News & Features

Virginia Economic Review

Our quarterly publication, Virginia Economic Review, provides an insider look at Virginia’s economy, its diverse array of world-class companies, its amazing talent, and its stunning natural beauty, as well as insights from national thought leaders.

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Greg LeRoy
04.16.2022

Greg LeRoy Puts Good Jobs First

Greg LeRoy is the founder and executive director of Good Jobs First, a national policy resource center promoting corporate and government accountability in economic development. Good Jobs First provides information on best practices in state and local job subsidies.
SYKES Enterprises, Inc., Wise County SYKES Enterprises, Inc., Wise County

High Tech Comes to the Coalfields

The year 2006 marked a turning point for the town of Lebanon, for Russell County, and for the Southwest corner of Virginia: CGI, a Canadian company with a strong presence in tech-heavy Northern Virginia, located its first U.S. onshore delivery center in Lebanon.
Virginia State University students Virginia State University

On Target for Tech Talent

How Virginia's Plan to Double its Tech-Talent Pipeline by Aligning Resources at All Levels Hits the Bull's-Eye When it comes to building a comprehensive strategy for increasing talent to meet the technology workforce demands of today and tomorrow, there is a nationwide call by employers for talent with skills that include a particular focus on software development, engineering, machine learning, artificial intelligence, user experience design, and user interface design — all competencies with roots in computer science.
Oyster shucker Deborah Pratt, of Middlesex County on the Middle Peninsula, has won the National Oyster Shucking Championship Contest 11 times.

America's Seafood Leaders

It's challenging to remember a time when Virginia — the nation’s third-largest seafood-producing state — wasn’t known for its flavorful, briny oysters and succulent clams, but the late 1990s and early 2000s were a dark era for shellfish producers.
Michael Shaps Wineworks Michael Shaps Wineworks, Albemarle County

From Grapes and Grain to Glass

Virginia's Surging Craft Beverage Industry Virginia's first brush with alcoholic beverage production came in 1620, when English settler George Thorpe distilled the first batch of corn whiskey in what would become the United States at the Jamestown settlement near Williamsburg.