Northam appoints members to newly created cannabis boards
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has appointed members to three newly created oversight boards for the legalization of recreational marijuana, his office announced today. On July 1, Virginia‘s adult-use cannabis legislation changes began going into effect. This year, the General Assembly legalized possession of up to one ounce in public and home cultivation of up to […]
Virginia to spend $700M on universal broadband by 2024
Ahead of the General Assembly‘s August special session, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday he wants to spend $700 million of Virginia‘s federal relief funding on expanding broadband access to all of Virginia. Virginia received $4.3 billion in federal funds through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in March. Joined by U.S. Sen. Mark Warner at […]
Virginia unemployment rate improves to 4.3% in June
Virginia’s unemployment rate dropped again in June, landing at 4.3%, 0.2 points below May’s jobless rate, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. In June 2020, the unemployment rate was at 8.8%, 4.5% higher than June 2021. Virginia also continued to trend lower than the nation, which was at 5.9% unemployment last month, and the state had […]
SimpliSafe bringing second facility to Henrico
Home security system manufacturer SimpliSafe will invest more than $3 million to expand its operations in Henrico County, increasing its jobs creation total for the county to more than 800, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. The company will establish a new customer security monitoring service center at 4840 Cox Road in Glen Allen to provide […]
Plastics equipment manufacturer to reopen Pulaski facility
Plastics industry equipment manufacturer Xaloy Holdings LLC will move its barrel manufacturing operation from Ohio back to Virginia, reopening its former facility in Pulaski County, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. Xaloy will invest $1.75 million in its 100,000-square-foot, 30-acre site in Pulaski to produce bimetallic barrels, which are formed by bonding metal linings to the […]
Virginia finishes FY21 with record $2.6B surplus
Virginia reached the end of fiscal year 2021 with a $2.6 billion surplus, the largest in the commonwealth’s history, according to a statement released by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday. Total revenue collections grew 14.5% over fiscal year 2020, ahead of 2.7% growth projections. State collections reached $8.6 billion in the final quarter of […]
Virginia ranked CNBC’s Top State for Business again
Virginia retained its place as CNBC’s Top State for Business this year, beating out North Carolina and Texas and becoming the first state to achieve the honor twice in a row and five times in all, the cable business news channel announced Tuesday morning. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam appeared live Tuesday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk […]
Northam proposes $353M for small biz, tourism relief
Ahead of the General Assembly‘s August special session, Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday he wants to spend $353 million of Virginia‘s federal relief funding on small business recovery and assisting the tourism industry. Virginia received $4.3 billion in federal funds through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in March. The Democratic-controlled General Assembly will […]
Federal approval process starts for Va. Beach wind farm
Friday will mark an important milestone for Dominion Energy Inc.’s wind energy plans, as the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management begins its two-year permitting and environmental review of the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. That’s the next step before construction begins in 2024, Dominion said in a news release. Gov. Ralph Northam and […]
GO Virginia awards $11.1 million in economic recovery grants
The state’s GO Virginia economic development initiative announced Wednesday that it has allocated $11.1 million in grants to advance economic recovery efforts across Virginia, including a $1.45 million award to create a statewide system to support cybersecurity jobs training for Virginia’s defense contracting industry. “The targeted support that GO Virginia provides is critical to en[...]
State unemployment rate slid to 4.5% in May
Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 4.5% in May, dropping 0.2 percentage points below April’s jobless rate. May’s statewide unemployment rate was 4 percentage points below May 2020’s rate of 8.5% in the first months of the pandemic shutdowns. Virginia continued to trend lower than the nation; the U.S. unemployment rate for May was […]
Va. General Assembly to convene special session on Aug. 2
The Virginia General Assembly will convene in Richmond on Aug. 2 for a special session to allocate more than $4.3 billion in federal relief funding, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday in a proclamation. In May, Northam and Democratic leaders from the Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates outlined their priorities for the special […]