Va. new jobless claims up 171%
For the April 19-24 filing week, 37,356 Virginians submitted initial unemployment claims, a 171.6% increase from the previous week, but a 48.4% decrease from this time a year ago, when jobless claims were near a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Virginia Employment Commission reports that last week’s number of initial[...]
Virginia Business wins four VPA awards
Virginia Business received four Virginia Press Association journalism awards this week, including two first-place prizes for news writing and magazine cover design in the specialty publications division. Deputy Editor Rich Griset placed first in the news writing portfolio category for three stories he wrote in 2020, including: F[...]
New president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group named
Brian K. Skinner has been named president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group, which includes all financial divisions of Suffolk-based TowneBank other than the bank itself. Skinner, currently the company’s chief banking officer, starts his new role effective May 1, TowneBank announced Thursday. His new duties include[...]
Traeger Grills plans $3M facility in Wythe County
Traeger Grills, manufacturer of the world’s top-selling wood pellet grill and signature hardwood pellets product, plans to build a $3 million manufacturing operation in Wythe County, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. The company plans to purchase wood products exclusively sourced from Virginia and create 15 jobs in Wythe, the governor’s office said. Salt Lake City, […]
Sentara Healthcare named one of top 5 U.S. large health systems
Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare was named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in an annual ranking by Fortune and IBM Watson Health released Tuesday. Sentara landed in fifth place, receiving five stars for clinical outcomes and operation efficiency and three stars for patient experience. This is the second year Sentar[...]
Ashburn-based CIS acquired by Indiana private equity firm
On April 20, Indianapolis-based private equity firm Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co. Inc. (HKW) announced that it had acquired Ashburn-based technology company CIS Secure Computing Inc. (CIS) from Oklahoma City-based Acorn Growth Cos. LLC. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CIS is a provider of secure and customized communications technologies that help […]
SAIC plans to purchase Seattle AI company
Reston-based Fortune 500 government and defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) plans to acquire Koverse, a Seattle data management company focused on artificial intelligence, SAIC announced Monday. The companies have entered into a definitive agreement, and financial terms of the deal were not disclos[...]
Danville chamber announces winners of first pitch competition
On Monday, the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce announced it had awarded four businesses a total of $50,000 in order to open or expand in Danville and Pittsylvania County as part of the chamber’s new entrepreneurship competition. Called Rev Up Danville Pittsylvania, the entrepreneurship pitch competition was based on the River District Association’s Dream […]
Chantilly-based VTG awarded $116M defense contract
Chantilly-based engineering firm VTG announced Tuesday that it has been awarded a $116 million, five-year contract from the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC-PAC) to provide C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) engineering and production services to the center’s Network Integration Engineering Facility (NIEF). The NIWC-PAC NIEF, located at San Diego’s Nav[...]
LewisGale to open standalone ER in Roanoke
On Monday, LewisGale Regional Health System held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new freestanding emergency room in Roanoke. Located at 1423 West Ruritan Road, the nearly 10,000-square-foot facility will be named LewisGale Medical Center Blue Hills ER and be staffed with board-certified emergency room physicians and nurses 24 ho[...]
Technica Corp. wins $38M FBI contract
Sterling-based Technica Corp. announced Monday it has received a $38 million contract from the FBI to support the agency’s data, optical and communications networks over the next four-and-a-half years if all options are exercised. The network services and engineering support task order was awarded from the FBI’s IT Supplies and Support Services contract for the […]
Graduation plans vary across Virginia universities
RICHMOND, Va. — College graduations will still look different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but more Virginia universities are returning to in-person ceremonies. Graduations will be held online, in person or a hybrid format. Gov. Ralph Northam announced last month preliminary guidance for graduation events, which continues[...]