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House lawmakers stifle creative entrepreneurs fund
RICHMOND, Va. — Creativity should be valued as an important part of the Virginia economy, said the state lawmaker behind legislation to create the Virginia Creative Economy Grant Program. Del. Jackie Glass, D-Norfolk, introduced House Bill 2376 to establish a dedicated funding source for grant awards no more than $20,000 e[...]
Amazon Web Services to invest $35B in Va. data center campuses
Amazon Web Services plans to invest $35 billion by 2040 to establish multiple data center campuses across Virginia, creating 1,000 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. Youngkin’s office said in a news release that “numerous localities in the commonwealth are under consideration” for the campuses, and spe[...]
Rocket Lab announces December Va. launch window
Rocket Lab USA Inc. will launch the first U.S. mission for its Electron rocket from a launch pad on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County during a 13-day window that opens Dec. 7. The company announced the Wallops launch Thursday. The mission, called “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” will deploy satellit[...]
Mighty Dream Day 2: Finding and seizing opportunities
The second day of Pharrell Williams‘ Mighty Dream Forum in Norfolk included poetry, news about Williams’ Something in the Water music festival and advice for entrepreneurs. Just as Mighty Dream’s first day was focused around a central theme of diversity and equity, the second day was largely dedicated to inspir[...]
Something in the Water will return to Va. Beach in 2023
Music superstar and Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams announced Wednesday that his signature three-day music festival, Something in the Water, will again be held in Virginia Beach on April 28-30, 2023, after the festival moved to Washington, D.C., this summer. The inaugural Something in the Water festival was held on the V[...]
Mighty Dream Day 1 focuses on diversity, equity
Grammy winning music superstar Pharrell Williams put on his business hat Tuesday in Norfolk, welcoming attendees to his Mighty Dream forum, which he likened to an event like the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “but for marginalized communities.” The three-day forum kicked off with spoken-word poetry and a mighty [...]
Leidos receives $1.5B DOD task order
Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Leidos has received a task order valued up to $1.5 billion to support the Department of Defense with technology to enhance its Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) missions, the company announced Wednesday. Under the contract, Leidos will focus on the rapid insertion of technologies across […][...]
Virginia 500: The 2022 Power List
Who are Virginia’s most powerful and influential leaders in business, government, politics and education this year? Find out in the third annual edition of the Virginia 500: The 2022-23 Power List. Read more about how we assembled the Virginia 500 from our editor. And see a note from our publisher about the power of leadershi[...]
Lego to build $1B factory in Chesterfield
It’s highly unlikely that it will be built from brightly colored plastic bricks, but the Lego Group will be bringing a $1 billion toy manufacturing plant to Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park, creating more than 1,760 jobs, the company and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday during a press[...]
Medical cannabis companies amass political power in Va.
RICHMOND, Va. — Many small cannabis entrepreneurs say large companies are jockeying to lock them out of the industry and have funding that gives them more access to lawmakers. “Small businesses are the backbone of the country,” said Sarah Grant, general manager of The Dispensary in Richmond. The shop opened last year a[...]
Hotel workers must complete anti-human trafficking training
RICHMOND, Va. — After a few lawmakers missed time during the session due to COVID-19, Del. Shelly A. Simonds, D-Newport News, said she was thrilled to see all 100 members of the House unanimously pass a bill requiring hotels to provide human trafficking training for employees. “It was really exciting for me to watch the [...]
Legislators nipped Va.’s budding cannabis industry, advocates say
RICHMOND, Va. — Jacob Williamson grows, makes and sells hemp-based CBD products through his family’s Hens and Hemp farm. He went through the permitting process to be a hemp farmer when it became legal in 2019, but now he is leaving the industry. “We can’t keep up with the multimillion-dollar cannabis industry com[...]
