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I-66 plan approved, but faces challenges – See coverage, Page 13
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‘REINDOGS’ GET THE SPOTLIGHT IN PHOTOS
BENNETT PREPS COMSTOCK CHALLENGE
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HOOPS: MADISON DEFEATS MARSHALL
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SunGazette
VOLUME 37 NO. 17
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DECEMBER 17-23, 2015
G R E AT FA L L S • M c L E A N • O A K T O N • T Y S O N S • V I E N N A
Report: Va.’s Economic Engine Is Still Stuck in Neutral
But Future Looks Brighter, Despite Some Continued Sluggishness Across Va. BRIAN TROMPETER Staff Writer
Despite the monster recession in the late 2000s and subsequent federal budget sequestration, Virginia’s economy is slowly but surely improving, economists told local business
leaders Dec. 10. “The leading economic indices are turning up,” said James Koch, an economics professor and president emeritus of Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business. Virginia Chamber Foundation officials released their first-ever “State of the Com-
monwealth Report” during a briefing at LMI headquarters in Tysons Corner. The colorful, chart-filled, 174-page document was produced by Old Dominion University’s Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, with additional data supplied by George Mason University’s Center for Re-
GEARING UP FOR HIS BIG RIDE!
gional Analysis. Virginia’s economy grew only 0.2 percent in 2014 and likely will increase only 1.33 percent this year, the report read. Recent statistics put the Washington region “dead-ass last in terms of job growth,” said Terry Clower, deputy director of GMU’s Center for Regional Analysis. “When Detroit is kicking your butt, you’ve got to be worried.” Budget sequestration cuts “constituted nothing less than a body blow to the [Northern Virginia’s] economic growth,” the report read. Political brinksmanship in Congress skewed business owners’ decisions and shook their confidence, Clower added. Among the report’s findings: • Federal spending dropped by 20 percent statewide in the last five years. • Unemployment in Northern Virginia now is half what it was in 2009, but labor-force participation ominously is declining across all ages and ethnic groups, Koch said. • The percentage of Virginia businesses with nine or fewer employees stayed at about the same level between 1988 and 2012, but those companies’ share of overall employment declined relative to that of bigger firms. Fewer start-up companies are emerging, which is “not a good sign for the U.S. economy,” Koch said. • Virginia housing prices soared higher and plummeted lower than the national average when the housing bubble burst in the late 2000s. Continued on Page 25
RELATED There’s nobody busier than Santa Claus this time of year, but the jolly St. Nick found time to stop by and greet his fans at the recent McLean WinterFest celebration, held Dec. 6. The holiday tradition featured a large number of groups that marched while being cheered on by the community. See more photos in coming editions and a slide show of nearly 40 photos at www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax.
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Leaders from Va., Md., D.C. converged last week for a regional forum that looked at economic growth and transportation issues. See coverage on Page 3.