Briefs
Local and VCU
New floating restaurant venture sunk after Irene
Mallory was sitting at the bottom of the James River on Tuesday, a 74-foot-long casualty of Hurricane Irene.
Mike Britt and his wife, Jennifer, devoted seven months to restoring a boat into a floating restaurant. They named their new venture Mallory, after Mallory Square, one of Britt’s favorite spots to watch the sunsets in Key West, Fla., and they moored their craft at Richmond’s Intermediate Terminal.
The city’s newest dining experience, a floating eatery that can accommodate about 90 people and had 17 tables on an outdoor upper deck and another 13 in an enclosed cabin below, was to have opened today.
Then came Irene.
The metal frame for an awning that covered the top deck protruded through the surface of the creamy brown water. Just below the water’s surface, the tables on the outdoor deck were still visible, neatly arranged for an opening that was derailed four days before scheduled.
Britt said he moved the boat Friday afternoon about 200 feet west from what was to have been its permanent mooring to what appeared to be a safer spot along the river wall, hopeful that the craft would be better protected from the storm. But when he returned Sunday morning and walked onto the dock, all he saw was the awning’s frame sticking up out of the water.
He and his wife were excited about the prospect of a floating restaurant to serve the area’s growing population. They even talked about possibly taking Mallory out for dinner cruises in the future.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Aftershocks still felt in Louisa County
Two more aftershocks rattled Louisa County on Monday night, nearly one week after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake caused tens of millions of dollars of damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 2.2-magnitude quake at 7:39 p.m. Monday, 3 miles south southwest of Mineral, and a 2.6 at 11:48 p.m., 6 miles south southwest of Mineral.
The latest two temblors came on the heels of five aftershocks that hit Louisa in an eight-hour span that ended early Monday.
Aftershocks have been frequent in the county since Tuesday’s 5.8 quake that damaged hundreds of homes and other structures in Louisa. Authorities said damage to two of the county’s schools alone may total $60 million.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Perry to attend Va. GOP luncheon Sept. 14
The Republican Party of Virginia this morning announced that Perry, along with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, will attend the party’s Grassroots Luncheon Sept. 14. Perry and McDonnell will speak at the event, which will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
Tickets range from $55 to $10,000 for the “Platinum” pass, which secures attendees a table for 10, two seats at the governor’s head table, and a pre-lunch meet-and-greet.
“We’re absolutely thrilled that Governor Perry will be with us for this event,” said RPV Chairman Pat Mullins.
“Governor Perry’s record in Texas of lower taxes, limited government, and job growth looks familiar to anyone who pays attention to Virginia politics. Like our own Governor Bob McDonnell, Gov. Perry has balanced his state’s budget by making prudent decisions, rather than treating taxpayers like an ATM.”
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
National and International
Justice Department blocks merger between AT&T and T-Mobile
The Justice Department is blocking AT&T’s $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile USA, saying the acquisition of the No. 4 wireless carrier in the country by No. 2 AT&T would reduce competition and raise prices.
The deal has faced tough opposition from consumer groups and No. 3 carrier Sprint since it was announced in March.
AT&T could challenge the Justice Department’s action in court.
A failure of the deal puts T-Mobile in a difficult position. It’s struggling to compete with the larger carriers, and owner Deutsche Telekom AG has said it’s not willing to invest more in the venture.
However, AT&T has promised T-Mobile $3 billion in cash if the deal doesn’t go through, plus spectrum rights and agreements that could be worth billions more.
Brief by the Associated Press
Gadhafi’s son offers surrender
Moammar Gadhafi’s son al-Saadi is trying to negotiate the terms of his own surrender, the rebel commander in Tripoli told The Associated Press today.
The commander, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, said al-Saadi first called him Tuesday and asked whether his safety could be guaranteed. “We told him ‘Don’t fear for your life. We will guarantee your rights as a human being, and will deal with you humanely,’ said Belhaj, confirming a report on Al-Jazeera television. Belhaj added that al-Saadi would be turned over to legal authorities after his surrender.
If the offer is confirmed – the rebels have previously claimed to have captured Gadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam, who hours later turned up free – the surrender would be a major blow to Gadhafi’s crumbling regime. The rebels have been pressing toward Gadhafi’s last major stronghold, his hometown of Sirte, and loyalists now only control a handful of areas, including Bani Walid to the west.
A 21-year-old Kosovo Albanian says he killed two U.S. airmen at the Frankfurt airport on March 2 and wounded two others, but insists he doesn’t understand why he committed the crime.
In an emotional confession to the court as his murder trial began today, Arid Uka said he had become increasingly radicalized by jihad videos online before the shooting.
He told the court that “what I did was wrong, but I cannot undo what I did.”
He says that a video purporting to show American servicemen raping a Muslim girl had prompted him to try and stop other American soldiers from getting to Afghanistan.
The video turned out to be from a Hollywood anti-war film.
He says: “I thought what I saw in that video, these people would do in Afghanistan.”
Brief by the Associated Press
