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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, th[...]
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, bu[...]
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 standard[...]
Crown Holdings to build $145M aluminum can factory in Henry County
Yardley, Pennsylvania-based metal packaging tech company Crown Holdings Inc. will establish a $145 million aluminum can manufacturing operation in Henry County, creating 126 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. The company will build the 355,000-square-foot facility to be used for aluminum beverage can production in the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre. Founded in 1892, the Fortune […][...]
Packaging manufacturer to launch $45M expansion in Pittsylvania County
During the next four years, Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (IPG) will expand its Pittsylvania County manufacturing operation, investing approximately $45 million and creating 50 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The packaging products and systems company will add 30,000 square feet to its facility at 1101 Eagle Springs Road and invest in production, operations and […]
Laminating company to add 42 jobs in Henry County
Custom laminating company Laminate Technologies Inc. will invest $4 million to expand its Henry County facility in Ridgeway, creating 42 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The company’s manufacturing facility, which opened in 2012, is located at 775 Industrial Park Drive, where an automated hardwood plywood press line will be installed to increase its capacity […]
Amid leadership shuffle, Halifax sees silver lining
The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority has seen some upheaval recently, but officials say there are several projects in the pipeline as well as a new shell building ready to be occupied. In October 2020, IDA executive director Brian Brown was fired after being hired a little more than a year ago, a move that [&helli[...]
