Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA) articles from November 2005

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA) archives from November 2005

Richmond, Va., airport seeks screeners.
November 30, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones Nov. 30--The head of Richmond International Airport is seeking more federal security screeners amid worries that recent record-breaking growth could create passenger logjams. "We have some concerns about staffing...

Certificate means success.
November 30, 2005... Byline: Julian Benbow Nov. 30--The system seemed like it made sense. To check a person's work experience, either pore over their resume or check out their application and look at their job history. But, as Mac McGinty of Thomas...

Comcast rolling out digital voice.
November 30, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 30--About a month and a half ago, Comcast Metro Richmond came to Dan Schultheis Jr. with a request: Make us your telephone provider. Since then, the Chesterfield County resident has been among a couple...

With e-commerce surge, 'Cyber Monday' may be the new 'Black Friday'.
November 29, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 29--Black Friday doesn't have anything on Cyber Monday. Sales on e-commerce Web sites were expected to be the highest ever yesterday, according to Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai Technologies Inc., a...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., executive profile column.
November 29, 2005... Nov. 29--Frances Rickman --New position: executive consultant, Actuarial Benefits & Design --Old position: senior vice president, manager retirement-plan services, Wachovia Securities --Birthplace: Farmville --Education:...

Firm provides mobility to the disabled.
November 28, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones Nov. 28--Kaye Crenshaw can laugh now about how she started a small business with friends and family about 20 years ago. "It was probably the worst way in the world to start a business," Crenshaw said of the firm...

Oldsmobile sign down, ending era in Richmond.
November 28, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Nov. 28--The Oldsmobile nameplate is gone from the Richmond landscape. The sign came down last week at the Royal Oldsmobile dealership on West Broad Street near Parham Road in western Henrico County. "This...

Verizon wants into the TV game sooner rather than later.
November 28, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 28--Ray LaMura jokes that he didn't even know where the pens were kept when he sat down on his first day on the job to meet representatives from the state's largest local telephone company. Instead of...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
November 28, 2005... Nov. 28--ADVERTISING --Rob Adams and Wayne Hicks have been named vice presidents at SB&A. Adams is also the president of Brooks-Adams Research. Hicks is director of client services. --At Siddall Inc.: Shannon Ogden is...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., American Trends column.
November 28, 2005... Byline: Gary Robertson Nov. 28--Carrying a television show in an iPod is a little like carrying time in a bottle. Showtime is anytime. Of course, that's the whole idea. Industry watchers say the decision by the Walt Disney...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.
November 28, 2005... Nov. 28--NEW BUSINESS/OPENINGS --KTL Solutions, a Microsoft Business Solutions partner, has opened an office at 1519 Camack Place in Midlothian. CONTRACTS --Foodservice Consultants Studio has been retained by Central Virginia...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Business Honors column.
November 28, 2005... Byline: Michelle Diehl Nov. 28--CHIP MAHER has been elected to the National Dealer Council to represent the Lincoln Mercury dealers in the Mid-Atlantic Region. He is with Whitten Lincoln Mercury. REID ASHE has been elected to the...

Hot gifts: electronics.
November 27, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 27--Not so long ago, the two consumer electronics items on many people's wish lists for this holiday season weren't even in the English language. -- Xbox and iPod. The second generation of Microsoft's...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
November 27, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner Nov. 27--SO, FUEL COST IS A CLOUD? CHECK THE SILVER LINING: There's something strange about the rising energy prices we've endured for more than a year. Angry consumers? Oil company executives on the hot seat? ...

Tips for picking plasma or LCD television.
November 27, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 27--"How much are you willing to spend?" asks Matthew Relph, an engineer at Performance Home Technology, a Chester-based business that installs home theaters. One of the best deals is still a traditional...

River rush creates cash flow.
November 26, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 26--Jim Alexander has tromped for years along the Richmond floodwall, the Haxall Canal, Brown's Island and Belle Isle downtown. "I remember standing at the Pipeline Rapids and thinking 'wouldn't it be cool...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
November 26, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor Nov. 26--BEFORE YOU GIVE, CHECK RECIPIENT: Has "Sazon Fernando" e-mailed you about a charity donation yet? "I don't want you to feel sorry for me because I believe everyone will die someday," his letter begins....

BMG Metals to expand at four locations.
November 26, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards Nov. 26--BMG Metals Inc., a Richmond-based metal distributor, is forging ahead with four major expansion projects. The family-owned company announced this week that it will open a new branch, expand two of its...

Shoppers use patience to bag their prey as holiday season begins.
November 26, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley And Bob Rayner Nov. 26--There really is only one question you can ask a man wearing a lumberjack hat, wrapped in a blue blanket and sitting in a fold-out chair in front of an electronics store at 3:55 a.m. in the...

Architecture students mix design, access.
November 26, 2005... Byline: Julian Benbow Nov. 26--Nothing says "come on in" like a wide-open front door. But nothing says "stay out" like those eight stairs before the entrance. The University of Virginia architecture program teamed up with the...

Leaf no longer top cash crop for Virginia farmers.
November 24, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 24--The king of crops in Virginia is king no more. Tobacco -- a mainstay crop since settlers began planting it here in the 1600s -- was toppled as the state's top cash-earning crop in 2004. The...

Sale to China raises hopes for tobacco farmers.
November 24, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 24--Tobacco slipped as the state's top cash crop in 2004, but don't call the king dead just yet. U.S. leaf farmers have recently gotten their foot in the door of one potentially giant new market:...

Biggest shopping day? Not yet.
November 24, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 24--As usual, crowds are expected to jam local stores tomorrow as the holiday shopping season gets going in earnest. The National Retail Federation said that up to 130 million people nationwide will...

Report lists dangerous toys.
November 23, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 23--A consumer advocacy group released a report yesterday listing dangerous children's toys, while toy makers, academics and scientists criticized some of the findings. The U.S. Public Interest Research...

Uncertain shopping season ahead.
November 23, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 23--Retailers have reasons to be both optimistic and worried about this year's holiday shopping season, which goes into full gear the day after Thanksgiving. High fuel prices and an uncertain job...

GM cuts may echo in Virginia.
November 22, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 22--A General Motors Corp. plant in Fredericksburg has escaped the latest round of job cuts and plant closings by the world's largest automaker. Yet GM's announcement yesterday that it will close nine...

Henrico County, Va., hospital names new CEO.
November 22, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner Nov. 22--Henrico Doctors' Hospital will see a new boss in the new year. David Russell Williams has been named chief executive of the two-campus, 540-bed hospital in western Henrico County. Williams, 46,...

Herndon, Va., will get Verizon TV this week.
November 22, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 22--Herndon will become the second town in the nation to receive cable TV service from telephone titan Verizon Communications Inc. This week, the company will give the Northern Virginia town -- population...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Nov. 21--EX-INVESTMENT EXECUTIVE RETURNS TO THE TRENCHES: Marshall B. Wishnack is back in the investment world. The former top executive at Wheat First Union (now Wachovia Securities) has joined his son...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Trade Names column.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Julian Benbow Nov. 21--DRY CLEANING SERVICE EMPHASIZES CONVENIENCE: In three years, John Heidel has many in western Henrico's Windsor Place community hooked. Dry Cleaning Direct, the to-your-door dry-cleaning business he...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Start-Up Spotlight column.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Julian Benbow Nov. 21--BRIDGING LANGUAGES, SAVING LIVES: The idea for EZS Language Resource made perfect sense to Thea Paul. Her husband, Henry, had been encouraging her to make dollars and cents out of what she learned as a...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.
November 21, 2005... Nov. 21--NEW BUSINESS/OPENINGS --Andy Schaeffer has opened Connected Approach, a network support company specializing in small to midsize businesses, at 1500 Forest Ave. The Web site is www.connectedapproach.com. --Mark Smith, a...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., executive profile column.
November 21, 2005... Nov. 21--TERI LOVELACE --New position: senior director of development, Tuckahoe Family YMCA --Old position: director of development, William Byrd Community House --Birthplace: Radford --Education: bachelor's in government...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Business Honors column.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Michelle Diehl Nov. 21--MILTON JACKSON received the Award for Exemplary Service from the Richmond City Council. He is a property inspector for the Solid Waste division in the Richmond Department of Public Works. FRANK...

Office park stands by for liftoff.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 21--Gregory H. Wingfield got himself a new CD. The disc held by president of the Greater Richmond Partnership, however, did not contain music. On it were marketing materials -- computer-generated...

Housing prices in Richmond, Va.-area rise.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 20--Housing prices in the Richmond area continue to show double-digit increases despite some slowing elsewhere. The median price in the Richmond area rose to $214,500 in the third quarter, up 22.9 percent...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Linda Dunham Nov. 20--ACCOUNTING --Lynne Doughtie has been promoted to national managing partner-advisory in the U.S. for KPMG. She had been the professional practice partner for risk-advisory services in the Mid-Atlantic....

Development 'snowball' keeps rolling as VCU expansion helps redefine downtown.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Gary Robertson Nov. 20--Jim Dunn, president of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, sometimes speaks in metaphors. Metaphorically is one way he thinks about Virginia Commonwealth University and the critical role the...

VCU expands footprint downtown.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Gary Robertson Nov. 20--Wherever Virginia Commonwealth University steps in downtown Richmond, the ground shakes. Get ready for more shaking. The 29,000-student university, which has had a 20 percent enrollment spike in the...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner Nov. 20--VCU PROJECTS PROVIDED SPARK FOR DOWNTOWN: Seventeen years ago, I started a journey that led, via a winding path, to my job here at The Times-Dispatch. In 1988, I decided to pursue a career in journalism....

New life, and faces, in Carver.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 20--Before Virginia Commonwealth University expanded, students rarely ventured north of West Broad Street into the Carver community. The area was too dangerous. Carver, benefiting from an infusion of public...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Minding Your Business column.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor Nov. 20--DON'T BE SORRY LATER, TAKE CREDIT-REPORT ACTION NOW: Sooner or later, your small business is going to need additional financing. More than likely, the lender will require you to personally guarantee the...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., American Trends column.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Gary Robertson Nov. 20--GOING DOWN THE ROAD IN LUXURY NEVER COST SO MUCH: Life on the road can become a life of luxury. That's because recreational vehicles are increasingly becoming rolling palaces. The industry term is...

Va. Power spokesman: Pittsburgh increases shouldn't concern Va.
November 19, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards Nov. 19--A sharp increase in the electricity rates of a Dominion Virginia Power affiliate in Pittsburgh should not concern Virginia electric customers, a utility spokesman says. But it's an indication that...

Glen Allen, Va.-based financial services firm appoints executive vice president.
November 19, 2005... Nov. 19--Dynex Capital Inc. said yesterday that Stephen J. Benedetti has been appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer. Benedetti was chief financial officer. Jeffrey L. Childress, controller, will assume the role...

Forum tries to chart path for region through 2010.
November 19, 2005... Nov. 19--A local crowd fired off hundreds of ideas for improving the region yesterday and heard facts challenging perceptions that Richmond is a crime capital. The Vision 20/10 Mid-Decade Update conference was billed as the community's...

Leadership program graduates its first class.
November 19, 2005... Nov. 19--A statewide leadership development program similar to Leadership Metro Richmond has graduated its first class. Thirty-nine business, government and civic leaders finished the inaugural Lead Virginia program yesterday after an...

Saxon Capital trims jobs.
November 19, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 19--Early this week, free soft drinks and bottled water were eliminated. Then, people were cut. Saxon Capital Inc., a Glen Allen-based mortgage company, declined yesterday to say how many people lost...

The Nouveau is here!
November 18, 2005... Byline: Linda Dunham Nov. 18--Say what you like about the French and their politics, they know how to celebrate a harvest. Yesterday was the third Thursday in November, and that means Beaujolais Nouveau was ready to be poured and...

Virginia holiday travel down, AAA says.
November 18, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones Nov. 18--For millions of Americans, Thanksgiving week means travel, turkey and football. For Phil Broyles, it means extra work. The president of Broyles Auto & Wrecker Service Inc. in Glen Allen often gets extra...

Infineon sets spinoff.
November 18, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 18--Nineteen months after announcing the expansion of its Henrico County factory, semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG said yesterday that it will spin off its struggling memory-chip unit. The...

Richmond survey.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner Nov. 17--Richmonders, it turns out, are a pretty optimistic lot, even compared with folks in other Southern cities. It's a cautious, careful brand of optimism. Six of 10 central Virginians hold a favorable view...

Wella job cuts ready to begin.
November 17, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 17--Wella Corp. is preparing to cut jobs at its Henrico County plant as the company moves toward closing the operation in 2006. The hair-products company announced in July 2004 that it would close its...

US Airways to drop a local Pennsylvania flight.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones Nov. 17--Richmond's Steel City connection will get a little thinner next year. US Airways said this week that it plans to drop 13 nonstop flights from Pittsburgh in January, including one a day to Richmond. ...

Anti-Wal-Mart film seeks wide DVD audience.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Daniel Neman Nov. 17--"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" is an unusual documentary, but what is really unusual is the way people are seeing it. Although it is showing in a few theaters in New York and Los Angeles, more...

Chapter 11 for Switch Beverage.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 17--The Switch Beverage Co., a Richmond-based firm with hopes of becoming a major player in the beverage industry nationwide, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. The company makes...

On this Thanksgiving, you can gobble cheaper.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards Nov. 17--Chew on this piece of good news: The ingredients for this year's Thanksgiving dinner could cost less than you paid a year ago. The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has checked with grocers around the...

Richmond, Va., financial services company Dynex reports loss in third quarter.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner Nov. 17--Richmond-area company Dynex Capital Inc. reported a third-quarter net loss and announced that it plans to redeem part of its preferred stock and buy back up to 1 million shares of its common stock. The...

Brink's to sell BAX Global.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones Nov. 17--The Brink's Co., known for armored cars and home security, is leaving the transportation business. In a move hailed by Wall Street analysts and bond-rating agencies, Richmond-based Brink's yesterday...

Virginia housing panel backs eminent domain bill.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards Nov. 16--The Virginia Housing Commission supported a change in state law yesterday to prevent the condemnation of private property solely for economic development. The legislation, to be introduced in the 2006...

Drucker's wide influence.
November 16, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 16--Even if you haven't read any of Peter Drucker's numerous books on management, you've probably been affected by his ideas in one way or another. Whenever executives, professors, and the press talk...

Henrico to get plans for farm.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Olympia Meola Nov. 16--A developer's signs in a Short Pump pasture once peppered with cows signal that plans are again in motion for the Henrico County farm. Unicorp National Developments Inc. has a contract to purchase the...

Tech centers to partner.
November 15, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 15--Virginia, meet England. England, Virginia. Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, a state-chartered group, signed an agreement yesterday with Kent County, England, to help promote small and...

Virginia panel advises on work force.
November 15, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards Nov. 15--Creating a work-force-training czar in the governor's office is the top proposal of a legislative panel seeking ways to tidy up Virginia's fragmented training system. In its final meeting yesterday, a...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Linda Dunham Nov. 14--ADVERTISING --Erin Potter has joined Barber Martin Advertising as a junior art director. --Jennifer Shelor has joined Lythos Inc. as a senior retouching artist. COMMUNICATIONS --Lisa...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Nov. 14--FARMER'S FOODS OPENS SOUTHSIDE PLAZA STORE: Johnny Farmer has eyed the Richmond area for a couple of years for his Farmer's Foods supermarkets. Now his grocery store is here -- opening last week at...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Trade Names column.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Andrew Price Nov. 14--Eryn Savoy was not just an owner of Mommy's Closet, she was a client. Savoy was pregnant with her daughter, Rebecca, when she and Traci Brossfield opened the store that specializes in discounted...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Decision Makers column.
November 14, 2005... Nov. 14--DANIEL C. GALLOWAY JR. --New position: information services manager, Richmond Police Department --Old position: senior consultant, Ciber Inc. --Birthplace: New York, N.Y. --Education: attended the University of...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Chip Jones column.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones Nov. 14--The dream of a new rail yard tied in with the Port of Richmond will be deferred for at least a year. But the port's director said last week that the project remains on the drawing board even though state...

The new town square.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 14--Jonathan Brown moved to Richmond three years ago and wondered what happened. "Richmond was sleepwalking;" said Brown, executive director of The Partnership for Workforce Homes, a nonprofit advocacy...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., American Trends column.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Gary Robertson Nov. 14--This is the whining season. No, not the aftermath of elections -- the whine of leaf blowers. This time of year, the decibel level in American neighborhoods jumps up as homeowners crank them up. ...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor Nov. 13--THERMAL-PAPER RECEIPTS CAN BE SAFEGUARDED BEFORE THEY FADE: Marshall Johnson of Mechanicsville complains that many retailers print receipts on thermal paper. The problem is, over time, the ink fades and...

Rash of hospital projects in area.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Tammie Smith Nov. 13--Nearly a half-billion dollars' worth of new hospital space, free-standing imaging centers and other health-care-related projects are under construction or planned for the Richmond area. The developments...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner Nov. 13--OIL COMPANIES' PROFITS NOT INDICATIVE OF GREED: We've been hearing a lot about profit these days. It is, quite frequently, characterized as something obscene or excessive. Perhaps, but profit is also...

Condo developer hopes to tap into revitalization of Fan District street.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan Nov. 12--Mike Fowler is taking a gamble on West Grace Street. Yet he believes his attempt will pay off. His development company bought an aging apartment building at the northeast corner of Allison and...

Creativity finds audience: Conference examines imagination and problem-solving.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner Nov. 12--Behind the narrow frames of his eyeglasses, Andy Stefanovich stood wide-eyed. "This is an amazing crowd for 9:30 on a Friday morning in Richmond, Virginia," said Stefanovich, founder of Play, the local...

Jefferson Hotel keeps 5-diamond rank from AAA.
November 12, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 12--Two of Virginia's most elite lodgings -- The Jefferson Hotel and The Inn at Little Washington -- have kept their best-of-the-best rankings from AAA. The automobile organization yesterday gave its...

Law firm to anchor row site.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 12--Hirschler Fleischer has signed a 10-year lease to be the anchor in the Edgeworth Building, a historic renovation project in Shockoe Bottom. The building, vacant for years, will be the first designed for...

Richmond, Va.-based packaging firm break even in the third quarter.
November 11, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 11--Richmond-based Chesapeake Corp. said yesterday that it broke even in the third quarter, as results were hurt by severance costs and early debt reduction. The specialty packaging company reported...

Firm picks new CEO, reveals cutbacks.
November 11, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell Nov. 11--Chesapeake Corp. has named a new chief executive officer and is planning a cost-cutting program that could include closing plants and eliminating jobs. Shares dropped almost 15 percent on the New...

Energy proposal may curb local authority.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards Nov. 10--Virginia local governments would lose zoning and land-use authority over designated sites for wind farms, nuclear plants and other low-emission energy facilities under a proposal being studied by a...

Bank to get new chairman.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard Nov. 10--Joseph L. Williams Jr., a business owner from West Virginia, will be introduced tonight to shareholders as the new chairman of the board of Consolidated Bank & Trust Co. Williams serves on the board of...

Cavalier Telephone now offers television service.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley Nov. 10--Cavalier Telephone is a misnomer. The Richmond-based company already offers high-speed Internet. Today, it starts taking orders for television service. Cavalier Broadband TV will thrust the firm...

Appalachian Power gets rate increase approved.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards Nov. 10--Appalachian Power Co. has received approval from state regulators to raise the fuel portion of consumer electric rates on Jan. 1, increasing the bill for a typical residential customer 6.2 percent. ...