Category: Economic development
-
RVA Snapshot: Nice Vision, but the Devil’s in the Details
by James A. Bacon The Capital Region Collaborative, a not-for-profit dedicated to building a more livable, prosperous Richmond region, has just published RVA Snapshot, a set of metrics that compares Richmond to six peer metros of comparable size. The accompanying commentary summarizes the conventional wisdom regarding the region’s strengths and weaknesses, and articulates a “shared vision”…
-
Explaining Fairfax County by Way of New York City
by James A. Bacon National population migration surveys invariably show Fairfax County to be a big loser. The county experienced a net domestic out-migration of 16,800 in 2015 and 46,500 since 2010. When viewed in isolation the numbers make Virginia’s largest locality look like a war zone — call it Little Aleppo. Yet somehow the…
-
An Explanation, Please, for $2 Million Subsidy to Relocate Jobs from Roanoke to Norfolk
About that $2 million subsidy from the Governors Opportunity Fund (GOF) to support the relocation of Norfolk Southern jobs from Roanoke to Norfolk… The Roanoke Times is asking whether it violates state law. On the one hand, the newspaper reports, a 2006 law bars the use of GOF grants intended to underwrite the move of jobs from one Virginia…
-
What Charlottsville Needs Is… More Charlottesville
There is nothing else in Virginia like Charlottesville’s Tom Tom Founders Festival, which launched a week-long series of events yesterday. Food trucks, craft beer, music concerts, an art bus, murals, films in the park, street dancing, a capella performances, craft cocktail competitions, a chili showdown, crowdfunding pitch night, and celebrations of arts, innovation and entrepreneurship — it’s all…
-
Yeah, It Makes Sense for Virginia to Invest in Cybersecurity
by James A. Bacon Normally, it’s a terrible idea for government to pick economic winners and losers. Politicians latch onto fads and enthusiasms arising from the private sector but allow wishful thinking to override investment discipline when it comes to allocating government capital. Bacon’s dictum is that if “everyone” knows a sector is hot, and “everyone” is investing…
-
Here, Piggy Piggy Piggy!
by James A. Bacon Any time business leaders, university presidents and legislators agree on a great new spending initiative, I put my hand on my pants pocket to make sure my wallet is still there. When their brilliant idea slides through the General Assembly without a dissenting voice, or even a word of skepticism from the news media,…
-
Virginia Beach on Another Wild Goose Chase
by James A. Bacon Virginia Beach City Council voted yesterday to give 155 acres to build a biomedical park, reports the Virginian-Pilot. The Virginia Beach Development Authority will oversee the design and promotion of the property. Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms justified the initiative to lure health care and biotech companies as a way to diversify the city’s…
-
Can Appalachian Cuisine Save Appalachia?
by James A. Bacon As Baby Boomers hit retirement age with creaky joints and declining appetites for activities that involve running, leaping and moving at hurl-inducing velocities, they’re looking for something different in a vacation experience. As a rule, that means less adventure and more fine dining. My wife and I are exemplars of this trend,…
-
Reveling in Small Spaces
by James A. Bacon One thing I look for in a city is the attention given to small spaces — the pocket parks, wide spots in the sidewalk, corridors between buildings and other features that lend texture and delight to an urban landscape. The antithesis is large parking lots, long buildings and the empty detritus of…
-
Citizens Take on Crony Capitalism in VA Beach
by James A. Bacon Arlington County had its $1 million bus stop scandal. The City of Richmond had its mayoral cronyism scandal. Now Virginia Beach has its Cavalier Hotel redevelopment scandal. The FBI has undertaken a criminal investigation of a vote by Councilman John Uhrin in favor of providing $18 million in city funds to…
-
Conservative, Yes. Sanctimonious, Probably. But Egomaniac? That’s a Bit Harsh.
by James A. Bacon And now for another view…. John Fredericks, whose John Fredericks Show is heard in radio markets across Virginia, calls me a “sanctimonious conservative egomaniac” for asking questions about the use of the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to lure business investment to the City of Norfolk. “It really irritates me,” said Fredericks on his…
-
Justified Incentives or Corporate Welfare? We Need More Transparency to Tell
by James A. Bacon Wow, big economic development news for the City of Norfolk! In the past week Governor Terry McAuliffe has announced two deals: Norfolk Southern will spend $8.2 million to accommodate 165 employees in its corporate headquarters, and Movement Mortgage will invest $2 million in a deal that will net 200 new jobs.…
-
Buena Vista: the Canary in Virginia’s Fiscal Coal Mine
by James A. Bacon The City of Buena Vista, which defaulted in 2014 on a $9.2 million bond issue to pay for a golf course that was supposed to spur growth in the city, has received some good news. It will be allowed to keep its city hall. For now. The office building, along with…
-
An Economic Development Incentive for the Knowledge Economy
As a follow-up to the Inova-driven Center for Personalized Health initiative I wrote about yesterday… The final 2017-2018 budget approved by the General Assembly includes $28 million to help get Inova’s proposed biotech research initiative get off the ground. According to a Senate Finance Committee document, state goodies include $8 million in General Fund monies and $20 million in bond…
-
Another $100 Million for Venture Capital? Who Is Accountable at Inova?
by James A. Bacon In February Inova Health System announced its intention to create a $100 million venture fund dedicated to precision medicine, an initiative timed to coincide with an Obama administration event highlighting the nascent science, and designed to support Inova’s own $300 million plan for a center for personalized health just outside Tysons Corner.…