Category: Economic development
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Will McDonald’s Be Leaving Virginia? Not This year, But…
by Chris Saxman I wish the headline of today’s column was just click bait. It originates from a headline that was pushed across my phone that read “Will McDonald’s be leaving California?” That immediately made me think that McDonald’s corporate offices might be considering moving their headquarters from California to another state. Given the exodus…
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Drink Their Coffee, Then the Kool-Aid
by Joe Fitzgerald The only thing I remember from Howard Fast’s Lavette family saga is from the fourth book, The Legacy. A pragmatic leftist organizer is registering Black voters in Mississippi with two dewy-eyed liberals, and an older couple invites the three into their home. They drink coffee and the two liberals talk about the…
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RVA 5×5: State of The City – What The People Think
by Jon Baliles There is a little-known part of Richmond’s City Code that requires the City Auditor to produce a “Services, Efforts, and Accomplishments” (SEA) Report by conducting a thorough poll/survey of Richmond residents to see what they think about the level of service and performance and deliverability of City government. In other words, it’s…
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Return to Bull Run: Pumping the Brakes on Data Center Construction
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V Conflict rages yet again on the site of two major Civil War Battles, Manassas National Battlefield Park, in Prince William County, Virginia. This is nothing new to Northern Virginia residents who can recall the rally cry of “Save the Battlefield.” In 1988, developers fought and lost the battle to build…
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Why Did Youngkin Spurn a $3.5 Billion Investment?
by James A. Bacon When you nix what might have been a $3.5 billion investment creating a reported 2,500 jobs in one of Virginia’s most depressed regions, you’d better have a good explanation. But when mammoth economic development deals are wrapped in secrecy backed by non-disclosure agreements, it’s difficult providing that explanation. That’s the pickle…
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Youngkin Wants to Jump-Start Economic Growth
by James A. Bacon Governor Glenn Youngkin addressed many topics in his State of the Commonwealth address last week, ranging from the meltdown in K-12 education to the surge in suicides, drug overdoses, and homicides. But he spent the most time talking about Virginia’s declining economic competitiveness. Once upon a time, making the Commonwealth economically…
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Virginia Democrats’ Rent Control Bills Would Make Housing Scarcer
by Hans Bader In Virginia’s legislature, rent-control legislation has been introduced by five Democratic delegates and a Democratic state senator. Economists oppose rent control because it makes it more difficult for people to find decent housing in the long run. In a 1992 poll, 93% of those surveyed said rent control reduces the quantity and…
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McKinsey & Company Has You Covered
by James C. Sherlock Ever feel not only disconnected from, but ignored by central planners? Do you run a shoe store in Sterling or work for a hospital in Richmond? Use natural gas in your home or work? Teach in a public school in Wise County? Drive a gas-or diesel-powered vehicle? In other words, do…
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RVA 5×5 — Who Really Voted Down The Casino Referendum?
by Jon Baliles The casino referendum is the issue that won’t go away — kind of like a desperate or compulsive gambler who stays put because the next hand is the winning hand, or the slot player who is completely convinced the next pull of that handle will deliver the jackpot. At some point, you…
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Projected $312 Billion Cost of Lost Earnings of Virginia K-12 Students due to Pandemic School Closures
by James C. Sherlock Over $312 billion in present value. That is the estimate published by Stanford’s Eric A. Hanushek of expected economic losses attributable to Virginia’s pandemic school closures. Virginia students in the COVID cohort can expect on average 5.5 percent lower lifetime earnings. History indicates that the economic losses will be permanent unless the schools…
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Cold Iron in Downtown Richmond
by Jon Baliles The Free-Press Editorial page’s second at-bat this week also scored a hit with “No Hot Iron Here.” The piece calls out the Mayor for allowing the hot iron of development opportunity to cool to the disadvantage of the City. It mentions the selection of five teams that bid on the “City Center”…
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Afghan Immigrants and Their Children in Virginia – Part 2 – the Afghan Adjustment Act
by James C. Sherlock When I wrote Part 1 of this series, I promised further investigation into immigration of Afghan allies into Virginia. The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), a hero in this story, has been entirely forthcoming in answering my inquiries. I will recount in a follow-up post their work so far. But…
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Richmond’s Next Chapter
by Jon Baliles The Times-Dispatch Editorial Board printed a piece this week entitled “The city’s Lost Cause statues are all gone. So what now?” While it recaps the events and protests of 2020 and the fact that all of the former Confederate statues have been removed, it offers a bit more foresight by looking at…
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Tumblin’ Dice
by Jon Baliles The casino project proposal in Petersburg was unveiled this week and it is a big one. In poker terminology, it could be considered an “all-in” proposal. The Progress–Index reports that The Cordish Companies propose a $1.4 billion “‘city within a city’ of entertainment, retail, office and residential property. Its centerpiece would be…
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The Trophy in the Middle of the River
by Jon Baliles Some great news this week about the one thing most everyone can agree on: the James River is awesome, and the heart of the City just got a LOT more awesome. Or at least it is pointing in that direction. Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense reported that The Capital Region Land Conservancy…