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In an announcement made earlier this week, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell unveiled a revamped website for business owners and potential entrepreneurs looking to start a business in the Commonwealth. The governor said the new website is designed to be the one and only stop for interested businesses. Virginia Business... [read more]
The Governor of Virginia and Norfolk Southern Railway Company have signed an agreement that will work towards returning passenger rail service back to the city of Norfolk for the first time since 1977. This addition will create a round-trip link between Norfolk, Richmond and Washington D.C., passengers will also have the option to... [read more]
By Louise Woolard, Office Manager, Pocahontas State Park The Great Depression is something Lois Moore knows all about. Born in the spring of 1929, she lived through the hardest years of the Depression, and remembers much about the struggles her own family faced. There were no jobs, and she remembers people being hungry, and... [read more]
When people think of the ideal job Park ranger has to come to mind. What could be better than being outside all the time in scenic locations helping people and taking care of wildlife? If you caught our Operations Director, Nancy Heltman's post about Thank a Ranger you'd know that being a park ranger takes a very special individual and... [read more]
You'd probably have to be living under a rock somewhere to have missed the fact that State Governments are in peril as a result of the economic recession. Virginia gets most of its General Fund money from sales taxes and the state income tax. With folks spending more conservatively and so many folks out of work, both of those revenue... [read more]
Virginia State Parks participated in the Federal Youth Conservation Corps in the 1970s and 80s. This program was financed by the Federal government and lasted most of the summer. Unfortunately the money for the state program dried up and we had to shelve the program (the Federal government still operates the program at national sites).In... [read more]
It is hard to believe that today is the last full day of the 1st Session of our Youth Conservation Corps. For the youth participants and the supervisors, it has been an intense three weeks and they are probably looking forward to going home. At the same time it will be tough saying goodbye to a group of kids that you have worked and... [read more]
They come from all over the state of Virginia. Must are attending college but some have just graduated and a few are older. These are the young people that will lead our Youth Corps this summer.Sixteen parks will host three week programs as part of our Youth Conservation Corps (overnight program) or Youth Service Corps (day program). The... [read more]
Virginia State Parks is well known for great outdoor recreation, trails, camping. cabins, swimming, etc. If you haven't visited before you may not realize that we have great events and programs.I manage the Virginia State Parks account on Twitter and we feed our events automatically and many days I am amazed at how many events stream by... [read more]
This weekend I heard the news that California was planning to close 80 per cent of its State Parks. Wow. Basically the plan is to close all but parks that are completely self-sustaining or funded from dedicated funds. All staff with the exception of lifeguards at key beaches would be let go. I admit I am biased. I have worked for... [read more]
The Odwalla Plant a Tree program allows people to donate trees, free of charge, to local State Park systems Virginia residents don’t need to get down and dirty this summer to plant trees in our state parks. With the ease of a mouse click, the Odwalla Plant a Tree program allows you to donate a tree to our state park system. ... [read more]
For the seventh year in a row, Virginia’s state parks have received numerous awards from ReserveAmerica in several outdoor recreation categories. In fact, this year we received eighty-two awards in the seventeen categories. Six parks received acknowledgment of being in the Top 100 Family Campgrounds: Claytor Lake, Grayson Highlands,... [read more]
It took me five years to manage to visit all of our Virginia State Parks (34 at that time, now 35). As an employee, I made these visits as part of my job. Paul Marine accomplished the same feat between 2005 and 2007.A 1994 retiree of the CIA, Paul became the first known person to complete Virginia State Parks' Parks and Trails Passport... [read more]
Are you confused by some of the terminology we use in Virginia State Parks? Print out this handy glossary and you'll be "in the know!"Contact Station---sometimes known as "guard shack" or "gate house." This small building is usually located at the entrance of each Virginia State Park. Contact stations are open... [read more]
A post from Camping Blogger this week on family backyard camping brought back wonderful memories of my childhood in Hampton, Virginia. Back then we had a clothes line (one with a pully). During the summer, I'd throw a blanket over the line or clothes pin two together and voila - instant camping trip. Those were also the days before we... [read more]
Dean Halstead is a Lead Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton and serves on the Advisory Board for the SmartBrief on Social Media. More »
John Kamensky is a Senior Fellow with the IBM Center for The Business of Government. More »
Steve Radick is a Lead Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton and serves on the Advisory Board for the SmartBrief on Social Media. More »
I understand that there's always a need to experiment for new design to make it better but they also keep in mind that the more they add details, the more they make it complicated. The CFPB, which opened up for business last summer, said Wednesday that it will next be going after loan providers ...
By the way, thanks for the useful info's.
Talking about transparency and actually doing it are two different things. It ...