Elizabeth Cooper

Motorists drive through a flooded section of Llewellyn Avenue near the Lafayette River in Norfolk. So-called nuisance flooding can get into backyards and happens every high tide in the neighborhood known as Colonial Place. Photo by Will Parson, Chesapeake Bay Program

Flood warning

Sea-level rise predictions become more dire for region

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Situated on a bank of the Hague, the Y-shaped inlet off the Elizabeth River that shares a name with the city in the Netherlands, Norfolk’s Chrysler Museum of Art is no stranger to the impacts of high tides, as well as flooded streets and parking lots during heavy rainfalls. Right now, flooding is mainly a…

Opportunity floats

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Read the feature on sea level rise in Hampton Roads. Although local, state and federal government officials are leading coordinated efforts to combat flooding, other groups in Virginia see business potential from the crisis. The OpenSeas Technology Innovation Hub, a collaboration between Old Dominion University and William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science, is…

As the Dominion Energy offshore wind farm gets closer to construction, business leaders are making plans to manufacture more turbine parts in Hampton Roads. Photo by Mark Rhodes

‘Where the game is happening’

Region aims to become East Coast offshore wind hub

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Touting one of North America’s largest ports, congestion-free shipping channels and the nation’s highest percentage of maritime workers, Hampton Roads is charting a course to become the East Coast supply chain hub for the offshore wind industry. Those attributes, say local leaders, set the region apart in the race to build the nascent carbon-neutral energy…

Small Black-owned businesses “were struggling before the pandemic,” says Tortica Anderson, owner of A Family Affair Event Management. “We feel like we have to work twice as hard to prove we’re capable of being business owners and invest in ourselves to show we’re legitimate businesses.” Photo by Will Schermerhorn

Bridging the gap

Black-owned small businesses seek to overcome pandemic challenges

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At the beginning of 2020, A Family Affair Event Management had already filled its schedule for the year with an array of weddings and corporate, social and destination activities. Then COVID-19 struck, wiping the Stafford event planning company’s calendar clean. “It greatly impacted us,” says Tortica Anderson, owner of A Family Affair Event Management. “We…

“COVID showed us how fragile our supply chain is,” says Jennifer McPherren, Sentara Healthcare’s vice president of supply chain. Photo by Dale Gauding

Sentara recruits local, diverse suppliers

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With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing weaknesses in the global supply chain, Sentara Healthcare is ramping up efforts to diversify its vendors, committing executive leadership and resources to growing partnerships with local and regional suppliers, as well as companies owned by women, veterans and people of color. “We are being intentional about seeking a broad range…

“Virginia Beach is going to be the epicenter of economic development on the East Coast,” predicts the city’s mayor, Bobby Dyer. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Rolling out the red carpet

Tourism destination branches into tech, offshore wind

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With high-speed subsea internet cables landing on Virginia Beach’s shores and massive wind turbines propelling off its coast, the state’s largest city is primed to welcome new businesses and industries generating high-end jobs. “Virginia Beach is going to be the epicenter of economic development on the East Coast,” says Mayor Bobby Dyer. “I am convinced…

China is historically Virginia’s top trading partner but it raised tariffs on Virginia exports such as soybeans and lumber in response to the trade war begun during the Trump administration. Photo courtesy Port of Virginia

A fair trade?

U.S.-China tensions still impact Va. economy

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While President Joe Biden will likely strike a more diplomatic tone with China than his predecessor, economists and other observers believe the United States’ rocky trade relationship with its biggest economic rival will remain contentious — which will impact Virginia’s economy. Under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. and China were immersed in a grueling…

Former Philip Morris USA President and CEO Cliff Fleet became Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s ninth president and CEO in January 2020, just two months before the pandemic started. Photo by Mark Rhodes

History in the making

Colonial Williamsburg emerges revitalized from pandemic

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Cliff Fleet took the helm of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in January 2020 with a mandate to curb declining attendance and revenue at the nation’s largest outdoor living museum while maintaining its relevance to diverse 21st-century audiences. It was a tall order and one that became even more challenging two months later when the COVID-19…

Offshore wind presents “a generational opportunity to change the economics of Hampton Roads,” says Matt Smith, director of offshore wind business development for the Hampton Roads Alliance. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Wind at their backs

Region closes in on becoming offshore wind hub

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Hampton Roads is on the cusp of becoming a supply chain hub for the thousands of components used to construct the massive turbines that will propel offshore wind farms being developed off the East Coast.  American offshore wind projects currently rely on a European supply chain for turbine components, but shipping the enormous turbines, blades…

The $300 million Rivers Casino in Portsmouth will include a four-star hotel, theaters, restaurants and retail. Rendering courtesy Rush Street Gaming

Double play

Two casinos, just miles apart, will debut in Hampton Roads

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Hampton Roads will be home to two Las Vegas-style casino complexes after Norfolk and Portsmouth voters overwhelmingly approved November 2020 referendums greenlighting the projects in their cities. The referendums passed with 64.4% of the vote in Norfolk and 66.7% in Portsmouth. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is working with Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough to build the…