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A 25-member council in the Richmond region that will identify projects to receive public money through a new state program includes some well-connected, deep-pocketed names with the ability to open the eyes of politicians.

They include William H. Goodwin Jr., hotelier and rector of the University of Virginia board of visitors, and Richard Cullen, chairman of the law firm McGuireWoods.

They’re among nominees for one of nine new regional councils that are part of a program called GO Virginia.

No one likes to be called names, but sometimes it’s okay.

Much of the name-calling last year about Richmond was appreciated.

CNBC identified Richmond (population 221,000) as one of the 20 top cities in America to start a business.

Zillow described Richmond as a millennial-leaning city, with more of its people in the 23-to-34-year-old age group living alone than any other U.S. metro area, because of the city’s vibrant labor market.

2,800 square miles makes up the Virginia’s Gateway Region, comprised of five counties and three cities between Chesterfield, the Tri-Cities, along with Dinwiddie, Prince George, Sussex and Surry counties, creating a unique economic opportunity a local group is trying to help localities capitalize on.

Recently, Virginia’s Gateway Region president and CEO Renee Chapline spoke with the Surry Board of Supervisors about the nonprofit organization’s mission along with the value they provide through services and connecting the localities they serve with valuable economic development opportunities.

Exports are the way to go, especially for small to middle-sized businesses, according to a new campaign by local and state economic development officials.

“We have an exciting new program,” says Garrett Hart, director of the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority.

Dubbed the Metro Richmond Exports Initiative, the program offers training and advice for companies interested in selling to other countries. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership is putting $150,000 into the program. J.P. Morgan, a major international bank, is matching the money.

About 175 students from Peabody Middle School and Blandford Academy and roughly 900 Petersburg High School students got a chance to meet face-to-face with career professionals from around the Tri-Cities Tuesday during the first annual Career and Technical Education college and career fair.

The Port of Virginia took a big step on Monday, setting in motion work on the first of two big expansion projects that will boost cargo-container capacity significantly.

Survey crews started preparations to expand the rail/container-stacking yards at Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, the second-largest of the port’s two big container terminals.

When work is completed there and at the port’s other big facility – Norfolk International Terminals – in 2020, the port will have grown its cargo-container capacity from roughly 2.7 million containers to roughly 4.4 million. The industry standard is 20-foot units, or TEUs.

When Christian Vaughan and Miles Gilmore approached Dinwiddie Area Forester Heather Dowling to learn about a job, they knew just what to do. Already neatly dressed, the young men offered Dowling a polite hello, a firm handshake and careful attention.

For many employment-seekers, those few actions could be expected to propel them several steps closer to the goal of having a job by Monday and a paycheck by next Friday. But for Vaughan and Gilmore, the job needed was a few years down the road. After all, the young men were only in their early teens, and their “interview” with Dowling was just a part of Dinwiddie County’s 4th Annual Industry Day.

In what was his public debut before the larger business community, Stephen Moret, the new president and CEO of Virginia’s business recruiting arm, told members of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that he wants to position Virginia as one of the fastest growing states in the South and the U.S.

Governor McAuliffe today announced the permit for a new solar facility to be built in Sussex County. The project, under development by Sappony Solar, will use traditional photovoltaic solar modules to produce 20 megawatts (MW) of renewably generated electricity, enough to power an estimated 3,500 homes.

The Metro Richmond Exports Initiative (MREI) and the City of Hopewell welcomed business leaders from all over the Richmond Metro Area to the Beacon Theatre yesterday to discuss exporting and its benefits for the region. At their second Lunch & Learn event, industry experts and companies already exporting gave presentations focused on international trade finance and the options available for payment, risk mitigation and financing.