RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says he will host his first ever summit for African-American business owners. McAuliffe said the event, scheduled for Aug. 30 at Virginia Union University, will allow his administration to learn more about issues facing black-owned businesses. The Democratic governor has tried to make it easier for African American-owned as well as other minority owned businesses to win state contracts. But state lawmakers have previously expressed concern that state contracting policy aimed at steering more state contracting to small and minority owned business owners could be misused. Some lawmakers said they’d heard from state agencies and vendors that some designated small businesses are just pass-throughs, buying goods for the state from stores like Walmart and Amazon while adding a sizeable markup.
