UPDATED: Liberty University files $10M suit against Falwell
Liberty University has sued Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 million, accusing the former president and chancellor of the Lynchburg-based Christian university of breach of contract and fiduciary duty. The suit alleges that Falwell negotiated a salary increase and larger severance package in his 2019 contract while not disclosing to the[...]
Updated: McAuliffe leads total field of candidates with $8.5M on hand, $9.7M raised
Updated Friday, April 16 Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, running for a second, nonconsecutive term, raised $4.1 million in the first quarter of the year, according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday, placing him well ahead of the other Democrats vying for the party’s nomination for governor. McAuliffe’s[...]
Liberty’s renamed think tank names Pompeo, Huckabee as fellows
Liberty University’s newly renamed think tank, the Standing for Freedom Center, has announced a slate of five new fellows, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Also named as fellows are Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist who used to work for Planned Parenthood, and Libert[...]
CoStar to purchase Norfolk-based Homes.com for $156M
CoStar Group Inc. announced Wednesday it has reached an agreement to purchase Homes.com, a division of Norfolk-based Dominion Enterprises, for $156 million in cash. Homes.com is a residential property listing and marketing portal that brings nearly 1.8 million residential property listings each month to its membership base of more than 500,000 residential real estate agents […]
VEDP, Martinsville receive $3.9M in federal grants
The city of Martinsville and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership have been awarded $3.9 million in federal CARES Act grants to boost economic development during the downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Thursday. Martinsville will receive a $3 million grant from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to expand […][...]
VMI names Wins new superintendent
Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins was named Virginia Military Institute’s new superintendent by the VMI Board of Visitors on Thursday. Wins, who has served as interim superintendent at VMI since November 2020, is a 1985 graduate of the state-supported military college in Lexington. “Maj. Gen. Wins has distinguished [...]
Va. new unemployment claims fall 466% from previous week
About 5,000 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 10, a 95% decrease from this time a year ago when jobless claims were near their peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week’s 5,034 new claims were 466% lower than the previous week’s, when 28,526 people filed, according to the Virgi[...]
Tazewell metal manufacturer to create 40 jobs in expansion
No comment yet from Ozzy Osbourne or AC/DC, but Tazewell County-based heavy metal manufacturer Lawrence Brothers Inc. is set to expand, creating 40 jobs with a $3.2 million investment, the governor’s office announced Thursday. The family-owned company plans to upgrade and modernize its equipment at the Lawrence Road facili[...]
Rockingham County produce stand expands to 27-acre facility
Mount Crawford-based Overlook Produce and Farm Adventures will invest more than $850,000 to construct a produce packing facility and retail market pavilion on a 27-acre site in Rockingham County, according to an announcement Wednesday from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Located off Interstate 81’s Exit 240, the facility will replace Overlook Produce’s roadside produce stand and […]
Fed says Fifth District economy shows moderate growth
The economy has grown “moderately” in recent weeks, with strong production increases, employment rising and consumer spending up in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District, which includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland, according to the latest edition of the Fed’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. The Beige Book, which is published eight times […][...]
Mary Baldwin University announces $5 million gift
William H. “Bill” Goodwin Jr. and his wife, Alice, have made a $5 million gift to Mary Baldwin University to fund the launch of a new hybrid doctor of nursing practice degree program. The prominent Richmond philanthropic couple, who have given tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes, said in a statement that they [&[...]
Hampton Roads bank receives regulatory approval
Integrity Bank for Business, a new bank forming in Virginia Beach, has received all necessary regulatory approvals to open for business as a bank, it announced Wednesday. The approvals obtained include: the issuance of a Virginia state bank charter from the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Virginia Bureau of Financi[...]