Search results for: “amazon”
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Virginia Cheap with Incentives… Back in 2012
by James A. Bacon According to an in-depth study based on 2012 data, Virginia dedicated a lower percentage of its GDP to economic-development incentives than all but three of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Old Dominion’s $57 million in incentives that year amounted to a measly .0133% of the state’s economy…
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Virginia May Repeal Right-to-Work Law
by Hans Bader Twenty-seven states have “right-to-work” laws. These laws protect workers against being forced to join a union and against being forced to pay dues or fees to a union as a condition of employment. But right-to-work laws may soon be repealed — starting in Virginia, which passed one of the earliest right-to-work laws,…
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Is Solar Permitting Stacked against the Little Guy?
by James A. Bacon The Van Kesteren family, owner of Van Kesteren Farms in Accomack County, wants to build solar panels on 180 acres as a way to supplement the income from its farming operations. But the price tag for connecting to the regional grid is posing a major barrier. The estimate for connecting to…
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The Last of The Pistol Packin’ Mamas?
By Peter Galuszka Part buffoon, part populist, state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, has for years represented white resentment against modern times, Tea Party-style. She’s picked up on every bad feeling out there and amplified it, including pent-up anger against minorities, immigrants, government workers, women’s rights and gun control advocates and more. She’s had a weekly…
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Bacon Bits: Higher Ed Updates
Billion dollar baby. You know Virginia Tech has made the big time when its projects hit the $1 billion mark. That’s how much Tech’s innovation campus in Alexandria, which is tied to Amazon’s HQ project, will ultimately cost. The first phase, a 300,000-square-foot academic building, will cost a mind-bending $275 million, reports the Washington Business…
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How Walkable Urbanism Is Guiding NoVa Growth and Redevelopment
by James A. Bacon Between Amazon, Micron Technology, and smaller deals too innumerable to list, Northern Virginia continues to dominate the economic action in Virginia. In previous business cycles, economic growth unleashed disconnected, low-density, auto-centric development that served immediate needs for office space but literally embedded in asphalt, concrete and steel one of the nation’s…
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Block.one Chooses Arlington for U.S. Headquarters
This may be the most fascinating Virginia business story of the year. Block.one, a leader in blockchain technology that originated in Blacksburg but is headquartered in Hong Kong, has announced that it will establish its U.S. headquarters in Arlington County. Virginia is providing a $600,000 grant from the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund to snag the $10…
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How Artificial Stupidity Is Ruining Our Lives
by James A. Bacon Periodically, Bacon’s Rebellion asks whether the increasing complexity of society is out of control. Personally, I don’t worry much about Artificial Intelligence wiping out our jobs or taking control of humanity because so much putative “intelligence” of the artificial variety is incredibly stupid. Case in point: my microwave oven. Just as…
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A Dialogue on Money in Virginia Politics
Jeff Thomas: Thank you for having me to Bacon’s Rebellion, Jim. I’m a longtime reader, first-time poster. Money in Virginia politics is an important topic on which I think we both agree, and I’m eager to hear your take on it. As I understand it, we’ll each answer and ask a question of the other…
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Richmond’s World of Secrecy and Collusion
by Peter Galuszka There’s long been the “Virginia Way” of ruling oligarchs making decisions in backrooms while leaving the public out of the picture. But then there’s also the “Richmond Way,” which is the same thing on steroids. The key focus today is the so-called Navy Hill District Corporation, a group headed by Dominion Energy…
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Rapid Workforce Deployment: Selling Speed
by James A. Bacon When Stephen Moret was hired to run the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) two-and-a-half years ago, one of his main selling points was his accomplishment of creating Lousiana’s FastStart workforce solutions program and building it into the top-ranked workforce development program in the country. Now Moret is assembling a team to…
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Richmond and DC Among Cities People Are Most Eager to Ditch
by Don Rippert Anywhere but here. Moneywise Publishing is citing a “study” detailing the most and least desirable American cities based on real estate inquiries. Real estate brokerage firm Redfin tracks Americans using their web site to find new places to live. According to the company, 25% of people browsing home listings online are “looking…
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Important Updates in the World of Bacon
Introducing a new feature on Bacon’s Rebellion — our healthy eating recommendations. As all good Baconauts know, it is our personal responsibility to embrace good nutrition to maintain our health and control health care costs. It’s important to eat lots of salad. Hat tip: John Butcher Of, course, no survivalist’s pantry would be complete without…
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Can VT Thrive If It Alienates Half the Population?
Virginia Tech is hot right now — very hot. The university is building a high-tech campus in Alexandria, its fund-raising efforts are collecting unprecedented sums of money, its faculty members are snaring serious venture capital funding. And in a new Money magazine survey ranking U.S. universities by “value,” it logged a very respectable position at…
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Universities as Engines of Income Redistribution
An article in the Wall Street Journal today explains how middle-class American families are finding themselves swamped with debt. Consumer debt (not including mortgages) has climbed to $4 trillion, higher than it has ever been, even counting for inflation. The major sources of that debt: credit cards, car loans and… student loans, which now exceed…