Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA) articles from August 2006

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA) archives from August 2006

Altria raises its dividend, rewards stockholders for 9th straight year.
August 31, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 31--Altria Group Inc. has increased its regular quarterly dividend 7.5 percent to an annualized rate of $3.44 per common share. The board of directors voted yesterday to raise the dividend to 86 cents...

Banks still fly checks but not as frequently as they used to.
August 31, 2006... Byline: Aaron Kremer Aug. 31--Hank Rempe, director of the Hanover County Municipal Airport since May, takes to the air for fun now. But he used to make a living in the cockpit, logging hundreds of hours above some of America's most...

Insider trading alleged.
August 31, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 31--The Securities and Exchange Commission filed an insider-trading complaint yesterday against the former chief financial officer of Ferguson Enterprises Inc. The national distributor of plumbing supplies and...

Smithfield met by protest.
August 31, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 31--Keith Ludlum left the Army in the early 1990s and went to work at Smithfield Foods' Tar Heel, N.C., packing plant. Seeing how an injured worker was treated by plant managers, Ludlum said, he got involved...

Apparently, there's no free beverage, either.
August 31, 2006... Byline: Cynthia McMullen Aug. 31--If it looks too good to be true... don't expect a free iced latte. An Atlanta-based coffee promotion gone awry has landed untold numbers of Starbucks coupons in untold numbers of e-mail boxes. ...

JetBlue helps lift airport traffic.
August 31, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 31--Low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways led an 11 percent increase in passenger traffic at Richmond International Airport in July. The airport had its best-ever July -- 302,098 passengers boarded or...

Local Fed chief: Higher interest rates needed.
August 30, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 30--Jeffrey M. Lacker believes inflation poses a bigger risk to the American economy than slower growth -- and that higher interest rates will be needed to tame rising prices. "My assessment is that we needed...

Virginia jobless rate remains unchanged; construction, manufacturing jobs down.
August 30, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 30--Virginia's unemployment rate held steady in July, but construction employment showed a slight weakening after setting records for much of the year. The unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in July,...

The steaks were high: One meat cutter would win the day.
August 30, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 30--They had nicknames that the nicknamer-in-chief, George W. Bush, might love: David "The Dominator" Furgason, Eddy "Rattlesnake" Barrientos and "Baby Drew" Parker. For guys whose job description is meat...

Westhampton Super Market in Richmond, Va., closes after 30 years.
August 30, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Aug. 30--The Westhampton Super Market, a neighborhood institution in the city's West End for 30 years, has closed. But the market's landlord hopes to find another grocery operator to take over the...

Heavy hitter for Va.'s hard-hit areas.
August 29, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 29--He's never topped a row of tobacco, but Neal E. Noyes knows Southside and Southwest Virginia. For 30 years, Noyes worked for the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration. For...

Yorktown oil refinery getting new owner.
August 29, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 29--The crude-oil refinery in Yorktown is changing hands once again. Western Refining Inc., an independent refiner based in El Paso, Texas, said yesterday that it will buy Giant Industries Inc., the owner...

Union targets Smithfield.
August 29, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 29--A union trying to organize a Smithfield Foods Inc. plant in North Carolina will use the company's annual meeting in Richmond tomorrow to draw attention to that effort. About 500 people, including...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
August 27, 2006... Byline: Iris Taylor Aug. 27--NOTE CONDITION OF FURNITURE BEFORE A MOVE: Elaine Grandis of Short Pump wants readers of my July 30 column on moving to learn from her nightmare move from Florida to Virginia. The column, "Before hiring a...

Circuit City employee gives advice on how to pick a GPS system.
August 27, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 27--During the past year, Anne Tunon picked which global-positioning systems Circuit City Stores Inc. stocks on its shelves. She's still at the Henrico County-based retailer, but the products she's buying...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Tech Notes column.
August 27, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 27--DURING DRIVE, TRIO DETECTS PLENTY OF WI-FI SIGNALS, MANY UNSECURED: In a Buick Century parked outside The Jefferson Hotel, the computer sitting on my legs is making a lot of noise. The Dell sounds a...

University to offer classes in innovation.
August 26, 2006... Aug. 26--The University of Richmond's Robins School of Business will be teaching innovation and creativity in two new courses this fall. The classes -- Creativity & Innovation and Design Management -- have been added to the school's MBA...

Sailor faces court-martial on espionage charges.
August 26, 2006... Byline: Andrew Petkofsky RICHMOND, Va. _ A 21-year-old sailor charged with espionage will be tried in a general court-martial at Norfolk Naval Base, Navy officials said Friday. Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann, who has been...

Finalists announced for Greater Richmond Chamber award.
August 26, 2006... Aug. 26--The Greater Richmond Chamber announced the five finalists yesterday for the 19th annual Impact Award. The winner will be named at the Chamber's annual dinner on Nov. 1 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The finalists...

Playing golf on the cheap.
August 26, 2006... Byline: Aaron Kremer Aug. 26--A round of golf is usually a bit cheaper in the dog days of summer, at least for those willing to brave the central Virginia humidity. But even year-round, many relatively new semiprivate courses --...

Spotsylvania, Va., hospital fits HCA's interest in Northern Virginia.
August 26, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 26--HCA Inc.'s plans to open a new hospital in Spotsylvania County is part of the company's strategy to expand in Northern Virginia. "Northern Virginia, including Fredericksburg, is a rapidly growing...

New hospitals approved.
August 26, 2006... Byline: Kiran Krishnamurthy Aug. 26--State health officials gave the go-ahead to two competing proposals for new hospitals in the rapidly growing Fredericksburg area yesterday. Virginia Health Commissioner Robert B. Stroube approved...

Dominion workers' data stolen.
August 26, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 26--Two laptop computers containing the personal information of 1,700 Dominion Resources Inc. workers have been stolen, the company has confirmed. The computers, which contain names and Social Security...

Dangers, legal issues arise over 'free rides' as wireless networks grow.
August 26, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 26--As wireless Internet connections become commonplace, it can be easy and convenient to find open networks, log on and start surfing the Web for free. The wireless link known as Wi-Fi is everywhere, with...

Loss of Amtrak daily service may affect Jamestown, Va., birthday.
August 25, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Aug. 25--The potential loss of one of two daily Amtrak trains serving Tidewater sparked an outcry from rail supporters and raised concerns about traffic gridlock for the Jamestown 2007 celebration. Rail advocates...

Top 10 home sales in Richmond, Va.-area equal, exceed $1 million.
August 25, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 25--The real estate market may be slowing. But not in the $1 million plus range -- at least not in the Richmond market, real estate agents say. All the top 10 home sales in June were for more than $1...

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering celebrates ten years.
August 25, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 25--The ceremony was fast enough for students to attend as they hustled to classes. And the event's message was shorter: The new dean of Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Engineering told a few...

Alarmed over Amtrak.
August 25, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Aug. 25--The potential loss of one of two daily Amtrak trains serving Tidewater sparked an outcry from rail supporters and raised concerns about traffic gridlock for the Jamestown 2007 celebration. Rail advocates...

Tax bill may affect land protection.
August 25, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 25--A special General Assembly subcommittee has begun studying ways to protect open space and farmland by buying development rights. The panel, created by the 2006 assembly, heard that some efforts to...

Virginia home sales dive by 25 percent.
August 25, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 25--Virginia house sales plunged 25 percent in July, compared with the same month a year ago. The number of closed sales -- new and existing homes -- last month fell to 10,499 from 14,077 in July 2005,...

Citizens, real estate brokers, sweeps weigh in on chimney companies.
August 25, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 25--Chimney repair is indeed a burning issue, as we learned after last week's article on the subject in the Real Estate section. Chimney sweeps criticized us for minimizing the dangers of carbon monoxide...

Local gas dips 21cents in month.
August 24, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 24--Gasoline was selling for less than $2.60 a gallon this past weekend at an Exxon station in Salem in western Virginia. For anyone who paid nearly $3 a gallon just two or three weeks earlier, that sounded...

Wine time in Virginia.
August 24, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 24--At a warehouse near Richmond International Airport, rows of oak barrels await shipment to wineries in Virginia and other Eastern states. The French- and American-made barrels come to the Riverside...

Capital One deal OK'd by shareholders.
August 24, 2006... Aug. 24--Capital One Financial Corp. moved another step closer in its acquisition of North Fork Bancorp Inc., which is based in Melville, N.Y. In separate meetings yesterday, shareholders of each company approved the deal. It will expand...

HGTV show -- travels to Petersburg.
August 23, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 23--Eric Flail spent yesterday in the spotlight -- in and around Petersburg. "It's crazy; it's surreal," he said. High Noon Entertainment filmed Flail and his choice of housing -- a three-story office...

Cavalier seeks TV-service deal in Chesterfield.
August 23, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 23--Cavalier Telephone is working with Chesterfield County leaders to strike an official agreement to sell its new television service there, even though the company is doing so already. The Board of...

Safe landing after all.
August 23, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Aug. 23--It was a nice night for flying. But just before 9 p.m. Aug. 10, United Airlines Flight 174 took a sudden turn as it approached Richmond International Airport. Sara Schmidtke, a national account manager...

Performance Food taps new CEO.
August 22, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Aug. 22--Robert C. Sledd is stepping down -- again -- as chief executive of restaurant supplier Performance Food Group. Replacing him as CEO is Steven L. Spinner, who has been the company's president and...

Complaints rise about chimney firms pushing expensive relinings.
August 22, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 22--First it was asbestos. Then it was radon and mold. The latest house scare is chimneys. But unlike the other problems, which are seen and regulated, this one is out of sight and out of control, real...

Employees of reality show's sponsor have a day of fun and games.
August 22, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 22--Reality invaded Genworth Financial Inc. yesterday morning -- the peculiar kind that hatches on television these days. Under a blazing sun, a couple dozen employees raced around the headquarters campus of...

Seeking smaller firm and country life, ex-manager got working on the railroad.
August 22, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Aug. 22--Steve Powell was at a crossroads. In 1998, the Richmond native had spent six years in plant management with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. After stints at large facilities in Oklahoma and North Carolina,...

Being a bike messenger is no walk in the park.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Aaron Kremer Aug. 21--Richmond's bike messengers ride in and out of traffic like it's their job. At 4 p.m. on Friday, dispatchers chirp addresses over two-way radios. The riders heed the instructions, careening off curbs and...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
August 21, 2006... Aug. 21--ADVERTISING: --At Planet Central: John Hoar is senior art director. Kosal Soth is art director. Lindsey Minnich is accounting coordinator. Lauren Chavis is media planner. BANKING, INVESTMENTS: ...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.(Column)
August 21, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Aug. 21--Philip "Baltimore" Gibrall Jr. and older brother Patrick "Johnny" Gibrall have moved their pharmacy business to the family roots. The McGuire Park Pharmacy, which the family bought in 1964, relocated...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.(Column)
August 21, 2006... Aug. 21--MERGERS/EXPANSIONS: --Laurel Health Care Co. of Columbus, Ohio, has assumed management of University Park Health Care & Rehabilitation, which will be renamed Laurels of University Park. RELOCATIONS: --Layers...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., executive profile column.(Column)
August 21, 2006... Aug. 21--KYM GRINNAGE: --New position: general sales manager, NBC 12/WWBT, a Lincoln Financial Media Co. --Previous position: local sales manager, NBC 12 --Birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y. --Education: bachelor's degree in mass...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Minding Your Business column.(Column)
August 21, 2006... Byline: Iris Taylor Aug. 21--The United States is not a no-fly zone for migrating birds. So, while no cases of the deadly avian flu have been reported anywhere in the Americas as of July, according to the United Nations in New York,...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., American Trends column.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Gary Robertson Aug. 21--GPS FINDS ITS WAY INTO BIG CONSUMER MARKETS: Knowing where you are -- including the precise longitude and latitude -- has become a growth industry in America.The evolution of the Global Positioning System...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Iris Taylor Aug. 21--PRACTICE SAFE SHOPPING ON AUCTION SITES: You were a successful bidder at eBay, the Internet auction site. You followed the seller's instructions to a T. You sent a cashier's check that cleared the bank in...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Tech Notes column.
August 20, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 20--TEXT-MESSAGE COMPANY SEES HOPES IN A RED 'O': You can tell which bathroom is which by the white outline of either a man or a woman. You know where to put in headphones because of the symbol beside the...

Virginia-based memory chip firm earns $546 million from initial public offering.
August 20, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 20--To make money, it takes money. Qimonda AG this month raised $546 million after its initial public offering, or the first sale of its stock to the public. The computer memory chip company, which...

With touches of old and new, Carytown, Va., deli reopens.
August 20, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Aug. 20--The deli is back -- the New York Deli, that is. After being closed for nearly a year and undergoing a $500,000 renovation, the restaurant, a Carytown fixture since the 1930s, reopened this month....

Security at general aviation airports varies widely around the state.
August 19, 2006... Byline: Aaron Kremer Aug. 19--Chesterfield County Airport had a fence before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and was the first Virginia airport to be certified by the voluntary security program. The airport, which sees about 75,000...

Altria shares post record high close.
August 19, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 19--Shares of Philip Morris USA's parent company rose yesterday, the day after the company avoided financial penalties in a federal lawsuit against cigarette makers. Altria Group Inc. shares had a...

Small airstrips could land more business with microjet.
August 19, 2006... Byline: Rex Bowman Aug. 19--Virginia's sleepy, rural airports could soon move from humdrum to hubbub with the coming of a new aircraft -- a microjet weighing little more than a Ford Mustang. Fans of the airplane -- defined by the...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.(Column)
August 19, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 19--BOOMERS INVESTING IN STOCK MARKETS SHOULD BEGIN WITH THE BASICS: For years, the stock market was largely a place for affluent investors. Not any more. According to the Securities Industry Association,...

Securing smaller airports: State provides aid, but vigilance is best defense.
August 19, 2006... Byline: Aaron Kremer Aug. 19--There is no substitute for eyes on the ground at Virginia's 58 general aviation airports. Pilots and administrators say the prop planes and small jets that fly from the smaller airports pose little...

Tourism Corp. chooses ad agency.
August 18, 2006... Aug. 18--Virginia Tourism Corp. has chosen BCF, an advertising agency with offices in Virginia Beach and Richmond, to handle its account. The state agency charged with bringing visitors to the commonwealth spends about $3 million a year...

Nuclear-plant expansion plan questioned.
August 18, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 18--MINERAL -- Many who live near Dominion Virginia Power's Louisa County nuclear plant are concerned about the utility's plans to expand the two-reactor plant -- even those who favor nuclear power. State...

Richmond region stays competitive.
August 18, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 18--The greater Richmond region boasts lower crime rates, higher mortgage payments, less poverty and shorter commutes than two similar southern metropolitan areas. The violent crime rate in the extended...

Groups to protest Smithfield Foods meeting.
August 18, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 18--A union seeking to organize workers at Smithfield Foods Inc.'s Tar Heel, N.C., plant says civil rights and immigrant groups will protest at the company's annual meeting in Richmond. The United Food and...

Judge rules tobacco firms misled public.
August 18, 2006... Aug. 18--WASHINGTON -- Philip Morris USA and other tobacco companies broke U.S. racketeering law over five decades and deceived the public to "fill the coffers" with profits, a federal judge ruled yesterday. But the companies escaped...

Vintage Fender electric guitar up for sale, and it plays well with others.
August 17, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 17--The best things in life are free, so the song goes. But if you want a 1957 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, you'll have to fork over $55,000, plus $2,000 more for the original case. That's how...

JetBlue's Houston airfare deal linked to oil prices in marketing promotion.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Aug. 17--JetBlue Airways' latest marketing ploy taps into Big Oil and Texas -- with a possible side trip to Richmond. The low-fare airline this week announced Blue Barrel Fares for flights between Houston, "the...

Colleges, businesses are burdened by batteries.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Calvin R. Trice Aug. 17--The recall on fire-hazard models of laptop batteries has forced Virginia college computer-support services to make adjustments just days before students begin arriving for the fall semester. Several...

Virginia rated top state for business.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 17--Virginia just added an impressive line to its economic resume. Forbes.com ranked the commonwealth at the top of its list of Best States for Business. "Add up a smart labor force, low costs, good...

Consolidated Bank looking forward.
August 13, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 13--One of the state's oldest community banks believes it is ready to begin a new phase of growth. Just a few years ago, no one knew if the bank would even survive. Consolidated Bank & Trust boasts a proud...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
August 13, 2006... Byline: Iris Taylor Aug. 13--COLLEGE KIDS CHARGING UP CREDIT TROUBLE: Is there anything scarier than a college kid on campus with a credit card and no parental supervision? Seventy-six percent of undergraduates in 2004, the latest...

Innovation key for Sheetz.
August 13, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Aug. 13--Each Sunday morning, Stan Sheetz tunes to the VH1 music channel on cable television. He isn't a huge lover of rock music. Instead, he said his weekly ritual helps him learn about pop culture and...

Left alone, the market will cure high energy prices -- eventually.
August 13, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 13--Price cures price. That's an old pearl of economic wisdom, but one that's not easily swallowed. It suggests that rising prices eventually eliminate the forces that push prices higher. When people...

Some must adjust the way they fly.
August 12, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 12--When he flies to trade shows, Matt Paxton always carries with him the products he makes a living selling: aluminum bottles filled with cleaning solution. The Chesterfield County resident doesn't want...

Growth invades New Kent.
August 12, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 12--The East End is the new West End. With areas immediately west of Richmond built out, developers are looking east. Expect big changes on U.S. Route 60, or Pocahontas Trail, in New Kent County about...

Winchester venture hopes a half-apple a day gets Virginia school systems to pay.
August 12, 2006... Byline: Aaron Kremer Aug. 12--Virginia school kids may start leaving a package of apple slices instead of a shiny Red Delicious for the teacher. Fruit Hill Slices LLC, a joint venture of Winchester orchardists Philip Glaize and...

Inventory of unoccupied houses rising.
August 12, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 12--Thinking about building a house on speculation in Richmond in the $225,000 to $325,000 range? You might want to rethink. The inventory in that price range is rising, according to research provided...

SnagAJob plays its Trump card.
August 12, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 12--SnagAJob is ready to make a national splash. To get the word out, it's counting on Donald Trump's first apprentice and a local ad veteran whose name is synonymous with work. The Richmond company, an online...

Workers' comp premiums may fall.
August 12, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 12--Workers' compensation insurance premiums would drop for Virginia companies except surface-mining firms under a rate proposal that will be the subject of a November hearing. Workers' compensation...

Local fliers dump or check items, mostly in stride.
August 11, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Aug. 11--Perhaps soon, the trash cans outside security screening lines at Richmond's airport won't be filling up with everything from Olay moisturizer to Vitalis. "We're looking at $5,000 of cosmetics and liquids,"...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Earnings column.
August 11, 2006... Aug. 11--DYNEX CAPITAL INC.: Dynex Capital Inc. has reported net income of $1.6 million for the second quarter compared with $9.6 million in the year-earlier period. The 2005 results include a gain of $9.6 million from the sale of...

VCU prof expects economy to hold up.
August 11, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 11--The economic impact of yesterday's foiled terrorist attack appears to be limited. That could be small comfort to the airlines. "After 9/11, everybody was mesmerized. Nobody did anything for three weeks,"...

Electric co-op wins case against contractor.
August 11, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Aug. 11--Old Dominion Electric Cooperative has won a $13 million judgment against the former contractor of its Fauquier County power plant and defeated the project manager's $50 million countersuit. The case,...

Philip Morris fund gives out $2.7 million.
August 11, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Aug. 11--Attendees at the annual banquet yesterday for Philip Morris USA's Employee Community Fund were greeted by the celestial music of nine harps. The young harpists were students and mentors in the...

Virginia Commonwealth University team places high at world software competition.
August 10, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Aug. 10--They did not win, but being considered some of the top computer-science students on Earth isn't a bad start. Four Virginia Commonwealth University graduate students placed among the top 12 teams in a...

Regulators OK Consolidated.(Company overview)
August 10, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Aug. 10--After nearly six years of financial challenges, Consolidated Bank & Trust has won a clean bill of health from state and federal regulators. The 103-year-old bank, founded by Maggie L. Walker, announced...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Earnings column.
August 10, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Aug. 10--JAMES RIVER COAL CO.: James River Coal Co. of Richmond reported a net loss of $3.36 million, or 21 cents per share, during the second quarter, compared with a loss of $1.02 million, or 7 cents per share, for...