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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 [...]
Chesterfield-based Paymerang expands to Wise County
Chesterfield County-based payment and invoice automation company Paymerang LLC will expand its operations to Southwest Virginia, creating 50 jobs in Wise, the company announced Thursday. The move follows a previous expansion of its Chesterfield County headquarters. In Wise, employees will work in software development, cloud engineering and payment operations. Paymerang is the second company to jo[...]
Wise County IDA buys vacant office building for $1.2M
The Wise County Industrial Development Authority purchased a vacant office building in the Lonesome Pine Regional Business and Technology Park with a $1.2 million loan from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, officials announced Wednesday. The 10,000-square-foot building sits on approximately 4.63 acres at 5957 Windswept Blvd. and came furnished. The building is adjacent to [&he[...]
SWVA initiative seeks to attract remote workers
Project Fuse, a regional cooperative initiative to make Southwest Virginia the location of choice for remote employment, launched Friday with the release of a playbook to attract businesses. “The global business community seeks options for both attracting the employees they want and managing their operating costs,” Will Payne, managing partner of Coalfield Strategies LLC and […]
State awards $8.85M to redevelop SWVA abandoned mine sites
The Virginia Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program intends to award funds to eight economic development projects across Southwest Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, announced Friday. The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, which will be renamed the Virginia Department of Energy on Oct. 1, administers the program. The […]
Dickenson IDA gets $1.1M loan to purchase former mill site
The Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority received a loan of up to $1.175 million from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority to purchase the former Mountain Forest Products mill site, a 433-acre property in Dickenson and Wise counties, for future economic development. The site, which is adjacent to the IDA’s Red Onion industrial site, also […]
SW Va. aims to attract data centers via regional tax pact
As part of an effort to entice data centers to locate in the region, Southwest Virginia leaders announced Tuesday a joint agreement to set what will be Virginia’s lowest regional property tax rate on data center equipment. The localities comprising the Lonesome Pine Regional Industrial Facilities Authority — Dickenson, Lee, Scott and Wise counties and […]
Health Wagon says it hasn’t received COVID-19 vaccine doses
The head of The Health Wagon, the Wise County-based free clinic system that serves more than 5,600 patients in Southwest Virginia, many with medical vulnerabilities, said in a Thursday interview on “CBS This Morning” that the clinic has not received any COVID-19 vaccine doses from the state government. According to the Virginia Department of Health, […]
The VirginiaBusiness.com Top Five
The top trending stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Nov. 16 to Dec. 15 included the news that Gov. Ralph Northam was ordering new restrictions based on post-Thanksgiving surges in coronavirus cases. Wise County is first to receive Starlink internet in Va. The pilot program from Elon Musk’s SpaceX will provide broadband via low-orbit satellites. (Dec. 14) […]
