Facebook awards nearly $170k in grants to three Va. newsrooms
Facebook Inc. announced Thursday that it has awarded a total of nearly $170,000 from its COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program to three Virginia media outlets: The Richmond Free Press, Charlottesville Tomorrow and the Henrico Citizen. Facebook received more than 2,000 applications for the funding, dividing more than $10 million in grants among 144 […]
Va. COVID-19 cases at 21,500+
Virginia has identified 21,570 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases statewide, the Virginia Department of Health reported Thursday. Nearly 3,000 Virginians are hospitalized from the coronavirus and there are 769 deaths attributed to the disease in the commonwealth . More than 65% of the deaths occurred in long-term care facilit[...]
Nearly 60k Virginians filed jobless claims last week
Nearly 60,000 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission, a decrease of about 12,000 jobless claims from the week prior. “Though the 17.7% decline indicates that the volume of initial claims has retreated from its recent peak, it may not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time,” VEC […]
Reston-based Ellucian names chief marketing officer
Reston-based higher education software company Ellucian announced Wednesday it has named Sharon Loeb as its chief marketing officer. She will lead marketing initiatives and digital transformation for the company. Loeb was most recently the executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Cengage Learning, where she led marketing, communications and public affairs for the company. […]
Fairfax consulting company names president
Fairfax-based IT and management consulting contractor Axiologic Solutions LLC announced Wednesday it has named Andy Baratta as its president, who will lead business development and growth strategy for the company. Baratta was most recently the chief operating officer at Fairfax-based Data and Analytic Solutions Inc. He also prev[...]
Drones tested for emergency medical deliveries
The sky’s the limit when it comes to COVID-19-related solutions. After being approached by the state government, the Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) partnered with Virginia Beach-based DroneUp to test how drones can assist medical professionals in delivering test samples and personal protective equipment[...]
ChamberRVA announces small business relief fund
Richmond’s regional chamber of commerce, ChamberRVA, on Wednesday launched its RVA Small Business Relief Fund to provide grants to eligible small businesses in the Richmond region that have been harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort is a partnership with Facebook Inc., which seeded the fund with $250,000 to be used in the first round of […]
Liberty University surpasses 100k online students
Liberty University announced Tuesday that it has surpassed 100,000 online students. The Lynchburg-based university’s previous online enrollment record was 98,000 students in 2014, and as of January 2020, it remained the state’s largest university by enrollment. “Liberty has been a leader in providing distance education[...]
Reston-based construction firm to donate $3M to COVID-19 efforts
Reston-based construction company Bechtel Corp. announced Tuesday that its corporate foundation, in partnership with the crowdfunding nonprofit GlobalGiving, will donate $3 million through its new Bechtel COVID-19 Fund to support communities around the world coping with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The money will go to nonprofit organizations providing vital services to people affected by […][...]
Reston-based Leidos acquires L3Harris businesses for $1B
Reston-based defense contractor Leidos Holdings Inc. announced Tuesday it has officially completed the acquisition of Massachusetts- and England-based L3Harris’ Security Detection and Automation businesses for approximately $1 billion in cash. The deal was originally announced on Feb. 4, when the boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, according to a Leidos statement. […][...]
Henrico printing plant closing, laying off 184 workers
Stamford, Connecticut-based Cenveo Worldwide Ltd. is shutting down its Cadmus printing plant in Henrico County by the end of May, laying off 184 employees. The company, whose customers include Virginia Business magazine, filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice with the Virginia Employment Commissi[...]
Virginia banks have processed $3.97B+ in SBA PPP loans
UPDATED MAY 7 Since the second round of funding for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) launched on April 27, Virginia banks have processed more than 46,000 loan applications for the COVID-19 relief funding for small businesses, totaling more than $3.97 billion as of May 1, according to SBA data. “All Virginia banks […]