The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) articles from May 2001

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) archives from May 2001

Air Canada To Offer Flight from Toronto to Norfolk, Va.
May 1, 2001... Byline: Debbie Messina May 1--Air Canada is coming to Norfolk International Airport in June with a daily nonstop flight from Toronto. It will be the airline's first foray into Norfolk and Norfolk's first direct flight to Canada. ...

Virginia Senator To Pay for His Shipyard's Lack of Oil-Spill Safeguards.
May 1, 2001... Byline: Scott Harper May 1--State Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, will pay $25,000 to settle a federal complaint that his family-owned shipyard on the James River lacked certain oil-spill safeguards, the Environmental Protection...

Virginia Beach, Va.-Based Grocer Launches Online Shopping Web Site.
May 1, 2001... Byline: Sean Olson May 1--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Farm Fresh rolled out its third take on Internet shopping Monday: Internet X-Press Shopping. The Web site, at ^www.farmfresh@=^markets.com@, allows customers to pick up orders at any of...

Liquidation Sales Open at Closing Hampton, Va.-Area Retail Chain.
May 1, 2001... Byline: Joanne Kimberlin May 1--Liquidation sales are under way at Northern Reflections stores as the chain prepares to close for good in the United States. The women's casual clothing retailer has 323 U.S. stores. Three are in...

Commercial Vegetable Specialist at Virginia Tech to Celebrate Post.
May 1, 2001... Byline: Linda McNatt May 1--SUFFOLK, Va.--Clifton Slade is throwing a party, partly to celebrate his new job as Virginia Tech's area commercial vegetable specialist, and partly to test himself. The location: the Tidewater Agricultural...

Devious Tactics Undermine Legitimacy of Online `Bargains,' Experts Say.
May 1, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 1--NORFOLK, Va.--Countering the doctrine that crowns the Internet king of the New Economy, Old Dominion University President James V. Koch argued Tuesday that the online medium still has much growing up to do. ...

Cleveland Heights, Va., Designer Discusses Achievements.
May 2, 2001... Byline: Teresa Annas May 2--Five little pedal cars were lined up outside a Virginia Beach sign shop, ready to greet their maker. A Pursuit Plane looked as silver in the sunlight as the day it rolled off the line in 1937, with a...

Developer Discusses Location of New Norfolk, Va., Hotel.
May 2, 2001... Byline: Christopher Dinsmore May 2--NORFOLK, Va.--The city and the developer who wants to build a hotel next to Waterside are discussing alternative locations downtown, several city sources said Tuesday. Norfolk City Manager Regina...

Pork Producer Buys Portsmouth, Va.-Based Specialty Food Maker.
May 2, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 2--SMITHFIELD, Va.--Less than a week after confirming merger talks, pork giant Smithfield Foods Inc. has struck a deal to purchase specialty foods maker The Smithfield Cos. Inc. of Portsmouth -- the industry's...

Portsmouth, Va.-Based Community Bank Buys Local Insurance Agency.
May 3, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 3--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--In the latest consolidation of banking and insurance in Hampton Roads, TowneBank has purchased the Kellam-Eaton-Huey Insurance Agency Inc. in Virginia Beach. The Portsmouth-based community...

Chesapeake, Va., Development Firm To Move to Virginia Beach, Va.
May 3, 2001... Byline: Christopher Dinsmore May 3--Armada/Hoffler Holding Co. developed much of the commercial heart of Chesapeake, but now the company is leaving the city of its birth for Virginia Beach. When the first office tower of Town Center...

Norfolk, Va.-Area Jobless Rate Increases Slightly, Remains Near Record Lows.
May 3, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 3--Unemployment in Hampton Roads inched up slightly in March from a year earlier -- the first year-to-year increase in 16 months -- but remains near historic lows, according to analysts. While the March rate...

Merged Defense Companies May Consolidate Submarine Construction Yards.
May 3, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 3--At first glance, the most obvious way General Dynamics could achieve efficiencies after acquiring Newport News Shipbuilding would be to consolidate submarine construction in one location. As budgeted now,...

Government Considers Chesapeake, Va., Businessman for Veterans Affairs Post.
May 3, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 3--A Chesapeake businessman is being screened for a federal post as chief information officer of national veterans affairs. Gary S. Anderson, president of AEI Risk Management Services Inc., is in line for a...

First Union, Wachovia to Close Up to 300 Branches after Merger.
May 4, 2001... May 4--First Union Corp. and Wachovia Corp. will close 250 to 300 branches, or roughly 8 percent to 10 percent of their combined branches, when the two banks merge. Most branches that will close are within a half mile of another First...

Developer Picks Another Site for Proposed Hotel in Norfolk, Va.
May 4, 2001... May 4--NORFOLK, Va.--Thompson Hospitality LLC will drop plans for a hotel next to Waterside and build on Granby Street instead, city officials and the developer said Thursday. The compromise, to be announced at a 1 p.m. news conference...

NASA Reopens Wind Tunnel at Hampton, Va., Research Center.
May 4, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 4--HAMPTON, Va.--NASA Langley Research Center has reopened one of its six wind tunnels, which were shut down after an accident caused $1 million of damage to one of them. An investigation of the center's...

Shareholders Won't Vote on Newport News Shipbuilding Merger at Meeting.
May 4, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 4--Newport News Shipbuilding shareholders will not vote on the General Dynamics merger at what could be the yard's final annual meeting May 18 in Richmond. Instead, shareholders will vote by mail. ...

Atlanta-Based Titanic Salvage Company Sues over Internet Postings.
May 4, 2001... Byline: Marc Davis May 4--Sometime in the dark hours of Jan. 28, a thief jimmied the lock at an exhibit in the Opryland Hotel lobby in Nashville, Tenn., and made off with a priceless stash: 18 coins and bank notes from the shipwrecked...

Birmingham, Ala.-Based Bank to Buy Hampton Roads, Va.-Based Bank.
May 5, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 5--NORFOLK, Va.--CENIT Bancorp Inc., parent of the largest financial institution based in Hampton Roads, said Friday it has agreed to be acquired by a Birmingham, Ala., banking company through a stock swap valued at...

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to Gain Control of $155 Million in Assets.
May 5, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 5--WILLIAMSBURG, Va.--The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation said Friday that it will gain control over $155 million of assets as part of an agreement between New York state's attorney general and a longtime contributor...

Norfolk, Va., Officials Reach Agreement on Hotel Development Site.
May 5, 2001... Byline: Christopher Dinsmore May 5--NORFOLK, Va.--The grassy acre beside Waterside will be preserved as open space. The hotel developer gets what is arguably the next-best site downtown. And the city gets the black investment and an...

Verizon Communications Restructures Norfolk, Va., Call Center.
May 5, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 5--NORFOLK, Va.--Telecommunications giant Verizon Communications is restructuring its Norfolk call center, but officials say there will be no net loss of jobs. The company is dropping technical support from...

With Spanish Masses, Catholic churches give Hispanics their own voice.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Katrice Franklin NORFOLK, Va. _ While Father Wayne Ball delivered his sermon, someone was tallying heads at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. "We had more than 100 people today," the head counter told Ball after his sermon was...

Government, Industry Inaction Allowed Asbestos to Kill Shipyard Workers.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Bill Burke May 7--In 1879, when workers tore open the earth at the world's first commercial asbestos mine in the Appalachian foothills of Quebec, they unknowingly released a geological genie of death. For much of the 20th...

Hampton Roads, Va., Area Shipyard Workers Dying from Asbestos Exposure.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Bill Burke May 7--They came by the tens of thousands, called to arms in the shipyards of Hampton Roads to help build the armada that would keep the world safe for democracy. They toiled in the bellies of great gray warships...

Portsmouth, Va., Officials Hope to Increase Boat Tax.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Louis Hansen May 7--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--City administrators see a proposed increase of the city boat tax as a $1 million stream flowing into dry city coffers. Marina owners see it as the launch of an armada of pleasure boats to...

Development Help for Norfolk, Va., Downtown District Causes Resentment.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Joanne Kimberlin May 7--NORFOLK, Va.--Resentment is festering in fashionable Ghent. A number of merchants there are ticked off by what they view as the city's financial coddling of downtown Norfolk's blossoming restaurant and...

Tech Industry Leaders Say Demand Is Strong for Foreign Tech Workers.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 7--The technology industry has slowed from its earlier breakneck speeds, but tech leaders say the need for foreign workers has not. Instead, the drive to recruit from the world's work force seems even...

Workers Flocked to Virginia Shipyards during Wartime.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Bill Burke May 7--The news from abroad was mixed in January 1942 when Louis Whiddon and his wife, Wyolene, prepared to move north from Georgia. The Allies were routing Hitler's black-shirted Elite Guard, but Philippine and American...

Professional Visa Is A Ticket To Work in the United States.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 7--The billowing white clouds. That's what she remembers. It was Neelima Koneru's first flight. The first time in her 23 years that she had ever left her hometown in southern India, Hyderabad. She's...

Struggling Norfolk, Va., Movie Theater May Get Money from City.
May 8, 2001... Byline: Joanne Kimberlin May 8--NORFOLK, Va.--Ghent's struggling Naro theater could get as much as $70,000 from the city if a proposed ordinance passes at today's Norfolk City Council meeting. The ordinance offers to match the Naro's...

Expansion Efforts Are Under Way at Ford Plant in Norfolk, Va.
May 8, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 8--NORFOLK, Va.--Less than a year and a half before the 2003 model year gets rolling, Ford Motor Co. is progressing on the expansion of its Norfolk truck plant. Work crews for the automaker have walled in a...

Council to Help Save Last Single-Screen Movie Theater in Norfolk, Va.
May 8, 2001... Byline: Meredith Kruse May 8--NORFOLK--The City Council on Tuesday narrowly approved giving as much as $70,000 to the Naro to keep the projector running at Norfolk's last single-screen movie theater. Owners Thom Vourlas and Tench...

Portsmouth, Va., Naval Shipyard Asbestos Workers Took Part in Deadly Tradition.
May 8, 2001... Byline: Bill Burke May 8--In the early 1970s, as ships returning from the Vietnam War steamed into the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, asbestos workers in Shop 56 performed a time-honored ritual. Using their brick hammers and their hands, they...

Virginia Businesses Get Credit for Converting Excess Land to Wildlife Habitats.
May 8, 2001... Byline: Amy Jeter May 8--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--When it comes to corporate campuses, let those manicured lawns grow wild. That's the message of the new Virginia Corporate Habitat Certification program, which will recognize businesses that...

Virginia Beach, Va.-Based Bank Expects Fresh Equity for More Expansion.
May 9, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 9--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Resource Bankshares Corp., whose mortgage lending has benefited from declining interest rates and two recent acquisitions, said it expects to raise at least $7.3 million of fresh equity for...

Analysts Say Norfolk, Va., Will Cash In on Cruises from Local Pier.
May 9, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 9--Norfolk stands to clear $250,000 per year over the next four years from its burgeoning cruise ship business at Nauticus, according to a preliminary study and business plan prepared for the city. The...

Energy Regulators Say Other States Should Learn from California's Experience.
May 9, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 9--Rolling blackouts, skyrocketing power costs and other energy woes in California should prompt other states to try to learn from its mistakes, industry regulators said Tuesday. "A lot of states are...

Los Angeles Defense Firm Matches Rival Bid for Newport News, Va., Shipyard.
May 9, 2001... May 9--WASHINGTON--Defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. offered Tuesday to match a rival firm's $2.6 billion bid for Newport News Shipbuilding, putting the giant Peninsula shipyard in the center of what could become an expensive and high-stakes...

Norfolk, Va.-Based Lawyers Go To Court for Asbestos Victims.
May 10, 2001... Byline: Bill Burke May 10--In late August 2000, the law offices of Glasser & Glasser moved into a six-story downtown Norfolk office building featuring a curving glass face and a two-story atrium, topped with a cream-colored crown that...

Northrop Grumman Says Its Bid for Newport News Shipbuilding Is Superior.
May 10, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 10--NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--Northrop Grumman told analysts and investors Wednesday morning that its hostile bid for Newport News Shipbuilding was superior to General Dynamics' friendly bid. Though it's equal in...

Newport News, Va., Shipyard Workers Worry Acquisition May Bring Layoffs.
May 10, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 10--NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--If it acquires Newport News Shipbuilding, Northrop Grumman does not anticipate achieving merger-related savings through layoffs. Still, shipyard workers are concerned. "They always...

Dueling Offers To Acquire Newport News, Va., Shipyard Face Review Process.
May 10, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 10--NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--The dueling offers from Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics to acquire Newport News Shipbuilding will have to pass muster before a number of reviewers. Newport News Shipbuilding's...

Report Indicates Virginia Beach, Va., Tourism Boomed in 2000.
May 10, 2001... Byline: Agnes Blum May 10--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Despite the wettest summer in 50 years, local tourism boomed in 2000. "Last year was an excellent year," said Gilbert R. Yochum, co-author of the 2000 Virginia Beach Tourism Economic...

Portsmouth, Va., Bank Expects Assets To Reach $1 Billion.
May 11, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 11--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--Fueled by stronger-than-expected growth in deposits and loans, TowneBank said Thursday that it expects its assets to reach $1 billion, or more than double what they are today, within five years....

Bankrupt Virginia Beach, Va., Firm Gets Disappointing Bid for DSL Switches.
May 11, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 11--NORFOLK, Va.--On what was to be the finale of its bankruptcy saga, Picus Inc. was left holding a disappointing $1.25 million bid Thursday for digital subscriber line switches worth five times that figure. ...

Secretary of Navy Nominee Urged to Keep Out of Defense Contractor Merger Case.
May 11, 2001... Byline: Dale Eisman May 11--WASHINGTON--A key senator urged President Bush's nominee for secretary of the Navy on Thursday to consider excluding himself from the service's decision-making on programs involving General Dynamics, one of the...

Charlottesville, Va.-Based Grocery Store To Open in Virginia Beach, Va.
May 11, 2001... Byline: Sean Olson May 11--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Feeling worldly? Want curry from India or rice from Asia? How about wines from France or beers from Germany? Foods of all Nations hopes Hampton Roads has a hunger for exotic and ethnic foods....

Norfolk, Va., Officials Proposed Light Rail `Starter' Line.
May 11, 2001... Byline: Debbie Messina May 11--NORFOLK, Va.--Virginia Beach voters may have thought they killed light rail, but the idea is more alive than ever -- in Norfolk. City and transit officials on Thursday unveiled details of a proposed light...

Norfolk, Va.-Based Rail Firm Chairman Has Optimistic Message.
May 11, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 11--NORFOLK, Va.--Norfolk Southern's performance last year did not measure up, but the company's belt-tightening this year is paying off, Chairman David Goode told shareholders at their annual meeting Thursday....

Virginia Beach, Va.-Area Employees of Utility File Discrimination Complaints.
May 11, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 11--Hampton Roads employees of Dominion Virginia Power are claiming age, race and sex discrimination in complaints to federal investigators. At least a half-dozen workers have reported the allegations to the...

Virginia Governor To Honor 100-Year-Old Norfolk, Va., Businesses.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Joanne Kimberlin May 12--Their ledgers tell the story of a nation and a community. Keeping the doors open for a century will do that. Twenty or so Norfolk businesses have either hit or are nearing their 100th anniversary....

Smithfield, Va., Pork Firm To Retain Foot-And-Mouth Security Measures.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 12--Despite the British government's tentative claims of victory over foot-and-mouth disease, pork giant Smithfield Foods plans to retain heightened security against the livestock ailment for the foreseeable...

Liberty Property Trust to Construct Two Office Buildings in Norfolk, Va.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Amy Jeter May 12--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--Liberty Property Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Malvern, Pa., plans to build at least two speculative office buildings in one of the city's newest business parks. The company...

Virginia Beach, Va., Redevelopment Project Sparks Controversy.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Jason Skog May 12--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Tenants of property critical to the 31st Street resort project filed a lawsuit this week arguing they can stay put for the next five years. Michael Tsangaris and Emmanuel Christodoulakis...

Cupertino, Calif.-Based Software Maker To Expand Norfolk, Va.-Area Presence.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Christopher Dinsmore May 12--NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--The maker of the popular Norton Antivirus software will nearly double its presence on the Peninsula to about 300 workers and invest $22 million in a new building. Symantec Corp....

Chesapeake, Va., Woman Enjoys Ownership of Machine Shop.
May 13, 2001... Byline: Sean Olson May 13--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--Donna Duncan calls drag racing a funny car her "fun side job." It's hard to conceive of anyone going 220 mph, especially someone as demure as Duncan. But the quiet woman is as passionate about...

First Union, Wachovia Face Hurdles in Effort to Combine Operations.
May 14, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 14--By almost every measure, First Union Corp.'s biggest merger was a disaster. Some customers of the acquired bank weren't prepared for the loss of neighborhood branches. Others were disturbed by letters that...

Proposed Shipbuilding Company Merger under Review by Justice Department.
May 14, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 14--The U.S. Department of Justice has begun its antitrust review of the proposed merger between Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics. Because General Dynamics' offer is a cash bid, the department...

Defense Shields Manufacturing Jobs in Virginia's Hampton Roads Area.
May 15, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 15--The big gray warships built to guard the nation are apparently helping to protect Hampton Roads' economy, as well. Despite production slowdowns and job cuts nationwide, local manufacturing employment was...

Retired Navy Officer Grows Virginia-Based Janitorial Business at Own Pace.
May 15, 2001... Byline: Sean Olson May 15--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Retired Navy Lt. Michael Taylor is a busy man. He has a wife and three children. He's the national secretary of The Knights of Peter Claver, a 20,000-member African-American Catholic...

Newport News, Va., Shipyard Shareholders File Lawsuits To Block Merger.
May 15, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 15--NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--Newport News Shipbuilding shareholders filed four lawsuits last week seeking to block the yard's planned merger with General Dynamics. Each of the four lawsuits, filed in Delaware...

SunTrust Becomes Surprise Suitor of Wachovia.
May 15, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 15--SunTrust Banks Inc., spurned in December just as it thought it had a deal to merge with Wachovia Corp., launched a unusual unsolicited bid Monday, topping the offer of rival First Union Corp. SunTrust's bid...

Virginia Secretary of Technology Drops Out of Race for Commerce Post.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 16--After two weeks of deliberation, Virginia Secretary of Technology Donald W. Upson removed his name from consideration for a federal technology post, citing family and professional reasons. Upson, who had...

Dell Computer Founder Addresses Technology Conference in Virginia Beach, Va.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 16--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--With a steady smile, Michael S. Dell heralded the military Tuesday for his company's biggest contract -- helping to build a $4.1billion internal network for the entire Navy and Marine...

King of Prussia, Pa.-Based Educational Toy Store Files for Bankruptcy.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Joanne Kimberlin May 16--Zany Brainy toy stores filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws Tuesday morning. The company says it won't close any of its 188 stores. Hampton Roads...

Virginia Beach, Va., Machine Monitoring Company Wins Small Business Award.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Sean Olson May 16--NORFOLK, Va.--A Virginia Beach company that makes monitors to check the health of machines and then send the diagnoses by wireless technology won this year's Hampton Roads Small Business of the Year award from...

Sara Lee Selects Suffolk, Va., for $93 Million Expansion.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Linda McNatt May 16--SUFFOLK, Va.--Visitors to the Sara Lee Plant on Progress Road Tuesday were met with the aromatic scent of roasting coffee beans. City officials were more tuned in to the smell of new tax dollars and a major...

First Union Moves to Dominate SunTrust's Competing Offer for Wachovia.
May 16, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 16--Hoping to crush a competing bid for its merger partner Wachovia Corp., banking company First Union Corp. insisted Tuesday that its planned consolidation with Wachovia would generate higher earnings than a proposal...

Officials Propose Partnership for Building Isle of Wight County, Va., Airport.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Debbie Messina May 17--State aviation officials on Wednesday suggested creating a public-private partnership to fund, build and operate a $1.4 billion regional airport in or near Isle of Wight County. The project would replace...

EDS Picks Norfolk, Va., as Operations Center for Navy Project.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Vandana Sinha May 17--NORFOLK, Va.--Revving up a Navy contract to build the world's largest internal computer network, a Texas company pinpointed Norfolk for an operations center and help desk that could draw more than 600 jobs to...

South Korean Manufacturer To Build Plant in Portsmouth, Va.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Michael Davis May 17--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--A South Korean manufacturer of industrial parts and transporters will set up shop in Portsmouth, expecting to ultimately haul in up to 200 new jobs. Seoul-based Hanmi International Corp....

NAACP Officials Ask Norfolk, Va.-Area Chapter to Cease Boycott over Busing.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Stephanie A. Crockett May 17--NORFOLK, Va.--High-ranking NAACP officials have asked the local chapter to "cease and desist" with a boycott of businesses to protest the end of middle school busing for integration. Until this...

Love of Photography Leads Portsmouth, Va., Woman to Open Own Studio.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Sean Olson May 17--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--Cathy L. Benton Photography runs out of a tiny office in the Churchland section of Portsmouth. In the foyer, which doubles as a seating area, hang three large portraits of children, two of...

Danish Steamship Line May Build Terminal in Portsmouth, Va.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 17--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--Maersk Sealand, the world's largest steamship line, could commit within a month to build a $385million shipping-container terminal on the city's largest tract of undeveloped, industrially...

Newport News, Va., Shipyard Wins Right to Refuel, Refurbish Aircraft Carrier.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Dennis O'Brien May 17--NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--Newport News Shipbuilding has lined up its third Nimitz-class carrier refueling job. The yard has been awarded a $9.3 million planning contract for a three-year complex overhaul and...

Norfolk, Va.-Area Wages Fall Further Behind National Average.
May 17, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 17--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--Despite fatter paychecks and heightened competition for workers, wages in Hampton Roads fell further behind the national average in 1999, according to the Commerce Department's latest...

Portsmouth, Va., Antique Shop Makes the Old Seem New Again.
May 18, 2001... Byline: Sean Olson May 18--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--Walking into 620 High Street, it's obvious that Way Back Yonder Antiques is no dusty, stale, cramped antique store. A Chippendale chest of drawers stands sentinel by the door. The wood is...

Virginia Beach, Va., Hauls in Sand to Restore Eroded Beach.
May 18, 2001... Byline: Kimberly Sweet May 18--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--The soft roar of waves and the squawks of seagulls make for a perfect day at the beach. Falling 5 feet off a ledge does not. Winter erosion brought a level of worry to a section...

Court Rebuffs Former Portsmouth, Va., Public Defender's Discrimination Case.
May 18, 2001... May 18--NORFOLK, Va.--A federal court jury decided on Thursday that an attorney who formerly worked in the Portsmouth Public Defender's Office was not passed over for promotion because of her race. Tanya L. Lomax worked under Public...

Economists Predict Slower Job, Wage Growth in Virginia.
May 18, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 18--As the U.S. economy loses steam, Virginia can count on slower growth in jobs and wages this year and next, an economic consulting firm predicted Thursday. And if a recession materializes, the number of job...

Redevelopment Project Finally Tears Down Abandoned Portsmouth, Va., Mall.
May 18, 2001... Byline: Louis Hansen May 18--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--Corby Johnson watched the excavator's metal claw ease through the plate glass windows and the brick wall. The old building used to be a good steakhouse, he said, although he couldn't quite...

Wachovia CEO to Forgo Increase in Retirement Benefits.
May 19, 2001... Byline: Tom Shean May 19--Wachovia Corp., the Winston-Salem, N.C., banking company that agreed in April to merge with First Union Corp., said Friday that its chairman and chief executive officer agreed to forgo a hefty increase in his...