Former gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe has submitted a bid to purchase International Paper Co.’s mill outside of Franklin and turn it into a wood and biomass energy plant.

VT Milcom, a Virginia Beach defense contracting firm, has furloughed roughly 45 employees and could furlough as many as 135 by early April. The company notified the state recently of its intention to lay off 135 workers, with an impact date of April 5, however, the company's president said Tuesday that he would characterize affected employees as "furloughed," not laid off.

WATERFORD, Conn.  A Dominion spokesman says the energy company plans to lay off up to 75 people at the Millstone nuclear power complex in Connecticut by April 1, after its buyout program fell short of its goal.

FRANKLIN

Gov. Bob McDonnell plans to visit workers at the International Paper mill today, his office announced.

McDonnell will talk with employees and learn about services being provided to help them find other jobs when the plant closes. About 1,100 people will lose their jobs.

The governor also plans to talk with community leaders this afternoon.

The state Office of Consumer Affairs has alerted consumers that a Virginia Beach company calling itself Veteran Services of Hampton Roads is soliciting contributions as a charity but has not registered as such with the state as required. Although the name is similar, the company is not affiliated with the state Department of Veterans Services, the Virginia agency that assists veterans.

NORFOLK A Web and graphics design firm has purchased a 92-year-old building in downtown Norfolk and plans to renovate the space and relocate its headquarters there. Grow Interactive purchased the former Altschul's clothing store at 427 Granby St. for $610,000 and will spend an additional $600,000 to renovate the property, said Drew Ungvarsky, the company's president.

RICHMOND A closely divided House of Delegates voted Monday to shield a company from liability to asbestos-related health claims. Del. Terry Kilgore's bill, HB 629, doesn't mention any company by name. But the way it is drafted, it applies to only one: Crown Cork & Seal, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of cans and bottle caps. It has plants in Suffolk and Winchester.

Legislation that would make Virginia eligible for $125 million in federal unemployment stimulus dollars advanced out of the Senate on Monday, nearly a year after the legislature rejected a similar proposal. Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan County, is carrying SB 239, which would enable Virginia to get the federal dollars.

Dutch company Ahold has completed its purchase of the family-owned Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. chain, which includes a store in Williamsburg, and plans to change the name of those 25 stores to Martin's this spring, the new owner announced Monday. Ahold USA absorbed Ukrop's into its Giant-Carlisle division, which includes the Giant and Martin's grocery chains in the mid-Atlantic.

By Michael Schwartz | Inside Business The dream held by many to establish a viable locally based wind energy-generation industry utilizing massive windmill farms off the coast of Hampton Roads could be realized in six to 11 years.

That's an achievable time line if all the pieces come together, according a Dominion Resources executive.