• Sens. Warner & Kaine submit legislation to expand offshore energy leases
• Roanoke College poll finds improving consumer sentiment
• Virginia’s historic Natural Bridge is for sale
• New measurement offers fresh look at poverty in the commonwealth
Ashland Inc., a specialty chemicals company based in Covington, Ky., will invest $39 million in its Hopewell facility for new equipment to increase production. The project will preserve 200 jobs and create 15 more. (News release)
Baskervill, a Richmond architecture firm, ranked 49th in the list of Top Architecture and Engineering Firms in the “Giants 300” list from Building Design + Construction magazine. The firm was ranked in six other specialties, the highest being hotel design at 40th. (News release)
Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc., a Richmond biotech company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to complete divesting its assets and identifying a merger partner. (Business Wire)
Justin G. French, a Richmond developer, faces sentencing in May in U.S. District Court in Richmond for defrauding taxpayers of millions of dollars meant to rehabilitate historic buildings. French pleaded guilty to wire fraud and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Genworth Financial Inc., an insurance firm based in Henrico County, discontinued two types of insurance products and cut 100 jobs in Richmond. Those employees will be able to apply for about 100 openings in the Richmond area. Another 30 jobs were moved to offices in Lynchburg. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Markel Corp., a specialty insurer headquartered in Henrico County, bought a majority stake in Diamond Healthcare Corp., a Richmond-based provider of management services for behavioral health programs such as chemical dependency and sleep disorders. The investment was made based on the track record of Diamond’s management and its growth potential. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Roseland Village LLC, a Richmond-area real estate developer, applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Roseland Village owns 345 acres of the 1,300-acre Roseland project in Chesterfield County, a mixed-use development with a planned 5,500 residences, along with commercial and office area. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Star Scientific Inc., a Richmond tobacco company, will ask the FDA for approval to market a new moist smokeless tobacco product under a “modified-risk” label because the company says it contains 99 percent less tobacco-specific carcinogens than conventional smokeless products. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Thalhimer/A Cushman & Wakefield Alliance, a Henrico County-based commercial real estate firm, changed its name to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. The move comes as the firm opened its first office outside Virginia in Charlotte, N.C. Another office is planned soon in Raleigh. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Tumblr, developer of one of the more popular blogging platforms in use, opened an office in Richmond, bringing together its four area employees. The move is the company’s first location outside New York City. There are no immediate plans to increase staffing in Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
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