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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 […]
A jackpot for Danville?
The now-blighted property that was Dan River Mills when textile was king in the city of Danville will soon morph into the gleaming, $400 million Caesars Virginia casino and resort. At one time, the 80-acre site in the Schoolfield neighborhood was the world’s largest single-unit textile manufacturing site. Now abandoned, the un[...]
Growth and development
Despite dealing with the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern Virginia is celebrating the development of a resort casino, new investments in the area and several company expansions. The pandemic has presented localities in the region like Danville with a number of challenges they haven’t seen before, but th[...]
Martinsville credit union names chief information officer
Martinsville-based ValleyStar Credit Union announced Thursday it has hired Cheri Spence as its first chief information officer. Spence joined the ValleyStar board of directors in 2019 as the result of a merger with Entrust Financial Credit Union, where she served as chairwoman. She most recently served as vice president and CIO [...]
Averett University hires VP for philanthropy
Averett University announced Wednesday it has hired Melissa Wohlstein as vice president for philanthropy, effective Tuesday. Wohlstein has nearly 20 years of experience in higher education settings. She most recently served as the associate vice president of development at Hollins University. “With her existing connections to [...]
Wind industry training catches a Southern breeze
New College Institute wants to take the lead in building the state’s wind energy workforce. In January, the Martinsville higher education center became the first site in Virginia to offer wind technician training courses, certified by the Global Wind Organisation, a Danish nonprofit that sets international minimum standards fo[...]
