Category: Economic development
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Why Can't Dominion Do Big Wind Projects?
By Peter Galuszka Down in the swamplands and farmlands of northeastern North Carolina, construction has begun on a huge new wind farm that will be the largest so far in the southeastern U.S. Iberdrola Renewables LLC, a Spanish firm, has begun construction on the long-awaited $600 million project with financial help from Amazon, which also…
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Why Can’t Dominion Do Big Wind Projects?
By Peter Galuszka Down in the swamplands and farmlands of northeastern North Carolina, construction has begun on a huge new wind farm that will be the largest so far in the southeastern U.S. Iberdrola Renewables LLC, a Spanish firm, has begun construction on the long-awaited $600 million project with financial help from Amazon, which also…
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Big City Advantage in Innovation Not What It Used to Be
by James A. Bacon Maybe the Internet is allowing innovation and creativity to break free from the confines of geography after all. Economists conventionally argue that large metropolitan areas are better incubators of inventions and innovations than smaller cities and rural areas. However, a new study, “Cities and Ideas,” by Mikko Packalen and Jay Bhattacharya, finds that the…
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Capitalism Triumphs Again!
By Peter Galuszka If there were any questions about just how capitalism has failed, one need look no farther than Wise County, where, this week, hundreds, if not thousands, of people will line up for free medical care. The event is ably noted in The Washington Post this Sunday by a young opinion writer named…
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How to Bring Broadband to Your Community
Broadband access is increasingly critical infrastructure for every community, a critical element for government efficiency and responsiveness, economic development, education, public safety, healthcare and the conduct of peoples’ personal lives. What can a rural community or small city do if the dominant broadband providers aren’t in any hurry to build broadband infrastructure? The Center for…
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Memories of a Klan Rally
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Electoral process, Energy, Federal issues, Government Finance, Gun rights, Immigration, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Social Services and EntitlementsBy Peter Galuszka I was looking through a some old clips today and spotted this Golden Oldie that ran in the Jan. 30, 2000 edition of BusinessWeek magazine where I worked for about 15 years. Bloomberg now owns rights to it and I hope they don’t mind me re-running it. Mindful of the lofty rhetoric…
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Virginia's Tax on Money
By Steve Haner You can now walk into a retailer in Virginia (or buy from a Virginia retailer online) and get your gold or silver without having to pay sales tax — but only if you have $1,000 to spend. House Bill 1648 and Senate Bill 1336, signed into law this year, were companion bills that…
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Virginia’s Tax on Money
By Steve Haner You can now walk into a retailer in Virginia (or buy from a Virginia retailer online) and get your gold or silver without having to pay sales tax — but only if you have $1,000 to spend. House Bill 1648 and Senate Bill 1336, signed into law this year, were companion bills that…
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The Boston Globe Visits Richmond
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in Business and Economy, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Electoral process, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Federal issues, Government workers and pensions, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Race and Race RelationsBy Peter Galuszka An outside view is always welcome, especially in these incredible days when a lot of Southern mythology is being turned on its head. Richmond is a great locus for the examination given its tortured history. The former Capital of the Confederacy (more by accident than anything else) is a true crucible. The…
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More Gas in Dominion's Electric Power Future
by James A. Bacon Dominion Virginia Power asked the State Corporate Commission yesterday for regulatory approval to build a $1.3 billion natural gas-fired power station in Greensville County. The station will generate about 1,600 megawatts, a substantial addition to the power company’s existing 17,600 megawatt fleet. Combined-cycle technology represents an advance over older gas-fired facilities by…
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More Gas in Dominion’s Electric Power Future
by James A. Bacon Dominion Virginia Power asked the State Corporate Commission yesterday for regulatory approval to build a $1.3 billion natural gas-fired power station in Greensville County. The station will generate about 1,600 megawatts, a substantial addition to the power company’s existing 17,600 megawatt fleet. Combined-cycle technology represents an advance over older gas-fired facilities by…
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Disgraceful
by James A. Bacon Fiscal Year 2015 in Virginia came to a close yesterday but the City of Richmond still had not filed its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for FY 2014, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The report provides an audited overview of revenues, spending, assets and debts critical to appraising a locality’s financial condition. The City of Richmond is one…
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What It Takes to Power the Cloud
by James A. Bacon If it’s not one thing, it’s another. The “rural crescent” in the western reaches of Prince William County has fended off development threats from Disney’s America to four-lane highways. The latest hazard to rural tranquility: a proposed Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center and an electric transmission line to deliver electric power to…
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What's the Deal with Dominion and Coal Ash?
By Peter Galuszka So what’s the deal with dumping coal ash and Dominion Virginia Power? A story in the Associated Press that is getting wide attention suggests that the utility may be consolidating five coal ash dumping ponds at its Possum Point generating plant into one that may or may not be properly lined. If…
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What’s the Deal with Dominion and Coal Ash?
By Peter Galuszka So what’s the deal with dumping coal ash and Dominion Virginia Power? A story in the Associated Press that is getting wide attention suggests that the utility may be consolidating five coal ash dumping ponds at its Possum Point generating plant into one that may or may not be properly lined. If…