Daily Progress part-owned by “Scariest Man in Media?”

C-note was a little slow in picking up Portfolio, the new national business magazine that was launched last month. When we did, we were pleased to find a Charlottesville connection. Bruce Sherman, CEO of Private Capital Management, is profiled in a piece called “The Paper Shredder,” and stories are told about how he forced the sale of newspaper group Knight-Ridder and is an agitated major investor in the New York Times Company. Not mentioned is that PCM also owns about 11 % (or $98 million worth) of Media General, the Richmond-based group that owns the Progress. (Sherman is also cousin of TV’s “Judge Judy.”)

Tracking local business news

Hey there. We are starting this blog–we’ll call it “c-note”–as a way to track and report on local business news. We decided a while back that business would not be one of the news beats that C-Ville Weekly would cover regularly. We just don’t have the necessary access in a small town where most of the business is privately held. That decision has given us some heartburn on occasion when we do hear some good business scoop, so now we’ll try to capture things like that here. If you’ve got tips or thoughts for us, send them to c-note@c-ville.com.

UVa brings in the bucks says new study

A new study by economists at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service found that the University of Virginia brings in $4.71 from outside the commonwealth for every $1 the institution receives in state support.

This study is the first to examine the University’s economic impact not only in the immediate Charlottesville area but also throughout the rest of the state. Researchers report that in fiscal year 2005 alone, U.Va. brought $622 million in out-of-state grants, out-of-state tuition, philanthropic support and graduate fellowships into Virginia. U.Va. received $132 million from Virginia’s General Fund in fiscal year 2005.

Locally, U.Va.’s impact on Charlottesville and Albemarle County exceeded $1 billion in 2005, according to the study. The figure represents total spending by all University units, components, employees, students and visitors. Local spending by the University itself, including payroll, totaled $791 million. The Academic Division spent more than three- fifths of this amount. The Medical Center and the closely related Health Services Foundation accounted for more than a third of local outlays.

The report is available online at www.coopercenter.org/publications/uvaimpact