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| Business Intelligence for Virginia's Entrepreneurial Economy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In This Issue... Expansions, Relocations and Launches, Who's Hot, Who's Winning Business, Deal Makers, Innovations, Partnerships & Collaborations, Research & Development, People, Trends, Other News, Commentary, Events Click here to forward to a friend or colleague who might like this newsletter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Expansions, Relocations & Launches   | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In Brief... FALLS CHURCH-Verizon, spurred by a surge in demand for its FiOS services, is hiring 110 more employees to deploy and install the fiber-optic-based Internet and TV services in Northern Virginia. More. MCLEAN--BearingPoint, Inc., will open a Center of Excellence at the SAP PartnerPort in Walldorf, Germany, used as a central hub for collaboration between SAP, its partners and customers. More. RESTON--NII Holdings, Inc., a provider of wireless services in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Peru, has launched digital operations in Chile, initially targeting business and roaming customers. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Hot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Netuitive Achieves Profitability on Soaring Revenue RESTON--Netuitive, Inc., a developer of real-time analysis software for business service management, has increased year-over-year revenues 500 percent over the past 12 months and achieved profitability six months ahead of schedule. Said CEO Nicola Sanna: "Netuitive is at the forefront of a rapidly growing market. We are growing exponentially and achieving market validation. ... Netuitive's customer momentum shows that end-users are ready to deploy BSM if it can be made simple." More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Not | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In Brief... FAIRFAX-The assets of IPIX Corporation, including provisional patents for its 360-degree Gigapixel camera technology, will be auctioned to the highest bidders on Dec. 12 and 20. IPIX filed for bankruptcy in July. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Winning Business | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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AeroAstro Micro-Satellite Advances ASHBURN--AeroAstro, Inc., has completed the pre-ship review on the STPSat-1 micro-satellite by the U.S. Air Force. The low-orbit space vehicle has been developed specifically to fly space experiments on the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter. Said CEO Rick Fleeter: The benefits of microspace -- lower cost, higher reliability, reduced schedule and greater contact for the user with the payload and data -- will continue to grow through these improvements in spacecraft engineering and infrastructure." More Manassas to Deploy City-wide Surveillance Cameras MANASSAS-The City of Manassas has awarded a contract to Houston, Tex.-based LenSec, to deploy IP-based video surveillance throughout the city in a project encompassing police, schools and public works. Stated Capt. Steven Manford with the Manassas police: "The City of Manassas wanted a solution that would allow an unlimited number of cameras, at an unlimited number of locations to be managed on a single, secure, web-based platform. ... Our plan is to continue to grow the system, allowing for full collaboration between all city entities." More In Brief... RESTON--MAXIMUS has been awarded a two-year, $73.7 million contract to continue providing Medicaid managed care enrollment services to more than 2.1 million individuals in New York City and nearby counties. More. VIENNA--Serco Inc. has won a multiple-award contract potentially worth $56 million over five years to support the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego. More. VIENNA--AT&T Corp. has won a task order for up to $13 million to upgrade and expand the Web capabilities of the U.S. Agency for International Development. More. VIENNA--AT&T Corp. has renewed a $12 million, one-year contract to provide local voice and networking services to 9,000 U.S. Postal Services offices across a 13-state region. More. FAIRFAX--General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems has been awarded a $7.4 million contract to continue integration support of the Distributed Common Ground System for the U.S. Air Force. More. RICHMOND--Cadmus Communications Corporation has won a four-year contract to provide printing and other publisher services to 1105 Media, Inc., a Chatsworth, Calif., publisher of business-to-business magazines. More. RESTON--Transaction Network Services has extended its presence in Central and Eastern Europe in a deal to connect Central Europe's premier brokerage, Wood & Co, to its Secure Trading Extranet. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Deal Makers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Is This Shaping Up as a "Friendly" Takeover? ROANOKE--A group of investors owning 15 percent of Friendly's Ice Cream stock have issued a letter and posted a supporting website informing the Massachusetts-based company of its intention to nominate two members to the board of directors. Said Sardar Biglari, chairman of Western Sizzlin Corporation: "We are taking the proactive approach because we believe it is time for change at Friendly's and we see opportunities -- set in motion by sound change -- to create tremendous value." The participating shareholders include Western Sizzlin Corp., The Lion Fund, L.P., and Biglari Capital Corp. More. Virginia Mutual Converts to Alfa Corporation RICHMOND--Policyholders of Virginia Mutual Insurance Company have approved the company's conversion into Alfa Corporation. Virginia Mutual will distribute its excess surplus to eligible policyholders, and Alfa Corporation will recapitalize the business in a new subsidiary, Alfa Alliance Insurance Corporation. More. Johnson & Strachan Acquires Morrow Group FAIRFAX--Johnson & Strachan Inc., a commercial and personal insurance agency, has acquired The Morrow Group, an independent insurance agency specializing in group health and employee benefits. The merger reunites the two agencies that had separated in 1998 for business reasons. All Morrow personnel and operations will move from Burke to the Johnson & Strachan offices in Fairfax. More Integrity, EnTrust Merge in Winchester WINCHESTER--Integrity Home Mortgage Corporation and EnTrust Lending, two key players in the area's lending market, have joined forces and will serve as the only locally owned correspondent lender with onsite delegated underwriting authority in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding area. The company will operate as Integrity Home Mortgage Corporation with headquarters in Winchester. In Brief... MCLEAN--Sunrise Senior Living, Inc., has received $40 million in buyout and transition fees from Five Star Quality Care, Inc., for the buyout of seven management contracts. More. HAMPTON--First Potomac Realty Trust, of Bethesda, Md., has signed leases with a Fortune 100 defense contractor for 40,000 square feet of office space at 2000 Gateway Boulevard in Hampton and 33,000 square feet at 1408 Stephanie Way in Chesapeake. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Innovations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Virginia Bionutrients Sponsors Martial Arts Event in Energy Bar Rollout RICHMOND--Virginia Bionutrients, LLC, the start-up developer of the Fuser Energy Micro Bar, will be the main sponsor of the Combat Sports Challenge, a martial arts competition held in Midlothian. The Fuser bar is based on a proprietary nutraceutical formula that promotes both energy and focus. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Partnerships and Collaborations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media General Joins Yahoo! Advertising/Content Consortium RICHMOND--Media General, Inc., has entered into a strategic alliance with Yahoo! Inc., and several major newspaper publishers to deliver search, graphical and classified advertising to consumers in their communities. Media General will begin working immediately with Yahoo! to transition the online career sections of its 25 daily newspapers - including those in Richmond, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Danville, Bristol and other Virginia cities -- to a Yahoo! HotJobs-driven platform. Said CEO Marshall N. Morton: "This new opportunity will broaden our total online audience and provide us with enhanced technology to meet the growing needs of recruitment advertisers and job seekers." More. Exide to Supply Batteries for Jungheinrich Forklifts RICHMOND--Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp. has signed an agreement with the GNB Industrial Power division of Exide Technologies that makes GNB the primary supplier of batteries for Jungheinrich lift trucks sold in North America. The batteries will be painted to match Jungheinrich's signature yellow and will carry the Jungheinrich brand. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | R&D / Intellectual Property | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Odor-Eliminator Companies Don't Pass the Hamilton Beach Smell Test RICHMOND--Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Inc., a manufacturer of small appliances, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in federal court against Sunpentown International of City of Industry, Calif., and Hung Hsing Electric Company Ltd. of Largo, Fla. The lawsuit charges the company with willful infringement of several patents related to Hamilton Beach's TrueAir odor eliminator. TrueAir products are the top-selling odor-eliminating appliances in North America. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | People | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In Brief... MCLEAN--RS Information Systems, Inc. has appointed Cass G. Panciocco, a senior executive with 25 years of operational responsibility for high-profile technology contracts with federal agencies, as COO of the company. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Trends | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Chmura Economics & Analytics |
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 Virginia employment. The pace of employment growth in Virginia has recently fallen behind the national pace. For the year ending with October 2006, employment increased only 0.9 percent in the state while advancing 1.5 percent in the nation. Although employment expanded in ten of the state's eleven metro areas over this period, the pace of growth in most metro areas has slowed. Charlottesville (+3.0 percent), Northern Virginia (+2.6 percent), and Hampton Roads (+1.5 percent) experienced the fastest employment growth over the last year, while Danville (-6.5 percent) was the only metro area to contract employment. The monthly periodicity of employment data makes it the most timely and encompassing measure of regional economic growth. 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Other News | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Commonwealth Commits to Health Care Transparency RICHMOND-The Commonwealth of Virginia has joined a federal initiative to stimulate effective market competition in the health care sector by giving citizens the information they need to be effective consumers. The four-part initiative would promote transparency in the system through better reporting on the quality of care delivered by health care providers as well as the price of services. Said Gov. Timothy M. Kaine: "Health care transparency provides consumers with information and creates an incentive to choose health care providers based on value. It will help Virginians spend their health care dollars wisely when they know their options in advance, know the quality of hospitals in their area and know what procedures will cost." More. Shentel Restructures Retirement Plan EDINBURG-Shenandoah Telecommunications Company is the latest in a series of Virginia companies to restructure its employee retirement plan. The company will freeze its defined-benefit pension plan and distribute the assets to plan participants. Simultaneously, Shentel will enhance its 401(k) plan by making additional contributions to employee accounts. The restructuring coincides with the elimination of 50 jobs. More. In Brief... HERNDON--Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative has asked the federal bankruptcy court of the Virgin Islands to allow enforcement of more than $520 million of judgments against subsidiaries of Emerging Communications, Inc. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Commentary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 William & Mary vs the Cross Multi-cultural expression is great for everyone -- except Christians. The removal of the cross from William & Mary's Wrenn Chapel is just one more reminder of academe's hostility to Christianity. More. |
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Blueprint Northern Virginia localities have the transportation plan should the General Assembly ever stop dithering and decide to fund it. The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) was born of the Virginia General Assembly in 2002 as a bit of a Plan B scheme. Amid a shortage of state revenues to apply to exploding transportation challenges, a once acute condition now made chronic by General Assembly inaction, NVTA was to collect special regional tax revenues and apply them to transportation spending priorities in the Commonwealth's fastest-growing region. 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
