Hampton Roads News 
Aug 14
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| Click on graphic above for larger image. |
According to Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads, 90% of a child’s brain is developed by the age of 5. Hampton Roads and Virginia is faced with three employee options: import talent, export jobs or GROW the talent here. That growth begins with early education which provides the foundation for economic productivity, responsible citizenship and strong communities.
See http://SmartBeginningsSHR.org for more information and to learn how to get involved.
Aug 13
The Hampton Roads region saw slight growth in personal income last year but it still was the highest increase among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, according to estimates by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The region, which includes Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Newport News, saw total personal income rise 1.2 percent last year to $66.4 billion. On average, personal income dropped 2.3 percent in 52 metro areas of at least 1 million people.
The Washington, D.C., area also was one of the gainers. Its total personal income rose 1.1 percent to $309 billion. Personal income is defined by the government as income received by persons from all sources.
Richmond, the only other large Virginia metro region in the survey, saw total personal income drop 1.6 percent to $51 billion.
In another measurement of wealth, per-capita income, rose slightly last year in Hampton Roads and Washington: $39,674, up 1 percent, in Hampton Roads and $56,442, up 0.7 percent, in the Washington area. Richmond’s per-capita income declined 2.5 percent to $41, 242. Per-capita income is calculated by dividing total personal income in an area by its resident population.
In a wider Bureau of Economic Analysis survey of 366 metro areas, personal income declined in 223, increased in 134 and remained unchanged in nine.
The survey included seven metro areas in addition to Hampton Roads, Washington and Richmond.
Their estimates were:
From Virginia Business
From the BEA: WASHINGTON DC, August 9, 2010 – Personal income declined in 2009 in most of the nation’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Large MSAs. Among the 52 MSAs with a population of one million or more, only three had an increase in both net earnings and personal income in 2009 (Washington, D.C.; San Antonio, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Virginia). The biggest gains in compensation in these three MSAs were in the federal government (civilian and military combined). Private sector compensation declined in these three MSAs.
Aug 12
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| Photo Release — Northrop Grumman Continues Construction for the Next-Generation Aircraft Carrier, Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) – July 29, 2010. Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) construction is now 11 percent complete. Named after the 38th president of the United States, Ford, whose keel was laid Nov. 14, 2009, is the first ship of the new Gerald R. Ford class. The Ford class will continue the legacy of highly capable U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ship platforms. Click on image above for a full-size version. |
Newport News shipyard, nation’s largest, is one of Hampton Roads’ economic driving forces
The yard is Hampton Roads’ largest private employer, with about 20,000 workers, and is the nation’s sole maker of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. It is one of two submarine builders.
On the banks of the James River on the tip of the Peninsula, the yard went into operation in 1886, founded by railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington as a sidelight to his coal operations. The yard started out building Navy and commercial ships and has built ships for World War I, World War II and all wars since.
It now focuses nearly exclusively on Navy vessels. The yard boasts one of the strongest cranes in the Western Hemisphere, a 1,050-ton gantry. More than 23 stories high, it has been a local landmark since 1975.
In a new venture, Northrop is partnering with French firm Areva on a new manufacturing facility that will eventually build parts for commercial nuclear reactors. The center is under construction in the north end of the shipyard.
Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman (soon moving corporate headquarters to Virginia) bought the yard in 2001. Other area shipyards include Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth and BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair in Norfolk.
Once Northrop Grumman Corp. completes its process of evaluating the future of its shipbuilding unit, the Newport News shipyard could find itself in a familiar position: on its own again.
The company is leaning toward spinning off its shipbuilding unit, but will still consider selling the business to a qualified private investor.
A spinoff would mean Northrop would break off its shipbuilding operations in Newport News and on the Gulf Coast to form a separate company with its own leadership. In a typical spinoff scenario, shareholders of the parent company would receive equity stakes in the newly formed company.
That’s what happened in Newport News in 1996, when Tenneco Inc. spun off Newport News Shipbuilding into an independent, publicly traded company. The yard remained on its own until 2001, when Northrop bought it for $2.6 billion.
The sale or spinoff of Northrop’s shipbuilding enterprise, which employs about 40,000 people (half of which are located in Hampton Roads) and builds the Navy’s most sophisticated ships, would likely require approval from the Defense Department.
Cmdr. Victor Chen, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, characterized Northrop’s move to seek alternatives for its shipbuilding unit as a “business decision.”
The shipbuilding industrial base “has to have adequate capability, adequate capacity and it has to have competition,” Chen said. “The decision Northrop Grumman is making is their own decision, but given that, we’re going to evaluate what happens in order to be able to affordably execute the shipbuilding plan.”
Mike Petters, the former top executive in Newport News, was tapped to lead Northrop’s unified shipbuilding division when Newport News and Gulf Coast operations merged in 2008. Since then, he’s spent considerable time trying to turn around Northrop’s floundering operations in Mississippi and Louisiana, which have never fully recovered since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the region in 2005.
Excerpts from the Daily Press
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| Former President George H.W. Bush, left, and his sons then-President George W. Bush and then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pose after the christening ceremony of the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, on Oct 7, 2006, at Northrop Grumman’s Newport News shipyard. (Daily Press file photo / October 5, 2006) |
by Dave Fairbank, Daily Press
Newport News has been synonymous with shipbuilding for more than a century. The city’s signature shipyard has built hundreds of commercial and naval fighting vessels and remains the region’s largest private employer.
The shipyard is the most prominent presence on the Peninsula, from the 234-foot gantry crane — the strongest in the Western hemisphere — that dominates the downtown skyline to the more than 550 acres of property it occupies along the James River.
Hear from the workers themselves about the sweat, tears and pride that goes into building something as massive as an aircraft carrier… Dave’s story
Aug 11
Hampton Roads ranked 42nd in the nation for exporting goods in 2008, according to a report from a Washington, D.C. think tank.
By Bill Cresenzo, Inside Business, Posted: July 30, 2010
The report, from the Brookings Institution, measures the export output for 100 metro areas in the U.S. It says that Hampton Roads had $6.72 billon in exports, most of it transportation equipment, which made up 38.8 percent of exports out of the area.
The report measures exported goods and services – 8 .7 percent of exports were made up of services, such as management consulting and architectural and medical services.
“Hampton Roads has great export potential,” said Emilia Israte, a senior research analyst with Brookings. “Coming out of the recession, the country needs to focus more on exports as part of the recovery. People in charge of local economic development in Hampton Roads have to focus on exports and have to create an export strategy… government has to create the framework that allows businesses to flourish and export more.”
Hampton Roads has seen significant growth in exports since 2003, Israte said. Exports have grown 11.3 percent each year, compared to the national average of 9.2 percent annually.
On March 11, President Obama issued an executive order creating the National Export Initiative. “A critical component of stimulating economic growth in the United States is ensuring that U.S. businesses can actively participate in international markets by increasing their exports of goods, services and agricultural products,” the order says. “Improved export performance will, in turn, create good high-paying jobs.”
Obama created an Export Promotion Cabinet and wants to double exports over the next five years, through new programs that help first-time and existing exporters.
“The first question is what can we do to encourage more export-related business in Hampton Roads,” Israte said. “It is about identifying your exporters in the area and figuring out how you can help them export more.”
Hampton Roads does not have a governmental agency that specifically targets exporters. The Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (HREDA), funded by both public and private money, works to bring business to the Hampton Roads area.
“Exports are not really part of our mission that we have here as a regional economic development group,” said Thomas Clemmons, vice president of the alliance.”We work exclusively to attract new business.”
The report said that U.S. exports supported 11.8 million jobs in the U.S. in 2008, and that four metro areas doubled their real value of exports between 2003 and 2008.
New York topped the list, exporting $85.16 in exports, mostly chemicals. Los Angeles came in second with $78.54 billion in exports, mostly computers.
Richmond came in 55th, with $4.95 billion in exports, mostly chemicals.
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Graphs and economic impact data provide by the Virginia Port Authority:
Source: 2006 Economic Impact Study by William & Mary Mason School of Business (Download complete report)
Aug 10
Gates: Close Joint Forces Command in Norfolk
August 09, 2010|By Hugh Lessig, Daily Press Military Reporter
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday he intends to close Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command over the next year, sending a shudder through the military and business communities in Hampton Roads.
In a press conference, a tough-talking Gates proposed other cuts as part of a broader effort to rein in military spending. It includes a 10 percent reduction next year in the Pentagon’s use of outside contractors and cutting the number of admirals and generals.
“I am determined to change the way this department has done business for a long time,” he said.
JFCOM, located in Norfolk and Suffolk, was established to train troops from different services to work, communicate and fight together.
It is one of the Defense Department’s 10 combatant commands. Its missions include experimentation, training and developing advanced warfighting concepts. Its 2010 operating budget is $704 million.
In addition to its headquarters in Norfolk, it operates the Joint Warfighting Center in northern Suffolk and has outposts in Newport News, Nevada and Florida. In 2007, it provided about 4,500 high-paying jobs and pumped about $365 million into the local economy according to Old Dominion University.
It is unclear just how many of those jobs would be lost or transferred out of the area. Gates said critical functions of JFCOM would be retained and reassigned elsewhere in the Defense Department.
When JFCOM was created, it meant an extra layer of bureaucracy, but Gates said that was understood at the time. The benefits of joint operations outweighed the costs.
“Since then, compelled by decades of operational experience, the U.S. military has largely embraced jointness as a matter of culture and practice,” Gates said.
So while training joint forces and creating joint doctrine are still valuable efforts, “they do not necessarily require a separate four-star combatant command,” he said.
As a nod to Virginia, Gates said the cuts could free up more funding for critical tasks like shipbuilding. Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Newport News shipyard is the state’s largest private industrial employer with more than 20,000 workers.
“If, as a result of these efforts, I’m able to add $1 (billion) to $2 billion to a Navy shipbuilding program of record, Virginia may well come out with more jobs than it loses,” Gates said.
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Other news sources weigh in….
Suffolk News-Herald: Bipartisan group blasts defense closure plan
Elected officials from the local, state and federal level were quick on Monday to react to a surprise announcement by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates that he is moving ahead with a recommendation that the U.S. Joint Forces Command be closed.
“Why the huge rush?” McDonnell asked. “If it’s going to happen, let it be through BRAC [the Base Realignment and Closure commission].”
In fact, representatives said, none of the checks and balances that are part of the normal BRAC process seem to have been in effect when the DBB conceived its recommendation.
“This was a decision, apparently, of the secretary and a handful of people,” the governor said. “This is not the way these decisions should be made.”
Gates refused to talk to congressmen about the decision, Forbes added, despite the fact that the most recent quadrennial defense review never mentioned problems with JFCOM’s mission. Read more…
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Daily Press: JFCOM closing would ripple through Hampton Roads economy
On the bright side, high-tech industry has worked to expand applications beyond defense
The impact on the local economy of losing JFCOM “is absolutely monumental,” said Frank Roberts, executive director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance. Read more…
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Richmond Times-Dispatch: Politicians decry plan to close Hampton Road’s command
(Senator Mark) Warner, in a written statement, said the Joint Forces Command promotes cooperation among competing military services and investment in high-tech businesses that support the agency.
“In the business world, you sometimes have to spend money in order to save money,” he said. Read more…
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NY Times: Pentagon Plans Steps to Reduce Budget and Jobs
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that he would close a military command, restrict the use of outside contractors and reduce the number of generals and admirals across the armed forces as part of a broad effort to rein in Pentagon spending.
The potential savings Mr. Gates outlined are likely to be relatively modest in the context of a total Pentagon budget, including war fighting costs, projected to top $700 billion next year. The most significant step — in symbol and in substance — was his plan to close the military’s Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va.
The command includes about 2,800 military and civilian positions supported by 3,000 contractors at an annual cost of $240 million. Its responsibilities, which include managing the allocation of global forces and running programs to press the armed services to work together on the battlefield, will be reassigned, mostly to personnel working under the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. Read more…
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Link to documents from the Defense Business Board
Photo from the NY Times: Getty Images, Chris Somodevilla
Aug 10
A $64 million, 400-cell military correctional facility is being built at the Norfolk Naval Support Activity, Northwest Annex, in southern Chesapeake. The medium security facility is part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, and will consolidate other Department of the Navy correctional facilities including those at Marine Corps Base Quantico and Naval Station Norfolk.
The facility will be more than 200,000 square-feet and will house sailors and Marines who are either awaiting trial or have been sentenced to terms of five years or less. It is expected to be completed by May 2011.
The Navy’s Northwest Annex was established in 1955 and covers 3,600 acres straddling the border between Virginia and North Carolina’s Currituck County.
From the Defense Advocate, a publication of the VIRGINIA NATIONAL DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL AUTHORITY | Advocates for the Nation’s Military in Virginia | http://www.VNDIA.org | JUNE 18, 2010
Aug 09
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As the tough times continue…
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Keynote Speaker: Dr. James V. Koch, President Emeritus and Professor of Economics, Old Dominion University Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 Time: 7:45 a.m. Registration; 8:00-9:30 a.m. Breakfast and presentation followed by discussion Location: Norfolk Waterside Marriott |
The Annual State of the Region Address will provide the most comprehensive review of the region’s current economic strengths, challenges, and interrelationships. Engage in discussion with business, community, and government leaders from the 17 communities of greater Hampton Roads. Attendees will receive a copy of “The State of the Region 2010″ produced by the Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University.
For more information, contact Angela Blackwell Carter, Vice President, Leadership Programs for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, 500 East Main Street, Suite 700, Norfolk, VA 23510 at (757) 664-2528 or Desiree Ellison, Coordinator, Leadership Programs at (757) 664-2516 or dellison@hrccva.com.
Aug 07
For the first time in at least 16 years, in 2009 Virginia became the number one state for direct Department of Defense expenditures. According to the DoD’s recently released annual Atlas/Data Abstract for the US and Selected Areas, Virginia received almost $57 billion in federal fiscal year 2009, including about $18 billion in payroll and nearly $39 billion in contracts. This edged out both California and last year’s leader Texas.
Over the past decade Virginia, California and Texas have dominated Defense Department investment. In 2009 the three received almost a third of the total $528 billion domestic defense spending. The most recent numbers show that Virginia ranks second behind California for contract spending and second behind Texas for payroll, which includes active duty, DoD civilian, National Guard/Reserve, and retired military pay.
Where the Commonwealth excels is in the number of DoD civilian employees, leading the nation with just under 90,000. A study conducted last year for VNDIA by George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis determined that the economic benefit to the state of these civilian workers is significantly greater than that of uniformed personnel. Virginia is strong there as well, however, ranking fifth in the nation with 63,000 active duty service members.
Virginia’s strongest lead is found in per capita spending by the Defense Department. While the Commonwealth barely edged out California for overall spending, the Golden State is the most populous in the nation making it only 14 in rank for per capita DoD spending. Virginia remains a solid number one here, and the $7,223 per resident spent by the DoD in Virginia more than doubles number two Connecticut.
The cumulative effects of this direct spending and employment add up quickly. Last year’s GMU study showed that in the end, the Defense Department contributes to about 16 percent of Virginia’s gross state product.
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| Virginia’s $56.9 billion in DoD investment comes in just ahead of California’s $56.7 billion. The Commonwealth passes all other states handily in per capita spending – the Defense Department spent $7,233 for each of Virginia’s 7.8 million people in 2009. |
From the Defense Advocate, a publication of the VIRGINIA NATIONAL DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL AUTHORITY | Advocates for the Nation’s Military in Virginia | http://www.VNDIA.org | JULY 23, 2010
Aug 06
What’s the best way to create new jobs? Based on a recent study from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, it’s by stimulating more start-up businesses.
Download and read the complete study.
As the American economy continues to send out mixed signals about recovery, job creation has emerged as the country’s most pressing economic issue. Not only important for employment itself, job growth also drives recovery in other sectors, including housing. But, while hope for spurring the U.S. economy toward recovery focuses squarely on job creation, policy discussions center primarily on measures that would expand job growth in existing companies.
According to the study released by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the current national conversation would be more productively focused on creating a favorable environment for entrepreneurship—and particularly high-growth entrepreneurship—because top-performing companies are the most fertile source of new jobs.
High-Growth Firms and the Future of the American Economy, the third in the Kauffman Foundation Research Series on Firm Formation and Economic Growth, draws on a special tabulation conducted by the Census Bureau at the Kauffman Foundation’s request, calculated from the Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS) database. Author Dane Stangler, a senior analyst with the Kauffman Foundation, found that in any given year, the top-performing 1 percent of firms generate roughly 40 percent of all new jobs.
Further, the study showed, so-called “gazelle” firms (ages three to five) comprise less than 1 percent of all companies, yet generate roughly 10 percent of new jobs in any given year. The “average” firm in the top 1 percent contributes 88 jobs per year, and most end up with between 20 and 249 employees. The average firm in the economy as a whole, on the other hand, adds two or three net new jobs each year.
“Because fast-growing young firms account for a disproportionate share of net job creation, policymakers who are worriedly poring over unemployment projections might instead seek to foster the creation of more high-growth firms,” said Robert E. Litan, vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. “While some new companies will undoubtedly fail, high-growth firms must be started somehow, and the more quickly they are launched and in larger numbers, the faster both output and employment will grow.”
The study suggests that policymakers follow three strategies in seeking to create more gazelles:
“Without startups, our research shows that net job creation in most years would be negative, so policies that expand firm formation could increase both job creation and the number of high-growth firms,” Stangler said.
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For the complete Small Business Administration “Gazelles” report highlighting Hampton Roads as the “Best Region” on the East Coast for Defense Jobs, click HERE.
Aug 05
On August 25, 2010, the first Mid-Atlantic MEGAvention, an exhibit/expo-type event, is being hosted at the Virginia Beach Conference Center. It is organized under the auspices of DBIA (Design-Build Institute of America) in anticipation of this becoming an annual multi-organizational event. The Steering Committee for this first event is comprised of representatives from each of these cooperating associations:
The luncheon will feature Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling as the Keynote Speaker. It is recommended that everyone pre-register by midnight on August 19th in order to be guaranteed a seat at lunch.
Schedule of events:
10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. On-site registration open
11:15 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Luncheon
2:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Exhibit Hall open and Breakout Sessions
4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception in Exhibit Hall
Three tracks of concurrent educational sessions will occur after lunch and include:
Confirmed speakers include:
The Exhibit Hall, open after lunch for everyone to visit booths, had over 125 exhibitors scheduled to participate as of the beginning of August.
