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Raising the bar
On May 1, Virginia’s minimum hourly wage will rise to $9.50 for most non-farm jobs, and for many business owners, that won’t be too disruptive. But the state’s upcoming Jan. 1, 2022, mandated raise to $11 “is of greater concern” to businesses, says Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel As[...]
Casino competitors roll the dice in Richmond
Two operators are battling it out to build a casino in Richmond, the final city where a casino can be built in Virginia under current state law. Later in May, an advisory panel is expected to recommend a casino proposal for consideration by Richmond City Council and, ultimately, city voters in November. Richmonders worried about[...]
The future is now
One of the biggest and yet to be fully felt impacts of the global pandemic is the way it has accelerated trends, many of which were less apparent before the COVID crisis than they are today. Even as public health concerns might begin to subside, the impact of many business trends will remain. Much of […]
On the road again
Major road projects are happening across the state, but the undeniable headliner is the largest infrastructure project in state history, the $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion. In October 2020, crews broke ground on the HRBT expansion, which will increase tunnel and interstate capacity along 9.9 miles of Intersta[...]
Passing the baton
John F. Reinhart Former CEO, executive director of Virginia Port Authority Reinhart retired at the end of March as CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, a position he began in 2014. During his tenure, the Port of Virginia started and completed a nearly $800 million expansion of its terminals in Hampton Roads […]
The Prophet
When Michael Saylor was a younger man, his good looks and cocky attitude drew comparisons to Tom Cruise. And like Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Cruise’s flying ace of “Top Gun” fame, Saylor is returning to screens everywhere after a decades long hiatus. Just over 20 years ago, Saylor was Northern Virginia’s premi[...]
Moving out
More than a year after the pandemic began, signs point to people moving away from densely populated city centers, says Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, an industry trade association based in Washington, D.C. The construction industry has taken note. Basu predicts: “This decade will be abou[...]
For The Record May 2021
Roanoke/New River Valley A proposal under consideration by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget could redefine Blacksburg and the New River Valley area from a federal metropolitan statistical area to a micropolitan statistical area. Blacksburg is one of 144 localities nationwide that could be impacted by the potential change that would raise the population […]
Work to begin next year on GMU’s $168M Arlington campus expansion
Move over, Silicon Valley. Northern Virginia is poised to become the next super hub for tech talent. The charge is being led in part by George Mason University, which is bringing together a diverse community of digital innovators at its growing Arlington campus. The university is tearing down an old building and replacing it wit[...]
Course corrections
Can an old college learn new tricks? William & Mary, the second-oldest institution of higher education in the country by virtue of its establishment in February 1693, is proving that it can. It has had little choice. The pandemic pushed the faculty into a steep learning curve to master online teaching, with 2,000 courses mov[...]
A fair trade?
While President Joe Biden will likely strike a more diplomatic tone with China than his predecessor, economists and other observers believe the United States’ rocky trade relationship with its biggest economic rival will remain contentious — which will impact Virginia’s economy. Under former President Donald Trump, the U.S[...]
Making it rain
For Hanover County Economic Development Director Linwood Thomas, things couldn’t get much better. “It’s really been a perfect storm,” Thomas says. That storm — the good type — is a deluge of distribution centers and warehouses that have opened recently or are currently in the pipeline for the county of about 108,000 [...]
