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Recent Articles from Kate Andrews
State’s COVID-19 rate stays steady at 4.8%
Virginia recorded 5,964 new COVID-19 cases and 104 virus-related deaths last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Oct. 5 update. The state’s positivity rate stayed steady at 4.8%, up just 0.1% from last week. The state has 152,557 total cases and 3,276 fatalities as of Oct. 5. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases […]
ODU will build tool for wind energy site planning
Old Dominion University will develop an online tool for the placement of wind-energy projects so they don’t interfere with military installations, with a Department of Defense grant of $775,000. The DoD’s Office of Economic Adjustment awarded the Military Installation Sustainability program grant to the state, according to a news release from Gov. Ralph Northam’s office […[...]
Fairfax peanut butter maker will open manufacturing facility
OmMade Peanut Butter, an all-natural peanut butter brand created by a Fairfax County woman, will build a manufacturing operation in the county, investing $300,000 and creating five jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. Owner Radhika Murari, who sells her products online and at area Whole Foods grocery stores, plans to source 30,000 pounds of peanuts […]
Liberty pays Falwell two years’ base salary in severance deal
Liberty University announced Tuesday that it has paid Jerry Falwell Jr., its embattled and controversial former president and chancellor, two years’ base salary as severance. Falwell resigned on Aug. 25 under a barrage of international media coverage of his alleged role in a sex scandal involving his wife’s admitted affair with a former pool attendant […]
Ex-WMATA official sentenced in federal fraud case
A former assistant superintendent of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) was sentenced Tuesday to 14 days of incarceration and two years of supervised release after conspiring with a former pro football player to defraud the transit authority of more than $300,000. In January, Kirby Smith pleaded guilty to violating federal law by supplementing his […]
Fall enrollment down nearly 10% at community colleges
Early estimates indicate that fall enrollment at Virginia’s community colleges is down nearly 10% compared to fall 2019, and down by 6.6% at private four-year universities, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in a study released Tuesday. However, public four-year universities are holding steady, with enrollment down by only 0.2%. The […]
No rest for defense
Some of the biggest economic news in Hampton Roads over the past year has come from Department of Defense projects. The top headline belongs to a pair of massive Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) contracts. In November 2019, Reston-based General Dynamics Corp. won the largest Navy contract ever awarded, $22.2 billion, to produce nuclear submarines. It’s […]
Back to school
This fall, universities and colleges in Hampton Roads took baby steps forward as they reopened for the fall semester after shutting down in March during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Old Dominion University welcomed students back in late August with a combination of in-person and remote classes. Fall sports are canceled, and the […]
New maritime collaborative taps executive director
Nancy Grden has been named the first executive director of Hampton Roads Maritime Collaborative for Growth & Innovation, which aims to expand the role maritime plays in the region’s economic development. Grden was most recently the associate vice president of Old Dominion University’s Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Along with leading the newly formed collaborative[...]
Centreville defense contractor wins $50.6M contract
Centreville-based Parsons Corp. has received a $50.6 million, six-year contract contract from the U.S. Air Force for 13 ground vehicles that clear mines and unexploded ammunition, the company announced Oct. 1. The military branch awarded Parsons the contract Sept. 23, with a completion date of Sept. 2023. The vehicles are known as RADBO, or Recovery […]
