Maybe it’s the built-in structure. Or the chance to start a business with a catchy name. Two Men and A Truck, International. What military guy could resist a moving company with a name like that?

At any rate, veterans (both men and women) are taking advantage of an opportunity to invest in small business franchises. VetFran, a program offered by the International Franchise Association, provides discounts and other incentives. More than 200 companies are participating with the IFA. Those from Virginia include Norfolk-based Geeks on Call America, ExxonMobil Corp. in Fairfax and Liberty Tax Service in Virginia Beach. According to the Washington, D.C.-based IFA, nearly 500 vets have purchased franchises so far. Among 22 Virginia vets, auto care and business support have been the most popular businesses. For more information, check out the IFA’s Web site at http://www.franchise.org.

It’s going to be easier for small businesses to purchase health care coverage. Thanks to new legislation signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Tim Kaine, businesses with fewer than 50 employees can pool together and collectively purchase health insurance.

Small businesses had lobbied for this change as a way to rein in costs and make insurance coverage more affordable for employees. While serving as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Kaine called for a study, keeping the issue in the public eye. At this year’s General Assembly, it garnered support from both sides of the political aisle. Funny what a little bi-partisan cooperation can do. Wonder if the assembly will hold that thought when it tackles transportation funding later this year. 

Smokin’ it’s not. In fact, the new Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Newport News is 100 percent smoke-free. Hampton Road’s newest meeting space opened last week across from the picturesque fountains at Oyster Point’s City Center. The mixed-use project, along with the posh 11-story hotel, is changing the look and feel of Newport News, long known for its massive shipyard. If you are planning a visit, leave those cigars at home. Do bring a laptop. The upscale, 256-room Marriott offers wireless throughout.

One of the hotel’s most striking amenities: a 6,500-square-foot rotunda. It’s very Virginian in design and a nice place to relax with a drink, a vice that hasn’t been outlawed …yet. 

Years ago, when interviewing with a metropolitan daily newspaper--the defunct Richmond News Leader - prospective reporters were required to take a timed spelling and grammar test. I’ll never forget the word that struck terror in my heart: obituary. The Richmond Times-Dispatch hired me (no test required), so I never learned if I botched the tricky, double-vowel word. At any rate, tests are back.

In a tight job market, companies are spending more to hire the right people. Some require background screenings and personality tests. Do you consider yourself a team player, a brown noser or a serial killer? To learn more, check out our upcoming story in July’s quarterly Workplace section.

It took three months of overtime and a July 1 deadline staring them in the face, before state legislators finally passed a two-year, $74 billion biennial budget. Small business advocacy groups like one result of this year’s lengthy budget process: the repeal of Virginia’s estate tax on estates valued at $2 million or more. The change will cost the state an estimated $140 million a year in lost revenues, but make it easier for families to pass farms and small businesses to the next generation. If Gov. Tim Kaine signs the bill, Virginia will join a majority of states in taking the death tax off its books, effective July 1, 2007.