The Rhode Island Convention Center Authority came in for sharp criticism from some Republican state lawmakers in a recent report. The authority contends the convention center has a big economic ripple effect in Providence. But the report (now online) by the Republican Policy Group criticizes the authority’s management and taxpayer costs still associated with the convention center. We sat down with the executive director of the convention center authority, James McCarvill, to discuss the authority’s performance. (Our conversation was edited for length and clarity.)

One of the state’s top political reporters, Ian Donnis joined The Public’s Radio in 2009. Ian has reported on Rhode Island politics since 1999, arriving in the state just two weeks before the FBI...