425,000 a year since 2001 as part of a 10-year agreement for the naming rights to the arena formerly known as the Providence Civic Center. The company, based in Canton, Mass., also provides $100,000 annually in event sponsorship assistance, such as advertisements.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog.

Journal archive photo / Kathy Borchers
Governor Carcieri and Paul J. Choquette Jr., CEO of Gilbane Inc., at an Economic Policy Council meeting in 2006.

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri is combining the state's two economic development agencies, the state Economic Development Corporation and the
Economic Policy Council.

In a statement today, Carcieri said the EDC will now oversee the council, an influential advisory group made up of leading business and political figures. The council will retain a separate advisory board.

The switch, Carcieri said, "will ensure closer alignment around a single economic development strategy, sharpen the state’s focus on priority programs and will save the state money."

“EPC is an important body of the state’s business, university and government leaders and plays a key role in shaping and actively communicating a clear economic development vision for Rhode Island,” Carcieri said. “I will ask the council to lead the private sector effort to improve our business and tax climate and to accelerate our positioning as a high-wage knowledge economy.”

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Journal archive photo / Kathy Borchers
Governor Carcieri and Paul J. Choquette Jr., CEO of Gilbane Inc., at an Economic Policy Council meeting in 2006.

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri is combining the state's two economic development agencies, the state Economic Development Corporation and the
Economic Policy Council.

In a statement today, Carcieri said the EDC will now oversee the council, an influential advisory group made up of leading business and political figures. The council will retain a separate advisory board.

The switch, Carcieri said, "will ensure closer alignment around a single economic development strategy, sharpen the state’s focus on priority programs and will save the state money."

“EPC is an important body of the state’s business, university and government leaders and plays a key role in shaping and actively communicating a clear economic development vision for Rhode Island,” Carcieri said. “I will ask the council to lead the private sector effort to improve our business and tax climate and to accelerate our positioning as a high-wage knowledge economy.”

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Verizon Communications will donate an original Norman Rockwell painting, "The Lineman," to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass.

The oil-on-canvas painting was created by Rockwell in 1948 for an advertisement for New England Telephone, a predecessor company of Verizon. Rockwell used a telephone employee at work in Cheshire, Mass. as the model, Verizon said.

The work was recently appraised at more than $2 million, Verizon said.

The phone company and the museum are holding a ceremony to mark the donation on Wednesday at the museum.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Verizon Communications will donate an original Norman Rockwell painting, "The Lineman," to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass.

The oil-on-canvas painting was created by Rockwell in 1948 for an advertisement for New England Telephone, a predecessor company of Verizon. Rockwell used a telephone employee at work in Cheshire, Mass. as the model, Verizon said.

The work was recently appraised at more than $2 million, Verizon said.

The phone company and the museum are holding a ceremony to mark the donation on Wednesday at the museum.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

PROVIDENCE - A popular Italian restaurant that came to prominence during the resurgence of downtown Providence in the 1990s has closed.

Raphael Bar Risto, located in the Union Station complex owned by the Rhode Island Foundation, filed a petition for receivership late last month in Superior Court, Providence.

The court appointed attorney Allan M. Shine as the receiver last Friday, and the restaurant closed its doors on Monday, Shine said.

The owner, Ralph C. Conte Jr., “indicated that business has fallen off, expenses have risen and he wasn’t able to pay rent and other expenses,” Shine said.

Conte could not be reached for comment today.

Tomorrow, a South County eatery once known for its inexpensive pasta, burgers and grinders, will be open for its last day. The current owner of Giro's also cited rising costs as among the reasons for the move.

>> Continue reading: Popular Providence bistro, Raphael Bar Risto, closes

PROVIDENCE - A popular Italian restaurant that came to prominence during the resurgence of downtown Providence in the 1990s has closed.

Raphael Bar Risto, located in the Union Station complex owned by the Rhode Island Foundation, filed a petition for receivership late last month in Superior Court, Providence.

The court appointed attorney Allan M. Shine as the receiver last Friday, and the restaurant closed its doors on Monday, Shine said.

The owner, Ralph C. Conte Jr., “indicated that business has fallen off, expenses have risen and he wasn’t able to pay rent and other expenses,” Shine said.

Conte could not be reached for comment today.

Tomorrow, a South County eatery once known for its inexpensive pasta, burgers and grinders, will be open for its last day. The current owner of Giro's also cited rising costs as among the reasons for the move.

>> Continue reading: Popular Providence bistro, Raphael Bar Risto, closes

Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano will unveil renewable energy legislation tomorrow at a news conference at 3 p.m., his spokesman announced today.

Senate leaders plan to gather in the State House in room 313 to discuss the bills.

Part of the legislation would "consolidate and coordinate state policies, priorities and investments designed to promote renewable energy," according to a statement released today by Montalbano's spokesman, Greg Pare.

Related bills would encourage private investment in the state’s renewable energy sector; address municipal renewable energy projects; define a method of selling small amounts of renewable energy; and promote small scale projects.

Montalbano, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere and Sen. William A. Walaska plan to attend the announcement. They will be joined by Matt Auten, an advocate for Environment Rhode Island; Daniel C. Beardsley Jr., executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns; and Michael F. Ryan, National Grid’s president of Rhode Island distribution.

Montalbano first announced the bills last month at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon, The Providence Journal reported.

Governor Carcieri has been promoting the development of wind farms off the Rhode Island coast. And there has also been talk of using waves to generate energy.

Today, however, The Providence Journal reported that the agency that regulates Rhode Island’s coastline, the Coastal Resources Management Council, has proposed a one-year moratorium on wind farms and wave generators so it can develop a special management plan that will determine where such projects will be allowed.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

--- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano will unveil renewable energy legislation tomorrow at a news conference at 3 p.m., his spokesman announced today.

Senate leaders plan to gather in the State House in room 313 to discuss the bills.

Part of the legislation would "consolidate and coordinate state policies, priorities and investments designed to promote renewable energy," according to a statement released today by Montalbano's spokesman, Greg Pare.

Related bills would encourage private investment in the state’s renewable energy sector; address municipal renewable energy projects; define a method of selling small amounts of renewable energy; and promote small scale projects.

Montalbano, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere and Sen. William A. Walaska plan to attend the announcement. They will be joined by Matt Auten, an advocate for Environment Rhode Island; Daniel C. Beardsley Jr., executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns; and Michael F. Ryan, National Grid’s president of Rhode Island distribution.

Montalbano first announced the bills last month at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon, The Providence Journal reported.

Governor Carcieri has been promoting the development of wind farms off the Rhode Island coast. And there has also been talk of using waves to generate energy.

Today, however, The Providence Journal reported that the agency that regulates Rhode Island’s coastline, the Coastal Resources Management Council, has proposed a one-year moratorium on wind farms and wave generators so it can develop a special management plan that will determine where such projects will be allowed.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

--- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Citizens Financial Group has appointed Ellen Alemany as its chief executive officer, a position held by Lawrence K. Fish from 1992 until last March.

Alemany already held the title of CEO of RBS America, a new organizational unit at the Royal Bank of Scotland that oversees all of the bank's U.S.-based divisions.

Alemany replaces Stephen D. Steinour, a longtime Fish deputy who served as Citizens' president and CEO for less than a year. In a statement, Citizens said Steinour had made a "personal decision" to "spend more time with his family."

Alemany has named James G. Connolly as Citizens' new president. Connolly had served as vice chairman of commercial markets.

The changes come after a second consecutive year of relatively flat earnings for Citizens.

Last year, operating profit at Citizens dropped 9 percent, to $2.65 billion, The Providence Journal reported. Net income was down 16 percent after the conversion to British pounds.

In announcing its 2007 earnings, RBS said the slowing U.S. economy was hurting the growth of Providence-based Citizens. "Against a weaker economic backdrop in the U.S., Citizens, whilst performing well relative to its peers, experienced testing conditions," RBS said in its earnings report.

In December, Fish told employees that he had given up his remaining operational responsibilities for the Royal Bank, The Providence Journal reported.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Citizens Financial Group has appointed Ellen Alemany as its chief executive officer, a position held by Lawrence K. Fish from 1992 until last March.

Alemany already held the title of CEO of RBS America, a new organizational unit at the Royal Bank of Scotland that oversees all of the bank's U.S.-based divisions.

Alemany replaces Stephen D. Steinour, a longtime Fish deputy who served as Citizens' president and CEO for less than a year. In a statement, Citizens said Steinour had made a "personal decision" to "spend more time with his family."

Alemany has named James G. Connolly as Citizens' new president. Connolly had served as vice chairman of commercial markets.

The changes come after a second consecutive year of relatively flat earnings for Citizens.

Last year, operating profit at Citizens dropped 9 percent, to $2.65 billion, The Providence Journal reported. Net income was down 16 percent after the conversion to British pounds.

In announcing its 2007 earnings, RBS said the slowing U.S. economy was hurting the growth of Providence-based Citizens. "Against a weaker economic backdrop in the U.S., Citizens, whilst performing well relative to its peers, experienced testing conditions," RBS said in its earnings report.

In December, Fish told employees that he had given up his remaining operational responsibilities for the Royal Bank, The Providence Journal reported.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Turmoil in the real estate and credit markets is straining Citizens Financial Group, the bank's parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland, said today.

In all, operating profit at Citizens dropped 9 percent last year, to $2.65 billion. The continuing devaluation of the U.S. dollar made that drop even more painful for RBS; net income was down 16 percent after the conversion to British pounds.

In announcing its 2007 earnings, RBS said the sputtering U.S. economy slowed the growth of Providence-based Citizens last year. "Against a weaker economic backdrop in the U.S., Citizens, whilst performing well relative to its peers, experienced testing conditions," RBS said in its earnings report.

"Market conditions remain difficult," RBS said, "and we continue to respond to challenging income prospects with tight cost control."

U.S. operations were not all bad news for Scotland-based RBS. Citizens, the ninth-largest bank in the United States, grew its consumer banking customer base by 2 percent, RBS said. Boosted by higher fees, Citizens saw its revenue grow by 2 percent to $6.24 billion.

Average loans increased by 4 percent in 2007, despite "close attention being paid to our risk appetite," RBS said. Average customer deposits rose by 1 percent. And Citizens increased its credit card customer base by 20 percent.

But the crisis in the credit market undermined those gains. Impairment losses increased from 0.31 percent of loans to 0.60 percent. After the conversion to pounds, total revenue dropped by 6 percent.

Over all, RBS reported an 18-percent rise in net income in 2007.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

>> Continue reading: Citizens operating profit drops 9%; revenue up 2%

Turmoil in the real estate and credit markets is straining Citizens Financial Group, the bank's parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland, said today.

In all, operating profit at Citizens dropped 9 percent last year, to $2.65 billion. The continuing devaluation of the U.S. dollar made that drop even more painful for RBS; net income was down 16 percent after the conversion to British pounds.

In announcing its 2007 earnings, RBS said the sputtering U.S. economy slowed the growth of Providence-based Citizens last year. "Against a weaker economic backdrop in the U.S., Citizens, whilst performing well relative to its peers, experienced testing conditions," RBS said in its earnings report.

"Market conditions remain difficult," RBS said, "and we continue to respond to challenging income prospects with tight cost control."

U.S. operations were not all bad news for Scotland-based RBS. Citizens, the ninth-largest bank in the United States, grew its consumer banking customer base by 2 percent, RBS said. Boosted by higher fees, Citizens saw its revenue grow by 2 percent to $6.24 billion.

Average loans increased by 4 percent in 2007, despite "close attention being paid to our risk appetite," RBS said. Average customer deposits rose by 1 percent. And Citizens increased its credit card customer base by 20 percent.

But the crisis in the credit market undermined those gains. Impairment losses increased from 0.31 percent of loans to 0.60 percent. After the conversion to pounds, total revenue dropped by 6 percent.

Over all, RBS reported an 18-percent rise in net income in 2007.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

>> Continue reading: Citizens operating profit drops 9%; revenue up 2%

Journal archive photo / Connie Grosch
Fall River high school students take advantage of post-Christmas sales at the Providence Place mall in December.

PROVIDENCE -- Sales tax receipts at Providence Place mall jumped 28.4 percent in December, reaching a record of nearly $2.6 million, according to figures compiled by the state Division of Taxation.

The monthly tax figure bests the previous monthly record of $2 million, set in December 2006.

For the year, stores in Providence Place generated $13,981,625 in sales taxes for the state, also a new record.

The financial and legislative assistance that helped make Providence Place a reality put a unique requirement on the mall: It is the only shopping center in the state that must file sales tax returns.

Because of the way mall stores turn over their sales tax receipts to the state, there is a lag of more than four weeks before the totals can be made public, according to division officials. Consequently, December’s total weren't available until this month.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Journal archive photo / Connie Grosch
Fall River high school students take advantage of post-Christmas sales at the Providence Place mall in December.

PROVIDENCE -- Sales tax receipts at Providence Place mall jumped 28.4 percent in December, reaching a record of nearly $2.6 million, according to figures compiled by the state Division of Taxation.

The monthly tax figure bests the previous monthly record of $2 million, set in December 2006.

For the year, stores in Providence Place generated $13,981,625 in sales taxes for the state, also a new record.

The financial and legislative assistance that helped make Providence Place a reality put a unique requirement on the mall: It is the only shopping center in the state that must file sales tax returns.

Because of the way mall stores turn over their sales tax receipts to the state, there is a lag of more than four weeks before the totals can be made public, according to division officials. Consequently, December’s total weren't available until this month.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Journal file photo / Ruben W. Perez
The Veterans Memorial Auditorium may be taken over by the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority.

PROVIDENCE -- Businesses interested in managing the Veterans Memorial Auditorium toured the performance hall this morning, examining both the building's new seats and repaired ceiling and its three floors of vacant and neglected office space.

The nonprofit group that runs the VMA had been scheduled to take full ownership from the state in July. But concerns over its fundraising ability have caused state officials to reconsider that agreement, The Providence Journal has reported.

Now, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, which also runs the Dunkin' Donuts Center, is moving to take over the VMA as well.

The authority organized today's tour, inviting management companies to study the building before submitting proposals to help operate it.

The current operator, the Veterans Memorial Auditorium Foundation, estimates that the building may need millions of dollars in improvements.

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

John Maeda, the new president of the Rhode Island School of Design, will deliver a speech at this year's Business EXPO, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce announced today.

The speech, advertised by the chamber as Maeda's "first appearance in Rhode Island," will take place at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

The Business EXPO will be held on May 6 to May 7. Maeda's speech, titled "The Future of Technology, Design, and Simplicity,” is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6.

The Providence Journal reported on Maeda's hiring in December, calling him "a prominent artist, designer and educator who is currently the associate director of research at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

For more local breaking business news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Journal archive photo / Glenn Osmundson
Kevin Dillon, the new head of T.F. Green Airport, starts next Monday.

Passenger traffic at T.F. Green Airport dropped again last month as the airport recorded its lowest January total since 2004.

For the month, 345,465 travelers landed or boarded flights at Rhode Island's largest airport, a 2.1-percent drop from the same period last year. In January 2005, 380,622 passengers used Green Airport, 9.2 percent more than last month.

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation announced the January numbers one week before Kevin Dillon is set to arrive as the agency's new director.

Dillon, in a brief visit to Rhode Island last month, promised bold moves to reverse the airport's slump, The Providence Journal reported.

He has his work cut out for him. In December, Green Airport recorded 354,641 passengers, 5.6 percent fewer than the same period in 2006 and 17.1 percent fewer than in December 2004.

Last year, Green Airport moved 5.02 million passengers, down 3.5 percent from 2006. That decline followed a 9-percent drop the year before.

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Journal archive photo / Kathy Borchers
Soap fragments go through a dryer inside Bradford's West Warwick plant in 2005.

WEST WARWICK -- Employees at Bradford Soap Works, who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 251, have accepted a new five-year contract, according to the company.

The current contract was due to expire in 15 months. Employees approved the new agreement yesterday.

The deal is a positive development for a company that has previously threatened to leave the state. In 2004, Bradford Soap announced plans to close its West Warwick plant and move 250 jobs to facilities in Indiana and Ohio, citing high labor costs. But Governor Carcieri and the state Economic Development Corporation intervened, brokering a new contract agreement between the company and its employees.

Bradford Chairman John Howland celebrated the contract vote. "A win for Bradford is a win for Bradford employees and a win for the state of Rhode Island," he said in a statement.

"The actions and decisions made in 2004, however necessary, ushered in a long period of
rebuilding for Bradford," Howland said. "We have had to rationalize our manufacturing operations nationally and internationally, and entirely rebuild our relationship with our staff and employees at all levels."

Bradford Soap, established in Rhode Island in 1876, calls itself the world's largest manufacturer of specialty soaps. It operates the Valley Queen Mill in West Warwick, an historic stone structure built in 1889 along the Pawtuxet River.

Journal Staff Photo / Mary Murphy
Developer Arthur W. Sullivan discusses plans to convert the Slater Cotton Mill in Pawtucket into residential rental units.

PAWTUCKET -- A New Hampshire developer said this morning his company will move forward with a $22-million project to build rental residences in a Pawtucket mill building, despite the slackening economy.

Arthur W. Sullivan, of Brady Sullivan Properties, said the project will succeed despite an economic downturn that has tightened credit markets and all but crushed the demand for condominiums.

"The market is slowing down a bit," Sullivan told The Providence Journal. "[But] we have the capital to make these things work."

Sullivan's plan to convert the Slater Cotton Mill in central Pawtucket to 124 rental units is his company's second project in Rhode Island. In October, the company paid $2.4 million for the Grant Mill building in Providence.

>> Continue reading: N.H. developer bucks economic trend with mill project

A 1951 photo of the Seabee chapel at Quonset, where Seabee veterans hopes to build a new museum.

PROVIDENCE -- The Seabee Museum and Memorial Park at the Quonset Business Park announced a $50,000 donation today that will help pay for a new museum celebrating the history of the Seabees.

The New Boston Fund, the Boston developers who are building the Quonset Gateway project at the state-owned park, are giving the money.

"We have come to know the Seabees," Jerry Pucillo, a senior vice president at New Boston, said today at a press conference at the State House, where he called the Seabees "our heroic engineers."

The new museum is being incorporated in the Quonset Gateway development.

In all, the Seabees hope to raise $250,000 for the new museum by the end of next year.

The Seabees were "naval construction battalions that speedily built docks, housing, and airstrips in combat zones during World War II," according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Known by their slogan, “We Build, We Fight,” the Seabees' primary mission has been to handle critical construction projects in war zones.

For more business-related news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Journal archive photo / Gretchen Ertl
A Paragon employee last summer prepares for the annual warehouse sale. The facility, in Westerly, is closing in March.

The Paragon, a Westerly mail-order firm that has operated since 1972, is closing its complex in the town and laying off its 119 employees there.

Cheryl Rinfret, a company spokeswoman, confirmed in an interview with The Providence Journal that the warehouse and call center will be shuttered on March 31. The work performed in Rhode Island will be handled in a building in West Virginia owned by The Paragon's parent company, the AB&C Group, Rinfret said.

"They have the same thing in West Virginia," Rinfret said. "It's duplicated right now."

The Paragon has not determined what, if any, severance package its employees may receive, Rinfret said.

The company sells a variety of gift products, such as jewelry, rugs and clocks.

For more business-related news, visit the Biz Blog at projo.com/business.

Journal file photo
The Bank of America tower, built in 1927, is the tallest building in the state.

PROVIDENCE -- The Inland Real Estate Corporation has sold the Art Deco-style Bank of America tower, known locally as "the Superman building," to High Rock Westminster Street LLC, a company affiliated with Compass Realty Associates in Burlington, Mass., according to the broker, NAI Hunneman Commercial.

The deal closed on Friday, Jonathan Aron, a vice president at NAI Hunneman, said. High Rock paid $33 million.

“It’s such a landmark building,” Aron said. “It’s such an identifiable building in Providence.”

The Superman reference, for those of a certain age, stems from the similarity to the Daily Planet building, workplace of Clark Kent, aka Superman, in the 1950s TV series about the comic-book hero.

Journal file photo / Kathy Borchers
The Riverpoint Lace Works mill, in West Warwick.

An investment group has purchased the Riverpoint Lace Works in West Warwick, preserving more than 50 manufacturing jobs.

In November, the business filed for state receivership, a form of bankruptcy, raising the possibility that its equipment could be sold for scrap to pay back creditors.

Instead, the Palmisciano-Ponte Investment Group bid $300,000 to buy the company and continue operating it, Peter Palmisciano Jr. said during a press conference tonight.

"We saw an opportunity," Palmisciano said. "We feel we can walk in and help businesses turn around."

PROVIDENCE — Dressed in lab coats and clutching Spiderman Band-Aids, a platoon of medical students fanned out across the State House today, buttonholing legislators to argue against proposed cuts to the RIte Care program.

Their guerrilla lobbying followed a protest in the rotunda, where health-care leaders lambasted Governor Carcieri for his attempts to strip nearly 9,000 low-income residents from the state’s health-care rolls.

“It is a crisis of fairness,” K. Nicholas Tsiongas, president of the Rhode Island Medical Society, said, drawing applause from doctors and nurses holding placards on the marble staircase. “I am in despair of the recent course set for Rhode Island.”

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

The state Department of Health plans to require hospitals to buy carbon monoxide screening equipment as part of a campaign to prevent deaths from the toxic and odorless gas.

The effort, scheduled to be announced tomorrow, comes two weeks after a woman, her boyfriend and her 14-year-old son died in their Providence home after their boiler apparently began leaking carbon monoxide.

Health Department Director David R. Gifford has proposed an amendment to hospital licensing regulations that would compel the purchase of carbon monoxide screening instruments, such as a type of a pulse oximeter that measures carbon monoxide levels in addition to the oxygen content in a patient’s blood.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

The Brooks-Eckerd building, under contruction in 2006.
Journal photo / Bob Thayer

New England Institute of Technology said today that is has entered into an agreement with Rite Aid Corp. to acquire a 25-acre property on the former Rocky Hill Fairgrounds and a 285,000-square-foot building once intended to house the Brooks-Eckerd corporate headquarters.

“In a surprising and unanticipated development just before Christmas, we renewed discussions with Rite Aid regarding the sale of the former Brooks building," said Richard Gouse, New England Tech's president. "Rite Aid reconsidered an offer from the college and a purchase-and-sale agreement has been negotiated and was signed today.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Last July, the college announced a long-term plan to move from its present location on Post Road in Warwick to a new 200-acre campus in East Greenwich.

“We are extremely excited about this new development and have asked our professional campus planners to immediately incorporate this site into our proposed campus plan," Gouse said. "As we have stated from the beginning, we have every intention of working closely with town officials to ensure that our campus development protects the high quality of life enjoyed by East Greenwich residents.”

Residents of a nearby condominium have complained about the proposed campus.

Brooks-Eckerd never occupied the building because the drugstore company was acquired by rival Rite Aid Corp.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

In a sharply worded letter, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian has lambasted the Federal Aviation Administration for rejecting the city's proposal that it consider limiting any runway expansion at T.F. Green Airport to 8,300 feet.

This past summer, Avedisian called on the FAA to broaden the alternatives it is considering for a runway expansion beyond the 8,700 feet and 9,350 feet options. Last month, the FAA denied that request, arguing that any shorter expansion would unacceptably restrict the number of passengers the airport could send on cross-country flights.

In an interview with The Providence Journal at the time, Avedisian criticized that decision. Now, he has sent a formal response to the FAA, saying the FAA's letter "simply reiterates the assumptions and inaccuracies that have been consistently presented by the FAA."

"The most recent FAA response simply reiterates its previous position in order to validate a predetermined minimum runway length," Avedisian said.

Avedisian, a longtime airport critic, said the FAA had not seriously considered the potential impacts on homes and businesses near Green Airport. As he has in the past, he also argued that the plane the FAA is trying to accommodate, the Boeing 737-500, is not fuel efficient and is increasingly less popular among airlines flying across the country.

That decision, Avedisian said, could be grounds for a lawsuit against the FAA.

>> Continue reading: Warwick mayor lashes out at FAA over runway

Sixth-grader Malick Karmoko watches "Walking on the Moon" at the Feinstein IMAX Theatre in 2005.

PROVIDENCE -- IMAX Corp. has sold the Feinstein IMAX Theatre to National Amusements Inc., giving National Amusements control over both cinemas in the Providence Place mall.

The deal closed on Monday, according to Stephen Romanello, the theater's former director. The ownership change is expected to be announced tomorrow.

Spokesmen for both companies declined to comment today. In an e-mail, Sarah Gormley, a spokeswoman for IMAX Corp., headquartered in Toronto and New York City, said the company would not say what it was paid for the theater.

IMAX, a large-format film company, offers giant screens and 3-D experiences to movie goers. It designs and operates IMAX theatres and manufactures cameras and projectors. National
Amusements, a privately held company based in Dedham, Mass., operates more than 1,500 movie screens in the U.S., U.K., Latin America and Russia under the brands Showcase, Multiplex, Cinema de Lux and KinoStar.

>> Continue reading: National Amusements buys Providence Place IMAX