Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long
Officials attributed the move to sporadic rainstorms during the weekend that eased the problem, although they said tap water may still taste a little brackish.
By Tuesday, chloride levels had dropped to 152 milligrams per liter, down from 455 milligrams last week and well below the 250 milligrams-per-liter ``taste threshold'' standard for saltiness.
The sodium level was 76 milligrams per liter. Last week, sodium was at 218 milligrams, prompting health concerns for people on low-sodium diets.
The restrictions kept residents from sprinkling lawns and using hoses to wash cars and fill swimming pools.
The city draws its water from the Northwest River.
- Associated Press
Concert facility near Manassas OK'd
GAINESVILLE - The Prince William County Board of Supervisors has approved a concert producer's application to build a 21,000-seat amphitheater west of Manassas along Interstate 66.
The supervisors voted 5-1 Tuesday to approve two applications filed earlier this year by Alexandria-based Cellar Door Inc. to rezone 89 acres on an industrial site in western Prince William County.
The $13 million Cellar Door Pavilion calls for an outdoor arena three times as large as Wolf Trap Farm Park near Reston. It would draw about 450,000 visitors a year after it opens in May 1995, Cellar Door officials said.
The $9 million amphitheater will feature country, rock and pop acts less staid than those that typically perform at Wolf Trap, said David Williams, Cellar Door's chief operating officer. Cellar Door predicts activity on 45 nights between May and October.
Before the vote, the board heard opponents testify that traffic the facility would bring could overwhelm local roads. Critics warned that the Disney's America project near Haymarket and another proposal, to build a horse racing track nearby, were the makings of a traffic disaster.
Cellar Door attorney John Foote dismissed the reports about traffic problems, saying they were offered to create confusion and delay.
The company has agreed to provide land for widening a road that runs past the amphitheater, and to pay for police to direct traffic on concert nights, Foote said.
- Associated Press
Councilman enters drug rehabilitation
RICHMOND - Chuck Richardson, a longtime Richmond city councilman, announced Wednesday he was entering a drug rehabilitation program for help with his heroin addiction.
``A painful journey that began during my tour of duty in Vietnam, I have found to be a journey not yet complete,'' Richardson said at a news conference.
Richardson, first elected in 1977, is the longest-serving member of the Richmond City Council.
He has a history of drug-related problems. Richardson was arrested in 1987 and charged with possession of heroin, cocaine and drug paraphernalia. After a plea bargain, he was fined and ordered to undergo treatment.
Four of the city's nine council members attended the press conference to voice their support of Richardson.
Richardson did not say where he would seek treatment or how long he would be absent from the council.
- Associated Press
Student stabs ODU instructor
NORFOLK - A part-time Old Dominion University student was charged with malicious wounding after stabbing a calculus instructor during class Wednesday.
Witnesses said Shaheen Malkamy, 21, was sitting in the front row of the class as Carl Panetta was asking if there were any questions about a math problem he had just explained.
Students said that Malkamy leaped from his seat and plunged a knife into Panetta's shoulder. After the attack, Malkamy dropped the knife and stood silently staring at the teacher, according to students.
``We couldn't believe it; everybody thought it was a joke at first, until we saw blood start gushing. Then we all hurried up and got out of there,'' Kevin McCaskill said.
Malkamy was arrested by campus police shortly after the 10:30 a.m. attack. Panetta was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital where doctors used 12 stitches to close the wound in his left shoulder. Panetta was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, according to hospital officials.
Police said they had no motive for the attack.
- Associated Press
Rappahannock protection urged
A federal report that emphasizes the importance of Rappahannock River wetlands could make it easier to get congressional funding for a proposed wildlife refuge along the river.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a draft environmental assessment for the proposed refuge Tuesday. The refuge had been omitted from the House Appropriations Committee's 1995 budget plan.
The proposal now goes to the Senate for review and could be funded when both houses of Congress reconcile their budgets in September, proponents said. The service wants to protect up to 20,000 acres along the undeveloped lower Rappahannock River through real estate purchases and conservation easements with landowners.
The report said the river corridor is one of the most important wintering grounds for migratory ducks, geese and swans in Virginia, and that the river valley contains the largest winter concentrations of bald eagles on the East Coast.
- Associated Press
by CNB