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U.Va. Wise receives largest ever donation
The University of Virginia‘s College at Wise has received its largest ever donation, $11.2 million, from The Bill Gatton Foundation, the Wise County college announced Monday. The late Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton, a successful businessman who owned the Gatton Automotive Group with dealerships in Kentucky and Tennessee, made significant gifts to the University of Kentucky […]
SWVA projects recommended for $10M in federal grants
Four Southwest Virginia economic development projects have been recommended to receive a cumulative $10 million in federal Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grants, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, announced Monday. The projects are on sites where coal was mined prior to 1977, the year the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation […]
Wise County tech park is growing
Progress continues on the Wise County Industrial Development Authority’s 200-acre Elam Farm industrial site in Wise County, which will expand an existing technology park. With help from various sources, including a total of $1 million from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, the project so far has received $4.8 million in investments, with plans to […]
Southwest Va. Big Deal: Land ho!
The largest business deal announced during the past year in Southwest Virginia is an agreement between Dallas-based Fortune 100 natural gas and propane pipeline transport company Energy Transfer, Virginia’s nonprofit Energy DELTA Lab and Wise County to develop energy infrastructure in the region. Under the agreement, the partners will work with energy companies and electric […]
5 SWVA projects recommended for $9.5M in federal grants
Five Southwest Virginia economic development projects have been recommended to receive a cumulative $9.35 million in federal Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grants, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith announced Thursday. The projects are on sites where coal was mined before 1977. Funding for the federal AMLER Program comes through the […]
Clean energy development could draw $8.5B in investments
Wise County and neighboring localities may become home to a massive clean energy development that could attract up to $8.25 billion in capital investments, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Nov. 1. An agreement between Wise County, the Energy DELTA Lab and Dallas-based Fortune 100 energy company Energy Transfer aims to develop 65,000 acres of former coal […]
SWVA clean energy development could draw $8.5B in investments
Wise County and neighboring localities in Southwest Virginia may become home to a massive clean energy development that could attract up to $8.25 billion in capital investments, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. An agreement between Energy DELTA Lab, Dallas-based Fortune 100 energy company Energy Transfer and Wise County will involve the development of 65,000 acres […]
EarthLink support center approaches completion
By mid-August, construction workers had gotten up a big portion of the steel framework for the 28,000-square-foot, two-story building that will house EarthLink’s customer support center at Project Intersection, a new business and industrial park in Norton. Employees of the Atlanta-based high-speed internet service provider should be able to move into the building by March […]
Education 2023: DONNA PRICE HENRY
Henry is making history at the University of Virginia‘s College at Wise — the school’s first female chancellor, she created the school’s first office devoted to equity, diversity and inclusion. And in 2019 she made technology accessible for every student by instituting a program to grant every incoming freshman an iPad. In June, she was honored […]
U.Va. Wise launches master’s degree in education
Like the rest of the country, Virginia’s public schools are suffering from a teacher shortage. In the 2022-23 academic year, there were 3,573 vacancies statewide, and more teachers are working with only provisional licenses, which don’t require teacher preparation courses. In Southwest Virginia, though, educators are signing up for a master’s degree in education that […]
Filling in
Industrial real estate is a hot commodity in Southwest Virginia. “It’s hard to find available space of anything that’s above 15,000 to 20,000 square feet,” says Jonathan Belcher, executive director of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA), which represents Lee, Wise, Scott, Buchanan, Russell, Tazewell and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton. Leaders [&[...]
SWVA projects recommended for $10.6M in federal funds
Eight Southwest Virginia economic development projects totaling $10.6 million have been recommended for federal funding under Virginia’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant program, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith announced Friday. Referred to the federal Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement for approval, the projects include $2.347 million to [...]
