Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee Inc., a privately-owned Canadian company, will invest $40.1 million and employ 85 at a new coffee roasting facility in the town of Ashland in Hanover County. Mother Parkers will produce coffee and other beverages for the retail and food service markets. Factors in the company’s decision included Hanover County’s superior workforce and proximity to the company’s customer base. For more click here

Altria Group Inc. has relocated its corporate headquarters from New York City to the Henrico County headquarters of its subsidiary, Philip Morris USA. The move has been expected since August 2007, when Altria announced that it would spin off its international operations as a separate company. Altria will be the area’s eighth Fortune 500 corporate headquarters. For more click here

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center will partner with researchers from Israel in a Phase I pancreatic cancer study starting this summer. The study involves a gene-based therapy developed by BioCancell Therapeutics Inc., an Israeli biopharmaceutical company. The research partnership resulted from the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park’s initiative to recruit companies from Israel. For more click here

Obetech LLC, a biotech firm located at the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, and Sweden’s Scandinavian Clinical Nutrition have signed a joint venture agreement to create a new Swedish company, Scandivir. The new firm will work on the diagnosis and treatment of obesity linked to a common virus, adenovirus-36. For more click here and see www.obesityvirus.com

Fortune magazine’s 2008 list of the nation’s largest corporations is now available online. Greater Richmond has a total of 14 Fortune 1000 headquarters, an increase of one from 2007 due to the addition of Altria Group. Unfortunately, Performance Food Group is expected to drop from Greater Richmond’s list in the near future. The company has announced plans to merge with private affiliates of The Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management LLC. View Greater Richmond’s list at www.grpva.com then Business Data, Leading Industry. For the Richmond Times-Dispatch click here and for more see www.fortune.com

U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings of graduate schools and departments reaffirm that Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts is the nation’s top ranked public visual arts and design graduate program. Also ranked No. 1 are VCU’s Department of Sculpture and Department of Nurse Anesthesia. In all, 25 of VCU’s programs were ranked this year. For more click here

If you are a manufacturing or construction employer looking for workers, you should know about the Quick Start Program at John Tyler Community College. Working with a Manufacturers’ Coalition, the college has developed a seven-week, fast-track training program that includes principles of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, electricity and mechanics. All graduates must achieve a level of competency in Industry Basics, Safety and WorkKeys Applied Technology.

Employers who are interested in learning more about available Quick Start graduates or in joining the Coalition should contact Jackie Anderson, Quick Start Program Manager, John Tyler Community College at 804-768-6600 or email quickstart@jtcc.edu or see www.jtcc.edu/quickstart

The 2008 Employer All Star Awards Breakfast, sponsored by the Richmond Human Resource Management Association, is Wednesday May 7, 2008, at the Richmond Convention Center, 403 North Third Street, Richmond. Registration is from 7:00-7:30 am and the Awards Program is from 7:30-10:00 am. Cost is $40, payable in advance by credit card at www.rhrma.org

The Greater Richmond Technology Council’s 13th annual awards gala is Wednesday May 14, 2008, at the Richmond Marriott, 500 East Broad Street, Richmond. Awards in seven categories will recognize the best and the brightest in central Virginia’s tech sector. Reception begins at 5:30 pm followed by dinner and the program. Cost is $100 for members, $150 for nonmembers. For details and to register see www.richtech.com

The Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce’s third annual International Trade & Investment Forum, Gateway India 2008, is Thursday May 15, 2008, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 555 East Canal Street, Richmond. Speakers include Mr. Anoop Mishra, Minister of Economic Affairs, Embassy of India, Washington D.C.; Dr. Nat Ganesh, Vice President, Process, Deloitte (India); and Mr. Charles Green, Director of Global Marketing, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Cost of $45 per person includes dinner. Sponsorship opportunities are available. For details and to register call 804-798-3975 or email aabac@aabac.org or see www.aabac.org