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

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

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
January 31, 2006... Byline: Iris Taylor Jan. 31--TAKE STEPS TO WARD OFF IDENTITY THEFT: ID this: A nation of savvy consumers immune to identity theft. It'll never happen, not with doctors' offices, retailers, hospitals, corporations, financial...

Va. home sales rise.
January 31, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 31--Virginia home sales rose to an all-time high in 2005, setting a record -- as they did nationally -- for the fifth year in a row. Sales nudged ahead of the previous year by 2.1 percent, according to the...

Kraft silent on plans for its Henrico plant.
January 31, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Jan. 31--Kraft Foods Inc., the nation's largest food manufacturer, wouldn't say if its bakery in eastern Henrico County was among the 20 or so it will close as part of a restructuring plan announced yesterday. ...

Cable-TV bill advances.
January 31, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 31--A bill to cultivate cable-TV competition moved swiftly through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee yesterday in an undisputed decision. "All the parties involved feel that the competition will...

Minimum-wage bill defeated.
January 31, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 31--Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Republicans killed a bill yesterday that would have raised the state's minimum wage by $1 on July 1. The bill failed by a 5-10 vote, despite an amendment that had cut...

Chinese firms to Richmond.
January 31, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Jan. 31--When Kenneth Xu and Grace Zhang returned to their native China for a visit in 2003, they saw a lot that had changed in the 12 years since they moved to the United States. "It was not the same...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Jan. 30--PHYSICIAN HEARS THE CALL TO DELIVER AUDIO PRODUCTS: After 27 years as a physician, Tom Craggs decided to do what he really loves -- helping others rekindle their interest in music. "I have always...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business calendar column.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Linda Dunham Jan. 30--ASSOCIATIONS --William E. Caldwell has been elected to the Council of Regents, the legislative body of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is chief executive officer of Retreat Hospital....

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.
January 30, 2006... Jan. 30--NEW BUSINESS/OPENINGS --The New Jubilee Educational, Family Life and Child Development Center, a faith-based educational center for children ages 2-15, has opened at 1708 Byron St. MERGERS/EXPANSIONS --Woods Rogers...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., executive profile column.
January 30, 2006... Jan. 30--Darius Johnson --New position: senior vice president, chief lending officer, Consolidated Bank & Trust Co. --Old position: vice president, client manager in commercial banking, Bank of America --Birthplace: Richmond ...

Bridging the gap.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 30--By mid-February, Marc Naiman will have removed the DVD player and VCR from his living room, replacing both with a personal computer that will hook into his satellite television service and the flat-screen...

Is a BlackBerry blackout likely?
January 29, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 29--Inside the stone walls of the federal courthouse in downtown Richmond rests the threat, though perhaps a small one, of a blackout on the BlackBerry wireless e-mail gadgets. The East Main Street...

Greenspan leaving to high praise.
January 29, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 29--Alan Greenspan's stint as chairman of the Federal Reserve started with a crash. Just a few months after he took the top job at the central bank in 1987, the stock market suffered its worst one-day decline...

Virginia home sales rise.
January 29, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 29--Virginia home sales rose to an all-time high in 2005, setting a record -- as they did nationally -- for the fifth year in a row. Sales nudged ahead of the previous year by 2.1 percent, according to the...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
January 29, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 29--AD EXECUTIVE THINKS BIG, WORKS ON A SMALLER SCALE: Not for the first time, there's some big-time advertising brewing on the ground floor of a certain house on Monument Avenue. High-grade brand names keep...

Firm gets a $1 million boost.
January 28, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 28--Donna Edmonds is going to take her company's $1 million check to the bank for research into the human heart. The Virginia BioTechnology Research Park said Edmonds' firm, Vital Sensors Inc., has closed...

Richmond, Va.-based firm sets up in Romania.
January 28, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Jan. 28--A venerable Richmond-based engineering firm has opened its first office outside the U.S. Froehling & Roberts, which opened in Richmond in 1881 and has offices throughout the mid-Atlantic, recently...

Jobless rate in Virginia at 3 percent.
January 28, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Jan. 28--Virginia's unemployment rate dropped in December to its lowest level in more than four years as retailers added thousands of jobs for the holiday season. The jobless rate fell to 3 percent in...

BB&T takes loan stand.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 27--BB&T Corp. says it will lend no money to developers that take land from citizens to build shopping centers, condominiums and other private projects using eminent domain. "This is a rarity -- a bold move...

FTC: Web-related complaints of fraud down 7 percent.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Julian Benbow Jan. 27--You clicked that e-mail. The one that said you won a brand new Xbox 360. The one that told you that you could lose 50 pounds in 50 minutes. Even better, the one from that wealthy Nigerian king...

Amendment added to energy-policy bill.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 27--A bill that would create a state energy policy has been amended to give the state more power to trump local zoning laws. The bill introduced by Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, at first required...

Virginia areas labeled disasters.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 27--Thirty-seven Virginia counties have been designated as disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture because of farming losses caused by last summer's drought and high temperatures. The counties...

Panel delays action on loans.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 27--A House of Delegates subcommittee delayed action yesterday on a bill that would repeal Virginia's Payday Loan Act, which regulates the high-interest, short-term loans. The sponsor of the bill, Del. John M....

Payerpath tops Rising 25 list.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 27--Last night's Rising 25 ceremony was all about entrepreneurs such as Jim Brady, but in his brief thank-you speech he found time to show appreciation to table No. 9: his employees. "Over the last five or...

Media General struggles in fourth quarter.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 27--Fourth-quarter net income for Media General Inc. in 2005 declined 32 percent compared with the same period a year before. Media General, which publishes the Richmond Times-Dispatch, reported fourth-quarter...

Richmond, Va.-based utility earnings exceed expectations.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 27--Richmond-based Dominion Resources Inc. reported that operating earnings for the fourth quarter and all of 2005 yesterday exceeded the company's Nov. 3 earnings guidance. The company said that quicker...

First vote squeezes wineries.
January 27, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 27--Virginia's small wineries took a blow from a House of Delegates subcommittee yesterday from which some may not recover, should other lawmakers decide to go along. The House ABC and Gaming subcommittee...

Passenger figures set mark at Richmond, Va., airport.
January 26, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Jan. 26--Lower fares and more travel options led to a record year for passenger activity at Richmond International Airport in 2005, airport officials said yesterday. The 2.9 million passengers who flew in or out of...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
January 26, 2006... Jan. 26--VIRGINIA FINANCIAL GROUP INC. reported a 23 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income, compared with the same period a year before. The Culpeper-based banking company reported net income of $5 million, or 69 cents per share,...

Bill to bring TV choice faster.
January 26, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 26--State lawmakers settled the fight between cable and telephone companies over how phone providers start offering video service, a move that could bring pay-TV choices to consumers faster. The compromise...

Payday-loan repeal sought.
January 26, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 26--A bill repealing Virginia's Payday Loan Act is one of several consumer-oriented bills to be considered by state lawmakers today. Other measures coming before a House of Delegates subcommittee would...

'Double-dip' rule rules out Richmond, Va., airport job.
January 25, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Jan. 25--Richard K. Harper worked for 20 years as an FBI agent. So when the former lawman read a Richmond Times-Dispatch article last week about plans to recruit retirees to fill part-time screener positions at...

Merger to bring WB to Richmond, Va.-area TV.
January 25, 2006... Byline: Douglas Durden Jan. 25--Great news, Richmond TV viewers. We're finally getting the WB, or, rather, what's left of it after the WB and UPN networks merge. CBS, which owns UPN, and Warner Bros., which owns the majority stake...

Panel to study wine-law revision.
January 25, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 25--Virginia's small farm wineries and the state's wine distributors both claim their very survival is tied to the fate of legislation getting its first airing tomorrow before a House of Delegates subcommittee....

U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in BlackBerry dispute.
January 24, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 24--The heat is on for a Richmond federal judge and the maker of the popular BlackBerry handheld device after the U.S. Supreme Court refused yesterday to hear an appeal of a patent-infringement ruling against...

Norfolk, Va., spared in Ford cuts.
January 24, 2006... Jan. 24--Ford Motor Co.'s assembly plant in Norfolk will remain open despite the automaker's plans to close some plants around the country, an expert on the company said in Richmond yesterday. "This is a pretty bulletproof plant because...

Retiring regional CEO for WellPoint leaving complex world of health insurance.
January 24, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 24--The world is changing fast for Tom Snead. "This will be the first year -- after generations -- that a member of the Snead family has not put a stalk of tobacco in the ground," he said. Snead grew up...

Manchester home dates to 1812 and is among oldest structures south of James.
January 24, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 24--Was this old house worth saving? "If you had asked me halfway through the project, I would have said 'no,'$" said Andrew Warriner. Make no mistake. He and his mom are proud of the house they rescued...

State approves boost in fuel charge for Appalachian Power customers.
January 21, 2006... Jan. 21--The State Corporation Commission has approved an 8.1 percent increase in Appalachian Power Co.'s fuel charge to consumers. Appalachian customers have been paying a higher charge since Jan. 1, pending a ruling by the SCC. The...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.
January 21, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 21--EARNINGS: --Genworth Financial Inc. reported an 11 percent decline in fourth-quarter net earnings compared with a year earlier, when the Richmond company recorded significant tax benefits related to its...

Fed gives no hints on rates.
January 21, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 21--Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey M. Lacker gave no hint about when the central bank might stop raising short-term interest rates. "I'm not going to tell you when that's going to happen," he...

Relief sought from heating costs.
January 21, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 21--Consumers are scrambling to find ways to cope with higher home heating costs. Low-income Virginians are applying for emergency assistance in unprecedented numbers. Richmond resident Bob Moss opened...

Genworth to acquire Continental Life.
January 21, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 21--Genworth Financial Inc. has agreed to acquire a company that will more than double its Medicare supplemental insurance business. The Richmond insurance and investment-products company will pay about $145...

Expert advises reduced oil use.
January 21, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 21--Reducing reliance on petroleum-based fuels is the key to the nation's energy security, Anne Korin said. Relying on unproven technologies and politically impossible policies will not provide energy...

Teachers may attend workshop on Stock Market Game.
January 21, 2006... Jan. 21--The Virginia Council on Economic Education will hold a training session for Richmond-area teachers whose classes will be participating in the Stock Market Game, to be held February through April. -- The free session by the VCU...

Tech firms urged to compete for Virginia work.
January 21, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 21--Technology companies will continue to compete for state business even though a giant corporation has partnered with the commonwealth to modernize Virginia's IT services, the state's chief information...

Richmond, Va., law firm to expand skills.
January 20, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Jan. 20--McGuireWoods LLP is blending talents with a Chicago law firm known for technology expertise. The Richmond-based firm announced its alliance with Gordon & Glickson LLC, which "has been exclusively devoted...

Wendy's restaurants hold the tomatoes.
January 20, 2006... Byline: Julian Benbow Jan. 20--Wendy's could have taken the tomato off Ricky Lu's grilled-chicken sandwich and given it right back and he would have barely noticed. The Virginia Commonwealth University student was about four bites...

Mrs. Kilgore gets back former job in youth-smoking prevention campaign.
January 20, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Jan. 20--Marty H. Kilgore is returning to her former job as executive director of a foundation that oversees Virginia's youth-smoking prevention campaign. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, announced the...

Chamber is sending folks out on June 1 to address the region's challenges.
January 20, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 20--The Greater Richmond Chamber is ready to delve deeper into the region's strengths and weaknesses. In the first two days of June, it plans to send 15 teams of local folks into the community to explore the...

FightSMA tally tops $1 million toward finding cure for spinal muscular atrophy.
January 20, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 20--In a year when worldwide disasters put a big strain on donors' wallets, a small but aggressive local nonprofit posted its best year ever. FightSMA is a Richmond group dedicated to finding a cure for spinal...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
January 19, 2006... Jan. 19--WASHINGTON -- President Bush planned to travel to a moving company in Northern Virginia today to make remarks about the economy and small businesses. In Loudoun County, where Bush plans to speak at JK Moving & Storage, the...

PoshTots bought by BabyUniverse.
January 19, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Jan. 19--PoshTots.com LLC, the Richmond-based online retailer of chic children's furniture and accessories whose customers include Hollywood stars, has been sold to another Internet retailer. The sale to...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company Spotlight column.
January 19, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 19--LANDAMERICA PLANS NEW OFFICES: LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. is moving from Chesterfield County to Innsbrook Corporate Center in western Henrico County. The provider of real estate transaction...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Greg Edwards column.
January 19, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 19--SALES-TAX HOLIDAY BILL ADVANCES: A tax-amnesty bill endorsed by a House of Delegates subcommittee yesterday could provide families with a cost break on their school supplies. The bill, sponsored by Del....

Loving's leaving Shockoe Bottom.
January 19, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Jan. 19--One of Shockoe Bottom's most enduring businesses -- Loving's Produce Co. -- is leaving its longtime home for a location across the river. The company, which supplies vegetables and fruit to local...

World of Mirth reopens after Harvey slayings.
January 19, 2006... Jan. 19--World of Mirth will again be a world of merriment. The popular Carytown shop, which has been closed since co-owner Kathryn Harvey and her family were slain on New Year's Day, reopens this morning. "We just feel like it is...

Atkins picks PR firm here.
January 18, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 18--CRT/tanaka is handling public relations for a well-known nutritional company that emerged from bankruptcy last week. The Richmond marketing and public relations firm said yesterday that it has been hired...

Tredegar Corp. leader will retire.
January 18, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Jan. 18--Norman A. Scher is retiring as president and chief executive of Richmond-based Tredegar Corp. on March 1. The company's board of directors this week elected its chairman, John D. Gottwald, as...

Delegates to take up bills on cable TV.
January 17, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 17--Providers of cable TV could offer consumers more choice faster through two bills this General Assembly session, though the legislation and corporate backers differ greatly. Companies involved want to...

Woman builds career on cleaning with care.
January 17, 2006... Byline: Linda Dunham Jan. 17--Sharon Dabney-Wooldridge likes to clean. "I like to walk out of a room I have just cleaned," she said, "and walk back in see it clean." It's like a new room. Her firm, The Kleane Kare Team Inc.,...

Bill on gouging advances.
January 17, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 17--A state Senate committee endorsed a bill yesterday that would lengthen the time Virginia's Anti-Price Gouging Act can apply. The law was most recently put into effect on Sept. 2, after Hurricane Katrina...

House that almost got away.
January 17, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 17--A simple Cape Cod sits at the end of the road, down the last drive between two brick pillars topped with lion statues. To Sherry Kendall, the owner, the property is "the island that time forgot." ...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Linda Dunham Jan. 16--BANKING, INVESTMENTS --Chris Harper has joined the board of directors for VaCap Federal Credit Union. --At Village Bank Mortgage Corp.: Rob Arthur has been promoted to senior vice president. ...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Jan. 16--WESTERN CHESTERFIELD AREA GETS AN AUTO DEALERSHIP: David Trebour is accustomed to being a trailblazer. His Pontiac dealership on Midlothian Turnpike, which opened in 1982, was among the first west of...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Start-Up Spotlight column.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Linda Dunham Jan. 16--TO FRANCE AND BACK FOR HER CHOCOLATE DREAM: The ancient Aztecs liked it spicy with chili peppers. Europeans like it slightly sweetened and thick. Jeanne-Louise Womble likes her hot chocolate sweet,...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.
January 16, 2006... Jan. 16--MERGERS/EXPANSIONS --Owens & Minor Inc. has acquired the assets of Perigon LLC, a health-care supply-chain company. --Colonial Honda, Mechanicsville Honda, Pearson Honda and West Broad Honda have formed the Greater Richmond...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., executive profile column.
January 16, 2006... Jan. 16--JULIO HERRERA --New position: vice president of operations, Hawkeye Manufacturing Inc., an international manufacturer of portable spas --Old position: production manager, Hawkeye Manufacturing Inc. --Birthplace: El...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Business Honors column.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Michelle Diehl Jan. 16--SHIRLEY A. KEEN received Second Place and the Popular Choice awards at the National Capital Chapter of the Professional Picture Framers Association framing competition. She is with Ben Franklin Crafts &...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Minding Your Business column.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Iris Taylor Jan. 16--TIPS ON SHAKING YOUR STAFF OUT OF WORKPLACE BOREDOM: Fire up your workers who are only going through the motions. You know who they are. They get there right on time, watch the clock all day and leave...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., American Trends column.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Gary Robertson Jan. 16--DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING? HELP IS OUT THERE: We Americans are always on the move. But the way we get directions has changed dramatically in just the past few years. Folding maps are out. ...

Work, family are all on table for furniture duo.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Julian Benbow Jan. 16--Juggle, Karen. Juggle. At 10 a.m. on a Thursday she's already plenty busy. Those 20-odd manila folders on Karen Duer-Potts' desk at the three-year-old design firm DK Workspaces represent all the...

Charlottesville, Va.-based bank plans merger with Winchester-based firm.
January 14, 2006... Jan. 14--Premier Community Bankshares Inc. and Albemarle First Bank agreed yesterday to merge. The deal is worth an estimated $29 million. Albemarle First, based in Charlottesville, will merge into Rockingham Heritage Bank, a...

Dealers mixed on GM plan.
January 14, 2006... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Jan. 14--General Motors Corp.'s plan to win customers by cutting prices on most of its models this week earned mixed reviews from local dealerships and auto-industry observers. Richmond-area GM dealers put...

Fredericksburg, Va., hotel bought by Richmond firm.
January 14, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 14--The Hilton Garden Inn Fredericksburg has been sold by Silver Cos. to Richmond-based Apple Six Hospitality Ownership Inc. The price was not disclosed. Apple Six, a real estate investment trust,...

Minimum-wage rise sought.
January 14, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 14--Two bills with different political pedigrees before the General Assembly would gradually raise the state's minimum wage to $8.15 per hour by mid-2008. The federal and state minimum wage is $5.15. As...

AAA contest on travel open to students.
January 14, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Jan. 14--High school students with a penchant for travel and tourism can earn a chance for a $25,000 scholarship, AAA Mid-Atlantic said this week. The AAA Travel High School Challenge is open to students in grades...

Overnite Canada runs get fast pass.
January 14, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Jan. 14--Overnite Transportation Co is speeding up border crossings. The Richmond-based trucking company said this week that it has been approved for expedited service by customs inspectors at the U.S.-Canada...

Calling hands-free.
January 13, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Jan. 13--If a law requires motorists to drop their cell phones while driving, Steve Richter expects business to boom like the stereos he installs. Though similar legislation has failed in the past, state Sen....

Leadership change at brokerage.
January 13, 2006... Byline: Bob Rayner Jan. 13--Anderson & Strudwick Inc., the Richmond brokerage and investment firm, has made a change at the top. The company's board of directors announced yesterday that George F. Nolde III has been named president...

Capital One to cut 130 jobs.
January 13, 2006... Byline: Carol Hazard Jan. 13--Capital One Financial Corp. is cutting 130 jobs in information technology. All but two are in the Richmond area. The cuts occur now through May, company spokeswoman Julie Rakes said yesterday. All...

Nominees for Muse awards are sought.
January 13, 2006... Byline: Julian Benbow Jan. 13--For a second straight year, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will stretch the limits of the traditional awards ceremony while honoring businesses that show the same creativity. The museum is accepting...

Jagdmann endorsed for opening on SCC.
January 13, 2006... Byline: Greg Edwards Jan. 13--A House of Delegates panel yesterday declared Attorney General Judith Williams Jagdmann qualified to fill a coming vacancy on the State Corporation Commission. The House Commerce and Labor Committee's...

Hudson News opens shop in airport atrium.
January 12, 2006... Byline: Chip Jones Jan. 12--Hard news is turning heads at the airport. Hudson News opened a shop in the middle of the second-floor atrium at Richmond International on Jan. 1. It's a temporary location until spring when the shop's...