THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609190537
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 47 lines
Virginia's State Corporation Commission said Wednesday that it will hold several public hearings to resolve differences between the companies that want to provide competing local phone service in the state and the companies, principally Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., that now provide it. Under federal rules ushering in local-exchange competition, such disputes are to be settled by year's end. The hearings will begin Oct. 10 and conclude Dec. 10. Among the challengers requesting hearings are AT&T Corp., MCI Communications Corp. and Cox Communications Inc. (Staff) Richfood to purchase produce distributor
Richmond-based Richfood Holdings Inc. said it signed a letter of intent to acquire Norristown Wholesale Inc., a $120 million food distributor. Norristown Wholesale, a suburban Philadelphia company, supplies fruits and vegetables to more than 400 supermarkets in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Richfood offers dry goods, frozen foods and dairy products in the region - but not fresh produce. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Richfood said it expects to employ all of Norristown's current workers. distributor on the East Coast and fourth largest in the United States. (Staff) July U.S. trade deficit reaches eight-year high
The trade deficit swelled to $11.7 billion in July as a surge in Japanese auto imports, Chinese toys and foreign oil pushed the U.S. trade imbalance to its highest level in more than eight years. The Commerce Department said Wednesday the July deficit was a sharp 43 percent higher than the June imbalance of $8.2 billion. It left the trade deficit running at an annual rate of $109.6 billion, higher than last year's deficit of $105.1 billion, the worst showing in seven years. (AP) Longshoremen union employers reach pact
The International Longshoremen's Association and waterfront employers said they tentatively agreed to a five-year master contract for the operation of containerships and roll-on/roll-off ships at seaports along the East and Gulf coasts. The proposed contract, which must be ratified by the ILA's members, is the longest that two sides have negotiated. The ILA's current contract expires Sept. 30. Negotiators in Hampton Roads and other ILA ports still must address local contract issues, including pension benefits and work rules for non-containerized cargo. In Hampton Roads, the ILA represents about 2,000 longshoremen. (Staff) by CNB