But Chafee said Tuesday evening that he needs more financial information from the company and a better understanding of how the EDC has monitored the state's controversial $75-million loan guarantee to 38 Studios. He said he needs assurances that the company will survive before the state negotiates anything more.

Six days after Chafee first acknowledged he had been meeting with 38 Studios executives, working to keep the company "solvent," few details have emerged.

But Tuesday afternoon, House Speaker Gordon D. Fox said that alarms went off about the financial health of 38 Studios "when a loan-guarantee payment of about $1.125 million was not made, which put the company into some default."

Loan documents describe an annual fee the company must pay to the EDC each May 1 that equals 1.5 percent of the outstanding loan.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has reported that all Korean shellfish, such as oysters, clams, mussels and scallops -- and many products made from them, including frozen breaded shellfish -- may be contaminated, the Health Department said in a news release.

The Health Department advises that consumers who have already purchased these products should not eat them.

Canned shellfish products are not affected, nor are shellfish grown and produced in Rhode Island. No illnesses have been reported in Rhode Island.

Yet a full day after Chafee said state officials are working to keep the company "solvent," he would not divulge more about the finances of the company, which was lured to Rhode Island with a controversial $75-million loan guarantee from the EDC.

And while Chafee said "of course" he has analyzed the costs to Rhode Island taxpayers if the loan cannot be paid back by the company, he wouldn't say what those costs might be.

"We're getting a grip on all the issues," he told a cluster of reporters at the State House. "We're talking about, the most important thing is going forward and the viability of the company, as I would with any Rhode Island company."

Asked if there is a "going forward," Chafee replied, "Of course. We'll do everything possible."

"When we know more than what we know now, when we know something that's definitive, we'll certainly be forthcoming."

Fox said the head of the state economic-development agency, Keith Stokes, also told him Tuesday morning that 38 Studios is seeking a special meeting of the state's Economic Development Corporation, which is chaired by Governor Chafee.

Fox said it is not entirely clear what the company is seeking, but at the very least, it appears it wants EDC consent to bring in "some bridge financing from some other entities.''

The speaker said the company is not asking the legislature for money, but "there was some talk of tax credits being part of the bridge financing.''

Ask whether he had any concerns about the company's survival, Fox said: "My sense right now, from what I have been told is if they work out what seems to be, in terms of high finance, minor issues, that they will survive..''

He said the response to the company's first foray into the game market has been good, and "he seems to have a lot of people around him who know what they are doing.''

Fox also told reporters he has no regrets about backing the creation of the loan-guarantee program.

Stephen Devine, chief of intermodal planning for the state Department of Transportation, said his office was notified recently that despite financial problems, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority decided not to cut those runs.

Fares, however, are going up

Faced with a projected $161-million budget deficit for the coming fiscal year, the MBTA announced possible severe cuts in service earlier this year as it held more than three dozen public meetings through the region.

"We're thrilled that the current services to Providence were maintained," Devine said.

On April 20, the Standard & Poor's ratings agency affirmed its "A" rating for the state-issued bonds underpinning a multimillion-dollar loan guarantee for 38 Studios. Rhode Island officials lured the fledgling videogame company to Providence in April 2011 with the $75-million guarantee. The rating was part of a summary Standard & Poor's issued on numerous Rhode Island state bond issues.

Separately, Michael Pachter, a videogame industry analyst with Wedbush Morgan told The Journal, "The stuff I'm hearing doesn't seem logical to me," though he emphasized he has no first-hand knowledge about 38 Studios.

The Plastics Group says it will begin using the Jules Desurmont Mill for manufacturing by the end of the year.

The Woonsocket Call reports the company plans to put $1 million into the facility and hopes to increase its 50-member workforce by 25 percent.

The Plastics Group blends plastic and other materials to make products such as medical equipment and sporting goods.

The mill was built between 1907 and 1910 as a woolen factory, but has been vacant for years.

Mark Wojcik, Woonsocket's economic development director, says the city and the company are still discussing tax incentives to help the company with its expansion.

Now, other accelerators are organizing throughout the region.

On Wednesday, state and local officials will open the Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing at Umass Dartmouth in Fall River. The center will provide companies with testing, research, production and workforce resources and expand the state's cluster of life sciences companies.

Organizers say the accelerator will be the only facility in the U.S. where start-ups will be able to test their biomanufacturing processes and products at every stage of development. The accelerator will be the main tenant in the 300-acre SouthCoast Life Science and Technology Park in Fall River

James S. Bennett, the city's economic development director, said Monday night that two company executives called him either Thursday or Friday -- "letting us know, obviously, there are 200 jobs in the city, and [seeking] any help."

But the city has no role in monitoring the company or its financial status, Bennett said. He called EDC Executive Director Keith W. Stokes, whom Bennett said was already working on the matter.

"Those are the kinds of jobs we're trying to keep in Providence," Bennett said, referring to the video-gaming jobs at former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's company.

Chafee said he's checking "in on all the financials" with regard to Curt Schilling's videogame company, which the economic-development agency gave a $75-million loan guarantee before Chafee took office. While Chafee strongly criticized the idea of the loan guarantee for the former Boston Red Sox pitcher's company while he ran for office in 2010, he has since said it's important now to work with it and make sure it succeeds.

Reached Sunday, the governor said "it has been a weekend of work on this subject."

While the governor would not discuss details of the meetings with 38 Studios officials, he said there is a "tight timeframe we're working under."

"We're doing everything possible, like I would for any Rhode Island company," he said Monday afternoon at the State House, adding that the work at stake is "keeping 38 Studios solvent."

At 38 Studios Monday morning, the company was open for business and employees were reporting for work. A company executive has not returned a request for comment.

The theme of the conference is the U.S. manufacturing renaissance. Topics include global security, how established companies are succeeding globally, the reinvention and rebirth of New England industries and using product diversification to take advantage of global opportunities.

The keynote speaker is Justin Rose, principal of the Boston Consulting Group and co-author of Made in America, Again.

Registration for the full day is $125 per person, lunch only $50.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.849 per gallon at self-service pumps in the Ocean State, according to AAA's weekly survey.

The price has fallen 13 cents over the past month, AAA says.

Rhode Island drivers are paying 19 cents less per gallon than the $4.039 were paying at this time last year.

The national average price for regular unleaded is $3.729 at self-service pump.

AAA's survey found a 24-cent range, from a low of $3.749 to a high of $3.989.

After the March jobless rate of 11.1percent was disclosed, the DLT questioned the report, challenging the way the numbers are calculated.

Since last year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has been analyzing the data in Washington, D.C., rather than allow each state to calculate its own numbers.

The DLT says updated data that the Bureau does not use show the state's economy is performing somewhat better than what the analysts in Washington are reporting.

Now, Leonard Lardaro, an economist at the University of Rhode Island, says there is some validiity to the DLT's concern.

Each month, his Current Conditions Index forecasts the economy based on 12 indicators. When the value is above 50, the economy is expanding and when it falls below 50, it is contracting.

Lardaro is now reporting two numbers, one based on the Bureau's calculations and one based on the DLT's data. For March, the numbers were 58 and 75 respectively.

Lardaro concluded, "Rhode Island is not on the edge of a double-dip recession. Employment has not fallen on a year-over-year basis for eight consecutive months and our state's unemployment rate is lower than the published rate of 11.1 percent. Most importantly, Rhode Island's rate of growth has not decoupled from that of the U.S."

DEM issued one notice to Rhode Island Recycled Metals and ACR Realty, of 434-444 Allens Ave. While DEM issued the business a permit to discharge storm water last September, the permit does not authorize the auto salvage operations taking place at the site, according to DEM.

The second company slapped with a notice is SMM New England, at 242 Allens Ave., formerly Promet Marine Services. The company failed to transfer the storm water permit from Promet and expanded the ship salvage and repair business to include scrap metal recycling without approval.

"Operating alone and unafraid, these ships provide the Navy with the capabilities it requires to protect our nation well into the 21st century," Electric Boat president Kevin Poitras told an assembly of shipbuilders, sailors and dignitaries.

Recognition of progress on the sophisticated warship -- now 62 percent complete -- comes as Washington battles over how much money will be spent building Virginia-class submarines. Production had recently increased from one ship a year to two, but the Obama administration, seeking ways to cut the defense budget, has proposed scaling back to one-a-year in 2014.