Rhode Island Business News: July 2022

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

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

“There is great potential to employ graduate students, as well as the URI technicians, to operate and perform the required experiments and analyze the data,” Hashemi said. “This will be a great opportunity for students to work directly on research and development with marine renewable energy companies.”

RI physician appointed to National Electronic Health Record Advisory Board

Dr. Jared Anderson, an emergency physician at Rhode Island and The Miriam Hospitals, was elected this week to Epic’s Emergency Medicine Specialty Board.

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

The Steering Committee advises on clinicians’ needs for “electronic health record retrieval and storage, and provides user experience feedback on Epic software,” all of which are designed to improve patient care and outcomes. patient outcomes.

More than 250 million patients have an up-to-date electronic record in Epic.

North Providence local manager appointed Spectrum Health System

Mark Orris of North Providence, RI has been named the new executive director of inpatient services by Spectrum Health Systems, an addiction treatment provider based in Worcester, Mass.

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

July 8, 2022

Reed announces an additional $12 million to support affordable housing development

U.S. Senator Jack Reed on Friday announced a new $12 million federal grant to Rhode Island Housing 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.

Reed, 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 who increase investment in affordable housing and economic development activities or community service facilities, such as child care centers or other workforce development centres.

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

“Rhode Islanders need homes they can afford, and every dollar of funding they receive goes a long way to ensuring families have a roof over their heads, people working in construction and the fields related jobs remain employed, neighborhoods are revitalized and our state is strengthened,” said Carol Ventura, Executive Director of RIHousing. “We are so grateful to Senator Reed for his leadership and commitment to providing solutions to the challenges we face. are facing.

Rhode Island Housing was one of 59 organizations across the country to be selected by the Treasury. A total of $336.4 million was administered under the program.

“We must continue to work together to expand affordable and sustainable housing options,” Reed said in a statement. “In this tough housing market, it’s critical that we build more affordable housing and this federal funding will help attract critical housing investment.”

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

July 7, 2022

McKee signs offshore wind energy supply bill

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — Governor Dan McKee on Wednesday signed legislation that requires the state’s dominant electric utility to obtain 600 to 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind power for the state’s power grid. 15 this year under the legislation, which was sponsored by State Sen. Dawn Euer, D-Newport and Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston.

“Adding clean offshore wind power capacity is critical to meeting our new goal of 100% renewable energy by 2033 and our Climate Act emissions reduction target,” said McKee in a press release touting the new law, which he signed at Quonset Point.

Electricity from that purchase could power about 340,000 homes a year, McKee’s office said. It would meet about 30% of the state’s energy demand in 2030.

There are several offshore wind energy projects in the development pipeline off Rhode Island, which hosted the country’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% of the contract amount as part of the agreement. — BRIAN AMARAL

June 28, 2022

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

SMITHFIELD, RI – More than 92 percent of workers at Bally’s Twin River Casino voted in favor of allowing a strike late Tuesday 6/28 night. If the union and the casino fail to reach an agreement when they meet on Wednesday 6/29, the workers could go on strike as soon as their contract expires on Friday, the union said in a statement.7/1

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

New leadership at Leadership RI after Executive Director takes office at Gallup in Washington DC

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

Michelle Carr, deputy director of LRI, will take Ritz’s place.

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

East Providence Workforce Training Program Receives $350,000 Federal Investment

Congressman David N. Cicilline announced a federal investment of $350,000 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 certification courses through Roger Williams University, which will aim to improve employment opportunities by “cultivating industry-specific, IT and leadership skills.”

Cicilline’s office said it secured this funding in the omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2022. The program is one of 10 applications for community project funding it has submitted to the appropriations committee. . All ten projects recommended by the congressman have been funded.

More business news from Rhode Island.

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