Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 17, 1993 TAG: 9311170092
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND - Gov. Douglas Wilder on Tuesday requested federal drought disaster declarations for Culpeper, Henrico and Nottoway counties, bringing to 49 the number of Virginia localities seeking the aid.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy has granted disaster designation for 32 localities and the rest are awaiting action. The declaration makes them eligible for low-interest loans.
The 49 localities suffered about $170 million in crop losses from the summer's dry weather. - Associated Press
\ Small repair shop wins suit against TV show
ALEXANDRIA - A small repair company which said it was defamed in a segment of ABC's news magazine program "PrimeTime Live" has been awarded $1 in damages.
A U.S. District Court jury deliberated more than two days before granting the award Monday to High Technology Electronic Services of Falls Church.
The jury also told ABC to delete portions of the segment dealing with High Tech if it reruns the program. And it told ABC to "take another look at PrimeTime's goals and objectives."
Posing as a customer, an ABC producer took an intentionally disabled compact disc player to a repair shop affiliated with High Tech and taped repairmen with a hidden camera.
High Tech replaced what it said was a defective laser, and charged $224. The real problem was a plug that the producers had disconnected in advance. That repair job should have cost a few dollars.
During the five-day trial, High Tech said the expensive repair job was simply an honest mistake on its part. Company representatives and other expert witnesses testified that replacing the laser was proper, based on standard repair techniques. ABC disputed this, saying the flaw was obvious. - Associated Press
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.