Danville renders unto Caesars new zoning rules
Danville officials plan to create a new zoning district for the Caesars Virginia casino and resort, an option likely to speed up construction. Designated as an industrial manufacturing zone, the site in Danville’s Schoolfield neighborhood is governed by preexisting land-use rules that could lead to delays in building the $400 [...]
Danville chamber announces winners of first pitch competition
On Monday, the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce announced it had awarded four businesses a total of $50,000 in order to open or expand in Danville and Pittsylvania County as part of the chamber’s new entrepreneurship competition. Called Rev Up Danville Pittsylvania, the entrepreneurship pitch competition was based on the River District Association’s Dream […]
Fortnite video game CEO makes Va.’s largest land conservation gift
North Carolina billionaire and Epic Games Inc. CEO Tim Sweeney has donated 7,300 acres of privately-owned land in Halifax County to the state — the largest single private land conservation gift in Virginia history, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. Cary, North Carolina-based Epic is the company behind the massively popular [...]
VEDP, Martinsville receive $3.9M in federal grants
The city of Martinsville and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership have been awarded $3.9 million in federal CARES Act grants to boost economic development during the downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Thursday. Martinsville will receive a $3 million grant from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to expand […][...]
Hampden-Sydney receives $12M gift from alum’s estate
Hampden-Sydney College announced Tuesday it has received a $12 million gift — the second-largest in the history of the 245-year-old private men’s college — from the estate of a 1937 graduate and his wife. The estate of M. Blair Dickinson Jr. and Sarah “Lucile” Lawton Dickinson bequeathed the gift to the college, which Blair Dickinson […]
A bend in the river
An out-of-town trip to visit colleges with her daughter gave Christie Wall an idea that several years later she hopes will benefit her and her hometown. For fun, Wall and her daughter tried out an escape room — an interactive adventure game that requires participants to solve a themed puzzle or challenge in order to […]
Developments perk up Danville
Danville City Council members faced a dilemma three years ago. Council members could pay up to $185,000 to demolish a crumbling stucco apartment building on Jefferson Avenue, or they could spend $75,000 in matching funds to augment a $125,000 grant from the Virginia Housing Development Authority to stabilize the property, which [...]
Pittsylvania truck sales company plans $5.2M expansion
Chatham-based J&J Truck Sales Inc. will build a 45,000-square-foot facility off U.S. Highway 29 in Pittsylvania County, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. The $5.2 million project, adjacent to the company’s existing operation, is expected to create 27 jobs and increase its ability to repair, refurbish and fabricate automotive-based equipment. Virginia beat South Carolina for the […]
More vaccine going to Richmond and NoVa, as demand increases
More COVID-19 vaccine doses are going to be allocated to Northern Virginia and Richmond regions soon, the state’s vaccine coordinator said Friday, addressing higher demand in those areas of the state. Avula said he expects Northern Virginia to get 20% to 30% more doses next week. A large influx of Virginians driving severa[...]
Va. allocates $20M for broadband infrastructure projects
Seventeen localities statewide are receiving $20.1 million in grants to improve broadband internet infrastructure, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. The funding will support 11 projects that will connect 13,400 customers, the governor’s office said in a news release. The localities — primarily in rural areas — are receiving funding through the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI), […][...]
Danville, Eastern Shore first Va. localities to move into third vaccination phase
Danville and Eastern Shore health districts will be moving into phase 1c of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout this week, vaccinating a variety of workers from sectors including energy, higher education, finance, legal and housing and construction. Other regions are likely to follow soon, the Virginia Department of Health announce[...]
State reaches $39.3M settlement with defunct Keysville tobacco company
Twenty-three years after the landmark Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement was reached, defunct Keysville tobacco company S&M Brands Inc. has settled with Virginia for nearly $40 million, the attorney general’s office announced Wednesday. S&M Brands, the makers of Bailey cigarettes and other products, closed in 2019. It was started in 1995 by father and son Mac […]