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Coalfields Expressway: Mostly unfinished and unfunded
Progress on a proposed 115-mile federal highway to improve transportation connectivity between Southwest Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky has been crawling in the commonwealth. Authorized by Congress in 1995, the Coalfields Expressway (CFX) — U.S. Route 121 — would run from U.S. Route 23 in Pound to Inter[...]
Rising to the challenges
Last summer, as I was eating dinner at a Norfolk bar with a group of my Lead Virginia classmates from far Southwest Virginia, one of them asked what decision makers in Richmond thought about their region. “Most of them don’t think about it at all,” I replied bluntly and not a little sadly. During my […]
Rising in the Southwest
Through decades of owning her own beauty salon and later a gift shop in downtown Abingdon, Cathy Lowe developed an interest in economic development. In 2006, she decided to run for town council and won — ultimately serving for 12 years, including six as vice mayor and two as mayor. Throughout her career, Lowe, who […]
SW community colleges to create wind manufacturing workforce
The presidents of four community colleges in Southwest Virginia signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to establish a wind manufacturing workforce development partnership. “Today’s MOU signing is meaningful because it demonstrates our resident and abiding interest in collaborating. Our four community college pres[...]
Coal waste project launches in SW Va.
A public-private project to evaluate the critical minerals in coal waste products in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky launched Wednesday with a community meeting in the Virginia Highlands Small Business Incubator in Abingdon. The project, Evolve Central Appalachia (Evolve CAPP), is part of an almost $1.5 million grant from t[...]
McGlothlins make nearly $60M gift to VMFA
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced Tuesday that Bristol-area philanthropists James W. and Frances Gibson McGlothlin have donated nearly $60 million toward the Richmond museum’s expansion campaign, including 15 paintings. Alex Nyerges, the VMFA’s director and CEO, said that a 170,000-square-foot wing will be n[...]
Sign manufacturer to open facility in Bluefield
Chicago-based custom sign manufacturer Signco Inc. will invest $650,000 to take over the former MC Signs facility at 334 Industrial Park Road in Bluefield, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. Signco, which is owned by Anthony Morrone and Vince Sclafani, expects to hire 19 workers at the facility. “Signco’s technology and custom product specifications are advancing […]
Finding new solutions
Movers and shakers in Southwest Virginia wanted to try a new approach to economic development. The stakes were (and are) high. Naturally, the decline of the coal industry had a devastating impact on Virginia’s coalfields. The Appalachian Regional Commission classifies four counties in Southwest Virginia — Buchanan, Dickenson[...]
Glove affair
You can hear the pride in Bill Mosher’s voice when he talks about his dad, Ken Mosher, and his career in the medical glove business. “He was in the glove industry for almost 50 years,” Bill Mosher says incredulously. Ken Mosher’s storied career includes being part of a team that in 1990 invented the nitrile […]
Hard Rock names president of new Bristol hotel and casino
Hard Rock International Inc. has announced a president to lead its hotel and casino operations in Bristol. Allie Evangelista most recently served three years as a vice president and general manager for Penn National Gaming operations, including the past seven months at Hollywood Casino Perryville, in Maryland. Evangelista has &#[...]
SWVA initiative seeks to attract remote workers
Project Fuse, a regional cooperative initiative to make Southwest Virginia the location of choice for remote employment, launched Friday with the release of a playbook to attract businesses. “The global business community seeks options for both attracting the employees they want and managing their operating costs,” Will Payn[...]
$714M Wythe medical glove plant is solo venture now
Developers broke ground in January on the $714 million medical glove manufacturing complex planned for Wythe County’s Progress Park. Only now it may be a solo project, not a joint venture. In October 2021, then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced that Alexandria-based Blue Star NBR LLC was building manufacturing facilities t[...]
