Training will help hotels go ‘green’

State tourism officials are moving forward with a plan to bring in new visitors and conventions by advertising the state’s hotels as environmentally friendly. The first step is to make the hotels environmentally friendly. Dale J. Venturini, president of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association, announced that the first training session for hoteliers will be Feb. 12 at the Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel. Organizers are inviting hotel general managers, purchasing staff and engineers, according to Martha J. Sheridan, president of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau. Representatives from the state Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, power utility National Grid and other organizations will offer advice about reducing energy usage and waste. Organizers have created a questionnaire that will rank the state’s “greenest” hotels, The Providence Journal has reported. The first evaluations will be announced in April.

EDC aids start-up companies

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation has approved four requests for tax credits designed to help start-ups attract investment. The four companies — Lighthouse Security Group, Ocean State Solutions, Providence Health Solutions and Public Display — had received preliminary approval at an EDC board meeting in November. They were among six companies to receive an Innovation Tax Credit good for up to $100,000 off the individual state income-tax bill of any investor. Lighthouse received $50,000 in tax credits; Ocean State got $5,000, Providence Health collected $75,000, and Public Display received $100,000, according to Andrew S. Cutler, an EDC spokesman. The program reimburses investors for 50 percent of their investments, so that means these four companies raised double those amounts, Cutler said.

Grow Smart wants to save tax credit

The advocacy group Grow Smart Rhode Island is rallying its members to defend the historic tax credit, a state program that rewards developers for rehabilitating historic buildings. The program has resulted in dozens of mill conversions into luxury condominiums, but has also cost millions of dollars in income tax revenue during a period of yawning budget gaps. With the program under increased scrutiny at the State House, Grow Smart is preparing for battle: “It would be counterproductive to fight the state’s structural budget deficit by crippling a proven economic stimulus program when it’s most needed,” the group wrote in a recent e-mail to members, who it urged to testify at legislative hearings on the issue. According to Grow Smart, Governor Carcieri has proposed capping the tax credits at $40 million in the next fiscal year and then gradually shrinking the program until it is ended completely by 2017.

R.I. income-tax forms are in the mail

State income-tax packages have begun arriving in mailboxes. Michael F. Canole, chief revenue agent for the Rhode Island Division of Taxation’s personal income-tax section, said that many began arriving last week, and others should arrive this week. “They are in the mail,” Canole said. Altogether, the agency has mailed about 63,000 packages, he said. Most contain the Rhode Island Form 1040EZ; the remainder contain the longer Rhode Island Form 1040. All the forms are also available online. The state tax agency has also begun mailing forms on which people may claim a rebate under Rhode Island’s statewide property-tax relief program. Earlier this month, the agency sent out about 50,000 packets containing forms with which to make quarterly estimated tax payments later this year, Canole said.

LIN TV board member steps down

Providence-based LIN TV said in a federal regulatory filing that William H. Cunningham resigned from the board of directors, effective immediately, because he wanted to reduce his professional commitments. LIN (TVL:Nasdaq) said that the board appointed Patti S. Hart, a current director, as both a member and chairwoman of the audit committee.

Slatersville Mill is renovated

The old Slatersville Mill, built in 1806, has been renovated into a luxury 224-unit complex called The Halstead at Slatersville Mill, spread over four buildings in North Smithfield. The complex, owned by DSF Group, a private real-estate investment firm, has also been recognized for its design. The Rhode Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects presented a merit award to Newport Collaborative Architects Inc., of Providence, for adaptive reuse/renovation of Slatersville Mill.

EMC reports jump in 4th-quarter profit

EMC Corp.’s fourth-quarter profit jumped 35 percent, beating Wall Street expectations, but the data-storage vendor’s results were overshadowed by disappointment over a technology firm, VMware, in which EMC owns an 86-percent stake. EMC shares closed at $15.89 yesterday, down $1.02 and the decline “is entirely due to VMware,” whose market value of more than $31 billion approaches that of EMC’s more than $35 billion, said Matt Bryson, of the technology research firm Avian Securities. Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC said its net income for the October-December period was $525.7 million, or 24 cents per share, compared with a profit of $388.8 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 19 percent, to $3.83 billion, from $3.21 billion a year ago. The profit and revenue performances beat the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who had been expecting a profit of 22 cents per share, and revenue of $3.66 billion, on average.

Mass. offers incentive to go solar

Massachusetts Governor Patrick’s administration is launching a new program offering rebates to companies and individuals who install solar panels on their roofs as part of an effort to dramatically increase the state’s use of energy from the sun. The goal of the Commonwealth Solar Program is to help defray the cost of installation of the panels for owners of commercial, industrial, municipal and residential properties, according to Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles. Part of that commitment is reaching a goal of increasing solar power generation in Massachusetts from 5 megawatts now to more than 250 megawatts by 2017. Under the program, businesses and homeowners will be eligible for rebates of at least $2 per watt, reducing their costs from about $8 per watt for commercial and $9 per watt for homes. Rebates will be higher for solar panels that are manufactured in Massachusetts.

Perdue recalls chicken breasts

Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., following a voluntary recall by Perdue Farms, announced that it is recalling Perdue’s “Perfect Portions” chicken (no flavor) because of an undeclared milk allergen. Because of a packing error, Italian Style chicken breasts were packed in a Perfect Portions bag that says Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with no flavor designated. The Italian Style product contains a milk allergen that was not declared on the bag used. The affected product has a UPC code of 7274506819, and has sell-by dates ranging from 2/2/08 through 2/6/08. If you have purchased this product, you may return it to Stop & Shop for a full refund.