Governor Gina Raimondo deserves credit for an economic revival in this state.

There, I said it. With far too many naysayers, she, nonetheless, has put the “cranes in the sky” which she promised during her campaign. Here is the evidence:

Last week, the Governor’s office announced the development of some 2000 jobs as a result of 4 projects either moving and/or expanding in Rhode Island. They include iXblue, a maritime navigation manufacturer, Infinity Meat Solutions which packages fresh meats, (add) ventures, a Rhode Island marketing firm, and General Dynamics whose Quonset Point shipyard will undergo a $700 million expansion while adding 1300 jobs.

A closer look at the incentives offered shows that the state has crafted some good deals. Take General Dynamics which will benefit from state infrastructure improvements at Quonset Point (e.g. utility work). The state will allocate some $14 million toward the infrastructure work, another $2 million in construction credits by not charging taxes on the building materials used to construct a 1 million square feet expansion. The state has opened up training facilities ranging from training as welders at Coventry High School among other facilities for Rhode Islanders looking for work at mid-careers. Jobs at General Dynamics pay in the high $30,000’s and as skills progress at $55,000-$60,000 per employee plus benefits. In effect, a high school graduate has access to a job paying him the latter salary by the time he is 22 years old.

Some might argue that the State should not give incentives since General Dynamics wasn’t moving anywhere else. Yet, the chief executive of iXBlue told the Commerce Commission that he preferred to stay in Natick, Mass., but for the $1 million in incentives over a total of 10 years. Job creation at the company will be about 20-25 jobs requiring a higher education with attendant higher salaries. The incentives are paid in equal installments and only after job creation is achieved with tax-paying employees. (add)Ventures will create 10 jobs at approximately $60,000 salary and again receives a $26,000 per year for 10 years incentive after the jobs are on the books. Infinity Food Solutions is an opportunity for those with less than a college education to enter the work force with salaries around $32,500 with health and retirement benefits. Again, the incentives are for $948,000 per year for 10 years to create 700 jobs and an additional $1.9 million sales tax “forgiveness on construction" (The company is using $100 million of its own money). Readers of this column know that I’m not a fan of incentives but with money being bandied about by other states, Rhode island needs to be competitive.

Clearly, the economic climate has improved. Virgin Pulse not only moved into Providence with 250 jobs, and located its global headquarters herem but also announced last week that some more jobs will be located in Providence as a result of its merger with RedBrick.

The Providence Journal also last week documented the many hotels which are locating to or expanding in Providence because it is a “happening scene”. Yes, the Trump tax cuts have spurred some economic development but Governor Raimondo and her team were in place to get the companies into Rhode Island. Give some credit where credit is due.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.