Home
Syndicate content

local economy

Norfolk Officially Takes Over the USS Wisconsin at Nauticus

The Navy has finally granted owernship of the USS Wisconsin to the city of Norfolk, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

The city will take over and begin working to make the entire ship open to the public for tours. But a lot needs to be done before it can open fully to the public, he said. It must be cleaned of any hazardous materials, including asbestos. Then the heating and cooling systems must be overhauled.

The city will begin to use funds set aside years ago to renovate the interior of the ship. Starting on Saturday, guests will also have to pay an admission fee.

Hopefully, the ship will help energize tourism in the city.

"Norfolk officials have eagerly waited for the day when tourists could peer through the battleship Wisconsin's berthing areas and traipse through the ship's combat center.

Now after years of negotiations and environmental reviews, the Navy has finally granted ownership of the Wisconsin to the city.

Vice Adm. David Architzel signed the contract Monday, more than three years after the city asked for permission to maintain and run the Wisconsin as a tourist attraction.

The move will allow the city to begin spending $6.2 million that it set aside years ago to renovate the interior of the ship, which is moored next to Nauticus. Currently, it is partially open to the public.

Visitors can tour limited portions of the Wisconsin's deck. But by next spring, Nauticus director Hank Lynch said he expects to begin offering tours of parts of the ship's interior. Within three years, he said, most of the ship's entire interior will be open, including the combat information center, berthing areas, and the barber and doughnut shops.

'We want to show people everything it took to take care of the 2,000 human beings on that ship,' he said.

But that will all come with a price. Beginning Saturday, anyone who wants to tour the ship's deck will have to buy a ticket to enter Nauticus.

Admission to the Wisconsin is now free. On Saturday, it will cost an adult $10.95 to enter both attractions."

Read the full story.

Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 11:22pm

Some Richmond Businesses are Succeeding in Recession

Some local businesses in Richmond have made some changes to keep their business alive and strong during the recession, according to NBC12.

This is great news for area homeowners because strong businesses help support the local economy, provide jobs and contribute to the tax base which helps keep property taxes from increasing.

"The recession has made it rough for local businesses. When businesses struggle, we often hear about layoffs. But many local companies made other strategic changes that have helped them to survive, and some to thrive. Here's a look at some of the changes that paid off.

At Leo Burke Furniture, they cut every expense they could and rented out part of their store to another store, Goodwill's Second Debut.

'We vacated that space,' said Jack Burke, owner of Leo Burke Furniture. 'That certainly helped to reduce our costs.'

And Burke started selling some furniture on consignment. 'People started asking us if we would take some of their pieces on consignment and we've done that. That worked out beautifully for the consumer. It's worked out fine for us,' he said."

Read the full story.

Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 10:50pm

Officials Break Ground on Western State in Staunton

The groundbreaking ceremony for Western State Hospital was recently held, according to The News Leader.

The new mental health facility will bring new jobs to the area and boost the local economy.

Homeowners can appreciate this type of growth that will draw more professionals into the area.

"Mirroring reforms in the field of mental health, Western State Hospital will once again get a major overhaul.

State and local officials, including Gov. Tim Kaine, were on hand Tuesday morning for the official groundbreaking ceremony for a $125 million replacement hospital. The new 246-bed hospital will be constructed on a 66-acre site adjacent to the existing facility and is scheduled to open by spring 2013.

'It represents a real step forward in the way mental health issues are addressed and mental health is treated in Virginia,' Kaine said. 'This new facility really matches up with the right way to deal with mental health issues.'

The hospital, which opened in 1950, was built to house 1,800 patients and served more than 3,000 patients at its peak usage during the 1960s. Jack Barber, director of Western State Hospital, however, said recent changes to mental health care have made long-term hospitalization far less necessary."

Read the full story.

Posted on Thursday, December 3, 2009 - 11:43pm

Defense Agency to Bring $64 Million in Salaries to Albemarle Area

The Defense Intelligence Agency is relocating much of its function to Albemarle, bringing jobs and new residents to the area, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

This is great news for area homeowners because the influx of residents and salaries will aid in the tax base. Also, the DIA is not bringing staff to fulfill every position, and will look to local residents or companies to fulfill those needs. This move will be a great boost to the local economy.

"When the Defense Intelligence Agency brings an estimated 800 employees to Rivanna Station in September, it will join the nearly $110 million defense-related industry already headquartered in central Virginia.

The DIA is relocating much of its intelligence-analysis function to the Albemarle County facility occupied by the National Ground Intelligence Center. The move will improve communications and cooperation between the agencies, officials said.

Area business leaders have heralded the new jobs as good for the area.

'The DIA says the average salary will be $80,000. That means that in October 2010, there will be $64 million more in salaries that aren't here now,' said Timothy Hulbert, president and chief executive officer of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. 'That's huge.'

Not all of the 800 employees DIA wants to bring to town are coming. To compensate, DIA officials are opening some jobs to local residents and proffering contracts for local businesses.

'It's a targeted campaign in that we have specific positions we want to fill,' said Laura Donnelly, DIA spokeswoman. 'These are known vacancies or anticipated vacancies, so we know the jobs are available.'

Defense contracts already stimulate area businesses. In 2008, contracts brought more than $92 million into Charlottesville and $64.4 million into Albemarle.

The federal government spent more than $991 million in defense contracts in central Virginia between 2000 and 2008, according to federal figures, with more than $880 million in Charlottesville and Albemarle.

The contracts include everything from uniforms to laboratory analysis to commissary food. Defense-related companies in the area build weapons systems, targeting systems, radar, navigation, anti-explosive devices and firearms.

The totals do not include the military's Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School for military lawyers and legal officials at the University of Virginia, nor the Charlottesville-based Federal Executive Institute, operated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management."

Read the full story.

Posted on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 12:34pm

Tourism Vital to Sustaining Dan River Region's Business Base

Tourism supports quality of life and institutions like museums and attractions that convince people and businesses to relocate to Danville, and according to GoDanRiver.com tourism increased in the area in 2008.

One way to show Danville to visitors from all over Virginia and North Carolina comes in the form of Bright Leaf Brew Fest at the Community Market, which help boost the local economy.

This is great for homeowners because tax revenue from tourism will help keep taxes down for residents.

"Local tourism leaders envision a thriving downtown Danville.

They don’t want to see empty storefronts or for-sale signs.

Residents want to have downtown retailers, the mall and shopping centers like Coleman MarketPlace, said Sandie Marshall, chair of the Dan River Hospitality and Travel Committee of the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce.

But the residents of Danville and Pittsylvania County can’t support those businesses alone, Marshall added.

'If we don’t have people coming in to support our stores and the things we’ve always wanted in the area, those things are going to fold up and go away,' she said. 'During a recession, the first thing people want to cut is marketing dollars. That’s the last thing people should cut.'

In 2008, tourists (travelers going more than 50 miles) spent more than $75 million in Danville, according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation. That employed 850 people and resulted in more than $5 million in local and state tax revenues.

Tourism actually increased by $4.4 million last year from 2007."

Read the full story.

Posted on Monday, November 16, 2009 - 9:16pm

Richmond Residents Are Getting a New Baseball Team

 

A new team is coming to town, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Class AA Connecticut Defenders will be coming to Richmond.

Richmond residents have been waiting a long time to see what would their baseball future would hold. The addition of a new source of entertainment, boost the local economy and help to make the area more marketable to new residents and home buyers.

"The sign outside The Diamond still proclaims 'Home of the Richmond Braves,' but Richmond and its 24-year-old stadium will have a new professional baseball team beginning next spring.

After months of delays, the long-anticipated relocation of the Class AA Connecticut Defenders was announced yesterday by regional and team officials who gathered at The Diamond in front of a banner that read, 'Play Ball!'

'We're here to say baseball is back,' Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said.

Richmond has been without pro baseball since the Class AAA Richmond Braves moved to a new $64 million stadium in Gwinnett County, Ga., after the 2008 season.

The Atlanta Braves severed their 43-year relationship with Richmond after growing frustrated by the outdated condition of The Diamond and the lack of progress on a long-term stadium plan.

Though there's still no plan or even a timetable to get one, owners of the Defenders franchise said they're ecstatic to come to Richmond and plan to spend at least $1.5 million to upgrade The Diamond by opening day in April."

Read the full story.

Posted on Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 11:01pm

Hampton Roads Economy is Better Than Most Metro Areas

Hampton Roads economy is in the top 20 of nation's 100 largest metro areas, according to a recent article in The Virginian Pilot.

The recession has spared almost no region of the country, but lower-than-average job losses have helped Hampton Roads fare better than most of the nation's major metropolitan areas, which could be due to the concentration of defense and government activity.

Homeowners in the area have seen a decrease in housing prices and an increase in foreclosures, but those statistics have also been better than the average of other metro areas around the country.

"Jobs in the region in the second quarter of 2009 slipped by 2.1 percent from the peak in 2007. That compared with an average decline of 3.8 percent in the 100 largest metro areas.

Hampton Roads' unemployment rate of 7.4 percent during the quarter remained well below the 9.7 percent average for the 100 areas, according to the Brookings Institution report. The output of Hampton Roads' goods and services has slipped only 0.8 percent from the peak during last year's third quarter. The average decline was 3.7 percent for the 100 areas.

Housing prices were down 2.1 percent from one year ago, according to the Brookings report. That put the region on the bottom half for the 100 metro areas, where the average decline was 4.4 percent. A rising number of foreclosures also put a damper on regional economic recovery. Hampton Roads saw 2.43 real estate owned properties per 1,000 mortgageable properties, while the average among metropolitan areas was 4.20."

Read full story, including a link to the full report.

Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 12:02pm

Lynchburg Region Sales Tax Revenue Deflates

The recent released numbers for Julys sales tax revenue coming to the Lynchburg-region were smaller than last year's, but not as bad as expected, according to an article in The Lynchburg News & Advance.

Lynchburg officials were expecting sales tax income to fall 12 percent, instead it only fell 7 percet. Sometimes good news can be "better than expected" bad news.

Any additional income localities can receive, like the sales tax income can help to keep property taxes down. So, this is also "better than expected" news for homeowners.

"A few hours after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine this week announced layoffs and other measures to address the state’s $1.35 billion revenue shortfall, the state released data on July sales tax revenue going to localities.

Lynchburg-area localities are receiving just less than $2 million in sales tax revenue for July, a 17 percent drop from the $2.4 million the region received in July 2008.

The revenue decrease was not a surprise, and in some cases was not as bad as had been expected.

'The new way to talk about economic good news is to say it’s not as bad as we thought it was going to be,' said Kimball Payne, Lynchburg’s city manager.

The numbers show Amherst County had the largest decrease at 58 percent, although county officials said that resulted from an anomaly.

In July 2008, the state collected a large sales tax payment from a county business that had not paid sales tax for some time, said Brenda Campbell, accounting director. That makes the drop in sales tax revenue seem larger than it actually is.

'Our sales tax may be down, but it isn’t down 58 percent,' she said.

Payne said that Lynchburg’s budget estimated that July’s sales tax income would fall 12 percent. Instead, it only fell 7 percent.

'It’s well within budget; It’s better than budget,' he said.

Although he did not have exact numbers on Wednesday for lodging and meals tax revenues, Payne said he believes those collections were on budget in July."

Read full story.

 

Posted on Friday, September 11, 2009 - 5:25pm