NRV passenger rail on track for 2027
Sooner than initially anticipated, rail passengers will be able to ride to and from the New River Valley for the first time since 1979. In late August 2024, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority approved a deal that would bring Amtrak service to the region via Norfolk Southern’s main line from Roanoke by 2027. Passengers would[...]
Micron to invest $2.17B in Manassas expansion
Semiconductor company Micron Technology will invest up to $2.17 billion to expand its Manassas manufacturing facility, creating an expected 340 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. Micron will modernize the plant at 9600 Godwin Drive to produce dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips for automotive, aerospace, defense a[...]
GDIT wins $5.57B contract to upgrade military communications system
Falls Church-based General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of Reston Fortune 100 defense contractor General Dynamics, has won a $5.57 billion contract from the Air Force Mission Partner Capabilities Office, it announced Friday. Awarded in November, the single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contr[...]
Capital One, Discover clear hurdles for $35.3B megadeal
Announced in February, McLean-based Capital One Financial’s proposed $35.3 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services is moving forward, with stockholders’ votes scheduled early next year, the credit card giants announced this week. Capital One also announced Thursday it received approval from the Office of t[...]
Dollar Tree makes interim CEO permanent
Dollar Tree’s interim CEO, Michael C. Creedon Jr., is now the Fortune 500 discount retailer’s permanent CEO. The Chesapeake company announced the board of directors’ appointment on Thursday. Creedon joined Dollar Tree in 2022 as chief operating officer and was appointed interim CEO in November, after former CEO Rick Dreili[...]
World’s first commercial fusion power plant planned for Chesterfield
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a Massachusetts-based fusion energy company, plans to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. “It’s a nearly $3 billion capital investment, paying taxes, and it’s a bunch of really high-tec[...]
Following public outcry, Roanoke developer pulls rezoning application
It’s looking like the Old Poage Farm property, which today sits next to U.S. 221 in Roanoke County, will remain farmland a while longer. The land was settled in the mid-1700s when King George III deeded hundreds of acres to Col. Robert Poage, but most recently, the property was proposed as a site for a […]
NoVa, Hampton Roads housing markets improve in November
The Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads housing markets in November showed signs of improvement from the same month last year, including increased home sales and selling prices. Northern Virginia Home prices and sales activity in Northern Virginia rose year-over-year last month, indicating a healthier market than the November 20[...]
Va. plays key role in McKinsey $650M opioid settlement
Global management firm McKinsey & Co. filed an agreement in Virginia on Friday to pay the federal government $650 million in a five-year deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice focused on opioid abuse. The Virginia attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) collaborated with U.S. a[...]
JMU receives $2.5M gift for new library wing
James Madison University has received a $2.5 million gift for the new wing of its Carrier Library. Alexandria residents Stan and Rosemary Jones provided the donation, which the Harrisonburg public university announced in late November. A 1954 physics and math alumnus of what was then Madison College, Stan worked for McLean-based[...]
Richmond’s Movieland at Boulevard Square to undergo $5M glow-up
Movieland at Boulevard Square, the city of Richmond’s only first-run movie theater, is undergoing approximately $5 million in renovations and upgrades. The project, which began in October and is expected to be completed in spring 2025, represents “the most extensive enhancements to the theater since it opened in 2009,” acc[...]
New dockworker strike threat looms for Port of Virginia
Shippers in Hampton Roads are bracing for a renewed dockworker strike in mid-January after contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance stalled in November. More than 45,000 dockworkers walked off their jobs for three days starting Oct. 1 at ports from Maine[...]