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SWVA child care initiative receives $1.24M grant
The New River/Mount Rogers Workforce Development Board will receive $1.24 million in grant funding for Ready SWVA, a child care initiative launched by United Way of Southwest Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. The United Way chapter launched Ready SWVA in December 2021 to expand access to affordable child care, strengthen the provider network and […]
Youngkin budget outlines EVMS/ODU merger by 2024
In his proposed budget amendments released Thursday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin lays out the framework and a timeline for the merger of Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University, requiring it to take place by July 2024. Youngkin‘s amendments to the 2022-24 state budget, which must be passed by the General Assembly during its 2023 […]
M S International to open $61.6M Suffolk distribution center
M S International Inc. (MSI), a California-based flooring, countertop, wall tile and hardscaping products supplier, will invest $61.6 million to establish its East Coast distribution facility in Suffolk, a project expected to create 80 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. McDonald Development Co. will construct the 548,000-square-foot facility, which will be located at 2821 Holland [&hell[...]
Floyd biochar producer to invest $2.6M in expansion
Floyd-based SWVA Biochar LLC, an absorbent charcoal producer, will invest $2.6 million to increase its Floyd County operations’ capacity, a project expected to create 15 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. Biochar is a highly absorbent, specially produced charcoal made by heating biomass with little to no oxygen. The product is used for filtration systems […]
Va. to receive $6.22M to expand broadband
Virginia is receiving $6.22 million in “Internet for All” federal grants funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced Thursday. “As we continue to compete in the 21st century, it is crucial that we close the digital divide in Virginia,” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said […]
Youngkin to propose $350M for site development
Gov. Glenn Youngkin will propose allocating a new $350 million investment for industrial site development next week, the governor said in a speech delivered Friday at the Virginia Chamber’s Virginia Economic Summit & Forum on International Trade. In the 2022-24 budget, which Youngkin signed in June, the state allocated $150 million for the Virginia Economic […]
Site Selection ranks Va. 1st for biz climate
Virginia rose to first place in Site Selection magazine’s 2022 Business Climate Rankings. The commonwealth unseated North Carolina and ranked above Georgia, which had an eight-year streak in the top spot. Last year, Virginia was tied for 10th place. “I’m pleased that Virginia has won the best business climate; it’s incredibly exciting to see the […]
Vested interest
Eleven months into his first term in elected office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin can boast of several economic development successes and a few legislative wins, but one thing a lot of observers are discussing is his national profile and what it could mean in 2024. Youngkin — and his careful campaign to win over not only […]
Everything is not awesome
When Lego Group representatives toured Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park on a winter day early this year, they didn’t speak. As with most industrial site visits, the county economic development authority staffers conducting the tour didn’t yet know which company they were working with, although they’d answered a site consultant’s request for proposal. [...]
Out and About November 2022
1. State Sen. Creigh Deeds speaks at the Sept. 30 dedication ceremony for inpatient psychiatric care at the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters’ Children’s Pavilion. Photo courtesy CHKD 2. Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich delivers keynote speech at Liberty University’s Networking the Nations CEO Summit on Oct. 6. Photo by Eva […]
Breaking rank
What a difference a year makes. On July 13, 2021, against a backdrop of ships blasting their horns and spraying water in celebration at the Port of Virginia’s Norfolk International Terminals, Gov. Ralph Northam sat for a harborside interview with CNBC, which had just named Virginia the nation’s best state for business for an unprecedented […]
Balancing act
The Virginia General Assembly returned to a familiar configuration in 2022, legislating with a Republican-majority House of Delegates and Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate for the seventh time since 2000. But while the partisan split was old hat, much else about the session was new, taking place two years into the global COVID-19 pandemic and occurring after […]
