Briefs
CCRI President Meghan Hughes announces plan to step down
After eight years leading Rhode Island’s state two-year degree school, the first female president of the Community College of Rhode Island has announced she will step down from her post on August 31. “Serving as CCRI’s president has been the greatest professional honor of my lifetime, and I am profoundly grateful to all the faculty, […]
No competition: State bid for more offshore wind gets one response
It was supposed to be a competitive bidding process when the state announced last October it wanted to bring more offshore wind to Rhode Island. But only one development team responded. The 884-megawatt farm proposed by Orsted A/S and Eversource Energy submitted the lone proposal to Rhode Island Energy, the state’s primary utility operator announced […]
$3.7M in federal home-heating funding coming to Ocean State
Rhode Island is getting an extra $3.7 million to help low-income residents keep the heat on at home, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed announced Thursday.
Governor appoints new chair to Council on Behavioral Health
The chief impact and equity officer for the United Way of Rhode Island has been appointed chair of the Governor’s Council on Behavioral Health. Gov. Dan McKee announced Wednesday the appointment of Larry Warner to lead the 22-member council, made up of representatives from a variety of interests within the mental health field. Warner replaces […]
NOAA to open $150M marine research base in Newport
A federal marine operations and research base is shipping off to Aquidneck Island. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed on Wednesday announced that the government was finalizing plans to relocate the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Operations Center from Norfolk, Virginia, to Newport Naval Station. The $150 million project will bring about 200 jobs to […]
Orsted A/S and Eversource Energy submit joint wind farm proposal
Familiar names in Rhode Island offshore wind are vying for a contract to bring even more offshore wind energy to the Ocean State. Orsted A/S and Eversource Energy are proposing an 884-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Block Island, within the same federal lease area as the 100-turbine project they are already developing for […]
McKee budget grants sales tax break for pickup truck trade-ins
If approved, pickup truck owners would get a tax discount on their purchase of a new or used vehicle equal to the sales tax on the value of the truck they are trading in.
Sentencing delayed for former 6/10 construction project supervisor
The sentencing of a former superintendent of the state’s ongoing $410 million Route 6/10 renovations will have to wait another day, a spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department said. A department spokesperson said no new sentencing date had been scheduled for Dennis Ferreira, a former employee of Barletta Heavy Division, Inc., a Massachusetts company responsible […]
$3.5 million in renovations coming to T.F. Green for Breeze expansion
WARWICK — The corporation that operates Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport will reimburse Breeze Airways $3.5 million to expand its base of operations and create the first permanent hub in the airport’s history. The Rhode Island Airport Corporation’s (RIAC) board of directors unanimously approved the funding March 9 to allow the airliner to pay […]
States to receive $2.5B from feds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure
The federal government will send $2.5 billion over the next five years to states, local governments and tribes to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. The new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, which was authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will spend $2.5 billion over five years to build […]