WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 10/03/00

[7-11Power-Line]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=00-36 TC47:22]
[GRAPHIC=AEP Powerline]

A hearing examiner with the State Corporation Commission has made a recommendation concerning American Electric Power's proposed high voltage power line, saying the company's current system is seriously overloaded and the only alternative is a new line.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co./File Tape;]

Judge Howard Anderson, Junior, seen here touring the New River, says the least environmentally damaging route is the shorter of the two routes proposed by A-E-P.
That 57 mile route would run from Tazewell County to Jacksons Ferry in Wythe County.
An A-E-P spokesman says the company is cautiously optimistic.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 00:43:41]
[IN Q=We are]
((TODD BURNS/AEP SPOKESMAN: WE ARE ENCOURAGED WITH THE RECOMMENDATION BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THIS ISN'T THE FINAL HURDLE FOR THE COMPANY TO GO THROUGH.))
[SUPER=01-Todd Burns/AEP Spokesman;]
[RUNS=07]
[OUT Q=to go through.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Wythe Co./File Tape;]

Judge Anderson's decision serves as a recommendation for the S-C-C which is expected to make a final decision later this year.
Three other federal agencies must also approve the project.
(-------------)

[7-11Line-Reaction]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-34 TC42:57]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
But the proposed corrider could affect 18 families.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Wythe Co.;]

Debbie and Dane Little's Wythe County "dream house" is one of them.
They moved here from California and built the house four years ago because of the scenery.
Last year, they found out their home was directly in the path of the 765-kilovolt line.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:16:15 - :31]
[IN Q=We'll have an]
((DEBBIE LITTLE: WE'LL HAVE A 180-FOOT TOWER... NOT A RISK I'D TAKE WITH MY CHILDREN.))
[SUPER=01-Debbie Little/Powerline Opponent]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=with my children.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The family says a powerline running next to their home will reduce its value by about 80 percent.
They're hoping A-E-P will pay them the full value of their property so they can move.
But they say current eminent domain laws in the state are NOT on their side.
(------------)

[7-11Gay]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM cutins]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-28; TC 1:59:04]
[GRAPHIC=Ronald Gay]
Additional charges have been filed against the man accused of the Backstreet shooting.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Week]
Ronald Edward Gay is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Danny Lee Overstreet. Yesterday a city grand jury returned a 13-count indictment against Gay. It includes six counts of aggravated malicious wounding, six counts of "use of a firearm" and one count of discharging a firearm within an occupied building.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=HOLD]
Gay could be sentenced to seven life terms plus 40-some years in prison if found guilty on all charges.

[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny/Very Warm/85-88/Mostly Clear/Light Winds/58-60]
[SUPER=#555; RESET]
[ESS C] (EXTENDED)

[45-11Pipeline]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=00-39 TC26:23]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Opponents of a new natural gas pipleline will meet tonight to discuss Virginia Gas plans to build a the line through Roanoke and Montgomery counties. The compnay favors the plan over an offer from another company to share an existing easement.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

In a letter to Duke Energy, Virginia Gas president Michael Edwards says co-locating a pipeline with an existing easement would create a number of major problems.
It would violate the company's agreement with Roanoke Gas.
A co-located line would not ensure additional capacity or increased reliability for the area.
It would also require a new compressor station in Montgomery County which would affect residents.
Virginia Gas's new pipeline already has federal approval, while a co-located line would have to go through the process again.
And Edwards also noted construction over an existing line could be dangerous.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./File Tape]

The proposed line would affect more than 350 families.
Edwards says that's 100 fewer land owners than would be affected by a co-located line.
Opponents say Edwards' arguments are not supportable.
They'll hold a meeting tonight at 7 at the Brambleton Center in Roanoke County.
(------------)

[45-11Wiley-Drive]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM cutins]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-29]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The planned reopening of Wiley Drive - which runs through Roanoke's Smith Park - has hit some speed bumps. The road has been closed for nearly two years while a new sewer line was being installed. In June, city officials said they'd spend more than 200-thousand dollars on measures to slow traffic through the area.

(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
But some Roanoke residents are urging city council to keep the road closed to cars, saying they will disrupt the park's natural beauty - and pose a threat to the people who use the park daily.
[SOT @ 3:56:00 - 3:56:06]
[IN Q=Opening the...]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
((AMY BEARD/OPPOSED TO RE-OPENING WILEY DRIVE: OPENING THE ROAD WILL DESTROY THE TRANQUILITY OF THE PARK. IT WILL MAKE IT DANGEROUS FOR PEDESTRIANS, BIKERS, FISHERMEN...))
[SUPER=07-Amy Beard]
[OUT Q= fishermen.]
[RUNS=:06]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Several people spoke out at Monday's council meeting in favor of re-opening Wiley Drive, saying it's a convenient shortcut for commuters, and that the elderly and disabled need the road for access to Smith Park.
[SOT @ 3:50:28 - 3:50:39]
[IN Q= I think the idea...]
((JAMES ARMSTRONG/FOR RE-OPENING WILEY DRIVE: I THINK THE IDEA THAT THIS URBAN PARK IS AVAILABLE FOR DRIVERS TO ENJOY, AS WELL AS THE PEDESTRIANS AND RUNNERS IS AN ENORMOUS ADVANTAGE.))
[SUPER=07-James Armstrong]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=advantage.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=none]
City Council voted unanimously to refer the issue to the City Manager. She'll examine both sides of the issue and report back to council.

[45WEATHER]

[8-11Washington-Pardon]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=00-43 TC02:57]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A former death row inmate is no longer blamed for an 18-year old murder thanks to a D-N-A test inspired pardon.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Earl Washington, Junior, was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1982 Culpeper slaying of a 19-year-old woman.
The sentence was later commuted to life in prison.
[SUPER=@file]

Governor Gilmore said D-N-A tests showed that evidence taken from the victim's body did not come from Washington.

He will continue to serve a 30-year sentence for beating a 73-year-old woman, burglarizing her home and shooting her brother in 1983.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=None]

The D-N-A tests from the 1982 case identified semen on a blanket found at the crime scene as that of a convicted rapist.
The Governor has ordered state police to reopen the investigation.

[8-11New-Cigarette]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-32 TC1:09:04]
[GRAPHIC=tobacco]

Virginia tobacco farmers are benefitting from a controversial new kind of cigarette
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chester;]

The "Advance" cigarette rolled out yesterday in test markets in Richmond and Kentucky.
It's made by Chester, Virginia-based Star Scientific -- with a new curing process that removes some of the chemicals known to cause cancer.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 16:12:43]
[IN Q=We want to]
((PAUL PERITO/STAR SCIENTIFIC: WE WANT TO START A RACE TO THE BOTTOM: THE LOWEST POSSIBLE LEVELS OF TOXINS.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Perito/Star Scientific;]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=of toxins.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Last week, R-J Reynolds released test data showing the tobacco causes just as many DNA mutations in bacteria as the traditional curing process.
But Virginia growers are selling almost 30 percent of their quota to Star Scientific this year, partly because money talks.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We're paying]
[sot TAPE TWO 01:12;43]
((JIM JENNINGS/STAR SCIENTIFIC GROWER RELATIONS: WE'RE PAYING THE FARMER A 25 CENT PER POUND PREMIUM OVER AND ABOVE THE MARKET.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Jennings/Star Scientific;]
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=above the market.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The company is clearly trying to avoid the lawsuit -- and develop a market for its future smoking cessation products.
The Advance label itself says "smoking-related diseases can kill you," and "there is no such thing as a safe cigarette."
(------------)

[8-11Backstreet-Cafe]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-35 TC40:23]
[GRAPHIC=Backstreet cafe]
More than a week after a deadly shooting at the Backstreet Cafe, the Roanoke night spot is once again open.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
The manager of Backstreet Cafe, Alan Blankenship, wouldn't allow T-V cameras inside, saying he wants to keep the bar's first night open private. But he says the bar's carpet has been replaced and the walls repainted. Additional lighting and a metal detector have also been installed near the front door.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=HOLD]
The Backstreet Cafe has been open in Roanoke for 22 years. Blankenship says in that time, there were no problems at the gay bar prior to the September 22nd shooting.