Economy

Cardinal News: Then & Now takes a look back at the stories we brought you over the last 12 months. Today: An update on Blue Star NBR’s efforts to launch a PPE manufacturing hub.

Revivicor’s Roanoke County facility, and one under construction in Montgomery County, are set to supply hearts and organs from pigs for human transplantation.

The nuclear-energy firm, whose North American headquarters are in the Hill City, will upgrade its three area facilities and add hundreds of new engineers and support staff through 2027.

The JLARC report was largely positive but noted that GO Virginia’s overall economic impact is hard to measure, and warned that the program’s appropriations could be reduced if the money doesn’t all get used.

The judge said he likely will need until the end of January to issue an opinion on whether the dispute between Martinsville-based Carter Bank & Trust and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family will proceed to trial.

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke would receive $27 million.

The $500,000 grants will fund studies of expanded Amtrak service to communities including Bristol and Bedford.

The Localyte app launched during the pandemic. By mid-November, about 3,000 people had downloaded the app, and 400 businesses had signed up.

Amazon is in talks with the brewery to buy a 49-acre piece of land in the Roanoke Centre for Industry and Technology with an eye toward constructing and operating a distribution center.