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Recent Articles from Ralph Berrier Jr.
Statewide home sales, inventories rose in November
The fall 2024 housing market has outpaced the fall 2023 market across the commonwealth, according to statewide November sales data released Dec. 20 by Virginia Realtors. “For two months in a row now, Virginia has seen double-digit growth in closed sales,” Ryan Price, the trade organization’s chief economist, stated in a news release. In November, […]
Martinsville real estate, building supply firm names new president
The Lester Group has appointed Dana Cowart president, the Martinsville-based building materials and real estate development company announced Monday. Cowart started his new job Dec. 1. Cowart brings to The Lester Group more than two decades of experience in the building supply sector. Previously, Cowart was vice president of acquisitions, vice president of sales and […]
Big tech company to buy power from Va.’s first onshore wind farm
Even as political winds shift in Washington, D.C., a long-delayed onshore wind farm in Botetourt County might finally be sailing to completion. Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy announced Wednesday that it has reached a deal for Google to purchase the full capacity of Rocky Forge Wind, a wind farm the Charlottesville company has been working to […]
Hundreds pack into Caesars Virginia on opening day
Hundreds of people descended upon Danville’s Main Street Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the $800 million Caesars Virginia, the third permanent casino to open in the state. Caesars didn’t shortchange on spectacle for the first day. A faux Roman legionary struggled to climb out of a Rolls-Royce to join Vegas-style showgirls and others for […]
Following public outcry, Roanoke developer pulls rezoning application
It’s looking like the Old Poage Farm property, which today sits next to U.S. 221 in Roanoke County, will remain farmland a while longer. The land was settled in the mid-1700s when King George III deeded hundreds of acres to Col. Robert Poage, but most recently, the property was proposed as a site for a […]
McLean’s QinetiQ US expands to Huntsville, Alabama
QinetiQ US, a McLean security and defense contractor, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday to celebrate its expansion into Huntsville, Alabama. Known as “The Rocket City” for its role in the country’s development of space exploration, Huntsville is home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which is located at the Redstone Arsenal. Originally established to make [&helli[...]
ECS Federal wins $96M award to support health research funding agency
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agency has named ECS Federal as the prime contractor on a four-year, $96 million contract to provide support services, the Fairfax County IT business announced Tuesday. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) was created in 2022 to improve the government’s ability to quickly develop biomedical […]
Amid financial concerns, Averett University names new leadership
Averett University announced Wednesday that its board has appointed David Joyce as its 15th president. Tiffany Franks, who has served nearly 17 years as president of the Danville private university, will retire Jan. 5, 2025. The leadership change comes following months of headlines about the school’s financial woes and cost-saving measures like staff furloughs and […]
Breeden VP returns from retirement
Retired Breeden Co. executive Barry Tomlin has rejoined the Virginia Beach real estate development and property management company as its vice president of customer service and marketing, The Breeden Co. announced Dec. 5. Tomlin initially joined Breeden in 2007, working as vice president of property management at the time of his 2022 retirement. In his […]
Caesars delays Danville casino’s opening by 5 days
The $750 million Caesars Virginia resort in Danville will host grand opening festivities on Dec. 17 instead of Dec. 12 as previously announced, Nevada’s Caesars Entertainment announced Friday afternoon. On hand will be retired Chicago Bulls basketball star and five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman, who will lead a parade of race cars supplied by Virginia […]
Coming to town
People who attended the annual Virginia Fire Rescue Conference in February could buy the latest rescue equipment, tools, turnout gear, radios, oxygen tanks — even a 30,000-pound pumper fire truck. “If you’ve got your checkbook … you can drive that truck home,” says Christian Eudailey, executive director of the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association, which organizes […]
VCEDA seed grants sow small business growth
Adam Patterson knew if his fashion design company was going to thrive in his hometown of Big Stone Gap, he needed capital — and a new sewing machine. “Mine was so old, it sewed crooked stitches,” says Patterson, founder of Jones-Hurst Designs. Patterson received a $10,000 grant in September from a Virginia Coalfield Economic Development […]
In the pipeline
As Andre Marshall was speaking to a reporter about cybersecurity in late July, one of the biggest technology failures in recent memory was unfolding in real time. A worldwide Microsoft Windows outage on July 19 brought airports, banks, subways — and even the Marshall household — to a standstill. George Mason University’s vice president for […]
Broadband aid
A couple of Holstein cows poke their heads through the metal gates of the barn as Mark Sowers fiddles with one of his most important pieces of farm equipment — a smartphone. Sowers opens an app on his phone that gives him real-time information from the nearly 300 milking cows that roam Huckleberry Dairy, the […]
