A presentation Thursday in Blacksburg will highlight the emerging concept of Internet-based crowd funding.

The event is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at TechPad, 432 N. Main St. More than 100 people are expected, according to a Tweet by TechPad director Bob Summers, who has rented an additional 80 chairs for the event.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who is making presentations on crowd funding around the state, will participate by Skype.

Speakers expected to be present include Austin Choi, general counsel of Kiva, a microlending nonprofit that orchestrates small-scale loans to fight poverty; Daniel Gorfine, director of special projects and legal counsel at the Milken Institute; Mary Miller of Blacksburg-based Interactive Design & Development; and Tom Weithman, CIT GAP Funds managing director. Read more »

Owners of the old RP Johnson & Son’s building in Wytheville are crowd sourcing for a way to use the building. William J. Smith and Gordon Jennings are accepting ideas through Facebook until Dec. 31. Facebook users can also vote for building ideas that have already been posted. Click here to submit an idea on Facebook.

Here is the press release from building co-owner, William J. Smith II.

It has been 5 years since RP Johnson & Son’s closed its doors at 355 East Main Street in Wytheville. The building’s owners, William J “Bill” Smith and Gordon Jennings, are ready to take a unique approach to decide how best to utilize the space. The duo is employing a method called crowd sourced placemaking to investigate creative ideas for the ultimate use of the 22,000 square foot building.

Submit your ideas for the building on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smith-Enterprises/370239895350 (you’ll have to register before submitting). There, you will also find other ideas for the building and click “like” to vote for them. You can also submit an idea via email smithenterprisesva@gmail.com.

Any idea that gets more than 25 votes will be considered a HOT TOPIC at a meeting where steps to implement ideas will be discussed. Ideas will be received until Monday, December 31, 2012.

“Our goal is to generate excitement and support from the community “said Smith. They also hope the ideas will identify community needs and desires. Suggestions thus far have included restaurant(s), office space, and permanent inside/outside Farmers ’ Market, combined ‘Round the Mountain Artisan Center and Crooked Road Music Venue, antique mall, tourist information center, or multiple retail shops featuring local products.

The Virginia Department of Economic Development has launched a free YesVA mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android.

In a news release issued today, VDEP says that the new app will allow economic developers, clients and consultants to search for sites and buildings, plus compare Virginia to other states.

App users can:
• Explore Virginia’s inventory of available properties.
• Navigate properties by type and narrow down the options based on requirements.
• Save properties for later and share them with contacts.
• See how Virginia compares to other states in major business comparison categories.
• View community profiles for each of the communities, regions and MSAs in the state.
• View recent industry announcements for each community.
• Communicate with the YesVA team for questions or concerns regarding any of the properties within the app.

For more information, visit www.yesvirginia.org/app. Click here to download the app for Apple devices, or here for the Android app.

Celanese Corp. said this morning it will spend $150 million to convert the boilers that power its Giles County factory from coal to natural gas.

Reporter Jeff Sturgeon has more details here.

FedEx Ground broke ground this morning on a new 103,000-square-foot distribution center in Roanoke.

The facility will be able to process 50,000 packages per day, up nearly 30,000 from the current FedEx regional facility in Salem, the company said. Eighty trucks a day will be dispatched from the center. Read more »

VT KnowledgeWorks has announced an alliance that will help economic growth in Virginia communities. Selected communities will receive an entrepreneurship event, curriculum package, consultation and promotional resources through the VT KnowledgeWorks Entrepreneurship Alliance. Danville is the first community to join the alliance. For more information about the alliance and VT KnowledgeWorks, contact executive director Jim Flowers at  443-9100, ext. 1 or at jim.flowers@vtknowledgeworks.com.

Here is a press release from VT KnowledgeWorks

(Blacksburg, VA) – The new VT KnowledgeWorks Entrepreneurship Alliance will assist communities throughout the Commonwealth with the encouragement and empowerment of local initiatives that foster economic growth through innovation.  Under this new program, VT KnowledgeWorks will provide an entrepreneurship event and curriculum package, ongoing consultation, and promotional resources to selected community economic development organizations throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.   Read more »

Forbes Magazine has placed the New River Valley on its list of Best Small Places for Businesses and Careers. The NRV ranked 32nd in the nation out of 184 metropolitan statistical areas with a population less than 255,000. The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford MSA was ranked 5th on the Forbes’ Best Small Cities for Jobs list in April. The previous ranking announcement can be found here.

Here is the press release from The Montgomery County, Virginia Economic Development Department.

Montgomery County, Va. – Forbes magazine has again ranked the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) among the “Best Small Places for Business and Careers” in America.  The metro – also known as the New River Valley – ranked 32nd in the nation out of 184 MSAs with populations less than 255,000. Read more »

Job growth in the New River Valley has caught some attention. The NRV has been named to the Forbes’ top ten list of Best Small Cities for Jobs. Out of 242 metropolitan statistical areas with less than 150,000 jobs, the NRV ranked fifth. Additional rankings can be found here.

Here is the press release from The Montgomery County, Virginia Economic Development Department.

Montgomery County, Virginia – The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area (aka New River Valley) has been named to Forbes’ list of the ten “Best Small Cities for Jobs.”  Our metro ranked 5th nationally against 242 MSAs with less than 150,000 jobs.   Read more »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for funding that will help job creation in rural businesses. Eligible recipients can apply for loans and grants that will be used to improve services, the quality of life and the economic stability in rural areas.  Recipients can receive a maximum loan of $1 million and a maximum  grant  of $300,000. Applications must be received at the end of each month for 2012 and must be submitted to the Rural Development state office where the project will be located.

Here is the press release from the USDA.

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2012 – USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager announced today that USDA is seeking applications for loans and grants to help rural businesses create jobs and spur economic development.

“President Obama emphasized in his recent State of the Union address that we need to continue to do more to create jobs to sustain the current economic recovery,” Tonsager said. “With the loans and grants we are making available, USDA Rural Development will work closely with cooperatives and utilities that in turn help local businesses access capital and technical assistance. Our support leverages additional private investments and demonstrates the positive impact that public-private partnerships can have on rural communities and economies.” Read more »

Four Southwest Virginia companies were accepted into the two-year program, Virginia Leaders in Export Trade. Blacksburg companies Click & Pledge and ESS Technologies Inc. as well as Polymer Solutions of Montgomery County and Tread Corp. of Roanoke were accepted into the program presented by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Here is the press release from Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Read more »