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Tech-savvy ski resorts weather climate change
Warmer winters mean ski resorts must manufacture more snow to keep slopes open, but improved technology has helped offset costs and streamlined the process. Wintergreen Resort has more than 400 snow guns that over the season can cover 26 trails in 3 feet of snow, says General Manager Jay Gamble. Under optimal conditions over 24 [...]
Coworking hub for entrepreneurs opening in Harrisonburg
The brains behind the Staunton Innovation Hub are working on bringing a new hub to a new city: the $4.5 million Harrisonburg Innovation Hub is expected to open in late 2023, investors and partners announced Tuesday. Harrisonburg “has a very vibrant and growing startup ecosystem in place already, and there’s just a need f[...]
Fed’s Barkin asks, ‘What’s ‘normal’ anymore?’
The question Tom Barkin is asked the most these days is when the economy will return to normal. The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has a caution for those who may be wishing for the perceived stability of the pre-pandemic economy. “After two-and-a-half years of instability, we’re all ready [...]
New hangars, terminal in Winchester airport’s sights
This month, the Winchester Regional Airport will open the first group of hangars for midsize private aircraft, a public-private project that could end with 32 new units, bringing the airport’s total number of hangars to 100. The multiphase, potentially $20 million project is a partnership between the Winchester Regional Ai[...]
JMU fundraising campaign brings in $251M
James Madison University’s second comprehensive fundraising campaign, Unleashed, raised more than $251 million, the Harrisonburg university announced Friday. The eight-year fundraising campaign, which exceeded its $200 million goal in March 2021, ended June 30. It began with an advanced gift phase in July 2014 before JMU a[...]
Valley views attract scenic train tours
The views Steve Powell and his employees at Buckingham Branch Railroad see daily while riding the rails inspired him to launch the Virginia Scenic Railway. “There are a lot of people that love railroads, and we love sharing our railroad. It’s a unique way of seeing the Virginia scenery instead of riding on the interstate[...]
Virginia Realtors elect Winchester broker as prez
Virginia Realtors, the state’s largest trade association, has a new president and slate of officers for 2023. Katrina M. Smith, of the Blue Ridge Association of Realtors, will lead the group for the next year. She is the broker and owner of RE/MAX Synergy in Winchester and has been a Realtor since 2005. She led […]
Evermade Foods to expand Fauquier County operations
Warrenton-based Evermade Foods is investing $110,000 to expand its manufacturing operations and add 46 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. Evermade Foods is a co-manufacturer of prepared meals sold under private labels at grocery stores and through meal subscription services. The company has invested $1.7 million in buil[...]
Hotel revenues continue to outpace 2019, but only slightly
The commonwealth’s hotel industry is continuing its recovery, though the Northern Virginia market continues to be a drag on its performance, according to data from STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. The latest data show rooms sold decreased by 4.6% in Virginia through August […]
Regional biz mentorship program jump-starts startups
Ruth Rau started her business as a hobby. Now, seven years later, her Winchester-based toy company — Mouse Loves Pig — is on track to generate revenue in six figures. The entrepreneur’s toys for babies and young children are sold in more than 250 stores in nine countries, and she’s partnered with a manufacturing [...]
Mary Baldwin University president to retire
Mary Baldwin University President Pamela R. Fox will retire from the school in June 2023 after two decades, the university announced Monday. Fox announced her retirement during the school’s state of the university address. Her tenure, as the ninth president, is the longest in Mary Baldwin’s history since it became a [...]
Shenandoah University creating tech hub
Shenandoah University is connecting the future to the past. It’s renovating an armory on its main campus in Winchester where National Guard soldiers once trained before D-Day, turning it into a Hub for Innovators, Veterans and Entrepreneurs — the HIVE. “This building will be a game changer for economic development in t[...]
