Recent Articles from Beth JoJack
100 people to meet in 2023
It’s time to set your social calendar for 2023, and here are some Virginians you’ll want to introduce yourself to — Virginia Business’ fourth annual list of 100 people to meet in the new year. Hailing from all parts of the state and representing a variety of industries and nonprofits, this year’s cohort includes Nightingale […]
Branch builds career pipeline for girls
Women made up about 11% of the construction workforce in 2021, but that doesn’t mean they were all on site wearing a hard hat. That percentage includes women in office and administrative roles, positions more traditionally filled by females, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. And so, many recruiters see women as an […]
A stitch in time
At the end of 2020, Eastern Virginia Medical School firmly rejected a study recommending that the medical school merge to become part of Old Dominion University. But time passes, minds change, and sometimes there’s turnover at the top. In August 2021, Dr. Richard Homan, who’d led EVMS for nearly a decade, retired. By December, Dr. […]
Theater renovations draw downtown visitors
Before her August performance at Marion’s historic Lincoln Theatre, country singer Lorrie Morgan took an afternoon stroll downtown, stopping at shops and the local farmers market, according to Tracy Thompson, the theater’s director. Drawing visitors — famous and otherwise — to downtown Marion was the goal back in 2004 when the community raised more than […]
Agriculture conference headed for Danville
A new conference for the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry will debut Oct. 25 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville. One goal behind the event, dubbed CEA Summit East, is “highlighting some of the CEA growth that’s happening in Virginia — and particularly in Southern Virginia,” according to organizer Kaylee […]
A stitch in time: ODU, EVMS eye potential merger
At the end of 2020, Eastern Virginia Medical School firmly rejected a study recommending that the medical school merge to become part of Old Dominion University. But time passes, minds change, and sometimes there’s turnover at the top. In August 2021, Dr. Richard Homan, who’d led EVMS for nearly a decade, retired. By December, Dr. […]
Manchin hits gas on Mountain Valley Pipeline
First proposed in 2014, the 303-mile, $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline has seen its construction progress delayed time and time again by federal courts, regulators and environmentalists. Indeed, MVP has faced so many setbacks that NextEra Energy Inc. said in February it was reevaluating its investment in the natural gas pipeline, citing “a very low […]
Pulaski sees housing future in 3D
Like communities around Virginia, the town of Pulaski faces housing demand far outpacing supply. “We don’t have enough housing in our area,” says Town Manager Darlene Burcham. “So many of the people who work in our area don’t live in the community.” One way Pulaski hopes to grow inventory is by working with Iowa-based home […]
Solid prospects
Detlev Peters has walked into convenience stores in the Hampton Roads area a couple of times recently to find the candy aisle shockingly empty. “Hershey’s, Reese’s, M&M’s, everything, like they would just have a clean shelf of just nothing,” marvels Peters, who graduated with a degree in maritime and supply chain management from Old Dominion […]
Ways of the water
Back in 2016, Virginia Coastal Zone Management program planners began talking about ways to protect the Lower Chickahominy River watershed. “We’re like, ‘Well, let’s get ahead of this,’” says Jefferson Flood, an appropriately named coastal planner for the CZM, a network of individuals from Virginia agencies and local governments who work to protect coastal resources. [&hell[...]


















