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| Business Intelligence for Virginia's Entrepreneurial Economy | ||||||||||||||||||
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In This Issue... Entrepreneurial Dominion, Expansions, Relocations & Launches, Who's Hot, Who's Not, Who's Winning Business, Deals & Partnerships, Innovations, R&D / Intellectual Property, People, Trends, Other News, Pork Central: Your Tax Dollars at Work, Commentary, Events, Click here to forward to a friend or colleague who might like this newsletter. |
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| Back To Top | Entrepreneurial Dominion  |
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Sponsors: 
Legal Services 
Investment banking |
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What's in a (Domain) Name? A Website by Any Other Name Smells Just as Sweet McLEAN-After holding the domain name "photography.com" for 10 years, Blake Newman has sold it for $133,000. He will use the proceeds as seed capital to expand his online procurement software and reservation system featuring photographers around the world. Said Newman, president of Artists & Associates, Inc.: "It is the reputation of my great photographers, our professionalism, training and team concept that brings clients to our website, not our domain name. People will still visit us at artists-associates.com because of our great reputation, not simply because we had owned photographer.com." What will the new domain name be? Newman didn't say, but he has plenty of domain names to choose from. He also owns the rights to photostrategy.com, picture-quest.com, artistscafe.com, photo-agent.com, photographers-rep.com and 350 other domain names. More. |
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| Back To Top | Expansions, Relocations & Launches |
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Email Marketing Experts Partners: 
B2B Marketing Research 
Virginia Technology Conference 
The Boomer Project 
National Association of Women Business Owners |
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Princeton BioMeditech Invests $7 Million in Albemarle County CHARLOTTESVILLE--Princeton BioMeditech Corporation, a developer of diagnostic tests for common medical maladies, will invest $7 million to build a manufacturing facility in Albemarle County, creating 115 new jobs. The new facility will provide manufacturing capability to ContraVac, a firm that commercializes University of Virginia research, for its newly developed products to test male fertility. The Albemarle County facility also will provide R&D support, manufacturing and distribution for PBM products. Said PBM President Jemo Kang: "UVA and the Charlottesville area offer strong resources, including many of the brightest minds available, that will help to make our newest site successful." More. Chesterfield Merits $5 Million Investment by Merit Medical MIDLOTHIAN-Merit Medical Systems Inc. will invest $5 million to open a manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County, creating 200 new jobs and transferring 15 from an older facility in Henrico County. The new plant will assemble and distribute procedure kits for the medical industry worldwide. Headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical develops proprietary disposable medical accessories used mainly in cardiology and radiology. More. Richmond Snags First Chinese Firm RICHMOND-Star Precision Industries Co. Ltd., a contract manufacturer of custom metal products headquartered in Changzhou, China, has opened its U.S. headquarters in Richmond. It is the first Chinese firm to establish a major presence in Greater Richmond. The staff could grow to as many as 20 people as operations expand and branch offices open in other parts of the U.S. In Brief... RESTON--Turiss LLC, a digital investigations and information protection firm, has opened an office in Richland, Wash., to provide for the computer and cyber security needs of clients on the West Coast and Pacific Northwest. More. |
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| Back To Top | Who's Hot... |
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Virginia FREE 
Searchable Business Database 
Virginia Technology Alliance |
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Digital Harbor Dredges up $11 Million in Series B Funding RESTON-Capping a year of 100 percent growth, Digital Harbor, Inc. has completed an $11 million Series B round of financing. The company will use the funds to expand sales and marketing activities, particularly in the financial services industry. Digital Harbor's PiiE platform helps enterprises easily build composite applications and make intelligent decisions by seamlessly linking real-time information from many systems into a single, contextual application. Said CEO Rohit Agarwal: "This financing will allow us to capitalize on the growing awareness of, and demand for, composition applications." More. Evolvent Raises $4.5 Million FALLS CHURCH--Evolvent Technologies has raised more than $4.5 million in capital to finance its growth and expansion in the federal technology services marketplace. Said CEO Bill Oldham: "This investment positions Evolvent for expansion in its core markets of cybersecurity, enterprise information management and systems integration." More. In Brief... NORFOLK--Norfolk Southern Corporation shipped a record 45.7 million tons of coal in the 2Q of 2005 - up 3.9 percent compared to last year, and the highest volume since the company's consolidation with Conrail in 1999. More. |
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| Back To Top | Who's Not... |
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Hooker Closes N.C. Furniture Plant MARTINSVILLE--Hooker Furniture will close its Pleasant Garden, N.C. plant by October 2005, citing a decline in orders for its domestically produced wood furniture and increased demand for its imported wood and metal furniture. Production of entertainment and home-office furniture will shift to Hooker's two other wood furniture plants in Martinsville and Roanoke. Said CEO Paul B. Toms, Jr.: "The dynamics of the furniture industry today dictate an increasing reliance on offshore manufacturing in order to meet customer expectations and deliver the greatest possible value to consumers and retailers." More. WaveCrest to Recall Electric Bikes DULLES--The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has posted a voluntary recall alert in cooperation with WaveCrest Laboratories. The Dulles firm is recalling its TidalForce S-750 high-performance electric bicycle, noting that the wheels can collapse, causing the rider to fall and suffer injuries. More. |
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| Back To Top | Who's Winning Business... |
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Monster Mashes Competition for Federal Jobs Website MCLEAN--Monster Government Solutions, a subsidiary of Monster Worldwide, has won a contract renewal, potentially worth $27 million over five years, to manage USAJOBS and STUDENTJOBS, federal government websites for jobs and employment information. Since Monster began managing USAJOBS in 2003, the site has attracted more than 141 million visitors and more than one million resumes have been submitted online for jobs within the Federal Government. More. Fas Mart Chooses TNS Connectivity Solutions MECHANICSVILLE--Transaction Network Services, Inc., a Reston-based provider of services for transaction-oriented applications, will supply network transaction solutions for approximately 125 stores in the 180-store Fas Mart convenience store chain. The services include network connectivity and data communications services for credit card and ATM authorizations; fuel tank monitoring systems; Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) capabilities; and back office connectivity. Said Barry Khrosophanah, director of information technology for Fas Mart: "The innovative technology presents a business-savvy solution, effectively simplifying our stores' connectivity issue, which will certainly improve our performance and customer satisfaction." More. fSONA Deploys Wireless Network in Kuwait City MCLEAN--fSONA Systems, a provider of optical wireless systems, is deploying a city-wide, high-capacity wireless network throughout Kuwait City for the Ministry of Health. The SONAbeam optical wireless network will transport critical hospital data as well as files generated by CAT scans (Computerized Axial Tomography) from specialized clinics across the city and hospital campus sites. More. In Brief... MCLEAN--BearingPoint, Inc., has won a contract potentially worth $36 million over five years to provide enterprise-wide program management support to the Defense Manpower Data Center. More. MCLEAN--BearingPoint, Inc., has won a contract potentially worth $15 million over five years, to provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a wide range of support for its Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response. More. FAIRFAX--SRA International, Inc., has been awarded a task order, potentially worth $13.7 million over six years, so support continuity command and control processes for the Headquarters Air Force. More. VIENNA-MSSI has won its first contract to supply for supplemental staffing services to the three Northern Virginia hospitals of Columbia/Hospital Corporation of America. More. RICHMOND--Cadmus Communications Corporation has announced that four new scholarly publishers have signed contracts for the Cadmus ArticleWorks content-on-demand delivery system. More. NORFOLK--Dataline, Inc., has received a contract award from the U.S. Navy to provide engineering, technical, and program management services for the U.S. Navy Naval Sea Systems Command SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e). RICHMOND--on enterFrame | new media solutions, llc., a digital design and development firms, has launched four new websites for clients: The American Civil War Center At Historical Tredegar, Trilegiant Loyalty Solutions, MaxLiner USA, and The Executive Protocol Group. More. |
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| Back To Top | Deals & Partnerships |
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AOL Teams with Feedster to Mainstream RSS Feeds DULLES--AOL Online, Inc., has partnered with Feedster, an RSS search engine, to enable My AOL users to search and subscribe to publisher-specific and topic-based feeds. Said Kerry Parkins, director, audience products: "By enabling consumers to create their own personal home page on AOL.com to manage all of their sources of online information in one central location, My AOL provides a convenient solution for a usually time-consuming ritual: visiting multiple Web sites and blogs multiple times each day to catch up on news. By leveraging leading technology from Feedster, AOL is able to provide an easy and fully personalized way for people to discover new RSS feeds and create their own virtually real-time information journal." More. Foster-Miller to Acquire Planning Systems Inc. RESTON--Foster-Miller, Inc., a Boston engineering and technology development company, will acquire Planning Systems Inc, a diversified high-tech company, for $42 million. PSI generated $44.6 million in revenues in fiscal year 2004. The purchase is designed to accelerate Foster-Miller's growth in the commercial, defense, security and transportation markets. Said Foster-Miller President William Ribich: "PSI has advanced technical expertise in sensor development and software systems. This expertise will enhance Foster-Miller's platform of technologies." More. Innocoll to Market Surgical Implant ASHBURN--Innocoll, Inc. has acquired marketing rights to the Gentamicin Surgical Implant from Essex Chemie AG, an affiliate of Schering-Plough Corporation. The product, used to treat and prevent post-operative acquired infection, has been approved in 45 countries under different trade names. Said CEO Michael Myers: "This product will provide a platform for our newly formed sales and marketing division, Innocoll Pharmaceuticals, while we make progress with our exciting portfolio of pipeline products focused on the local treatment of infection, pain and wound healing." More. MCI to Acquire Totality ASHBURN--MCI, Inc., has agreed to purchase Totality Corp., a San Francisco provider of remote managed services for business-critical applications and infrastructure. Said Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Crane: "With this acquisition, MCI is able to combine its core hosting capabilities with proven expertise in the applications management space, further accelerating its ability to keep pace with enterprise and business customers as they transition to IP." More. Rockville REIT Snaps up Albemarle Point CHANTILLY--Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, of Rockville, Md., has acquired Albemarle Point, a 29-acre business park for $67 million. Minutes from Dulles International Airport, the five-building, 206,727-square-foot complex is 97 percent occupied, with a diverse mix of tenants. The deal is anticipated to produce a first-year unleveraged yield of 8 percent on a straight-line basis. More. PBM Laps up Sam's Club GORDONSVILLE--PBM Products, LLC, the largest U.S. supplier of store brand infant formulas, has partnered with Sam's Club to launch Member's Mark Infant Formula. The formula is fortified with iron and nutrients, DHA and ARA, proven to aid in babies' brain and eye development. PBM's infant formulas offer comparable nutrition to established brands but sell for up to 45 percent less. More. NCARE Sold to Amedisys NEWPORT NEWS--NCARE Inc., a home health agency with locations in Newport News and Chesapeake, has been acquired by Amedisys, Inc., of Baton Rouge, La. The agencies are expected to contribute approximately $3 million to Amedisys' annualized revenues. More. Sitestar Deal to Double Revenues LYNCHBURG--Sitestar Corporation, an Internet Service Provider and computer services company, has agreed to buy the Internet assets and customer base of an unidentified company in the western United States. The company has over 11,000 accounts consisting of dial-up access, Digital Subscriber Line access, wireless access, web hosting, web acceleration and other services. Said Sitestar CFO Daniel A. Judd: "This acquisition will nearly double our sales, allow us to utilize greater economies of scale and enhance our customer service. This is a cash transaction with partial funding by the seller." More. In Brief... NORFOLK--TotalVid, a video download store for action sports enthusiasts, will distribute TransWorld Media's collection of Skateboarding, BMX and Motocross video titles, bringing its total number of available video downloads to more than 1,300. More. |
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| Back To Top | Innovations |
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Wal-Mart Tightens Grip on Grocery Bag Industry RICHMOND--Retail giant Wal-Mart will introduce a new product created by The HappyWares Company, of Coconut Creek, Fla., at stores in Richmond and Midlothian. The EZCarry provides an ergonomically correct grip designed to comfortable carry 50 pounds of stuffed grocery bags at one time. It works by evenly distributing the pressure of shopping bags across the hand so the weight no longer cuts into a person's hand, palm, or fingers. Shoppers just hold onto a cushy purple and blue handle. More. Trusted Edge Introduces Records Management Software MCLEAN--Trusted Edge, Inc., a provider of retention management and compliance software, has unveiled RM Edge 2.5 for Microsoft Exchange. RM Edge 2.5 enables companies to enforce retention and records management policies for all desktop-created documents and emails, improving compliance across the enterprise and mitigating litigation exposure and e-Discovery costs. More. |
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| Back To Top | R&D / Intellectual Property |
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Wahoos, GE to Develop Non-Invasive Surgeries CHARLOTTESVILLE-The University of Virginia Health System has signed a multi-year agreement with GE Healthcare to develop new, minimally invasive surgery techniques for the brain and spine. The UVa docs will use GE's cutting-edge surgical navigation tools that create three-dimensional images of a patient's anatomy. Said Neal Kassell, co-chair of neurosurgery: "This continued research agreement will allow us to improve … our ability to see tumors in the brain and spine more precisely." More. UVa Tops $300 Million in Research CHARLOTTESVILLE-University of Virginia researchers topped $300 million in grants and contracts during the 2004-2005 fiscal year, a milestone in the university's drive to upgrade its research enterprise. Said R. Ariel Gomez, vice president for research: "The University has made substantial investments in research, and we have plans for the short- and long-term future that involve the retention of our best faculty, attracting outstanding internationally recognized scientists and the best students, coupled with the construction of the most modern research facilities available today and the upgrade of our existing ones." The $300 million mark still lags many of UVa's peers, acknowledged David J. Hudson, associate vice president for research and graduate studies. But for an institution traditionally renowned for its emphasis on the humanities and undergraduate instruction, he said, "That's a substantial achievement." More. |
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| Back To Top | People |
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Chambers and Partners Recognize H-F Real Estate Attorneys RICHMOND--In its third annual survey of the U.S. legal market on a state-by-state basis, the highly respected research organization Chambers and Partners has named Hirschler Fleischer as the top law firm in Virginia in the Real Estate category of the latest edition of Chambers USA - America's Leading Business Lawyers. The publication recognized Jay Weinberg, Jim Theobald, Mike Terry and Chuck Rothenberg for their excellence in real estate and land use law and Rick Witthoefft for his excellence in litigation. More. |
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| Back To Top | Trends |
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Chmura Economics & Analytics |
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After declining in early 2005, housing market activity has picked up in recent months. As of June 2005, the number of building permits issued for single-family homes increased 8.3 percent from a year earlier. The steady increase in building permit activity in recent months creates a positive outlook for construction in 2005. For details on regional economic conditions across Virginia, including Richmond, Northern Virginia, and Hampton Roads, as well as a list of Chmura Economics & Analytics (CEA) products and services, click here, or call (804) 649-1107. |
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| Back To Top | Other News |
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Verizon Seeks Cable Franchise to in Fairfax County FAIRFAX-Verizon has submitted a cable franchise operation in Fairfax County, which, if approved, would offer residents a choice in video and high-speed Internet services. Said Robert W. Woltz Jr., president of Verizon Virginia: "We have negotiated a strong, fair agreement that paves the way for more competition in one of the nation's most technology-rich markets. The agreement will give Fairfax County residents a choice among hundreds of channels, unparalleled HDTV offerings and a rich, diverse lineup of live and recorded programming." More. |
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| Back To Top | Pork Central: Your Tax Dollars at Work |
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Congress Dispenses Transportation Pork WASHINGTON--U.S. Senators John W. Warner and George Allen grabbed a larger share than normal of federal transportation dollars for Virginia, bumping up the federal commitment to $936.8 million per year. Known as a "donor state" because of its history of contributing more than it receives in federal highway funds, Virginia has received a 90.5 percent return on its contributions of federal gas tax dollars over the past six years. The latest bill will nudge that number higher, ultimately to 92 percent in 2008 and 2009. Major projects include:
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| Back To Top | Commentary |
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The Shelter Crisis The price of housing is getting out of reach for a majority of Virginians. The solution isn't more government subsidies, which are part of the problem, but putting houses in the right locations. More. |
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Rush Hour Will Never Be the Same Technology is liberating workers from the tyranny of the central workplace, scrambling commuting patterns in the process. Our transportation policies are still catching up. Capital One is conducting one of the more interesting experiments in organizational management today. In its "Future of Work" pilot project, the credit card giant is lavishing funds on a radical rethinking of the relationship between workers and the workplace. If successful, the program will make Capital One more competitive by boosting productivity, giving employees more control over their home/work balance and cutting real estate overhead - all but guaranteeing that the "Future of Work" model will replicate faster than a bird flu virus in a Chinese restaurant. More. |
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| Back To Top | Events |
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VA Newswire is a free, email-based weekly newsletter that covers news and events from around the state. If you have any news, events, job openings, or office space availability that you would like to include in next week's newswire, email jim@vanewswire.com. Click here for a free subscription. Click here to unsubscribe. |
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