Latest Rhode Island Headlines

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

Harsh Sentence Sought for Rhode Island Woman Who Took $5M from Loved Ones

Feb 12 2020 // A Rhode Island woman who cheated relatives, her closest friends and her husband’s firefighting colleagues out of nearly $5 million to fund a lavish lifestyle should face the harshest sentence possible, federal...

Business Moves

Feb 10 2020 // The Hilb Group, Kerr-Boswell, Wickford Insurance AgencyThe Hilb Group LLC has acquired Virginia-based Kerr-Boswell Inc. For more than 60 years, KB has provided employee benefits, property/casualty, life, health and...

Rhode Island Judge Says Jury Should Decide if Uber Can Be Liable for Crash

Jan 29 2020 // A jury should determine whether Uber ought to be held responsible for a passenger’s injuries, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled.A U.S. District Court judge concluded Jan. 16 that jurors should determine whether...

Rhode Island Construction Manager Pleads Guilty to Stealing $200K

Jan 27 2020 // A former construction project manager for a real estate development company has pleaded guilty to defrauding banks, construction companies and his employer out of more than $200,000, federal prosecutors say.Gregory Meeker,...

Making Big Oil Pay for Climate Change May Be Impossible

Jan 24 2020 // Exxon Mobil dodged a bullet last month when a judge rejected a novel climate-change lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general. The case began with a promise from state officials that there would be a historic...

Hearing Held in Rhode Island on Proposed Flavored Vape Products Ban

Jan 8 2020 // Rhode Island health officials held a public hearing Tuesday on proposed regulations to permanently ban the sale of flavored vaping products in the state.The department is considering making the temporary ban currently in...

Rhode Island Considers Permanent Flavored Vape Products Ban

Jan 2 2020 // Rhode Island’s health department is proposing to permanently ban the sale of flavored vaping products in the state.The department issued a public notice last week that it wants to make the temporary ban currently in...

The Hilb Group Acquires Rhode Island’s Wickford Insurance Agency

Dec 30 2019 // The Hilb Group LLC (THG) has acquired Rhode Island-based Wickford Insurance Agency Inc. (WIA). The transaction became effective December 1, 2019. WIA is a full-service property and casualty insurance agency for businesses...

Oklahoma Commissioner OKs Rhode Island Insurer’s Insurance Business Transfer Plan

Nov 26 2019 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready on Nov. 26 authorized Rhode Island-based insurance Providence Washington Insurance Co. (PWIC) to submit its Insurance Business Transfer (IBT) Plan to the District Court of...

Experts Say Oklahoma’s Insurance Business Transfer Law Will Boost Economy

Nov 19 2019 // An international forum of insurance experts meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said the Insurance Business Transfer law expected to bring an economic boost to the state.The IBT law creates a way for insurers to transfer entire...

Fatal Rhode Island Fire Ruled as Accident

Nov 1 2019 // Authorities say a fire in a Newport home that killed a retired teacher and coach has been ruled an accident that started in the kitchen.The Newport Daily News reported Sunday that Deputy State Fire Marshal Kevin Morris...

FM Global Opens $16M Electrical Hazards Laboratory in Rhode Island

Oct 17 2019 // Commercial property insurer FM Global has opened a $16 million Electrical Hazards and Gas Detection Laboratory at its 1,600-acre Research Campus in West Glocester, R.I., following nearly two years of...

Rhode Island Issues Emergency Rules to Ban Vaping Products

Oct 7 2019 // Rhode Island health officials have issued emergency health regulations to ban the sale of flavored vaping products in the state.The health department regulations, issued Friday, ban the manufacture, distribution and sale...

Lawmaker Wants Rhode Island to Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes

Sep 26 2019 // A lawmaker in Rhode Island plans to introduce a bill to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.Rep. Julie Casimiro says she’s planning to propose a ban after the new legislative session begins in January. She says the...

World Insurance Associates Acquires Rhode Island’s Bucci Insurance Group

Sep 19 2019 // World Insurance Associates LLC (WIA) acquired Bucci Insurance Group of West Warwick, R.I., on September 1, 2019. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Founded in 1981, Bucci Insurance Group serves the New England...

Rhode Island Bike Share Program Put on Hold Amid Safety Concerns

Sep 9 2019 // The introduction of a bike share program in Pawtucket, R.I., has been put on hold.Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said Wednesday that the Jump electric bike program will not begin this year. Jump is owned by...

Starkweather & Shepley Acquires Rhode Island’s Revens-Gates

Sep 5 2019 // Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. (S&S) has acquired Revens-Gates Insurance Inc. of North Kingstown, R.I. Revens-Gates was founded in 1999 by Mark Revens and Peter Gates. Established in 1879, S&S...

Rhode Island Worker Sues City Over Alleged Whistleblower Retaliation

Aug 13 2019 // A Providence, Rhode Island, city employee who says she was compelled to resign from her previous position after years of reporting coworkers’ fraudulent credit card spending is suing the city.The Providence Journal...

The Hilb Group Acquires Rhode Island’s Damiano Agency

Jul 31 2019 // The Hilb Group LLC (THG) has acquired Rhode Island-based Damiano Agency (DA). The transaction became effective July 1, 2019.For more than 30 years, DA has been delivering property and casualty insurance for businesses and...

Rhode Island AG Gains Access to Nearly 70 Years of Records from Diocese of Providence

Jul 29 2019 // As part of an ongoing review of allegations of clergy child sexual abuse within the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bishop...