Virginia
Column: GO Virginia invests in the Hampton Roads “portfolio of assets”
For much of the past decade, Virginia has fallen behind other states in competing for economic development because we failed to make critical investments in our workforce, site development and entrepreneurship. Further, our localities often competed with each other instead of collaborating to lift up the entire Hampton Roads region. The Virginia Initiative for Growth & Opportunity (GO Virginia), created through a business-led, bipartisan effort in 2015, is reversing that trend.
GO Virginia has similarly made a major contribution to Hampton Roads’ economic development, and its support, combined with other critical investments and initiatives, marks last year as a banner year in the evolution of our regional economy. Our economic prospects for this year and beyond are exciting.
The Hampton Roads region benefited in 2023 with investments in several critical areas. We made meaningful progress last year with:
- The announcement of a $300 million-$500 million investment from the U.S. Department of Energy in the Jefferson Lab High Performance Data Facility, which will make Hampton Roads a national leader in data science and analytics.
- Investments in transportation infrastructure, such as the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, highway expansion, the Port of Virginia, rail and broadband, totaling $6 billion.
- Expansion of our green energy infrastructure and associated technology, including offshore wind, subsea cable, and the creation of a green hydrogen hub, which was supported by a GO Virginia grant.
- The creation of a “Global Internet Hub” with Richmond through RVA757 Connects, also supported with GO Virginia funding.
- The continued development of our workforce and talent programs, bringing more than $50 million in investments from U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), U.S. Navy and other programs, which was initially leveraged with GO Virginia talent pathways funding.
- Working with our localities, the Hampton Roads Alliance had its best performance in the past 25 years, announcing 13 projects totaling 2,860 jobs and $626 million in capital investment.
- Expansion of our entrepreneurship system, bringing new funding from the U.S. EDA which was initially leveraged with GO Virginia funds to 757 Collab.
- Identifying emerging opportunities for the region related to uncrewed systems and autonomy, airport/electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), and coastal resilience, also supported with GO Virginia funds.
- All of these impressive investments, which will help transform our region and advance economic growth, are the result of careful coordination and planning. Our region’s economic growth strategy is shaped by a GO Virginia regional Economic Growth & Diversification (G&D) Plan, managed by the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, which is the support organization for GO Virginia Region 5 in Hampton Roads.
Our regional plan, available at roundtablehr.org, identifies key industry clusters for growth as well as the investments and initiatives needed for expansion. Our region already has a unique set of assets and opportunities unlike any others across the country, with the largest Navy base in the world, the significant presence of NASA, and leading industry clusters related to our water and maritime economy. The G&D plan is also used to collaborate with other regions across the commonwealth and further leverage resources. Last year, GO Virginia invested $35 million in our region and stimulated an associated $47 million of matching investment funds.
Collaboration among our regional economic development organizations is another area of focus. Last year, several organizations with similar missions merged for strategic focus, and a new Regional Organizations Presidents Council was established to align regional organizations, coordinate activities, avoid duplication and identify new issues and opportunities ahead.
There are certainly more investments to be made in 2024 and beyond to take advantage of existing and emerging opportunities. Education and training, talent attraction/retention, housing, child care and branding are also critical to our growth trajectory.
What is exciting for the Hampton Roads region today is the mix of investment and collaboration to build on this strong foundation of unique assets for growth ahead. GO Virginia has been a key catalyst in our region’s emergence and we are excited about our future prospects.
Cliff Fleet and Dennis Matheis are co-chairs of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable. Tom Frantz serves as chair and Lynn Taylor as vice chair of the GO Virginia Region 5 Council.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia has plenty of state symbols, be it the black bear as the state animal, the cardinal as the state bird or the rhododendron as the state flower, but did you know that the Mountain State also has its own official gun?
The Hall Flintlock Model 1819 was first manufactured in Harpers Ferry by John H. Hall in 1811 and was adopted by the United States Army in 1819, making it the first breech-loading rifle ever adopted by a country’s military.
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Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution -
Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution
All of this information is listed in Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, which was introduced and passed during the 2013 West Virginia Legislative session, and officially recognizes the Model 1819 as the official firearm of the State of West Virginia.
On top of being created in West Virginia, the resolution also points out that the rifle saw use during the Civil War, an event that directly led to West Virginia’s statehood.
While having an officially recognized state firearm may seem far-fetched, West Virginia is not the only state that has one. As a matter of fact, a fifth of the states in the country have officially designated a state firearm, including West Virginia’s neighbors in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this world of college football, with the transfer portal and recruiting battles, bad blood is present more than ever before between head coaches.
That’s not the case between the Virginia Tech head coach and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, however. In fact, Franklin revealed at ACC Kickoff on Thursday that the two are actually close friends, dating back to their time at the Nike trip that various coaches take over the summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back. We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
The long-time Penn State head coach is making the move to the ACC after being fired from the Nittany Lions in October. 12 seasons of being with the program had Franklin hold a 44-21 record against top 10 opponents, an impressive record for a new conference foe of Swinney’s.
But when that trip comes around, there’s a camaraderie between Swinney and Franklin and both of their wives. In fact, the two hang out with each other instead of the other coaches at times. It simply comes to an “edgy” time in college athletics that raises tempers.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
On Swinney’s end, there are a few who could immediately come to mind among Clemson fans. Perhaps the most recent would be Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who played the most significant role in the tampering of former linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
It’s a select list of coaches who make the good side of the Tigers’ head coach, and Franklin is certainly on that list. On the other hand, Hokies’ head coach has Swinney on his own shortlist.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC,” he said.
The two will see that close relationship face off at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. Clemson will host the Hokies on Oct. 24 in what could be a potential title-eliminator for the ACC Championship.
Of course, the last game that we’ve seen the Tigers play in was against Franklin’s former team in Penn State at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. That game ended in a 22-10 contest that saw a foundation of Franklin players end Clemson’s season in disappointment.
Swinney will see many of those players once again in October, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in that contest. The anticipated Hokie starter recorded 260 yards and two passing touchdowns on the Tigers in the Bronx that day.
Although friends become foes, another ACC coach has given Swinney his flowers for what he’s been able to do for the conference. In the upcoming moments, Franklin will look to prepare his team to prove itself on one of the biggest stages in the ACC, while Swinney looks to put his team back at the top of a conference he’s dominated for over 15 years.
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Extreme drought conditions in parts of Virginia have prompted an emergency drought warning for a wide swath of the region, including Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Danville, Roanoke, Salem and Martinsville.
The governor has warned that if conditions worsen, she will activate mandatory nonessential water-use restrictions.
In Martinsville, city leaders have issued a voluntary water conservation notice and are urging residents and businesses to cut back where they can. The request comes as local businesses that rely heavily on water say the drought is already affecting day-to-day operations.
SEE ALSO: Botetourt County residents adjust daily routines as voluntary water restriction continues
John Hughes, owner of John’s Car Wash, said the dry conditions have hit his business hard in recent weeks. “For the last 3 weeks, it’s been hitting pretty hard. We done three yesterday and haven’t done anything today with the drought and hot weather. Yeah, I’m really concerned about it,” Hughes said.
Restaurants are also feeling the strain. David Kitzmiller, an owner of Be Wiched, said water is essential for routine tasks such as washing dishes and preparing some menu items.
“We use a lot of water for washing dishes and some of our recipes if they limit us in anyway defiently can’t produce and its a scary aspect,” Kitzmiller said.
Kitzmiller added that cutting back is not always realistic for businesses that must meet sanitation needs. “Not really feasible for a business that depends solely relies on water to wash their dishes, so that can’t definitely be an impact there,” he said.
City leaders emphasized that the conservation request is voluntary for now, but they are encouraging everyone to do their part by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when it is not in use, washing only full loads of laundry, and limiting outdoor watering whenever possible.
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