Cover Story
Moving the needle
After summer protests, businesses wrestle with equity and inclusion
A few years ago, Nadine Marsh-Carter and the staff of the small adoption agency she runs decided that to better represent the children they worked with, they needed board leadership that better reflected their clients. Founded 120 years ago, the Children’s Home Society of Virginia began with a focus on finding families to adopt “healthy
Interview
A sense of possibility
Commonwealth Cyber Initiative’s first executive director aims high
Published
Luiz DaSilva became the inaugural executive director of Virginia’s Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) in March, returning to Virginia Tech after two years in Ireland, where he served as the director of CONNECT, a telecommunications research center at Trinity College Dublin involving 35 companies and 250 researchers from 10 Irish universities. CONNECT’s goal is to produce
Opinion
The Mailroom
Published
More balance needed After reading Carol Hazard’s “Blurred Lines” article in the August 2020 issue, I noted the full-page ads from United Bank, Atlantic Union Bank, PNC Bank and TowneBank. Given the strong advertising support your publication receives from banks, I believe you have a moral obligation to ensure fair treatment of credit unions. The
Antitrust matters
Published
On a bright spring day in May 2009, I was on the campus of Hampden-Sydney College near Farmville for my son’s graduation — obviously a proud moment for any parent. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner delivered the commencement’s keynote address. During his first term as senator and one of the first times I had heard the
From This Issue
The VirginiaBusiness.com Top Five
Published
State Sen. Amanda Chase, the only announced GOP candidate for the 2021 gubernatorial race, appeared in two of the top trending stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from July 16 to Aug. 15. Chase refused to wear mask at Harrisonburg restaurant — After campaigning with rocker Ted Nugent, Chase got into a kerfuffle with the owners of Vito’s
Hail to the … what now?
Published
Under pressure from FedEx and other big sponsors, the Washington Redskins management announced in July that the NFL team will retire its name and mascot and rebrand itself away from divisive Native American imagery. The $3.4 billion organization, the seventh-most valuable franchise in the NFL, is now known as the “Washington Football Team,” with a
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Staying strong
Hospitality struggles, but other sectors continue growth
Published
No one could have predicted 2020 would bring such dramatic changes. Civil unrest after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, coupled with a once-in-a-century pandemic, is accelerating social and economic changes around the country, including in the Richmond region. Once the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond began creating a blueprint for the future
Testing the waters
VCU goes back to school during the pandemic
Published
At colleges across Virginia and the nation, this will be a fall semester like no other. The coronavirus is turning campuses into petri dishes for experimentation. One of the state’s largest public colleges with an enrollment of about 30,000 students in the heart of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University is also pivoting to confront the unprecedented
Virginia Tech stakes claim on data science territory
Published
Collecting and interpreting data has always been important in science, but Tom Woteki is at the start of a process that will teach Virginia Tech students how to make better use of information in scientific fields and possibly receive lucrative job offers. Director of the university’s data analysis and applied statistics program, the Arlington-based Woteki
A tale of two authorities
Published
The town of Front Royal is moving forward with its own economic development authority independent from its cooperative EDA with Warren County, which is still reeling under the weight of a high-profile embezzlement scandal. Front Royal is the only locality in the state with two EDAs. The move was granted earlier this year in legislation
Parking lot hot spots succeed at PHCC
Published
Administrators at Patrick Henry Community College hustled to install Wi-Fi hot spots in its parking lots in March when the college closed due to the coronavirus. Since many of the college’s students live in rural areas without access to broadband, creating these hot spots became an immediate need when the pandemic crisis hit, explains PHCC
September 2020 — For the Record
Published
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA Danville voters will weigh in on a local casino in November, after a circuit judge ordered a referendum to appear on the ballot. Caesars Virginia, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corp., plans to construct and operate a $400 million casino at the former Dan River Mills industrial complex in Schoolfield. The General Assembly
Sailing for the horizon
Despite pandemic disruptions, the Port of Virginia looks to the future
Published
Tariff wars and the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a one-two punch to the Port of Virginia, but officials are focusing on the positive as expansions are completed at the port’s two largest terminals, and a dredging project to make Virginia the East Coast’s deepest port is running ahead of schedule. The third-largest East Coast port behind
Kings Dominion closure brings economic woes
Published
For the first time in its 45-year history, Kings Dominion has halted its roller coasters for an entire season, thanks to COVID-19. But beyond being disappointing for fans of the amusement park in Doswell, “the economic impact is huge,” says E. Linwood Thomas IV, director of economic development for Hanover County. “Kings Dominion is one
