I, for one, am tired of the preponderance of bad news in the media today.  Every channel you watch or website you read has story after story of bankruptcies, closings, job losses, etc.  That’s why I have decided to add a new category to the blog – “Good News”.  I will do my best to pull out news tidbits that are positive and post them here.  So, here goes the first installment:

Yesterday, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine announced that LASCO Bathware has decided to expand their Halifax County manufacturing plant.  The Company will spend $1.7 million on the expansion and will add an additional 50 jobs.  That represents an 18% increase in their workforce.  More importantly, it means that those jobs will stay in Virginia.  The California based company conducted a thorough analysis and considered relocating the entire facility to Michigan, Texas or Washington.  In the end, Virginia won out and the jobs stayed here.

On the northern side of the state, Harris Teeter announced that they will invest over $100 million into a new 500,000 SF distribution center in Fredericksburg, Va.  This facility is anticipated to create 335 new full time jobs for the area.  Harris Teeter currently operates a distribution center in Spotsylvania County, Va.  It is unclear what will happen to that facility as the Company expands into the new facility.

So, there’s over 400 new jobs for Virginia in just 2 deals.  Across the state there are some extremely hard working economic development directors doing everything they can to bring new jobs to the state and keep the existing jobs.  Keep up the good work!