Firms had backed Bottom stadium (Times-Dispatch) The same firms hired by Richmond to analyze a proposed $363 million development, including a new baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom, already endorsed the concept in a study produced for the city six months ago. Robatel Industries technology firm to set up hub in region (Roanoke Times) A French… Read more »
Aaron Kremer
Aaron Kremer is the founder of Richmond BizSense. Email him at [email protected].
Help on the way for SBA loans
The Small Business Association might not be searching for a new slogan, but it would do well to consider “get ’em while they’re hot.” The SBA loan, an often-used source of financing for startups of all shapes and sizes, has over the past year become far harder to get. That has slowed business at a… Read more »
NewsFeeds 3.17.09
Richmond to study feasibility of Shockoe ballpark project (Times-Dispatch) Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones has enlisted the city’s financial advisers to test the feasibility of a proposed ballpark development for Shockoe Bottom. The city is spending $100,000 to get an outside review of the $363 million Shockoe Center project. Controversial Norfolk property for sale (Inside… Read more »
Why do college coaches get guaranteed contracts?
Why do coaches get paid after they’re fired? Is there any other profession that works like this other than golden parachutes for CEOs, which is also absurd. Frankly, it seems like a job lots of guys would want and one you could fill relatively easily without such guarantees. So why do colleges feel the need… Read more »
Office Sense: Flying corporate
Welcome to a new edition of “Office Sense,” BizSense’s intimate look inside the places Richmond companies call home. This month we wanted to take to the friendly skies. Sure, these aren’t the best times to brag about flying corporate, about skipping the indignities of the TSA line and the withering snack packs. But recession be… Read more »
Salaries hold steady for Media General execs
Despite losing $632 million in 2008 and asking salaried employees to take two weeks off, it still pays to be a head honcho at Richmond-based Media General. Chief executive Marshall Morton received $2.76 million in total compensation in 2008, according to an SEC filing. That’s about the same as 2007 and about 15 percent less… Read more »
NewsFeeds 3.16.09
Foreclosures illustrate mortgage meltdown (Times-Dispatch) The brief proceeding on an overcast late-winter afternoon was a microcosm of the current state of the nation’s housing crisis. It reflected the dying hopes of one family, the Bangs, who were never told of their home’s reprieve at the auction. Still facing big bills with little work available, they… Read more »
NewsFeeds 3.13.09
Toad’s Place owner discusses closing (Times-Dispatch) Charles Joyner said yesterday that his investment group, Turning Point Development, has no intention of being involved with the venue any longer. So the business will remain closed. Local man charged in Ponzi scheme (Daily Progress) Editor’s Pick: An Albemarle County man is facing civil and criminal charges in… Read more »
It’s still good to be the banker
Tarp Schmarp. Executives at Union Bankshares Corp., the parent of local Union Bank and Trust and its 43 locations, earned slightly more in 2008 than in 2007, despite a rough year. The bank accepted $59 million in federal money as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, cut the dividend payment to stock holders by… Read more »
NewsFeeds 3.12.09
Va. unemployment rate accelerates, hits 17-year high (Times-Dispatch) Virginia’s jobless rate in January rose to its highest level in nearly 17 years as an increasing number of the state’s employers laid off workers as the recession worsened. Sun sets on wild west of lending (Inside Business) (Free once you register) Despite the negative public response… Read more »