Governor Bob McDonnell has made additional appointments to his board, including members from Roanoke, Blacksburg, and Martinsville. Here is a press release and full list of appointments from the Governor’s Office:

Governor Bob McDonnell today announced an additional appointment to his administration under the Public Safety secretariat.  McDonnell also announced appointments to 17 other Virginia boards and commissions.

Bios for today’s at-will appointments can be found below.  Further announcements regarding additional appointments in the McDonnell Administration will continue to be made in the months ahead. Read more »

Senator Mark Warner is holding a conference on exporting for Virginia businesses Sept 13. Here is a press release from Warner’s office:

U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner will host a statewide conference focused on expanding export opportunities for Virginia businesses on Monday, September 13, 2010, in Richmond. Leading federal and state trade officials, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, are scheduled to participate in the conference, and the meeting will feature a networking hour as well as panel discussions on specific trade and export issues. Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, also is scheduled to speak during the conference. Read more »

The City of Roanoke is seeking comment on changes to its current HUD policy. The meeting is Sept. 9. Here is a press release from the city:

The public is encouraged to attend a meeting on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. in room 159 of the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building, 215 Church Ave. S.W., regarding the city’s HUD funds policy. This meeting will provide an opportunity to comment on draft changes to the current HUD funds policy that are being recommended to City Council, including revisions to the current CDBG allocation and targeting percentages, updates to the “three-years-and-out” provision for ongoing programs, and changes in targeted neighborhood areas.

For more information, or if you are an individual with a disability needing an accommodation, please contact the HUD Community Resources Division at 540-853-6405.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded funds to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville to study how to improve genetic plant breeding. Here is a press release from Tom Perriello’s office:

Rep. Tom Perriello and U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner today announced that the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville has been awarded $734,759 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science for research aimed at improving and accelerating genetic plant breeding programs to create plants better suited for bioenergy production. Today’s overall $8.9 million announcement includes initial investments in promising efforts across the country to diversify the nation’s energy portfolio and to accelerate the development of new energy technologies designed to decrease the nation’s dependence on imported oil. Read more »

The City of Roanoke announces:

As part of its communications plan for keeping the public informed about the Roanoke City Market Building renovation project, the city has set up a Facebook page to provide regular updates and photos of the work as it occurs. Citizens are encouraged to visit this page at http://bit.ly/abbw0r to follow the progress of the project.

OTHER RECENT CITY MARKET NEWS:
* Zorba moving to Salem
* Zorba thanks his customers

The annual Politic’n and Pig Pick’n will be held in Roanoke Sept. 9. Here are the event details from the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce:

8th Annual POLITIC’N & PIG PICK’N

Thursday, September 9, 2010
Virginia Museum of Transportation

Entertainment by the Foggy Memory Boys

5:30 – 7:30 PM
Attire: After Work Casual
$69.00/per person Read more »

An outside vendor will conduct a review of the computer system failures that affected state agencies such as the DMV this week. Here is a press release from Governor McDonnell’s Office:

Read more »

Virginia Tech has been awarded almost $35 million in funds for 91 research projects from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act since it was passed last year. Here is a press release from Tech:

Virginia Tech faculty members have been awarded $28,689,393 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in fiscal year 2010 (ending June 30, 2010) to support 76 research projects. Awards since the act was passed in February 2009 total $34,561,554 for 91 projects.

The funds help support students and staff working on the projects and have enabled purchase of major research instrumentation, said Robert Walters, vice president for research at Virginia Tech. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded two major research instrumentation grants, one for $2 million to acquire a versatile heterogeneous supercomputer (http://www.eng.vt.edu/news/article.php?niid=2377), and one for $ 661,240 to develop an instrument that measures the nanoscale forces involved in the motion of molecules in fluids, which will improve the understanding of motion of complex fluids, including biomolecules. Read more »

Photo Courtesy of Michaele White, Governor’s Photographer

Governor Bob McDonnell answers a constituent’s question at his final “Virginia Speaks: A Conversation about Jobs, Government Reform and Our Future” town hall.  The town hall was held last night, Tuesday, August 31^st, at the Bristol Public Library.  For more information about the Governor’s statewide town hall tour, please visit: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/News/viewRelease.cfm?id=290.

submitted by the Office of Governor McDonnell

.

.

.

.

The United States Department of Agriculture has announced grants for rural utilities in 20 states. In Virginia, Southside Electric Cooperative was selected for an $18,533,000 guaranteed loan to serve 2,577 new and existing consumers, build 264 miles of new distribution line and one mile of new transmission line, make improvements to 164 miles of distribution line, and make other system improvements. Here is a full press release from the USDA:

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 37 rural utilities and cooperatives in 20 states have been selected to receive guaranteed loans that will benefit more than 60,000 rural electric cooperative consumers by financing the construction and repair of almost 7,000 miles of distribution and transmissions lines. Read more »