Rhode Island Business News: July 2022

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TEAMER will reimburse URIs for research that costs up to $150,000 per project.

The program is focused on marine energy, which is renewable energy that is harnessed from the natural movement of water, such as ocean waves, tides, rivers and ocean currents.

“Companies can test a device at URI that is designed to extract these types of energy,” URI professor Reza Hashemi said in a statement. “For example, a company could build a scale model of a tidal energy device in URI’s wave current to study how much energy can be extracted or how wave loads affect the device’s performance.

“There is great potential to hire graduate students, along with the technicians at URI, to work and perform the necessary experiments and analyze the data,” Hashemi said. “This will provide a great opportunity for students to work directly on research and development with marine renewable energy companies.”

RI physician listed on the National Electronic Health Records Advisory Board

Dr. Jared Anderson, an emergency medicine physician at Rhode Island and Miriam hospitals, was elected to the emergency medicine specialty board for Epic this week.

Epic is electronic health record software used by academic medical centers, community hospitals and other healthcare providers in the US and around the world.

The board advises on the needs of clinicians in “retrieval and storage of electronic health records and provides feedback on the user experience of Epic’s software” that are designed to improve patient care and outcomes.

More than 250 million patients have a current electronic record in Epic.

North Providence’s local director has been named director Spectrum Health System

Mark Oris of North Providence, Rhode Island, has been named the new executive director of inpatient services at Spectrum Health Systems, a Worcester, Mass.-based provider of addiction treatment.

Orris will join Spectrum with more than 20 years of experience and will be responsible for the development, implementation and control of Spectrum’s budgeting and plans, according to a company spokesperson.

July 8, 2022

Reid announces $12 million more to support affordable housing

U.S. Sen. Jack Reid announced Friday a new $12 million federal housing grant for Rhode Island to fund the development, construction and preservation of affordable housing. These funds will help attract additional private and public investment to develop and finance affordable housing projects, according to Reed’s office.

Reid, a Democrat from Rhode Island, helped create the Capital Magnet Fund in 2008, which was designed to support community development financial institutions and nonprofit housing developers that increase investment in affordable housing and economic development activities or community service facilities such as day care centers or other workforce development centers.

This new grant through the Capital Magnet Fund from the Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund builds on the $16.6 million that Rhode Island Housing received in previous years through the Fund.

“Rhode Islanders need homes they can afford, and every dollar of funding received goes a long way toward ensuring families have a roof over their heads, people working in construction and related fields stay on the job, neighborhoods are revitalizing and our state is getting stronger,” said Carol Ventura, RIHousing’s executive director. “We are very grateful to Senator Reid for his leadership and commitment to providing solutions to the challenges we face.”

Rhode Island Housing was one of 59 organizations nationwide selected by the Treasury Department. A total of $336.4 million was administered through the program.

“We must continue to work together to expand opportunities for affordable and sustainable housing,” Reid said in a statement. “In this challenging housing market, it is essential that we build more affordable housing, and this federal funding will help attract essential housing investment.”

The Capital Magnet Fund requires recipients, such as Rhode Island Housing, to attract at least $10 in housing and economic development investment for every $1 in federal funds.

July 7, 2022

McKee signs bill to supply offshore wind energy

EAST PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – Gov. Dan McKee signed legislation Wednesday that requires the state’s dominant electric company to acquire 600 to 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind power for the state’s power grid. Rhode Island Energy will have until October to issue the order. 15 this year under legislation that was sponsored by state Sen. Dawn Euer, D-Newport, and Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston.

“Adding clean offshore wind capacity is essential to meet our new goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2033 and our goal of reducing climate emissions,” McKee said in a news release promoting the new law , which he signed at Quonset Point.

Electricity from that order could power about 340,000 homes a year, McKee’s office said. This will meet about 30 percent of the state’s energy needs in 2030.

There are several offshore wind projects in development off Rhode Island, which was home to the nation’s first demonstration project, the Block Island Wind Farm.

The legislation would allow the Public Utilities Commission to decide whether Rhode Island Energy will receive a payment of up to 1 percent of the contract amount under the deal. — BRIAN AMARAL

June 28, 2022

92 percent of Bally’s Twin River Casino workers vote to strike

SMITHFIELD, Rhode Island — More than 92 percent of workers at Bally’s Twin River Casino voted to authorize a strike late Tuesday, 6/28 evening. If the union and the casino do not reach an agreement when they meet on Wednesday, 6/29, workers could go on strike as soon as their contract expires on Friday, the union said in a press release.7/1

The workers, who began bargaining with the casino on June 24, are demanding the company increase staffing, offer more full-time hours and raise wages to match the rising cost of living.

New leadership at Leadership RI as CEO takes position at Gallup in Washington

Mike Ritz, executive director of Leadership Rhode Island (or LRI), has accepted a new position at Gallup, a global analytics firm in Washington, DC. There, he will lead the company’s strategic efforts as executive director of a new government leadership institute.

Michelle Carr, LRI’s deputy director, will take over for Ritz.

“I can leave with confidence knowing that Michelle Carr, our Deputy Director, is more than ready to take over. We worked in tandem for almost eight years growing and developing LRI. She is the perfect person to take this organization to new heights,” Ritz said.

East Providence Workforce Training Program Receives $350k Federal Investment

congressman David N. Cicilline announced a $350,000 federal investment that will support a new workforce and professional development program for approximately 530 low- to moderate-income adults in East Providence.

Program participants will enroll in certificate courses through Roger Williams University that will be aimed at improving employability by “cultivating industry-specific, computing and leadership skills.”

Cicilline’s office said he secured that funding in the general spending bill for fiscal year 2022. The program is one of 10 requests for funding for community projects that he made to the Appropriations Committee. All ten projects recommended by the congressman were funded.

More business news from Rhode Island.


Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.



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