THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 84 lines
Beach Ford, a Virginia Beach-based automobile dealership, opened a mega-repair center on Thursday. The dealer, which outgrew its home off Virginia Beach Boulevard, built the 30,200-square-foot facility off Central Drive near Lynnhaven Mall. The collision repair center is designed to incorporate computer technology in everything from matching chipped paint to diagnosing a sputtering engine. The company has enough room on the new property to double the size of the center. (Staff) Richmond radio group sells to Manhattan giant
Richmond's largest locally owned radio group will sell a majority interest to Manhattan-based radio giant SFX Broadcasting Inc. for $37.5 million. ABS Communications L.L.C. President Kenneth A. Brown said he will continue to oversee operations at the stations he owns, plus adult hits station WMXB-FM, acquired by SFX earlier this year. ABS, a privately held company Brown formed in 1984, owns country station WKHK-FM and alternative rock WBZU-FM. It is also awaiting Federal Communications Commission approval of a $14.5 million deal signed in June for classic hits station WLEE-FM and oldies station WVGO-FM. (AP) ValueJet Airlines loses gate lease in Chicago
ValuJet Airlines, which had to postpone plans to resume operations this week, is losing its gate lease at Chicago's Midway Airport. The lease is being canceled by the city of Chicago's Aviation Department and likely ensures the Windy City won't be one of the places ValuJet serves when it starts flying again. The carrier, grounded since June, already has lost or given up leases at several airports, including Dallas and Boston. It also has relinquished landing ``slots'' at New York's La Guardia airport. (Cox News Service) James River sells plastics packaging unit
James River Corp. said it received $372 million in cash from the sale of its plastics-packaging unit to closely held Printpack Inc. The company said it expects to record a gain of 15 to 20 cents a share in the third-quarter as a result of the sale. James River, the Richmond-based maker of Quilted Northern bathroom tissue, Brawny paper towels and Dixie cups, first put its Flexible Packaging unit up for sale in December and announced its sale in April. The sale included 10 facilities located in the United States and Mexico, which employ 2,200 people and generated 1995 revenue of about $490 million. (Bloomberg Business News) Buy airline tickets now for trips this year
Travelers who want to save money on airline trips this year should purchase their tickets by Monday. Tucked into legislation raising the minimum wage is a provision reinstating the 10 percent excise tax on domestic passenger flights as well as the $6-per-ticket tax on international departures. It takes effect for tickets purchased seven days after the enactment, which occurred Tuesday with President Clinton's signature. The 10 percent ticket tax and other aviation taxes lapsed on Jan. 1. Accountants say air travelers can save money on flights in 1996 by purchasing their tickets before the tax is reinstated. (AP) Automakers want air bags with less force
The Big Three automakers are proposing changes in government test standards that would allow them to install air bags that inflate less forcefully, industry officials said Thursday. Twenty-four children and 19 adults have been killed by deploying air bags since the mid-1980s, according to government statistics. Those deaths combined with injuries from air bags and the rapid growth in the number of vehicles with air bags have prompted the automakers to propose reducing the force with which air bags inflate, the officials said. (AP) Gannett sells outdoor division
Gannett Co. said Thursday it completed the sale of its billboard-advertising division to Outdoor Systems Inc. for about $710 million. Outdoor Systems provides billboard services in nine states in the South and elsewhere, while the operations it bought from Gannett are located largely in the Midwest, Northeast, and Canada. Gannett, based in Arlington, agreed in July to sell its outdoor division to Phoenix-based Outdoor Systems. The Justice Department approved the sale last week. (Dow Jones News) by CNB