Roanoke plant still empty after FreightCar America exit
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More than two years after FreightCar America left town, eliminating about 200 assembly jobs, the buildings once occupied by the railcar manufacturer in downtown Roanoke remain empty. Chicago-based FreightCar America opened its Roanoke plant in 2005, leasing space at the East End Shops, a locomotive workshop and maintenance complex of about 900,000 square feet of
Pittsylvania, Danville governments see labor gap, too
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Businesses aren’t the only organizations finding it difficult to hire employees. Amid dropping state unemployment rates and a nationwide labor shortage, Danville and Pittsylvania County have been seeking new ways to interest people in working for local government. Pittsylvania’s Board of Supervisors approved $1,000 employee referral and sign-on bonuses in July, says Holly E. Stanfield,
Silver Line will miss Labor Day target
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Problems plugging Silver Line Phase 2 into the rest of the Washington transit system are delaying the project’s transfer from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The transfer’s target date was Labor Day, but it’s not clear how long the transfer will be delayed, according to Marcia McAllister,
Turning the corner
Tysons leads Fairfax’s economic recovery
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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, it felt as if the long-running goal of transforming Tysons from a commuter-driven “edge city” into a vibrant, urban, walkable destination “would be so disrupted,” says Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. But the increase in social distancing and remote work caused
In the balance
Women still face challenges to career advancement
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The struggle for work-life balance was taking its toll on women professionals even before the pandemic struck. But the lack of child care and the burnout from increased workloads may now be driving some women business leaders and aspiring leaders out of the workforce altogether. A May 19 Deloitte Global study, “Women @ Work: A
Innovative development planned along Silver Line
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Big plans are in place for a 103-acre plot on the Loudoun-Fairfax county line, property originally pitched by the two counties as a potential location for Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters. Rivana at Innovation Station, the first phase of the 4.4 million-square-foot Innovation Station mixed-use development project announced in March, is ideally positioned for
A dose of inspiration
Pandemic disrupts med schools, boosts applications
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Admissions officers call it “the Fauci effect.” Inspired by Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden and the highly visible point person for the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response, prospective students have been flooding medical schools with applications. But Dr. Richard V. Homan, president and provost of Eastern Virginia Medical School and dean
Moving out
Construction projects shift to suburbs, rural areas
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More than a year after the pandemic began, signs point to people moving away from densely populated city centers, says Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, an industry trade association based in Washington, D.C. The construction industry has taken note. Basu predicts: “This decade will be about the suburbs, with more people
Arguing the case for diversity
Law firms focus on inclusion in recruitment and retention
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Like many industries, law firms are taking a fresh look at hiring and retaining a new generation of employees who better reflect the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of today’s society at large. This move toward diversity and inclusion has been more pronounced since The Coca-Cola Co. announced in January a new policy mandating that
A bright spot
Despite pandemic, tech ventures flourish
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The coronavirus pandemic divided Loudoun County into two worlds in 2020 — tech and touch, says Buddy Rizer, the county’s executive director for economic development. While the pandemic devastated in-person “touch” businesses such as restaurants, shops and service providers, Northern Virginia’s tech-related companies continued to forge new deals. The number of major announcements in Northern