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byline: Joan Tupponce

#MeToo impact

The #MeToo movement has many businesses taking a harder look at their insurance policies.

Headlines about sexual assault and harassment have prompted scrutiny of coverage in areas such as employment practices liability, general liability, and directors and officers liability.

“What we saw play out in Washington during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation is a continuation of the #MeToo movement,” says David Schaefer, president and CEO of the insurance brokerage AHT in Leesburg. “There are a lot of claims activity associated with harassment and discrimination, especially sexual harassment. We are seeing lots of very old stuff bubbling up that is just coming to light.”

In Senate confirmation hearings in September, California psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford accused Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both teenagers in 1982.  Kavanaugh vehemently denied the accusation. He ultimately was confirmed on a 50-48 Senate vote after the FBI failed to turn up corroborating evidence of the assault. 

Schaefer is noticing a marked uptick in losses from schools, churches, social service organizations and associations related to past events that were not reported at the time. “What’s interesting is, because it happened a long time ago, sometimes the policies that would be responsive to the losses are ancient history,” he says. “It requires forensic research.”

Schaefer notes the type of insurance coverage involved in these incidents depends on when and how they happened. “It could be general liability, directors and officers or employment practices,” he says. “Companies are really thinking about that.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed significantly more sexual harassment lawsuits in fiscal year 2018, according to preliminary data. During the fiscal year, the commission filed 66 harassment lawsuits, including 41 that included allegations of sexual harassment. That number represented a 50 percent increase in sexual harassment  suits from fiscal year 2017. In addition, charges filed with the EEOC alleging sexual harassment increased by more than 12 percent during the same time period.

Overall, the EEOC recovered nearly $70 million for the victims of sexual harassment through litigation and administrative enforcement in FY 2018, up from $47.5 million in FY 2017.

The #MeToo movement gained national momentum after The New York Times and The New Yorker reported sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein in October 2017. Within a month, 80 women came forward with accusations against Weinstein, who was fired from The Weinstein Co. and expelled from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Weinstein’s downfall prompted a wave of allegations against many other Hollywood power brokers. “The revelations of what led to the fall of Harvey Weinstein and ultimately his production company dramatically increased the scrutiny of entertainment companies regarding this type of behavior, and it seems there has been more behavior that has led to claims here as premiums have gone up dramatically for this industry segment,” says Schaefer.

The #MeToo movement also has led to new legislation addressing workplace issues.  In May, for example, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act, which extends the statute of limitations for filing claims related to sexual harassment from one year to three years.

In September, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law legislation requiring publicly held companies to have at least one woman on each board of directors by the end of next year.  

In a broader picture, 2018 has been a relatively stable year for the insurance industry.

“Up to this point in 2018, it’s a continuation of 2017,” says Curt Hodges, vice president of Lynchburg-based Scott Insurance. “It’s been generally a buyer’s market for the most part with specific lines of businesses presenting challenges.”

Rates are generally down or flat in casualty lines, such as general liability and workers’ compensation. Nonetheless, the industry has seen some property insurance rate increases in areas exposed to hurricanes and high winds. The amount of increase varies and is specific to the policy.

One of the biggest challenges this year has been commercial auto insurance. “Commercial auto insurance continues to be a problem, with a continuing push [by insurers] for higher rates,” says Paul Fleming, senior vice president with Richmond-based Bankers Insurance.

Most insurance carriers are asking for single- to low-double-digit  rate increases in auto coverage this year. A variety of factors are contributing to the higher rates, including distracted drivers and the higher cost of repairs because of “new technology being put into cars and trucks,” says Hodges.

Fleming expects workers’ compensation may be the next area to see marked increases in rates. “Workers’ comp rates continue to decrease, and health-care costs keep going up,” he says. “The losses will catch up. It’s just a question of when. I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts happening in a year or two.”

Cyber liability continues to be a hot market for the industry. “We are also seeing insurance companies that had not provided coverage previously are now starting to participate,” says Rusty Bailey, division manager for Hampton Roads for Marsh & McLennan Agency. 
Rates continue to inch upward for cyber liability because of an increased number of losses. “We are seeing an average of a 2.1 percent increase in cyber liability rates across the board,” Bailey says. “We are also seeing more claims on cyber.”

Brokers say businesses need to understand what they can and can’t ask for in cyber coverage. “It’s important to have someone that understands cyber and the risks in order to provide the proper coverage,” Bailey says. “We have an area of expertise, a dedicated line for cyber. That is all they do.”

Germany-based reinsurance company Munich Re estimates the cyber insurance market will double by 2020 to more than $8 billion, partly because of risks such as data theft. “More people are buying the coverage, but it’s still not enough,” says Fleming. “We are seeing a lot of ransomware. You can purchase coverage for that as part of a cyber policy. The need for coverage is going to increase as the years go by.”

In another sign of the times, some educational and religious institutions are inquiring about insurance related to shootings. “They are asking about an active-shooter policy,” says Fleming. “It can cover the cost of counseling services, crisis management, public relations, reward money, financial losses and third-party claims. I’m not seeing a bunch of people purchasing it, but there is an increased awareness.”

Another area of concern is flood insurance. For the past 50 years the National Flood Insurance Program has provided coverage, but more insurance companies are moving into that space. The Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act, passed by the House of Representatives in 2016, would amend the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to revise requirements for federal and private flood insurance. Supporters say the law will foster more competition in the marketplace and bring prices down.

The bill now is in the hands of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. If there is no movement on the bill before the end of the year, it will die in the Senate committee. “Insurance companies are assuming the risk rather than the government,” Fleming says. “There are more options out there for private placement flood insurance than there were in the past.”

 

Insurance brokers

  Insurance broker Location Phone Website Agents in Va. Va. revenues ($000)1
1 BB&T Insurance Services Richmond (804) 359-0044 bbandt.com 125 90,046,843
2 Scott Insurance Lynchburg (434) 832-2100 scottins.com 180 58,000,000
3 Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC Richmond (804) 780-0611 mma-midatlantic.com 312 57,310,673
4 Towne Insurance Virginia Beach (800) 486-4611 towneinsurance.com 55 41,150,506
5 Bankers Insurance LLC Glen Allen (804) 497-3634 bankersinsurance.net 64 35,000,000
6 AHT Insurance Leesburg (703) 777-2341 ahtins.com 98 18,678,611
7 Aon Risk Services South Richmond (804) 560-2230 aon.com 25 17,000,000
8 AssuredPartners Richmond (804) 355-7984 assuredpartners.com 12 6,200,000
8 Lunsford – a Trustpoint Company Roanoke (540) 982-0200 chaslunsford.com 23 4,000,000
10 Ames & Gough Insurance/Risk Management Inc. McLean (703) 827-2277 amesgough.com/ 23 3,500,000

1 For 2017        Note: List first published in March 2018.                                                                                                                Source:  Individual firms.

Landing deals

This fall, Danville and Pittsylvania County announced their latest coups.

A manufacturer of high-performance technical fabrics said in October that its U.S. subsidiary would move its headquarters and research and development operations from Greensboro, N.C., to Danville.

BGF Industries Inc., a subsidiary of the France-based Porcher Industries, is investing $7 million to build a 25,000-square-foot facility in the Cyber Park, a 330-acre technology park in Danville’s enterprise zone. The park is owned by the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facility Authority.

The investment is expected to create 65 jobs during the next three years, with an average annual salary of $75,000.

In November, a British company, Harlow Group Ltd., said it will invest $8 million to locate its first U.S. precision sheet metal fabrication plant, to be called Harlow Fastech.

The company also will establish a U.S. Training Center of Excellence, a new facility with a focus on additive manufacturing.

The Harlow project is expected to create 49 jobs.

The two announcements represent the kind of deals that officials in Southern Virginia are seeing a lot of these days. That trend, they say, is evidence that the region’s innovative workforce programs and long-term planning efforts are bearing fruit.

“This, in my mind, continues to validate the workforce programs we’ve put into place as well as our commitment to the future,” says Matt Rowe, Pittsylvania’s director of economic development.

In the past, companies have considered Danville and Pittsylvania to be low-cost locations with good workforces, but these latest announcements raise the area’s profile, says Rowe. “It validates our blue-ribbon schools and our downtown River District. It’s the next echelon of companies we want to attract.”

The city and county also have been working closely on a major infrastructure project that’s starting to show promise, Rowe says. The Southern Virginia Mega Site at Berry Hill, a 3,500-acre project designed to attract major industrial manufacturers, received a Tier IV certification this summer, deeming the location “site ready.”

Two companies have purchase agreements for locations within the megasite, and the localities are working to bring a major connector road to the park. Already, Berry Hill has 10 credible prospects.

Growing workforce
A new workforce program was key in Amthor International’s decision to stay in Pittsylvania. The largest tanker-truck manufacturer in North America plans to spend $7.1 million to expand its Pittsylvania operations, creating 90 jobs during the next five years. The company also will retain 110 existing jobs. “They have already hired 72 of those 90 folks,” says Rowe.

The workforce program teaches workers Amthor’s precise welding style. “We teamed with Danville Community College’s welding programs and created a training program in welding. If students passed, they were guaranteed an interview with Amthor,” Rowe says.

The first welding cohort had nine students. “Kids going into the program can see a viable career path,” Rowe says, noting the second cohort is double the size of the first. “Average wages are in the upper-$30,000 to low-$40,000 range.”

The company opened its first Virginia manufacturing facility in Gretna in 1992. It is adding 40,000 square feet to its existing 75,000-square-foot facility, which will serve as its corporate headquarters. 

Virginia competed against West Virginia for the project. “We wanted to keep them home,” Rowe says of Amthor.

Another existing company, Eastern Panel Manufacturing, a custom plywood manufacturer, announced it would spend $1 million to expand operations and create 15 jobs. EPM moved into a vacant 55,000-square-foot facility in the Chatham Industrial Park, allowing it to consolidate functions. “They were in multiple buildings,” Rowe says of EPM. “They took the building and turned it into a productive economic source.”

An innovative investment program also has snagged companies previously headquartered elsewhere.

The Launch Place has been a marketing boon for the region. The organization, for example, was an angel investor in the startup phase of Panaceutics, a manufacturer of medicinal and nutritional products.

Panaceutics now is moving its operations from North Carolina to Pittsylvania, creating 70 local jobs over three years with an average wage of $58,000.

The company is investing $5.8 million to establish a research and development and high-tech manufacturing facility in the Ringgold Industrial Park. It hopes to start production before the end of the year.

“They have gone from a startup to 27 full-time employees,” Rowe says.

Meanwhile, Piedmont Access to Health Services Inc., a nonprofit health-care organization, is expanding. It is investing $1.5 million in moving its operations to Chatham. The expansion is expected to create 21 jobs at an average annual pay of $56,000.

“It’s been a good 2018. I see where 2019 is starting to shape up to be good, as well,” says Rowe. “We have run out of vacant buildings, and we are now working with developers to come up with new buildings. The market here is so hot now.”

Activity in Danville this year is “very encouraging,” says Linwood Wright, a former Danville mayor who serves as a consultant to the city’s economic development office. By the end of November, he expected the city to have announced “close to 1,000 jobs and on the magnitude of $50 million in investment [for 2018]. I think we will end the year significantly ahead of the prior two years in jobs and investments.”

The city’s metalworking training program is attracting the attention of manufacturers. “The most important incentive we offer prospective businesses is a good supply of trained workers,” Wright says. “Trained workers are in short supply and in great demand.”

Danville also is putting together baccalaureate programs in cybersecurity and information technology at Danville Community College with cooperation from major universities across the state. The program is expected to be in place next year. “We hope to have a similar degree program for applied engineering for advanced manufacturing,” Wright says.

Delegations from Arkansas and Wisconsin visited Danville this year to look at its precision machining training program. “That is where we have tried to separate ourselves from the pack,” Wright says.

Danville hopes the new workforce programs will help it restore its middle class. Like many other historically blue-collar factory communities, the city’s population has declined in recent years. “We’ve lost the middle class, and that’s an issue,” says Wright. “We hope we are unique in that we have addressed our issues and are attempting to deal with them constructively rather than crying in our beer and asking for handouts.” 

Danville’s downtown has rebounded with the development of its River District. “We are running 95 percent occupancy with the market-rate apartments that have been constructed,” Wright says. “They are leased before they are finished.”

South Boston in Halifax County also is seeing a revitalization of its downtown.

The town partnered with developer Edwin Gaskin of Echelon Resources Inc. to develop market-rate apartments in the 135,000-square-foot former Tultex Building, now called Imperial Lofts. The developer has already built 42 apartments that rent from $800 to $1,100 in about 70,000 square feet of the space.

“He’s got room to add 10 to 12 more,” says Town Manager Tom Raab. “People have started moving in already. We realize there is a demand. It’s a money maker for the town.”
South Boston also is moving forward on plans to redevelop the former John Randolph Hotel building. The town plans to put the project out to bid by the end of this year.
“We hope to break ground in spring or summer of next year,” says Raab of the proposed 27-room boutique hotel with beer garden and rooftop bar. “The project continues to move forward.”

New mega-deals
Martinsville and Henry County also are scoring deals.

By October, the city and county had attracted projects promising 548 jobs and $79.6 million in investment, the result of “10 years of work,” says Mark Heath, president and CEO of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. “We have been working on the Commonwealth Crossing industrial park for 10 years, and it’s now paying dividends. The economy is better and the tax situation is better as well. We have the lowest unemployment we have had in 15 years.”

The 720-acre Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre in Henry County officially opened for business last year.

In July, Press Glass, the largest independent flat-glass processing operation in Europe, announced it had become the first business to locate in the business park. The Poland-based company will invest $43.55 million to establish a 280,000-square-foot manufacturing operation, creating 212 jobs. Construction is scheduled to begin early next year.

The Press Glass deal is indicative of the large amount of foreign investment the Martinsville-Henry County area is seeing. “Eight of 10 companies that we talk to are international. In general, it’s the vast majority,” Heath says.

The Martinsville/Henry economy is getting a boost from company expansions as well. “We average two-thirds expansions and one-third new companies,” Heath says.

For example, Memphis-based Monogram Food Solutions LLC opened a manufacturing operation in Henry County in 2009 and since then has created more than 600 local jobs. The company announced in September it is investing $30 million to expand its Henry County operation, called Monogram Snacks. Virginia competed against six other states for the project, which will create an additional 300 jobs.

“Our expansion deals are competitive,” Heath says. “You have to treat an existing company like a new company in a lot of ways.”

Springfield complex creates venues for a variety of sports

More than 7,000 people, including Alex Ovechkin, captain of the NHL champion Washington Capitals, turned out for the September grand opening of The St. James in Springfield.

The turnout bodes well for the 450,000-square-foot sports and wellness complex, which expects to employ more than 300 people during its first year.

The 20-acre campus is the first project of co-founders Kendrick Ashton and Craig Dixon. They plan to open a similar complex in the Chicago suburbs in 2021. “We are actively pursuing expansion across the country,” says Dixon.

The cost of the Springfield complex wasn’t disclosed. Its financial backers include Cain International, a real estate investment firm. 

The St. James was inspired by childhood experiences of Ashton and Dixon who were involved in a variety of sports. “We had a clear recollection of times in the car just trying to get from place to place,” Dixon says.

The founders wanted to create a destination that would consolidate a number of sports venues. “We started working on the idea in earnest in 2013,” says Ashton “We tried to approach the business in a very analytical way.”

They decided the Northern Virginia area was an “extraordinary market to build a destination based on people passionate about being active,” Ashton says. “There was a lack of supply of comparable offerings in the region. The cherry on top was the fact that Craig and I grew up in this region. We have deep and broad networks here that would help us be successful.”

St. James’ facilities range from two ice rinks to a 10,000-square-foot gymnastics center, a soccer field, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a 50,000-square-foot health club.

An active-entertainment center has a 6,000-square-foot water park that opened in September. Opening in November are a 25,000-square-foot area housing obstacle courses, virtual-reality studios and party rooms plus a retail area with a restaurant and café.

The company’s health-care partner, MedStar, is scheduled to open an on-site health and sports medicine center next spring. “We think we have something for everybody,” Ashton says.

Bank’s first female president advocates industry diversity

Maria Tedesco says her banking career grew out of her family’s business in Boston.

“When you run a family restaurant, you learn all about numbers and business as well as taking care of the customer,” the Boston native says. The family’s two restaurants taught her “life lessons — the rewards of hard work and persistence. It prepared me for banking, for serving customers and for leading teams.”

In September, Tedesco was named president of Richmond-based Union Bank & Trust, the first woman to hold that position in the financial institution’s 116-year history.

Union, which had total assets of more than $13 billion at the end of June, is the largest regional bank based in Virginia. In early October, the bank’s parent company, Union Bankshares Corp., announced plans to acquire Reston-based Access National Bank in a deal valued at $610 million.

John Asbury, president and CEO of Union Bankshares, says Tedesco is an industry thought leader who fits the bank’s culture. “Our backgrounds are complementary, and we are going to be quite the team,” he says.

Tedesco, 58, was chief operating officer for retail at Chicago-based BMO Harris Bank. During her career, she also served as senior executive vice president and managing director of the retail bank at Santander Bank in Boston, U.S. headquarters of a bank based in Spain. She spent 19  years at Rhode Island-based Citizens Financial Group, Inc. where she was group executive vice president and executive director of retail banking and business banking.

Tedesco was named one of the most powerful women in banking, a team award, by American Banker in 2012 and 2017. In 2015, the  banking publication also named her one of the most powerful women to watch.

When she became a banker in 1986 there were few female role models, Tedesco says.  “That was my biggest challenge. I am lucky I had the opportunity to have mentors that took an interest in me and believed in me. I am very grateful for the folks that helped instill confidence and a sense of purpose.”

While there are now more women in banking, it’s “still not good enough. We’ve made progress, but we have a long way to go,” she says, noting that diversity is a priority at Union. “It was important for me to have women around me that would support me and help me.” 

Tedesco believes in strong mentors and guiding principles. “I’m a mom with two adult daughters, and I say this to them, ‘I live my life by setting goals, going after them, speaking up, staying resilient and being good to others.’ ”

In her new role, Tedesco will oversee the bank’s 140 locations – 133 Union offices in Virginia and Maryland and seven Xenith Bank offices in North Carolina. Union acquired Richmond-based Xenith earlier this year.

Tedesco says she was attracted to Union because it checked all the boxes. “I felt like I had the opportunity to make a difference.”

Her goal is to continue the bank’s growth. “We are going to leverage what Union has built and deliver on promises to customers,” she says. “I am thrilled that the culture is very embedded in the fact that Union customers come first.”

Norfolk-based security firm opens office in Winchester

Top Guard Security opened a Winchester office in August to serve a major new client.

The move represents the latest expansion by the Norfolk-based private security firm, which also has offices in Richmond and Hampton.

The Winchester office serves Valley Health, a regional health-care system that operates six hospitals in Virginia and West Virginia, including Winchester Medical Center. Top Guard has more than 45 employees serving all six locations. Valley Health began looking for another security firm when a national company purchased the vendor it had been using.

“There are international and national players in our industry that are consuming other companies, and that has presented tremendous opportunities for our firm,” says Top Guard Vice President Chris Stuart. “People that come to us want good service.”

Top Guard already was working with a client in the Front Royal area before being contacted by Valley Health. Now that the Winchester office has been established, the company is talking with several other potential clients in the area.

The company was founded in Hampton in 1996 by Chris Stuart and his wife, Nicole. Since then it  has grown to more than 950 employees. Ninety-five percent of them are uniformed security guards at client locations.

“We have two or three more contracts coming up in the next couple of months, and I won’t be surprised if we pierce 1,000 employees,” says Nicole Stuart, the company’s president.

She says the company built its name on attention to detail and customized service. Those principles “naturally lead to growth. What we are doing has proven successful year after year.”

The company’s growth spurt began after 9/11. “That was the singular moment that defined our business,” says Chris Stuart. “Starting on Sept. 18, 2001 we became the security provider for the Norfolk World Trade Center. It was a tremendous statement to neighboring buildings and properties.”

In 2004 the company picked up Norfolk’s municipal security contract, and four years later it began serving Tidewater Community College. “We have had 115 to 120 individuals at Tidewater’s seven locations since 2008,” Nicole Stuart says.

The company maintains its contracts by “exceeding expectations. That’s our special sauce,” says Chris Stuart. “In our commercial market, we have 20-year-plus clients. Our state, local and federal contracts go to bid every five years. We are on our third contract terms with both the city of Norfolk and Tidewater Community College.”

The Stuarts say Top Guard makes it a point to recruit veterans and now has more than 450 on staff. The company received the Virginia Values Veterans Governor’s Award last year for the largest number of veterans hired by a single company in 2016.

“We are fortunate to work with veterans. They come with great training,” says Nicole Stuart.

Norfolk firm to use cannabidiol for medical research

In May, Nofolk-based Sanyal Biotechnology became one of few U.S. companies to receive licensing to import cannabidiol (CBD) for medical research and clinical trials.

CBD is an oil extracted from hemp or marijuana. It also can be synthesized in a laboratory. Under the license, Sanyal also can import tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a marijuana extract that has some medical benefits but also is the mind-altering component of cannabis. 

Sanyal, which was spun out of Virginia Commonwealth University in 2015, applied for the license after being asked by Ontario-based Revive Therapeutics to use CBD to conduct research on obesity and NASH (the most severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). “We never anticipated getting into this industry. The company found us,” says Rebecca Caffrey, Sanyal’s CEO.

Drugs falling under Schedule 1 classification of the U.S. Controlled Substances Act are illegal. They include heroin, LSD and marijuana. The federal government scrutinizes Schedule 1 licensing applications to prevent the import and sale of products for illegal purposes.

The licensing process with the Virginia Board of Pharmacy and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency took a year to complete. “It’s nearly impossible to get a license,” says Caffrey. “We got the broadest license available.”

Interest from researchers and physicians conducting clinical trials with CBD has increased since June when the FDA approved the drug Epidiolex, which contains pure CBD. The drug, produced by GW Pharmaceuticals, will be used to treat seizures in patients with rare, severe forms of epilepsy.  

The FDA’s decision has set up a difficult decision for the government. “This has forced the hands of the federal government,” says Caffrey. “They have to determine if they reschedule marijuana.”

The DEA has “90 days to schedule Epidiolex as a Schedule 2, 3, 4 or 5 drug or not schedule it at all. We are in the process of looking into this,” says DEA spokesman Wade Sparks. “That does not mean it will be a sweeping reschedule of CBD or marijuana as a whole. CBD could stay Schedule 1. It could come out a total reschedule of the ingredient but it doesn’t have to be. All that is being determined by the DEA.”

Caffrey is talking to physicians in other states about the potential use of CBD properties to treat attention deficit disorder, headaches, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Before we couldn’t get the drugs to do clinical trials,” she says. “We are bringing a piece of the puzzle that no one has had before.”

This type of research represents a growing area in the medical field. In February, the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates passed HB 125, allowing the use of CBD oil or THC-A oil to help alleviate the symptoms of diagnosed conditions or diseases. Gov. Ralph Northam signed the bill in March.

“This is a challenging environment. Everything changes on a daily basis,” Caffrey says. “It’s like working on roller skates in a greased rink that is on fire.”

Fort Monroe Authority seeks redevelopment partners

Once headquarters for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe now is being redeveloped as a mixed-use community.

The site’s history at Old Point Comfort on the tip of the Peninsula dates back more than 400 years to a fort created in 1609 by Jamestown colonists. The first Africans in British North America arrived at Old Point Comfort 10 years later.

A star-shaped, stone fortress completed in 1834, Fort Monroe was deactivated as a military installation and designated as a national monument by President Obama in 2011.

Today, the Fort Monroe Authority (FMA) oversees redevelopment of half of the fort’s 561 acres, while the National Park Service is in charge of the other half.

In June, FMA issued a request for qualifications from companies interested in adaptive reuse of its buildings for hospitality, retail, mixed-use and recreational purposes. The redevelopment area includes four sites on 100 acres including 900,000 square feet of building space.

By early August, the request had been downloaded more than 300 times. The deadline for companies submitting their qualifications and statements of interest is Oct. 11.

Currently, 90 percent of the fort’s residential properties is occupied, as is 90 percent of its 100,000 square feet of office and flex space. More than 95,000 square feet of retail space also is occupied.

The community’s businesses include two restaurants, a craft brewery and a 300-slip marina. Fort Monroe also is home to Liberty Source, which assists businesses needing backroom help. The company, which employs 200 people, has expanded several times since opening in Fort Monroe in 2014. It was drawn to the fort’s central location in Hampton Roads as well as its historical significance.

“We have a social mission to provide long-term sustainable careers for military spouses and veterans, throughout and after their military service,” says Robert Siegel, the company’s president and COO. “I can think of no better place for Liberty Source to call home than a former army fort known as the Freedom Fortress.”

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission has signed a lease for a 20,000-square-foot building that is being renovated.

“We are also doing a $7.5 million renovation of the original Coast Artillery School Library and turning it into the Fort Monroe Visitors and Education Center,” says Glenn Oder, FMA’s executive director.

“The plan is for it to be completed in August 2019 as a legacy project for the 2019 Commission commemorating the first arrival of Africans at Point Comfort in August 1619.”

Project aims to address nursing shortage in rural areas

The James Madison University School of Nursing has begun a project it hopes will help increase the number of nurses serving rural communities.

The school is training nursing students in the Undergraduate Primary Care and Rural Education Project (UPCARE). The project, which will focus on Page County, is the result of a four-year, $2.7 million federal grant JMU received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention program.

The federal program provided 42 grants nationwide. JMU was one of three Virginia universities among the recipients. The other two were George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University. “We are the only school in Virginia that will be focusing on rural areas,” says Erika Metzler Sawin, the director of UPCARE at JMU.

UPCARE’s project partners will be Valley Health Page Memorial Hospital’s rural health centers and JMU’s Counseling and Psychological Services.

UPCARE is designed to address nursing shortages for primary-care, mental-health and substance/opioid abuse treatment at the health clinics. Page County was chosen because it is a rural, medically underserved area.

“From the viewpoint of the hospital, this relationship will help with recruiting nurses,” says Benjamin Dolewski, Valley Health’s operations manager. “Since nursing shortages are becoming more widespread over the county, any contact or relationship to bring quality employees to our organization will be beneficial.”

Nationally, rural health and primary-care medicine are not emphasized in many nursing programs, Sawin says. “This will help us to incorporate those topics into the curriculum in general.”

In Page County, the project will work with two health clinics in Luray, one in Stanley and another in Shenandoah. The nursing school plans to hire nurses that will be based at the clinics. “We will additionally be hiring a liaison nurse to oversee the nurses in the clinics and work with us at JMU,” Sawin says, noting a JMU-based team of four faculty members will help with the project.

Students applying to the project before entering JMU’s nursing program will become UPCARE Scholars. During the four-year funding period, 56 scholars are expected to receive training. “Hopefully this will help students learn more about non-hospital areas where they can work and also about working in primary care,” Sawin says.

Graduate psychology students also will work with the students on the treatment of mental-health and substance-abuse disorders.

Sawin expects the project to benefit “our students, who will learn so much, and I think we will be able to give the community a lot, too.”

Some Halifax solar projects receive stormy receptions

J.T. Davis is concerned about the rapid increase in the number of solar energy projects being proposed in Halifax County. 

“There is always the fear of the unknown and unintended consequences. Where do we pump the brakes? Where do we draw a line in the sand?” says Davis, a member of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors and chairman of its finance committee. 

The most recent project approved by the county is Foxhound Solar LLC, a 91-megawatt solar farm in the county’s Clover area. It will have solar panels covering 589 acres of a 1,479-acre tract.

Halifax’s abundant sunlight and the number of transmission grids and substations throughout the county make it an attractive location for solar projects. The county has approved six solar energy projects this year, and at least four more are pending.

Tax incentives also are a major draw for solar energy companies. Solar projects of 20 megawatts or more, for example, receive an 80 percent tax abatement from the state, plus federal incentives.

Solar projects also generate income for the county. The proposed 80-megawatt Water Strider project on 900 acres of land is expected to yield $175,000 in annual real estate and personal property taxes. 

Even though solar farms have an upside, they come with controversy. Three lawsuits filed on behalf of Halifax landowners — one against the Urban Grid project and the board of supervisors and the other two against the Water Strider project and the board. “The major complaint is that the projects will devalue their land,” Davis says.

The county’s solar project ordinance is the most stringent in the state, says Davis. “We have setbacks, rigorous screening requirements, the creation of a pollinator habitat and decommissioning costs if the project is not renewed.”

The supervisors recently changed the ordinance with regard to how many projects can exist in a 5-mile radius.

Matt Kearns, chief development officer for Boston-based Longroad Energy Partners, which is working on the Foxhound project, says the company is fine with the county’s requirements.

“The county has very strong standards for solar projects, and we were willing to meet those,” he says. “We try to be good neighbors.”

Offering a helping hand

Cheryl Brown now is living in a newly repaired apartment in Richmond, thanks to legal assistance provided without charge by attorney Chip Nunley.

Brown, a heart transplant recipient who uses a wheelchair, had told the management of her apartment complex that her ceiling was leaking and water was seeping into the kitchen. Eventually, the ceiling began to bow.

“She was in her kitchen cooking dinner one night, when the ceiling collapsed and sent her to the hospital,” says Nunley, a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth in Richmond. “The apartment complex didn’t do anything about it.”

Nunley learned about Brown’s predicament through JusticeServer, a custom-designed online case management system. It is an example of Virginia programs designed to provide pro-bono legal services to people who can’t afford attorneys.

In November, Nunley filed suit on Brown’s behalf in Richmond General District Court. In April, the apartment complex was ordered to move her and her belongings to another apartment in the complex, providing suitable alternative housing until repairs in the new unit were completed. “They were additionally required to cover the cost of moving her from the old to the new apartment,” Nunley says.

The attorney has represented about 40 residents in Brown’s complex. Several of those cases came from JusticeServer. “The vast majority of these people suffered in silence,” he says. “There is a tremendous need for lawyers in private practice to do pro-bono work for people who have real and fundamental legal problems like housing and can’t afford to hire an attorney.”

2010 conference
JusticeServer automates the process of matching lawyers to cases. “It cuts out all of the inefficiencies so lawyers can spend their time representing people rather than tracking down information,” Nunley says.

To gain access to the JusticeServer, attorneys sign up with legal-aid societies that use it and specify the type of cases they are interested in handling. Once they are in the system, lawyers have secure, confidential access to files. They can subscribe to an email notification service that alerts them when a case matching their experience is listed.

The creation of JusticeServer resulted from the Supreme Court of Virginia’s 2010 Pro Bono Summit, which examined the need to improve legal services to underserved clients. Capital One Financial Corp. developed an information management and case referral system, leading a project team that included the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation, the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, the Legal Aid Justice Center and the Virginia Bar Association Pro Bono Task Force. JusticeServer was launched in 2012. The portal went public the next year.

“This year we have rolled out JusticeServer 2.0, which is the next generation to improve performance,” says Harry M. “Pete” Johnson III, a Hunton Andrews Kurth partner who was a member of the committee that organized the 2010 Pro Bono Summit.

“My firm alone has handled well over 1,000 cases through JusticeServer since it started.”

More than 1,000 lawyers and law students in the Central Virginia area have registered for JusticeServer since its launch, and more than 10,160 cases have been handled. “That includes legal-aid clients and our nonprofit assistance program,” says Alexandra “Ali” Fannon, executive director of the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation.

A hotline provided by the Virginia Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division also uses JusticeServer to find cases. Volunteer attorneys contact callers to see whether they can provide limited answers to their questions.

“Young attorneys love JusticeServer. Instead of going to legal aid and getting a list of people, they can log onto the system at home or on their lunch break to see what calls need to be made,” says Johnson. “It makes things more efficient. It makes our ability to provide service easier.”

Tackling veterans’ issues
The aim of another Virginia pro-bono program is helping veterans, military service members and their families. They can find assistance through the Veterans Issue Task Force of the Virginia Bar Association (VBA). The task force evaluates requests for legal help, matching them up with Virginia lawyers who provide their services for free or reduced fees.

“We support veterans and service members in all branches of the military, including activated National Guard members and reservists,” says attorney Bob Barrett, chair of the task force. “We take a broad approach.”

Barrett, a veteran himself, is keenly aware of veterans’ needs. When veterans return to civilian life, they no longer have access to a variety of resources, including the services of Judge Advocate General (JAG) officers on their base. “Veterans don’t know where or who to turn to,” says Barrett, associate general counsel at Performance Food Group in Richmond.

The task force also can help active-duty service members when JAG officers are not licensed in the service members’ state or don’t have the expertise needed for their problems. “They are not always available to provide support,” Barrett says of JAG.

The task force grew out of a talk by Major Joseph Geraci, a United States Military Academy psychology professor, at a 2009 VBA meeting. Geraci highlighted the psychological and legal problems many veterans face.

“He gave a very meaningful speech that resonated with a lot of the VBA leadership,” Barrett says. Bar association members decided “this is a problem we are facing as a society” and they should help. They started the task force that year.

More than 280 attorneys are listed with the task force, which gets requests on issues ranging from housing and divorce to civil rights and employment.

“Some days we get five requests, and then there are days when we don’t receive a request,” Barrett says, noting that people can ask for help through vba.org/veterans. “It comes in waves.”

The task force handles only Virginia cases. Currently about 20 percent of the requests are placed with attorneys. “I wish the percentage was better, “ Barrett says. “Sometimes we don’t have an attorney in their geographic area, and sometimes we just don’t have attorney volunteers and coverage for certain types of cases.”

The task force works with other groups such as William & Mary Law School’s Puller Veterans Benefits Clinic. “We have an informal partnership with them. They can help with veteran’s benefits sometimes,” Barrett says.

The task force also offers training sessions for lawyers and veterans. “I have done training seminars over the years,” Barrett says. “I will be giving one on hiring veterans to try and provide some insight into the laws that apply when you hire veterans or service members.”

In addition, the task force provides training on the challenges that military service members often face in returning home. “We also do veteran’s advocacy, looking at what legislation can be passed to help veterans as well as service members and their families,” Barrett says.