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Youngkin signs executive directive on AI
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has signed an executive directive around artificial intelligence, instructing the state government to establish use standards and identify opportunities for the government to use AI technologies. Executive Directive No. 5, announced by the governor’s office late Wednesday, directs the Office of Regulatory Management to work with the state’s chief information officer —[...]
Va. trade office opens in Taiwan
Virginia has opened its trade office in Taiwan. Announced in April, the office is Virginia’s fourth international trade office and follows Youngkin’s meeting with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, during the governor’s first international trade mission. Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick was joined by Liang-yu Wang, director general of Taiwan’s Dep[...]
Transportation 2023: SHEPPARD ‘SHEP’ MILLER III
A Norfolk native, Miller takes pride in the state’s transportation accomplishments, including the start this year of the Interstate 64 Gap Project, which will widen a 29-mile corridor between Richmond and Williamsburg, as well as the August opening of a 10-mile stretch of express lanes in Stafford County and Fredericksburg. As state transportation secretary, Miller […]
Education 2023: PETER BLAKE
Blake will leave quite a legacy when he steps down from his role as director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia at the end of the year. SCHEV is establishing a search committee for his replacement and will work with the state education secretary’s office and others. During Blake’s 11 years at […]
Arts | Entertainment | Sports 2023: ANDY EDMUNDS
When Hollywood productions like “Dopesick,” “Cold Mountain,” “Wonder Woman 1984” and others want to film in Virginia, they come to Edmunds to get the ball rolling. As director of the Virginia Film Office since 2011 — and the office’s locations manager for 14 years before that — Edmunds helps productions access economic incentives and works […]
Agriculture 2023: MATTHEW J. LOHR
Lohr has worked in agriculture and public service for his entire career. As Virginia’s secretary of agriculture and forestry since January 2022, he manages an 810-employee department that oversees Virginia’s largest private sector, which has an annual economic impact of over $105 billion. A three-term state delegate and former commissioner of the Virginia Department of […]
Economic Development 2023: CAREN MERRICK
After 25 years as a Virginia business founder and leader, Merrick was appointed the commonwealth’s secretary of trade and commerce in early 2022, her first role in state government. She helped encourage Amazon Web Services to invest $35 billion to build multiple data center campuses across the state, an initiative announced in January. She also […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2023: RITA D. McCLENNY
As head of the state’s tourism agency since 2012, McClenny has seen the industry through ups and downs. In the wake of the pandemic, she helped secure federal dollars to assist statewide tourism rebound. In 2021, 102 million visitors spent $25.2 billion in Virginia, according to a study released by the agency last fall, still […]
Education 2023: AIMEE ROGSTAD GUIDERA
A proponent of charter schools who ran an education consultancy and a nonprofit organization that compiles national education data, Guidera was the first secretary appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who campaigned on parental rights in public education. Guidera is responsible for leading the state’s public schools and has significant influence on its postsecondary institutions, including [&hellip[...]
Va. Lottery’s Gee tapped as next secretary of commonwealth
Secretary of the Commonwealth Kay Coles James has resigned from her post, and Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kelly Gee has been appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin as her successor starting Friday, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. James, a native of Portsmouth and a Hampton University alum, served as president of conservative think tank The Heritage […]
ABC reports almost $1.5B in FY23 revenue
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority reported $1.47 billion in gross revenues for fiscal year 2023, up $54.3 million over the prior fiscal year, on Wednesday. The reported revenue is a record for the authority. This is the fifth year that ABC has brought in revenues above $1 billion. As a division of the state […]
‘A generational shift’
Updated June 29 Politicians like to suggest every new election is the most important of our lifetimes, but Virginia’s off-off-year state legislative elections in 2023 might actually live up to the billing for once. In November, voters will elect representatives to all 140 seats in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, in the first […]
