Category: Economic development
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In Praise of Organic Tourism
by James A. Bacon Promoting tourism is a major part of Virginia’s economic development strategy for good reason. Tourism supports jobs, expands the tax base and helps pay for amenities — restaurants, arts, cultural institutions — that can be enjoyed by the whole community. But it can create problems, too, such as crowding, traffic congestion, noise…
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The New Wave of Wealth Creation: ThinkGeek
GameStop, the digital gaming retailer, has just paid $140 million to purchase Fairfax-based ThinkGeek, an online retailer of apparel and gadgets to the “geek” market segment entranced with nerdy cultural icons from Star Trek to Minecraft, from Doctor Who to Game of Thrones. The company peddles products as diverse as “Rebel Fighter silk ties” to mini-refrigerators mimicking…
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Two Stories on Change in Richmond's Suburbs
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Public safety & health, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Well, well, Jim Bacon has this month’s cover story in the Henrico Monthly about the changing nature of office parks in one county that has plenty of them. Not to be outdone, I have my own cover story in the Chesterfield Monthly, a sister magazine published by the same people. My…
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Two Stories on Change in Richmond’s Suburbs
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Public safety & health, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Well, well, Jim Bacon has this month’s cover story in the Henrico Monthly about the changing nature of office parks in one county that has plenty of them. Not to be outdone, I have my own cover story in the Chesterfield Monthly, a sister magazine published by the same people. My…
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Reinventing the Suburban Office Park
Article published in June issue of Henrico Monthly magazine: By James A. Bacon Jr. In September 2010, the Henrico County Board of Supervisors put its stamp of approval on a plan to transform the county’s largest office park, the Innsbrook Corporate Center. The idea behind the plan, called Innsbrook Next, was to convert a smattering…
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New Film Documents Horrors of Coal Mining
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in Business and Economy, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Government workers and pensions, Health Care, Housing, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka Several years in the making, “Blood on the Mountain” has finally premiered in New York City. The documentary examines the cycle of exploitation of people and environment by West Virginia’s coal industry highlighting Massey Energy, a coal firm that was based in Richmond. The final cut of the film was released publicly…
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The Agribusiness Opportunity
by James A. Bacon If prostitution is the “oldest profession,” farming is likely the second oldest. Humans have been farming for thousands of years and, if they want to continue to eat, they’ll be farming for thousands of years more. Young people don’t see much future in farming (unless it’s locally grown organic food), and…
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Chill Out, Wintergreen!
by Stephen Haner To My Fellow Landowners in Wintergreen: Chill out, will you? My inbox is filling these days with Wintergreen-related propaganda opposing a natural gas pipeline that is proposed to pass through Nelson County. Here’s a recent example, emphasis added: “The great majority of Wintergreen owners will permanently see it as they enter Wintergreen…
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Portsmouth Takes a Hit from Tunnel Construction
by James A. Bacon The City of Portsmouth has been clobbered by the imposition of tolls on the Midtown Tunnel and Downtown Tunnel connecting the city to Norfolk, and hammered again by construction-related disruptions to service on the tunnels. Combined, the impact of tolls and disruption have reduced quarterly taxable sales by $24 million annually, materially…
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Finally, Tobacco Commission Gets Reforms
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Economic development, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka Virginia’s infamous tobacco commission appears to be finally getting needed reforms 15 years after it went into existence. Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced today that he was appointing a new executive director, Lynchburg native Evan Feinman, ordering a slimmed down board of directors and requiring a dollar-for-dollar match on grants the commission doles…
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Blankenship's Incriminating Tapes
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka It may sound like something out of the Nixon White House, but embattled coal baron Donald L. Blankenship regularly taped conversations in his office, giving federal prosecutors powerful new ammunition as he approaches criminal trial in July. According to Bloomberg News, the former head of Massey Energy taped up to 1,900 conversations…
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Blankenship’s Incriminating Tapes
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka It may sound like something out of the Nixon White House, but embattled coal baron Donald L. Blankenship regularly taped conversations in his office, giving federal prosecutors powerful new ammunition as he approaches criminal trial in July. According to Bloomberg News, the former head of Massey Energy taped up to 1,900 conversations…
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Private Immigrant Jail May Face Woes
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in Business and Economy, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Federal issues, Government workers and pensions, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Privatization in Virginia has been a buzzword for years among both parties. In this tax-averse state, contracting off public functions is seen as a wise and worthy approach. But then you get debacles such as the U.S. 460 highway project. And now, you might have one brewing down in Farmville. The small…
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Dave Brat’s Bizarre Statements
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in Business and Economy, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Resilience, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka Almost a year ago, Dave Brat, an obscure economics professor at Randolph- Macon College, made national headlines when he defeated Eric Cantor, the powerful House Majority Leader, in the 7th District Republican primary. Brat’s victory was regarded as a sensation since it showed how the GOP was splintered between Main Street traditionalists…
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Beware Stalling Growth in Northern Virginia
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in Business and Economy, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka For at least a half a century, Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington County have been a growth engine that that has reshaped how things are in the Greater Washington area as well as the Old Dominion. But now, apparently for the first time ever, these Northern Virginia localities have stopped growing, according…