PBN November 25, 2022

MEET THE MAKERS

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ONE LAST THING

Practiced in the art of equity and inclusion

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

MEET THE NEW GUARD:

IN HIGHER EDUCATION

(Editor’s note: This is the seventh installment in an occasional series of interviews with the region’s new wave of higher ed ucation leaders.)

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

INmedical school, Emmanuel Asiedu was one of the very few students of color in a sea of white students. That did not change after graduation, when Asiedu became a doctor and found himself one of the few Black physicians work ing at his hospital.

No wonder. Statistics show that in 2019, only 5% of active phy sicians at U.S. hospitals were Black, despite Black people making up about 12% of the country’s population.

And Asiedu says this lack of diversity among doctors discour ages young Black students from pursuing a medical degree.

“It’s difficult when you’re a person of color and the majority of your colleagues are not,” said Asiedu, who is chief medical resident at Rhode Island Hospi tal, The Miriam Hospital and Providence Vet erans Administration Medical Center. “That’s one of the big challenges in medicine.”

CASTING CALL:

Slate of programs exposing young people of color to field of medicine HEALTH MATTERS

Lisa Yang, left, a first-year medical student at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, leads a youngster through the process of putting a cast on a teddy bear like it has a broken leg. The boy was attending a Black Men in White Coats youth summit at the school in October.

CRYSTAL WILLIAMS describes herself as a “faculty activist,” so it’s no surprise that Williams envisions the start of her tenure at the Rhode Island School of Design as a continuation of a commitment to using the arts as a springboard to inclusion and equity.

Before her appointment last January as RISD’s 18th presi dent, Williams, 52, served as Boston University’s vice presi dent and associate provost for community and inclusion.

Harold M. Horvat Building community

PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

CRYSTAL WILLIAMS COURTESY RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN/JO SITTENFELD

COVER STORIES

OPENING A PATHWAY

Health Matters: Slate of programs exposing young people of color to field of medicine 1

MEET THE NEW GUARD

Practiced in the art of equity and inclusion 1

FOR STARTERS

5Q: Mark J. Meiklejohn 4

Dining Out: Hope & Main scaling up 5 Spotlight: Four Town Farm 6 Something New: Mint Modern Clean LLC 6 Hot Topic: Labor unrest simmers at hospitals 7 Another Look: Hotel-funded tourism district proposed 9 What’s Happening .............................................................10 Meet the Makers: Maxson’s precision machines keep other manufacturers in business .............................12

IT’S PERSONAL

People in the News 28

Mackay’s Moral 29

Cyber Sessions: Jason Albuquerque ...............................30 Guest Column: Maggie Longo ...........................................31 Editorials and Opinion 32

One Last Thing: Harold M. Horvat ...................................34

FOCUS: SMALL BUSINESS

Rising prices take some cheer out of bakeries

Inflation has taken a significant toll on food vendors’ already-thin profit margins, and many bakeries have had to pass on at least some of the additional costs to their customers. 18

Need cyber insurance? It’s not an easy answer

A BlackBerry report released over the summer found that only 14% of small businesses have cybersecurity insurance coverage that meets the median ransomware demand. ...................................20

Lists

Family-Owned Businesses 22 Women-Run Businesses 25 Rhode Island Distilleries, Breweries and Vineyards 26

Prospect CharterCARE LLC

Providence

Providence Veterans Administration Medical Center

Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau

Rhode Island College

Rhode Island Hospital

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT 28

Rhode Island Manufacturers Association

Rhode Island School of Design

Rhode Island Small Business Coalition 20

R.I. Commerce Corp.

R.I. Department of Children, Youth & Families 28

R.I. Department of Labor and Training 14

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Machinery Co.

Mint Modern Clean LLC

Our Lady of Fatima Hospital

Paolino Properties LP

Papitto Opportunity Connection

Pastiche Fine Desserts Inc.

Prospect CharterCARE Home Health and Hospice LLC

Roger Williams Medical Center 7

Roger Williams University 23

Service Employees International Union 1199 New England 7

The Miriam Hospital 1

Trailblaze Inc. 20

United Nurses and Allied Professionals 7

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Providence Business News is published every two weeks by Providence Business News, 400 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903 (USPS 002-254) (ISSN 0887-8226)

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FOR STARTERS

5Q: Mark J. Meiklejohn

Chief credit officer, Brookline Bancorp Inc. Former CEO and president, Bank Rhode Island

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

1How did your banking experience, including for the former Fleet Bank, inform your approach to heading up BankRI?

Building a strong culture is important. BankRI is a great place to work be cause we hire quality people who care about each other and their communi ties. I think customers can sense that; it makes them comfortable, develops trust and, as a result, relationships flourish.

2Under your leadership, the bank has grown its branch locations significantly. Is adding more branches still part of the growth strat egy or is that going to change in this digital age?

In addition to our new headquarters, we plan to open two new branches in 2023, Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston and Bellevue Avenue in Newport. These will be great additions for us. I don’t subscribe to the theory that branches don’t matter and that all banking is moving online. My experi ence is that customers like the con venience of digital, but that the most important financial decisions are still made face to face with people they trust.

3

disadvantages?

ing, pricing and loan decisions, all of the things that allow us to be respon sive. The primary benefit of being part of a larger company is our balance sheet – we are able to underwrite big ger loans relative to our size.

TOPICS

4

What do you think sets BankRI apart from the competition, in cluding other community banks, larger regional and national banks, and fintech firms?

Our model of relationship-banking is both effective and successful. We offer all the services a customer can find at a larger institution but we still answer our phones. Our customers value that.

5How does the new bank head quarters in the I-195 Redevelop ment District play into the longterm growth and strategy for BankRI? We are very excited about the new project. Establishing our own signa ture space feels like the natural next step for the bank. The new building will provide space for our growing workforce, including on-site parking for our employees, which is an impor tant benefit. After a lengthy search, we are very pleased to be able to remain in downtown Providence. n

What are the advantages to being part of a larger company (Brookline)? Are there

The most important financial decisions are still made face to face.

LISA RAIOLA, FOUNDER AND PRESI DENT of food business incubator Hope & Main in Warren, shared insights from her years of bringing amateur cooks through the crossroads from taking the advice of family and friends to sell their specialties, to the giant step of making food their business.

The organization is embarking on a big next step of its own as it prepares to establish a presence in Providence with the debut of its Downtown Mak ers Marketplace in early 2023.

The new urban eatery and local market will occupy the ground floor of Paolino Properties LP’s office building at 100 Westminster St.

The destination will offer hand crafted and locally sourced coffee bar items for breakfast and lunch that will spotlight Hope & Main’s culinary creators. As part of an innovative incubation program to test-drive new food ideas, Hope & Main entrepre neurs will prepare and sample items representative of their business con cepts and unique food heritage.

“The Hope & Main Downtown Mak ers Marketplace is a place dedicated to showcasing the enormous talent of our emerging and iconic member businesses,” Raiola said. “This project is about giving our diverse communi ty of food-preneurs access to markets and consumers they could not other wise reach.”

Raiola says it is costly for new brands to find their way to grocery store shelves or onto menus of estab

DINING OUT | BRUCE NEWBURY

Hope & Main scaling up

lished restaurants, which makes it challenging for them to scale.

“We know how good these products are and can’t wait to accelerate the success of these makers,” she said.

The 100 Westminster St. venue will support what’s new in local food. It is an ideal complement to a revitalized downtown Providence driven by the vision of former Mayor Joseph R. Pao lino Jr, managing partner of Paolino Properties.

What attracted the Papitto Op portunity Connection to invest in the nonprofit’s mission was the fact that 40% of Hope & Main’s entrepreneurs are founders of color.

The Papitto Opportunity Connec tion is a nonprofit private foundation dedicated to Rhode Island’s people of color communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training and entrepreneurial ven tures.

From the moment Barbara Papitto stepped into the kitchens in Warren, she understood how the incubator’s affordable and accessible shared-use space is transforming what is possible for entrepreneurs of color, Raiola said.

“Post-pandemic, we’ve seen a surge of folks leaving traditional food ser vice jobs seeking to create their own food businesses. About half of these inquiries are coming from the Greater Providence area, and many are from members of historically underserved

communities,” Raiola said. “We want to meet these entrepreneurs where they are, and that means building additional shared-use kitchens in the city. We are currently in negotiation for a facility located in the West End of the city where we can equip three new shared-use kitchens, as well as build out kitchens for Hope & Main graduates.”

Raiola says the Providence kitch ens, along with the Warren location, will be feeders to the Downtown Mak ers Marketplace.

Since 2014, Hope & Main has helped more than 450 food and beverage busi nesses to launch, scale and thrive. The 501(c)(3) offers shared-use, code-com pliant kitchens, business and techni cal assistance, access to markets, and connections to capital for aspiring food entrepreneurs. n

“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury” is broadcast locally on WADK 101.1 FM and 1540 AM and on radio throughout New England. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

… can’t wait to accelerate the success of these makers.’

LISA RAIOLA, Hope & Main founder and president

‘We

GROWING PRESENCE: Lisa Raiola, founder and president of food business in cubator Hope & Main in Warren, stands in front of the organization’s Downtown Makers Marketplace in Providence, which it plans to open in early 2023.

COURTESY HOPE & MAIN

SOMETHING NEW SPOTLIGHT

Fresh, clean homes

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

CLEANING HOUSES

That, and a way to make a little extra cash.

After the pandemic killed her fledgling virtual assistant business, the Tiverton resident started helping a friend clean houses. She was reluctant to tell others about her new side gig because of the stigma she associ ated with that kind of work.

But she was forced to get over that embarrassment after deciding to branch out and start her own residential cleaning business. Mint Modern Clean LLC began as a one-woman operation in September 2021. The company grew quickly, now boasting a roster of 30 biweekly clients (in addition to monthly and special occasion jobs) and a team of five workers.

Walz credited her success to word-of-mouth – she has a Face book page but no business web site – and a niche appeal targeted toward working professionals and parents who might not have time to take on a thorough homescouring themselves.

Services cost $250 for firsttime jobs and $150 for biweekly customers. n

A passion for his field

Fifth generation keeps family farm going

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

CHRISTOPHER CLEGG HAS THE TITLE of co-owner for his family farm, but the real boss is Mother Nature.

With deluges and dry spells, heat and frost, she decides when the acres of corn, berries and flowers get picked, or packed, or when Clegg simply must watch, wait and hope for the best.

As a fifth-generation co-share holder of Seekonk’s Four Town Farm, Clegg has learned to accept the whims of the weather. Just as he accepts the grueling, seven-day-aweek schedule that forces him to give up family outings and social events for most of the year.

Even when the business slows for the winter, he’s always out tin kering with tractor equipment, or surveying the sprawling 200 acres for ideas. He relishes the work.

His voice rises in excitement as he explains the taste difference between fresh Brussels sprouts and the wilting grocery store fare. He smiles when talking about the retired women who work the farm stand, or the regulars who stop by on their way home from work, pe rusing the wooden crates piled high with fruits and vegetables as they decide what to cook for dinner.

Clegg wasn’t always so passion ate about the family business. As

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Farm

a teenager, he resented the back breaking hours spent weeding after school. He dreamed of becoming an architect.

“It wasn’t cool to be a farmer,” Clegg said.

But Clegg had a change of heart, especially after it became obvious that someone among him and his three siblings needed to step up to join the older generation in running the business. Public perception of farming also changed, with cooking shows and farm-to-table restaurants reinventing food as an experience.

“It’s kind of romanticized now,” Clegg said. “Food isn’t just about instant gratification. People under stand fresh ingredients mean better food.”

His busy schedule gives him little time to appreciate the art of cooking. Most of the time, he’s just stopping by his house – convenient ly 500 feet away – to shovel in some raw food before returning to work.

This summer was especially gru eling because of a series of storms that brought intense flooding to the area. Last year, it was the lack of rain that nearly did him in.

“There is no normal, average sea son anymore,” Clegg said. “Climate change is real.”

Sometimes, he can work around it, harvesting crops early and stor ing them in a covered pack house. He just added another outdoor insulated storage space to fit more harvested produce.

The farm stand, now the chief source of business for the company, was born from lack of storage for excess produce. Clegg’s grandmoth er Eleanor Clegg started selling ex tra cantaloupes off a cart at the end of the street after a fertile season.

The impromptu farm stand quickly became a main attraction among customers and was later housed in a climate-controlled structure added in 2015.

Pick-your-own flowers, fruits, vegetables and, in December, Christmas trees have also become a staple. But the wholesale busi ness to grocers and restaurants – the foundation upon which the farm started – ended when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Clegg has not found enough workers to revive it. n

LOCATION: 90 George St., Seekonk EMPLOYEES: About 50 (depending on the season)

YEAR FOUNDED: 1920

ANNUAL SALES: WND

FULFILLED FARMER: Christopher Clegg, a fifth-generation co-owner of his family’s Four Town Farm in Seekonk, used to dream of being an architect until he decided to step up to continue running the family business, a job he now relishes and is passionate about.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

DUSTING: Mint Modern Clean LLC owner Cassandra Walz dusts a light fixture at a residence in Bristol.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

OWNERS: Christopher Clegg, Stephen Clegg, Thomas Clegg, Peter Clegg, Jean Anderson

BEGAN as a therapeutic outlet for Cassandra Walz.

HOT TOPIC Labor unrest simmers at hospitals

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

HEALTH CARE WORKERS across the state are grappling with a mix of low pay and poor working conditions that is driv ing colleagues away from the workforce, say advocates who insist long-term solutions are needed to ease the problem.

Staffing shortages and financial difficulties at hospitals are not new, but recent activities such as informa tional picketing by labor unions are intended to put a new spotlight on the challenges for front-line health care workers while contracts are under negotiation at some hospitals.

“There is a pattern,” said Jesse Martin, executive vice president of Service Employees International Union 1199 New England, which rep resents about 2,500 Care New England Health System employees. “If we are all doing these activities at different institutions across the state, some thing is wrong, something is broken.”

SEIU 1199NE recently held infor mational picketing at two Care New England hospitals, Women & Infants Hospital and Butler Hospital, urging the administration to address staffing shortages the union says are at risky levels.

“It’s scary and stressful and a little demoralizing,” said Ashley Ouellette,

a registered nurse at Butler Hospital who walked the picket line on Nov. 10. Ouellette, who has worked at Butler for six years, said the shortage is creating dangers for workers and patients.

Members of the union say they want to be involved in conversations around the spending of the millions of federal dollars allocated to hospi tals through the American Rescue Plan Act. So far, Ouellette said, attempts at an “open dialogue” have gone nowhere. Care New England did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lynn Blais, a registered nurse and president of United Nurses and Allied Professionals, said she shares the

‘It’s a

frustration over ARPA spending.

UNAP locals represent employees at hospitals owned by CNE, Lifespan Corp. and for-profit Prospect Charter CARE LLC, which is set to be acquired by Atlanta-based nonprofit The Centurion Foundation. The deal was announced Nov. 22.

UNAP has been negotiating new contracts at Prospect CharterCAREowned Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center and Prospect CharterCARE Home Health and Hospice LLC

UNAP has organized information al picket lines at Fatima to demand a better contract at the three Charter CARE locations.

Before the Centurion deal was announced, CharterCARE spokesper son Otis Brown said there have been “productive negotiating sessions to date, we have more scheduled, and we look forward to reaching an agree ment that is fair to union members, as well as our hospitals.”

problem.’

ROBERT HACKEY, Providence College professor of

Blais said the proposed acquisi tion by Centurion shouldn’t change contract talks, adding that the union is still hopeful a labor agreement will be reached soon. But issues highlighted by the picketing are not confined to hospitals; they span the entire system and affect every health care profession, industry observers say.

Some short-term solutions might help address the immediate ur gency of short staffing, including investments in medical equipment and higher wages for workers. But long-term, sustainable solutions are needed, said Robert Hackey, a profes sor of health policy and management at Providence College.

“We need to help the nursing profession in particular recruit and retain people in ways that really min imize the risk of burnout,” Hackey said. This includes strengthening the pipeline by investing in educational programs and recruiting faculty, he said, but also improving working conditions.

“The frustrating thing is that we continue to talk about the problem as a crisis but really it’s a chronic problem for the health care system,” Hackey said. n

PATHWAY

Now Asiedu is part of a vanguard of physicians and other health care professionals and academics attempting to overcome that challenge.

Asiedu was among 40 health care leaders who participated in a youth summit in Providence in October designed to draw the interest of students from underrepresented communities and their parents in a future in medicine and public health. The event, hosted by the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and Brown’s School of Public Health, was organized by Black Men in White Coats, a national organization that seeks to increase the number of Black men entering the field of medicine.

More than 200 people attended the Oct. 29 sum mit, ranging from third graders to people who have already earned an undergraduate degree.

“We thought this was a wonderful opportunity for people to be able to see themselves here and really show our [youths] that there can be repre sentation of themselves in medicine,” said Rose delma Seraphin, assistant director of diversity and multicultural affairs at the Alpert Medical School.

About 60 volunteers and 40 presenters, includ ing local doctors, faculty, and medical and public health students, held panel discussions, workshops and hands-on activities, such as allowing elementa ry school students to put casts on the limbs of “in jured” stuffed animals and allowing high schoolers to probe human organs in an animatronic torso.

For older students, there were sessions explain ing how to apply to medical school and what steps to take to create a successful application.

“You really want to go to middle school, to third grade, to get students excited about the opportuni ties, to be able to come to a place like Brown and see a bunch of Black professionals that are doctors, that are health care professionals, that can speak to their journeys and their experiences,” said Jai-Me Potter-Rutledge, assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion at Brown’s School of Public Health.

The summit also helped students familiarize themselves with other programs at Brown Univer sity that help boost the pipeline to medicine.

“A lot of my educational background is because of programs like this one,” said Luckson Omoareg ba, director of Pathway Programs at Alpert Medi cal School. Omoaregba, who was born in Nigeria but grew up in Pawtucket, took advantage of a college pathway program as a young student and saw how valuable this work is.

When in high school, Omoaregba participated in the Upward Bound program, which prepares students for college through advising, mentoring, tutoring and more.

This experience gave Omoaregba – who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Univer sity of Rhode Island – a “format” of how pathway programs can help students and led him to become the medical school’s first director of Pathway Programs a year ago.

Pathway Programs offer students from un derrepresented communities – including Black, Latino, low-income and first-generation students – enrichment opportunities to prepare them for a career in health care.

For example, HealthCORE is a summer program targeting local high school students from under

represented communities, led by medical students who organize panel discussions and talks explor ing various career options in health care. Another program is the recently launched Meeting in the Middle, which connects students from Calcutt Middle School in Central Falls with mentors in medicine.

Omoaregba says he is working on developing a structured process to follow up with students and assess the long-term effects of these programs, but seeing former Pathway students pursue careers in health care is already showing him just how impactful the programs can be.

“I saw the impact I could have in higher educa tion by providing access to students who looked like me,” Omoaregba said. “It became my way of bringing positive social change.”

The issue of diversity within health care is not a new one. Throughout the U.S., only 5% of active physicians identified as Black or African Ameri can in 2019, while 5.8% identified as Hispanic and 17.1% identified as Asian, according to a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges. This is a small improvement from 2014, when 4% of the physician workforce was made up of people identifying as Black or African American.

This lack of representation is apparent in medi cal schools too. In 2019, 8.4% of applicants to U.S. medical schools were Black or African American and 6.2% were Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin. These percentages are lower for Black men. Data from the Association of American Medical Colleges shows that the number of Black male applicants and matriculants to medical school has been stagnant since the 1970s: in 1978, 1,410 black men applied to U.S. medical schools, while in 2014 that number was 1,337.

“The number is not only very low but it’s

getting worse,” Potter-Rutledge said. “If it’s not something that you see, it’s not something that you can imagine doing yourself, then you’re not really seeking that out.”

Asiedu is not surprised by these numbers. As a Black man from Ghana, he knows how challenging it can be for people of color and people from outside of the United States to pursue careers in medicine. After moving to Lincoln with his family when he was a child, Asiedu attended public schools. When he was young, he didn’t think about a future in a physician’s coat, even though his father is a doctor.

For him, it was a personal tragedy that set him on the path of medicine. His sister fell sick and died when Asiedu was 17, sparking in him the desire to help others.

After completing an undergraduate degree at Rhode Island College, Asiedu was selected for the early identification program, a cooperative program between the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and URI, RIC and Providence College that provides selected students early provisional admission to the medical school following graduation. Asiedu went on to complete his residency in internal medicine through Brown University, at Rhode Island Hospital, Miriam and the VA medical center, where he now is chief resident.

Asiedu’s father mentored him throughout the challenging journey, but Asiedu knows others are not as lucky.

“If you’re not seeing a lot of people who look like you in that field, you’re probably less likely to want to pursue a career because you have that general sense it’s not for people who are similar to you,” Asiedu said.

And this is only part of the equation. On top of a lack of representation, there are centuries of his torical challenges, including social and economic disparities, that place barriers between young students of color and higher education. But this is why summits such as the one organized by Black Men in White Coats are so important, Seraphin says.

“It’s a multitude of different issues, compounded with the racism and bias that Black men experi ence in our country, as well as economics and access to different resources,” she said. “Which is why it’s really important to make a pathway and have summits like this and raise awareness.” n

ON THE MEND: Anna Rezk, a Warren Alpert Medical School student, checks the casting work of a youngster who was assigned to treat a teddy bear with a broken arm at the Black Men in White Coats youth summit at the Brown University medical school in October. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

‘This was a wonderful opportunity for people to be able to see themselves here.’

ROSEDELMA SERAPHIN, Warren Alpert Medical School assistant director of diversity and multicultural affairs

Hotel-funded tourism district proposed

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: A version of this story was first pub lished on PBN.com on Nov. 16.)

PROVIDENCE – The city is considering a pro posal to create a special district to raise revenue in support of the city’s tourism and hospitality industry.

The Providence Tourism Improvement District, if enacted, would be funded by a 2% assessment on all lodging revenue from hotels with 50 or more rooms “existing and in the future” within the city limits. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held by the city finance committee on Dec. 12 and requires approval by the City Council before final adoption, council spokesperson Parker Gavigan said.

With the passage of the Tourism Improvement Districts Act by the General Assembly back in May, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Carson, D-Newport, Rhode Island joined Massachusetts, Virginia and Louisiana in passing enabling legislation establish ing tourism improvement districts. The law allows for the creation of special tourism districts in all Rhode Island municipalities “upon submission of a successful petition of the assessed business owners located within the boundaries of the district,” and requires 60% of impacted business owners to sign on in support.

The state legislation mandates the designation of a nonprofit corporation, in this case the Provi dence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, which is lobbying for the city ordinance. The nonprofit “shall create a committee composed of a majority of assessed business owners, or their authorized rep resentatives … charged with managing the funds raised by the PTID and fulfilling the obligations of

the plan,” according to the legislation.

Kristen Adamo, PWCVB CEO and president, said that if the improvement district is approved, it would not only double the bureau’s annual budget, but it will proportionally boost the tourism mar keting resources needed to attract more visitors to regional hotels that surrounding businesses rely upon.

The bureau is also in the early stages of estab lishing a similar district in Warwick, Adamo said.

The resolution states that hotel operators may pass the 2% cost to customers at their discretion, but the assessment “must be disclosed in advance and separately stated from the amount of rent charged and any other applicable taxes.”

Adamo pushed back against any notion that this was a tax.

“This is hotels saying [they] need money and we can’t go to the taxpayers, so we are going to assess ourselves,” she said. “This is a great way to let the industry help itself.”

A chart included in committee documents provides a list of hotels that support the measure, making up close to 90% of the city’s total 2,556-room count.

The assessments will form the annual PTID budget, which is projected to be approximately $1.6 million in the first year “with a similar budget … expected to apply to subsequent years but [may] fluctuate as room sales do,” according to a budget document accompanying the resolution.

The collected revenue will “pay for marketing [and] advertising programs, sales programs, op portunity funding, and related administration and operations fees,” according to the resolution, with 3% paid to the city for collection and enforcement.

The resolution establishes an initial five-year term beginning on Feb. 1, 2023, with payments col lected monthly. The district can be dissolved after two years, and during a 30-day period each year thereafter if 60% of participating businesses subject to the assessment formally object.

But Adamo envisions widescale support. She says the feedback from hotel owners to date has been positive.

“This benefits the taxpayer because we will be bringing in more hotel tax revenue,” she said. n

And, when patients started returning, Fred helped him set up an SBA express line of credit for working capital, so that he’d have the equpment and sta he needed to keep his patients smiling and his business growing. If your business could use a jump start, give our Business Lending Team a call and see how we can help. 401-233-4700

NEW DISTRICT? A proposed Providence Tourism Improvement District would be funded by a 2% assessment on all lodging revenue from hotels with 50 or more rooms in the city.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MARY MACDONALD

COVID was tough on local dentist Dr. Paulo DaRosa. Fred took pride in helping him stay afloat with a timely loan.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Chamber to hold open house at Bally’s Twin River Casino

THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold its Holiday Open House, hosted by Bally’s Twin River Casino Resort. The event will offer networking, food stations and cocktails. The event will also have a silent auction offering an array of items. A portion of the pro ceeds raised at the event will benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Expo tables are available to be secured for vendors.

THURSDAY, DEC. 1, 5-8 P.M. $25/members; $50/nonmembers Bally’s Twin River Casino Resort, 100 Twin River Road, Lincoln.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3UJ0Ocl

Morning java

ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce will hold its annual “Cof fee with the CEOs” event virtually. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with Chamber CEOs Rick Kidder and Mike O’Sullivan to dis cuss upcoming Chamber events and answer any questions about the busi ness community.

TUESDAY, NOV. 29, 9-10 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3NQrW73

Deflationary technology

THE GREATER PROVIDENCE Cham ber of Commerce will hold a vir tual seminar titled “Technology as a Deflationary Force in an Inflationary Economy.” Envision Technology Ad visors LLC CEO and President Todd Knapp and Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. Ltd. Director of Enterprise Solutions Anthony Mangiarelli will discuss the economic forces at work, technology solutions that professionals should consider and share the successes of companies that took a forward-look ing approach in uncertain times.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30, 1-2 P.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3RVWAw8

Networking on a First Friday

THE SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly First Friday Coffee network ing event, hosted by the South County Art Association. The event will bring together local business professionals in a casual setting. The event will also have a holiday sale featuring items made by local artists.

FRIDAY, DEC. 2, 8-9 A.M. $5/members; $10/nonmembers South County Art Association, 2587 Kingstown Road, South Kingstown.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3DRgtzz

Developing your skills

THE CENTER FOR WOMEN & Enter prise will hold a virtual workshop titled “#IamRemarkable” as part of the center’s Women’s History Month Workshop Series. The 90-minute interactive session will allow attend ees to participate in discussions and exercises to develop skills to promote oneself effectively. Kelly Nevins, CEO of Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, will facilitate the workshop.

THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 4-5:15 P.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3TkkRwB

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: The Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce will hold its Holiday Open House on Dec. 1 at Bally’s Twin River Casino Resort in Lincoln.

COURTESY BALLY’S CORP.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Night of giving

THE TRI-TOWN CHAMBER of Com merce will host its annual Holiday Gathering and Giving event. At tendees will be treated to networking opportunities and food at the event. Attendees are encouraged to provide a donation to a charity of their choice. Admission to the event will be free if attendees offer a donation.

THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 5-7 P.M. Free/with a donation; $10/general admission Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce, 280 School St., Mansfield.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3WZYQq6

Spreading some cheer

ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce will hold its annual Busi ness After Hours Holiday Party, hosted by White’s of Westport. The event will allow local professionals and entrepreneurs to meet and gather in a relaxed setting and celebrate the holiday season. Food and entertain ment will also be offered.

THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 5-7 P.M. Free/members; $25/nonmembers White’s of Westport, 66 State Road, Westport.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3tjAda0

Holiday dining

THE GREATER NEWPORT Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Holiday Dinner & Auction event, hosted by Newport Vineyards and Winery LLC. Attendees will enjoy hors d’ oeuvres and farm-to-table chef stations, a complimentary bar, live entertainment and mingling with other Chamber members. A silent auction will take place throughout the evening. Donations for local charities will also be accepted.

THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 5:30-8:30 P.M. $150

Newport Vineyards and Winery LLC, 999 East Main Road, Middletown.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3TpemJ5

Party time

THE SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold a multi-chamber holiday party, hosted by George’s of Galilee Restaurant. Charlestown, Narragansett and North Kingstown chambers of commerce will co-sponsor the event. The event will offer attendees networking op portunities, cocktails, door prizes and appetizers. All proceeds raised will

Interested in having your businessrelated event included in What’s Happening? Contact PBN Researcher James Bessette at (401) 680-4838 or Research@PBN.com.

support the E. Richard Durfee Schol arship STEM Fund.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14, 5:30-8 P.M. $15

George’s of Galilee Restaurant, 250 Sand Hill Cove Road, Narragansett.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3DXikTh

Keeping up with trends

THE TRI-TOWN CHAMBER of Com merce will hold a virtual workshop

titled “Social Media & Digital Market ing Trends for 2023.” The workshop will cover how social media is always evolving and why paying attention to trends is important for an under standing of what may happen in the future and how that might impact marketing strategy. Business owners, entrepreneurs, marketing managers,

marketing directors, social media managers, marketing specialists, recruiters and executive directors are encouraged to attend.

FRIDAY, DEC. 16, 9-10 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3tiItqW

www.pbn.com

UPCOMING PBN EVENT: The 2022 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Summit and Awards Program will be held on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick in Warwick. For more information, visit PBN.com. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Advertising@PBN.com.

Members of

Centreville Bank HR team help out at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Maxson’s precision machines keep other factories in business

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life.)

ONa recent morning, Joseph Matthews, CEO and president of Maxson Auto matic Machinery Co., was dealing with a small detail with big implications.

The assembly of a specialty sheeter, a large machine that cuts rolls of mate rial into specific lengths and widths, was almost complete and ready for shipment to a Maxson customer in Oklahoma. One problem: The $500,000 sheeter still needed a valve, a $75 part that re mained in transit from a supplier in Arkansas.

Matthews was waiting. So was his customer. Welcome to the world of supply chain snags.

“Things used to take 10 weeks [to arrive],” Mat thews said. “Now they take 18 weeks. And they cost more.”

The Westerly-based manufacturer has been making specialized precision sheeters, rotary cutters and converting equipment for the paper, board, printing and plastics industries for more than a century.

Inside the hangar-like Maxson building recently, three sheeters were being built on the 82,000-square-foot factory floor. Four more were in the planning stages. Matthews was filling in for the floor manager, who was out with COVID-19.

“As CEO, you wear a lot of hats,” he said.

As he moved through the building, Matthews spoke about running a company through the 2008 recession, and more recently the COVID-19 pan demic. And while the Great Recession was worse from a financial standpoint, the public health crisis brought different challenges.

“The worst recession is always the one you’re in right now,” he said, adding the quote from for mer British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

The company, which continued operations throughout the pandemic because of its categori zation as an essential business, survived in part thanks to the federal government’s forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Then when the economy reopened and busi ness returned, the company was inundated with orders, creating new challenges. That includes finding help to build and ship between 12 and 18

sheeters annually.

Maxson recently hired four people, bringing the company’s headcount to 35.

“We were very busy,” Matthews said. “But in the end, we came through it. We have been in over time mode for two years.”

PATENTED PROCESS

Maxson was founded in 1912 after entrepreneur Charles B. Maxson noticed that industrial printing machines needed so-called “lay boys” to manually stack sheets as they ran off a production line, a te dious and at times dangerous job. Maxson secured a patent to revolutionize the process, modernizing sheeters so the machines would catch and stack the paper automatically, eliminating bottlenecks caused by stacking by hand.

“It was something that didn’t exist,” Matthews said.

Initially, Maxson contracted with a machine tool shop in Erie, Pa., to produce the machines that were dubbed “Erie Lay Boys.” Then he opened his first manufacturing shop on Granite Street in Westerly. The company moved to its Airport Road headquarters in 1977.

eight years later, succeeded his father, Merton, as president.

And now a new generation of Matthews is con tinuing the tradition. After a decade working at General Dynamics Electric Boat, Joseph Matthews’ son, John, a University of Rhode Island engineering graduate like his father and grandfather, will be joining the company.

Times have changed.

When Joseph Matthews joined Maxson nearly 40 years ago, the company had 25 competitors na tionwide. Since then, like in many industries, the sector has been consolidated through bankruptcies and buyouts following financial crises.

“In every economic downturn, you would lose two or three competitors,” Matthews said. “They were weakened. Now there are two. And we are the only independent.”

Maxson has survived because of its ability to make specialized equipment for its customers, Matthews says.

“The industry has gotten smaller,” he said. “So, there are fewer suppliers needed. We had an engi neering advantage in that we would customize our machine designs to suit the needs [of customers].”

JOSH JELLEY

Soon after its start, the company hired Mat thews’ grandfather, Louis Matthews. Both Mat thews’ grandfather and father were Maxson execu tives. Joseph Matthews joined Maxson in 1983 to run sales and marketing and within a year was elected to the board of directors and named secre tary. He was elevated to vice president in 1992 and,

One example of a tough-to-please customer: 3M, the multinational manufacturer based in Maple wood, Minn.

“They have some [unique] production require ments,” Matthews said. “We were always some body that was willing to take offbeat specifications

‘It’s a delicate balance.’

Maxson Automatic Machinery Co. mechanical design engineer

MAN AND MACHINE: Joseph Matthews, president of Maxson Automatic Machinery Co. in Westerly, ex plains the features of a sheeter, a piece of precision manufacturing equipment that Maxson produces for other companies.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

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and build sheeting equipment for them. When everybody else was building the Model T, we were building the Studebaker.”

PRECISE CUTS

Over the years, Maxson has diversified its oper ations, creating a capital equipment servicing arm and providing consulting and after-sale services that make up about 20% of revenues. Matthews declined to disclose the company’s annual revenue.

All of the equipment manufactured by Maxson undergoes acceptance testing, with buyers from across the country visiting the plant to see their purchases in action before taking possession. Maxson recently closed a deal with a buyer in the Netherlands, though offshore purchases make up less than 10% of revenues.

“If something is not right, we want to know it here and not in the field,” Matthews said. “It all starts with engineering. If we do not get it right at first, we fight that battle the whole way through.”

A sheeter nearing completion for a customer in Massachusetts recently was undergoing the final touches at the factory. It will pump out precisely cut cardboard boxes that could be used for golf balls or high-end liquor bottles. Matthews says it’s a sophisticated process, utilizing microprocessors that make cuts with the precision of less than 1/64 of an inch, unloading single units at a pace of 1,000 feet of cardboard per minute.

In an upstairs corner office, Josh Jelley, who joined the company as a machinist before taking the lead in the engineering department, examines the computer-aided designs for the next customized machine to be built. For Jelley, ordering the parts needed for assembly at the right time is crucial considering supply chain problems. “It’s a delicate balance,” he said.

Matthews says an influx of new orders added a level of difficulty to the process.

“We have machines on our floor that for want of four or five parts, we would have ready to run. But we are having supply chain issues with some components,” he said. “People order machinery when they want to order machinery – not when we ask them to.”

‘APTITUDE AND INCLINATION’

Maxson machinist Eli LaHoud has been with the company for seven months. He was recruited through the state-sponsored 13-week Fast Track to Manufacturing program at the Community College of Rhode Island

LaHoud’s journey “re ally underscores what the state is trying to do in manufacturing,” Mat thews said.

LaHoud uses com puter numeric control – or CNC – machinery to create steel parts for the next sheeter. Watch ing LaHoud at work, Matthews says Maxson employees, who are cross-trained, need to be part traditional machin ist and part technician these days.

“Any machinist must understand the part being made. He must monitor how it runs to prevent ‘shatter’ over time, where the tool bits start to wear down,” Matthews said.

M. CHENEVERT,

match job seekers with manufacturers.

“Our issues right now are supply chain, labor shortage and training needs,” he said.

Andrea Palagi, com munications director for Gov. Daniel J. McKee, says training is a top priority for the adminis tration.

LaHoud oversees the setup of the CNC equip ment, which can take up to 90 minutes, before beginning the machining, which requires an ad ditional half hour.

“If you have the aptitude and inclination,” Mat thews said, “then you should have the qualifica tions to be successful.”

Finding employees such as LaHoud has been difficult, Matthews says.

“We are doing a lot of on-the-job training,” he said. “It has got to the point that when it comes to a machinist, we are prepared to take anyone who has gumption, shows up on time, has a mechani cal aptitude and a willingness to learn. It takes time and effort and can be inefficient. But it is what you do when you take the long view.”

David M. Chenevert, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, says the state can play a leading role in keeping the Ocean State’s manufacturing base viable. The association works with the R.I. Department of Labor and Training and R.I. Commerce Corp. to

“We know finding qualified, well-trained talent is one of the most pressing issues in every sector of the economy, including manufactur ing,” she said, pointing to entities such as the Governor’s Workforce Board, which offers In cumbent Worker Train ing Grants to help offset the cost of training existing employees, and Real Jobs RI, a DLT initiative that supports job train ing.

Matthews hopes elected leaders boost the re sources aimed at helping the state’s manufactur ing sector.

“Those programs need to be expanded,” he said. “And there needs to be a [greater] recogni tion of what a limited workforce we have.”

Nevertheless, Matthews says Maxson has no plans to uproot the company and move to an area of the country where the cost of doing business may be lower.

Relocating farther away would require finding and training qualified staff, something Maxson has worked hard to acquire and maintain in Westerly.

“This is a very niche market that we operate in,” he said. “The people that work for us, we can’t afford to lose. We have always been a West erly company. This is where we are and where the people who have helped us be successful live. We cannot risk losing that talent and expertise.” n

ROLLING ALONG: Three sheeters, large machines that cut materials into specific lengths and widths, are be ing assembled on Maxson’s factory floor. The construction of another four sheeters is in the planning stages. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

‘Our issues right now are supply chain, labor shortage and training needs.’

DAVID

Rhode Island Manufacturers Association executive director

RIGHT ON THE BUTTONS: Mason Brouillette, a computer numeric control machinist, operates the manufacturing equipment at Maxson.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

NEW GUARD

WILLIAMS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Raised in Detroit and Madrid, Spain, she began her teaching career in 2000 at Reed College and was later appointed the inaugural dean for institutional diversity, moving in 2013 to Bates College, where she was the college’s first associate vice president

Most former RISD presidents have had a visual arts background. As someone who works with literary forms, what tools does your artistic and professional experience allow you to bring to the table as an administrator?

As someone who comes from the temporal arts, my way of thinking about the multiple disciplines that are reflected at RISD is unique. Because I do not emerge from one of the visual arts, I see all of them and I experience all of them with the same kind of joy, curiosity and appreciation. And I think my ability to speak about the values of art and design and to synthesize that is something that the board of trustees and the search committee valued.

I grew up in a house where all the arts were very deeply valued and present. And I grew up going to museums both in Detroit and around the world. And so the arts were a living thing in our family.

My knowledge of what it takes to train young people to bring something into the world that is in their head but does not exist, which is what I did as a faculty member for many years, is something that was attractive to [the RISD board of trustees].

How important is it for students to be exposed to art at an early age?

An engagement in the arts is essential for all humans, but it is particularly essential for young people. The arts impact and inspire us to think conceptually, metaphorically and critically. They provide essential connections between humans.

for strategic initiatives.

Now leading a prestigious arts school in Provi dence, Williams acknowledges she can’t draw well, or even doodle. Her art takes the form of words. A poet and essayist, she has published four collec tions and worked as a theater actress early on.

Nevertheless, Williams says arts in higher education is an assembly of different forms with

Whether you are a young person in Providence, R.I., visiting the RISD Museum looking at a tex tile that was made in Singapore 200 years ago or a young person looking at a painting by a painter from South Africa in 2015, the arts are one of the only ways that I know of that really does ask us to not only connect to different ways of thinking and experiencing but to connect to what is our most common core. The arts are the things that express our essential nature as human beings.

There is a cliché that graduates of art schools have fewer opportunities in the workforce. What is your reaction to this assumption?

The dialectic between a thing that you are pas sionate about and [the need] to make a living is not one I always agree with. The means by which graduates in art and design in education make their way in the world are incredibly varied and often in visible to those of us who undertake more tradition al means of work. But they are no less important.

There seems to be a growing appreciation of the creative arts in the corporate world, particularly in advertising. Have you noticed this? Can you speak about some collaborations at RISD with the private sector?

There is an increased awareness on behalf of cor porations and private sector entities of the value of design thinking and creative thinking in relation to solving problems, which is what all of us are about.

Diversity means that our students can learn among a population of global thinkers

similar goals: to provide not only outlets for indi vidual self-expression but a creative framework to address social justice.

“We often understate the importance of art in our culture,” she said. “So the question of whether [art is] valuable becomes a very different question when you think about the totality of what art and design represent in our daily lives.”

Solving problems broadly. For example, we have corporate partnerships that are related to research.

We have the Nature Lab, which has been in existence for 85 years. It features all things in the natural world. Some years ago, Hyundai Motor Co. contacted us because they were interested in mobility broadly. So, they asked about spending some time in our lab to think about how the natural world moves, and through that exploration merged a research partnership where our students work with their designers about big questions about mobility. That collaboration has been happening for three years. Just this summer some Hyundai de signers spent a week on our campus with students and faculty, and our students also went to their headquarters.

It is a beautiful collaboration because it asks the traditional designers to think differently about the work they are undertaking. And it asks our students to think uniquely about mobility and cooperative work. There are many of these kinds of collaborations that are happening here because private corporations have started to understand the value of asking different questions. And that is one of the things that we do well.

There have been calls to amend the payment-inlieu-of-taxes agreements between higher edu cation institutions and the city. RISD paid $1.4 million to Providence in fiscal 2022, including PILOT, parking fees and other taxes paid by a RISD subsidiary. How do you respond to people who say that schools such as RISD should con tribute more financially to the city?

.

We do participate in a PILOT program. But I would underscore that our institutions participate in the civic life and economic well-being of the city in substantial ways that often are not as visible to the public as I sometimes wish they were. One of the things that I find really fascinating about Provi dence is that it articulates itself as being the cre ative capital. A number of alums who have stayed here in the city have created small businesses here and impact and inform our city’s ability to articu late itself, which is significant.

We are also participating in the economic life of the city [in ways] that I think ... [are] important. We have Project Open Door, where we go into public schools and work with students in art education. Likewise, we have many points of access to the museum for students and young people.

We also have a young curator’s program, where Providence-based young people are learning about the inner workings of the museum, which is one of the first places where all young people have access to art. Every semester they decide on a collective project. A recent one was to work on the acquisition of a piece of art – a drawing of a group of young people, all of whom have their faces obscured. It is a piece about anonymity and invis ibility and being young. And these students are asking the public to engage with them in a larger conversation about what it means to be young in this complicated world.

RISD has been at the forefront of the movement to return artworks that were looted in colonial conquests. Will every piece of art at the museum be investigated to make sure it was not acquired unlawfully or immorally?

As we become aware of instances where art

PERSON OF NOTE: Rhode Island School of Design President Crystal Williams, center, appears with Provi dence-based Undertow Brass Band during her inauguration festivities in October.

COURTESY RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN/JO SITTENFELD

that we own as a museum has been stolen, then our stance on that is the art should be returned to the rightful owners if we find evidence of the theft, which is how the Benin Bronze repatriation hap pened. [A bronze sculpture in the RISD collection since 1939 was returned to the Nigerian National Collection in October after it was learned the sculpture was among artifacts looted from Nigeria in 1897.]

As a new leader taking over in an established institution, what have you heard from the RISD community as far as changes that should be made?

The board inquired to the community and what we heard was a real desire to continue to build on the work that the institution had already articulat ed around social equity and inclusion. That we as an institution [should be] focused on creating more access to students from around the world so the most promising creatives will come to RISD. That we want to be more connected both within our own community and communities outside. These are things that we want to continue to build upon and deepen. So, no hard right turns [but] a continuation of a commitment to excellence and to deepen and embody our stated principles, which are sound and will continue to be about the advancement of artists and designers in the world.

Student housing has been a hot topic in Provi dence recently. What is the state of student housing at RISD?

RISD opened a new residence hall, North Hall [60 Waterman St.] in fall 2019. We do not have any plans to further increase capacity at this time. RISD requires first- and second-year undergraduate students to live on campus, and we have availabil ity for juniors and seniors to live on campus if they choose to. We have been able to meet this demand from juniors and seniors without increasing our current inventory.

What are your feelings on the state of RISD’s diversity in both students and faculty? Are you pleased with where it stands now?

Like all organizations in this country, there is always room for improvement in relation to diversity, social equity and inclusion. We have in the last five years been keenly focused on the diversification of our student body and our staff and faculty. We just finished a 10-cluster [faculty] hire focused on race and pedagogy. And that al lows us to embed very quickly one of our central principles and goals across the disciplines and

throughout the institution.

We have also been working hard to make sure that our student body is global and diverse. We have more than 68 countries represented within our student body. And that kind of diversity means that our students can learn among a population of global thinkers. It also means they will go out into the work with skills that allow them to collaborate fluidly with people with divergent backgrounds who think differently about questions of cultural iden tity. So, we are proud, but there is still lots of work for us to do. And we are committed to doing it. n

Rising prices take some cheer out of bakeries

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

dessert for the holidays might be pricier this year, and local bakeries aren’t happy about it.

Whether it’s a pastry, a butter croissant, or a chocolate cake, customers will likely be paying more because the cost of in gredients has escalated quickly. Many bakeries have had little choice but to pass at least some of those additional costs to their customers.

Prices have skyrocketed in almost every sector, with customers grap pling with higher gas prices, rents and groceries. But for food vendors, inflation has taken a significant toll on already-thin profit margins, leav ing them with an uncertain holiday season.

“Everything we buy has gone up,” said Michael Manni, owner of LaSalle Bakery Inc. in Providence. “We do our best to [buy] from multiple vendors, to try to find the best price, but the cost of manufacturing has gone up, therefore everything has gone up.”

And it really is everything: butter

is up 70%, milk prices are up 34% and eggs have more than tripled in the last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The cost of sugar, chocolate and walnuts is up too. Chefs throughout the state are reporting record-high prices for many kitchen staples.

Amy Foster, owner of the dessert and bakery café Pastiche Fine Des serts Inc. in Providence, says she hasn’t seen prices escalate like this in more than 30 years with the business.

Over the last two years, she has seen prices increase up to 20% in some cases, and more than double for products shipped from overseas, where shipping expenses are added to the already inflated prices.

Case in point: wicker baskets that Foster buys from China jumped from $2 to $5 each. She uses them to make cookie platters. There has been a similar price jump for the raspberry puree she buys from France to make sauce or mousse fillings for her holi day cranberry raspberry tarts. Foster has little choice but to pay up. The

puree is an ingredient she can’t work without, but these added expenses are taking a toll.

“It wasn’t something we wanted to compromise on,” Foster said. “We’re not using [a] lower-quality ingredient.”

Xavier Mauprivez, who co-owns French Confection in Middletown with his wife, has been dealing with both the problem of rising prices and lingering supply chain snags.

For French Confection, butter, a staple for the bakery’s popular croissants, has increased from $2.50 a pound to $4.70 a pound. A little over a year ago the price for a case of frozen pasteurized eggs was $35, Mauprivez says. Now it’s over $100. And that’s only on the days when he can get his hands on a shipment of eggs.

“It’s kind of crazy because I expect my supply to come in and then it doesn’t. So I have to go look some where else,” Mauprivez said.

Mauprivez is not alone in his struggle to find chicken eggs. An almost record-breaking outbreak of avian flu has caused the death of more than 49 million birds – both wild bird and poultry – in 46 states since early 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. As a result, egg production was 8.83 billion during September 2022, down 3% from last year, according to the USDA.

But it’s not just the rise of food prices that is worrying vendors.

“Out of control” shipping prices, higher manufacturing costs and increased labor costs are cutting into his business’s margins, Manni says. It’s becoming harder to make a profit, with leftover money from sales often going toward maintenance and repairs around the bakery’s two loca tions.

“It’s going to start getting real scary in this country really fast,” Manni said. “You’re going to reach a point where the expenses surpass your sales, and it’s going to get real scary if things don’t level out.”

Mauprivez says he had to increase his prices to continue to make a profit. His butter croissants once sold for $2.85 each. Now it’s $3.25. Small cakes that used to sell for $22 are now $26.

Most customers understand, Mau privez says. But at the same time, increasing retail prices comes at the risk of driving some clients away.

“There’s only so much you can do,” Manni said. “You can’t raise your prices too much because … people might not buy it.”

With holiday season on the hori zon, many vendors remain optimistic that business will be steady. Despite rising costs, Foster says she is expect ing a busy holiday season that’s not much different than past years. After all, she said, “people always want to eat sweets.”

Manni and Mauprivez share the sentiment.

“It’s a pretty seasonal business,” Manni said. “I’m not concerned about people coming in. We’re just not mak ing the same profit.” n

MICHAEL MANNI, LaSalle Bakery Inc. owner

With reports from The Associated Press.

EXPENSIVE INGREDIENTS:

Michael Manni, owner of LaSalle Bakery Inc. in Providence, says in addition to in creased shipping prices and labor costs, “everything we buy has gone up.”

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

‘It’s going to get real scary if things don’t level out.’

Learn more at JWU.edu

Johnson & Wales University ranks as a U.S. News and World Report Top Performer on Social Mobility, showcasing the university’s ability to provide graduates the network and know-how needed to succeed.

Need cyber insurance? It’s not an easy answer

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

THOUGH CYBERCRIMES HAVE long been on the rise, many small-business owners see their risk as outweighed by the high price tag that comes along with cyber insurance.

That trend is apparent in a BlackBerry report released over the summer, which found that only 14% of small businesses – defined in the survey as companies with less than 1,500 em ployees – have cybersecurity insurance coverage that meets the median ransomware demand of $600,000. And just over half of the small busi nesses surveyed – 55% – had cyber insurance coverage at all.

These findings weren’t surprising to Chris Parisi, co-founder of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition and founder and president of his own small business, the marketing firm Trail blaze Inc.

To Parisi, cyber insurance is more than just a luxury, though he understands why other small businesses may see it otherwise.

The report “underlies a consistent issue for small businesses

SOUNDING THE ALERT: Michael Martin, Roger Williams University adjunct faculty member specializing in risk management, cybersecurity and insurance, says that as hackers focus more on less-protected targets, even small businesses should consider cyber insurance.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

CONTINUES ON PAGE 23

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*Offer ends 3/31/23. Available to new commercial data subscribers (excluding gov’t agencies and schools) in Cox service areas. $59/mo includes Cox Business InternetSM 100. Price based on 1 yr. term agreement. Early term. fees may apply. Standard rates apply thereafter. Price excludes equipment, professional installation, construction, inside wiring, taxes, surcharges and other fees, unless indicated. Offer is nontransferable to a new service address. Offer subject to change at Cox’s sole discretion. All Cox services provided are subject to Cox Business General Terms (including mandatory arbitration provisions), Acceptable Use Policy (including Cox’s right to terminate service for abuse of network), and other policies, which may be found at www.cox.com/aboutus/policies/business-general-terms. html. Uninterrupted or error-free Internet service, or the speed of your service, is not guaranteed. Actual speeds vary. Rates and bandwidth options vary and are subject to change. DOCSIS 3.0 or higher modem may be required, unless indicated. See www.cox.com/internetdisclosures for complete Cox Internet Disclosures. Services are not available in all areas. Discounts can’t be combined or added with other promotions nor applied to any other Cox account. †Visa prepaid card available with qualifying new services ordered and activated between 9/17/22 and 3/31/23 with min 1 yr. term agreement for Cox Business InternetSM products. Must mention “reward promo" when placing order. Account must remain active, be in good standing, and retain all services for a min of 30 days after install. Online redemption req’d by 4/30/23 and must follow instructions rec’d after service activation. Limit one card per customer, total not to exceed $300. Allow 15 days after redemption for delivery. Cox reserves the right to withhold the issuance of any prepaid card in the event Cox reasonably determines there is fraud associated with the account. Card is issued by MetaBank®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. No cash access or recurring payments. Can be used

are accepted. Card valid for up to 6 months; unused funds will forfeit after the valid thru date. Card terms and conditions apply. Other restrictions apply. © 2022 Cox Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

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CLOSER LOOK

Total number of local employees: 10,544

2021:

(774) 888-1325

2021: 3

ProcacciantiCos. | procaccianti.com JamesProcaccianti

2021: 4 Lafrance Hospitality | lafrancehospitality.com RichardLafrance

1140 Reservoir Ave. Cranston, R.I.02920 (401) 946-4600 Procaccianti 2 1,050

41 Old Bedford Road Westport, Mass.02790 (508) 678-7888

2021: 5

Lafrance 4 578

Catering, event venues, hospitality, hotels 1955 5

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

NEED A COPY?

2021: 7

Teknor ApexCo. | teknorapex.com Jonathan D.Fain, chairman and CEO;Suresh Swaminathan, president

505 Central Ave. Pawtucket, R.I.02861 (401) 725-8000

Fain 3 525

Manufacturer of advanced polymer compounds and garden hoses 1924 6

To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

TacoInc. 1 | tacocomfort.com John HazenWhite Jr., owner and executive chairman;CherylMerchant, CEO

The JanCos. | jancompanies.com William N.Janikies, president

2021: 8

1160 Cranston St. Cranston, R.I.02920 (401) 942-8000

35 Sockanosset Cross Road Cranston, R.I.02920 (401) 946-4000

White 3 500

Manufacturer of circulators, controls, pumps and valves for HVAC systems 1920 6

Janikies 2 500

Fast food, full-service dining, doughnut, ice cream and country club operations 1969

2021: 6 CardiCorp. | cardi.com AntonioCardi, president 400 Lincoln Ave. Warwick, R.I.02888 (401) 739-8300 Cardi 4 500 Contractor specializing in bridge, highway and heavy construction 1967

2021: 10 GilbaneInc. | gilbaneco.com Thomas F.Gilbane Jr., chairman and CEO 7 Jackson Walkway Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 456-5800 Gilbane 6 393 Construction and real estate development 1870

UPCOMING LISTS Dec. 9: Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms –Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., Foreign-owned Companies, International Tax Preparers; Dec. 23: Addiction Treatment Centers, Energy Companies, Urgent Care Centers.

WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

NL = Not listed last year.

Arden and Bolton 3 346 Construction, design and engineering firm 1954

2021: NL McLaughlin ResearchCorp. | mrcds.com DomenicGargano, president 132 Johnnycake Hill Road Middletown,

2021: 13 Dimeo ConstructionCo. | dimeo.com Bradford S.Dimeo,

2021: 14 Arden Building Cos.LLC | ardenbuildingcompanies.com RobertBolton, CEO 909 East Main Road Middletown,

R.I.02842

(401) 849-4010 McLaughlin 3 332 Defense contractor offering engineering, technical and programmatic support services 1947

75 Chapman St. Providence, R.I.02905 (401) 781-9800

Airport

1930

505 Narragansett Park Drive Pawtucket, R.I.02861 (401) 727-3500 Nunes 3 110 100-acre vineyard, farm and winery with a full-service restaurant, farm brewery, cafe and event space 1988 1 Also known as Taco Comfort Solutions.

Real estate investment company engaged in acquisition, renovation and management of real estate 1958

– a choice between doing what’s best for their business and what’s afford able,” Parisi said.

“Cyber insurance is often over looked as a ‘nice to have’ but with online transactions and communica tion becoming ever so prevalent, it is becoming more of a ‘need,’ ” he said. “But how can small businesses afford these costs while also dealing with general business insurance costs ris ing as well?”

Small businesses shouldn’t dis count the possibility of a cyberattack, says Michael Martin, an adjunct faculty member at Roger Williams University who specializes in risk management, cybersecurity and in surance. In fact, the assumption they won’t be attacked is part of what is herding some cybercriminals toward smaller targets.

“Essentially, many hackers have learned that large businesses are increasingly well-protected,” Martin said, particularly in sectors such as technology, health and finance, where highly sensitive and large amounts of information tend to be at stake.

These companies “have resources to protect various types of assets, and therefore [makes] it harder to ac cess systems to install ransomware,” Martin said, “so what happens is the bad guys essentially move to the lessprotected end.”

But that doesn’t mean that all small businesses should prioritize the most robust cybersecurity package possible, he says.

The BlackBerry report identifies a legitimate gap in cyber insurance coverage, Martin says, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to protecting businesses against cyberattacks, and cybersecu rity needs vary largely depending on the sector, the type of information a business handles and its size.

“The good news is that there’s a significant interest in cyber insur ance,” Martin said. “The bad news is … insurance coverage for cyber events is much less mature, or less standardized than traditional insur ance like property liability or casu alty insurance.”

‘How can small businesses afford these costs?’

CHRIS PARISI, Rhode Island Small Business Coalition co-founder

On the broad range of “small busi nesses,” those at the small to medium end tend to be at higher risk, Martin says.

Hackers “want a firm that is big enough to pay them a substantial amount of money but small enough that it doesn’t have adequate protec tion,” Martin said.

Then, the hackers want to cause enough trouble to justify paying a ransomware demand but not so much that they cause the targeted business to fail.

Coverage needs also depend on the type of business, Martin says. When considering cybersecurity needs, business owners can take a critical look at just what a breach would mean: for some, it could just mean buying a new computer after a hacking event. But even the smallest of businesses that deal with highly sensitive data may want to consider more robust coverage, he says.

Mark S. Deion, president of Associates & Strategies Inc. ness management consultant in War wick, says that while all businesses should take some precautions against cyberattacks, he doesn’t see small businesses as high-risk targets.

For many small businesses, simple and often relatively low-cost mea sures such as regular data backups are reasonable measures to take against cyberattacks, Deion says.

“For your average small business, say a restaurant, something that has an internet presence, I don’t know how critical they would think [cyber insurance] needs to be,” Deion said. “The people that have been targeted for cybercrimes or ransom have tended to be utility companies, mu nicipalities, hospitals – much larger institutions that potentially have deeper pockets.”

For smaller businesses, “I would say have some good security software in place, have backups that happen frequently and make sure you have protocols in place with employees so people aren’t accepting or download ing information from sources that aren’t trusted or verifiable,” Deion said.

Additionally, Deion cautions that while cyber insurance can offer busi nesses financial protection, it’s not designed to prevent cybercrimes from occurring.

“Having insurance is just going to cover an expense,” Deion said. “It’s not going to protect you against get ting hacked – it’s just going to provide you with insurance for damages.”

While Parisi sees cyber insurance coverage as a need for an increasing number of businesses, he also notes that businesses need a customized ap proach in order to evaluate what they should pay for this protection.

To combat this trend, small-busi ness owners need more resources to help them weigh how their specific type of business could be affected by cybersecurity threats, Parisi says. Additionally, he says, creative mea sures such as a cooperative to help small businesses purchase insurance could help to alleviate affordability barriers. n

2021: 1

CVS HealthCorp. | cvshealth.com Karen S.Lynch

General Dynamics Electric Boat | gdeb.com PhebeNovakovic, chairman and CEO;Kevin M. Graney, president

Brown University | brown.edu Christina H.Paxson, president

2021: 2

2021: 5

2021: 8

2021: 7

Fidelity InvestmentsInc. | fidelity.com Abigail P.Johnson, chairman and CEO

Verizon CommunicationsInc. | verizon.com HansVestberg, chairman and CEO;Nia C. Mathis, regional president, New England

Johnson & Wales University | jwu.edu MarieBernardo-Sousa, president, Providence campus

Morton Hospital | mortonhospital.org HeidiTaylor, president

2021: NL

2021: 12 Community College of Rhode Island | ccri.edu MeghanL. Hughes, president

1 CVS Drive Woonsocket, R.I.02895 (401) 765-1500 8,600 Health solutions company 1962

165 Dillabur Ave. North Kingstown, R.I.02852 (401) 268-2300 5,132 Submarine construction, design and life cycle maintenance 1899

1 Prospect St. Providence, R.I.02912 (401) 863-1000

900 Salem St. Smithfield, R.I.02917 (401) 292-5000

234 Washington St. Providence, R.I.02903 (800) 837-4966

4,356 Higher education 1764

3,200 Financial services 1946

1,300 Telecommunications provider 1870

8 Abbott Park Place Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 598-1000 1,150 Higher education 1914

88 Washington St. Taunton, Mass.02780 (508) 828-7000 1,145 Hospital 1889

400 East Ave. Warwick, R.I.02886 (401) 825-1000 800 Higher education 1964

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

NEED A COPY?

To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

UPCOMING LISTS

Dec. 9: Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms –Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., Foreign-owned Companies, International Tax Preparers; Dec. 23: Addiction Treatment Centers, Energy Companies, Urgent Care Centers.

WANT TO JOIN?

For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

= Not listed last year.

10

2021: 13 PeopleInc. | peopleincfr.org MeganStirk 4 South Main St. Fall River, Mass.02721 (508) 679-5233 760 Health/human services nonprofit corporation 1968

2021: 15 HopeHealth | hopehealthco.org DianaFranchitto 1085 North Main St. Providence, R.I.02904 (844) 671-4673 686 Nonprofit health care organization 1976

2021: 16 Salve Regina University | salve.edu Kelli J.Armstrong, president 100 Ochre Point Ave. Newport, R.I.02840 (401) 847-6650 593 Higher education 1947

2021: 18 Comprehensive Community Action Program | comcap.org JoanneMcGunagle

311 Doric Ave. Cranston, R.I.02910 (401) 467-9610 350 Social services, health care nonprofit1965

2021: 19 Family Service Association | frfsa.org SharonFord, CEO;CarolNagle, president 101 Rock St. Fall

River,

677-3822

2021: 20 Residential PropertiesLtd. | residentialproperties.com SallyLapides 140 Wickenden St. Providence,

2021: 17 J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center | trudeaucenter.org JudithSullivan 3445 Post Road Warwick,

ClaflinCo. | claflin.com Anne-MarieJohnson 455 Warwick Industrial Drive Warwick, R.I.02886 (401) 739-4150

www.pbn.com

FOCUS | RHODE ISLAND DISTILLERIES, BREWERIES AND VINEYARDS (listed alphabetically)

FOCUS | RHODE ISLAND DISTILLERIES, BREWERIES AND VINEYARDS

Apponaug BrewingCo. | apponaugbrewing.com TamaraMcKenneyandKrisWaugh, owners and co-founders

Beer On Earth | beeronearth.com AdamHenderson, owner

Coddington BrewPub | coddbrew.com Heidi and BillyChristy, owners

Crooked Current Brewery | crookedcurrentbrewery.com JasonLourenco, president;NicholePelletier, vice president and brewmaster

Foolproof BrewingCo. | brewerycollective.com/ foolproof-brewing-company NickGarrison, founder and president

Greenvale Vineyards | greenvale.com

Nancy ParkerWilson, president and general manager;BillWilson Sr., vice president of planning;BillWilson, operations manager and winemaker

Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island | greysailbrewing.com JenniferBrinton, owner and operator

The Industrious SpiritCo. | iscospirits.com Manya K.Rubinstein, CEO;DanielNeff, distiller

Langworthy Farm Winery | langworthyfarm.com/thewinery.html Joe and GailSharry, owners

Leyden Farm Vineyards & Winery | leydenfarm.com Jack and MaureenLeyden, owners

Linesider Brewing Co.LLC | linesiderbrewing.com JeremyRuff, owner and head brewer

Long Live BeerworksInc. | longlivebeerworks.com ArmandoDeDona, president and brewer

Mulbury Vineyards | mulberryvineyards.com David and MelissaWright, owners and managers

Narragansett BeerCo. | narragansettbeer.com MarkHellendrung, CEO and president

Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co. | newportcraft.com BrendanO'Donnell, CEO

Newport Vineyards and WineryLLC | newportvineyards.com JohnNunes, owner, vintner and brewmaster

Nickle Creek Vineyard | nicklecreekvineyard.com Steven J. O'Connor and SheriO'Connor, owners

Proclamation AleCo. | proclamationaleco.com LoriWitham, president

Providence BrewingCo. 1 | pvd.beer Efren J.Hidalgo II, CEO, founder and brewmaster

Ragged Island Brewing Co.LLC | raggedislandbrewing.com MatthewGrayandKathrynGray, owners

334 Knight St. Warwick, R.I.02886 (401)681-4321

425 West Fountain St., No. 104 Providence, R.I.02903 (401)885-0580

210 Coddington Highway Middletown, R.I.02842 (401)847-6690

560 Mineral Spring Ave. Pawtucket, R.I.02860 (401)473-8312

241 Grotto Ave. Pawtucket, R.I.02860 (401)721-5970

582 Wapping Road Portsmouth, R.I.02871 (401)847-3777

63 Canal St. Westerly, R.I.02891 (401)212-7592

1 Sims Ave., No. 103 Providence, R.I.02909

308 Shore Road Westerly, R.I.02891 (401)322-7791

160 Plain Meeting House Road West Greenwich, R.I.02817 (401)392-1133

1485 South County Trail, Suite 201 East Greenwich, R.I.02818 (401)398-7700

40R Sprague St. Providence, R.I.02907 (401)213-9830

95 Pound Road Glocester, R.I.02814 (401)217-9288

271 Tockwotton St. Providence, R.I.02903 (401)437-8970

293 JT Connell Highway Newport, R.I.02840 (401)849-5232

909 East Main Road Middletown, R.I.02842 (401)848-5161

12 King Road Foster, R.I.02825 (401)369-3694

298 Kilvert St. Warwick, R.I.02886 (401)787-6450

110 Sims Ave., Unit 110 Providence, R.I.02909 (401)424-1817

200 High Point Ave., Unit B6 Portsmouth, R.I.02871 (401)318-2991

CLOSER LOOK

Restaurant/food

Dio's Child, Empress Maeve, Holy Mountain, Temple of Plenty Retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

Blonde Ale, Chocolate Porter, Dopplebock, Irish Red Ale, Nut Brown Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Summer Wheat

Restaurant/food on-site; tasting/tap room

Blueberry American Wheat, Hawaiian Robust Porter, Irish Red Ale, Pumpkin Maple Ale, Oatmeal Raisin Stout, S'Mores Brown Ale, Neopolitan Brown Ale Tasting/tap room

Backyahd, Big Blue Beer, Ocean State IPA, Pawtucket Patriot, The Bluffs

Albarino, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay Select, Greenvale Vidal Blanc, Ramato, Skipping Stone White, Vermouth

Captain's Daughter Double IPA, Flagship Ale, Flying Jenny EPA, Haze Ho New England IPA, Rotating Series, Leaning Chimney Smoked Porter, Little Sister Session IPA, Pour Judgement IPA

Sustainably sourced vodka, gins, bourbons and experimental spirits made from scratch at Providence’s first distillery since Prohibition

Misquamicut Merlot, Pawcatuck River Red, Rhody Riesling, Shelter Harbor Chardonnay, Watch Hill Merlot

Jack's White Merlot, Leyden Vineyard Merlot, Leyden Vineyard Riesling, Leyden Vineyard American White Zinfandel

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; restaurant/food on-site; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

VII Stripes, Black Point, Blonde Jovi, Harvest Kent County Common, Patience & Prudence, StrIPAh, White Knuckles Tasting/tap room

Weekly releases

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir (Blush), Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling

12 unique craft beers on tap, including flagship IPA Musik Express; full kitchen, including flatbreads, pretzels and more; beautiful patio views of Narragansett Bay; dog-friendly

Bushwick Pilsner, Rhode Rage, Coast, Thomas Tew Single Barrel Rum

Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Rose, Gewurztraminer, Newport Merlot, Newport Riesling, Rising Tide

Cabernet, Foster Red, Foster White, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Riesling

Adelia, Derivative: Galaxy, Ethereous, Flummox Pilsner, Knock It Off, Nomenclature Double IPA, Tendril, The Ender

Astroberfest, Can't Deny It, In the Mood, Uncontrollable Urge

Tasting/tap room

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; restaurant/food on-site; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Retail sales on-site

Retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

Private event/meeting space; restaurant/food on-site; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

Ranked by oldest:

1

Providence Brewing Co. Year founded: 1817*

2

Narragansett Brewing Co. Year founded: 1890

3

Greenvale Vineyards Year founded: 1992

RESEARCHED

LIST

BY James Bessette

NEED A COPY?

To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

UPCOMING LISTS

Dec. 9: Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms –Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., Foreign-owned Companies, International Tax Preparers; Dec. 23: Addiction Treatment Centers, Energy Companies, Urgent Care Centers.

WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

FOOTNOTE

j Providence Brewing Co. is the oldest recorded brewery in Rhode Island. James Hanley purchased the brewery in 1896 and operated it until 1929 before the Prohibition era. Efrin Hidalgo purchased the brewery’s naming rights in 2013 and opened the brewery in 2018.

Beach Night, Donde Esta la Biblioteca, Liquid Hugs, Hoop House

Private event/meeting space; tasting/tap room

1 Providence Brewing Co. is the oldest recorded brewery in Rhode Island. James Hanley purchased the brewery in 1896 and operated it until 1929 before the Prohibition era. Efrin Hidalgo purchased the brewery’s naming rights in 2013 and opened the brewery in 2018.

CWR, Apponaug Ale, Pawtuxet Pils, Thousand Ways, Lake Runner, Occasional Disruption, It's Fine No Worries

on-site; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

FOCUS | RHODE ISLAND DISTILLERIES, BREWERIES AND VINEYARDS

FOCUS | RHODE ISLAND DISTILLERIES, BREWERIES AND VINEYARDS

Ravenous BrewingCo. | ravenousbrew.com DorianRave, founder and brewer

Revival BrewingCo. | revivalbrewing.com OwenJohnson, chairman;SeanLarkin, brewmaster

Rhode Island Spirits Distillery & Tasting Room | rhodeislandspirits.com CathyPlourdeandKaraLarson, co-owners and distillers

Smug BrewingCo. | smugbrewing.com RobertDaRosa, founder and master brewer

Sons of Liberty Beer & SpiritsCo. | drinksol.com MikeReppucci, owner

South County Distillers | southcountydistillery.com RyanGwozdz, owner and distiller;Jennifer Brinton, owner and business manager

Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery | tappedapple.com JohnWiedenhelf IV,JohnWiedenhelf IIIand AdamMercer, owners

Taproot Brewing Co. at Newport Vineyards | taprootbeer.com JohnNunes, owner and CEO

Trinity Brewhouse | trinitybrewhouse.com JoshuaMiller, owner

10 Industrial Road Cumberland, R.I.02864 (401)216-5331

50 Sims Ave. Providence, R.I.02909 (401)372-7009

59 Blackstone Ave. Pawtucket, R.I.02860 (401)856-4111

100 Carver St. Pawtucket, R.I.02860 (401)642-5701

1425 Kingstown Road South Kingstown, R.I.02879 (401)284-4006

63 Canal St. Westerly, R.I.02891 (401)212-7592

37 High St. Westerly, R.I.02891 (401)637-4946

909 East Main Road Middletown, R.I.02842 (401)848-5161

186 Fountain St. Providence, R.I.02903 (401)453-2337

Whalers BrewingCo. | whalers.com WesleyStaschkeandJoshDunlap, owners 1174 Kingstown Road South Kingstown, R.I.02879 (401)552-0002

(listed alphabetically)

Private event/meeting space; restaurant/food on-site; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

HAMR Oceanic State Pale Ale, Night Swim'ah Belgian Wheat Ale, Pinky Swear Berliner Weisse Restaurant/food on-site; tasting/tap room

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

CLOSER LOOK

Ranked by newest:

1 (tie)

South County Distillers Year founded: 2020

1 (tie)

Blocker, Chubby Unicorn, Dad Bod, Driving Miss Hazy, Hoppy Little Trees

Battle Cry Single Malt Whiskey, Bourbon, Loyal 9 Cocktails, Sons of London Dry Gin, Uprising Single Malt Whiskey

Craft spirits and canned cocktails

Cerise Noir, First Bite Cider, Light my Fire, Respect the Elder, Sweet Temptation, Watch Hill White

Barrel Aged, NewPorter, New England IPA, Vineyard Pils

Belgian Gold, Belgian Quad, Belgian Strawberry, Darkness, Kolsch, RI IPA, Russian Imperial Stout, Screaming Viking

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; restaurant/food on-site; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room; tours

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

Private event/meeting space; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

Private event/meeting space; restaurant/food on-site; retail sales on-site; tasting/tap room

Private event/meeting space; restaurant/food on-site; retail sales on-site

Rise APA, East Coast IPA, Hazelnut StoutTasting/tap room

The Industrious Spirit Co. Year founded: 2020

3

Rhode Island Spirits Distillery & Tasting Room Year founded: 2019

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

NEED A COPY?

To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

UPCOMING LISTS

Dec. 9: Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms –Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., Foreign-owned Companies, International Tax Preparers; Dec. 23: Addiction Treatment Centers, Energy Companies, Urgent Care Centers.

WANT TO JOIN?

For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

Bienvenu French Quarter Red Ale, Blackstone American Pale Ale, Rhode Haze, El Hefe

Rhodium Gin, Rhodium Forager's Gin, Rhodium Newport Restaurant Group Gin, Rhodium Vodka

Girl Scouts honor Bryant

ELIZABETH BURKE BRYANT, who will be stepping down at the end of the year as executive director of the chil dren and family welfare advocacy nonprofit Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, was recently recognized by the Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England at the organization’s Leading Women of Distinction Awards.

What does the award from the Girl Scouts mean to you?

I was very excited to receive the Leading Women of Distinc tion award from Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England because I was a Girl Scout in Providence when I was in grade school and had a great experience with my Girl Scout troop forming friendships and learning about new things.

What new achievements did Rhode Island KIDS COUNT reach this past year?

We contributed to a number of important victories for children and families, including passage of Cover All Kids that provides RIte Care health insurance coverage to all eligible children regardless of immigration status, and pas sage of the Trauma-Informed Schools Act that will require all personnel in public school buildings to be trained on “trauma-informed care” to help identify students in need of mental health treatment.

The organization recently released its report on the state’s children’s mental health crisis. What will it take to improve that?

Rhode Island needs to create and invest in a comprehen sive, seamless system of children’s behavioral health care that provides the right care at the right time in the right place, with an emphasis on prevention, early intervention and community-/school-based, family-centered services. Mental health influences children’s physical health, as well as their behavior at home, in school and in the community.

What are your greatest achievements in leading Rhode Island KIDS COUNT?

For 28 years, we have worked to improve the health, development, economic well-being, safety and education of Rhode Island’s children, with a core focus on equity and reducing unacceptable disparities by race, ethnicity and income. Rhode Island is ranked fourth-best in the nation for children’s health insurance coverage and provides cov erage to eligible children regardless of immigration status. We contributed to the establishment/growth of pre-kinder garten and universal access to full-day kindergarten. We successfully advocated for expansion of [R.I. Department of Children, Youth & Families] services for [youths] aging out of foster care up to age 21 and the reversal of a law that tried 17-year-olds as adults and sent them to adult prison.

What are your plans post-KIDS COUNT?

First, I am thrilled that our board has announced that Paige Clausius-Parks will be the next executive director of KIDS COUNT beginning Dec. 1. Paige, who has been on the KIDS COUNT staff for the past four years as a senior policy analyst, is an outstanding leader who will lead the organization’s next chapter with excellence and impact. I will determine my next steps once I leave KIDS COUNT. I will always be a child advocate – I will just contribute in a different way. n

BANKING

Centreville Bank announced that Leland “Lee” Merrill has been promoted to executive vice president, chief lending officer. In this expanded role, Merrill is responsible for overseeing the commercial and residential lending business throughout Rhode Island and Connecticut. “Lee continues to be both a leader and an innovator in the commercial and residential lending space, having already made a significant impact during his short time at Centreville,” said Centreville Bank President, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Harold M. Horvat. “As we continue to expand our local business lending, we will look to Lee for his experience and strong relationships in this field.”

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

HEALTH CARE

Amy Nield, B.S., R.N., joins Saint Elizabeth Community as Clinical Nursing Instructor and will lead the Nursing Assistant Training Program. The ten-week program includes eight weeks of classroom education and two weeks of clinical work, offered four times a year. Prior to taking this role, Amy was the Nurse Manager of the “Cove” memory care neighborhood (2014-2018) at Saint Elizabeth Home. She earned her BS from URI and her RN degree from CCRI. Amy also works with the University of Rhode Island Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program which focuses on improvement of quality care. She is also the Vice President of the Nursing Foundation of RI. Amy is passionate about patient-centered care that is given from the heart. Amy resides in Warwick.

COMMUNICATIONS

Saint Elizabeth Community welcomes Hugh Minor as Director of Communications and Marketing. Hugh brings 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, most recently as Director of Communications for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. He served in similar roles with the YMCA of Greater Providence and Plan USA. Hugh sits on the Board of Directors of House of Hope CDC and previously served on the Boards of the Economic Progress Institute, Inspiring Minds and Youth Pride, Inc. Hugh is a 2021 graduate of Leadership Rhode Island, a member of the RHO II class. He has since been certified as a CliftonStrengths coach. A freelance writer, Hugh pens a monthly column for Hey Rhody magazine. “Rhody Reads” highlights authors and books with local connections. Hugh resides in Cranston.

LAW

Adler Pollock & Sheehan welcomes Amanda L. Tramonte to the firm’s Litigation group. Her practice involves assisting clients in civil matters that include complex business and commercial litigation, government relations, and employment disputes. Amanda’s professional interest includes appellate advocacy. While in law school, Amanda served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Richard A. Licht of the Rhode Island Superior Court and as a corporate counsel extern for Textron, Inc. Amanda was a paralegal and summer associate at the firm. Amanda received her J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law and her B.A. from Saint Anselm College.

I WAS AMONG THE MILLIONS of people who flocked to movie theaters recently to see “Top Gun: Maverick.” It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in a few years.

My friend Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman is an American author, motivational speaker, leadership con sultant and founder of the Wingman Foundation. He is a decorated fighter pilot and retired U.S. Air Force officer and combat veteran, having flown 65 combat missions. He loved the movie because “it demonstrates how impor tant it is for us to coach, mentor and lead our [youths] through challenge and fear.”

“Top Gun: Maverick” is loaded with business and life lessons. This movie speaks volumes about values: values that lift, inspire, encourage and say, “I have your back no matter what.”

Among the other core values that I picked up in the movie:

n Trust – The most important word in business is trust. It takes years to build up trust but only seconds to destroy it. Trust is central to doing business with anyone. I can only imagine the level of trust that fighter pilots, flying at dizzying speeds and

Danger zone lessons

performing mind-bending maneuvers, must have in each other. Lack of trust could mean a life-or-death situation.

n Commitment – No one gets in the cockpit of one of these jets without total commitment. When you’re com mitted to something, you accept no excuses, only results. Commitment is a prerequisite of success. Com mitment is the state of being bound – emotionally, intellectually, or both – to a course of action. Commitment starts with a choice and is sustained by dedication and perseverance.

n Courage – It’s easy to be ordi nary. Courage is what sets you apart from the crowd. Courage is regarded as one of the major human virtues. Courage is bravery, valor, guts and nerve all rolled into one. I’m not a soldier, a police officer, a doctor or a relief worker; I’m a businessman. So, what does courage have to do with running a business? Plenty. I admit

that most folks’ daily lives are not filled with Hollywood-style dramatic challenges. We all face situations that require us to reach down deep within ourselves to do what is right and brave and occasionally difficult. Cour age can involve making decisions that are unpopular or time-consuming or even expensive.

n Camaraderie/friendship – I’ve heard this quote many times, includ ing from my good friend Muham mad Ali: “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”

n Adversity – I have never met a successful person who hasn’t had to overcome a little – or a lot – of adversity. The impact and ultimate result depend on what you do with the difficulties that come your way.

The adversities I’ve experienced have made me stronger, more fearless and, ultimately, more successful.

n Perfection – The old saying that practice makes perfect is not true. You have to add one word: Perfect practice makes perfect. It doesn’t matter whether you are practicing a presentation, a golf swing or flying a jet, you want to improve your perfor mance, not repeat practice mistakes.

n Passion – Passion is at the top of the list of the skills you need to excel in any profession. If you don’t have a deep-down, intense burning desire for what you are doing, there’s no way you’ll be able to work the long, hard hours it takes to become successful. However, if you are not very good at what you are passionate about, it won’t matter.

Mackay’s Moral: As Waldo Wald man says, “There is a time and a place for us to be a ‘Top Gun.’ ” n

Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com.

(Editor’s note: This is the fourth in stallment of a monthly column on the growing number of cyberthreats facing businesses of all sizes and what they can do about it. A version of this column was first published on PBN.com on Nov. 17.)

AS THE INFLUENCE OF digital trans formation takes hold, we have seen widespread adoption of cloud-based technology services. Forrester Re search in its “The State of The Cloud In The US, 2022” report said that on average, technology decision-makers have migrated 45% of their total ap plication portfolio to a public cloud. Forrester expects an additional 13% will move by 2023.

While the advantages of migrat ing to cloud technologies have had extraordinary impacts on businesses, including lowered costs, rapid innova tion and streamlined operations, lead ers must be diligent as they migrate and manage these environments. They must have strategies in place so that they can attain those critical out comes, without adding a tremendous amount of additional risk.

Don’t assume there’s less risk in cloud-based technology services.

Cloud cybersecurity risk has expo

nentially grown into a monumental problem because of the high rates of adoption. Barely a day goes by with out news of a security incident that involves some type of cloud platform.

With businesses now relying heav ily on cloud solutions, cybercriminals are quickly taking advantage of the weaknesses of these architectures. It is critical that businesses take a more detailed approach to their cloud migration strategies so that they can proactively mitigate business risk. To realize the best outcomes from your cloud strategy, business leaders must understand the most common risks and how to avoid them.

A common misconception of migrating to the cloud is the belief that cloud platforms and services are fundamentally secure. Many custom ers work under the false impression that storing data, hosting software or using platforms in the cloud is an im proved security posture. The reality

is that there is no shortcut to securing cloud environments. When it comes to cybersecurity accountability and liability, every cloud provider uses a “shared responsibility” model.

Cloud providers do take some responsibility for certain security aspects. Typically, it is the physical infrastructure as a baseline, but addi tional security measures often depend on the subscription purchased and the service consumed. The customer is always responsible for properly configuring and using the services securely. Consumers of cloud services must understand fully what security features they are responsible for. It’s a must to have the know-how to ap propriately configure and maintain a strong security posture to meet a business’s specific security and com pliance requirements.

Business leaders must also recog nize that simply because a provider is certified or compliant with regula

tory standards, compliance is not guaranteed. The terms of many cloud providers state that compliance is “enabled upon additional configu ration,” meaning that it is the con sumer’s responsibility to ensure that configurations are set correctly and are compliant.

Organizations must periodically assess their risks in a cloud environ ment as well. The thought that a busi ness eliminates or lessens the need to assess risk in a cloud environment is a myth. Auditing cloud environments based on best practices will ensure proper visibility into vulnerabilities, misconfigurations and other cyber security and compliance risks so that they can be remediated quickly. And periodic assessments are needed.

Cloud platforms can impact orga nizations in innovative and positive ways. But even under the umbrella of cloud cover, we still need to protect our organizations from the risks.

Next month: Cybercrime and the holidays: How to fight back. n

Jason Albuquerque is chief operating officer of Pawtucket-based Envision Technology Advisors LLC. You can reach him through www.envisionsuccess.net.

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE of tasty restaurants here in Rhode Island. From our famous calamari and clam cakes to coffee milk and doughboys, we have something for everyone. Well, almost. A blossoming food trend around the world, and budding here in the Ocean State, is the craving for plant-based options. Plant-based foods currently drive $7.4 billion in U.S. economic growth. Despite this trend, many Rhode Island restaurants are missing out on the business potential of adding plant-based options to their menus.

There are several reasons intro ducing more plant-based foods will support restaurant growth. It can help address ingredient sourcing challeng es and bring in new customers. With Rhode Island being an eco-friendly state, it’s a move that reflects local values. Let’s dig into three ways the plant-based food trend can directly impact growth for your Rhode Island restaurant.

Plant-based food is in demand. In the last few years, Rhode Island has experienced popular events such as RI VegFest, new food halls such as Plant City in Providence, Warwick and

rants such as Foglia in Bristol gaining acceptance. People are curious about plant-based foods. They want to ex plore the taste, how it can help them diversify their protein consumption, and if it’s a flavor worth coming back for. Local restaurants have a genu ine opportunity to capitalize on this curiosity by reimagining their menus and marketing.

Creating new menus requires plan ning and may seem overwhelming at first, particularly if plant-forward hasn’t been a focus in the past, but, in many cases, the major ingredients needed are already in the kitchen or easy to source. Start by adding just a few plant-based choices to give the customers a taste of alternatives. Specials, anyone? From there, a res taurant will learn what’s selling and what’s not.

Ingredients can be found locally. Farming is one of Rhode Island’s key industries, which means proximity to fresh ingredients. Despite this access, almost 90% of the state’s food is im

ported, especially its seafood, poultry and beef. This is one reason local res taurants deeply felt the supply chain struggles during the pandemic.

A benefit of plant-based foods is more consistent ingredient sourcing. With foods such as nut-based milk and cheese or alternative proteins such as tempeh or seitan, the ingredi ents are often more readily available and found locally. For example, in Rhode Island alone, there are dozens of soybean and pea farms, which would support recipe development for common protein replacements. Besides meat alternatives, access to robust produce such as corn, potatoes, apples and eggplant is within reach and supports long-term food security efforts for the state.

Environmental impact is critical to younger generations. Millennials and Gen Z are the driving force behind the plant-based movement and, while taste is an important factor, another driver is the impact on the environ ment. Being a coastal state, Rhode

Island is already feeling the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, warming air and water tem peratures, and loss of biodiversity. It’s a key reason Rhode Islanders are adopting habits to ease these im pacts. Making more-sustainable food choices is one of those habits.

Restaurants can take advantage of this trend by implementing more plant-based options. Restaurateurs open to providing options that sup port the local community’s priorities and values may enjoy smoother sup ply chains and attract a new genera tion of customers.

Indeed, Rhode Island restaurant owners have a real opportunity to build a new customer base and sup port their bottom line with smarter ingredient sourcing. The plant-based movement will continue to grow, so it will be important to adapt and pro vide options that bring more custom ers to the table. n

Maggie Longo is the restaurant and hospitality consultant for the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center, offering support for menu creation, budgeting, employee development and more.

McKee, Tanner must set clear agenda for Commerce Make R.I. part of Biden job growth

PARTNERS:

Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s decisive elec tion victory over Republican Ashley Kalus positions him to play a lead role in state economic development for the next four years.

With the potential for an inflation-fu eled, nationwide recession still looming, he and R.I. Commerce Secretary Eliza beth M. Tanner don’t have any time to waste in setting a clear agenda.

Throughout his 20 months in office, Gov. McKee has given indications of a developing big-picture view of economic development, including expanding the state’s ocean economy.

Another recent example was his tie-breaking vote as chairman of the R.I. Commerce Corp. board allowing a Pawtucket soccer stadium project to move forward with reworked public financing. While the financing plan can be de bated, Gov. McKee deserves credit for looking beyond the politics of the day to the significant economic potential of the locally supported project.

And on paper, at least, his partnership with Secretary Tanner should be a big win for the state’s small and midsized businesses.

Gov. McKee is a former small-business owner. And the secretary, who still must be confirmed by the Senate, has a unique perspective on business chal lenges as the former head of the state’s Department of Business Regulation.

Secretary Tanner told PBN recently that Commerce is committed to improv ing the state’s business climate, which often ranks among the nation’s worst. The devil is always in the details but that’s a great place for her and McKee to make a mark in the new year as the state emerges from the pandemic. n

Kudos to Community College of Rhode Island President Meghan L. Hughes for reminding two national power brokers of their local and regional roots during the Greater Provi dence Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting on Nov. 21.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo and U.S. Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh were the star attractions during a short question-and-answer panel discussion that included Hughes.

The former Rhode Island governor and ex-Boston mayor talked about national job growth and training challenges. And Secretary Raimondo touted federal funding available to Rhode Island – and other states – to make high-speed internet affordable and accessible.

But on workforce training and retention, Hughes urged her to think more locally.

“Use Rhode Island as a testing ground,” she said, for a national action plan.

The state recently missed out on $1 billion in economic-de velopment funding from U.S. Commerce. That would quickly be forgotten if Secretary Raimondo can help make the state a centerpiece of a national job-growth plan. n

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OPINION

Has Musk broken labor laws at Twitter?

RAYMOND HOGLER GUEST COLUMN

About a week after Elon Musk assumed control of Twitter on Oct. 28, the company stirred up a storm of controversy by abruptly firing about half of its 7,500 employees

Musk’s brash approach as an employer also raises an important question about U.S. labor rights: Is it legal to terminate thou sands of workers with little or no warning?

The courts may have a chance to weigh in since several of those mass-fired work ers have already filed a class-action lawsuit. They allege that Twitter broke federal and state laws for failing to give them the ad vance notice required.

But I believe that Twitter’s new manage ment team is probably not going to face much legal fallout. That’s because “at-will employment” – in which employers may fire an employee at any time for any legal reason, and their workers are also free to quit with out facing legal consequences – is the founda tion of U.S. labor laws.

Courts began to enshrine the at-will doc trine in the 19th century, making exceptions only for employees with fixed-term contracts.

The notion of at-will employment and its associated lack of job protections soon rose to the level of constitutional mandate. The 1894 Pullman strike, which disrupted na tional rail traffic, prompted Congress to pass the Erdman Act four years later. That law guaranteed the right of rail workers to join and form unions and to engage in collective bargaining.

The Supreme Court struck down that law in 1908. Writing for the majority in Adair v. United States, Justice John Marshall Harlan explained that because employers were free to use their property as they wished, they could impose and enforce their own employ ment rules. Employees, in turn, were free to quit.

The Adair ruling led to the proliferation of “yellow dog” contracts threatening workers with firing if they joined or organized unions. The principle had widespread legal approval.

For three decades, the at-will doctrine stymied legislation that would have pro tected labor rights. Even when a supervisor unsuccessfully attempted to seduce a long time employee’s wife and fired the employee in revenge, courts refused to protect the man from losing his job.

With the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, all private sector workers and their unions gained the power to collectively bargain with employers. Subsequent labor agreements made employers prove “just cause” before firing any person covered by the contract.

The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991 added employment protections prohibiting discrimination based on race, gender, reli gion and national origin. And the Americans with Disabilities Act, which Congress passed in 1990, banned employment discrimination against “qualified people” with disabilities.

It is unlikely that former employees who are suing Twitter will prevail.

The federal government, and some states, has enacted additional laws since then that can protect workers against mass layoffs.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, enacted in 1989, is an important one. Known widely as the WARN Act, it requires employers of 500 or more people to provide employees with written notification within 60 days of mass layoffs. When an employer violates this law, workers who don’t get the mandatory advance notice can sue for up to 60 days of back pay and benefits. Employers may also have to pay fines.

The former Twitter employees who have sued the company allege that Twitter failed to give the required legal notice before their layoffs.

But Musk has tweeted that the fired employees will receive severance packages that amount to three months’ pay.

Contractual agreements between employ ers and their employees may provide protec tion in the form of seniority preferences Absent such contracts, workers must rely on legislative safeguards.

Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has reportedly been inconsistent with the sever ance packages it has offered fired employees.

It’s not clear that all of its U.S.-based workers were offered the legally required 60 days of compensation.

Given the circumstances, I believe it is unlikely that former employees who are suing Twitter will prevail. Unfortunately for fired Twitter employees, there are few legal options available for those who refuse what ever Musk offers them. n

Cannabis arrest practices must be overhauled

KATHARINE NEILL HARRIS GUEST COLUMN

More than 300,000 people were arrested for cannabis possession in 2020, FBI records show. Meanwhile, the drug is being legally sold for a profit in 19 states

That arrest number may sound high, but arrests have actually been going down each year since 2010 as more states legalize medi cal or recreational use of the drug. In 2019, for example, more than 500,000 marijuana possession arrests were reported, so the 2020 arrest numbers represent a single-year decline of 36%.

In another sign of change, 2020 was the first year that marijuana possession was not the most common cause for a drug arrest. Out of roughly 1.16 million drug arrests nationwide that year, 36% were for possess ing “other dangerous nonnarcotic drugs” such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Just over a quarter (27.5%) were for possessing marijuana

Despite these declines, racial dispari ties have not changed over the past decade. Black Americans accounted for about 38.8% of marijuana possession arrests in 2020 despite representing just 13.6% of the U.S. population and using marijuana at the same rate as white Americans, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

There are some caveats to consider when looking at 2020’s figures. Safety measures taken to limit the spread of COVID-19, such

as lockdowns, resulted in fewer police-citi zen contacts. The number of arrests for all drugs fell by 25% compared with 2019, even though no other drugs were legalized that year. Still, arrests for marijuana declined at an even steeper rate.

Arrest data for 2021 is also problematic, but for different reasons.

Since the 1920s, the FBI has published crime statistics reported by local law en forcement agencies using the Summary Reporting System. This system always had limitations, notably only counting only the most serious offense even when an arrest involves more than one charge. To improve data collection, the FBI created the National Incident-Based Reporting System in the 1980s. The new system, NIBRS, collects much more detailed data, but the FBI continued re porting crime data from the old system, too.

On Jan. 1, 2021, the FBI started reporting only NIBRS-collected data, and only 52% of agencies fully reported data last year.

The low rate of agency participation suggests the FBI’s 2021 estimate of 170,856 marijuana possession arrests is a big undercount.

Arrests for cannabis possession are drop ping, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the legal consequences of marijuana use are disappearing.

Courts often require people to go to

treatment for cannabis use. In 2019, courts, probation and parole offices, and diver sion programs referred more than 100,000 individuals for cannabis use treatment.

That accounts for roughly half (49.2%) of all cannabis treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities. Roughly 30% of these justice system referrals came from states in which marijuana use and sales are legal.

Legalization doesn’t appear to be associ ated with a significant decline in justice system referrals to cannabis treatment. Black and Latino adults and juveniles are more likely to be referred to treatment by the justice system than their white counterparts in both states in which marijuana is legal and those where it isn’t.

Failure to comply with mandated treat ment programs can result in the same negative consequences as an arrest and conviction, including detrimental effects on an individual’s health, education and employment prospects. Research suggests that policymakers who want to reduce these consequences must find ways to root out arrest practices that unfairly target minority users and pay more attention to who is being referred for treatment. n

Katharine Neill Harris is a fellow in drug policy at Rice University. Distributed by The Associated Press.

Raymond Hogler is a professor emeritus of management at Colorado State University. Distributed by The Associated Press.

ONE LAST THING

ALMOST

195 years after our founding, Centreville Bank continues to feel a personal responsibility to serve the communities that built us. We channel our services into the neighborhoods where our customers live and work. As a mutual bank, meaning there are no stockholders, our investment perspective is long term.

Investing in communities pays dividends. Together over the past eight years, Centreville Bank’s total assets have doubled to $2.02 billion.

Having 17 branches across Rhode Island and Connecticut means we support southern New Englanders, including firsttime homebuyers, small-business owners and real estate investors. Whether it is Narragansett, Cranston or Warwick, our roots go deep. “Caring for the community” aren’t just words to us; it is a way of life.

We have always focused on building successful relationships and investments, and everyone has the power to do this. What lessons can we share?

n Build a workforce that represents your clients and communities.

n Promote community engagement at all levels: volunteerism, board membership and advocacy.

n Operate “beyond the check.” To make a real difference in your communities, provide your team time and talent, as well as treasure. n

Building community

Centreville Bank chairman, CEO and president

Rhode Island native Harold M. Horvat joined West Warwickbased Centreville Bank in 2014, becoming chairman, CEO and president in 2019.

PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Harold M. Horvat

11/11

Honoring those who serve 24/7

With over 200,000 veterans and service men and women reentering the workforce each year, Bank of America is supporting the unique needs of our heroes as they transition to civilian life and careers.

Some steps we’re taking to support veterans and military members:

• Offering free online resources through BetterMoneyHabits.com on topics specific to them, from home buying to retirement

• Expanding the number of financial centers near military installations to address the needs of military customers

• Continuing our hiring momentum — more than 15% of our new hires are military veterans

My teammates and I here in Rhode Island are proud to support our military service men and women, especially as we celebrate Veterans Day. Thank you for your service.

President,

Kevin Tracy

Bank of America Rhode Island