Kaine sees light at end of economic tunnel

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine told area business leaders Wednesday that good financial times lie ahead for the commonwealth but warned leaders not to get too cheery.

Kaine told members of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce that there are signs that the country and state's financial crash will soon bottom out. Leaders, he said, must begin thinking of how to recreate and rejuvenate Virginia's economy.

"There are good times ahead," he told the chamber, "but we can't be too cheery. We have to be optimistic and hopeful, but it took us a while to get into this place and it will take a while to get out."

Kaine cited some signs of improving consumer confidence, including increased consumption and spending. Housing market statistics also have moved upward, he said.

"We're living in challenging times and I don't need to tell you how tough they are," Kaine told the chamber at its annual spring business luncheon, held at the Doubletree Hotel Charlottesville. "We've had to cut billions of dollars from the state budget and it has been difficult. The only reason [the state's] hurting is because businesses and families are hurting. I didn't run for office with the goal of being the governor who cut the most money from state government. That wasn't on my bumper stickers, let me tell you."

At the luncheon, the chamber also presented Frances G. Loose, Mary Loose DeViney and Frieda Loose-Wagner, owners of Tuel Jewelers, with the 2009 Small Businessperson's Award, for running the downtown business and for their community involvement.

Loose began work at Tuel Jewelers in 1953 and purchased the business 23 years later. The family has been involved in the chamber, local and state business organizations and served on the boards of local charities.

After appearing at the chamber event, Kaine spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority's new Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The $40.3 million project, $21.57 million of which will come from the state, features high-tech techniques aimed at removing phosphorus and nitrogen from effluent - water discharged from the facility after treatment.

Kaine pointed to the plant, and its "green" technology, as the type of project that the state should encourage. He said that maintaining the commonwealth's edge over other states in education, trade and immigration is just as important.

"We've got to continue to make education investments, not just in educational competence but in excellence," he said. "We cannot just be protectionist and try to protect our jobs from foreign competition, we have to be aggressive and do things better than the competition. We cannot just plan for today when we cut dollars. We have to prepare for the day when those dollars return."