Altria’s tobacco heating system approved as ‘modified risk’ product
Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc.’s IQOS tobacco heating system will be allowed to be marketed as a “modified risk” product, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled Tuesday. IQOS is available in 53 countries, and more than 10 million people have purchased the system, which is marketed to adult smokers [...]
Meeting Professionals International Va. Chapter chooses board president
Lisa Meriwether, tourism sales manager for Lynchburg’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism, has been named president of the board of directors of Meeting Professionals International’s Virginia chapter. Meriwether was installed as chapter president on June 30 and will serve on the board’s executive commit[...]
Charlottesville Chamber hires Defense Affairs Committee program lead
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce announced Monday it has hired retired Col. Lettie J. Bien as the inaugural program coordinator for the chamber’s Defense Affairs Committee (DAC), which serves as an intermediary information-sharing organization for veterans, academics and industry workers. A retired U.S. A[...]
COVID-19 death toll underreported, study finds
A joint Virginia Commonwealth University and Yale University study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the COVID-19 death counts reported to the U.S. public underestimate the true death toll of the pandemic in the country. “There are several potential reasons for this under-count,” lead author Dr. Steven Woolf, director […]
Troutman Sanders completes merger with Pepper Hamilton
After postponing its original April 1 merger date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlanta-based law firm Troutman Sanders LLP and Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton LLP announced Wednesday they have merged to become Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP (Troutman Pepper). Among Troutman Pepper’s 23 nationwide offices, the R[...]
A session to remember
In the six weeks between the Virginia General Assembly’s March 12 adjournment and its April 22 veto session, the world changed. The dramatic societal shifts brought on by the coronavirus pandemic were on display during the historic, surreal April meeting, in which the lawmakers gathered at unusual locations — the Senate [...]
Making a difference
As health care systems raced to locate new sources of personal protective equipment during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s engineering schools stepped up with innovative plans for manufacturing in-demand PPE. In Roanoke, where the number of COVID-19 cases has remained much lower than Northern, Eastern[...]
Richmond merchants pick up pieces after protests
At 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 30, Greg Milefsky stood in the middle of his store on Richmond‘s West Broad Street. The windows were broken, and the bikes — both the ones for sale and the ones left by customers for repair — were all gone. “People were coming in and stealing everything that was […]
Ex Chesterfield pharma CEO pleads guilty in federal opioid treatment investigation
Shaun Thaxter, former CEO of Chesterfield County-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Indivior PLC, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Abingdon to a misdemeanor criminal charge related to the U.S Justice Department’s probe into the marketing of Suboxone, Indivior’s opioid addiction treatment drug. Thaxter pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic […][...]
Cameron Foundation awards $1.13M in local grants
Petersburg-based The Cameron Foundation announced Tuesday it has awarded $1.13 million in grants to 24 nonprofit organizations in Central Virginia during its first round of funding for 2020. The two largest economic development grants went to Virginia’s Gateway Region and Virginia Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC). Virginia’s Gateway Region was awarded $136,063 for general operating […][...]
Virginia Employment Commission closes HQ due to COVID-19
The Virginia Employment Commission is temporarily closing its Richmond headquarters office after the fourth VEC employee in three months has tested positive for COVID-19, the VEC announced Tuesday. The closure affects 350 employees who work out of the Richmond office. VEC call centers and district offices have not been affected and will continue to process […]
VCU, UCLA research could lead to better computer memory storage
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), released research findings Tuesday that could lead to more energy efficient memory storage for computers and other electronic devices. Magnets are used for computer memory due to their “up” or “down” polarity. The magnet[...]

















