Before you get too excited about the coming recovery, have you heard about the “new normal?” The “new normal” is the term that many have been using for economic growth that is slower than what we became accustomed to over the past decade or so. Doug Dachille, of First Principles Capital Management, says in this clip … More The new normal
Hiring will rebound sooner rather than later and now is a great time to start your own business. At least that is what Daniel Gross of Slate and Newsweek says in his Moneybox column, “Coming Soon: Jobs!” According to Gross, we should be seeing the end of the “Great Recession” in the near future. “Before … More The end is near!!
Virginia Main Street welcomes its newest team member, 2009-10 intern Margaret Barre. Margaret will graduate in 2010 from VCU’s Masters program in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on urban revitalization. After growing up in New Orleans, Margaret received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. She then followed a dream of living … More Welcome VMS intern Margaret Barre
Virginia Main Street’s annual essentials training provided a two-day session focused on economic restructuring and design challenges facing communities today. A group of more than 60 participants gathered in the heart of Old Town Manassas at the renovated Candy Factory, now home to the Center for the Arts of Greater Manassas and Prince William County. Hilary … More Intensive two-day training attracts 60
We have been promoting the idea that recessions and layoffs, while very difficult to navigate, provide the impetus for an entrepreneurial boom. Now, the Kauffman Foundation has issued its report supporting our claims. In economic gardening terms, this is the equivilant of burning last years crops to make way for the new “green shoots.” … More Entrepreneurial stories
Revitalization experts, downtown professionals and volunteers came together for two days of focused exploration of Main Street strategies at the 2009 Virginia Main Street toolkit, “Getting Strategic About Main Street.” Participants represented more than 25 Virginia localities. Communities with the highest representation included included the host community of Winchester, Harrisonburg (four attendees), Radford (three), and Franklin … More Seventy get strategic at Winchester Toolkit
When a financial crisis arrives, it is too late to try to make the case for all the services your downtown organization provides to the community. You need to be spending that time engaging your support base and selling the future. To do that, there has to be a broad based system of support throughout the … More Tell us what you think.
While reviewing some of the great action movie stunts of all times, I was steered (get it: steered?) to this short film by French New Wave auteur Claude Lelouch. While you probably don’t want to recreate this famous and wildly reckless driving scene, take eight minutes to focus on the beauty and layout of Parisian streets. … More How to lay out a city…in eight and one half minutes
Forty-five community leaders and volunteers attended the latest Virginia Main Street (VMS) training at Cally’s Restaurant and Brewing Co. in downtown Harrisonburg May 27, 2009. This year’s VMS Spring Feature focused on the public realm in downtown, the space between buildings which includes all public spaces, streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, and open space. The theme … More Recapping Spring Feature Training in Harrisonburg
As champions of Virginia’s traditional commercial districts, Main Street leaders can be effective marketers for their communities. Working to earn coverage in local, regional, and national media outlets can help drive visitors and residents downtown. You might have a weekend travel package that a newspaper from a more urban area would be interested in covering. For instance, The Washington … More Getting Main Street communities in the news
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