Dominion adds online power outage map

Sitting in the dark, waiting for the power to come back on can be a drag.

No slow-down in football ticket sales (except at UVA)

It’s no surprise that at Virginia universities with winning football programs, season tickets sales are steady or growing. No recession there. Take Virginia Tech, for example, which is coming off a win in the Orange Bowl and ranked No. 7 in preseason polls. Season tickets were sold out even earlier than last year, according to the school. The only available tickets are those from that go to opposing schools and have been returned to Tech. And more fans at the University of Richmond bought season tickets, 2500 since April. That’s up 25 percent from last year, according to Jana Ross, assistant athletic director for marketing and fan development. And sponsorships are on pace grow 5 to 10 percent at UR, according to Brandon Forbis, general manager of Spider ISP sports network, which handles the corporate marketing arm of University of Richmond Athletics. Most of ...

Monday Q&A: Attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli

In about two months, Virginia voters will return to the polls to vote for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Over the next several weeks, BizSense will present interviews with the candidates that will focus on their approach to business issues in the commonwealth.

NewsFeeds 8.31.09

Ashland a symbol that small towns, Wal-Mart can co-exist (Times-Dispatch) Six years after Wal-Mart came to town, Ashland is still Ashland. There's still a quaint downtown with railroad tracks running down the middle of the main street, and there's still a bustling business corridor just off Interstate 95.  But nearly a decade ago, the threat of a Wal-Mart moving in and disrupting that charm spurred local debate so heated that it caught national attention and became the subject of a PBS documentary about what happens when the world's largest retailer moves into a small town. Tech company claims pair stole secrets (Virginia Gazette) A Toano technology is suing two ex-employees for $3.5 million, alleging they conspired to steal trade secrets. The suit offers a glimpse into the high-stakes world of technology and corporate espionage. Wachovia to pay $1.22 million in settlement (Virginina-Pilot) Virginia's securities regulators said Wachovia Securities and ...

Propane-powered vehicles get a boost

An $8.6 million grant from the Department of Energy will help fund the conversion of more than 1,000 vehicles in Virginia and eight other states to run on propane gas.

BizSense featured on WRVA

In case you were busy pressing the snooze button, I appeared this morning on 1140 AM WRVA as a guest of radio host Jimmy Barrett. I discussed the story that ran earlier today titled Shockoe businesses sue city for $31 million. WRVA has posted a podcast of the interview which you can download and listen to here: Shockoe Sues City.

Fire shuts down Massey coal plant

Richmond-based coal producer Massey Energy suffered a set back Thursday when a fire broke out at a preparation facility in Logan County, West Virginia.

Guest Opinion: The meltdown saved my business

The market crash in October 2008 was the best thing that ever happened to my company. At the time, Zuula Consulting was four months old, and our first quarter had been a study in idyllic joy. A partnership with another company meant work came pouring in, our writing and editing business was at capacity. We were gainfully and successfully self-employed.

Shockoe businesses sue city for $31 million

Time has not healed all wounds. Within weeks of the five-year anniversary of a flood that ruined dozens of businesses in Shockoe Bottom, several businesses filed a lawsuit against the City of Richmond. Those proprietors and property owners aren’t blaming Mother Nature for the havoc caused on that rainy August day in 2004, but rather the city for failing to maintain and inspect flood control systems in the Bottom.

NewsFeeds 8.28.09

Chesterfield slashes commercial-development fees (Times-Dispatch) County supervisors approved a "fee holiday" Wednesday night, sharply reducing Planning Department fees related to commercial, office and industrial projects until July. Area entrepreneur takes plan to White House (Roanoke Times) Back from an energy briefing at the White House this week, a Henry County entrepreneur said he achieved his goal of informing federal leaders about his vision for regional, vertically integrated biodiesel plants as an alternative to importing oil for transportation. TowneBank seeks to raise as much as $80 million (Virgnian-Pilot) TowneBank, which raised more than $136 million of capital last year, announced Thursday it plans to raise as much as $80 million of additional capital from an offering of debt and equity. Sent Mail (Slate) A great read for bosses. Fascinating stuff. Cataphora is a Silicon Valley company that tries to model what an "effective" employee looks like based upon her electronic ...

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