December 2022 Top Five
The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Nov. 14 to Dec. 14, 2022, included a Virginia Business scoop about a restaurant on the culture-war frontlines that became a national news story. 1 | Richmond restaurant refuses service to conservative Christian group Metzger Bar & Butchery canceled The Family Foundation’s reservation, citing the […]
Gloves off
Although many political observers doubt there will be much legislation of major significance passed by the split legislature this year, Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Petersburg, is gambling on a productive 2023. As one of a slight Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate, the only state body currently under the party’s control, Morr[...]
Suffolk logistics center moves ahead
Despite lingering community opposition, Suffolk officials remain committed to the Port 460 Logistics Center, a warehouse complex on Pruden Boulevard at the U.S. Route 58 interchange, a major freight corridor to the Port of Virginia. In September 2022, Suffolk City Council approved rezoning 540 acres from general commercial and a[...]
Virginia 500 Spotlight: Rex D. Geveden
CEO and president, BWX Technologies Inc. Lynchburg BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE TO GIVE TO OTHERS: Write and track your life goals — family, financial, career, experiential, spiritual, etc. I’ve been doing this for 35 years. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? My first real job was systems analyst at Teledyne Brown Engineering. PERSON YOU ADMI[...]
The main event
Updated Jan. 4, 2023 Like the quote from a possibly apocryphal Harvard Law professor, Virginia legislators can look to their left and then to their right, and one of their peers probably won’t be seated there next year, thanks to a supercharged primary field created by a late 2021 redistricting. And now, 61 of Virginia’s […]
Reimagining the corporation
Welcome to the New Year! 2023 is a new one indeed. Business as usual isn’t so usual anymore. Tech companies are downsizing faster than local daily newspapers. Starbucks baristas are the new trend in organized labor. Amazon’s growth is slowing. Global consumption and supply chains can no longer be taken for granted. Twitter i[...]
January 2023 For the Record
CENTRAL VIRGINIA On Dec. 8, 2022, Arko Corp., a Fortune 500 holding company for Henrico County-based convenience store chain GPM Investments LLC, closed on its acquisition of Pride Convenience Holdings LLC, which operates 30 Pride convenience stores in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut. The $230 million acquisition (plus the value of inventory) brings Arko to […]
757 Angels will partner with VentureSouth
757 Angels, a Hampton Roads angel investment group that matches venture capitalists with local entrepreneurs, is partnering with VentureSouth, one of the largest angel investment networks in the United States. Effective in June, the partnership will provide more access to capital and investors to 757 Angels’ 140 members. Estab[...]
MGCC workforce center to offer trades training
The Mountain Gateway Community College Real Estate Foundation will renovate a downtown Buena Vista building into the Wilson Workforce Development Center, likely starting early this year. It’s named for Buena Vista philanthropist Joe Wilson, who purchased the 8,750-square-foot former car dealership at 2019 Forest Ave. for $370,[...]
StartVirginia: Jan. 2023 Heard around Virginia
Vienna-based Attune’s indoor air quality sensor is the first North American-made indoor air quality sensor to receive environmental claim validation UL 2905, the company announced Dec. 6, 2022. The validation, from UL Solutions, evaluates sensors for accuracy by measuring multiple air quality parameters, including common pollutants such as total volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, carbon dioxide […][...]
Making the cut
The focal point of a New York Times exposé last year, Bon Secours’ Richmond Community Hospital was one of four hospitals in Virginia to receive top marks from patients in an annual nationwide survey. The Virginia results of the latest survey, which was conducted in 2021, are shown below. Overall, Virginia patient satisfaction[...]
Southwest Virginia could get small modular nuclear reactor
In early October, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced his goal of developing a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) in Southwest Virginia within 10 years, part of a plan to make the region an epicenter of energy innovation. Not long after, Youngkin said he planned to allocate $10 million to create the Virginia Power Innovation Fund, wi[...]