Retired Naval Station Norfolk commander is new Suffolk econ dev chief
Retired Navy Capt. Janet H. Days, who retired last year as commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station, will be taking on a new tour of duty in February as director of Suffolk’s economic development department, the city announced Wednesday. She’ll start her new job Feb. 7, according to the announcement. […]
Richmond water crisis shuts down many restaurants, businesses
Jan. 9 update: Richmond starts water testing, but city remains under boil water advisory “Dry January” became all too literal in Richmond, where most city residents and businesses were struggling with a water outage that started Monday afternoon and was still leaving much of a city with a population of more than 225,000 people without […]
Something in the Water gets extension from Va. Beach
Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival got a bit of a break Tuesday from Virginia Beach City Council members, who agreed to give the Virginia Beach-born music and fashion maven more time to fulfill an overdue part of the festival’s contract with the city. City Council voted 8-2 Tuesday to indefinitely defer an earlier […]
Powhatan approves $2.7B data center campus
Powhatan County has approved an estimated $2.7 billion data center campus on 119.9 acres partly bordering Chesterfield County. The county’s board of supervisors voted 3-2 during its Oct. 28 meeting for a rezoning and a conditional use permit allowing the proposed development to move forward. The developer, Newport Beach, California–based Province Group, estimates that its […]
Trump Town owner calls assault, indecent exposure charges ‘fake news’
Donald “Whitey” Taylor, owner of Trump Town, a Boones Mill store dedicated to merchandise celebrating the 45th president, and a candidate for mayor in that same small town, was arrested Tuesday on charges of indecent exposure and assaulting store employees. Taylor, 74, sent a text to Virginia Business, describing the criminal charges against him as […]
Va. Beach makes economic development head permanent
Charles E. “Chuck” Rigney Sr. has worked in economic development all over Hampton Roads; in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton. Last February, he joined Virginia Beach‘s economic development team as a business development administrator and since June 2023, he has been the department’s interim director. Now he’ll keep the job permanently. The city announced his promotion [...]
Data mining
Elena Schlossberg has spent the past three-and-a-half years fighting against what some say is soon to become the world’s largest data center complex. The Haymarket resident estimates she’s participated in at least 100 Zoom calls, town halls and Prince William County meetings to protest the project, while wearing a series of T-shirts voicing her opposition […]
Richmond riverfront amphitheater gets green light
Construction could begin this summer on a $30 million, 7,500-person amphitheater overlooking the James River. On June 12, Richmond City Council approved a 20-year performance grant that gives Red Light Ventures LLC the green light to build its proposed amphitheater on four acres of land it will rent from NewMarket Corp. behind the American Civil […]
Arlington residents sue over ‘missing middle’ zoning
Ten Arlington County residents filed a lawsuit against the county in April that claims Arlington’s new “missing middle” zoning ordinance was passed in March without proper notice and violates Virginia law. “Missing middle” refers to the range of options that fall between affordable housing and single-family homes, including duplexes and other higher-density residences. On March [&hel[...]
Truist grants $500k to aid Richmond Community Wealth Building office
Truist Foundation announced it has made a $500,000 grant that will ultimately help Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building provide further financial, education and employment coaching to city families, the philanthropic arm of Truist Financial Corp. announced in a press conference Friday. “At Truist, our purpose is to inspire and build better lives and communities, and […]
Petersburg approves Cordish Cos. for possible casino
Petersburg City Council is taking a gamble on Maryland-based The Cordish Cos. to develop a casino there — even though Petersburg doesn’t yet have permission to build a casino, according to state law. Council members voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of Cordish,, a commercial real estate company that has developed casinos across the mid-Atlantic and […]
Va. Beach honors Ramon W. Breeden Jr.
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer proclaimed Aug. 9, 2022, as Ramon W. Breeden Jr. Day, in honor of the real estate mogul. Since starting The Breeden Co. in 1961 out of the trunk of his Pontiac convertible and the back room of a grocery store, Breeden has led his company to be a vertically integrated […]