Projo Biz Blog

August 17, 2008 - August 23, 2008 Archives


GateHouse replaces chief financial officer

11:17 AM Fri, Aug 22, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Business staff    Email

GateHouse Media, the financially-troubled company that owns the Herald News of Fall River and the Taunton Daily Gazette in Massachusetts, said it is replacing its chief financial officer. Mark Thompson has resigned for personal reasons, Gatehouse said, and will be......

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Looff Carousel to reopen

9:26 AM Fri, Aug 22, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Business staff    Email

The newly-refurbished Looff Carousel in Pawtucket will be reopened with a special ceremony at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The carousel was temporarily closed to the public during renovations paid for by a $93,317 state preservation grant from the Rhode Island......

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Assets of Education Partnership hit auction block next Tuesday

3:29 PM Thu, Aug 21, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Andrea Panciera    Email

PROVIDENCE -- The assets of a business-backed advocacy group, the Education Partnership, which went into receivership in June, are slated to go up for auction next week, the auction company announced today. Tuesday's auction will be at the nonprofit partnership's......

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S&P affirm's Providence's bond rating

2:12 PM Thu, Aug 21, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Business staff    Email

Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, has affirmed Providence's "A" bond rating and raised the city's financial outlook from stable to positive. In its report to investors, Standard and Poor's stated, "the positive outlook reflects the city's recent improvements in......

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KVH reports top executive salaries

1:55 PM Thu, Aug 21, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Business staff    Email

KVH Industries, in Middletown, reported in a filing with federal regulators the new base salaries for several top executives, including $374,842 for Martin A. Kits van Heyningen, president and chief executive officer. The other base salaries are: $249,471, Patrick J.......

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Newport boat show set for September

10:21 AM Thu, Aug 21, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Business staff    Email

The Newport International Boat Show will be held September 11 through 14 and will cover 15 acres along America's Cup Avenue, stretching from the Newport Yachting Center to Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina. More than 850 exhibitors with over 700......

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Hospital overseer, state in dispute over licensing fee

10:04 AM Thu, Aug 21, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Paul Grimaldi    Email

The lawyer overseeing financially troubled Landmark Medical Center is contesting the amount of an annual licensing fee the Woonsocket hospital must pay the state. Jonathan N. Savage contends in court documents that the hospital does not have to the full......

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Foreclosure workshop to be held Saturday

2:38 PM Wed, Aug 20, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Business staff    Email

Homeowners in the city struggling to meet their mortgage payments can start getting help renegotiating their loans on Saturday during a financial workshop sponsored by a Providence nonprofit group. "It is our goal to help every family stay in their......

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BJ's raises profit forecast

8:19 AM Wed, Aug 20, 2008 | | Write a comment
By John Kostrzewa    Email

BJ's Wholesale Club Ithis morning reported that its profit edged up in the second-quarter and raised its full-year earnings forecast as frugal shoppers look for deals at discounters. The Natick, Mass.-based retailer said it earned $36.5 million, or 61 cents......

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Textron told to slow work on Bell Helicopter

8:19 AM Wed, Aug 20, 2008 | | Comments (3)
By John Kostrzewa    Email

Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter unit was directed to reduce work for three months on the $6.27 billion Army Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program while the Pentagon decides whether it should continue, a service spokesman told Bloomberg News this morning. The slowdown......

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Astro-Med reports boost in profits

4:22 PM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By John Kostrzewa    Email

Astro-Med Inc., of West Warwick, today reported second quarter net income of $1.15 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, up 30 percent from $886,000, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales were $19.78 million, up from......

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Bergstrom finds new job in Connecticut

3:39 PM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By John Kostrzewa    Email

By Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau The former head of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has landed the top spot in the Urban Redevelopment Commission for Stamford, Conn., the city from whence he first came to the Ocean......

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Developer unveils design for proposed casino in New Bedford

3:08 PM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Paul Grimaldi    Email

Northeast Resorts today offered up its vision for a resort casino in New Bedford, where it controls a swath of land along the city's waterfront. Northeast, which includes Leon Dragone as one of its principals, owns or has options for......

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Mall retailer Whitehall Jewelers liquidating inventory

11:31 AM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By Paul Grimaldi    Email

Whitehall Jewelers started selling off its inventory over the weekend as it began a court-approved liquidation sale. On June 23, the Chicago-based retailer sought protection from its creditors in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The liquidation sale will involve all......

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Newport Grand installing new video slot machines

8:15 AM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By John Kostrzewa    Email

Newport Grand is installing more than 400 new slot machines and six new video blackjack tables in preparation for the opening of its new 22,000 square-food gaming space in September. Once complete, Newport Grand will offer more than 1,500 slot......

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General Dynamics acquires jet repair business

8:06 AM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 | | Comments (1)
By John Kostrzewa    Email

General Dynamics, the parent company of the Electric Boat shipyards in North Kingstown and Groton, Conn., said this morning it is buying Jet Aviation for about $2.25 billion cash to expand its business-aviation services, Bloomberg News reported. Jet Aviation, based......

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Longs supports CVS offer

8:02 AM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 | | Write a comment
By John Kostrzewa    Email

Longs Drug Stores Corp. recommended shareholders approve its $2.7 billion purchase by CVS Caremark Corp. even as activist investor Bill Ackman hired a firm to explore getting a higher price, according to Bloomberg News. The Longs board endorsed the takeover......

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Good news for Raytheon: Zumwalt back on drawing board

6:03 PM Mon, Aug 18, 2008 | | Write a comment
By Andrea Panciera    Email

The Navy plans to support building a third, stealth-technology Zumwalt destroyer, reversing plans to end the program -- which jeopardized Raytheon jobs in Rhode Island. That's according to a news release late today from U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island.......

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Cacieri pushes PUC to require green energy purchases

8:57 AM Mon, Aug 18, 2008 | | Write a comment
By John Kostrzewa    Email

Rhode Island should require the state's largest power company, National Grid, to buy electricity over the long term from renewable energy producers such as wind turbines and solar sources, Gov. Carcieri said in a letter to the state Public Utilities......

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