Virginia Focus

If you are a parent, you are likely hoping to raise your kids to develop strong and resilient brains so they can live happy and productive lives. A new book written by Child Psychologist Dr. Charles Fay and Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen gives pratical, easy to understand advice that encompasses your childs brain and their mind to help them become adults who can successfully navigate life on their own. Let's hear more about the book, "Raising Mentally Strong Kids: How to Combine the Power of Neuroscience with Love and Logic to Grow Confident, Kind, Responsible, and Resilient Children and Young Adults" with Dr. Charles Fay.

When the time feels right to sell your business, how do you even get started?  On this episode we're talking about what business owners need to know when selling their business to avoid making the mistake of a lifetime and what factors they should consider in today’s dynamic marketplace. The guest on the show is Andy Goldberg. He's an attorney with decades of experience in the field of business and the author of a new book, "THE BIG DEAL: A Practical Guide to Selling Your Business With Confidence and Clarity".

A controversial federal program known as “340b” was created to cover the costs for uninsured and vulnerable patients by providing medicine discounts to hospitals, who would then pass the savings on to its patients. However, a new report highlights that the opposite is occurring. Instead of saving money, patients are spending 2.5 times more on medicines at 340b program entities than at non-340b entities. On this episode, we're talking to leading Policy Expert Anthonio Ciaccia [[cha-cha]]to find out why this program with good intentions failed and which Fortune 500 companies are making billions off of this program.

President Biden continues pushing his “green agenda” with a goal of requiring two-thirds of new car and light truck sales to be electric vehicles by 2032, but automakers have been calling foul. They say they simply cannot meet these requirements while remaining profitable. Today we're talking with Mike Spagnola, President and CEO of the Specialty Equipment Market Association, also known as SEMA about how rushing into this change too quickly could adversely affect the entire automotive industry.

Many businesses are currently struggling to calculate the tax owed on their crypto investments, giving way to questions about what is required of them in this upcoming tax season. Additionally, many wonder when and how they should start adopting new reporting practices in order to comply with looming changes to crypto tax requirements. On this episode, we are talking to the Senior Director of Government Solutions for TaxBit, Miles Fuller to learn more.

Cancer sucks. No argument there. But once you or a loved one has been diagnosed, what are the first steps and next steps to getting through this in one piece? On this episode, we're talking with Michelle Rapkin - a three-time cancer survivor who is deeply acquainted with the ins and outs of the disease. She decided to share her hard won lessons as an author herself in the new book, "CANCER SUCKS: But You’ll Get Through It."

Artificial Intelligence continues to gain ground in business and in our culture. From chatbots to software tools, this new technology will begin having a greater impact on many areas of our daily lives. On today's episode, we're talking to Revature Founder and CEO Ashwin Bharath about how generative AI is affecting employment opportunities and how each of us can prepare ourselves as employees for what is to come.

One small nonprofit hopes to help survivors of human trafficking and prior gang affiliation heal from the pain of their past by assisting them in the removal of “branding” tattoos and scars. To do that, they are trying to spread their message accross the country to create partnerships with organizations that employee certified and trained affiliate technicians in each state. On this episode, we're talking to Soul Survivor Ink's Executive Director Gina Jernukian about the work of the nonprofit and how to support their work.

Several groups like to study the spending habits of the average American. A new study found that not only do customers enjoy bundled retail memberships from big box stores like Costco, Amazon Prime, BJs, and Walmart+, but also those memberships save consumers over a billion dollars annually. The Computer and Communications Industry Association research center conducted the study and Trevor Wagener, the Chief Economist, will help us understand the study and break down the findings.

Play is essential to kids’ healthy development but convenient and safe play spaces that fit into an existing daily routine can be difficult to find. KaBoom! is a non-profit dedicated to giving kids the childhood they deserve by updating and creating playgrounds and safe spaces for youth; especially for those living in poverty. On this episode, we're talking to April Lampkin the Vice President of Kaboom! about their discuss their new Playspace Inequity Prioritization Index. It combines 21 different indicators to understand the landscape of play in a given community and which areas are most underserved.