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Followups
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Virginia
Business
April
2005
• Two Virginia-based airlines
recently entered financial agreements. Eastshore Aviation
LLC, an investment entity owed by Air Wisconsin Airlines
Corp., has agreed to a $125 million financing arrangement
with Arlington-based US
Airways. The deal will provide US Airways with
a substantial portion of the equity funding it needs
to emerge from bankruptcy court protection. Meanwhile,
Dulles-based Flyi Inc., the parent company of Independence
Air, has restructured its leases in a deal that
will reduce its number of aircraft. The financial troubles
of both airlines were reported in February’s issue.
• The Virginia General Assembly
approved a $63 billion budget in late February that
includes $848 million for highways and mass transit.
The state’s transportation needs were explored
in January’s
preview of the General Assembly session.
• The Virginia Governor’s
Conference on Tourism, set for April 24-26 in Richmond,
marks the official ramping up of an effort to promote
a statewide celebration in 2007 of the 400th anniversary
of Jamestown. Spruced-up historic sites are already
offering special programs. At Jamestown Settlement,
finds from an archeological dig are being worked into
exhibits, and more space is under construction for galleries
that will showcase the world of 1607. Also on tap is
a movie, “The New World,” about America’s
first English settlers. The movie, starring Colin Farrell,
was filmed in Virginia. It is set for release in November
and is expected to be a boon to tourism efforts. A story
on the economic impact of Virginia tourism and
plans to promote Jamestown’s quadricentennial
ran in the January
issue.
• The Virginia Supreme Court has
put the brakes on Loudoun County’s experiment
with slow growth, throwing out zoning amendments
that blocked homebuilding in the fastest-growing county
in the U.S. The amendments approved by Loudoun’s
Board of Supervisors in 2003 restricted the number of
homes allowed in the western part of the county. By
permitting only one house per 10, 20 or 50 acres, the
board sought to retain a large portion of the county’s
most rural land.
The court’s decision reversed
the ruling of a Loudoun County judge last year in a
case involving more than 100 suits filed by property
owners, developers and others that were consolidated
into one proceeding. At issue was the county’s
failure to give proper public notice of proposed zoning
changes. Loudoun’s slow-growth approach was featured
in a 2003
cover story.
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