n LOUDOUN
4 | n LEESBURG
VOL. 10, NO. 27
8 | n PUBLIC SAFETY
14 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
Community-Supported News. Free to all.
25
MAY 15, 2025
The Fog of Uncertainty:
Economic Mood Sees Drop Amid Steady Data BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
While the benchmarks of the region’s economy are holding steady, the mood surrounding it is dropping, bringing with it a variety of potential problems, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin. Barkin and George Mason Regional Analysis Director Terry Clower gathered with community members during a May 9 Loudoun Chamber of Commerce event to speak about the state of the economy amid federal funding and job cuts, tariffs and changing immigration policies. “GDP was modestly negative this quarter, but if you back out one time stuff and you look at just core GDP, it actually was every bit as good as it was in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2024 and so consumer spending and business investment still remains very solid,” Barkin said. The unemployment rate is 4.2%, which Barkin said is where most consider its natural low to be, and inflation has decreased from 7% in June 2022 to approximately 2.5%.
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now
George Mason Regional Analysis Director Terry Clower speaks during a discussion on the regional economy with Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin and Loudoun Chamber Board of Directors 2nd Vice Chair Dorri O'Brien on May 9.
“If you just look at the numbers, you’d say that’s an economy that’s headed exactly in the right place. The challenge we’ve got is the mood has gone south, and so business sentiment and consumer sentiment has dropped significantly, by most accounts due to a swell of actual and potential policy changes that are playing out in a very uncertain way. The way I’ve been describing it is, it’s really hard to drive when it’s foggy,” he said. Businesses are saying there is so much uncertainty they don’t know whether to push forward or brake, Barkin said. “That’s what I’m seeing on the business side: hiring freezes, discretionary spending being cut back, but not major layoffs, not the kind of things you do when you’ve sort of decided you’re in a negative environment,” he said. The consumer market is much harder to read, he added. “Consumer sentiment is historically very aligned with consumer spending, but that has not been the case over the last ECONOMIC MOOD continues on page 34
Home Explosion Victims Seek Millions in Lawsuit Against Southern States BY HANNA PAMPALONI
hpamapaloni@loudounnow.org
Firefighters injured in the February 2024 Sterling home explosion, Laura Brown, whose husband was killed in the
explosion, and nearby property owners have filed a lawsuit against Southern States and two of its employees regarding the incident. In addition to Brown, the plaintiffs include Brian Diamond, Karam Mashaal,
Kelley Woods, David Bulman, Maria Pia Apolonio, Eldna Smith and Sean Mohseni. On Feb. 16, 2024 firefighters from the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company responded to a report of a gas leak at a home
on Silver Ridge Drive. Less than an hour later the home exploded killing Trevor Brown and injuring 11 other first respondSOUTHERN STATES continues on page 35
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