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Farm Bill, industry growth among agricultural leaders’ priorities in 2025
Anticipating President-elect Trump‘s impact on agriculture in his first 100 days of office, industry experts say they are concerned about the fate of the Farm Bill and how the agriculture industry will sustain itself amid rising production costs, labor shortages, and soaring land costs. In advance of the election, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), […]
Virginia mail service improves; second Trump push to privatize USPS ‘unlikely’
U.S. Postal Service operations have continued to improve, but a bipartisan coalition of state leaders say more work is needed to get the service to a level Virginians deserve. Virginia was ranked at the bottom for on-time mail delivery in October 2023, at the start of the federal government’s fiscal year. Just over 66% of […]
Trump Town owner calls assault, indecent exposure charges ‘fake news’
Donald “Whitey” Taylor, owner of Trump Town, a Boones Mill store dedicated to merchandise celebrating the 45th president, and a candidate for mayor in that same small town, was arrested Tuesday on charges of indecent exposure and assaulting store employees. Taylor, 74, sent a text to Virginia Business, describing the criminal charges against him as […]
What a difference a debate makes
Less than three months ago, President Joe Biden — you remember him, right? — stepped down from his bid for a second term and threw his support behind Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, radically redefining this fall’s presidential race. Just before that happened, we were beginning to write this month’s cover story about the […]
Boones Mill store plays Trump card
The red, white and blue Trump Town sign hanging high upon a former Boones Mill church is as prominent as a sign can be without being lit by neon. But in case drivers passing through town somehow miss it, there’s also a 15-foot cutout of a smiling Donald J. Trump leaning up against the building, […]
High stakes
The 2024 presidential race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump carries hefty consequences for Virginia’s economy that will be even more pronounced than in previous elections. Presidents are limited by the constraints of Congress — particularly if either chamber is held by the opposing party — and the clunkiness […]
Youngkin peppers university boards with GOP power players
With Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s appointees slated to hold majorities on the state’s university boards beginning July 1, the governor announced dozens of last-minute university board appointments Friday afternoon, shortly before the members’ four-year terms take effect Monday. Although many of the new appointees are the usual mix of Virginia business leaders and former state legislato[...]
2022 Political Roundtable: Red wave? Maybe a puddle
On balance, Democrats came out winners in the 2022 midterm elections, having staved off a widely forecast “red wave” of Republican victories, according to panelists at Virginia Business’ annual Political Roundtable, held Nov. 9 in Richmond. The idea of a red wave or “red tsunami” was “perhaps … a bit of a myth … largely […]
2022 Political Roundtable: Red wave? Maybe a puddle
On balance, Democrats came out winners in the 2022 midterm elections, having staved off a widely forecast “red wave” of Republican victories, according to panelists at Virginia Business’ annual Political Roundtable, held Wednesday, Nov. 9, in Richmond. The idea of a red wave or “red tsunami” was “perhaps … a bit of a myth … […]
Va. Senate rejects former EPA chief for Cabinet
The Virginia Senate voted Tuesday to reject Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s appointment for state secretary of natural and historic resources, former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler. Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement, “It’s clear Mr. Wheeler is extraordinarily qualified to be secretary of natural and historic resources and admirably served f[...]
Va. Senate committee rejects former EPA chief for Cabinet
The Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 9-6 Tuesday against confirming former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s appointment for state secretary of natural and historic resources. The vote does not eliminate Wheeler’s chances of confirmation. Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement, “Andrew Wh[...]
Economic healing
Over the years, Petersburg has become accustomed to bad economic news. After Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Petersburg’s largest employer for decades, left the city in 1985, Petersburg suffered an economic downturn from which it’s never quite recovered. More recently, in 2016, Petersburg city government had a roughly $12 million shortfall in its operating budget, […]
