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A former floral delivery driver looks in the rearview mirror

Jul 19, 2024
Meghan Irby mapped her routes the old-fashioned way before navigation software was a thing. Her boss "used chickens as a landmark."
Meghan Irby circa 2004, when she worked as a floral delivery driver in rural West Virginia. "I was sweaty most of the time, both from the heat and the stress,” she recalls.
Courtesy Irby

It may not have a cantina, but this Virginia spaceport is firing up its local economy

Jul 13, 2023
Last year, the world set a Space Age record by launching more than 180 rockets into orbit. And every launch pumps money into local coffers.
The control room in NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. About 2,000 people work at the center.
Kimberly Adams/Marketplace

After the fanfare, Amazon's HQ2 slowly gets going in Virginia

Sep 30, 2019
A "Career Day" draws thousands, but Arlington residents are learning the 25,000 promised jobs will be filled over 10 to 12 years.
Thousands of people attend Amazon's Career Day in Crystal City, part of Arlington, Virginia.
Kimberly Adams/Marketplace

Opioids made it impossible to run his family business, so he became an undercover cop

Apr 3, 2019
Bucky Culbertson's career has followed the booms and busts of Wise County, up to his current job fighting the opioid epidemic.
Bucky Culbertson in his office, January 2019.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

In Virginia, a new coalition tries to tackle the high eviction rate

Jan 2, 2019
One in 10 renters in Richmond, Virginia lose their homes to eviction every year
The Richmond skyline is viewed from across the James River on July 23, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia.
Photo by Jay Paul/Getty Images

The other side of an Amazon deal

Dec 19, 2018
While companies like Amazon get tax breaks and other perks to set up operations, local communities are pushing their own agendas as well.
A tarp drapes 1851 S. Bell Street, one of the office buildings left empty after the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia lost tens of thousands of workers due to government budget cuts and military relocations.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Amazon's HQ2 may be “the best thing that didn't happen”

Nov 13, 2018
What cities learn from competing can be a win.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Candidates weigh last-minute spending decisions before midterms

Nov 2, 2018
Campaigns entered the final stretch with record amounts of cash, but must strike a delicate balance of how much to spend in order to win.
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Beto O’Rourke talks to supporters during a campaign rally at Harvest Run Park November 2, 2018 in Carrollton, Texas. 
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Running for office? Perfect the art of the ask

Sep 25, 2018
It takes money to run a campaign and first-time candidates have to learn how to ask for it.
Campaign stickers, buttons and other materials for first-time Democratic congressional candidate Vangie Williams. Williams is a first-time candidate running in Virginia's first congressional district. One of the many things first-time candidates have to learn is how to ask for money.
Kimberly Adams/Marketplace

Courting foreign investors in the age of Trump

Jun 18, 2018
At this week's annual SelectUSA Summit, cities and towns will try to convince foreign investors that the U.S. is still a good place to put their money.
President Donald Trump's trade policies could make it harder for some cities to attract foreign investors.
Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images