Business News and Community Highlights from Cities and Counties around the Region
Complied by Barrett Baker
In business, as in life, there is nothing more constant than change. Yet, as we began planning our second edition of CoVa BIZ for 2020, little did we know that all of our Coastal Virginia businesses and lives would be upended and altered in ways we never imagined prior to COVID-19. Since then, our people, communities and organizations small and large have found themselves adapting on the fly to an ever-elusive “new normal.”
Our local cities and municipalities are no different. As our contributing writer, Barrett Baker, was reaching out to city representatives around the region to gather information for the market report featured in the sections below, those representatives were scrambling—like the rest of us—to respond to a fast-moving situation characterized by what a well-known politician once infamously termed “known unknowns.”
Mayoral “State of the City” addresses, many scheduled for the early part of this year, were cancelled or postponed. Ribbon cuttings, grand openings and press conferences put on indefinite hold. New initiatives and announcements sidelined. In their place, a sense of urgency to respond to the needs of citizens and businesses facing unprecedented challenges.
Nevertheless, life, work and even City Hall had to soldier on, albeit in a reduced capacity powered by Zoom meetings, planning, preparing and hoping for a successful post-COVID future. Collected here are some highlights of relevant news and information (available as of press time) from local cities and counties including pandemic response measures. As Coastal Virginia finds its way in this alternative reality, we can take pride in all we’ve built and our resolve to get our economy and our community, not only up-and-running again, but thriving for the long haul.
—Leona Baker, Editor-in-Chief
Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach
Click here to read the report for Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.
Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg/James City County
Click here to read the report for Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg/James City County.
York County/Poquoson and the Regional County Roundup
Click here to read the report for York County/Poquoson and the Regional County Roundup.