The University of Virginia School of Law announced Tuesday that second-year student Tiffany Mickel has been named as editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review. She is the first Black person to hold the position in the publication’s 108-year history.
As editor-in-chief, she hopes to diversify authorship of law review content and expand the publication’s online presence.
“As always, we are committed to fostering constructive legal discourse among students, professors, jurists and other academics,” she said in a statement. “We aim to publish original scholarship that explores changing economic, political and technological conditions in society. And, in realizing this mission, we strive to value and promote the contribution of diverse viewpoints.
Mickel earned her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked as a management consultant at Accenture before attending to law school. She also founded playing card company The Heiritage, focused on Black female leaders.
She serves as membership chair of the U.Va. Black Law Students Association and as events co-chair for Virginia Law Women.
“As a publication led almost entirely by white cisgender men during the first 65 years of its existence, the Law Review has come a remarkably long way in honoring its commitment to inclusion,” Mickel said in a statement. “Mirroring our nation’s complicated history with injustice, the journal’s past demonstrates a series of both triumphs and missed opportunities in strengthening democratic institutions and helping expand access to justice for all.
“Through acknowledging and learning from this past, the Law Review will continue opening its pages, membership and leadership to all voices, not just a few.”
The Appalachian Regional Commission announced Wednesday its 13 governors have elected Gov. Ralph Northam to serve as ARC’s states’ co-chair for 2021.
As co-chair, Northam will work with the federal co-chair to invest in economic growth and development across the 13-state Appalachian region. In fiscal year 2020, ARC, a federal-state partnership, has invested $161.8 million in the region, which is home to more than 25 million people. The investment is projected to lead to an additional $858 million in private investments, the creation or retention of more than 26,000 jobs and the trainings of nearly 21,000 students, workers and leaders.
“Appalachia is a vital part of Virginia, and America, with a unique history and culture, beautiful landscapes and resilient people,” Northam said in a statement. “I am eager to work with the ARC to strengthen Appalachian communities, improving their economic health and livelihood through investments in critical infrastructure like broadband, and services like health care, especially in the fight against opioid addiction.”
All ARC investments are made in partnership with the 13 governors and in accordance with the commission’s five-year strategic plan. Last year, ARC approved nearly $11.1 million in funding for 42 Virginia projects, which attracted an additional $50 million in private investment, created or retained 4,600 jobs and benefitted 750,000 Virginia residents.
“By exchanging new ideas from both sides of the aisle, we can bring high-quality jobs and economic opportunity throughout the Appalachian region,” Northam said in a statement.
Northam is ARC’s 68th states’ co-chair and fifth Virginia governor to hold the position, with Gov. Mark Warner last serving the position in 2003. Northam succeeds Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in his role with ARC.
“I know firsthand the invaluable role that ARC plays in the success of Appalachian Virginia and the region as a whole,” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with Gov. Northam and ARC to support Appalachian communities, especially as we work to overcome the health and economic toll of COVID-19 crisis.”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Office of Trademarks awarded Sterling-based government contractor REI Systems an $80 million contract to support application development and modernization for approximately 20 mission-critical systems, the company announced Tuesday.
Under the contract, REI will work on the Trademark Product Line applications, which includes a series of systems and applications that support the trademark registration process, with a goal to link IT support and delivery to strategies and business objectives.
“Federal Agencies are widely embracing REI’s Agile Delivery Framework, and seeing mission benefits as development teams engage with end-users,” REI Senior Director Samidha Manu said in a statement. “This opens the door to what is possible through app modernization and emerging technologies.”
The contract has a performance period of seven years. Founded in 1989, REI employs approximately 600 people and provides tech services to health care, national security, science, technology and government operations customers.
“This is our first prime contract with the USPTO, and I am confident that it will not be the last,” REI Chief Operating Officer Scott Fletcher said in a statement. “Thirty years from now, I expect that USPTO and REI will still be partnering in supporting the nation’s entrepreneurs.”
A $10 million round of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Pilot Program funding is available for Southwest Virginia projects focused on reclaiming abandoned mine land and promoting regional economic diversity, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday.
This is the fourth round of AML funding, which is administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. Projects must reclaim historic mining features and be focused on promoting renewable energy, agriculture and revitalizing “historically disadvantaged communities.”
“The Abandoned Mine Land Pilot Program provides important opportunities to repurpose land and water impacted by abandoned mines to advance renewable energy and revitalize historically disadvantaged communities in Southwest Virginia,” Northam said in a statement. “This program has funded several successful projects designed to develop solar resources, spur tourism, and improve infrastructure for new industrial sites.”
All projects must receive approval from the federal Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement. Virginia is one of only six states selected to administer the pilot program, with the DMME receiving the initial $10 million in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The state has since approved 15 projects for the program.
“Our agency has big goals when it comes to renewable energy and supporting historically disadvantaged communities,” DMME Director John Warren said in a statement. “We are seeing development on these historic mine sites and new purpose to land once thought unusable. That is quite the accomplishment of our team at DMME, and we hope to see more creative ideas that will help contribute to a clean energy transition.”
Potential applicants can submit project proposals via the DMME website through April 1.
McLean-based federal technology contractor NuWave Solutions LLC and Columbia, Maryland-based PCI Strategic Management announced Tuesday the companies have merged to form BigBear.ai.
NuWave CEO Reggie Brothers will become CEO of BigBear.ai and Sean Battle, former co-founder and CEO of PCI, will serve as vice chairman and chief strategy officer.
Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed. NuWave and PCI are both portfolio companies of Boca Raton, Florida-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners LP. AEI acquired NuWave in June 2020 and PCI in October 2020. Founded in 1999, NuWave Solutions offers data management, analytics, artificial intelligence and cloud technology services to government and business clients.
“This merger instantly creates a formidable player of scale as we take the next step in realizing our vision of creating a decision dominance platform that is uniquely positioned to address the growing threats of hybrid warfare,” AEI Principal Jeffrey Hart said in a statement. “BigBear.ai serves a critical role in national security, and we look forward to supporting management to continue to innovate to provide its customers with the latest technology solutions to better address their needs.”
BigBear.ai will provide services including artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, advanced analytics, cybersecurity, digital engineering, cloud solutions and systems integration. Its customers include the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense and the federal government.
“This combination is a game changer for the industry,” Brothers said in a statement. “…The company’s comprehensive and seamless approach to handling and analyzing data allows our customers to better manage risk and be more prepared for the future.”
The company currently employs 67 people at its 4114 Legato Road location in Fairfax County. Kreative Technologies provides information systems design, development, integration and sustainment for the federal health care industry.
“Kreative Technologies is a homegrown Virginia company, and its recent exponential growth illustrates how businesses of all sizes can find success in our commonwealth,” Northam said in a statement. “We are thrilled that Kreative Technologies will be increasing its workforce substantially with nearly 300 new jobs in Fairfax County, where the company will continue to benefit from the dynamic tech talent pipeline in Northern Virginia.”
Founded in 2013, Kreative Technologies provides services for the health care, finance, defense, civilian and commercial markets. Kreative Technologies in early 2020 upgraded to an 11,000-square-foot facility in Fairfax County as a result of company growth.
“At Kreative Technologies, we are constantly striving to meet our customers’ missions by transforming their vision into reality, and we empower our clients to shape the future by cultivating creativity and harnessing the power of technology,” Kreative Technologies CEO Adnan Karimi said in a statement. “Located in the heart of Fairfax, it is critical to our ongoing collaboration to be close to our customer base.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (SBSD) to secure the project for Virginia. VEDP will also support the company’s job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
“We are delighted to see Kreative Technologies expanding so significantly, because its focus on secure information systems and health IT is a perfect match for the tech talent pipeline that we are attracting and growing in Fairfax County and Northern Virginia,” Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said in a statement. “We are proud of this vote of confidence in our business climate.”
“Amazon is what it is because of invention,” Bezos said in a statement. “We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice and much more.”
As part of Amazon’s massive growth since its inception, the company in late 2018 announced its would bring its second headquarters to the East Coast — and Northern Virginia no less. The Long Island City area of Queens in New York had also been in the running for the headquarters, but Virginia came out on top. The $2.5 billion HQ2 project promises to bring 25,000 jobs to Virginia in the next decade. As of December 2020, Amazon had hired more than 1,600 people for its Arlington location. Bezos also owns a mansion in Washington, D.C.’s tony Kalorama neighborhood, which he paid $23 million for in 2016. (His neighbors there include former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.)
On the same day the company announced Bezos’ change in status, Amazon also released its record-setting 2020 financial results, showing a 72% increase in operating cash flow to a whopping $66.1 billion for the whole year, compared with 2019. Its net sales for the year were $361.1 billion, a 38% increase from 2019. For the fourth quarter of 2020, the company posted $125.5 billion in holiday-fueled sale. It was the first time Amazon’s quarterly sales have surpassed $100 billion. Amazon posted $7.2 billion in net income in the fourth quarter.
“If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal,” Bezos said in a statement. “People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive.
“When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”
Despite impressive 2020 financial results, Amazon stock took a sharp dive around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, around the time the company made the announcement that Bezos would be stepping down.
Henrico County-based insurance company The Hilb Group LLC made its third acquisition announcement of the year, with the purchase of Lake Success, New York-based Rampart Brokerage Corp. & Affiliates.
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded 55 years ago, Rampart Brokerage Corp. and Affiliates (RBC) employs nearly 200 people and serves as a broker for upper middle-market commercial lines, high net-worth personal lines, individual life and group benefits. Under the acquisition, RBC’s leadership team and associates will join THG’s tri-state operations and continue to operate out of its New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania offices.
“This is the beginning of an exciting chapter for us at Rampart,” RBC CEO Gary Morris said in a statement. “This partnership brings us additional capabilities and resources that will allow us to offer even more services and insurance products for our clients.”
THG was founded in 2009 and has been a portfolio company of Washington, D.C.-based investment management company The Carlyle Group since late 2019. Across its 90 offices in 21 states, the company employs more than 900 people. THG has acquired more than 100 companies.
“Rampart was attractive to us for many of its qualities,” THG CEO Ricky Spiro said in a statement. “They are a leading insurance broker in the Greater New York City metro region, which will expand THG’s presence in the tri-state region. The firm and its associates have longstanding client relationships and a stellar reputation in the marketplace, and we are honored to work with its strong leadership team and deep bench of talented production and service staff.”
It’s no Falwell-sized scandal, but interim Liberty University President Jerry Prevo issued an apology Tuesday for a snowball fight that got out of hand on Sunday morning.
“This past Sunday morning as I opened the curtains and looked outside, I saw a Liberty University campus covered in deep snow. Having lived in Alaska for the past 50 years, I own a lifetime of memories of joy spent in outdoor winter fun with friends. Lynchburg hasn’t seen a good snow in over two years, and much of our student body comes from areas of the country that never see snow at all,” starts the apology statement.
“I donned my gloves and coat and headed outside and immediately engaged in some snowball fights with a few students. From that small beginning, I invited them to meet on the front lawn to continue the fun with more students. The student body took to the idea, they showed up in large numbers and had the snowball fight. I stood front and center and led this event.”
The only problem? The crowd wasn’t wearing masks during the super snowball fight, so the event could have been a COVID-19 super-spreader. “I messed up,” Prevo admitted. “We did not think through or communicate the need to wear facial coverings and remain 6 feet apart in compliance with [the] Virginia governor’s executive orders for the suppression of the spread of COVID-19 or even our own COVID-19 operations plan. And the size of the group was not in compliance either.”
President Jerry Prevo apologized for the breach in COVID-19 protocol.
Prevo apologized for the breach in coronavirus protocol and said that social media photos of the snowball fight — which went viral over the past two days — have been taken down in the event they “undermine a culture of compliance.” He added that the university’s students and staff members will “rededicate ourselves” to following COVID protocols, including physical distancing and wearing masks.
Last year, under former president Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty ran into criticism regarding COVID, as it was the only Virginia university to welcome back students to campus after spring break in March 2020, during a time when most schools across the country were asking students to shelter in place as the pandemic hit the nation. Falwell resigned last August after a series of controversies and scandals, leaving Prevo as interim president.
With more than 108,000 online students enrolled as of July 2020, in addition to more than 15,000 students on its Lynchburg campus, Liberty is the state’s largest university by enrollment and one of the world’s largest private Christian universities.
Despite lingering questions around when or how remote workers may return to office life following the pandemic, Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday released fresh plans for the second phase of its $2.5 billion East Coast HQ2 headquarters in Arlington‘s National Landing area, where it is gearing up to employ 25,000 people during the next decade.
“When the public health situation improves and as regulations allow, we will continue to see value in bringing our employees together in a physical space to cross-pollinate ideas and foster collaboration,” John Schoettler, Amazon’s vice president of global real estate and facilities, said in a statement. “With our hiring and construction on pace, we’re ready for the next chapter.”
After two years of planning, Amazon released plans for its 2.8-million-square-foot redevelopment of the PenPlace block in Arlington’s Pentagon City area. The Amazon HQ2 complex’s next phase will include three 22-story office buildings with ample open coworking space, designed by Seattle-based architecture firm NBBJ. It will also feature 2.1 acres of green space topped by “The Helix,” a distinctive 370,000-square-foot spiral-shaped tower that will offer “alternative working environments” for Amazon employees. Trees and plants native to Virginia will be used in the project, which also includes plans for 100,000 square feet of retail and outdoor gathering space.
The helix-shaped design is a nod to Amazon’s devotion to the innate human desire to be connected to nature, as reflected in the e-commerce giant’s Seattle headquarters, The Spheres, which features a collection of more than 40,000 plants. The Helix building is expected to be completed by 2025 and Amazon plans to offer weekend tours of the facility, just like it does with its Seattle Spheres building.
The green theme doesn’t stop there. Amazon’s PenPlace buildings will be designed to meet the LEED Platinum standard, the highest certification for sustainable developments. The project’s all-electric central heating and cooling system will run on 100% renewable energy from a Pittsylvania County solar farm. In January 2020, Arlington County and Amazon entered into agreements with Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. to purchase power for local government operations and Amazon’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters from the Pittsylvania County solar farm. The solar farm is anticipated to be operational by 2022.
The PenPlace development also sets aside more than 2.5 acres of green space for public use, including an amphitheater to host concerts, farmers’ markets and outdoor movies.
Rendering of green space as part of PenPlace project. Photo courtesy Amazon
Aside from the new PenPlace development, Amazon has already made a major mark on the National Landing area. In December 2020, Amazon’s HQ2 developer, JBG Smith, announced that it had completed renovations on a 14-story, 273,000-square-foot office space for HQ2. Additionally, Amazon has leased a whopping 857,000 square feet across five buildings from the Bethesda, Maryland-based developer, which is also managing construction of an additional 2.1 million square feet of office space to be split among twin towers. JBG Smith’s Amazon development plans also include a one-acre park and 50,000 square feet of retail space.
“Despite many of our employees working from home at this time, we view our Arlington headquarters as a long-term investment, and we remain committed to creating 25,000 jobs and investing $2.5 billion in Arlington over the next decade,” Schoettler said in a statement.
As of December 2020, Amazon had hired more than 1,600 people for its Arlington location. In early January, Amazon announced it is committing nearly $340 million to affordable housing efforts in Arlington. The commitment is aimed at establishing as many 1,300 affordable homes.
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