The founder and CEO of Sterling-based JK Moving Services has purchased 270 acres in Loudoun and Prince William counties to be used for data centers that will provide 500 megawatts of IT capacity.
Chuck Kuhn, CEO of JK Land Holdings LLC and JK Moving Services, has partnered with Dutch data center developer and operator Yondr Group to purchase the land for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced Wednesday. This deal marks JK Land Holdings’ entry into the data center market, as well as Yondr’s first venture in Virginia. The first building is expected to be in operation by late 2022, the companies said.
“Demand for data centers continues to grow exponentially. With our leadership in real estate acquisitions and Yondr’s expertise in developing state of the art data center facilities, we look forward to partnering to meet the nation’s growing big data and cloud needs,” Kuhn said in a statement.
JK Moving Services is the largest independently owned and operated moving company and has recently been building its focus on moving equipment for data center owners, including hiring a new director of technology services in March.
Kuhn has been in the news in recent years for buying thousands of acres of rural land — much of it in western Loudoun County — and placing it in conservation easements. In February, Kuhn and his wife, Stacy, purchased White’s Ferry, a historic Potomac River ferry that closed in late 2020 over property disputes and remains shuttered.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin raised $8.3 million over April and May, the highest amount in Virginia’s gubernatorial field, according to campaign finance reports issued Wednesday. However, $6.5 million was from his own bank account, in personal loans made to his campaign over the past six weeks.
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe continues to dominate the field of Democratic contenders for governor in terms of fundraising, increased his campaign war chest from $8.5 million in early April to $11.3 million over the past two months. However, McAuliffe’s campaign also spent more than $8 million in April and May, and was left with $3.2 million on hand by the end of May, the Virginia Public Access Project reported. Youngkin, the former CEO of The Carlyle Group, started April with a balance of $3.2 million and had $4.3 million cash on hand as of May 27.
With less than a week left until the June 8 Democratic primary, McAuliffe remains the candidate to beat in the governor’s race, both in polling and fundraising. Former state Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy raised $1,027,753 over the past two months, building on her April 1 balance of $2.3 million, closely followed by state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, who raised $1,014,414 between April 1 and May 27 but started with a $442,042 balance. Del. Lee Carter and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax lagged far behind, raising less than $20,000 apiece during the same period.
In the attorney general Democratic race, incumbent Mark Herring outearned Del. Jay Jones during the past two months, bringing in $1.3 million in donations, doubling his starting balance of $1.3 million on April 1. Jones, who received Gov. Ralph Northam’s endorsement and started April with a $1 million balance, raised $674,306 over the past two months.
Del. Jason Miyares, the Republican nominee for attorney general, raised $247,891 since April 1, adding to his starting balance of $341,065. Winsome Sears, who won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, raised $326,931 over the past two months, in addition to her $64,020 April 1 balance.
As for the six-person Democratic field of lieutenant governor candidates, Del. Mark Levine leads the money race with $658,906 raised over the past two months, although he lent $530,000 to his own campaign during the period. Del. Sam Rasoul raised $543,973 since April 1, on top of his balance of $952,667, and Del. Hala Ayala raised $478,069 over the past two months, adding to her $154,960 balance.
Early voting in the Democratic primaries started in April and concludes Tuesday, June 8. Republicans chose their nominees last month in a nominating convention.
Sentara Healthcare and Greensboro, North Carolina-based Cone Health have abandoned plans for a merger first announced in August 2020, according to a joint statement released Wednesday from the two health care systems.
The Sentara Healthcare Board of Directors and the Cone Health Board of Trustees came to the mutual agreement to end affiliation plans late last week, according to the announcement.
The two health care systems, which would have had a combined $11.5 billion in annual revenue, with 17 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina, began working in earnest to merge earlier this year, after announcing their deal last August.
In Wednesday’s statement, Sentara officials said, “As this work progressed, we realized that each of our communities and key stakeholders require support and commitments from our respective organizations that are better served by remaining independent. The decision was a difficult one, but both organizations remain dedicated to advancing our common goal of providing outstanding care for our respective communities.”
The two systems were expected to finalize their merger sometime this summer, although a specific date was not announced. In recent weeks, Sentara announced the hiring of Virginia Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne as the health care system’s senior vice president and chief of staff, and Melinda S. Hancock of the VCU Health System as Sentara’s senior vice president and chief administrative officer, with both starting in July.
Sentara President and CEO Howard P. Kern said in a statement Wednesday, “Sentara Healthcare and Cone Health are high-performing, well-respected, community-focused organizations. Those similarities served as the basis for efforts toward an affiliation. I am confident that this mutual decision will not alter either organization’s ongoing commitment to meet the needs of our respective communities. Sentara and Cone Health remain aligned and in agreement that our first priority is to those we serve, and we believe this will be better done as independent organizations. I have no doubt that Cone Health will remain a top tier health system and will continue to pursue new and innovative ways to provide value for North Carolinians for years to come.”
Sentara has 12 hospital locations in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The health system employs more than 1,200 physicians and 30,000 people who serve in other roles. Sentara’s Optima Health Plan and Virginia Health Plan serve 850,000 members in Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio. The Cone Health system includes five hospitals in North Carolina, and the health system employs more than 13,000 people. Through its Medicare Advantage health plan, HealthTeam Advantage, it serves 15,000 members.
A long-awaited state report on an alleged culture of racism at Virginia Military Institute was released Tuesday afternoon, concluding that “VMI has … traditionally been run by white men, for white men,” although the state-funded military institution in Lexington has made “incremental steps towards a more diverse, inclusive VMI.”
In a statement Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a 1981 VMI alumnus, said, “The investigation found that institutional racism and sexism are present, tolerated and too often left unaddressed. While VMI has taken incremental steps forward since this review began, much more is needed. The question is whether VMI is willing to acknowledge this reality. The commonwealth will study this report carefully and then take appropriate action. VMI would be wise to do so as well. VMI is an agency of state government, and we will hold it accountable.”
The Washington, D.C.-based law firm Barnes & Thornburg LLP conducted the state-funded equity investigation into VMI beginning in January, interviewing cadets, alumni, faculty and staff. The firm’s final equity audit report describes the culture at VMI as “one of silence, fear and intimidation,” based on statements by current cadets, alumni and faculty — including during the investigation. “Interviewees reported that, in some sexual assault cases, members of the VMI administration have actively dissuaded victims from making reports. Interview respondents also explained that they perceived or experienced that VMI leadership puts a high priority on suppressing information and avoiding difficult situations, and less of a priority on addressing underlying problems. The [investigative team] had the same experience. VMI has taken affirmative steps to prevent negative information from making it into this report.”
VMI posted a new page Tuesday on its website titled “VMI Promise” that acknowledges the accusations and adds that the school is “a microcosm of society and not immune to the challenges of racism of sexual misconduct which occur on college campuses across the nation.” The statement notes, though, that “There are some who have made allegations that institutional racism is prevalent at VMI, but the facts simply do not support that position. Like many college campuses, we too have had incidences where racial slurs and racist acts have been perpetrated. That is not an experience that any of our cadets should have to endure, and we have taken action to address that concern. According to a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, VMI has implemented systems and training programs to properly address those issues.”
The institute also promotes its initiatives to “strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion efforts” on the page, including the hiring of its first chief diversity officer in late May. However, the investigative team found that VMI lags significantly behind other military colleges in DEI programs and that it “does not have a DEI plan, just a statement of diversity.”
In March, the firm released an interim report in which alumni and current cadets said they heard racial slurs “on a regular basis” at the school. A Black alumnus said he was called the n-word “many times” between 2018 and 2021, and in the mid-1990s, an Asian graduate said he “routinely” was called “sand n-word” by an upperclassman.
The final report also notes that sexual assault, especially against female cadets, is “prevalent,” yet has been “inadequately addressed by the Institute.” Fourteen percent of current female cadets reported being sexually assaulted at VMI, while 63% said that a fellow cadet — both men and women — had told them they had been a victim of sexual assault during their time at the institute. The report says that 27% of current female cadets reported being sexually harassed at VMI, and female faculty members and staff also reported sexual harassment at the institute.
A current female cadet told investigators that a staff member told one of her female friends, “If you cannot handle sexual assaults, you should not be at VMI,” the report says.
Despite “extensive” sexual assault training, “female cadets report that male cadets treat it as a joke and an opportunity for misogynistic humor, without consequence.” Many women said they reported their assaults but that they went “unaddressed” by VMI administration, and that at times administrators “intimidated female cadets to reconsider assault reports.”
The report determines that “issues of gender inequity and sexual assault may not be unique to VMI. But the character, quantity and severity of the issues described … do not exist everywhere. These issues are worse at VMI and they need to be addressed immediately.”
VMI’s statement on its website, though, said, “It cannot be overstated — sexual harassment or sexual assault is not and will never be tolerated at this institution. Perhaps what pains us most is hearing some cadets and alumni say that they were apprehensive to bring issues forward out of fear of reprisal. No cadet should ever feel the administration, faculty, or staff at VMI are not here for them. Addressing these issues is of paramount importance.”
In its recommendations, the five-person investigation team writes in the report that VMI should be required to submit regular written reports to the governor, the General Assembly and other stakeholders, but it stops short of recommending that “any of VMI’s core policies, practices and traditions, including the Honor Code and Rat Line, be abolished.” The report also recommends “that VMI leadership examine how it can create an environment that does not disadvantage or impose disparate effects on minorities.”
In the introductory summary of the report, the investigative team wrote that the school “has sustained systems that disadvantage minority and female cadets and faculty, and has left VMI trailing behind its peer institutions. If VMI refuses to think critically about its past and present, and to confront how racial and ethnic minorities and women experience VMI, it will remain a school for white men.” Although the installation of retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins — VMI’s first Black superintendent — as interim superintendent in November has led to some positive change, the report says that “many in the VMI community, including senior leaders, perceive no issues or reasons to change.”
Specifically, the report says that 42% of current Black cadets responded that they are discriminated against “a lot” at VMI, and half say they “strongly or somewhat agree that there is a culture of racial intolerance at VMI,” while the number of white cadets who agree with these statements are much lower.
“Racial slurs and jokes are not uncommon on post,” the report adds, and VMI’s response is “insufficient,” with administrators sometimes excusing such offenses, although the school provides “education and training” to cadets who say racially or ethnically offensive statements.
The report also says that a common opinion among white participants is “that there is not a race problem, but a problem with a divide between athletes and nonathletes,” with nonathlete cadets feeling that NCAA athletes receive preferential treatment at the school. As for allegations that Honor Court and Honor Code cases are conducted unfairly, the report says that they are fair “when examined in isolation” although of 91 cases involving convictions over the past 10 years, 41% of dismissed cadets were nonwhite, despite making up only 23% of the corps.
“Elimination of the fundamental elements of the Honor Code or Honor Court is not recommended,” the report says, but the institute “should include a root cause analysis of these statistics, revisions to training and procedures to implement more equitable processes.”
The report also says VMI has an “outdated, idealized reverence for the Civil War and the Confederacy,” including traditions related to the era “given disproportionate attention.”
VMI’s Board of Visitors has scheduled a special meeting Wednesday afternoon that the school described as primarily a closed meeting “to receive consultation regarding specific legal matters … regarding to the ongoing equity audit of VMI.”
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) released the 150-page report Tuesday. “SCHEV will not reach any conclusions or make any recommendations on the … study until after we have had ample time to review it,” SCHEV Director Peter Blake said in a statement. “We look forward to engaging VMI as well as the broader higher education community to consider issues raised by the report and recommendations.”
According to the school’s VMI Promise webpage, there will be a cadet-led Cultural Awareness Training program that is in development, with a goal of enhancing cadets’ “understanding of cultural differences amongst members of the Corps and to promote civility and respect.”
Last year, The Roanoke Times and The Washington Post reported recent cadets’ allegations of racist behavior and words by fellow students and faculty, including a Black student who said he was threatened with lynching by another cadet in 2018. The public airing of cadets’ complaints led to the October resignation of VMI Superintendent J.H. Binford Peay III, a retired U.S. Army general who served as the school’s leader for 17 years, and the removal of the school’s Stonewall Jackson statue, which honored the former Confederate general and VMI educator. Until recent years, cadets were required to salute the monument as they passed.
In May, VMI hired Jamica N. Love as chief diversity officer. She will report to Wins beginning July 9.
With NASA on the verge of returning astronauts to the moon and one day to Mars, Virginia’s federal contractors also are taking a giant leap into space, fulfilling millions of dollars in NASA-related contracts over the next decade and possibly beyond.
In a 2020 economic impact study commissioned by NASA, Virginia was ranked sixth in the nation for spending by the aeronautics and space agency, which was responsible for generating 27,000 jobs in the commonwealth (including 2,623 workers directly employed by NASA) in 2019, as well as $2 billion in labor income and $5.5 billion in economic output, including $219.9 million in state and local tax revenue.
In 2019, NASA was responsible for hundreds of millions in sales in several Virginia industries: $489.3 million in truck transportation, $475.8 million in electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance, and $461.3 million in scientific research and development services, mostly from the agency’s procurement budget. NASA’s Virginia presence includes Hampton’s Langley Research Center, where the Project Mercury astronauts trained, and the Wallops Flight Facility, a rocket launch site in Accomack County.
Recent headlines have focused on NASA’s Artemis program, the mission to the send astronauts back to moon and, ultimately, land the first humans on Mars. Artemis is set to send its first unmanned rocket up in early November, with plans for a new generation of astronauts, including the first woman, to land on the moon in 2024. (A Government Accountability Office report released on May 26 expressed skepticism that NASA can meet the 2024 goal, noting remaining “technical risks” and the fact that the program’s original landing goal of 2028 had been accelerated by the Trump administration in 2019.)
The November unmanned spacecraft mission will be launched with a set of rocket boosters produced by Falls Church-based Northrop Grumman. It’s part of a potential $49.5 million contract through which the Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor will produce twin boosters for the next three Artemis missions and three other Space Launch System flights by 2030.
Northrop Grumman also is producing the living space for astronauts during their lunar exploration missions. Known as the Habitation and Logistics Outpost — or HALO — the module is based on Northrop’s Cygnus spacecraft, which is used to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Awarded in June 2020, the $187 million HALO contract calls for the module’s launch with a power and propulsion element by the end of 2023.
“This contract award is another significant milestone in our plan to build robust and sustainable lunar operations,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement last year. “The [Lunar] Gateway is a key component of NASA’s long-term Artemis architecture, and the HALO capability furthers our plans for human exploration at the moon in preparation for future human missions to Mars.”
David Ray, who leads Science Applications International Corp.’s space unit, says lower costs are allowing smaller companies to enter the space industry. Photo by Stephen Gosling
Rising competition
Another major player is Reston-based Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), which is involved with several aspects of the Artemis program, including the launching system, lunar gateway, the Orion crew vehicle and the Human Landing System. The Fortune 500 contractor also has a hand in Commercial Crew Program flights to and from the International Space Station. And it provided validation and verification software services for the Mars Perseverance rover, which landed on the red planet in February. SAIC also will provide support for the eventual manned mission to Mars, ensuring that mission systems software performs correctly.
David Ray, who earlier this year became senior vice president of SAIC’s Space Business Unit, says the space contracting world is becoming more competitive.
In coming years, he suggests, tech and engineering companies of all sizes will enter the industry as the costs of space exploration and travel continue to come down. As technology evolves, he says, the satellites, sensors and payloads used on space missions are becoming smaller and less expensive, while maintaining effectiveness.
“It used to be that the cost of doing business in space was a high barrier to entry, but the lower costs create an opportunity,” he says. “It will open things up for new commercial players, with different avenues. It’s an opportunity for companies to say, ‘How do we take what we do well today, and the partnerships that are available to us now, and how can we add more value to customers in areas that weren’t in play for us a few years back?’ It’s a very exciting time.”
This shift in the space industry is already happening. Commercial firms such as SpaceX and Blue Origin — owned respectively by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest men — are pushing the boundaries of space travel, including plans from both companies to offer space tourism flights for deep-pocketed civilians as soon as this summer.
More crucially, however, these space startups also are now competing head to head with traditional, Fortune 500 defense and aerospace contractors.
Bumpy landings?
In April, NASA awarded Musk’s California-based SpaceX the contract for Artemis’ Human Landing System (HLS) that will carry the next two American astronauts to the lunar surface. SpaceX, which bid $2.89 billion, beat out Bezos’ Washington-based Blue Origin and Reston-based Fortune 500 defense contractor Leidos Holdings Inc.’s Dynetics subsidiary in Huntsville, Alabama. Each of the companies was a finalist for the contract, with each producing its own design for the lunar lander.
Blue Origin, which bid $5.99 billion, and Leidos filed formal protests with the General Accountability Office over the award. Although Leidos did not disclose its bid amount, NASA’s statement said that Dynetics’ price tag was “significantly higher” than the other finalists’ bids.
“Dynetics firmly believes our HLS design offers great potential to contribute toward NASA’s HLS program goals, and we believe NASA’s initial plan for continued competition remains the best approach to ensure program success,” the company said in a statement. “Dynetics has issues and concerns with several aspects of the acquisition process as well as elements of NASA’s technical evaluation and filed a protest with the GAO to address them. We respect this process and look forward to a fair and informed resolution of the matter.” The GAO is required to decide on the protested contract by Aug. 4.
Dynetics isn’t out of the picture, though. In the statement awarding SpaceX the contract, NASA’s Kathy Lueders said, “With time now to address the technical concerns as development continues, Dynetics could be positioned for future missions to the moon, either with NASA under Artemis or with commercial customers.”
Leidos, both under its current name and earlier iterations, has contracted for NASA for decades and is still at work on a 10-year, $2.9 billion contract providing tech support for 10 NASA centers across the country. The NEST (NASA End-user Services and Technologies) contract expires in May 2029. Leidos deemed it “a marquee win” in a statement when the company was awarded the contract in 2019.
As the mission dates get closer for the Artemis program, Virginia companies are likely to get more shots at NASA contracts.
In March, Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents Virginia’s 8th District and is the new chairman of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, said the successful test of NASA’s Space Launch System “brings us one critical step closer to returning to the moon and, someday, landing humans on Mars. After years of development, it’s gratifying to see important and encouraging progress in this key system, which we hope will eventually open opportunities for other scientific missions, in addition to NASA’s moon-Mars program.”ν
Freelance writer Mike Holtzclaw contributed to this story.
Maia Chaka, a health and physical education teacher at Virginia Beach’s Renaissance Academy, will be the National Football League’s first Black female referee, the league announced in March. A 2006 Norfolk State University alumna, Chaka has been officiating football since 2007, a journey that took her from high school games to the NCAA’s Division I, including bowl games.
Chaka is only the second woman ever to join the NFL officiating staff, and she’s been training with the league since 2014, when she was chosen to be part of its new NFL Officiating Development Program at age 31. This upcoming season, after years of work and perseverance, Chaka has been added to the NFL roster and has been recognized nationally as a trailblazer.
Although her officiating schedule will keep her busy, working with students continues to be her “No. 1 passion,” she says. “I always want to be involved in my community, always want to be within my school district, [and] I always want to be able to give back.”
Virginia Business: Let’s start by just talking about your relationship with sports. Did you like to play sports when you were younger?
Maia Chaka: I was just a gym rat, a complete gym rat growing up. I did everything at a young age: swimming, gymnastics. I played football in the neighborhood with the boys all the time. Outside of football, I organized sports, I played, I ran track, softball. I played everything competitively except for football, for the most part.
VB: Did you watch football much? Were you a fan of certain teams growing up?
Chaka: Not necessarily a fan of teams, but I watched all the time, and I played tons of [“Madden NFL” video games] on Sega Genesis.
VB: You’ve been officiating football for more than a decade now in high school and college leagues. What is the most exciting thing about being on the field as an official?
Chaka: I think just being able to see the plays up close and personal. Especially as you start to progress in your career, and you start looking at high-level competition or highly skilled players. I’m always in awe to see a player run or hurdle [over] someone. In high school, hurdling was illegal. Then once I started officiating college, and in some other professional leagues, that became a big thing. Everybody’s hurdling. When you see those kinds of moves, or when you see a nice spin move or even just a good clean hit, those are the things I enjoy the most.
Maia Chaka will begin refereeing NFL games during the league’s upcoming 102nd season. Photo by Mark Rhodes
VB: Has anyone ever run into you?
Chaka: Never been run into. I’ve never been run over or knocked down. I’ve never fallen on the field or anything. Knock on wood. Don’t jinx me right now.
VB: In 2014, you were chosen by the NFL for its Officiating Development Program. How does that process work?
Chaka: There’s a pool of about somewhere close to 4,000 officials, give or take a few. I believe 2014 was only the second year of this development program. At that time, they were really only selecting 21 officials out of that pool of 4,000. The 21 has now grown to a larger number — closer to 30 or so — but pretty much the criteria are [that] you have to show promise and have a lot of potential. You have to be coachable. Obviously, you have to have a good under-standing of the game of football, and you have to be excelling on the level that you’re currently working. At the time, I was working for [NCAA Division I] Conference USA, and I just finished working at my first bowl game.
Obviously, there was something that they saw in me that they liked, and they wanted to just bring me into the program and train me and work with me.
I really can’t pinpoint exactly what the formula is and why the NFL chooses who they choose to be a part of the program. I just know that they just look for solid officials. You have to be solid both on the field and off the field.
VB: When you go to training, how much time does it take out of your regular, everyday life?
Chaka: Pretty much once the spring hits, you have to prepare for July. All this is before the season even starts. Like, the football season itself doesn’t really start until August, when they really start going pre-season, but after you go to [a training] clinic, you’re sent to a training camp.
At the training camp, you work a pre-season game. Once you finish your pre-season game, you now go back and work your college season. That goes from August all the way up until December and January. At the end of your college season, you’re invited to come back and work for the College Football All-Star Game [in late January].
That’s one of the games where the players are preparing for the NFL draft. You have to switch gears from your college rule book, pick up your NFL Rulebook again, and you have to use that set of rules for those players.
It’s pretty much a yearlong commitment. You sacrifice a lot of holidays. You’re going to miss out on a lot of family time. You’re going to miss out on weddings, birthdays.
VB: After you’ve done training, how long does it usually take to get hired for the NFL season?
Chaka: I think I was on the program longer than anybody else was — four straight years, then two years off. For me, it’s a little different because I was brought in so young. I worked my first Division I football game when I was 28 after only working three seasons of high school football. I interviewed for the NFL when I was 31, after only working three seasons of Division I football. When they brought me into the program, I was very green. I had a lot to learn.
VB: Do you feel like things really shifted for you in your last year of training?
Chaka: During this last year, I felt I had a great understanding of the game because I’ve been around it for a while. I’ve gotten used to what it takes to actually be a professional, what it takes to be successful.
Also, as a female, to establish a solid network of people that I could communicate with is just one of the benefits about being in the program for so long. Pretty much all the new hires, you’ve worked with them.
I’ve got an understanding of how much I had to slow down on the field. As a woman out there, we want to show that we can keep up and that we can compete with these guys, when in all actuality you have male officials that are [in their] upper 50s and 60s who don’t move that fast anymore, but they’re always in the right place to make the right call. [I had] to watch film on the older officials to really get a good understanding of how I needed to slow down. I didn’t need to sprint.
VB: Can you explain to me what a line of scrimmage official does?
Chaka: We do everything, and I’m not even lying about that. We’re probably the only position on the field that can make a call on every single play. We get everything, like the false starts, defensive offsides, anything that deals with illegal formation. We have to have a legal [ball] snap, so the play doesn’t start unless we know that we have a good clean snap. We’re the alpha and the omega of the game.
We look for blocks. We start looking for things like holding [another player] or blocking back. We also have to look for pass interference and illegal contact.
Once the play is over, we’re in charge of spotting the ball where the play ends. We’re also involved in penalty enforcement when there’s a foul that occurs on the play.
We’re the brains of the crew. It’s the most difficult position in the National Football League to work, seriously, because of how intricate everything is. You have to be able to take information and process it quickly once the play is over.
VB: That sounds like so much concentration over a three-hour period.
Chaka: It is, definitely. Players get timeouts; officials don’t. We’re on the field, we’re on our feet, no matter what the weather. It’s almost like the mailman — rain, sleet or snow, they don’t care. It could be 40 degrees below zero, and we’re still out there. We don’t get to go on the sideline by the heaters.
VB: What it was like officiating during COVID-19?
Chaka: I worked in the [Pac-12 Conference] this year. I prepared so much to work in the Pac-12, and when we were supposed to kick off in September, they canceled their season. Then they decided at the last minute that they wanted to have a season. Our season started in November, when the season usually ends. We had a lot of cancellations and movement of games. I had games that I was supposed to work on a Friday that eventually ended up being played on Sunday. Not knowing if your game was going to be canceled or if it was going to be moved, preparation is key.
VB: Why do you think that you’re the first Black woman hired as an on-field official by the NFL? Why not someone years ago, do you think?
Chaka: For me, it’s just by default. If you look at the timeframe and where I was at a specific time, there really were only two women who were working Division I football. [Ed. note: Along with Chaka, Sarah Thomas was a Division I official then. She became the NFL’s first female official in 2015.] It was so weird because it was 2011. You would think that there would be more women involved by then, but there really weren’t. [Now], there’s tons of women that are involved. We actually have a couple that are in the [NFL] development program that are working very hard and they’re actually really good. I think with them, it’s only a matter of time before they get their shots to come to the league. I just think it’s a matter of women actually stepping outside the box and trying something. Also, [for] us in these leadership positions, we have to do a better job at recruiting and giving opportunities for young ladies.
VB: What are your students’ thoughts on your accomplishment?
Chaka: My students are very excited. This is actually funny — [in-person] attendance at my school has actually increased since the announcement was made. All my students come to class now.
Even on the Zoom meetings, it’s funny, I have parents ask, “Is that your teacher? She was on the ‘Today’ show!” I’m happy that it has that type of positive effect. I am able to give them some encouragement to come to school just to achieve and just to work a little bit harder.
We specialize with kids with unique needs, like a lot of behavior problems. Our school is predominantly male, [but] I have had quite a few young ladies throughout the years. I try to be a role model for them, to lead by example and encourage them to do something different.
I just love being able to share parts of my world, expose them to something that they normally wouldn’t be exposed to.
VB: Do you plan to continue working as a teacher?
Chaka: I’m definitely going to continue working as a teacher. Well, I don’t know if I’m going to be a teacher, but I still want to be in my school district. It all depends on what opportunities arise, but working with youth is always going to be my No. 1 passion. Always.
VB: What do you imagine it will be like 10 years from now in the NFL for officials?
Chaka:At least 50-50 in terms of minorities and a staff that really represents the players and the fans, because you have a lot of women who are huge fans of football.
VB: What do you think you bring to this sport?
Chaka: I guess I’m a big fan of humanity, and I just like to bring the human aspects of things. In the game — where everything is professional, where everything is black and white a lot of times — sometimes we’ve got to just stop and think. Let’s do what’s best for the situation or what’s best for this person right now, and not necessarily because it is the hard, black-and-white rule — when you just really work for the spirit of the game. ν
Virginia saw another decrease in initial unemployment claims last week, with 9,843 new claims in the filing week ending May 22, down 799 from the previous week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission’s Thursday report.
Continued claims decreased by 6,250 last week, with 54,163 filed by May 22. This time a year ago, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 39,242 people filed new unemployment claims, 74% more than last week, while 402,926 people filed continued claims, 87% more than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
Starting June 1, the VEC will start requiring unemployment benefit recipients to apply for at least two jobs a week and report details of job search activity, a requirement that was waived during the height of the pandemic.
Also, in a settlement of a federal class action lawsuit against the VEC this week, Judge Henry Hudson signed orders requiring the agency to clear 95% of its 92,000-claim backlog by Sept. 6. The state has ranked as the slowest in the nation in processing difficult-to-resolve claims, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of five Virginia women.
Gov. Ralph Northam previously ordered the VEC to invest $20 million in initiatives to speed up processing of claims, particularly those that require adjudication. The governor’s executive directive requires the commission to hire 300 claims processors, modernize its insurance system by Oct. 1 and make other immediate technology upgrades.
More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in the accommodation/food service, administrative and waste services, retail trade and health care and social assistance industries, according to the VEC.
The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 22:
Norfolk, 507
Fairfax County, 418
Richmond, 400
Virginia Beach, 339
Prince William County, 304
Portsmouth, 242
Chesapeake, 234
Newport News, 229
Alexandria, 228
Chesterfield County, 198
Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 406,000, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the lowest number of initial claims since March 14, 2020, the week before the COVID pandemic prompted mass layoffs. There were 1,902,792 initial claims during the same week last year.
Anne Lynam Goddard plans to retire next year as president and CEO of Richmond-based global nonprofit ChildFund International, the organization announced Thursday.
Goddard’s departure in May 2022 will come after 15 years at the helm of the 83-year-old organization, during which its name changed from Christian Children’s Fund to ChildFund International, reflecting the organization’s secular focus on charity work in Africa, Asia and the Americas, serving children and families in 24 countries. Its programs include initiatives around early childhood education, workforce training and disaster relief.
ChildFund’s board plans an international search for Goddard’s replacement, assisted by the Russell Reynolds search firm.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve ChildFund these last 15 years,” Goddard said in a statement. “I never imagined myself as a CEO — I just wanted to make a difference in the world. When I saw firsthand the terrible injustices so many children are born into, I knew I had found my passion, which ultimately led me to ChildFund, and I’m so grateful. It’s the right time for ChildFund to seek new leadership. Personally, I am excited to explore new avenues where I might continue contributing to helping children and communities thrive.”
Goddard is ChildFund’s eighth president and CEO, and she previously served in leadership roles at CARE, an Atlanta-based nonprofit championing the rights of women and girls. She also served in Kenya for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer at the start of her career and holds degrees from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the University of North Carolina.
ChildFund is one of Virginia’s largest nonprofits, with cumulative gross receipts of $207 million.
Virginia Business Deputy Editor Kate Andrews worked at ChildFund International as a writer from 2012 to 2017.
A three-building industrial/flex office complex in Chesapeake has sold for $61 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Thursday.
Washington, D.C.-based DSC Partners sold the property, which is 100% leased to several tenants, including General Dynamics and Sentara Healthcare, to a New Jersey firm, Heritage Capital Group, which owns Latitudes Apartments in Virginia Beach, among other properties on the East Coast.
Eric Berkman of Cushman & Wakefield’s Washington office and Eric Robison of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the seller. The properties, Crossways Commerce Center I and II, a three-building, 525,082-square-foot industrial/flex portfolio, are part of a 30-acre business park. The buildings are located at 1545 and 1501 Crossways Blvd. and 1449 Kristina Way.
In February, another building owned by DSC in the business park sold for $7.5 million to Virginia Beach property management company The Runnymede Corp.
Sentara Healthcare has hired Melinda S. Hancock as senior vice president and its first chief administrative officer, the Norfolk-based health system announced Thursday. Hancock, who starts July 19, is currently the chief administrative officer and chief finance officer for the VCU Health System, where she’s been since 2016.
Her duties will include overseeing several teams, including internal audit, compliance, legal services and privacy, and she will supervise the health care provider’s supply chain, enterprise analytics, strategy and mergers and affiliations. This is a new position, and Hancock will report to Sentara President and CEO Howard P. Kern.
Hancock previously was a partner at Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, where she led the payment model team, and was senior vice president and CFO for the Virginia market of Bon Secours Health System. She also worked in leadership roles at Culpeper Regional Hospital, as well as Ernst & Young and Deloitte.
She holds degrees in business administration and accounting from William & Mary, as well as an MBA in health care administration from the University of Phoenix. Hancock serves on several national and state boards, as well as volunteering with the American Heart Association and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“Melinda’s wealth of knowledge in managing complex administrative health care functions in the public and industry sectors will benefit us greatly. She brings extensive leadership experience and a strategic planning background that will be instrumental to Sentara’s continued growth,” Kern said in a statement. “She will be an excellent addition to our team that is dedicated to improving the health of our communities across all regions we serve.”
Hancock’s appointment follows Wednesday’s announcement that Virginia Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne will join Sentara as its senior vice president and chief of staff in July. The high-profile hires come as Sentara prepares to merge with Greensboro, North Carolina-based Cone Health, creating an organization with approximately $11.5 billion in combined annual revenue. Later this year, Sentara will add five Cone hospitals in North Carolina to its current portfolio of 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina. The health system currently employs more than 1,200 physicians and 30,000 other employees.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Sign In
Free Newsletter
