For the Record – Eastern Virginia, October 2013
Published
The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg ranked fourth among the Princeton Review’s list of top 10 best values for public colleges. Six other Virginia universities were listed among the publication’s 75 best values for public colleges, including Christopher Newport University in Newport News. The lists are based on data collected from fall 2011 through fall 2012 through institutional and student surveys. (VirginiaBusiness.com)
Green Flash Brewing Co. has chosen The Miller Group in Virginia Beach to develop and build the company’s new, 58,000-square-foot brewery in the resort city. Green Flash wants to use local help for the construction. The Miller Group estimates that more than 250 Virginia Beach-area residents could have a hand in building the brewing facility. Green Flash expects the brewery to create 40 permanent jobs after construction. (VirginiaBusiness.com)
Carnival Cruise Lines will pull up stakes in Norfolk in October, raising questions about the future of the city’s 6-year-old, $37.4 million Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center. Since 2001, Carnival has had a ship seasonally “homeported” in Norfolk, meaning that cruises started and ended here. That relationship ends October when the Carnival Glory sails for Miami, where it will be based year-round. (The Virginian-Pilot)
North Carolina-based Hampton Farms plans to spend $5.5 million to establish a peanut butter production plant in Southampton County, creating 60 jobs. Virginia competed against North Carolina for the project. To secure the project for Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell approved a $200,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund. (VirginiaBusiness.com)
Smithfield Foods, America’s biggest pork producer, won security clearance for its proposed $4.7 billion sale to a Chinese meat processor, overcoming one of the biggest obstacles to a takeover. Approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States came despite some lawmakers’ concern over Shuanghui International owning Smithfield. (The New York Times)
The Norfolk City Council in late August approved a deal to revive Waterside, marking the end of years spent seeking a new use for the languishing facility. City Manager Marcus Jones had been in negotiations with The Cordish Cos. of Baltimore since June 2012. The Cordish plan calls for a major renovation and for renaming the facility, built in 1983, to Waterside Live. (The Virginian-Pilot) (See related story.)
A German company plans to invest $7.3 million to create a manufacturing facility in Virginia Beach and add 60 jobs. Prufrex, a producer of digital ignition systems and electronic control units, will receive $320,000 in state and local funds to help move its U.S. headquarters here. Its main headquarters is in Cadolzburg, Germany. Prufrex decided to move here partly because two of its main customers, Stihl Inc., and BMZ Batteries, are nearby, said Yvonne Müller, a managing director. (The Virginian-Pilot)
The Sentara Specialty Rehabilitation Center at Sentara Obici Hospital has opened in Suffolk, an initiative that may be rolled out to other Sentara hospitals. The eight-bed unit is licensed to Sentara Life Care, the senior services division of Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare. Initially, Sentara Specialty Rehabilitation Center will admit patients with knee and hip replacements. Spine surgery patients may be admitted later and, eventually, stroke patients may also be admitted. (VirginiaBusiness.com)
