Cover Story
The Prophet
MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor preaches the bitcoin gospel. Will his $2.2 billion gambit reap a heavenly reward?
When Michael Saylor was a younger man, his good looks and cocky attitude drew comparisons to Tom Cruise. And like Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Cruise’s flying ace of “Top Gun” fame, Saylor is returning to screens everywhere after a decades long hiatus. Just over 20 years ago, Saylor was Northern Virginia’s premier hotshot tech exec.
Opinion
The future is now
Published
One of the biggest and yet to be fully felt impacts of the global pandemic is the way it has accelerated trends, many of which were less apparent before the COVID crisis than they are today. Even as public health concerns might begin to subside, the impact of many business trends will remain. Much of
From This Issue
Roanoke County, Va. Tech team up for strategic plan
Published
In a first for the locality, Roanoke County has partnered with Virginia Tech to develop a five-year county economic development strategic plan. “We want to benchmark where we are today with goals that we hope to achieve in five years and then revisit it to see if we’re keeping up with what we said we
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Banking on bitcoin
Published
While MicroStrategy may be hogging the bitcoin limelight lately, two other Virginia companies recently made their entrances onto the cryptocurrency stage. On Feb. 3, Charlottesville-based Blue Ridge Bankshares Inc., the parent holding company of Blue Ridge Bank, announced that its customers are now able to purchase and redeem bitcoin at its ATMs, making it the
Regional leaders wish upon Starlink
Published
After a pilot program successfully connected 45 Wise County households with SpaceX’s Starlink high-speed satellite internet, regional efforts are underway to broaden access to the service spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk. Scott Kiser, director of technology for Wise County Public Schools, helped shepherd the pilot for families of students early this year. SpaceX’s Starlink constellation
Danville renders unto Caesars new zoning rules
Published
Danville officials plan to create a new zoning district for the Caesars Virginia casino and resort, an option likely to speed up construction. Designated as an industrial manufacturing zone, the site in Danville’s Schoolfield neighborhood is governed by preexisting land-use rules that could lead to delays in building the $400 million resort, which is scheduled
Raising the bar
Businesses worry as state increases minimum wage
Published
On May 1, Virginia’s minimum hourly wage will rise to $9.50 for most non-farm jobs, and for many business owners, that won’t be too disruptive. But the state’s upcoming Jan. 1, 2022, mandated raise to $11 “is of greater concern” to businesses, says Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association. VRLTA
Casino competitors roll the dice in Richmond
Published
Two operators are battling it out to build a casino in Richmond, the final city where a casino can be built in Virginia under current state law. Later in May, an advisory panel is expected to recommend a casino proposal for consideration by Richmond City Council and, ultimately, city voters in November. Richmonders worried about
Moving out
Construction projects shift to suburbs, rural areas
Published
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
For The Record May 2021
Published
Roanoke/New River Valley A proposal under consideration by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget could redefine Blacksburg and the New River Valley area from a federal metropolitan statistical area to a micropolitan statistical area. Blacksburg is one of 144 localities nationwide that could be impacted by the potential change that would raise the population
Course corrections
William & Mary adjusts for budget gaps, shifting demographics
Published
Can an old college learn new tricks? William & Mary, the second-oldest institution of higher education in the country by virtue of its establishment in February 1693, is proving that it can. It has had little choice. The pandemic pushed the faculty into a steep learning curve to master online teaching, with 2,000 courses moving
