Governor
Releases March "Open for Business" Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov.
Joe Manchin today released the latest "Open
for Business" report documenting the
state’s economic progress. The March
2007 report highlights projects and related
announcements that will assist with the creation
of new jobs and the preservation of a significant
number of existing jobs.
Governor announces
WVEDA bonds receive A+ rating
Gov. Joe Manchin, joined by members of the
West Virginia Legislature, on Feb. 23 reported
that Fitch Ratings upgraded its credit rating
of the West Virginia Economic Development
Authority lease revenue bonds (Series 2002A,
2002B, 2003A, 2004A and 2004B) from A to A+.
Fitch is one of the three agencies that assign
credit ratings to bonds issued by the State
of West Virginia. Fitch also assigned an A+
rating to the West Virginia School Building
Authority capital improvement bonds that went
up for negotiation earlier in February.
“We’ve taken an important step
toward meeting my goal of improving our state’s
overall credit rating,” Manchin said.
“It is also proof-positive that the
hard work and responsible decisions made by
our administration and this Legislature during
the past two years are making a difference.
With this upgrade in our rating, Wall Street
is sending a signal to the nation and the
world that West Virginia is ‘open for
business’ and our economy is definitely
improving.”
Fitch said the rating upgrade reflects that
the state has made responsible fiscal and
management decisions and has been committed
to cutting spending and consolidating control
of its debt. These practices, combined with
a generally growing economy, have contributed
to more successful financial management of
the state, the company noted.
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Firm to expand
operations in West Virginia, add 160 jobs
in three years
Weatherford International Ltd. plans a $68
million expansion of its West Virginia operations
it says will create 160 jobs in the next three
years. A subsidiary, Weatherford Fracturing
Technologies, will provide pumping services
to natural gas and oil wells, the Houston-based
oilfield services company announced at the
winter meeting of the Independent Oil and
Gas Association of West Virginia in Charleston.
Weatherford plans to build two 20,000-square-foot
facilities, including one in Mingo County
and another in Upshur County or Lewis County.
A regional office will be established in Charleston,
said Barry Ekstrand, vice president of reservoir
stimulation for Weatherford Fracturing Technologies.
"We are excited to be bringing business
to West Virginia and we are certainly here
to stay,” he said. "West Virginia
is a good entry point into the Northeast and
we can create opportunity here.”
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Governor announces
nearly $14 million in savings from bond refinancing
Gov. Joe Manchin announced the state will
save nearly $14 million this fiscal year and
next through refinancing of School Building
Authority bonds. The savings will fund the
state’s school construction program.
The School Building Authority in February
issued $185,980,000 in Capital Improvement
Refunding Revenue Bonds, 2007 Series A, to
refinance bonds from 1997 on which the state
was making debt payments. This will save $2.97
million in fiscal year 2007 and $11.49 million
in fiscal year 2008, more than twice as high
as an industry-accepted level of 3 percent,
the governor said.
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Petroleum
Development Corp opens new headquarters in
Bridgeport
After almost 40 years headquartered on Main
Street in Bridgeport, W.Va., Petroleum Development
Corp., PDC, celebrated the opening of its
new headquarters in Bridgeport’s Charles
Pointe community. PDC, an oil and gas development
company, has operations throughout West Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Michigan and the Rocky Mountains.
The company has 1,500 wells in West Virginia
and Pennsylvania alone.
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Governor
awards $16.7 million in Small Cities Block
Grants
Gov. Joe Manchin in February awarded $16.7
million in Small Cities Community Development
Block Grants for 18 projects. These critical
infrastructure projects include water, sewer
and storm sewer improvements. The grants will
leverage more than $22 million in other federal,
state and local funds.
These projects will serve nearly 10,000 citizens,
of which almost 6,000 will be low- and moderate-income
households. The funding brings substantial
upgrades and expansions to water treatment
and wastewater treatment facilities in 17
counties, making it possible to provide additional
economic development and housing opportunities.
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Study
forecasts West Virginia tourism growth to
exceed national average
A new study on the performance of the West
Virginia tourism industry forecasts continued
economic and employment growth the next several
years, noting that the state’s tourism
forecast is slightly higher than the projected
growth for tourism nationally. The forecast
shows three tourism business segments –
leisure and hospitality, arts, entertainment
and recreation, and accommodations and food
services – will see continued growth
during from 2006 through 2036.
The study was commissioned by the West Virginia
Division of Tourism and West Virginia Chamber
of Commerce and completed by the West Virginia
University Bureau of Business and Economic
Research.
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Moving van
company study shows West Virginia as ‘high
inbound’ state
More people relocated to West Virginia than
moved from the state, according to Atlas Van
Lines’ 2006 Migration Patterns Study.
“The state had significantly more households
move into the state than out of it,”
said Greg Hoover, senior vice president and
chief marketing officer of Atlas World Group.
“This is the first time that West Virginia
has become a high inbound state.”
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Coldwater
Creek opens first clearance center in West
Virginia
The women’s apparel and gift retailer
Coldwater Creek Inc. has opened an outlet
in its distribution and customer services
center in Mineral Wells. The West Virginia
outlet is the only one Coldwater has at a
distribution center. Coldwater has about 239
retail stores, one resort and 25 outlet stores.
Its 1-million-square-foot Wood County facility
employs 800 people all year and more than
1,000 during the holiday season. The new clearance
store employs 10.
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Medical schools
make healthy addition to state economy
A study by the Association of American Medical
Colleges indicated that in 2005, medical schools
and their associated teaching hospitals in
West Virginia produced more than $2.77 billion
in economic activity and created nearly 21,000
jobs. Medical schools bring resources into
the area and generate economic activity through
patient care, funded research and public service,
said Jim Schneider, associate dean for finance
and administration at the Joan C. Edwards
School of Medicine at Marshall University.
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Hatfield-McCoy
Trails pump millions into southern West Virginia
economy
Riders of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail pumped
more than $7.7 million in direct spending
into the economies of five southern West Virginia
counties in 2006, according to a new study.
The economic impact study by the Marshall
University Center for Business and Economic
Research found the trail system attracted
more than 25,000 riders from all 50 states,
and seven different countries, while contributing
146 direct new jobs to the local tourism industry.
The trail riders also paid $622,752 in local
and state taxes in 2006, the report found.
With the opening of a 50- to 70-mile segment
of the Indian Ridge Trail System in McDowell
County this March, Hatfield-McCoy Executive
Director Jeffrey Lusk said the numbers will
grow in 2007.
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Small businesses
to benefit from new development program
With the assistance of a private
foundation grant, the INNOVA Commercialization
Group will promote small-business development
and build its tools. The Claude Worthington
Benedum Foundation recently awarded a grant
of more than $260,000 to INNOVA, an initiative
of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium
Foundation based in Fairmont. The grant will
support the Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) program, part of INNOVA’s commercialization,
start-up and business support services.
Through a partnership between INNOVA and the
West Virginia Small Business Development Center,
the SBIR program offers technical assistance
and resources to small companies in the state.
The INNOVA Commercialization Group is a statewide
commercialization effort designed to advance
economic growth by increasing the number of
new products introduced into the marketplace
by West Virginia innovators. INNOVA drives
this economic advancement through delivering
high quality entrepreneurial education programs,
professional technical assistance and seed
stage investment capital to regional businesses.
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West Virginia Small Business Development
Center helps 342 clients in February
The West Virginia Small Business
Development Center (SDBC) provided 590 hours
of counseling and training to 342 clients
last month. The SDBC has provided 3,420 hours
of counseling and training to 1,505 clients
this fiscal year beginning October 1, helping
to create or retain 180 jobs. SDBC staff trained
189 people at 39 events in February and trained
886 people this fiscal year. Seven loans totaling
$1,188,425 were approved in February. Twenty-six
loans totaling more than $3.8 million have
been approved fiscal year-to-date. New customer
satisfaction with SBDC services was 100 percent
in February and for the year.
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