Projo Biz Blog

The International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) in Newport will host a career information session Thursday evening from 6 to 8 in the auditorium on the Newport Campus of the Community College of Rhode Island. The session will offer information about careers in the marine manufacturing trades.

IYRS offers both short-term training sessions as well as one- and two- year programs in marine systems and boat building. Individuals can sign up for a nine-day introductory course called the Marine Trades Training Program from Feb. 17 to Feb. 27. The course is followed by a Marine Industry Career Day on Feb. 28 where individuals can connect with area employers.

For information about Thursday's session, contact John Freer at IYRS at jfreer@iyrs.org or call 401-848-5777.

There may not be room in its newsroom for the state's legions of unemployed, but The Rhode Island Catholic, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Providence, is trying to lend a hand.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has announced plans to publish free help-wanted advertisements and classified ads from jobseekers. "Our readers span a really broad demographic," Marcia Grann O'Brien, the newspaper's editor and general manager, told The Providence Journal today. "All of us, what ever our religion or ethnic background, we've all been hit by this horrendous economic downturn."

The newspaper will publish the free ads in its print edition on Thursdays and on its Web site on Saturdays, according to a statement. The next edition of Rhode Island Catholic, formerly known as the The Providence Visitor, is scheduled to be published this week.

--Benjamin N. Gedan
Business Staff Writer

House prices in Rhode Island fell nearly 20 percent in November, and sales for the month fell to their lowest level in more than a decade, The Warren Group reported today.

The median price of a single-family house in November was $205,000, down 19.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Boston-based research firm. House prices have now been declining by double-digits for six consecutive months.

Sales of single-family houses in November fell 21.1 percent from a year earlier, the worst sales pace for the month since 1996, the report said. The decline followed an 11 percent increase in October sales from a year earlier.

So far this year, single-family house sales are down 14.2 percent, and prices are down 12.4 percent, according to The Warren Group.

The median selling price for single-family homes in Rhode Island plunged almost 20 percent in November, marking the steepest percentage decline in year-over-year monthly prices since The Warren Group began tracking the state's real estate market in 1989.

The median price for single-family homes fell 19.6 percent to $205,000 from $255,000 in November 2007, according to The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate tracking firm.

November's percentage decline was even sharper than September's when median home prices slumped 17 percent compared to a year earlier. Year-to-date the median home price has retreated 12.4 percent to $234,250 from $267,500.

"November is the sixth consecutive month that median home prices in Rhode Island have been off by double-digit percentages. Homeowners are being pushed to lower asking prices as buyers, shaken by stock market woes and unemployment growth, hold back on making major purchases," said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "Home prices won't recover until consumer confidence picks up and sales climb for several months."

Governor Carcieri this morning will join the new owners and employees of Bradford Printing and Finishing LLC to reopen the reorganized company in Westerly.

Bradford Printing and Finishing replaces the old Bradford Dyeing Association, which closed its doors in late November. About 80 workers have been hired at the new company. The jobs will pay an average about $15.50 an hour, roughly the same pay offered by the old Bradford Dyeing Association.

Nick Griseto, chief executive officer president of the new company, said production will start Tuesday.

Bradford Dyeing had operated since 1911 and printed 15 million yards of fabric each year, mostly for the U.S. military. Griseto, formerly executive vice president for sales and marketing at Bradford Dyeing, said the new entity is buying the old company's property, building and equipment from former owner Michael Grills. Griseto said the new company already has production contracts in place.

Griseto's partners include former Bradford colleague Vasco Ferreira, who will be chief financial officer. They will also bring on Craig Nichols, Bradford's plant manager.

By Paul Edward Parker
Journal staff writer

Following a growing trend among supermarket pharmacies, Stop & Shop will provide nine types of antibiotics free to customers with a prescription.

"This whole thing started a couple years ago with Walmart starting $4 generic prescriptions," said James G. Hertel, a food retailing consultant. "One of the things that has characterized food retailing in the last 15 years has been the story of Walmart and their ability to grow grocery sales. It had the industry scrambling."

Hertel said supermarkets nationwide have been losing market share to Walmart and looking for ways to fight back.

Two years ago, Meijer, a Midwestern chain with Walmart-like super centers selling groceries and department-store goods, started offering free antibiotics in its pharmacies. It has been joined by Publix, based in Florida; United Supermarkets, in Texas, and Schnucks, based in Missouri, among others.

Unlike those chains, which adopted free antibiotics as a permanent program, Stop & Shop will offer the giveaway only from Jan. 2 to March 21. Covered drugs included various dosages and forms of amoxicillin, ampicillin, bacitracin, cephalexin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, erythromycin, penicillin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (SMZ-TMP).

Giant Food Stores, a Mid-Atlantic chain owned by Stop & Shop parent company Royal Ahold, of the Netherlands, is offering the same program as Stop & Shop. The chains are also offering 90-day supplies of more than 350 generic prescription drugs for $9.99.

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Lowe's Companies plans to open its new store in North Kingstown at 6 a.m. on Jan. 9.

The home improvement store will be at 1530 Davisville Road, the northwest corner of Gate and Davisville roads. It will have 117,000 square feet of retail sales space and an additional 32,900-square-foot garden center.

A grand opening ceremony will be on Jan. 15. Lowe's will match up to $5,000 in gift cards bought that day and donate the money to Habitat for Humanity.

The company said a store of that size represents an average investment in the community of approximately $18.5 million and creates up to 175 new jobs.

Lowe's entered the Rhode Island market in 2001. This will be its fifth store in the state.