WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 09/06/04

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[VO-NAT]

Hurricane Frances spent days battering Southern Florida.
Now the storm's making a second landfall and heading north, dumping inches of rain as it goes.
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[ANCHOR=Jean]
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Good evening, I'm Jean Jadhon. Keith and Shannon are off tonight.
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People in Florida's panhandle are riding out the tropical storm's heavy rain and 65 mile an hour winds.
The storm is moving north- where steps are already underway to prepare. In North Carolina, the governor's activated the national guard - forecasters are calling for four to six inches of rain there.
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Will this storm hit this region? Let's head over to meteorologist Robin Reed.
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[SS=NONE]WEATHER CENTER Position #1

[***** NOTE CHANGE IN LINEUP]
[SKYTRACKER/FULL]RADAR PICTURES
[WxBUG/FULL]RAIN TOTALS IN FLA
[WXPRO/FULL]RAIN POTENTIAL

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(Toss to Jean)

[Storm-Cleanup]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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Disaster relief centers have been set-up in the Richmond area today to help the victims of last week's flooding.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/August 30]

The Governor says Tropical Storm Gaston (gass-TAHN) left behind millions of dollars in damage. Clean-up could take weeks or months because some residents are still recovering from last summer's Hurricane Isabel. Eastern Virginia will get federal assistance.
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[SOT15:51:13]
[IN Q=We got the federal disaster declaration]
((WE GOT THE FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARATION ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON LATE THAT MEETS THERE ARE DIRECT GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR HOMES AND BUSINESSES))
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[OUT Q=for homes and businesses]
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Warner says he's still waiting for Presidential action on public assistance that can be used to repair roads.
He is hopeful downtown Richmond will rebound in the next couple of weeks. Warner says some business have already started re-opening.
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[Elections]

[ANCHOR=Joy]
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The Presidential election took center stage in Buena Vista today -- but the race for Virginian's next Governor isn't far behind.
As Joy Sutton reports --two likely candidates are already making their bids clear.
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[IN Q=Buena Vista's yearly Labor]
[SUPER=03-Buena Vista; 00]
[SUPER=@Kaine; 20]
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Buena Vista's yearly Labor Day parade wouldn't be complete without all the fan fare and of course the politicians. The Governor's race may be more than a year away -- but potential candidates like Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine --know the time to start campaigning is now.
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[SOT15:43:05]
[IN Q=I'm not being coy about it]
((I'M NOT BEING COY ABOUT IT I'M DEFINITELY RUNNING AND I'VE BEEN OPEN ABOUT FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEAR BUT THE NEXT 60 DAYS I HAVE ANOTHER THING A MIND )) [RUNS07]
[OUT Q=another thing on my mind]

And of course that's the presidential election. It also has Attorney General Jerry Kilgore tied up at the moment as the head of the Bush campaign in Virginia. But come November he'll be switching gears as well.
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[SOT15:53:25]
[IN Q=I don' think anyone will be suprised at my]
((I DON'T THINK ANYONE WILL BE SURPRISED AT MY ANNOUNCEMENT COME NOVEMBER. BUT WE'LL GET TO THAT RACE WHEN WE FINISH THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE)) [RUNS10]
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[nat sot of campaigners]
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Democrats believe for the first time in 40 years they may have a chance at winning the state in the presidential election.
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[IN Q=But now it's a close state]
((KAINE: BUT NOW IT'S A CLOSE STATE AND JOHN KERRY IS RUNNING VERY COMPETITIVE IT'S GOING TO BE BARE NICKELS FOR THE NEXT 60 DAYS 17 AND REALLY TOUGH BUT WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AS A DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN VA )) [RUNS09]
[OUT Q=democrate party in Virginia ]

But Republicans believe their National Convention last week tipped the scales in President Bush's favor.
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[SOT15:49:186]
[IN Q=Virginia is no longer considers]
((KILGORE: VA IS NO LONGER CONSIDERED A BATTLE GROUND. I THINK COMING OUT OF THE CONVENTION EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT WE HAVE THE MOMENTUM 01 JOHN KERRY HAD THE CHANCE TO BUY MORE ADS IN VA HE CHOSE NOT TO. I THINK HE UNDERSTANDS HE IS NOT GOING TO CARRY VA)) [RUNS16]
[OUT Q=going to carry Virginia]

Governor Mark Warner has some advice for both candidates.
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[SOT15:49:18]
[IN Q=I hope both campaigns]
((I HOPE BOTH CAMPAIGNS GET BACK TO VISIONS WHERE THEY HOPE TAKE AMERICA AS OPPOSED TO THE TYPE OF NEGATIVE ATTACKS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON ON BOTH SIDES 31 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES OWE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHERE THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE HEADED )) [RUNS11]
[OUT Q=to deal with healht care]
So it will most likely be a battle to the finish -- with one election right around the corner --and another likely to start heating up in the next few months. Joy Sutton, News 7 Buena Vista.))

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
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Coming up tonight on News 7 sports UVa loses one of its top receivers to a broken collarbone. The Avs and Hillcats end their season in wash -
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[VO-NAT]

and last night's late night action in California has tightened up the Chase for the Cup heading into Richmond this weekend.
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[S-ACC]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
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Tonight was supposed to mark the big kick-off of the new ACC's inaugural season with Florida State and Miami hooking up in the Orange Bowl. As you know by now, that game was postponed until this Friday due to Hurricane Frances. The Seminoles practiced today inside due to all the weather problems in Tallahassee.
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And their veteran coach Bobby Bowden has even more serious concerns tonight. One of his grandsons and his former son-in-law were killed yesterday in Florida when their car was hit a by a utility truck that was helping to restore power outages caused by Hurricane Frances. The two were killed instantly in the crash that occurred on Interstate 10 in Qunicy, Florida.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville; :00]
Meanwhile, UVa will have to play the next four to six weeks without wide receiver Fontell Mines. The six foot four inch sophomore from Richmond broke his collarbone against Temple and could miss up to two months. Ironically, Mines caught his first pass as college player for a touchdown last year against North Carolina - this coming Saturday's opponent for the Cavaliers.
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[S-Tech]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
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Virginia Tech's home opener this Saturday against Western Michigan is right on the verge of being a complete sellout. Tech officials say they have less than two thousand tickets for the one o'clock kickoff. The game will NOT be televised.

[S-Avs]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
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The Salem Avalanche and Lynchburg Hillcats closed out their seasons this afternoon with a rainout. The final game of the Carolina League season was called off at two this afternoon. The dreary conditions were somewhat appropriate considering that both team ended up in last place in their respective divisions in the second half of the season.