I voted for Trump. His tariff exclusions don’t reflect conservative strength
Alexandria business founder Tanveer Kathawalla writes in an op-ed that President Donald Trump's tariffs project decline and harm industry and the nation's ability to reduce federal debt.
Getting full value out of college from day one
Mary Baldwin University's president writes in an op-ed that for too long, the traditional college model has delayed the real payoff — deferring meaningful mentorship, skills-building and career direction until a student’s final semesters.
Ocean freight outlook 2025: tariffs, crisis fuel chaos
Ocean freight faces uncertainty in 2025 due to Red Sea crisis, U.S.-China tariffs, and overcapacity from new vessels and shifting port strategies.
Trump’s tariffs echo Hoover-era economic missteps
Trump's 2025 tariffs trigger market turmoil, drawing comparisons to Hoover's Depression-era policies and warnings from economists and business leaders.
Constructing change
The construction industry has long been perceived as a male-dominated field, but diversity is not just a moral imperative — it’s a strategic advantage. While the National Association of Home Builders reports that women currently make up approximately 10.8% of the U.S. construction workforce — an increase from 9.3% in 2002 — there is still […]
Why let Big Tech destroy our climate?
As the globe struggles to meet current climate goals, a new threat is emerging. The threat is coming from Big Tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook). Together, these companies represent a sector that dominates the market. At $3.6 trillion, Apple is now seven times the size of ExxonMobil, the nation’s […]
Why Alexandria’s new entertainment district is everyone’s business
As lawmakers negotiate the future of a $2 billion deal to build a new entertainment district in Alexandria, leaders across public and private sectors in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region are weighing the potential benefits. Without discounting concerns of local residents, I would like to present how this entertainment district will help Northern Virginia’s future growth and […]
Business climate change
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a revolution in how workers and businesses think about where, when and how we work. And that change is fully reflected in the survey responses we received from the 100 companies selected for this year’s Virginia Best Places to Work cohort. Seventy-one of those 100 businesses […]
Tax cuts are the way to grow
Virginia’s finances are in excellent shape, paving the way for the General Assembly to agree with Gov. Glenn Youngkin that it’s time to cut taxes in the commonwealth. It’s your money, not the government’s, and the government has collected too much of it over the last few years. In a snapshot, Virginia’s coffers are full. […]
Breaking rank
What a difference a year makes. On July 13, 2021, against a backdrop of ships blasting their horns and spraying water in celebration at the Port of Virginia’s Norfolk International Terminals, Gov. Ralph Northam sat for a harborside interview with CNBC, which had just named Virginia the nation’s best state for business for an unprecedented […]
Rethinking labor
Back in my big company days, large newspapers were heavily unionized. After railroads and before high tech, newspaper publishers were the media barons of the day. The business was capital intensive, requiring once-in-a-generation investments for big presses and printing facilities. It was also high on fixed costs, with payroll being the largest expense before newsprint […]
Closing the digital divide: It’s not optional
With the Senate’s passage of a massive infrastructure bill, there is rare and refreshing bipartisan consensus on the need to close the digital divide, which came into sharp focus during the pandemic. As much of daily life, including work and school, shifted online, underserved communities faced huge obstacles to productivity and success. The sweeping bill […]