Weekly Newsletter
August 17, 2017
In the News  
Thank You to City Manager Mark Haley for 38 Years of Service to the City of Hopewell

Port of Virginia Sets Another Record in July 

Looking for something to do this weekend in the Gateway Region? Hear live music at the Harbor Blast Concert Series, Spend "An Evening with Get the Led Out" in Chesterfield, and see a musical at Swift Creek Mill Theatre.  
Partner Spotlight
Waukeshaw Development is leading revitalization and rehabilitation efforts in the Tri-Cities, and continues to advance projects in Southside and Western Virginia, and North Carolina. Current adaptive reuse and historic tax credit developments, in varying project stages, comprise more than 450,000 square feet and reflect a value of more than $70 Million. Waukeshaw seeks out interesting, game-changing projects in challenging locales, often working closely with municipalities to further their economic development efforts.

 
U.S. Factory Jobs are High-Tech, but the Workers are not, yet

By D. Sewell & C. Rugaber | Associated Press | Full Article     

It's true that many jobs have gone overseas, to places where workers are willing to toil for less money. Yet at the same time, American manufacturers have actually added nearly a million jobs in the past seven years. And federal statistics show nearly 390,000 such jobs open.

The problem? Many of these are not the same jobs that for decades sustained the working class. More and more factory jobs now demand education, technical know-how or specialized skills. And many of the workers set adrift from low-tech factories lack such qualifications. Meanwhile, the dearth of qualified applicants has forced some manufacturers to pay more to fill those jobs.
Craft Distillery Aims to Fuel Economic Growth in Sussex
By Michael Buettner | Progress-Index | Full Article  

Next Saturday, Three Brothers Distillery will introduce its next product, Kablam Unaged Corn Whiskey. And later on, when it's had enough time to age, they will roll out George Aged Rye Whiskey, named in honor of George Washington, who operated a distillery himself at Mount Vernon.

All of Three Brothers' products are made from locally sourced corn and other grains, something Reavis is just as passionate about as the liquor itself and which has earned the distillery the "Virginia's Finest" designation. "We're able to provide a secondary market for the local growers," he noted, adding that he hopes eventually to set up a grain mill and make flour on the property. Meanwhile, he's providing his used corn mash to local farmers for use as hog feed.