ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 25, 1996 TAG: 9608260069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
Suit: Nader a proper write-in candidate
RICHMOND - The Green Party of Virginia sued the state in an effort to make it legal to write in the name of Ralph Nader for president.
Virginia is one of four states that bar write-in votes for president, said Peter Robinson, the secretary of the party.
Virginia law permits write-ins in all elections except primaries and presidential contests.
Election officials say the distinction is made for presidential races because voters are actually choosing 13 electors who have agreed to support a candidate rather than the candidate.
The lawsuit filed in Richmond Circuit Court on Friday argues that the write-in ban violates the Virginia constitution, which requires that provisions be made to cast votes for persons other than the listed candidates in all elections other than primaries.
Matthew D. Pethybridge of Blacksburg, the party's attorney, said he will ask Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr. for a prompt hearing.
- Associated Press
Teens suspected of vandalism
RICHMOND - Police say they will charge two teen-agers with painting racial and satanic graffiti at a Henrico County park and nearby black church.
The youths, ages 16 and 17, live near Dunncroft-Castle Point Park, which was defaced Aug. 10, police said. The nearby Mount Vernon Baptist Church also was vandalized. Their names were not released because they are juveniles.
The teens will be charged with felony vandalism and ``placing a swastika on a place of worship,'' said Henrico police Sgt. Bob Loving.
The youths are suspected of using spray paint and marking pens to deface park benches, signs, playground equipment and a picnic shelter building at the park.
Police said the youths, who are white, used racial slurs that included derogatory references to blacks and to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
They also painted phrases such as ``white power,'' ``white pride'' and ``skinheads unite'' along with Nazi swastikas and the number 666.
Damage to the park, which had to be temporarily closed, was estimated at $1,300.
- Associated Press
Computer chip plant water plan criticized
MANASSAS - Northern Virginia officials say a plan for disposing of water from a computer chip factory being built in Manassas would pollute drinking water supplies.
They are urging Dominion Semiconductor and the city of Manassas to come up with new strategies for cleaning the 2.3 million gallons of water that the plant will use every day before returning it to reservoirs that provide drinking water to 500,000 people.
Especially troublesome is evidence that the company's plans would raise levels of sodium ``way over the limits,'' Fairfax Water Authority Chairman Fred C. Morin said Friday. ``We don't want to have to notify the public that there's any taint to their water at all.''
``This raises not only concern but possible crisis if this facility is allowed to go forward and we do not find a way to reduce the levels of sodium,'' said Fairfax Supervisor Gerald W. Hyland. ``This project is a win-win, but economic development at the expense of safe drinking water is totally unacceptable.''
Increased sodium in drinking water would pose problems for people who have high blood pressure, heart trouble or are on a low-salt diet.
A Dominion Semiconductor spokesman promised the firm would work with state and local officials to make sure that the water is safe.
Dominion Semiconductor is a joint venture of IBM and Toshiba that is scheduled to start building 64-megabit memory chips in late 1997.
- Associated Press
Teen-ager shot; cousin questioned
MANASSAS - An 11-year-old Prince William County boy shot and seriously wounded his 13-year-old cousin, police said.
The victim suffered wounds to his left arm and abdomen in the Friday morning shooting and was in serious condition at a hospital. There were no adults at home at the time, police said.
Prince William police interviewed the 13-year-old and were still investigating whether to charge anyone in the shooting, police spokeswoman Kim Chinn said. Allowing a child access to a firearm is a misdemeanor.
Police did not identify the children because they are juveniles.
Police said the two boys were arguing before the shooting. The 13-year-old wrapped a towel around his wounded arm and ran out of the apartment toward the building's pool, Chinn said.
- Associated Press
OTB supporters say issue ready for vote
MANASSAS PARK - Officials say proponents of a proposed off-track betting parlor have enough signatures on petitions to get the matter on the Nov. 5 ballot.
David Mabie, Prince William Circuit Court clerk, said Thursday the petition organizers had gathered the required 105 signatures of Manassas Park registered voters. The organizers needed to gather signatures from 5 percent of the city's registered voters 60 days prior to the election, he said.
The state's first pari-mutuel track, Colonial Downs, is under construction in New Kent County. The track is proposing to invest between $2 million and $3 million to build the off-track parlor, said Peter Johns, a leader of the petition drive and Colonial Downs consultant.
The OTB could generate more than $500,000 a year in revenues for Manassas Park, through taxes on admissions, real estate, meals and other levies, according to Johns and City Manager Frank McDonough.
The off-track parlor would be on a six-acre lot near a commuter rail station, McDonough said. The land, valued at approximately $500,000, is owned by the city.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENT HORSE RACINGby CNB