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In This Issue... Entrepreneurial Dominion,Expansions & Relocations, Who's Hot, Who's Not, Who's Winning Business, Deal Makers, Innovations, R&D / Intellectual Property, People,Trends, Other News, Commentary,Events, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Next Domestic Diva?
"It's all about living your life around your personality," Hannah states in her new book, Hannah's Art of Home. "Quit trying to be something you're not and learn to love who you are. Life is way too short to stuff yourself into a 'lifestyle' mold someone creates for you. Create your own path instead." More. Want to Improve Your Google Rankings? There's no cheap, easy way to improve your search-engine rankings, but one proven technique is to build your in-bound links. The more legitimate links that connect to your website, the more Google's ranking algorithms will bless you. The operative word is "legitimate". Google filters out non-contextual links from "link farms" that exist only to trick search engines. Placing press releases in electronic media is an excellent way to generate legitimate links. The more popular the site linking to you, the better. If you can get your press release on the CNN website, you're golden. If not, you might have to settle for obscure online trade publications-or VA Newswire. Google spiders us regularly, and any press release that's posted on our site quickly shows up in its search results. We don't charge to use press releases that meet our guidelines for news. (Click here to see our press release guidelines.) If you don't meet our guidelines, it costs only $100 to place your release in the Newswire as sponsored content. Need help writing a press release? We can help you there, too. Click here for details. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Expansions & Relocations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The Boomer Project  National Association of Women Business Owners  Virginia FREE  Searchable Business Database |
Mecklenburg Cleans Up with Southern Textile SOUTH HILL--Southern Textile Service, Inc. and RD Group/2 LLC are investing $8 million to locate a linen processing operation in Mecklenburg County. Southern Textile Service, Inc., a newly formed company associated with Virginia Linen Service, Inc., will hire 55 new employees for the 50,000-square-foot facility. Virginia Linen Service is a third-generation company headquartered in Petersburg; affiliated companies provide linen and uniform rental service to hospitals, healthcare clinics, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, barber/beauty salons, and other businesses across the Eastern U.S. The new Southern Textile Service facility will be designed to be energy efficient, reduce the use water and waste products, and process reusable textiles. More. New Vineyard Opens in Richmond County WARSAW--Belle Mount Vineyards has opened a winery on a 243-acre estate known as Belle Mount Plantation. The vineyard, which overlooks the Rappahannock River, boasts a banquet hall, log cabins and several varietals of wine, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.More. Warner Proposes Funding for DNA Testing Unit NORFOLK-the Virginia Division of Forensic Science will receive $1.7 million and add 17 positions under a budget proposal submitted by Gov. Mark R. Warner. The investment would fund a new mitochondrial DNA testing unit and create a new "fusion center" to distill share information on anti-terrorism intelligence and emergency response throughout the Commonwealth. Said Warner: "A new, state-of-the-art center will better equip law enforcement and first responders across Virginia in the event of a terrorist threat or large-scale disaster." More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Hot... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Avenue Raises $93 Million CHARLOTTESVILLE--First Avenue Networks, a provider of fixed wireless solutions, has raised $93.3 million in equity through the sale of nearly 12.9 million shares of stock to institutional investors. The company will use net proceeds to develop its mobile backhaul network initiatives and build fiber extension facilities in targeted metropolitan markets. The funds also will be used for debt repayment and general corporate purposes. In related developments the Federal Communications Commission has approved the request to transfer 24 GHz licenses to First Avenue from Teligent. More. Roanoke Electric: What a Difference a Year Makes ROANOKE-Fueled by higher prices and higher volume, Roanoke Electric Steel has served up turbo-charged earnings this year. The steel mini-mill business reported $30.4 million in earnings in 2004 compared to a $3.2 million loss last year. Said CEO Donald G. Smith and COO T. Joe Crawford: "Fiscal year 2004 was the best year in the history of our company, which was especially pleasing given the challenges of the last three years." Looking to 2005, the executives said the positive forces driving earnings this year are "sustainable." More. James River: Cooking with Coal! RICHMOND--James River Coal Company, a producer of steam-and industrial-grade coal that recently emerged from bankruptcy, has reported 3Q net income of $1.4 million and revenues of $88 million. The company overcame considerable operational difficulties, including the loss of two contract operators and adverse geological conditions. On the plus side, the company has opened "several" new mines this year. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Not... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Convera Restructures, Takes $800,000 Charge VIENNA--Convera Corporation, a provider of search and categorization software, is restructuring operations--reducing workforce, consolidating facilities and reducing marketing costs-in a bid to shave $10 million annually in expenses. Taking a $800,000 write off, the company intends to focus on its web indexing development activities and increase its presence in law enforcement, intelligence gathering and other high-end search markets.More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Winning Business... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Northrop Grumman to Plan Overhaul of Nuclear Carrier NEWPORT NEWS-Northrup Grumman Corporation has won a $215.3 million planning contract to prepare for the overhaul and refueling of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Newport News in November 2005 for its only refueling during a service life expected to span 50 years. Work includes advance planning, design, documentation, engineering, material procurement, shipboard inspections, fabrication, and preliminary shipyard support facility work.More. T-Med Beams Mental Health Services into Rural Virginia FAIRFAX--T-Med Behavioral, a provider of mental health services to the elderly, has contracted with Beverly Healthcare-Virginia to provide video telemedicine services at Beverly facilities in Martinsville and Buena Vista. Said CEO Zee L. Friedman: "By using our expanding Video Telemedicine facilities, T-Med Behavioral now can reach so many more residents who were underserved or lived in rural areas of the country. T-Med's clients can also make use of the telemedicine equipment to provide many other benefits to the facilities, their staff, their residents and the residents' families." More. XO Communications Signs Up Abercrombie & Fitch RESTON--XO Communications Inc., a provider of telecommunications services to business, has been awarded a multi-year contract from Abercrombie & Fitch, the youth clothing chain. XO Communications will upgrade the retailer's communications network to accommodate increased data, voice and Internet communications requirements following several years of solid growth. More. In Brief... FAIRFAX--ManTech International Corporation has won a five-year contract potentially worth $23 million to support the Naval Air Warfare Analysis Department with modeling, simulation and analysis services. More. FAIRFAX--SRA International Inc. has won an $18.1 million contract to provide IT services to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command.More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Deal Makers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cap One Pays $155 Million for eSmartloan MCLEAN--Capital One Financial Corporation, one of the nation's largest credit card companies, has agreed to pay $155 million to buy eSmartloan, an online originator of home equity loans and mortgages, from the National Bank of Kansas City and eSmartloan management. The transaction will enhance Capital One's capabilities in the growing U.S. home equity market. Founded in 2001, eSmartloan expects to originate more than 12,000 loans representing more than $1 billion in volume in 2004.More. Spacelink Acquired for $150 Million DULLES-Spacelink a developer of satellite and wireless networks for federal agencies and multinational corporations, has agreed to a purchase by St. Louis-based Engineered Support Systems Inc. for $150 million in cash and stock. Spacelink employs 100 highly skilled employees who generated $95 million in revenue in 2003, with double-digit increases projected going forward. Spacelink's capabilities include a state-of-the-art 24x7 Operations Control Center, which monitors the operational availability and performance of its deployed systems worldwide, an inventory of electronic equipment spares, transportable earth stations and a depot maintenance and integration facility.More. Pyramid Vision Products Sold to L-3 ARLINGTON-Sarnoff Corporation, of Princeton, N.J., has sold the advanced video security lines of its Arlington-based Pyramid Vision subsidiary to L-3 communications, of New York. The agreement covers a suite of smart video surveillance that offer "motion-on-motion" detection capabilities for video cameras, a sensor-management platform, and a product that streams multiple, real-time video streams into a single, three-dimensional view. Pyramid Vision will continue to market and support other product lines for advanced video processing. More. SABRE Cuts Deal with SynXis MCLEAN--In a move to expand its services to the hotel industry, Sabre Holdings Corporation, the Southlake, Texas, airline reservation operation, has agreed to pay $40 million to buy SynXis Corporation, a provider of reservation management, distribution and technology services for hotels. The SynXis reservation system has gained significant marketplace traction with a base of 6,000 hotel properties. More. GlobalCerts Signs Middle East Distribution Agreement CHARLOTTESVILLE--GlobalCerts, the provider of secure-messaging appliance solutions formerly known as Tovaris, has signed an agreement with Fusion Distribution based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to distribute its email encryption products in the Middle East. The GlobalCerts SecureMail Gateway solution simplifies email encryption. More. In Brief... DANVILLE--Dan River Inc., still struggling to emerge from bankruptcy protection, has agreed to sell the assets of its Engineered Products Division to Porterdale Acquisition LLC for $9.37 million. More. RICHMOND--LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. has purchased Indianapolis, Ind.-based Mortgage Credit Services Inc., one of the nation's largest mortgage credit reporting companies. More. ARLINGTON-Atlanta-based Wells Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. has purchased 3100 Clarendon Boulevard, a 14-story, Class-A, 238,000-square-foot office building fully leased to the General Services Administration. More. CULPEPER--Virginia Financial Group has announced its intention to purchase Charlottesville-based Cabell Insurance Associates. More. RICHMOND-Dominion has sold its Dominion Cleveland Thermal Inc., unit, serving more than 150 commercial and institutional properties in downtown Cleveland, to newly formed CT Acquisitions I Inc. More. NORFOLK-Wasabi Systems, a provider of storage software solutions, has announced an agreement in which Rackable Systems will use Wasabi Storage Builder in its family of iSCSI storage products. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Innovations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Steffi and Andre, Part Deux RICHMOND-Building on the success of its first commercial featuring married tennis starts Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, insurance giant Genworth Financial is rolling out, yes, another commercial featuring Andre and Steffi. The first TV spot featured a young actor who played the tennis stars' son and competed shot for shot with U.S. tennis pro Taylor Dent. This time, instead of watching their son play, Agassi and Graf play each other. The ad premiered on NBC's reality series "The Apprentice", in which competitors worked on a business case for Genworth. Let's just hope the ad works well, otherwise Genworth might have to tell them, "You're Fired." More. Clareos Releases "Big Data" Solution HERNDON--Clareos, a business software company, has released Clareos CrossCut 2.0, a solution it bills as capable of transforming large amounts of raw data into valuable, actionable business information. Said CEO Stephen Foley: "Many organizations, specifically those dealing in transaction-based businesses, are faced with the challenge of making accurate, quick decisions using tactical raw data. Clareos CrossCut gives organizations the power to analyze any amount of data at the transactional level and easily migrate it up to summation in a matter of seconds and minutes, giving them the ability to make smart decisions on-the-fly." More. AOL, MCI Roll out Phone Service for the Deaf DULLES/ASHBURN--America Online, Inc., and MCI have expanded their partnership to launch the new My IP Relay Number service. The service, developed by MCI, provides deaf and hard-of-hearing people with a unique local number, giving them the ability to receive telecommunications relay calls on any computing device that features the AOL Instant Messenger service. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | R&D / Intellectual Property | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hokies Win NSF Grant for Power Center BLACKSBURG-Virginia Tech's Center for Power Electronics has won $12.5 million in funding over four years from the National Science Foundation. Power electronics technology uses electronic circuits to convert and control electric energy with optimum efficiency. Today, this technology is part of most electrically powered machines and devices from railroad trains and industrial robots to telephones and stereos. Said Albert J. Tucker, a member of the Center's advisory board: "About 15 years ago, power electronics devices were so large and expensive that they were used primarily by the military. But microelectronics circuitry has decreased the size and lowered the cost of power electronics. We're in a period now in which this technology is becoming widely used. [The Center] is helping to train a new generation of power electronics researchers and engineers." In Brief... HERNDON--ASCEND Therapeutics, a developer of transdermal therapies for the treatment of chronic conditions, has announced that its 4-OHT gel has reduced cyclic breast pain among premenopausal women in a Phase 2 clinical study. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | People | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MicroStrategy Promotes Locke to CFO MCLEAN-MicroStrategy, developer of business intelligence software, has promoted Arthur S. Locke III to CFO, replacing Eric F. Brown, who left to fill the CFO slot at McAfee Incorporated. Said Brown: "With over $100 million in cash and investments on our balance sheet, no long-term debt, and high operating margins, MicroStrategy is in a very strong financial position. I'm confident we're going to have a smooth handoff to Art, who has been working closely with me for nearly four years as MicroStrategy's vice president of finance." More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Trends | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Chmura Economics & Analytics |
 The latest data indicate that Virginia's unemployment rate continues to edge lower. As of October, Virginia's unemployment rate was 3.3 percent while the national unemployment rate stood at 5.5 percent. Historically, Virginia's unemployment rate has tracked below the national average. Since 1978, the spread between the two rates has been as narrow as 0.4 percentage points and as wide as 4.3 percentage points. Note that the rectangles represent recession periods. For details and forecasts of economic conditions across Virginia, as well as a list of Chmura Economics & Analytics (CEA) products and services, click here, or call (804) 649-1107. Federal IT Outsourcing on Steep Growth Curve RESTON--Federal IT outsourcing will be one of the fastest growing federal IT market segments over the next five years, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.3 percent forecast, according to a report released by INPUT, a provider of government market intelligence. U.S. federal government spending on IT outsourcing will grow from $11.7 billion in FY04 to $17.4 billion in FY 2009. A key driver of the market will be a wave of retirements among aging federal IT personnel. More. Virginia Rated Highly in Index of Well Being WASHINGTON, D.C.-Virginia ranks No. 11 in the country in the United Way of America's "State of Caring" Index, which measures the well being of American society based on indicators of income, jobs, education, health, housing costs, safety, the environment and charitable involvement. Based on 2002 data, the Index gave Virginia good scores forthe economy and financial well being but mixed scores for health and charitable/civic engagement. See state profile. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Other News | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Align360 Changes Name to Appix RICHMOND--Align360, known for its Property and Casualty insurance expertise, has become the P&C Insurance Division of Appix, Inc. After Appix's acquisition of Align360 in July 2003, the two entities have joined to bring customized technology solutions to the insurance, banking, and fixed income trading industries. More. HCA Implements VISICU's Patented eICU Solution RICHMOND-HCA Richmond Hospitals, a four-hospital system in the Richmond region, have activated an eICU system to provide remote monitoring and telemedicine for its critical care units. The systems, developed by Baltimore-based VISICU, Inc., connect off-site critical care specialist physicians and nurses to ICU patients across multiple locations for 24-hour coverage. Said Glenn Giessel, medical director for eICU WATCH: "This remote monitoring system has been documented to result in shorter hospital stays for critically ill patients and better outcomes." More. UVa Studies Ways to Salvage Sanatorium CHARLOTTESVILLE-The University of Virginia has outlined a plan to save some of its historic structures at the former Blue Ridge Sanatorium property near Monticello. The university would like a private entity to develop the site and preserve up to 19 buildings of historic significance for "adaptive reuse," possibly as office space. The site, just off Interstate 64, could support mixed uses, said University architect David Neuman. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Commentary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Warner and the Wild One Doug Wilder won the mayoral election in Richmond with 80 percent of the vote. You'd think that would make him a hero in the Democratic Party. More. |
Driving Around in Circles Virginia's transportation system is bad and getting worse. Clueless on how to fix it, Virginia's political leadership is like the guy who's totally lost and refuses to ask for directions. My first reaction upon reading that Gov. Mark R. Warner had proposed doling out an extra $824 million for transportation funding was to throw up my hands and beg, "Please don't shoot." I felt like I was being robbed. Instead of giving the surplus generated by this year's unneeded tax increases back to taxpayers, the Governor wanted to use much of it to fund construction of road and transit projects that, in the long run, would benefit no one but a handful of big developers and contractors.More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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