R.I. treasurer applauds bond change

Moody’s, one of the three major credit rating agencies, has announced plans to adopt a common system to evaluate public and corporate bonds. The decision follows a campaign by state and federal officials across the country to end the system by which credit rating agencies grade corporate and municipal bonds on different scales. Rhode Island General Treasurer Frank Caprio, an advocate of the new system, praised Moody’s for demonstrating leadership and for scrutinizing the ratings process after the subprime mortgage crisis highlighted problems. Many state and municipal bond issues that had to obtain insurance to secure AAA ratings were angered when those ratings were given to mortgage-backed securities that were revealed to be insolvent. “One of the lessons coming out of the subprime crisis is that municipalities were being held to a higher standard for their bond issues, even though many state and municipal bonds have a long history of being safe and reliable investments,” said Caprio. “We need a rating system that reflects a fair and consistent approach to comparing public and corporate debt and Moody’s is moving in that direction. A single rating system will be fair for the taxpayers who stand behind public bonds, while providing investors with a consistent means of judging public.”

Pawtucket bridge reopens to 2-way traffic

The Division Street Bridge in Pawtucket is being reopened to two-way traffic, seven months after it became one-way, and an elaborate set of detours was put in place, when a weight limit was imposed on part of Route 95. The bridge, now one-way eastbound, was to reopen to two-way traffic this morning. State Department of Transportation maintenance crews were painting stripes, setting up traffic signals and repaving the roadway, Kazem Farhoumand, the DOT’s acting chief engineer, said yesterday. The work has taken longer than expected, Farhoumand said, because of delays by private utility companies relocating wires from poles on the city-owned bridge. The Division Street Bridge has been one-way between George and Prospect streets since Nov. 28, when the DOT imposed a 22-ton weight limit — later lowered to 18 tons — on the bridges that carry Route 95 over the Pawtucket River.

Software firm gets technology funds

Providence-based Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, a developer of software for media companies, has been awarded $250,000 from the state’s Slater Technology Fund, bringing the total amount that the venture-capital fund has invested in the company to $750,000. Entrepreneur Bill Daugherty also participated in the round of financing. He is the former founder of Interactive Search Holdings, which was acquired by AskJeeves for $350 million in 2004, and is joining CCAS’ board of directors. “Creative Circle brings a unique combination of industry expertise and user-friendly software to create solutions for media companies that are struggling to find new ways to generate revenue in the digital age,” said Daugherty. Bill Ostendorf, co-founder and chief executive officer of CCAS, said, “With this latest round of funding, and Bill coming on board, we will further our reach in the media market, and bring even greater value to our customers and stakeholders.” CCAS was founded in 2004.

2 join board of Shape Up RI

Mary Flynn and Anne Marie Ludovici-Connolly have joined the Shape Up RI board of directors for one-year terms. With the new additions, the board has five members. Flynn is an assistant professor of medicine at Brown University and is also an instructor at the University of Rhode Island. Ludovici-Connolly is the former director of wellness for Get Fit RI! and exercise physiologist director for the governor’s Wellness Initiative. Shape Up RI is a statewide exercise and weight-loss program created by Brown Medical School student Rajiv Kumar. This year’s program has 12,000 participants formed into 1,300 teams. Shape Up RI also conducts 250 health workshops and programs throughout the state.

Landfill sets collection day for electronics

New state electronic-waste legislation bans the disposal of computers and televisions in the Central Landfill, in Johnston. However, on Saturday, July 26, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, which operates the landfill, will hold a free eco-depot collection for computers, keyboards, cell phones and other electronic equipment, which will be recycled. The landfill will also accept televisions for $5, to offset the difficulty of handling the cathode ray tubes inside TVs. To recycle a television, paint, propane tanks, or fertilizers, make an appointment online or call (401) 942-1430, ext. 241. No appointment is necessary to drop off computers.

New CEO for Toray Plastics

Kojiro Maeda has been named chairman of the board and chief executive officer of North Kingstown-based Toray Plastics (America) Inc. Maeda, 56, joined Toray Industries, headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, in 1976. Toray manufactures synthetic fibers and textiles, carbon fibers, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and high-performance films. In 1988, Maeda moved to Toray Plastics, the only manufacturer in North America of precision-performance polypropylene and polyester films for packaging and industrial applications. Toray Industries has annual sales of more than $12 billion.

Companies get state money to train workers

The Governor’s Workforce Board and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation have awarded work force expansion grants totaling $387,348 for new employee training to five Rhode Island companies. Companies receiving the grants are: Albion Special Care LLC, Lincoln, $45,990; Duralectra-CHN, Woonsocket, $125,000; Hope Global, Cumberland, $50,809; Infusion Resource, Providence, $62,497; and Senesco Marine, of North Kingstown, $103,052.

Report: Wal-Mart would hurt Vt. stores

Doubling the size of the Wal-Mart store in Bennington, Vt., would provide short-term growth of about 75 new retail jobs, but would trigger long-term job losses at local businesses, an economic study has found. Economic consultants Kavet, Rockler & Associates said construction costs on the expansion project would be about $16 million, and that sales would be expected to more than double, to about $48 million, in the first year of the bigger Wal-Mart’s operations. But it said, “Most of the expanded store’s growth will come at the expense of existing stores in the served market area, with some impact on downtown but even more on commercial areas north of the town center.” On the jobs front, the report said, “In 2009, operation of the expanded store will generate a total of about 78 jobs, mostly in the retail trade sector. Total county employment impacts over the longer term, however, shrink to zero by 2013 and ultimately decline by about 35 jobs.”

Northwest quits Conn. flight to Europe

Northwest Airlines Inc., citing record high fuel prices, says it will end its daily, nonstop service to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from Bradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks, Conn. The loss of the direct flight to Europe from Connecticut, which began a year ago, undermines — but does not cripple — the ability of regional officials to boost economic development, said Oz Griebel, president and chief executive of the Metro Hartford Alliance. “We lost a very significant arrow. We did not lose the quiver,” he said. “No one of these things is a fatal blow to this region.”