TARPON SPRINGS — Soon after the coronavirus crisis began to overwhelm the country in March 2020, Tarpon Springs officials started to come up with ways to help business owners cope
This week, localities nationwide recognized the work economic developers do to create vibrant communities with strong economies during National Economic Development Week, which runs from May 9 to 15.
Locally, economic officials have powered through an unprecedented pandemic and still assisted in company expansions and openings, provided grants to businesses and helped them retain their workforce.
In 2020, the Lynchburg Office of Economic Development and Tourism assisted multiple companies, including Bausch + Lomb, which invested more than $35 million to expand its manufacturing facility to provide U.S. distribution for its contact lens products and create 79 new jobs over the next five years.
In January 2020, Flowers Foods, one of the nationâs largest producers of packaged baked foods, announced a $25 million investment to expand and transform its Lynchburg bakery into an organic facility, creating 15 new jobs. The bakery, which the company has operated for more than 40 years
Superior Court Judge Brian Stern appoints a special master to take over Phoenix House
While drug abuse is exploding in Rhode Island, the non-profit Phoenix House, which manages facilities in Rhode Island and around New England, is being placed by Superior Court Judge Brian Stern under the control of a special master to avoid a collapse and the liquidation of the company.
Drug abuse and overdoses continue to be a public health crisis during the spread of the virus. According to data from the Rhode Island Department of Health, more than 300 Rhode Islanders have died each of the last four years from overdose 2016 to 2019. Data for 2020 is not finalized.
Judge Brian Stern
There may be no judge that has a busier calendar than Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Brian Stern. He continues to oversee the ongoing state litigation tied to the receivership of the St. Joseph Hospital employees pension fund a suit that involves more than ten litigants including the Diocese of Providence and Prospect Medical Holding, the parent company CharterCARE.
But, what made the difference in 2020 was that once the pandemic hit, Stern took action and initiated a new Business Recovery Program designed to preserve viable Rhode Island businesses during the global economic crisis.GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST