Economy

Evans Spring, which sits across Interstate 581 from Roanoke’s Valley View Mall, has been eyed for years by developers. The city has commissioned a master plan for the property that is expected to be complete next month.

Property owners in Franklin, Montgomery and Roanoke counties had sought to stop construction activity on their land as their eminent domain challenge against the natural gas pipeline remains unresolved.

Works from multiple authors, including some based in Southwest Virginia, have been fed into artificial intelligence systems without permission. A group of writers has sued OpenAI in federal court, seeking damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work.

Several other Virginia proposals did not make the cut in the federal Tech Hubs program, including two aimed at growing the nuclear industry in Lynchburg and Southwest Virginia.

Equitrans Midstream says workforce shortages, difficult terrain and other challenges mean the 303-mile natural gas pipeline that runs through part of Southwest Virginia will have a higher price tag and won’t come online until next year.

The Danville-based angel investor holds two annual pitch competitions and invests in regional tech startups. It’s been called one of the three most active angel investors in the Southeast United States.

As Virginia localities continue to receive applications from companies seeking to build new solar power plants, several Southside local governments are tapping the brakes with new rules aimed at capping how much land can be used for solar development. Large, utility-scale solar farms that provide electricity to the power grid can share millions of dollars […]

Airport officials hope to provide a “much bigger, much more capable” window to the Henry County region. Much of the traffic that comes through the small airport is tied to two local attractions: the Martinsville Speedway and Primland Resort.