MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) _ When Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google Inc. on Sept. 7, 1998, they had little more than their ingenuity, four computers and an investor’s $100,000 bet on their belief that an Internet search engine could change the world.

The current economic downturn will have longer-lasting effects than previous recessions, an economist said Thursday in Richmond.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Conventional wisdom had long held that some industries would collapse if oil topped $100 a barrel.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia regulators say they’ve received about 2,000 comments on Appalachian Power’s request to raise electrical rates in Western Virginia.

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center and Chesapeake Public Schools will begin an experiment this fall that turns the typical employee health insurance model on its head.

“Everything must go” for $8.98 or less, the signs say. That’s the price tag the company put on all its merchandise last year during a Christmas-season sale.

NEW YORK (AP) - For the nation’s lumber companies, automakers, home builders and other manufacturers, the final half of 2008 may be as sluggish as the first.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kids may be worried about homework, teachers and that pesky bully this school year. But parents? They’re leery about lunches.

The owner of The Bakery on Timberlake Road wants to fill a hole left in the community when Donald’s Bagels & Bites closed this summer.

PARIS (AP) - French state-controlled nuclear engineering firm Areva SA said Friday that net profit skyrocketed in the first half of the year as strong sales at its nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment division offset steep losses in its principal nuclear reactor business.

NEW YORK (AP) - Comcast Corp., the nation’s second-largest Internet service provider, Thursday said it would set an official limit on the amount of data subscribers can download and upload each month.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) _ It seems like an easy solution: Americans are looking for more fuel-efficient vehicles, so Ford Motor Co. is bringing over some of the small, gas-sipping cars it’s been selling to Europeans for years.

Graham Packaging plans to grow its factory in Altavista with a $12 million expansion that will create 10 jobs, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced Thursday.

CHESTER, Va. (AP) — Customers of Columbia Gas of Virginia will get a break on their monthly bills in the fall.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) _ A three-month trial that pitted Mattel Inc. against Bratz-maker MGA Entertainment Inc. brought a $100 million jury award for the house of Barbie, but the legal battle is far from over.

A recently passed federal housing bill could provide a big boost to prop up the nation’s housing market, according to several mortgage lenders in Lynchburg.
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 became law July 30. It authorizes programs to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, and sets up tax credits to entice new buyers into the market.

If they haven’t done so already, businesses should start thinking about whether they are protecting customers’ and employees’ personal information from identify theft.

The Virginia Employment Commission reported today that the state’s seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate rose 0.2 of a percentage point from the June rate.

ATLANTA (AP) - Mass flight delays caused by an electronic communication failure at a Federal Aviation Administration facility drew new criticism for an agency that has been scrutinized over air traffic controller staffing levels and inspection standards for its ground-based equipment.

ATLANTA (AP) - The tireless tongue already controls taste and speech, helps kiss and swallow and fights germs. Now scientists hope to add one more ability to the mouthy muscle, and turn it into a computer control pad.

Virginia coal production is down nearly 18 percent in the past year, even though the energy resource is fetching prices three times higher.

Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the Devil’s Backbone beer brewery located just down the mountain from the Wintergreen ski and golf resort in Nelson County.

Consumers drive the American economy. So how are they doing behind the wheel in Central Virginia?
A look at taxable sales in the Lynchburg region during the first six months of this year show that Region 2000 is faring better than the state as a whole.

CHICAGO (AP) _ Charles Lane-Bey combed through racks of blue jeans at a Salvation Army thrift store and held up a pair with potential to his 8-year-old son, Edward, who swung them over his shoulder with a smile.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Two-year community colleges are seeing record enrollment as families squeezed by tough economic times steer high school graduates away from more expensive four-year universities.

After filing for bankruptcy protection last week, Texas-based Intermet Corp. laid off 38 employees at its Archer Creek Foundry in Campbell County.

RUCKERSVILLE - No dummies are needed to try out new safety features on two cars at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s vehicle research center.

NEW YORK (AP)—U.S. stocks headed for a lower open Tuesday ahead of economic readings on home construction and inflation at the wholesale level, as well as earnings reports from several leading retailers.

TAMPA - Brook Custer giggles as she scours the rows of shiny new cellular phones at an Alltel wireless store in Brandon.

Clearer pictures, faster Internet access and a video-on-demand service are on their way to Nelson County Cablevision customers later this year as the company upgrades its electronic “head end” system.