HOPE WEBBING COMPLEX OPEN FOR BUSINESS The move of the first tenants into the former Hope Webbing mill complex in Pawtucket will be marked this morning with a special ceremony.

The wholesale baking operation for Seven Stars Bakery of Providence, and a chocolate candy production facility are among the first occupants of newly refurbished space at the former textile mill.

The 116 year old, six building complex is located on a 13 acre site in the Woodlawn neighborhood. When a three phase, $32.4 million revitalization project is completed in 2010, there will be a small, urban village of light manufacturers, artisan workshops, artist studios, retail shops and loft apartments.

The project is owned by a group of out-of-state investors headed by lawyer Lance Jay Robbins of Berkeley, Calif. The transformation is being overseen by Urban Smart Growth, the developers' property management and construction company.

Today's ribbon cutting, marking the move-in of the first tenants, follows Urban Smart Growth's groundbreaking ceremony in North Providence yesterday, where it is turning the former Greystone Mill on Waterman Avenue into 150 loft-style rental apartments.

GTECH SIGNS WITH MANITOBA LOTTERIES GTECH, based in West Greenwich, signed a contract to supply the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation with a new video central system, which includes a 5-year support agreement. GTECH anticipates generating revenues of approximately $8 million from the contract.

"Video lottery has been an expanding component of GTECH's growth strategy in recent years," said GTECH President and CEO W. Bruce Turner. "We're pleased to have established a partnership with our newest Canadian customer, the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation, to provide a state-of-the-art video lottery central system to ensure they continue offering high-quality gaming entertainment in Manitoba."

REPORT ON BIRDS ENDANGERS WIND PROJECT Plans for a wind farm off Buzzards Bay may need to be revised after a report from the Romney administration finds the project would violate state law and may threaten an endangered bird species.

The report, written by Environmental Affairs Secretary Stephen R. Pritchard, said the developer's plan to build up to 120 450-foot-tall wind turbines would be illegal under the Ocean Sanctuaries Act.

The 35-year-old state law prohibits structures from being built on the seabed or under the subsoil. The rule also forbids the construction or operation of offshore or floating electric generating stations in the Cape and Islands Ocean Sanctuary.

Developer Jay M. Cashman announced his plan to build the wind farm in May, and had hoped to see the turbines producing clean energy by 2011. Cashman contends that the farm could supply half of Cape Cod's electricity.

Cashman has said he's willing to work with state officials to come to an agreement on the wind farm. The project can't go forward without approval from state regulators.

Pritchard's report also found that the farm, which would be built as close as 2 miles offshore, could compromise the livelihood of the roseate tern, a state and federally protected endangered bird species.

CCRI MEANS BUSINESS IN NEWPORT Beginning this fall, the Community College of Rhode Island will offer an associate of science degree in general business through its Newport County Campus. The 62-credit degree program is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, and includes course work in accounting, management and marketing. Previously, students who attended the Newport-based campus could take business courses there but had to attend additional classes at one of CCRI's other three Rhode Island campuses in order to complete their program requirements.

An open house for those interested in business administration programs at the Community College of Rhode Island will take place Thursday, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the CCRI Newport County Campus, One John H. Chafee Blvd., Newport. For more information on the open house, call (401) 851-1637.

VERMONT PLANNING FOR WINTER NOW Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas wants to use $9 million in heating aid left over from last year's mild winter to help boost funding for the program this year by $2 million, to $24 million.

LIHEAP -- the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program -- is expected to provide heating assistance this year to about 20,000 Vermont households.

Douglas last year called for and got an $8 million state spending boost for LIHEAP after anti-poverty advocates warned that sharply rising fuel costs would drain the program of funds.

Fuel prices stabilized, though, and temperatures remained mild, leaving the program with a $9 million surplus as winter ended. The administration now wants to use that money, along with about $11 million expected from the federal government and $4 million in new state money, to pay for LIHEAP this year.

High energy costs and usually harsh winters give Vermont the largest "home energy affordability gap" in the country, according to a study released in April by Massachusetts-based energy consultants Fisher, Sheehan and Colton.

"The number of households facing these energy burdens [is] staggering," the report said. It said low-income Vermont households faced energy costs that add up to $89 million more than they could afford.

MENTORS WANTED FOR YOUNG ADULTS The Year Up Program, in conjunction with Rhode Island Young Professionals, is seeking mentors to work with their third and fourth classes of students starting this month. Year Up, located at 10 Dorrance St., Suite 1108 in downtown Providence, is an intensive program for 18-to-24-year-old, low-income, and urban adults, who participate in combined classroom and apprenticeship experiences, creating an opportunity for the students to enter the corporate/college world. Members and volunteers are asked to commit to meeting with a student twice a month for one year to provide a professional adult influence who can help them navigate challenges en route to the professional world. For more information, please contact Dwayne Keys, RIYP President, at (401) 369-1334 (dkeys@riyp.org).

AUSTRALIAN PLAYER ENTERS LNG MARKET Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's largest oil and gas company, is considering buying stakes in natural gas import terminals on the U.S. Gulf and East coasts as it seeks to expand fuel sales to North America.

The Perth-based company has been invited to invest in liquefied natural gas import projects in "several locations" in the eastern United States, which would complement its proposed Ocean Way terminal off California, Chief Executive Officer Don Voelte said. Woodside may link with a company in the Atlantic Basin market, such as BG Group Plc, to develop gas trading.

LNG's share of U.S. gas supplies is expected to surge fivefold by 2025 as domestic production levels off, the U.S. Department of Energy said in June. U.S. regulators in June approved projects to build or expand five LNG import terminals in Louisiana, Texas, New Jersey and Maryland.

Sempra Energy, Dominion Resources, Cheniere Energy and BP Plc are among companies planning to build or expand LNG import terminals on the U.S. Gulf and east coasts.

Lowe's PROFITS UP THOUGH SHORT OF GOAL Lowe's Cos., the North Carolina-based home-improvement chain, said its second-quarter profit rose 11 percent but cut its full-year earnings outlook, saying higher energy prices and a slowing housing market are crimping consumer spending.

Net income in the three months that ended on Aug. 4 rose to $935 million, or 60 cents per share, from $839 million, or 52 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Wall Street was looking for profit of 61 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial poll of 19 analysts.

Sales rose more than 12 percent to $13.39 billion from $11.93 billion last year, slightly ahead of the Wall Street estimate of $13.38 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year -- a closely watched gauge of retailers' health called same-store sales -- rose 3.3 percent.

Lowe's forecast third-quarter earnings between 45 cents and 48 cents per share with same-store sales flat to up by 2 percent. Wall Street is looking for profit of 46 cents per share.

For the year, the company anticipates profit between $2 and $2.07 per share with same-store sales growth of 2 percent to 3 percent. That's down from its May forecast of $2.07 to $2.11 per share and same-store sales gains of 4 percent to 5 percent. Analysts expect profit of $2.05 per share on revenue of $48.5 billion.

AROUND THE REGION ... Alexander C. Cushing, the founder and chairman of Squaw Valley USA near Lake Tahoe, died at his summer home in Newport. He was 92. Cushing, who brought the Winter Olympic Games to Squaw Valley in 1960, died Saturday of pneumonia.