Category Archives: Economy

G.M. Plans to Close Saab

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Unable to find a buyer for Saab after a year-long search, General Motors said that it would begin shutting down operations at the Swedish carmaker.

With a narrow, though loyal, customer base focused on Sweden, Britain and the American Northeast, Saab has proved too small to lure the world’s big automakers, many of which are seeking tie-ups to increase economies of scale.

Saab will continue to honor warranties, while providing service and spare parts to current Saab owners around the world. Mr. Reilly said that the move was not a bankruptcy or forced liquidation, so he expected Saab to pay its debts, including those of suppliers.

[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/business/global/19saab.html?src=sch&pagewanted=all “Read the Article”) (New York Times)

Ukrop Stores in Richmond & Williamsburg sold to Giant

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Giant-Carlisle, a division of Ahold USA, is expanding its presence in Virginia by acquiring Ukrop’s 24 Richmond stores and the Williamsburg store.

Joe’s Market in Richmond’s West End and a store in Fredericksburg are not part of the deal. The [Henrico Citizen][Henrico] is reporting that Joe’s Market and the Fredericksburg Ukrop’s will be closed. The [Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star][Star] has confirmed that the Fredericksburg will be closed.

The former Roanoke store wasn’t mentioned as part of the deal.

[Read][Dispatch] (Richmond Times Dispatch)

[Henrico]: http://www.henricocitizen.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=1848&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1910&hn=henricocitizen&he=.com

[Star]: http://fredericksburg.com/blogs/bizbrowser/index_html?blogger_id=22&p=1261087360

[Dispatch]: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/UKROPGATER_20091217-135001/312169/P10/

Without ready access to computers, students struggle

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The digital divide has narrowed dramatically in the past decade. About two-thirds of American households report using the Internet at home, according to the U.S. Census. In affluent Washington suburbs, the numbers are higher; more than 90 percent of Fairfax households with children have home computers.

But even in Fairfax, the digital divide lives on in the study carrels of the Woodrow Wilson public library in the Falls Church area. Most afternoons, it is crowded with students from low-income or immigrant families using the computers. Although they live in one of the richest counties in the United States, these students recount skipping lunch to work at school labs or making long journeys to the public library after school.

Such effort is necessary because students are doing much of their work online: reading textbooks, watching podcasts, using discussion boards and creating PowerPoint presentations. The most frequently searched-for Internet term in the Washington area this year is “fcps blackboard,” according to Google. That’s the Fairfax County system on which teachers post homework assignments and study guides, children ask questions or participate in discussion groups, and parents monitor class work.

Read (Washington Post)

Ukrop’s Roanoke store to be sold to highest bidder in December

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A month after Ukrop’s Super Market closed its Roanoke store, the grocer’s vacant real estate is in foreclosure.

The 58,000-square-foot structure on Franklin Road, which is owned by IMD Investment Group, is scheduled to be sold to the highest bidder at a public auction at 11 a.m. Dec. 7 in front of the store, according to a legal notice.  The notice states that a potential buyer must close on the property by Dec. 31.  It’s unclear how much money IMD owes on this property.

The adjacent Walgreens drugstore, open since August, is not included in this sale.

Small Virginia town of Boydton ready to rise anew

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–In 1977, U.S. News & World Report declared [Boydton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boydton,_Virginia “Wikipedia Entry for Boydton”) “a small town that refuses to die.”

Despite some tough times, Boydton is still not dead, although it is kind of quiet.  At a time when cities and towns of all sizes are scrambling not to fall behind, Boydton, population less than 500, is actually staging a comeback, fueled by millions of dollars’ worth of construction projects that are giving the town a facelift and an infusion of hope.

[Read](http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/columnists_news/article/BILL28_20091027-215604/301971/ “Read the Article”) (Richmond Times Dispatch)