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Carilion Clinic CEO receives American Hospital Association’s highest honor

At the ‘s annual membership meeting in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Carilion Clinic CEO Nancy Howell Agee received the Distinguished Service , the association’s highest honor. 

The AHA released a video of Agee winning the award, which recognizes “significant lifetime contributions and service to .” In the video, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack noted that when Agee chaired the nonprofit organization’s board of trustees in 2018, her “visionary leadership” pushed the organization to “tackle value, affordability and disruptive innovation.” 

Agee has been active for more than two decades with the AHA, which advocates for member hospitals, health systems and health care organizations as well as health care providers and leaders, according to a news release about the award. Currently, she chairs the board of the Coalition to Strengthen America’s Health Care, an organization co-founded by the AHA that represents the interests of American hospitals and their patients. 

“With a nurse’s heart, you always ensure a patient’s perspective is at the center of every discussion and decision,” Pollack said of Agee in the video. 

In a release about the award, the AHA noted that under Agee’s leadership, Carilion went from “a collection of hospitals” to a “patient-centered, physician-led organization.” The group also noted her role in establishing a relationship with Virginia to open the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

The AHA video opens with images of ‘s sprawling Riverside Center complex, which workers began building in the late 2000s and now includes the medical school and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC as well as numerous doctor’s offices. 

“All of these things are a result of Nancy’s leadership, “ said James A. Hartley, chair of Carilion’s board of directors.

Launching her career as a nurse, Agee went on to become the lead administrative director of a National Institutes of Health oncology grant in Roanoke. She was later promoted to a series of leadership roles at Carilion, becoming chief operating officer in 2001, a post she held for a decade before being named president and CEO in 2011. 

Carilion’s board named Steve Arner president and chief operating officer of in May 2023, while Agee remains CEO. 

A 2021 study found only about 15% of CEOs of health systems are women. 

Jeanne Armentrout, executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Carilion, noted in the video that Agee’s management style is serving others. “She reaches out and mentors leaders regionally and even nationally and many times those leaders are women,” Armentrout said. “She really cares about mentoring women.” 

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia’s junior senator, also appeared on the video to congratulate his “great friend” on her award. “The last few years have been pretty tough for our hospitals, but you’ve continually risen to the challenge ensuring Virginians receive quality care,” he said to Agee. 

In the video, Agee said that the AHA honor doesn’t feel like an award given to her.

“‘s an award for all the people I get to stand up with, whether they’re colleagues all across the country or my own folks at  Carilion,” she said. “It’s an award that recognizes the incredible work that all of us in health care do. And what motivates us, what inspires us, what brings us to this hard work is the work we do to take care of patients to improve the health of the people that we serve.” 

 

Petersburg casino competitors roll out details

More details have rolled in about the five Petersburg casino contenders, all of whom presented their plans during a town hall Sunday at the Petersburg Public Library.

Hosted by state Sen. Lashresce Aird, D-Petersburg, the town hall saw officials representing Bally’s, , Penn Entertainment, Rush Street Gaming and reveal more details about their proposals, even though the city doesn’t yet have the state legislature’s go-ahead to include a casino referendum on this fall’s ballot.

Virginia Beach developer and NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, who is partnering with Cordish, has called on Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott to expedite an amended bill allowing a referendum this year instead of requiring a second General Assembly vote in 2025, which would delay construction of a casino by at least a year.

“Now’s not the time to play politics with the people of Petersburg,” Smith said in an April 12 interview with Virginia Business.

The state legislature meets in Richmond on Wednesday to vote on the 2024-26 and other bills amended by Gov. Glenn , who removed the reenactment clause from the casino bill, allowing a 2024 vote.

Here are the five prospective casino developers and their proposals, of which the Petersburg City Council may green-light one for as soon as this summer:

  • Bally’s, a major national player in the casino industry, previously vied for the Danville casino (which Caesars Entertainment ultimately won) and a proposed Richmond casino, ultimately losing to Urban One in 2021. The proposed Bally’s resort, with a casino, 500-room hotel, restaurants and entertainment space, would be on Rives Road near Interstate 95, and officials say 15% of the casino’s equity would go to local people.
  • Baltimore-based Cordish, which competed unsuccessfully to build a casino in Richmond in 2021, received Petersburg City Council’s approval for a $1.4 billion casino development in 2022, but without state approval, that project was null and void. This year’s proposal is similar to the company’s earlier proposal, Smith says, and would include 400,000 square feet of , hotel and dining space, as well as a 3,000-seat entertainment venue. To be built on 90 acres at the intersection of Wagner Road and Interstate 95, the venue would be known as Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia.
  • Rush Street Gaming is the Chicago-based company that operates the Portsmouth Rivers Casino, the first permanent casino to open in Virginia. Its proposed Petersburg resort would include a casino, hotel, business and entertainment space, possibly off County Drive.
  • Penn Entertainment is based in Pennsylvania, and its focus is on “community ,” as opposed to those based in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Its proposal includes a 200-room hotel, an 8,000-capacity amphitheater partnered with Live Nation, in addition to a casino and ESPN sportsbook.
  • The Warrenton Group is a Washington, D.C.-based business developer that has an agreement with casino operator and the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, based in King William County. Its proposal is significantly different from the other four, as development would be in two different parts of Petersburg. A 160,000-square-foot casino and 200-room hotel, as well as restaurants and housing units for casino employees, would be at the “Southern Gateway” location off Route 301, and a second phase, known as the “Northern Gateway” on the waterfront of Pocahontas Island, would include a 100-to-150-room hotel, 120,000 square feet of retail and housing for Virginia State University students.
Rendering of Cordish Cos.’ proposed Petersburg casino development, which would include retail and residential buildings. Image courtesy Cordish

Who’s involved

Smith, who played defensive end for the Buffalo Bills and the Virginia Tech Hokies teams, was on hand at Aird’s town hall. He said that the Cordish ownership team would have 50% minority equity participation, more than the other development teams vying for the opportunity to develop a casino in Petersburg and, if successful, it would have the largest minority equity participation in a U.S. casino. Other investors are former Philadelphia Eagles and University of Virginia All-American receiver Billy McMullen, former Cox Communications executive Gary McCollum and the Reynolds family, which founded Reynolds Metals.

The Warrenton Group’s alliance with the Upper Mattaponi Tribe distinguishes it as the only proposal with a federally recognized Indian tribe. U.Va. basketball legend Ralph Sampson, a Harrisonburg native whose mother attended VSU, and VSU President Makola M. Abdullah wrote letters to support the project known as Gateways2Petersburg.

Rush Street said in its presentation Sunday that its casino, if chosen, would have up to 40% minority investment and ownership.

There have been Black-owned casinos in the U.S. before, most notably by the late Don H. Barden, who owned resorts in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Colorado and Mississippi. In 2021, Maryland-based Black-owned media company Urban One promoted its Richmond casino as being the only Black-owned casino currently operating in the U.S., although the proposal failed in a city referendum. Its 2023 proposed venture was a 50-50 collaboration with Churchill Downs, and that referendum also failed, opening the doors to the possibility of a casino in Petersburg.

In 2020, the state legalized commercial casinos to be built in five economically underserved cities: Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond. The first four cities passed casino referendums easily in 2020, but Richmonders voted down casino referendums in 2021 and 2023. Petersburg’s process would be similar to the other cities’ processes, requiring the city council to choose a casino operator and a city referendum to win in either 2024 or 2025 for the plan to move forward.

 

Capital Square names chief distribution officer

Drew Jackson has been promoted to chief distribution officer of Capital Square, the Glen Allen-based company announced Tuesday.

Previously the president and CEO of Michigan-based financial services holding company Concorde Holdings, Jackson joined Capital Square in February as senior managing director of private wealth solutions. In his new role, he will oversee distribution of the firm’s investment offerings and will lead its and education initiative.

“Drew’s extensive experience on the adviser side and the immediate and significant positive impact he has had on Capital Square makes him an invaluable addition to our executive team,” Louis Rogers, founder and co-CEO of Capital Square, said in a statement.

Before joining Concorde Holdings, Jackson directed the wealth strategies group of Scott & Stringfellow and BB&T Securities (now Truist Financial), leading client-focused wealth management programs.

“While I am a relatively new arrival, I enjoyed a lengthy relationship with Capital Square during my tenure with Concorde Holdings,” Jackson said in a statement. “As a member of the executive team, leading distribution as well as training and education is a natural fit for me. I know the valuable impact tax-advantaged investments provide to investors. I couldn’t be more pleased than to devote my professional energies to help expand access along with training, education and tools to help investors and advisers.”

Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Radford University. He is a certified investment management analyst and an accredited asset management specialist, and he holds several licenses from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Capital Square specializes in tax-advantaged real estate investments and is a developer of multifamily properties. The firm currently has eight projects in the southeastern U.S. totaling about 2,000 apartment units and more than $590 million in costs, according to a news release. Since 2012, Capital Square has completed more than $7.8 billion in transaction volume.

Youngkin appoints lottery director, tax commissioner and chief transformation officer

Gov. announced three new hires in his administration Friday, including a new , chief transformation officer and .

Khalid Jones, a hedge fund founder, attorney and licensing firm partner, was appointed director of the Virginia , assuming the role previously held by Kelly Gee, who was named secretary of the commonwealth in August 2023. Tony R. Russell was appointed interim lottery director in September 2023. In addition to managing lottery ticket sales, the agency has oversight for the state’s industry.

Jones, who started as lottery director this month, according to his LinkedIn page, was previously a partner at All American Licensing, a and entertainment branding, marketing and licensing firm based in New York and Los Angeles, and before that, at The Koller Group and SourceRock Partners. He also served as general counsel for SourceRock and co-founded hedge fund Thrasher Funds, as well as serving as an associate at several law firms focusing on securities enforcement and intellectual property. Jones also helped start an esports team, Echo Fox, with NBA star Rick Fox that has since disbanded. He has degrees from Wake Forest University and Stanford University’s law school.

According to ‘s announcement Friday, Jones “has become one of the nation’s experts in licensing consulting, providing legal and strategic advice to state and national lottery organizations, [and] providing the expertise to lead Virginia’s lottery system at a crucial time of growth and expansion.”

, the state’s new chief transformation officer, previously served as a real estate senior adviser to Youngkin since August 2023, and was president and CEO of Skanska USA Commercial from July 2017 to November 2022. Before that, he served as chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Swedish construction company’s multifamily and commercial real estate arm.

A Virginia graduate, Ward was responsible for more than $4.5 billion in real estate assets across the United States at Skanska. He replaces Eric Moeller, the state’s first chief transformation officer, a job Youngkin created to improve efficiency and lower costs in state agencies soon after taking office in 2022. A former Kinsey & Co. efficiency expert, Moeller left the position in February, having made extensive changes at the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and the Virginia Employment Commission.

According to a February story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond business leader Bob Sledd, co-founder of Performance Food Group, appeared poised to become the next CTO following Moeller’s departure and had become a senior adviser to Youngkin. However, he left that position less than a month later for undisclosed reasons, the RTD reported in March.

James Alex, a partner and principal at RSM who leads the assurance, tax and consulting firm’s U.S. tax policy section, replaces Craig M. Burns, who retired last month as the state’s tax commissioner after being appointed in 2010. Alex previously served as senior advisor to the assistant secretary for tax policy in the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2018 and 2019, and was employed at Ernst & Young in its national tax practice from 1995 to 2016. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and has two degrees from Georgetown Law School.

NoVa, Hampton Roads home sales fall in March

Home sales in and dropped year-over-year in March, a reversal from sales growth seen in February. Median sales prices, though, continued to rise.

Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia in March dropped 13.8% from March 2023, a reversal from the year-over-year sales growth seen in February, according to data the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors released Friday.

Closed home sales for the region last month totaled 1,191 units, down from March 2023 but up about 14.4% from the 1,020 homes sold in February. New pending sales numbered 1,606 sales, up 0.4% from the same month last year.

“We had a reprieve in February as sales grew year-over-year for the first time since 2021, but March was a return to what we have been experiencing: lower sales from the previous year,” NVAR board member Christina Rice with Pearson Smith Realty said in a statement. “That said, I think February’s positive news represents a change that is going to slowly transform the market, getting us back to more normal market dynamics.”

Active listings in March totaled 1,210 units, down 14.6% from the 1,417 reported in the same month last year. There were 1,504 new listings in Northern Virginia last month, down from March 2023’s 1,744 new listings.

Reflecting the market’s high demand and low supply, homes stayed on the market an average of 16 days in March, down 27.3% from the 22-day average recorded in March 2023. The month’s supply of inventory (MSI) — a measure of how many months there would be homes on the market if no new inventory were added — stood at 0.9 months, the same MSI as March 2023 and roughly the same as February’s MSI.

The median sold price for a home last month was $730,000, up 9.8% compared to March 2023 and up from the February median price of $687,250. The total sold volume in March was $973.6 million, down 8.5% from March 2023.

“We are seeing less dramatic drops in year-over-year sales than in the past year,” NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin said in a statement. “Coupled with February’s good news, we expect to see more homeowners ready to sell in the height of the spring market.”

NVAR reports home sales activity for Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church, and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.

Hampton Roads

In Hampton Roads, home sales in March were down year-over-year, but supply rose, according to Information Network (REIN) data released Wednesday.

The Hampton Roads had 2,057 closed sales last month, up from the 1,709 sales reported in February but down about 9.66% from the March 2023 total of 2,277 sales. Pending sales totaled 2,317, up from 2,138 pending sales in February but down from 2,454 in March 2023.

March 2024 statistics for the Hampton Roads housing market. Image courtesy Real Estate Information Network
March 2024 statistics for the Hampton Roads housing market. Image courtesy Real Estate Information Network

The Hampton Roads market had 3,574 active listings last month, the highest number of active listings in a March since March 2020, when 6,820 homes were listed. The March 2024 total is also up 14.4% from the 3,124 listings reported in March 2023 and slightly up from February, which had 3,568 active listings.

Additionally, the month’s supply of inventory was 1.75, up slightly from the MSI of 1.73 in February and from March 2023’s MSI of 1.27.

“More inventory means more choices for consumers, which is a good thing,” Gary Lundholm with The Real Estate Group, president of REIN’s board of directors, said in a statement. “And as we head into spring and summer, having that additional inventory will hopefully help keep prices more affordable for buyers, while still ensuring home sellers get a fair return.”

Homes spent a median of 18 days on the market in March, down from 22 days in February but up from the 15-day median reported in March 2023.

The median sale price of homes in the region was $332,000 last month, up from $327,500 in February and from $320,000 in March 2023.

“The median selling price for homes in March 2020 was $249,900,” Lundholm said in a statement. “While that market was very different from today’s market, more choices for a buyer means that not only does that buyer have a better chance of finding the right home, but they might also have a bit less competition for the home they want.”

Founded in 1969, REIN is a regional multiple listing service that covers an area stretching from Williamsburg east to and south across the North Carolina border.

Bruce Smith teams with Cordish on Petersburg casino plan

Virginia Beach developer and NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith is vying for the chance to develop a casino in and has joined forces with Cordish Cos., the Baltimore-based entertainment company that has already made inroads in Virginia.

There’s just one obstacle facing Smith and other prospective developers, including Bally’s, Penn Entertainment, Rush Street Gaming and D.C.-based Warrenton Group: a piece of legislation awaiting action by the Virginia General Assembly. Virginia State Senate Bill 628 replaces Richmond with Petersburg in the state’s list of cities eligible to host a casino, clearing the way for a casino referendum to be held in Petersburg.

However, the House of Delegates added a reenactment clause to the bill’s wording at the last minute, which would require next year’s General Assembly to take up the bill and vote for a second time before Petersburg can move forward with a referendum vote — a move that would delay the development of a casino there by at least a year.

Gov. removed the reenactment clause and sent the bill back to the , which will vote on his amended bills April 17. If the General Assembly leaves the bill as-is, Petersburg will likely hold a referendum this fall — and that’s what Smith hopes will happen. He says Petersburg is ready and needs the economic benefit of a casino sooner rather than later.

“Now’s not the time to play with the people of Petersburg,” Smith said this week in an interview with Virginia Business, directing his remarks toward House Speaker Don Scott. “They need this opportunity — more so than any other city in the state of Virginia. This is a critical time. That is costing the city money [and] jobs, trying to alleviate the problems of food deserts [and] underfunded schools. We can’t allow folks to say one thing and do another. The time to act is now, and all we’re asking for is to … take the reenactment clause right out of the bill.”

The former defensive end for the Buffalo Bills and Virginia Tech Hokies plans to unveil details of his and Cordish’s casino proposal Sunday at the Petersburg Public Library. The proposed casino will be similar to a $1.4 billion development submitted in 2022 by Cordish and approved by Petersburg City Council in a nonbinding agreement — which became null and void because Petersburg did not receive legislative support to hold a casino referendum that year. Smith, who collaborated with Cordish on a failed Richmond casino proposal in 2021 but was not part of the 2022 Petersburg bid, said the new proposal is “similar, with some tweaks.”

While he will disclose more details Sunday, Smith said “the structure of the deal in itself” will be different. “I will discuss those details on Sunday at the town hall, and they will be groundbreaking — and I think it will be breaking news.” Smith said he became interested in working in Petersburg after a visit with other NFL all-stars a few years ago to a local school and seeing room for economic improvement.

As in the 2022 proposal, the Cordish resort would be built on 90 acres at the intersection of Wagner Road and Interstate 95, and the casino would be “just one component in this massive development,” Smith said, including a 3,000-seat theater among residential, office and retail buildings on the site. He says his team expects to create 7,500 jobs total, including construction jobs, and produce about $2.8 billion in economic impact for the city over the casino’s first 10 years in operation, according to a CNBC interview he gave about the venture this week.

Smith says that his status as a born-and-bred Virginian — having grown up in Norfolk, graduated from Virginia Tech and moved to to start his real estate business — is a major point in his favor.

Bruce Smith Enterprises, based in Virginia Beach, has previously developed hotels in Washington, D.C., and Virginia Beach in partnership with Armada Hoffler, and Smith is involved in projects slated for Virginia Beach’s Rudee Loop and a 287-unit apartment complex in Norfolk.

He also says that his development team would focus on making sure there is robust local participation in the project, noting that in some majority Black cities that host , participation from investors of color is minimal. “Historically, when opportunities for major developments have taken place, Virginians have either been shut out, or given such a small percentage, even in areas that are disenfranchised,” he said. Petersburg’s population is about 77% African American, Smith notes.

“First and foremost, this is about the citizens and the city of Petersburg, a city that has been ignored and disenfranchised for three generations, to be quite honest,” Smith said. “A city with historically high unemployment, poverty, food deserts [and] underfunded schools, just to name a few problems. This city needs this economic engine more than any other city. It’s time to put Virginians first.”

Meanwhile, the Smith-Cordish plan is not the only one under consideration; four other prospective developers have applied for consideration:

  • Bally’s is a major national player in the casino industry and has previously vied for the Danville casino (which Caesars Entertainment ultimately won), but according to news reports, the company also is struggling to raise capital for a new resort in Chicago;
  • Rush Street Gaming is the Chicago-based company that operates the Portsmouth Rivers Casino, the first permanent casino to open in Virginia;
  • Penn National Gaming is based in Hollywood, and its focus is on “community casinos,” as opposed to those based in Las Vegas and Atlantic City;
  • is a Washington, D.C.-based business developer that has an agreement with casino operator , but the Warrenton Group itself is a new entrant to the casino industry.
Rendering of a proposed Petersburg casino from 2022 that is expected to be similar to the 2024 proposal. Image courtesy The Cordish Cos.

Cordish pitched a $600 million hotel and resort casino in 2021 in Richmond’s North Side that would have featured a live music hall, but ultimately a plan proposed by Urban One on the city’s South Side won approval from the city. Cordish also sued the City of Norfolk in 2021 for $100 million alleging the city government breached its contract with the company, in which Cordish said it agreed to develop the Waterside District in exchange for the exclusive right to develop and operate a casino in Norfolk — although at the time casinos were not yet legalized in Virginia.

Instead, Norfolk reached a deal with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to develop the HeadWaters Resort & Casino with Tennessee billionaire investor Jon Yarbrough. Cordish’s lawsuit was dismissed by a Norfolk circuit court in 2022, and the state Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision last month, but there is still a possibility that another entity will take control of the long-delayed HeadWaters project.

According to an April 4 Virginian-Pilot story, Norfolk city leaders are considering the possibility of partnering with a developer other than the tribe and Yarbrough. Under the casino referendum passed by city voters in 2020, the development team is required to obtain a gaming license within five years, or by November 2025. To do so, developers needed to begin construction of the permanent casino by this spring, a casino spokesperson said previously. Smith said it’s possible that he and Cordish would enter the running if the city opens the field to other casino developers.

“If there’s an opportunity that exists in Norfolk, in my hometown, after we take care of Petersburg, we will certainly address that opportunity if it arises,” Smith said, while noting, “first and foremost, our focus is on Petersburg.”

SCHEV board member hired as new director

Less than a year after joining the State Council of for Virginia’s board, A. Scott Fleming will be ‘s next director, the state agency announced Thursday.

Fleming, whom appointed to the SCHEV board in July 2023, stepped down from the body this week after accepting the job as director. He begins his new post May 28, about a year after longtime SCHEV director Peter Blake announced he would step down as the agency’s head at the end of 2023. 

Since the start of 2024, Alan Edwards served as interim director. SCHEV’s seven-member search committee received 58 applications and conducted interviews in October 2023, December 2023 and February. At a news conference on Thursday, Fleming said he asked to be considered for the position in January.

“‘s kind of that careerlong affinity for public policy and public policy issues that that got me interested in the role in the first place and also the fact that I spent the last 20-plus years professionally in and around higher education and policy issues,” Fleming said. “This seemed like a great opportunity that was an adjacent fit to what I’ve done professionally, but would be an opportunity to stretch my own skills for leadership and management in a spot that really could be impactful for the state and for the families that depend on it.”

With bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University, Fleming most recently was chief strategy officer at , a company that provides curricula for early childhood educators, and his résumé includes C-suite roles at postsecondary education nonprofit Strada Education Network and education company Fishtree, as well as senior vice president of strategic initiatives at and senior education policy advisor for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Fleming said Thursday during a press availability that he will follow Blake’s example of working closely with the administration. “I think it would be remarkably shortsighted not to work closely with the ‘s office, and so I expect to be able to do that and hope to be able to work with whoever the next governor is as well,” Fleming said.

Youngkin’s administration has drawn criticism recently by requesting syllabi from instructors at George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth universities who teach courses on diversity, equity, inclusion and race for review by Education Secretary Aimee Guidera, who was among the SCHEV search committee’s members.

When asked about the topic, Fleming said equity, diversity and access to higher education is something that has always been valued in Virginia’s higher education institutions. “I don’t see that changing,” he said. “I think it’s important to have communities that are traditionally underrepresented as individuals to see opportunities for success, and that is reflected in the opportunities that they see for themselves. As a state, the commonwealth needs to be able to help these populations succeed in postsecondary education if we’re going to be competitive in a global economic environment.”

Virginia’s coordinating agency for higher education, SCHEV makes public policy recommendations to the commonwealth’s lawmakers and leaders, tackling tasks that include approving public institutions’ new degree programs and overseeing most of the state’s programs for need-based financial aid. 

Fleming said Thursday that as a SCHEV board member, he had only a few conversations about the search before throwing his hat in the ring, and was not part of the search committee. “While I was aware of the search process,” he said, “I was not directly involved.”

Fleming did not attend the March 18-19 SCHEV council meeting, according to Laura Osberger, a spokesperson for the agency. Fleming resigned from the board on April 10, she said.  

Keeping technology at universities up to date and addressing rising tuition costs will be among his priorities, Fleming said Thursday. “I think what we need to do is take a look at the financing systems that we have in place, consider whether those are the most effective and see if we can create some different approaches that support affordability.” 

ODU maritime training alliance designated federal Center of Excellence

The Industries Education Alliance (HRMIEA) has been designated a 2024 Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime and Education by the U.S. (MARAD), announced Thursday.

HRMIEA received the designation, good for five years, on Feb. 16, according to Elspeth McMahon, ‘s assistant vice president for maritime initiatives.

The alliance is made up of ODU and the Maritime Institute, which provides training for civilian and military mariners. The Maritime Institute offers more than 100 U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy courses in , San Diego, Honolulu, and Alameda, California.

Tidewater Community College also got the 2024 designation, according to the MARAD website.

“The significance of being designated a [Center of Excellence] is that gives us national recognition at the federal level that we demonstrate excellence in assisting the maritime industry with obtaining and maintaining the highest quality of workforce; we provide a high level of maritime education and training to support our nation’s maritime industry,” McMahon told Virginia Business.

MARAD developed the Center of Excellence program to support maritime workforce training and education at designated CoEs. This includes efforts of the designees to admit additional students, recruit and train faculty, expand facilities, create new maritime pathways and students credit for prior experience, according to a news release.

HRMIEA is one of 32 Centers of Excellence selected nationwide for the five-year designation. The centers are unfunded, but there are hopes of them being federally funded in the future, McMahon said.

“This designation is another step toward ODU‘s strategic vision of being a globally recognized destination for maritime enterprise,” she said in a statement. “We are thrilled about our partnership with the Maritime Institute, and we will continue to lead as a top university in maritime education, research, programming and innovation.”

Reston software firm boosted by $60M investment

Raft, a -based and government contractor, has received a $60 million investment from Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based firm.

Founded in 2018, will use the funds to “intensify its research and efforts, significantly enhancing its command and control (C2) product offerings for the tactical edge,” according to a Wednesday news release announcing the investment.

“Our partnership with Washington Harbour will accelerate Raft’s mission of ushering in a new paradigm for the modern warfighter, across all domains of air, land, sea, space and cyber,” Shubhi Mishra, founder and CEO of Raft, said in a statement. “Next generation, advanced technologies are transforming how wars are initiated, fought, resolved, won and deterred. Washington Harbour’s deep knowledge of our industry, shared vision and expansive strategic relationships all give me great confidence and excitement in continuing to serve our customers and our country, especially at the mission’s edge.”

In February, Raft announced had received a $100 million prime defense contract to develop cloud native applications in collaboration with Kessel Run, a division within the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

Raft has more than 250 employees, the majority with the highest security clearances, and is currently hiring for C-suite roles, including chief financial officer, chief growth officer, head of emerging and several growth, account head and delivery roles, according to its website. In January, Raft hired former U.S. Air Force Commander Frederick “Trey” Coleman as chief product officer to lead its corporate offerings strategy, product portfolio and innovation.

Raft will serve as Washington Harbour’s platform for advanced software development for the Department of Defense, intelligence communities and some federal civilian agencies.

“We have great respect and admiration for the culture of excellence that Raft has built and their relentless commitment as a trusted partner to their deep customer relationships,” Jerad Speigel, operating partner of Washington Harbour, said in a statement. “Washington Harbour invests in and builds the next generation of blue chip, dominant companies in federal — market leaders ushering in whole new eras of technological use cases — and we are incredibly excited to continue to support Raft’s vital role in national security.”

Senate Dems criticize Youngkin’s budget amendments

Virginia Senate Democrats had a lot of criticism Tuesday for Gov. Glenn ‘s proposed reworking of the state’s 2024-26 budget but held back on saying whether they would vote yea or nay on his 233 amendments.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said late Tuesday afternoon that he and fellow legislators had not had time to read and fully digest Youngkin’s suggested amendments, which were posted late Monday to the website and provided to lawmakers a few hours earlier. Surovell noted that in 15 years serving in the that he has never seen a suggest so many amendments after the has passed its amended budget.

“The governor’s amendments are supposed to be nips and tucks, not organ transplants,” Surovell said in an interview with Virginia Business. “We really haven’t had a chance to process .”

After the governor releases his amendments, the legislature returns to Richmond to vote on each amendment, which require a simple majority of each chamber to succeed — a process that typically takes one day but could take up to the 10-day limit under the state’s constitution, during which the legislature must complete its business. All of this is out of the ordinary, Surovell said.

Surovell added that the governor had reached out to Democratic finance leaders Sen. Louise Lucas and Del. Luke Torian for their input on his changes, noting that was highly unusual too. “They explained to him that the way the process works, he’s supposed to make his amendments. We’re not supposed to have input in his amendments, and that’s the way every governor has operated for the 15 years I’ve served, and the same thing with Sen. Lucas,” Surovell said. “I’ve talked to prior governors. The governor needs to take responsibility for the amendments he wants to make.”

On Monday, Youngkin announced that he had made 233 amendments to the 2024-26 budget as passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Delegates and state Senate, as well as 11 changes to the 2022-24 state budget, including the removal of wording added by Democrats to require Virginia’s future participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a major priority for Democrats. However, Youngkin backed off from some of his priorities, including cutting personal income taxes.

Youngkin’s 2024-26 budget includes $21.2 billion in K-12 education spending, increases spending by $1 billion and increases health and human resources spending by $3.2 billion. It also proposes a 3% teacher pay raise each year, caps college tuition increases at 3%, fully funds Virginia’s share of Metro’s operating shortfall, and provides toll relief in and additional for Interstate 81, according to the governor’s presentation.

In the introduction to his budget amendments released Monday, Youngkin wrote, “The budget passed by the General Assembly eliminated over $850 million of my priority spending items in the introduced budget and $1 billion of tax relief; the Common Ground budget restores only $230 million of those priorities.”

In a news release Tuesday from the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus, Lucas blasted the amendments: “Gov. Youngkin’s so-called ‘common ground’ budget is a farce. As Senate Finance and Appropriations chair, I find his amendments to be shortsighted and not in the best interest of the commonwealth. His budget defies common sense and highlights a significant disconnect that cannot be overlooked.”

In a press gaggle held Monday, Surovell said that he has “a lot of questions” about the budget, particularly about one-time funds he says Youngkin is relying on to balance his budget, and whether all the  amendments meet constitutional requirements. Also, Surovell said, “He did not explain in his presentation what he’s doing with the $2.4 billion revenue carry-forward from last year’s budget or the $800 million revenue reserve fund. … You don’t structurally balance a two-year budget by using one-time money in year one and then figuring it out later.”

Meanwhile, the governor vetoed a total 153 bills passed by the General Assembly, a single-year record for the state that exceeds the number of bills vetoed by any other modern Virginia governor in a four-year term. Among Monday’s vetoes was a measure that would have established a prescription drug affordability board to conduct a review on drug costs.

On Sunday, the Senate Democratic Caucus is expected to meet virtually and discuss their plans regarding Youngkin’s budget, Surovell said. The General Assembly returns to Richmond on April 17 to take up the amended budget, and the legislature must complete their work and vote on the budget within 10 days, according to the state Constitution.