Category: Economic development
-
RVA 5X5: Enrichmond and the City’s Radio Silence
by Jon Baliles I wonโt do a โTop Stories of 2022โ list for this newsletter, but if I did, one of them would surely be the collapse of the Enrichmond Foundation and the radio silence on all fronts concerning its finances, the groups that depended on it, their assets, and the two historic Black cemeteries…
-
Suggestions to Ease Virginiaโs Housing Crisis without Additional State Money
by James C. Sherlock The Richmond Times-Dispatch, on cue, wrote in an editorial the other day that more state money was needed to fund local housing. Maybe. But that is not the first place to look. The governor wants to condition development aid to local communities on their reforming land-use policies to permit more construction.…
-
Are Virginians Putting the Stateโs Economy on Their Credit Cards?
by James C. Sherlock I wrote the other day about efforts to increase housing in Virginia. That story is very complicated at the levels of the federal, state and local governments. But at the end of that pipeline is the economy. We have read in many places that consumers are spending the savings they built…
-
Virginia Business Tax Ranking Falls Again
Virginia continues its long side in tax competitiveness this year with a No. 26 ranking in the Tax Foundation’s “2023 State Business Tax Climate Index.” That’s a decline from 25th place last year, 24th place in 2021, and 23rd place in 2020. As recently as 2017, Virginia’s business tax climate ranked 16th. After eight years…
-
Virginia Beach, Where Nothing Changes
by Kerry Dougherty I told you the cronies were back in charge in Virginia Beach. On August 22 four city officials including Councilmen Aaron Rouse and Linwood Branch — the latter was one of the original โThree Amigosโ who were, ah, mighty friendly with local developers decades ago — flew to New York City for…
-
A Chance for Petersburg
by James C. Sherlock The Youngkin administration is doing an unalloyed good thing the exact right way. In partnership with two Democrats. The Governor, in an extraordinary joint presentation with his cabinet secretaries and Democraticย Mayor Samuel Parham, laid out a plan for broad state help to Petersburg. Standing on the stage with Democratic State Senator…
-
An Innovative Initiative from UVa Shows A Way to Increase Low Cost Housing
by James C. Sherlock In July I published a series of reports here on the lack of sufficient low-cost housing. The University of Virginia is addressing that problem head on in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The innovation at the core of the program can be applied by Redevelopment and Housing Agencies (RHAs) across the state.…
-
The Great Realignment, Best-State-for-Business Reprise, Housing Drags, and Youngkin Popularity
by Chris Saxman If you read one article this week make it this one from Axios – The Democratic electorateโs seismic shift. Just about every presentation I have given over the last 6 or 7 years begins with a statement or slide that says we are living in a historic political realignment and itโs global.…
-
Regulations and the Costs of Doing Business in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock About the only category I found interesting in the โTop States for Businessโ rankings by CNBC, other than the progressive metrics that are featured in many of the categories, is โCost of Doing Business.” Virginiaโs worst score among the six categories of metrics is that one. The methodology used for costs…
-
Wind Farm Threat to Whales is Next Big Argument
by David Wojick The massive offshore wind (OSW) project proposed by Dominion Energy may pose a serious threat to the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale population. A comprehensive environmental impact assessment is required to determine the extent of this threat and the mitigation it might require. The same is true for the other proposed Mid-Atlantic…
-
CNBC Top-States-for-Business Ranking Is Worthless
๏ปฟ by Chris Saxman CNBCโs Top States for Business Ranking is quickly becoming synonymous with Major League Baseballโs best known worst umpire Angel Hernandez. Why? Like Hernandez, CNBCโs Ranking keeps moving the strike zone and they are fast becoming the best known worst ranking. Here is their explanation : We assign a weight to each…
-
The Costs of Avoidable Hospital Visits in Virginia and a Proven Solution
by James C. Sherlock I have written often of the costs of (1) avoidable emergency care and (2) avoidable hospital admissions for chronic diseases. Each type of excess costs could be prevented by timely visits to primary care practitioners and following their prescriptions for treatment. The avoidable costs are largely paid by Virginiaโs Medicaid program…
-
Portsmouth: Chaos + Casino = Chaos
by James C. Sherlock Portsmouth has a lot of problems. Look for them to get worse in February when its new casino is scheduled to open. A key thing you need to know about the casino is that it is the realization of Louise Lucasโ vision. Senator Lucas has spent 22 years promoting a casino…
-
More Solar Generation Approved
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors has approved the development of the largest solar project in the Commonwealth and one of the largest east of the Mississippi River. As reported by the News & Record, the 800-megawatt Randolph Project, debated by the board for almost a year, will occupy approximately 6,000 acres.ย …
-
“Richmond Real” and the Cityโs Limited Pool Hours for Kids
by James C. Sherlock On June 9, the Richmond Times Dispatch (RTD) offered a story on Mayor Stoney’s new slogan for the City of Richmond: โRichmond Real.โ The RTD piece offered a positive account of the new marketing slogan devised under what Richmond Free Press (RFP) has called a โsecretive” project led by the West…