CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Here, in no particular order, are my picks for the top 10 state business stories of 2009:
Recession slams West Virginia jobs. The state lost 22,600 jobs between the second quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009, said George Hammond, associate director of West Virginia University's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. One of the victims: Century Aluminum's Ravenswood smelter, which shut down in February, throwing 651 employees out of work. Obama administration goes after coal. Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said in October there is an "absolute war on mountaintop mining." Meanwhile, West Virginia University economist Tom Witt told the West Virginia Business Summit that a cap-and-trade bill pending in Congress could cost West Virginia 38,500 jobs, 1.4 percent of its population and 4.5 percent of its gross state product by 2030. Jim Justice buys The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy. The entrepreneur put laid-off employees back to work; opened Prime 44 West, a steakhouse honoring basketball legend Jerry West; broke ground for a $25 million casino; and offered select days for guests to stay at the hotel for as low as $59 a night. U.S. auto industry meltdown affects West Virginia businesses. General Motors and Chrysler went in and out of bankruptcy and, along the way, closed dealerships. GM announced it would discontinue the Pontiac and Saturn brands. The Detroit turmoil made it nearly impossible for the refurbished South Charleston stamping plant to land a big contract and, at year-end, the plant remained idle. West Virginia state government weathers the recession in better shape than many other states. Geotechnical engineers figure out how to tap the natural gas trapped in shale deep underground. The new technology leads to a rush to develop several shale fields including the Marcellus Shale, which underlies much of West Virginia. Henry Harmon, president of Charleston-based Triana Energy, said Exxon Mobil Corp.'s $41 billion acquisition of XTO Energy Inc. -- including XTO's West Virginia holdings -- may be a prelude to other big oil companies coming to the state. Chesapeake Energy Corp. scrapped plans to build a regional office in Charleston but it hired hundreds of people in the region. Japanese-owned companies prove manufacturing is alive and well in the United States. Toyota's Buffalo plant prepared to begin shipping four-cylinder engines to a plant near Tokyo in April 2010. Diamond Electric won some new business with the Ford Motor Co. and prepared to expand. Kureha Corp. continued building a $100 million specialty plastics plant in Belle. Verizon announces plan to sell its West Virginia wire line business to Frontier Communications. State banks weather economic storm. The Boy Scouts of America announce that West Virginia will be the permanent home of the National Scout Jamboree and that a high-adventure base will be developed near Beckley.
What did I miss? E-mail your picks and some may be featured in a future column.
Reach George Hohmann at busin...@dailymail.com or 304-348-4836.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Here, in no particular order, are my picks for the top 10 state business stories of 2009:
Recession slams West Virginia jobs. The state lost 22,600 jobs between the second quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009, said George Hammond, associate director of West Virginia University's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. One of the victims: Century Aluminum's Ravenswood smelter, which shut down in February, throwing 651 employees out of work. Obama administration goes after coal. Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said in October there is an "absolute war on mountaintop mining." Meanwhile, West Virginia University economist Tom Witt told the West Virginia Business Summit that a cap-and-trade bill pending in Congress could cost West Virginia 38,500 jobs, 1.4 percent of its population and 4.5 percent of its gross state product by 2030. Jim Justice buys The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy. The entrepreneur put laid-off employees back to work; opened Prime 44 West, a steakhouse honoring basketball legend Jerry West; broke ground for a $25 million casino; and offered select days for guests to stay at the hotel for as low as $59 a night. U.S. auto industry meltdown affects West Virginia businesses. General Motors and Chrysler went in and out of bankruptcy and, along the way, closed dealerships. GM announced it would discontinue the Pontiac and Saturn brands. The Detroit turmoil made it nearly impossible for the refurbished South Charleston stamping plant to land a big contract and, at year-end, the plant remained idle. West Virginia state government weathers the recession in better shape than many other states. Geotechnical engineers figure out how to tap the natural gas trapped in shale deep underground. The new technology leads to a rush to develop several shale fields including the Marcellus Shale, which underlies much of West Virginia. Henry Harmon, president of Charleston-based Triana Energy, said Exxon Mobil Corp.'s $41 billion acquisition of XTO Energy Inc. -- including XTO's West Virginia holdings -- may be a prelude to other big oil companies coming to the state. Chesapeake Energy Corp. scrapped plans to build a regional office in Charleston but it hired hundreds of people in the region. Japanese-owned companies prove manufacturing is alive and well in the United States. Toyota's Buffalo plant prepared to begin shipping four-cylinder engines to a plant near Tokyo in April 2010. Diamond Electric won some new business with the Ford Motor Co. and prepared to expand. Kureha Corp. continued building a $100 million specialty plastics plant in Belle. Verizon announces plan to sell its West Virginia wire line business to Frontier Communications. State banks weather economic storm. The Boy Scouts of America announce that West Virginia will be the permanent home of the National Scout Jamboree and that a high-adventure base will be developed near Beckley. What did I miss? E-mail your picks and some may be featured in a future column.
Reach George Hohmann at busin...@dailymail.com or 304-348-4836.
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