Eggs are very much in the headlines these days. But this column is not about the recent massive recall of eggs. It’s  instead grounded in the old saying, “Never put all of your eggs in one basket.”  (more…)

My highest priority in representing the Ninth Congressional District in Congress is the creation of new jobs for our region.

For that reason, I work actively with Southwest Virginia’s local government and business leaders to implement a multifaceted strategy to enhance economic development in the many sectors of Southwest Virginia’s economy. Our strategy includes ensuring that the region’s infrastructure is sufficient to meet the needs of businesses, creating a climate that is favorable to the development of locally owned small businesses, and attracting companies seeking to expand their operations into new locations to the region. (more…)

“Good things come to those who wait,” so the proverb goes.

For many citizens and businesses in the New River Valley who don’t have access to robust broadband services, the wait just may be getting shorter. Congressman Rick Boucher announced last week $9.2 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to the Floyd-headquartered Citizens Telephone Cooperative to add 186 miles of fiber optic cable in the those portions of the NRV now unserved or underserved by other providers. For critical institutions such as schools, hospitals, and other public safety organizations, the new fiber may establish much needed connectivity and even important redundancy. (more…)

“The constitutional freedom of religion is the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights.” — Thomas Jefferson

One morning in mid-September, Bill the Baptist wakes up, brushes his teeth, ties his shoes, rigs his F150 with explosives and drives through the wall of the local courthouse. Everyone in the courthouse is killed in the explosion. A decade later, someone proposes that a Baptist church be built two blocks away from where the old courthouse once stood.

You know what I’m getting at. If you aren’t aware that someone wants to build a mosque a few blocks away from where the Twin Towers—the Word Trade Center—once stood in New York City, then you’re even more averse to the news than I am. (more…)

I see way too many business professionals going to every event they can possibly go to in an effort to meet as many new people as they can possibly meet to build their businesses. There’s no rhyme or reason. They just go where the people are. The problem is that there is no guarantee that it will be a room full of their ideal clients. (more…)

Beginning Aug. 24, the Commonwealth’s Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance in cooperation with the Center for Innovative Technology will be conducting an assessment of business connectedness to determine the ways businesses are connecting to and using broadband technologies including services and applications. (more…)