By Bill Cresenzo
Dora Sullivan and Charles Brown are sitting in chairs on the sidewalk in the heart of Cape Charles on a recent sunny spring day.
The strip of commercial space that lines the town's main street is quaint and historic, with a hardware store, a pub, a boutique hotel that just reopened and a couple of souvenir shops.
All are within walking distance of Cape Charles Beach, a well-kept stretch of sand that features a fishing pier that extends into the Chesapeake Bay - no fishing license required, compliments of the town.
By Philip Newswanger
A federal judge denied a request to stop the city of Norfolk from taking legal action against a Norfolk business.
U.S. Judge Arenda Wright Allen denied the temporary restraining order filed by the Institute for Justice preventing Norfolk from charging Central Radio $1,000 a day for not taking down the protest banner that hangs on the side of the building near Old Dominion University.
The 600-square-foot banner reads "50 years on this street, 78 years in Norfolk, 100 workers" and "threatened by eminent domain."
By Philip Newswanger
Officials at Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate and engineering and architecture firm Clark Nexsen still think their proposal to redevelop the Waterside Marketplace in downtown Norfolk is better than the proposal recommended to Norfolk City Council.
They believe they have a vision. They believe the city will benefit and with minimal or no risk.
"This is a straightforward project with a clean return on investment," said William Hudgins, president of Harvey Lindsay Development Group.
By Susan Smigielski Acker
Correspondent
When the master plan for the Phoebus section of Hampton was developed in August 2007, no one considered that property in the area would become a national monument operated by the National Park Service.
"We never realized in our wildest dreams that Fort Monroe would be a national monument," said Faith Jones, president of the Phoebus Improvement League.
By Danielle Walker
danielle.walker@insidebiz.com
A new report on Virginia's aviation and space workforce found that the industry will need 12,283 new workers in the next decade.
The report, by Virginia Commonwealth University's Performance Management Group, said that 10,398 of the new jobs will fill those of retirees.
Jobs will include aerospace engineers, mechanical engineers, airline pilots, aircraft mechanics and technicians, air traffic controllers, and other jobs that require knowledge of science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
by Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Economic development activity is picking up in Virginia Beach.
Compared to January, the city's economic development department added 24 new projects to its list, according to its monthly marketing activity update, which was delivered at the March 19 meeting of the Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority.
Of the 24 new projects, nine are expansions of existing firms and eight are new prospects for the city.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright gave the annual State of the City address last week, saying that it is imperative that residents of Portsmouth and its sister cities be able to maneuver in out and of Portsmouth without paying tolls.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
A lack of seed capital has always haunted local startup technology companies in the region.
Investors, or angels, are scarce in Hampton Roads, or, if they exist, they are hard to find and nail down.
But a group of investors is raising capital for an angel fund to finance startup technology companies, which might invigorate the economy.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
The city of Norfolk's Department of Development has historically worked mainly to attract business to the city and to encourage existing businesses to expand.
Now, the department is pointing its eye toward the unemployed, the underemployed and the younger, emerging workforce.
by philip newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
New businesses are taking advantage of the exemption on the Business and Professional Occupational License tax in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
Both cities are offering new businesses within their borders a two-year exemption from the tax, which is based on a company's gross receipts.
No other city in the region is offering the same exemption, although Norfolk City Council has been briefed on the law giving localities the right to exempt new businesses from the tax.
