Latest Rhode Island Headlines

All the headlines from our Rhode Island Topic Page, ordered by recency.

R.I. Judge Rules Out Punitive Damages in Lead Paint Decision

Feb 28 2006 // Former manufacturers of lead paint found liable last week by a Rhode Island jury for poisoning of children will have to pay to clean up properties with the contaminated paint but will not face punitive damages.Rhode Island...

R.I. Jury Holds Lead Paint Makers Liable for Child Poisoning

Feb 22 2006 // A Rhode Island Superior Court jury has found three former lead paint manufacturers responsible for poisoning children in a lawsuit that could cost the manufacturers millions of dollars in damages.The lawsuit was the first...

No Decision Yet in R.I. Lead Paint Case

Feb 21 2006 // A week after beginning deliberations in Rhode Island’s landmark lawsuit against former makers of lead paint and pigment, jurors have still not reached a verdict.The jury met for about four hours Monday afternoon...

R.I.’s Beacon Review to be Headed by Former N.Y. City Mayor Giuilani’s Firm

Feb 16 2006 // Former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln C. Almond, who heads a review committee named by The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, announced that Giuliani Safety & Security, a management consulting firm headed by former New...

R.I. Nightclub Fire Plaintiffs Add Home Depot, State, Band as Defendants

Feb 16 2006 // Nearly 270 people affected by Rhode Island’s deadliest nightclub fire added several more defendants to their lawsuit this week, including members of the band whose pyrotechnics sparked the blaze and manufacturers of...

R.I. Gov. Carcieri Names Police Veteran to Beacon Mutual Board

Feb 15 2006 // Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri, who is battling the insurer over legislation to relax its regulation and reduce the number of gubernatoral board appointees, has appointed former State Police Major Brendan P....

Jurors Hear Closing Arguments in R.I. Lead Paint Case

Feb 13 2006 // Former lead pigment manufacturers knew their product caused brain damage and killed children but continued to sell it anyway, a lawyer said last Friday as the closing arguments concluded in the state’s lawsuit...

Rhode Island Beacon Mutual’s looks to write next chapter

Feb 6 2006 // Nearly 15 years ago, Rhode Island employers faced an uncertain future: state law required businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover their employees, yet no commercial insurer would write such...

Beacon Mutual bill advances over R.I. Gov. Carcieri’s opposition

Feb 6 2006 // Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri lost the first round in this year’s battle to restructure the state’s dominant workers’ compensation writer, Beacon Mutual.Over Carcieri’s objections, the Rhode...

Rhode Island Beacon Mutual’s looks to write next chapter

Feb 5 2006 // Beacon Mutual remains a non-profit. Beacon remains Rhode Island based. Beacon remains focused exclusively on workers’ compensation.Nearly 15 years ago, Rhode Island employers faced an uncertain future: state law...

Rhode Island Beacon Mutual’s looks to write next chapter

Feb 5 2006 // Beacon Mutual remains a non-profit. Beacon remains Rhode Island based. Beacon remains focused exclusively on workers’ compensation.Nearly 15 years ago, Rhode Island employers faced an uncertain future: state law...

Moran Joins Provider Insurance in R.I.

Jan 31 2006 // Provider Insurance Group has named Jamie Moran as an employee benefit specialist in the insurance agency’s Woonsocket, R.I. office. As an employee benefit specialist, Moran performs administrative duties assisting...

Lead Paint Makers Rest Their R.I. Case Without Calling Witnesses

Jan 30 2006 // Lawyers for four lead-paint makers accused of creating a public-health threat that poisons thousands of children a year abruptly rested their case on Jan. 26 without calling any witnesses.Later in the day, defense lawyer...

Credit Card Numbers Reported Stolen from R.I. Government Web Site

Jan 29 2006 // Thousands of credit card numbers were stolen from a state government Web site that allows residents to register their cars and buy state permits, authorities said Friday.The private company that runs RI.gov told the state...

R.I. Senate Passes Beacon Mutual Bill

Jan 26 2006 // The Rhode Island Senate on a vote of 34-3 passed legislation to reduce the number of public appointees to the board of Beacon Mutual and free the state’s dominant workers’ compensation insurer to cover...

Tougher R.I. Drunk Driving Bill Clears First Legislative Hurdle

Jan 26 2006 // Rhode Island House leaders made good this week on their promise to promote legislation to toughen Rhode Island’s drunken driving laws.The House Judiciary Committee voted 10-4 to approve a bill that would increase the...

R.I. Senate to Vote on Beacon Mutual Bill Opposed by Governor Today

Jan 25 2006 // Legislation to amend the charter of the Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. to reduce the number of public appointees on the workers’ compensation carrier’s board and clear the way for it to write out-of-state accounts...

R.I.’s Beacon Mutual pursues rate cuts, restructuring plan

Jan 22 2006 // Beacon Mutual, Rhode Island’s biggest workers’ compensation writer with about 90 percent of the business, has some big plans.First is its plan to lower the loss cost portion of premiums for most employers by an...

R.I.’s Top Workers’ Comp Writer, Beacon Mutual, Seeks 27% Decrease

Jan 17 2006 // Rhode Island’s biggest workers’ compensation writer, Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, is requesting a 27.7 percent average loss cost decrease in a filing to the Department of Business Regulation.Rhode Island...

Judge Hands State Setback in R.I. Lead Paint Lawsuit

Jan 13 2006 // A judge dealt a potential setback Wednesday to the state’s landmark lawsuit against former makers of lead paint, preventing two key witnesses from testifying about how much has been spent to combat the problem in...