Initial jobless claims dropped 21.9% last week, but remain elevated
Initial jobless claims filed last week dropped 21.9% from the previous week, but still remain high compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to figures released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission. During the week ending Feb. 6, 14,203 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims, compared to 18,177 from the week p[...]
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital names new president
Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare announced Wednesday it has hired Liisa Ortegon as the new president of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, one of the state’s largest hospitals. She replaces Carolyn Carpenter, who left to join Johns Hopkins Health System as its capital region president. Ortegon most recently served as senior vic[...]
Startup PPE manufacturer settles in Harrisonburg
Startup manufacturing company Valley Guard Supply LLC will invest $1 million to establish a personal protective equipment manufacturing facility in Harrisonburg, creating 45 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. The service-disabled, veteran-owned company produces three-ply disposable masks and plans to produce other safety and security gear, according to Northam’s statement. “Domestic manufacturers of personal protective [&[...]
Perspecta wins $201.5M defense contract
The Defense Information Systems Agency awarded Chantilly-based federal contractor Perspecta Inc. a $201.5 million contract to provide content delivery services, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday. Under the contract, Perspecta will perform work at government data centers both in the United States and worldwide. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization received four offers for the […][...]
Va. bank is first to allow customers to buy, redeem bitcoin at ATMs
With cryptocurrency use on the rise, customers of Charlottesville-based Blue Ridge Bankshares Inc., the parent holding company of Blue Ridge Bank, will now be able to purchase and redeem bitcoin at its ATMs, making them the nation’s first commercial bank to do so, the company announced Wednesday. Blue Ridge Bank cardholde[...]
Four community banks launch $1M minority business fund
The Bank of Clarke County announced Tuesday the launch of the Banking on Diversity initiative, a minority business funding program backed by Bank of Clarke County, BCT-Bank of Charles Town, The Fauquier Bank and First Bank. The four community banks have collectively committed up to $1 million in interest-free loans to help start[...]
Stride selects 47 recipients for new scholarship program
Herndon-based online education provider Stride Inc. (formerly K12 Inc.) announced last week it has selected 47 recipients for the first round of its $10 million investment to provide education options for underserved Black students. The funding was disbursed through Stride’s We Stand Together Scholarships program, which was first announced in September 2020. The first cohort […]
Washington Football Team taps NYC marketing agency for rebrand
The Ashburn-based Washington Football Team announced Monday it has tapped New York City-based marketing agency Code and Theory as its agency partner while it continues its rebranding process and selects a new permanent team name. With a branding partner selected, the team says this “kicks off the next phase of the team’s reb[...]
Three Hampton Roads revitalization projects receive $1M from state
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that $1 million in Port Host Communities Revitalization Fund (PHCRF) grants will go toward three projects in Hampton Roads including revitalizing the vacant 57,792-square-foot Willis Building in Norfolk, making updates to the Menchville Marina to aid the state’s oyster industry and redeveloping the 51-acre Lovett Point property in Portsmouth for […][...]
Texas education, training content developer will relocate HQ to Richmond
Education and training content developer Vytal Studios will invest $6.8 million to move its corporate headquarters from Austin, Texas, to Richmond, creating 155 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The company will renovate the facility at 1802 Semmes Ave. to include studio space for filming content and office space for development and post-production functions. “With […]
SAIC wins $830M Army contract
The U.S. Army awarded Reston-based Fortune 500 defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) an $830 million contract to provide engineering services for the branch’s Combat Capabilities Development Command, Aviation & Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC), the company announced Tuesday. Under the potential five-and-a-half-year contract, SAIC will provide hardware in-the-loop (HWIL) aviation systems engineering service[...]
MicroStrategy stock jumps 29% after Tesla bitcoin purchase
Following Tesla’s announcement that it had purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin, Tysons-based business software company MicroStrategy Inc. — which has converted hundreds of millions in holdings to bitcoin now worth more than $3 billion — saw its stock price jump by 29% on Monday. By Monday at 4 p.m., the Nasdaq reported that MicroStrategy’s stock […]