JULY FOR THE RECORD
Roanoke/New River Valley Appalachian Power in late May issued two requests for proposals to help the company comply with provisions of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Under the VCEA, Appalachian Power must meet annual interim requirements as it works to achieve 100% carbon-free energy generation in its Virginia service territory by 2050. The utility is […]
G-Men headed for Springfield? Possibly.
After being sidelined during the Trump administration, the plan to build a new FBI headquarters in the Washington, D.C., suburbs appears to be back on track. Earlier this year, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, and their Maryland counterparts wrote to President Joe Biden to request that the federal government[...]
Region hopes for jolt from batteries, electrification
Adam Wells is charged up about a plan to create a “battery and electrification economy” in Southwest Virginia. “This is the most exciting thing that I’m working on,” says Wells, Appalachian Voices’ Norton-based regional director of community and economic development. The environmental nonprofit led the effort that pe[...]
Va. Tech researchers make Spot go
Spot can’t dance. Well, Spot could, but you’d have to pay extra for that. “Spot out of the box cannot do all those tricks,” says Virginia Tech doctoral student Srijeet Halder. Spot is Boston Robotics’ $74,500 four-legged walking platform, a star of viral dancing videos that also has the ability to navigate stairs, avoi[...]
Pittsylvania officials hope to spur brownfields development
Pittsylvania County’s growth trajectory received an added boost in May when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the county a $600,000 grant to conduct environmental due diligence on 18 brownfield sites in the county. Five of the sites are considered high priorities. They include the former Southside Manufacturing [...]
Chesterfield eyes zoning overhaul to boost development
In 1980, developer George Emerson stood in a wooded area of Chesterfield County’s Bermuda district and told a contractor where he wanted to build a road. Without any formal plan endorsed by the county, Emerson built the Walthall Industrial Parkway, opening the adjacent land for industrial development. Times have changed, and s[...]
Sentara recruits local, diverse suppliers
With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing weaknesses in the global supply chain, Sentara Healthcare is ramping up efforts to diversify its vendors, committing executive leadership and resources to growing partnerships with local and regional suppliers, as well as companies owned by women, veterans and people of color. “We are being [...]
Timber exporter building $1.1M facility in Suffolk
Kristi Corp. a global supplier of industrial raw materials for aluminum and steel metallurgical industries, will build a $1.1 million log load and fumigation facility in Suffolk, creating 10 jobs, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The company will source 100% of its exports from Virginia logging companies. Virginia competed with North Carolina and Pennsylvania […]
Va. Museum of Fine Arts plans $190M expansion
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has hired the Detroit-based firm SmithGroup to design a new wing of the Richmond museum in a $190 million expansion and renovation project announced Tuesday. The new wing will provide space for African art, photography and 21st-century works, according to the museum. Construction is expected to b[...]
SAIC lands $90M Air Force contract
Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has been awarded a $90 million contract to help protect Department of Defense Combatant Commands from small unmanned aircraft systems. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force and its Life Cycle and Management Center, Force Protection Division, the company announced in a Tuesday news […]
Chesterfield EDA acquires former speedway property
Chesterfield County will purchase the former Southside Speedway property for $4.5 million, according to a news release from the county’s Economic Development Authority. The county’s board of supervisors approved the transfer of funds for to the EDA for the purchase on June 23. The nearly 48,000-square-foot property purchase is part of a plan to expand […]
People Inc. names next president and CEO
Bryan Phipps has been named the next president and CEO of Abingdon-based nonprofit People Inc., the organization announced in a news release. The 17-year veteran of the community action agency will serve as senior vice president until current President and CEO Robert G. Goldsmith retires at the end of December. Phipp has more than 21 […]