Hurricane Preparedness Week

Governor Tim Kaine recognized May 24-30 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week and reminds Virginians that the Commonwealth will mark its second annual Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday from Monday, May 25, through Sunday, May 31.

“Hurricane season will soon be here and now is a good time to start thinking about what you will need if one of these devastating storms affects Virginia,” Governor Kaine said. “These tax breaks should help everyone buy the items they need to see them through the difficult days that follow the storms.”

During the sales tax holiday many items that are very useful during and after a hurricane will be exempt from the 5 percent state and local sales tax. Twenty-two items will be tax exempt, including batteries, flashlights, bottled water, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and generators that cost $1,000 or less. A complete list of tax-exempt products and frequently asked questions is available on the Tax Department’s Web site at www.tax.virginia.gov. All Virginia retailers who sell the tax-exempt products are required by law to waive the sales tax on these items during the seven-day exemption period.

“This sales tax holiday is the perfect time to go shopping and buy tax-exempt items that will help you get through a hurricane or other large storm when there are usually power outages and other problems,” said Tax Commissioner Janie Bowen.

Since 2003, Virginia has had 49 fatalities and suffered over $2 billion in damage from storms including Hurricane Isabel, Hurricane Jeanne, and Tropical Depression Gaston. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille, which left more than 100 dead and damage of more than $1 billion in Virginia.

Governor Kaine also encouraged Virginians to take advantage of the resources available on Ready Virginia to ensure that they are prepared for a hurricane, other natural disaster, or any emergency. Ready Virginia provides information to help Virginians prepare emergency kits, make emergency plans, and stay informed in the event of an emergency.

During the sales tax holiday, retailers are also permitted to pay the sales tax themselves on any non-qualifying item or items they sell and pass the 5 percent savings on to customers. Virginia will have two additional sales tax holidays this year— for school supplies and clothing from Aug. 7-9, 2009, and for Energy Star and WaterSense products will from Oct. 9- 12, 2009.

Urban League of Hampton Roads on NBC Nightly News

The Portsmouth-based Urban League of Hampton Roads was featured on NBS Nightly News with Brian Williams on Friday, May 22nd.

Ron Allen, an NBC News correspondent based in New York, interviewed Ernest Rolland, Financial Counselor for the Urban League of Hampton Roads, and others about the League's services which are offering a ray of hope for hundreds of hard-pressed families facing foreclosure in the region.

Mr. Rolland shared that approximately 600 families in Hampton Roads have been helped, doubling last year's numbers.

MSNBC Video Link, May 22, 2009

The National Urban League of which the Urban League of Hampton Roads is an affiliate, is one of the oldest community-based civil rights organizations.

Hampton Roads Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Hampton Roads Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Project Support


The Hampton Roads Partnership (HRP), a public private organization comprised of the chief elected officials of seventeen local governments, business leaders, college and university presidents, and military commands, seeks a highly qualified contractor to provide support for development of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the Hampton Roads region.

A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), as defined by the U. S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic roadmap to diversify and strengthen regional economies. The CEDS analyzes the regional economy and serves as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives, developing and implementing a regional plan of action, and identifying investment priorities and funding sources.

A CEDS integrates a region’s human and physical capital planning in the service of economic development. Integrated economic development planning provides the flexibility to adapt to global economic conditions and fully utilize the region’s unique advantages to maximize economic opportunity for its residents by attracting the private investment that creates jobs for the region’s residents.

A CEDS is the result of a continuing economic development planning process developed with broad-based and diverse public and private sector participation and must set forth the goals and objectives necessary to solve the economic development problems of the region and clearly define the metrics of success.

Finally, a CEDS provides a useful benchmark by which a regional economy can evaluate opportunities with other regions in the national economy.

For more information on CEDS: http://www.eda.gov/PDF/CEDSFlyer081706.pdf

The CEDS Support Contractor:

1. Works directly for the Project Manager to oversee and facilitate the CEDS process and to integrate and prioritize Sub-Committee results.
2. Provides support to Strategy Committee and Sub-Committee Leaders.
3. Facilitates public outreach working with appropriate regional entities.
4. Supports the preparation of the final report.

Qualifications:

1. Has detailed and current knowledge of Hampton Roads including its opportunities and issues.
2. Has been involved with the preparation of successful CEDS planning efforts.

Proposals should include how the contractor will support the project, information on key personnel involved, relevant accomplishments, and a budget to include travel, meeting support, and personnel costs. Proposals should be limited to no more than 4 pages, including budget.

Proposals should be sent by Monday, June 7, 2009 to:
E. Dana Dickens, III
President and CEO
Hampton Roads Partnership
430 World Trade Center
Norfolk, VA 23510
ddickens@hrp.org

Hampton Roads water projects get stimulus boost

More than $21 million in water-related projects — much of it river dredging and harbor upgrades — are among the improvements in greater Hampton Roads to be funded with economic stimulus money, officials announced this week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which released a list of civil works projects, said funds should be available almost immediately.

"We intend to quickly put these dollars into action," said Maj. Gen. Merdith "Bo" Temple, deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations.

In all, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has set aside $4.6 billion to the Corps for civil works projects around the country. Roughly two-thirds of that money goes for operation/maintenance or construction.

The Obama administration says the projects will create or keep about 57,400 direct jobs in the construction industry and another 64,000 jobs from firms that support or supply the construction business.

Included in the list is $868,000 for dredging Hampton Creek, restoring a 12-foot depth for barges and large commercial fishing vessels that have had difficulty navigating the area.

Various projects connected with the Norfolk harbor are slated to receive more than $10 million, including:

• $3 million for raising dikes at Craney Island as part of the dredged material management project
• $2.28 million to replace a spillway at Craney Island
• $2.03 million to construct breakwaters on the west shoreline of the Craney Island disposal facility to prevent continued erosion and improve water quality
• $130,000 to install safety rails and repair the Fort Norfolk sea wall
• $150,000 to repair storm damage to the Craney Island project office
• $950,000 to accomplish an environmental compliance initiative at Craney Island

In Smithfield, the Corps will spend $900,000 to dredge the Pagan River and restore the 6-foot maintenance depth. It serves the town of Smithfield and is used as a harbor of refuge and base of operations for Smithfield search and rescue.

For the Elizabeth River, $235,000 is set aside for construction of a wetlands restoration project in the drainage canal at Old Dominion University.

by Hugh Lessig of the Daily Press, excerpts from an article originally published on May 1, 2009

Local economy Tech clusters will keep us prosperous

by Lee Beach, Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Research Partnership and a member of the Hampton Roads Technology Council. He can be reached by e-mail at LBeach@HamptonRoadsRP.org. Originally published in Inside Business on 5/18/09 and reprinted here by permission of the author.

Some believe the national economy has entered a period of sustained decline. Others may worry that, in a severe recession, the country will lose its preeminence in matters scientific and technological as investors and investment turns elsewhere. From where I sit, neither appears to be true, particularly in the case of Hampton Roads.

Partly that has to do with the region’s considerable support from the federal government. But I believe the main reason is “homegrown.” One only has to look at the substantial progress being made locally to see that technology-based economic development is thriving and accelerating. That progress can be attributed to a growing number of partnerships that are concentrating on real products for the marketplace.

That’s where the Hampton Roads Research Partnership comes in. We’re in our ninth year and are currently a consortium of seven colleges and universities, two federal laboratories and a research institute: Christopher Newport University; College of William and Mary; Eastern Virginia Medical School; Hampton University; Norfolk State University; Old Dominion University; Virginia Wesleyan College; Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or JLab; NASA Langley Research Center and National Institute of Aerospace.

Applied-technology-wise, these are a group of heavy-hitters. Our members receive many millions of dollars to support research and technology efforts, and for good reason. No one should think the recipients are conducting ivory-tower exercises, suitable only for the rarified air of the cloistered laboratory. Our institutions are pursuing useful projects that are having or will have substantial impact on our daily lives.

This application of laboratory know-how creates real-world jobs, bringing in much-needed revenue, giving birth to companies which, as they mature, create even more opportunities as well as their own spinoffs. That translates locally into what we are calling “technology clusters.” We at the research partnership think, and are betting on, the viability of Hampton Roads clusters to create not just a small-scale nexus of prosperity, but a model for the regional economy. Our premise in creating clusters in 2004 was to gain the power to compete on an equal footing with other areas in the country by leveraging existing strengths in judiciously selected disciplines. The three technology clusters that we chose – bioscience, modeling and simulation, and sensors – have a critical mass of expertise and proven economic viability in Hampton Roads, and so made sense from every point of view that we considered.

Here, I should mention the critical financial support we’ve received from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, under the terms of awards to Norfolk State University and the Hampton Roads Partnership. Without the EDA grants we simply couldn’t have accomplished what we have; simply put, the EDA has made HRRP clusters a reality.

The cluster model has as its fundamental premise that proactively facilitating relationships between technology generators like universities and federal labs and technology users like industry will ultimately produce prosperity for all. Traditionally in Hampton Roads, many of our companies do not have relationships with the regional universities, do not know how to partner and work closely with them, and, particularly, if intellectual property is involved, are wary of potential problems likely to arise.

A key cluster goal is to help companies in each technology area make good decisions in finding the best university/lab expertise or partners for their particular needs (and vice versa). This is a time-consuming process that often involves facilitation of initial and then subsequent contacts between interested parties, and involves multiple industry and university personnel. It’s taken a while, but we’re already starting to generate results.

In April of last year, for instance, we organized a business-academia roundtable that took place during the fifth annual research exposition at Old Dominion. Roundtable talks centered on how successful firms are bridging the gap between potentially profitable ideas and their viability as a commercial application or product.

This year, in mid-February, we co-sponsored a half-day symposium in Suffolk at the Virginia Modeling Analysis and Simulation Center that featured some of the extraordinarily advanced research in biosensors under way in Hampton Roads. Panelists reviewed biosensor projects that are in the development stage and that are creating opportunity for collaboration with locally based academia and industry, and several collaborative projects are in the works as a result of the event. A perspective on the potential for bioscience can be found at http://www.HamptonRoadsRP.org/Bioscience Survey Final Report.pdf.

The bottom line: Our clusters are thriving, gaining traction and membership. We continue to develop activities to help them mature and flourish.

But don’t take my word for it. Visit our website http://www.HamptonRoadsRP.org and see for yourself. One innovation at a time, our economic development future is indeed taking shape.

"Public Art Earn and Learn" program, taking it to the streets

The City of Norfolk's "Summer Earn and Learn" internship program includes training in teamwork, work ethics, leadership, discipline, time management and life skills.

This article shares the City's "Public Art Earn and Learn" program, taking art to the parking garages of Norfolk.

Norfolk's Public Art Earn and Learn ProgramView this presentation in a new browser window; click on "Full" to view full screen; click on "Download" to download the presentation to your own computer.

Posted and reprinted by permission of the City of Norfolk Communications Department. Originally seen by the City's residents in the print publication "Norfolk Quarterly," the Communications Department is allowing us to offer this information to the entire region.

SmartRegion.org welcomes other information about local youth and internship programs for the benefit of the entire Hampton Roads region! Please submit to: Contact@HRP.org

VALET Program A Confirmed Success

by Leslie Parpart, VALET Program Manager (lparpart@yesvirginia.org); if you are interested in learning more about the program, please contact Leslie. Article orginally appeared in Virginia's Spring 2009 Commerce Quarterly.

What if your company could increase its international sales by 44% during a two-year period and then grow by another 44% in the years that followed? On average, companies who graduate from the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program experience this level of growth in their international business.

In 2001, it was just an idea. Virginia companies with firmly established domestic operations interested in accelerating their international business were recruited to join a newly designed program that was a true public-private partnership. The intended goal was to provide companies with the tools and resources to increase their international sales over the course of two years. On February 26, 2002, under the leadership of Paul Grossman and Kim Weir, the first VALET class gathered and launched the VALET Program.

The Program assists exporters who are committed to exporting as an expansion strategy. Companies interested in VALET participation are required to undergo an application process, which occurs twice each year, and must meet minimum requirements. Each company selected to participate in VALET’s two-year export acceleration program has access to the following:

• Reimbursement of up to $10,000 for export-related expenses;
• Pro bono professional services from VALET Program Partners, which form an extensive network of service providers who can assist with a variety of issues that exporters encounter when doing business internationally;
• Networking and educational events; and
• Strategic planning guidance and resource coordination.

Companies begin the program in either January or July. Since 2002, over 100 companies have been accepted into the program. In 2008, the VALET Program commissioned its first external review. Data was collected through a combination of database review, staff interviews, and a survey of the 65 program graduates. The goals of this study included quantifying post-program international sales and developing an understanding of what graduates thought were the key elements of the program as well as identifying areas for improvement. The response to the survey was an outstanding 66%.

The most critical question the survey set out to answer was whether program graduates continued growing their international business post graduation. The study found that companies increased their international sales by an additional 44% following their participation in the program. The companies also provided feedback regarding what type of impact the VALET program had on their international business in the years after their participation. The changes reported most frequently by respondents included:

• Expanding into new international markets (93%);
• Increasing the number of international sales annually (88%);
• Implementing new international marketing strategies (84%);
• Investing in new technology (74%);
• Experiencing growth in the number of employees in Virginia facilities (72%); and
• Establishing new partnerships with international companies (70%).

“There are tremendous benefits to selling internationally…for a company, for its employees and for Virginia,” said Paul H. Grossman, Jr., Director of International Trade and Investment. “In an era where organic business growth is part of successful economic development strategies, broadening a company’s client base by selling worldwide is totally organized and totally positive.”

The external review also identified the aspects of the program that graduates valued most. These included access to $10,000 via reimbursement to offset the costs of international marketing, research provided by VEDP staff and in-country consultants, the opportunity to network with other Virginia companies, and the support of private sector experts.

The survey asked the graduates whether or not they would consider participating in the VALET Program again and 88% of the respondents indicated that they were very likely or somewhat likely to participate again. Respondents were also asked to elaborate on the following question “If you were describing your company’s overall experience with the VALET program to a peer, how would you describe it?” The responses to this question were almost unanimously positive, with 38 of 39 companies replying noting that the program was “positive and rewarding.”

In addition, to the positive results highlighted in this report, the VALET Program, the first of its kind in the country, has also been recognized as a national model by the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (in 2004) and as a program of excellence by NASBITE International in 2008.

The VALET Program is currently recruiting companies for its July 2009 Class. To be eligible for the program, companies in the Commonwealth of Virginia must have strong domestic operations and have the resources to commit to participation. VALET program participants are required to go through a competitive application process and must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Employ at least 20 individuals;
• Be established for 3 years;
• $2 million in annual sales;
• $20,000 commitment toward export trade;
• Commit to traveling to target market; and
• Have completed international market research.

Commerce Quarterly is a quarterly publication of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. To download archived issues and/or to subscribe, visit http://www.yesvirginia.org/About_Us/News.aspx

Virginia’s Nonprofit Sector: An Economic Force, Key Findings from VANNO

from Deborah Barfield Williamson, Executive Director of Virginia Network of Nonprofit Organizations (VANNO)

Nonprofits permeate our lives:

• We're born in nonprofit hospitals, attend nonprofit day care centers and pre-schools, are educated in nonprofit elementary and secondary schools, attend nonprofit universities, participate in nonprofit recreational programs.
• Nonprofits respond to the citizens’ emergencies, entertain them at parks, historical sites, and theaters. Citizens find peace in nonprofit houses of worship. Virginians look to these organizations to fill basic human needs—food, shelter, clothing, and safety.
• Aging citizens rely on nonprofits for medical and hospice care and home repair. For many Virginians, nonprofit hospices meet end of life needs.
• And many civic organizations and fraternal organizations provide opportunities to build social binds and give back to the community.

In 2008, the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Economic Data Project, The ConnectNetwork and The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia released a groundbreaking study on the economic impact of the Commonwealth’s nonprofit sector.

The study, Virginia’s Nonprofit Sector: An Economic Force, found that while the state’s nonprofit organizations are filling critical community needs with limited resources, they are one of the leading growing employment sectors and significantly contribute to the state’s overall economy.

A few of the key findings:

• Nonprofits, statewide, employ 211,000 people and engage more than 139,000 as volunteers. This represents 6% of Virginia’s workforce and is second only to retail and larger than both the educational services and manufacturing workforces.
• Eighty-two percent of Virginia’s nonprofit organizations operate with budgets of less than $1 million annually.
• Virginia’s nonprofit sector has seen a 35% growth in employment in the last decade, compared to only 20% in the for-profit sector and 12% in the government sector.
• The nonprofit community produces $8.2 billion in taxable wages and generates $461 million income, sales and use taxes.
• Seventy percent of nonprofit organizations and nearly 75% of employees reside in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads or Central Virginia. However, nonprofits account for above-average shares of employment in the Shenandoah Valley, West Central and Eastern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

Read more about Nonprofit Organizations and the full report at www.VANNO.org

Hampton Roads Maritime & International Trade Guide

To purchase copies, call 804-649-6999 or email Karen Chenault at kchenault@va-business.com Copies sell for: 1 - 10 copies = $2.00 each 11 - 49 copies = $1.75 each 50 & over copies = $1.50 each plus tax and shipping The 2009 Virginia Business Magazine's annual publication highlighting maritime and international trade in Hampton Roads features:

• Looking to a brighter future/Virginia ports hope economic decline has bottomed out: Interview with Joe Dorto, President and CEO of Virginia International Terminals and Hampton Roads Partnership Board member
  
  
• Riding out the storm/U.S. Navy's $14 billion contract brings job security to Newport News shipyard: Extension of contract with Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics to build Virginia-class submarines, last of which is to be delivered in 2019
  
  
• Colleges help match student skills with employer needs: Old Dominion University (ODU) and Tidewater Community College (TCC) offer courses, majors and clubs to help students interested in maritime and commerce professions
  
  
• Testing your seaworthiness/Maritime academy simulator tests students' preparedness: A distinct level of realism allows bridge and engineering mariners to train and practice together without threatening vessels
  
  
• Reports on: Imports/Protecting consumers; Transportation/New barge service expands port 100 wiles to the west, 200-mile Heartland Rail Corridor opens in 2010, Trucking; Environment/A swimmable and fishable river; Foreign Trade Zones/An Edge to U.S. manufacturers; Port of Virginia statistics and more.
  

Economic Interdependence Updated

Here is a 2009 update of HREDA's 2005 Economic Interpendence Report with an Executive Summary by Dr. James V. Koch, Board of Visitors Professor of Economics and President Emeritus at Old Dominion University.

Economic Assessment of Impact of Jobs in Hampton Roads (2009)

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Highlights: Dr. Koch's major conclusions of those previous studies (2002, 2005) have not changed significantly. The cities and counties of Hampton Roads continue to exhibit a very high level of economic interdependence (see Table 2). Economically, they continue to function as a single, large city in which some portions of the region predictably specialize as residential locations, while others specialize as job and work locations.

Individuals frequently reside in one city, but work in another. Williamsburg continues to be the most interdependent jurisdiction within the region, economically speaking. Only 16% of those who hold jobs in Williamsburg also reside there and 82%, of the personal income generated within the City of Williamsburg is earned by individuals who live in another city or county.

Norfolk hosts the second most jobs (143,072) of any city or county in Hampton Roads. Only 40% of those working in Norfolk also reside there.

More than 1.6 million people live in Hampton Roads, and these individuals held 728,893 jobs in October 2008.

On average, only 46% of the compensation generated by HREDA-attracted jobs is captured by the host city. The other 54% diffuses among the other cities and counties in the region plus sites outside of the region. This underlines the substantial economic interdependence that exists in Hampton Roads.

Jobs that appear in one location benefit nearly all other locations. Why? Because the region’s citizens cross city and county lines continuously in terms of where they choose to live, work, and spend their incomes. The entire region benefits, regardless of the location of a new job. What’s good for Hampton turns out to be good for Newport News, Virginia Beach and nearly every other city or county in the region. Note that the same rationale applies to capital construction expenditures.

Economic Interdependence Table (Jan09)

View more presentations from Hamptonroads Partnership.

Example Explanation for Table Two: For every $1.00 earned in Williamsburg, only $0.18 is spent in Williamsburg. The majority is spent in James City County at $0.34, Newport News at $0.16 and York County at $0.14.

TCC's Regional Automotive Center

On April 20, Tidewater Community College dedicated its new high-tech, 30,600- square-foot Regional Automotive Center (RAC) with a gathering of officials, guests and impressive vehicles, including a sampling of its 50-plus fleet – all under three years old – contributed by automotive manufacturers.

In partnership with the City of Chesapeake, TCC located the facility, complete with an automotive “showroom” area, at 600 Innovation Drive in the city’s Oakbrooke Business & Technology Center, one of the city’s newest business developments.

“The new TCC Regional Automotive Center embodies the college’s commitment to developing smart partnerships and strategic alliances that help our region’s economy grow and prosper,” says Hampton Roads Partnership member and TCC President Deborah M. DiCroce.

TCC’s cutting-edge center – one of few such high-tech educational facilities for today’s automotive industry – cost $10.1 million. The project was included in the state of Virginia’s 2002 bond referendum for higher education.

It offers students and employers affordable and convenient training at the forefront of industry trends and standards, while providing automotive businesses across Hampton Roads with a stream of well-trained, technology-savvy employees.

For more information about TCC’s Automotive Technology and Diesel Technology programs, call the Information Center at 757-822-1122 or visit TCC’s web site, www.tcc.edu.

Excerpts from Tomorrow’s Technician

Lights! Camera! Action! - Hollywood In Hampton Roads

Jeff Frizzell, Commissioner of the Hampton Roads Film Office (HRFO), and others were recent guests on WHRO's public affairs show "What Matters." Discussion included: How viable is this industry in today's economy? What opportunities are there for our region? What projects can we expect to see? How does the area attract filmmakers?

Download and see the show: http://www.whro.org/home/html/podcasts/whatmatters/206.mp4

Robotics and unmanned systems, technologies of today and tomorrow

Photo: Governor Kaine signs HB 2415 in to law. Delegate Joe Bouchard championed HB 2415 that adds robotics/unmanned systems to the technology areas for which the Commonwealth Technology Research Fund (CTRF) can support.

The vision behind this bill is in realizing the growing importance of robotics/unmanned systems technology and the important - and direct - role Hampton Roads could play in advancing these technologies and applications.

Observers include (l to r) Bob McKisson, President of the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Bill Piersol, Robot Venture Program Manager, Dr. Mark Patterson, Director, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) Autonomous Systems Laboratory, and Frank Roberts, Executive Director, Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance (HRMFFA).

Also check out Robot Venture's Google Group.

Photo courtesy of Frank Roberts, HRMFFA.

HRP President drinks award-winning milk

Photo by David Brandt, Rubin Communications

Home milk delivery is returning to Hampton Roads. Oberweis Dairy has purchased part of the recently closed Yoder Dairy and will begin delivering its products on April 6th.

Dana Dickens, HRP President and CEO (pictured, far left), joined owner Jim Oberweis on Tuesday, March 31st for a launch event and product sampling at the former Yoder distribution center at 5102 Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach.

Headquartered in North Aurora, Illinois, Oberweis Dairy has provided families “Simply the Best” milk products since 1927. The home delivery business, which started in 1927, currently serves more than 25,000 homes in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and eastern Missouri. Additionally, Oberweis Dairy’s products are available in over 750 grocery stores in the Midwest as well in our own 48 Oberweis Dairy stores. For more than 50 years, Oberweis has made the best tasting ice cream in the world using only the finest ingredients and time-honored quality processing.

Portsmouth’s State of the City Address

by Donna Morris, Executive Vice President, Hampton Roads Partnership

The Honorable James W. Holley, III, Mayor of the City of Portsmouth, has a way of making you feel a part of the Portsmouth family when you attend his annual State of the City addresses. He knows that if you are a citizen of Hampton Roads, you are also part of the Portsmouth’s extended family.

Mayor Holley recognized area businesses and citizens for their support during a very difficult financial time. He applauded the Portsmouth City staff for collectively working with limited resources to maintain the level of service citizens expect.

Mayor Holley, famous for his bromides*, shared one that made everyone smile. To introduce the video capturing the city’s economic developments and news over the past year, the mayor shared his own version of the well known quote – "the road to success is always under construction" – adding that the road is not always straight, but has bends and an occasional speed bump.

The State of the City presentation can be found at: mms://www.portsmouthva.gov/video/04_02_09_SOTC.wmv (Clicking on this link will open Microsoft's Media Player and it will begin to play the video OR copy this link www.portsmouthva.gov/video/04_02_09_SOTC.wmv and paste it into your web browser to open with your preferred video playing software.)


* "Bromide" is a phrase that has been used and repeated so many times that it seems like an attempt at explaining the obvious.

The Digital Age

Remember when color TV was introduced in the 1950s, black and white TVs still got a signal? With the digital transition of 2009, analog TVs don’t get digital TV signals without assistance (cable, satellite, converters, etc.).

You already receive digital channels if you subscribe to cable or satellite television services whether you have a new digital television set or not.

If you still receive an over-the-air analog signal (aka "Rabbit Ears"), though, you'll need a properly installed DTV converter box.

So, why the conversion? In the works for many years, the conversion of 2009 allows for the television spectrum to be used by wireless providers for development and use of the next generation of wireless products, etc. This means exponential new resources in America's quest for global economic competitiveness.

The switch to digital channels also brings more choices on your dial, for example: WHRO TV-15 now includes WHRO HD 15.1, WHRO World 15.2, WHRO KIDS 15.3 and WHRO Create (Cox Digital 109). Note: WHRO turned off its analog signal on February 17th. Most commercial broadcasters in Hampton Roads are waiting until June 12th to coincide with the congressional delay.

For more information, see "A Strong Communications Infrastructure is Key to Economic Success" presentation provided in April 2008 by Meredith Attwell Baker, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/speeches/2008/Baker_MassTech_080417.html

Unparalleled Success in Uncertain Times, Newport News State of the City is exceptional

Newport News experienced a year of stunning, positive economic investment announcements totaling nearly $2 billion in the city.

"The message here is we are not going to be as severely impacted like other places because of the investments we made in bringing in these industries and bringing growth to the community," said Newport News Mayor Joe S. Frank.

Mayor Joe Frank and Governor Timothy Kaine were joined by a panel of business and community leaders for the State of the City Summit. Panelists included Dr. Larry Filer, Associate Professor of Economics and Research Fellow for the Old Dominion University Economic Forecasting Project; Takayoshi Hanagata, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canon Virginia, Inc.; William H. Hudnut, III, former four-term mayor of Indianapolis and Congressman, author, public speaker, and TV commentator; Brigadier General Brian R. Layer, Commanding General, Fort Eustis; Dr. Hugh Montgomery, President of Jefferson Science Associates and Director of Jefferson Lab, Jefferson Lab; Mike Petters, Corporate Vice President and President of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding - Newport News; Kregg Wiggins, Senior Vice President, Powertrain North America, Continental).

In April 2008, Canon announced a $623.5 million expansion of its local plant, generating more than 1,000 jobs over several years. AREVA Newport News, the nuclear reactor collaboration with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, also said it would invest $363 million in its new Newport News plant and create 540 jobs. In December, Continental AG, a fuel injection production company, announced its transfer of 318 jobs and $194 million investment to Newport News from South Carolina.

What's the secret?

Newport News offers a unique mixture of consistent, long-term planning that creates a solid pro-business environment that includes many long-standing relationships, he said. In addition, urban perks such as good schools, work force training, medical, recreational and cultural facilities like the Ferguson Center for the Arts add to the city's appeal, Mayor Frank said.

"All these things give people a sense that Newport News is an attractive place to work, live and raise a family," Frank said.

Like other localities across the region, Newport News is wrestling with rapidly shrinking tax and state dollars. "These projects didn't just happen overnight. It's taken a long time," Florence Kingston, Economic Development Director, said. "It's more than just a piece of real estate or an incentive package (to attract these businesses)."

During the Newport News Summit, Mayor Joe Frank also announced that Pepsi is investing in a $20-million dollar expansion to their existing business in Newport News. It will be a 16,000 sq. ft. expansion that will create 15 new jobs.

Also at the Summit, ODU Economics Professor Larry Filer explained the results of his study showing a ripple effect from that job growth. "The initial job creation of say 3,360 jobs may generate somewhere around 3,200 other jobs in the region maybe as many as 600 more jobs in the City," says Filer.

Hampton Roads in Northeast's 2050 Mega Region

Click on the Map for a larger, downloadable version.

from http://www.America2050.org

The Northeast Mega Region is a powerhouse of density and economic output, producing 20 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product with 18 percent of the population and only two percent of the nation's land area. Over the next generation, the Northeast will add 1 million new residents. This population growth will demand infrastructure investments and economic growth to accommodate these new residents while preserving quality of life.

Location: The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic seaboard - From Northern Virginia to Southern Maine, bounded by the Appalachian Mountains to the west by the Appalachian Mountains to the west.
Principal Cities: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C.
Population 2000: 49,563,296
Percent of U.S. Population: 18%
Population 2025: 58,124,740
Projected Growth: 18%
2005 GDP: $2,591,075,000,000
Percent of US GDP: 21%

Stimulus Funding Update from Williams Mullen

Tag Cloud from President Obama's Radio address of December 6, 2008. Discussion of jobs plan and economic stimulus package. Obama describes, "American dream energy economy" and mentions healthcare (better medical records) and education.

Stimulus in the News:

• $1.6 Billion Stimulus Funding Allocation Announced by Governor Kaine
• Gov. Kaine outlines use of stimulus to reduce cuts to education, transportation and other services.
• DOT Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• Virginia makes plans for transportation stimulus package

Lawmakers Caution Obama on Transportation Funding by Colby Itkowitz, CQ Staff

A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to President Obama today urging him to reconsider an “ill-advised proposal” to open up highway and aviation spending to the appropriations process.

The administration’s budget proposal for fiscal 2010 includes a request to make all transportation spending discretionary, which would tear down a firewall that has protected the federal Highway Trust Fund and the Airport and Airways Trust Fund from being raided to help finance other domestic programs.

The administration said the goal was to improve transparency, but the lawmakers said in their letter that it would have the opposite effect.

“If any budget process reforms are to be made, they should serve to increase the separation of Trust-Funded programs from non-Trust-Funded programs.”

The letter was signed by some 14 Democratic and Republican members of both the House and Senate who hold key positions on authorizing and tax writing committees. Two GOP members of the Senate Appropriations panel — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and George V. Voinovich of Ohio — also signed on.

Among those expressing their concern were House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn and ranking member John L. Mica, R-Fla., and Senate Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and ranking Republican James M. Inhofe, R-Okla.


Budget Would End ‘Firewall’ For Highway, Transit Funding by Colby Itkowitz and Kathryn A. Wolfe, CQ Staff

President Obama’s fiscal 2010 budget blueprint includes a proposal to tear down the “firewall” around highway and transit funding and make it subject to the annual appropriations process.

Currently, the transportation authorizing committees set the contract authority spending levels to ensure federal Highway Trust Fund revenues cannot be diverted to other domestic purposes.

The protection was put in place in the 1998 highway law (PL 105-178) to stop the practice of appropriating less for highways than the gasoline tax was generating for the trust fund.

Rep. James L. Oberstar who is on the brink of writing a huge highway authorization bill as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, strongly opposes changing the law.

“To raise this issue again now, when we have important work to do to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and create family-wage jobs, is both a contradiction and an unnecessary distraction,” Oberstar, D-Minn., said in a statement.

In his budget document, Obama said that with all transportation dollars discretionary, taxpayers will have a more honest estimate of how much is being spent on such programs.

Jack Basso, finance director for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said he is 100 percent against the idea.

“Contract authority affords the opportunity to do long-term planning,” Basso said. “The result of that would be no more stability than year to year.”

He said worse yet is that transportation programs could have to compete with other areas for spending.

But a Transportation Department source said the intent is merely to change how transportation spending is scored and not to eliminate contract authorities or use transportation money to offset deficits. “I think a lot of this is turf-orientated,” the source said.

Oberstar did say he was encouraged by other elements of Obama’s proposal that call for increased transportation investment.

The president proposes an additional $5 billion for high-speed rail grants beyond the $8 billion already appropriated in the economic stimulus package (PL 111-5).

The Transportation Department’s proposed $72.5 billion budget for fiscal 2010 represents a $2 billion increase from the estimated fiscal 2009 total. The department received about $48 billion in the stimulus package.

The budget suggests that the administration will seek to overhaul aviation financing policy, likely in a way that will reopen an old debate over new user fees that sparked an intense, multi-year lobbying fight between sectors of the aviation industry.

The general aviation community has generally preferred the status quo, while the commercial airline industry has pushed for wholesale changes.

The budget also proposes $800 billion to transition from the aging radar-based system of air-traffic control to a version of the satellite-based global positioning system.

The budget also proposes to fundamentally restructure the way subsidies are paid to airlines to keep them flying into small and rural communities that would otherwise be unprofitable to serve.

Updates provided by the Williams Mullen/The Keelen Group.

Just think what you could save with Public Transit

People who opt for public transportation over driving in metro areas can save big bucks according to a new report by the American Public Transportation Association.

Nationally, leaving your car at home can save you up to $12,428 a year, if you have a public transit system. Here's how the annual savings numbers break down around the country:

1. Boston -- $12,428
2. New York -- $12,390
3. San Francisco -- $11,516
4. Chicago -- $10,497
5. Philadelphia -- $10,333
6. Seattle -- $10,274
7. Honolulu -- $10,033
8. D.C. -- $9,530
9. San Diego -- $9,268
10. Minneapolis -- $9,198

Calculate how much you can save with the APTA's Calculator.