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| Business Intelligence for Virginia's Entrepreneurial Economy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In This Issue... Entrepreneurial Dominion, Expansions, Relocations and Launches, Who's Hot, Who's Winning Business, Deals & Partnerships, Innovations, Partnerships & Collaborations, Research & Intellectual Property, Trends, Commentary, Other, Events Click here to forward to a friend or colleague who might like this newsletter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Entrepreneurial Dominion   | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Laugh in the Face of Disaster With EFailSafe! VIRGINIA BEACH-Americans are woefully unprepared for disasters - the Insurance Research Council estimates that only 42 percent of homeowners had completed a home inventory in 2003. To James McAllister, founder of eFailSafe.com, that represents a big, fat business opportunity. "I wanted a way to keep track of my property and other assets in case my house was destroyed." says McAllister, "As an IT professional, I decided that storing the information on a computer was the obvious choice, but what if my computer is destroyed?" The answer came to McAllister in the idea to build a website for easy and instant off-site storage of a home inventory and offer the capability to recover that information from anywhere, at anytime. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Expansions, Relocations & Launches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Email Marketing Experts |
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Arrow Truck Opens Truck Parts Facility in Floyd FLOYD--Arrow Truck Sales, a seller of pre-owned medium- and heavy-duty trucks, will open a facility in the Branwick Center in Floyd County, creating 25 new jobs. The facility will help launch the company's new Dex renovated-parts division, which will provide a complete system for responsibly recycling used vehicles. More. Daily Grind Expands to Dallas WINCHESTER-The Daily Grind Coffee House and Cafe, a chain of coffee houses, will expand its presence to the North Dallas market with the opening of a new franchise location at Austin Square. Founded in 1995, the Daily Grind has grown to 48 stores in operation, with another 20 to open in the next six months. More. AES Commences Construction of Texas Wind Farm ARLINGTON--The AES Corporation has begun construction of a 233 MW wind generation project near Abilene, Tex., and has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement to sell all of the electricity to Texas retail electric provider Direct Energy. Along with its companion Buffalo Gap project, Buffalo Gap 2 will comprise one of the largest operating wind farms in the United States, generating enough energy to power approximately 100,000 homes. More. Ripley Opens "Odditorium" in Williamsburg WILLIAMSBURG-Ripley Entertainment has opened a Ripley's Believe It or Not! And a Ripley's 4D Theater in Williamsburg, the 29th worldwide location for the Ripley's odditorium. The 11-gallery exhibit includes such artifacts as an albino and mane-less lion from Africa, a dress made entirely of guitar picks, a U.S. flag that was flown to the moon aboard Apollo 16, and, of course, a collection of traditional Ripley artifacts including a genuine shrunken head. More. In Brief... ALEXANDRIA--Clickatell, Inc., a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based mobile messaging operator, has opened an East Coast office in Alexandria to serve the company's growing government and enterprise business. More. EMPORIA--Oran Safety Glass, an Israeli manufacturer of bullet-proof glass, will invest $4.1 million in Greensville County to open its first U.S. facility, creating 50 jobs. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Hot... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SunRocket Raises $33 Million VIENNA--SunRocket, an Internet phone service provider, has secured $33 million for its Series C round of institutional financing, bringing the firm's total venture capital raised to approximately $80 million. The capital infusion will enable SunRocket to accelerate product and feature development, penetrate strategic sales channels, and support a new customer care center in Springfield, Mo. Said CEO Lisa Hook: "The additional commitment from existing investors signals an unwavering belief that SunRocket has found the right recipe for success to strategically grow our customer base and implement the necessary fiscal restraint to achieve near-term profitability." More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Not | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Convera Earnings Whipped Like a Bad Puppy VIENNA--Convera Corporation, developer of search technologies for professional workers, has reported a 2Q loss of $11.1 million, attributable in part to a 58 percent decline in license sales for its flagship RetrievalWare product. The company also took $5.8 million in charges through changes in accounting for stock option expenses and the transition from capitalization of software development costs to amortization of these costs. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Winning Business... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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AT&T Snags $250 Million Military Contract VIENNA--AT&T Government Solutions, a business unit of AT&T Inc., has been awarded the Joint Hawaii Information Transfer System contract, with an estimated value of $250 million over seven years. AT&T will provide customized telecommunications and data services to Hawaii-based military departments. More. CACI Cages $96.4 Million Mobile Communications Contract ARLINGTON--CACI International Inc. has won a re-compete contract potentially worth $96.4 million over five years to support the Special Communications Requirements Division of the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center-Aircraft Division. CACI will design, build, test and integrate mobile communications systems in support of the global war on terrorism and homeland security, adapting the systems for everything from suitcase-sized units to vehicles and battlefield command posts. More. BearingPoint to Support Fiscal Reform in Jordan MCLEAN--BearingPoint, Inc., a management and technology consulting firm, has won a three-year contract worth $14 million to assist the Government of Jordan with fiscal reform. The contract will focus on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of tax policy, tax administration and budget management. More. Convera Sells Search Technology to Japanese Firm VIENNA--Convera Corporation, a provider of search technologies for professional workers, has been awarded a three-year agreement to provide private-label Web search technology to All In One Solution, Inc., a Tokyo-based systems integrator and Web hosting firm. The contract expands Convera's reach in Asia and allows the Japanese technology firm to create Internet search portals for the healthcare and entertainment markets. More. MicroPact Signs up FDA for "Reasonable Accommodation" Software HERNDON--MicroPact Engineering, Inc., has signed a contract with the Food and Drug Administration to implement MicroPact's entelliTrak "Reasonable Accommodation" case-management software. When an employee submits a request for a reasonable accommodation - whether for wheelchair accessibility or a supportive chair for a bad back - HR personnel can immediately enter into the system all data related to the request, including medical background information and the cost of the request. More. In Brief... ARLINGTON--CACI International Inc. has been awarded a task order potentially worth $32.8 million to support the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command. More. FAIRFAX--ICF International has been awarded the Analytical, Technical, and Facilitation Support for Environmental Stewardship contract, a five-year, $10 million contract with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More. RESTON--SI International, Inc., has won a contract potentially worth $9 million over five years to support the U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center in McAlester, Okla., which provides safety instruction and logistics support to federal agencies and allied nations. More. RESTON--XTec Incorporated has been awarded Labor Department contract to implement its solution for Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12, a mandate that requires all federal workers and contractors to use a standard biometric identification card for access to government buildings and resources. More. HAMPTON-Data Management Group has won a five-year contract from the National Education Association to support the implementation and maintenance of NEA's Business Intelligence tools. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Deal Makers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Financeware Retires Preferred Stock RICHMOND--Financeware, Inc., an online investment advisory firm, has recapitalized its financial structure, eliminating all outstanding preferred classes of stock in exchange for either cash and short-term notes or common stock and long-term interest bearing notes. The recapitalization did not require a capital infusion, as the company had accumulated cash through successive years of profitability. Said CFO Robert P. Wilson: "Eliminating the inherent conflicts of interest between various preferred and common share classes will enable us to continue our growth plans, in particular our rapidly growing asset-management business, by providing us with a currency for acquisitions and to attract new associates. ...Our remaining shareholders' interests are now aligned with the firm's long-term vision of powering the future of financial advice." More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Innovations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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AOL Launches FanHouse Blogs DULLES--AOL.com today announced the launch of FanHouse, a series of blogs that builds upon AOL Sports' strong blogging community and connects football fans across the country. With the number of American blog readers reaching 32 million, AOL has created over 75 blogs dedicated to individual NFL teams and NCAA football teams. More. VCU Docs Deploy Image-Guided Radiosurgery RICHMOND--Clinicians at the Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University are among the first in the world to use new image-guided radiosurgery technology from Varian Medical Systems to control the spread of metastatic cancer. Said radiation oncologist Theodore Chung: "Our new real-time imaging and targeting capabilities are helping us turn cancer into a controllable disease. These advances in radiosurgery are opening up an era in cancer treatment where we can actually begin to control metastatic spread." More. WILink Enhances Web Events RICHMOND--WILink, a provider of web-based communication solutions and investor-relations services, has introduced major upgrades to its flagship Vcall product. Enhancements include: an invitation manager to create custom e-mail event-promotion campaigns; an enhanced report manager to analyze results; more options for display of content; and a locked-room feature to enhance security. Said CEO Patrick Gallegher: "These recent releases are the first step of our aggressive plan to create more value by increasing the flexibility and convenience clients want in web event services." More. In Brief... DULLES--Orbital Sciences Corporation has delivered its Optus D1 geosynchronous communications satellite to the space launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be launched for Optus Networks of Australia. More. ARLINGTON--Plateau Systems, a provider of software for managing human capital, has introduced the Plateau Performance Business Edition, which combines performance and learning course content into a single product. More. RESTON--QuadraMed Corporation has released QuadraMed TempusOne, a software product that enables healthcare organizations to avoid or correct wasteful steps in the revenue cycle caused by incomplete, erroneous or non-accessible patient data. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Partnerships & Collaborations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mobile 365 Partners with Indian Bookstore CHANTILLY--Mobile 365, a provider of mobile messaging and data services, has partnered with Oxford Bookstore, the leading online bookstore in India, to launch an interactive SMS service across India. Mobile 365 will help Oxford Bookstore update book lovers on news releases and best sellers via their mobile phones. Customers also can send a query about any book or author. More. RxEOB Expands Distribution of Pharmacy Benefit Tools RICHMOND-RxEOB, a developer of pharmacy benefit tools for health plans, is partnering with Quality Care Solutions Inc., a Phoenix-based a provider of enterprise application software for health insurers and benefits administrators. The integration of RxEOB's products with Quality Care's will (1) provide clinical support staff with tools to quickly and easily identify high-risk patients, and (2) allow members to manage their pharmacy benefits by comparing drug prices, researching drug side effects and interactions, and identifying alternative drug therapies. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | R&D / Intellectual Property | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Feds to Test Guardian Threat-Detection Technology HERNDON--Guardian Technologies International, Inc., a provider of high-performance security solutions based on "Intelligent Imaging Informatics," has entered into a research agreement in which the federal Transportation Security Laboratory will test its PinPoint threat-detection technology. PinPoint was developed to improve the detection of explosives, guns, knives, and ammunition concealed in parcels, boxes, baggage or cargo containers. More. Massey Demonstrates Mine Safety Breakthrough RICHMOND--Massey Energy Company has demonstrated a technological breakthrough in mine safety that promises to save dozens of lives in the mining industry. The "proximity detection system," developed in collaboration with mine machinery equipment manufacturers, automatically shuts down continuous mining machines when it detects the presence of coal miners close enough to be pinned or crushed. There have been at least 29 fatal accidents caused by miners being too close to continuous mining machines since the 1980s. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | People | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Argon ST Taps Rowe as COO FAIRFAX--2006--Argon ST, Inc., has established the position of COO to help manage its rapid growth, and appointed Kerry Rowe, former vice president for reconnaissance systems to fill it. Said CEO Terry Collins: "The combination of vigorous growth with a set of key customers, movement into additional disciplines within the C4ISR domains, and the diversity brought by these acquisitions dictates that we take this important step." More. In Brief... FAIRFAX--Datatel, Inc., a provider of technology solutions to higher education, has appointed John F. Speer, III, as the company's new president and COO, filling the vacancy created by the recent death of H. Russell "Russ" Griffith. More. WINCHESTER--American Woodmark Corporation, a supplier of cabinetry to the remodeling and new construction industries, has elevated Kent Guichard from executive vice president and COO to president and COO. Jake Gosa will continue to serve as chairman and CEO. More. ARLINGTON--In-Q-Tel, a strategic venture capital fund that identifies innovative technologies to support the mission of the Central Intelligence Agency, has appointed A.R. Darby as its new president and CEO. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Trends | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Chmura Economics & Analytics |
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 Winchester entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial activities are an important measure of health for a state, local, or regional economy. This chart displays the number of firms with ten or fewer employees that entered or exited the Winchester economy from 1991 through 2005. Over the last few years, entrepreneurial activity in Winchester has picked up. In 2005, 390 new small firms opened in Winchester while 288 exited - a starts/exits ratio of 1.35. The starts/exits ratio for the state in 2005 was 1.24. For the latest analytics on labor market and workforce trends across Virginia, click here or call 804-649-1107. Eat Your Heart Out, Silicon Valley! WASHINGTON--The movement of college graduates to Greater Washington helped the region hold its top spot as the nation's most educated metropolitan region, new U.S. Census data reveals. An analysis of the data by the Greater Washington Initiative shows that the region's population grew and the percentage of the adult population with Bachelor's degrees increased from 42.5 percent to 45.9 percent between 2000 and 2005. The national average is 27.2 percent. San Jose ranked second with 43.8 percent. More. And the Plaudits Keep Rolling In... FAIRFAX COUNTY--Fairfax County is ranked second among large U.S. counties for entrepreneurs for starting businesses, according to 2006 rankings compiled by the National Policy Research Council (NPRC) and Entrepreneur magazine. Fairfax County finished number one for rapid growth of companies, number three for "young company" rankings and was second overall behind Mecklenburg County, N.C. The Commonwealth of Virginia also ranked second among hottest states for entrepreneurs, with 34 of the fastest-growing firms (22 in Fairfax) listed in the Inc. 500. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Other News | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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What's the Only Thing Worse than Insurance Agents on a Plane? Snakes on a Plane. RICHMOND-What if the scenario in the movie thriller "Snakes on a Plane" really happened? What would your travel insurance cover? Depending upon the particulars of your policy, says Beth Godlin, an executive with Access America, you could collect insurance for emergency medical assistance to treat those snake bites. You might qualify for emergency medical evacuation, trip interruption coverage or even "trip inconvenience insurance" to cover the inconvenience of unexpectedly winding up in a hospital. Access America delivers customized solutions for travel agents and suppliers, credit card companies, healthcare organizations and more. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Commentary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The Real Race Problem Which is worse: calling someone "macaca" or painting whites as racists in order to perpetuate the cult of victimhood and keep minorities on the liberal plantation? More. |
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Extreme Makeover Burrell Saunders has mastered a skill vital to Virginia's future: transforming suburban decay into urban cool. His talents are on display at Virginia Beach's Town Center. Andres Duany, the New Urbanism evangelist, carries a carousel of slides to illustrate his speeches with real-world examples of atrocious urban design. For years, one of his favorites -- for all I know, he uses it still -- was an aerial shot of the intersection of Independence and Virginia Beach Boulevards in the Pembroke area of Virginia Beach. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 jabacon@baconsrebellion.com. Click here for a free subscription. Click here to unsubscribe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
