PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS
PBN pbn.com
CELEBRATING
35 YEARS: 1986-2021
OCTOBER 15-28, 2021
CYBERSECURITY
PBN SUMMIT RECAP
In trying to repel threats, companies can’t go it alone | 18 Weak points caused by remote work can be fortified | 21
FOCUS: EDUCATION Mental health concerns intensify in classroom | 30
YOUR SOURCE FOR BUSINESS NEWS IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND | VOL. 36, NO. 12 | $5
FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN Remaking this bridge is ‘special’ opportunity BY CASSIUS SHUMAN | Shuman@PBN.com
For decades, the Henderson Bridge over the Seekonk River had seemed strangely overbuilt – an elevated six-lane expressway leading into and out of Providence’s tony East Side that allowed vehicles to fly past the East Providence waterfront on the way to nowhere fast. Now an $84.4 million, fiveyear project to narrow the 2,000-foot bridge and transform roadways on either side of the river has leaders in both cities excited about the possibilities for waterfront redevelopment. SEE BRIDGE PAGE 24
R.I.’S RESILIENT
DOWNTOWNS Main Streets across the state scarred but ready to rebound BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com
IN ONE LAST THING
DOWNTOWN PAWTUCKET, A BOOKSTORE REINVENTED ITSELF by beefing up its online presence and ramping up services for fledgling authors looking to self-publish their books. Along Main Street in East Greenwich, a fancy Italian restaurant that had been above offering takeout started packing up pasta and chicken parmigiana in to-go boxes for drive-up customers. And in Warren, a theater and performance venue in the heart of the town’s commercial district shifted to serving late-night ice cream, including “boozy milkshakes,” then kept the sugary alcoholic drinks as part of its business model when things started returning to normal. In the 19 months since the COVID-19 pandemic first struck, a lot of attention has been focused on the economic damage the crisis has SEE RESILIENT
Diane C. Fournaris Develop a response plan | 42
PAGE 12
SUMMIT
HEALTH CARE
Fall 2021
FOCUSED LEADERS: Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt and Garrett Mancieri, director of the Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative, tour some of their favorite downtown spots, including the Stadium Theatre Performing Arts Center in Monument Square. The pair agree there should be a focus on getting more people to live in the downtown. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
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VIRTUAL EVENT | 10 • 20 • 21 | 9 am FOR MORE INFORMATION TURN TO PAGE 36
