Portsmouth casino to solicit minority ownership
Portsmouth’s casino development partner, Rush Street Gaming, announced Thursday that it will offer 5% or $5 million ownership (whichever is greater) of the proposed $300 million Rivers Casino Portsmouth to a local minority-owned business or private investor who is a person of color. “Rush Street has a track record of inclu[...]
Va. hotel revenues continued to improve last week
Virginia hotel revenues continued to improve last week, according to data released Wednesday by STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides weekly market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. For the week of Aug. 23 through Aug. 29, hotel revenues decreased by 38% and rooms sold declined by 27% compared to the same week […]
Newport News federal contractor acquires Vienna firm
Newport News-based federal contractor and professional services company ITA International announced Tuesday it has acquired Vienna-based management consulting firm Innovative Decisions Inc. (IDI). A transaction amount was not disclosed. IDI provides decision and risk analysis, operations research and systems engineering services for business and government customers, while ITA International provides analysis, planning, training, exercis[...]
Eastern Va. restrictions to remain through Labor Day weekend
Gov. Ralph Northam said Tuesday during a news conference that he would not roll back COVID-19-related restrictions in Eastern Virginia prior to Labor Day. On Friday, Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer sent a letter to Northam asking the governor to allow alcohol sales until 11 p.m. and requesting that the state eliminate the 50% oc[...]
16 Va. hospitals ranked on national LGBTQ benchmarking tool
Sixteen Virginia hospitals earned a top score of 100 on the 2020 Healthcare Equality Index survey, a national LGBTQ benchmarking tool from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), released Monday. HEI evaluated more than 1,700 health care facilities’ policies and practices related to equality and inclusion of their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning […]
Environmental nonprofit plants itself in flood zone
As rising sea levels threaten urban coastal communities, the Portsmouth-based nonprofit Elizabeth River Project is intentionally building its new headquarters on the front lines. The $4.5 million, three-story building — set to be built on a flood plain along the river in Norfolk — is designed to withstand high waters. I[...]
Dominion Energy, Altria commit grant funding for small businesses
Updated 2:30 p.m. Aug. 27 Two Virginia corporate giants announced details Thursday on funding for small businesses in Richmond and Hampton Roads affected by protest-related damage and ongoing coronavirus hardships. Altria Group Inc., based in Henrico County, and Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. pledged $5 million each for small businesses and social justice organizations in June, […]
Va. hotel revenues continue to improve slightly
Virginia hotel revenues improved slightly last week, STR Inc. reported Wednesday. During the week of Aug. 16-22, hotel revenues decreased by 42% and rooms sold declined by 31% compared to the same week last year, but this marks a small improvement from the previous week, which saw a 44% decline in revenue and 32% decrease […]
Newport News-based ITA awarded $50M contract
Newport News-based defense contractor ITA International LLC was awarded a five-year, $50 million contract to consolidate and modernize the U.S. Air Force’s electromagnetic spectrum operations at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the company announced Tuesday. EMS includes an array of frequencies used for radios, GPS, cell phones and remotely controlled devices; previously used mainly […][...]
Virginia Natural Gas taps Robert Duvall as next president
Virginia Natural Gas President Jim Kibler will retire later this year, and former VNG president Robert Duvall will take his place, effective Sept. 4, the utility announced Tuesday. Duvall is currently senior vice president of customer operations at Southern Company Gas, VNG’s parent company. Duvall was president of VNG fro[...]
Va. hotel revenue inching upward
Hotel revenues in Virginia continued to incrementally improve last week, according to new data from STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group providing market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. During the week of Aug. 9 through Aug. 15, hotel revenues in Virginia decreased by 44% and rooms sold declined by 32%, compared to the […]
Business optimism down among GovCon officials
Business optimism among government contractor (GovCon) officials has dropped 16% during the pandemic, according to the Gauge Report, an annual survey conducted by Dulles-based software company Unanet and New York City-based CohnReznick LLP. “These concerns and sentiments are to be expected given the current economic climate,” Kim Koster, Unanet vice president of GovCon strategy and […]