Admiral Americas will offer auto insurance to Virginia motorists late this year or in early 2010, according to a story in WalesOnline. The insurance company, with headquarters recently established in Richmond, is the U.S. arm of Wales-based Admiral Insurance. The company is the third largest auto insurer in the United Kingdom. WalesOnline reports the Richmond… Read more »
Al Harris
Sexual harassment goes both ways
Take what happened to James Kelly, an employee of StarTek, a call center operator that provides services to companies such as T-Mobile and AT&T with a location in Petersrburg. From the lawsuit filed June 1 in U.S. District Court in Richmond:
Alicia grabbed Mr. Kelley’s buttocks during work/classroom hours, one to three times per week.
More trouble for Va. computer contractor
Northern Virginia-based technology contractor Northrop Grumman has recently come under fire for being six months behind on a $2.3 billion contract to administer the state’s computers. Legislators are now poised to scrutinize the costly 10-year contract. But that is the least of Northrop’s problems. A team of Canadian student journalists investigating the global electronic waste… Read more »
Lawmakers target car title loans
Now that newly passed regulations have severely hampered the payday loan industry in Virginia, lawmakers are setting their sights on car title lenders. A legislative study committee held its first meeting today at the state capitol to discuss how to approach regulation of car title lenders during the 2010 General Assembly session. Car title lenders… Read more »
More Manchester mojo
New Manchester Flats is Fountainhead’s latest project, located at Gordon Avenue and East Seventh Street.
When finished, it will represent a $35 million investment and add about 175 residential units to the area. The development is partly financed by historical tax credits, as well as New Market tax credits (for development in low-income areas).
Massey CEO joins the Twitterati
Don Blankenship, chief executive of Massey Energy, has been tweeting away on Twitter since June 19. Massey is the nation’s fourth largest coal producer and the repeated target of protests over their mining practices in Appalachia. Last week, actress Darryl Hannah and a top NASA scientist were arrested in West Virginia at one such protest…. Read more »
King of Pop’s death ripples to Mondial insurance
Travel insurer Mondial Assistance, which has a large Richmond office, got a bit of a thriller on news of Michael Jackson’s death. The King of Pop was preparing for a sold-out concert series in London. With about a quarter-million tickets sold, a handful of companies are preparing to deal with perhaps the largest mass refund… Read more »
The Pipeline: Commercial Real Estate Round Up for 6.26.09
Dr. Laura Regan, doing business as James River Dermatology, purchased the 3,000 square feet office condo at 1316 Alverser Drive in Chesterfield from Village Bank for $575,000.Synergy Systems, Inc. leased 9,000 square feet at 4510 Cox Road in Henrico.
French bistro coming to the Slip
Dubbed Bouchon, the restaurant will dish up Provençal cuisine from chef Francis Devilliers. Bouchon, which is French for “traffic jam”, is being retrofitted at 1209 E. Cary St. in the space previously occupied by Pomegranate Euro Bistro. The owners, who met while on vacation in the Caribbean, hope to open at by the end of July for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday.
Security traders gone wild
A lawsuit filed by a former Scott & Stringfellow employee — a fellow who allegedly “mooned” his trading floor co-workers in Charlotte — was recently tossed out of U.S. District Court in Richmond. Timothy Martin was hired in 2004 at age 51 to work in the firm’s Charlotte office selling distressed CMBS loans. After a… Read more »