Florida-based aerospace and defense contractor L3Harris Technologies announced on Thursday a $41.2 million expansion and modernization of its Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in Orange County, with plans to add 80 employees.  Over the next three years, L3Harris also plans to construct new facilities and buy new equipment for the facility, according to a statement from the company and another by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “Our country’s security depends on defense manufacturers like L3Harris, and we are proud that this long-term corporate partner continues to reinvest in Virginia,” Youngkin ..read more

Petersburg voters will likely get the opportunity to vote on a casino referendum this fall, as a Virginia General Assembly obstacle has been removed from its path. SB 628, sponsored by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, replaces Richmond with Petersburg among Virginia cities eligible to host a casino following approval by voters on a ballot. An earlier version of the bill had required a second General Assembly vote in 2025 before the law could take effect, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed that section of the measure this spring. On Wednesday, both legislative bodies passed Youngkin’s version ..read more

The founders of the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce decided to provide a venue for Black business owners to learn how to find success with government contracting.  “We wanted to just bring together all of our business owners or people who are interested in potentially looking into local, state and government contracting,” said Tracey J. Hall, executive vice president of operations at the Fredericksburg-based VABCC. “So, we thought a conference would be a great way to do that.” Taking place at the Richmond Marriott on April 25, VABCC’s inaugural government contracting conference will in ..read more

Mary, the tunnel boring machine that has been paving the way for the expanded Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, hit a milestone Wednesday when she finished the first of twin tunnels that are part of the bridge-tunnel’s expansion. Launched from the HRBT’s South Island a year ago, the $70 million custom-built tunnel boring machine has been busy — it excavated 7,900 feet, or 750,000 cubic yards of soil, while installing 1,191 concrete rings behind her, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Now, it’s ready to turn around and do it all over again on the return trip to carve out th ..read more

Jason W. Konvicka is succeeding Edward L. Allen as president of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, the Richmond-based law firm announced April 11. Konvicka joined the personal injury firm as a trial attorney in 2000 and became a shareholder in 2006. Allen led the firm as president for the past six years and will continue as a trial lawyer and shareholder. “Serving as the firm’s president has been an honor and privilege,” Allen said in a statement. “Jason and I are committed to a seamless transition, and we will continue to support this firm and our clients in every way we can.” Konvicka speciali ..read more

An Australian maritime company announced Tuesday it will set up a submarine and shipbuilding training institution in Norfolk for the short term and will seek a permanent home in Newport News. Quality Maritime Surveyors (QMS), based in the suburbs of Adelaide, Australia, is one of the pioneering companies to take the plunge into Virginia’s waters, following a 2021 agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Dubbed AUKUS for the three participating nations, the international agreement calls for the U.S. and the U.K. to share nuclear propulsion technology with Aust ..read more

After nine years and through three U.S. presidents, two Richmond-based attorneys and their client, an FBI agent who also lives in Richmond, received great news Tuesday: They had won their U.S. Supreme Court case against the federal government. Rudisill v. McDonough was decided 7-2 in favor of plaintiff Jim Rudisill, a retired Army captain who sought to use education funds he earned through two periods of military service. In 2015, he appealed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ decision to deny him about a year’s worth of GI Bill funding, with the help of two Richmond attorneys then emplo ..read more

Arlington County-based Accenture Federal Services (AFS) has entered into an agreement to acquire Falls Church-based Cognosante, the companies announced Tuesday. Terms of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory review, were not disclosed in the announcement released Tuesday by the two companies. Cognosante’s more than 1,500 employees will join AFS’ workforce of more than 14,000, according to a news release. A subsidiary of Fortune Global 500 professional services company Accenture, AFS will launch a new health portfolio with the acquisition. Cognosante provides IT support to federa ..read more

Inova Health System has received a $20 million gift from the Peterson Family Foundation, the family behind the Peterson Cos. real estate development firm, the Falls Church-based health system announced Tuesday. The gift will be split, with $15 million dedicated to the Inova Life with Cancer program and $5 million to the expansion of Inova Fairfax Hospital’s emergency room. The Life with Cancer program, which will be renamed Inova Peterson Life with Cancer, provides education and psychosocial support, including support groups, nutritional consultations and therapeutic and art counseling, for fr ..read more

At the American Hospital Association’s annual membership meeting in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Carilion Clinic CEO Nancy Howell Agee received the Distinguished Service Award, the association’s highest honor.  The AHA released a video of Agee winning the award, which recognizes “significant lifetime contributions and service to health care.” In the video, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack noted that when Agee chaired the nonprofit organization’s board of trustees in 2018, her “visionary leadership” pushed the organization to “tackle value, affordability and disruptive innovation.”  ..read more