DATE: Tuesday, August 26, 1997              TAG: 9708260316

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   67 lines

LOCAL SCENE

VIRGINIA BEACH

SLATTUM AND HUGHES JOIN FIRST COASTAL BANK AND MORTGAGE COMPANIES: Keith B. Slattum was promoted to first vice president of First Coastal Bank. He is the retail banking director with primary responsibility of overseeing all of the branches in Hampton Roads. Prior to joining First Coastal in 1993, he was an assistant vice president with First Union Bank. Michael F. Hughes was named a senior loan officer for First Coastal Mortgage Corp., a subsidiary of First Coastal Bank. He was a loan officer with Norwest Mortgage.

STORE OF KNOWLEDGE TO OPEN AT LYNNHAVEN MALL: WHRO Public Broadcasting and the Los Angeles-based Store of Knowledge Inc. will open the WHRO Store of Knowledge, a store featuring items spanning more than 50 subjects from science and history to cooking and gardening. The store will open the week of Sept. 15 and will be in the center court, next to Eddie Bauer at Lynnhaven Mall. A grand opening is planned for Oct. 5. Store of Knowledge operates a retail chain affiliated with more than 20 public television stations around the country.

HAMPTON ROADS

TRANSPORTATION BOARD FUNDS RAIL-IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS: Three railroads from southeast Virginia received special rail preservation funds from the state at the Commonwealth Transportation Board's meeting last week. Commonwealth Railway Inc. in Suffolk received a $118,000 grant to make various repairs to 16.5 miles of track. The grant will fund track leveling and a new runaround track to help switch cars. Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad Co. in Chesapeake will use $63,000 to rebuild the lift mechanism at the Chesapeake and Albemarle canal railroad bridge in Chesapeake. And the North Carolina and Virginia Railroad Co. in Southampton County received $46,000 for upgrading rail and extending its runaround line. Heavier rails will be installed on approximately 1,900 track feet. The railroad will also add 600 feet to its line used for switching cars between trains.

NEWPORT NEWS

AIRPORT RECEIVES $1.6 MILLION IN GRANTS FROM STATE AVIATION BOARD: The Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport received $1.6 million of matching grant funds from the Virginia Aviation Board. Grant funds were approved for a new airport access road, ramps and taxiways for Phase I of Aviation Research Park, wetlands mitigation, airfield lighting improvements and perimeter fencing.

ARTS CENTER APPOINTS GARDNER AS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: The Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News appointed Courtney Gardner as development director. She served as programs support technician for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission's permit compliance grant.

VIRGINIA

CANADIAN RAILROAD SEEKS MORE CONCESSIONS: Canadian Pacific Ltd. is seeking even more concessions throughout the Northeast as the cost of its standing aside to let CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. split Conrail Inc. The Canadian railroad holding company had reached a deal in May with Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern to enhance its service in the Northeast, but that apparently was not enough. A Canadian Pacific spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that it wants increased access for its trains to the New York City area, as well as Philadelphia and Baltimore, areas not covered by its deal with Norfolk Southern. Canadian Pacific projects its Northeastern U.S. subsidiary will lose 40 percent of its $100 million in annual revenue if the Conrail breakup proceeds. Canadian Pacific may be posturing to get a deal with Richmond-based CSX and/or it may want more from Norfolk Southern. A Norfolk Southern spokesman said the railroad has a continuing ``dialogue'' with Canadian Pacific, but ``we think the (Conrail) deal is pro-competitive as it is structured.'' ILLUSTRATION: Slattum

Hughes

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