The Lynchburg region and Virginia reached record employment levels in June, with Lynchburg still leading the state in its job growth rate, although there was a statewide and local increase in the jobless rate.

JAMESTOWN — High gas prices and economic uncertainty are chilling tourism at Jamestown and other Colonial attractions this summer, dashing hopes that Virginia’s $98 million investment last year in Jamestown’s 400th anniversary celebration would carry over.

Two proposed AT&T cell phone towers near Rustburg cleared a hurdle Monday night, receiving approval from the Campbell County Planning Commission.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Franca Tantillo puts rising fuel prices in the same category as the springtime hail storm that wiped out part of her strawberry crop. Both cut into the profit she can make at the farmers markets she sells at in New York City, about 135 miles south of her farm.

Brad Carner is undertaking the ultimate crash course in college-prep.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Two cornerstones of the economy — jobs and housing — sank to new depths Thursday, with unemployment claims bolting higher and home prices recording one of their steepest drops on record.

Homes are selling slowly in nearly all parts of Virginia, but the Lynchburg area’s prices are holding up stronger than many other regions, according to data from the Virginia Association of Realtors.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Rescue legislation sailed through the House on Wednesday aimed at helping 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure and preventing the collapse of troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s 2008 peach crop is expected to make growers forget all about last year’s freeze-damaged season. 

When Roberta Winston attended her mother’s viewing, a video slideshow tribute documented her mother’s life with pictures.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Wachovia Corp. said today it lost $8.86 billion in the second quarter, slashed its dividend and announced 6,350 job cuts after losses tied to mortgages soared.

American National Bank & Trust Company has announced the promotion of three executives to newly created operating positions.

NEW YORK (AP)—Wall Street fluctuated Monday as investors worried about earnings at drug makers Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp., and oil prices moved higher.

Movie theaters in Lynchburg are slated to get a new competitor next year, as Regal Entertainment opens the first new theater here in 17 years.
Regal will operate the 56,000- square-foot movieplex in River Ridge mall, in the location of the Value City store that closed last month.

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices tumbled below $130 a barrel for the first time in more than a month Thursday, as crude’s dramatic slide entered a third day accompanied by a sharp sell-off in natural gas.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ For years, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tenaciously worked to nurture, and then protect, their financial empires by invoking the political sacred cow of homeownership and fielding an army of lobbyists, power brokers and political contributors.

The failure of one California-based bank and troubles in other large banks cast a shadow on the banking industry early this week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices shot up in June at the fastest pace in 26 years with two-thirds of the surge blamed on soaring energy prices.

Struggles in the national housing market began to hit home in the Lynchburg area during the first half of 2008.

The maker of the King of Beers has agreed to go to work for the Belgian brewer InBev. 

Virginia is becoming a more popular stop for wine lovers, with wineries playing an increasingly important role in the Commonwealth’s tourism industry.
Frank Britt is trying to make sure that trend continues.
The Lynchburg man teamed up with a graphic design firm in Virginia Beach to launch a lifestyle magazine that promotes wine made in Virginia.

To see people doing something about gas prices these days, it’s only necessary to be at the Lynchburg train station at 6 a.m.

NEW YORK (AP)—Oil prices spiked to a new record above $147 a barrel Friday, as rising hostilities between the West and Iran and the potential for attacks on Nigerian oil facilities gave investors reason to rush back into the energy markets.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The nation’s top economic officials urged Congress on Thursday to give them new regulatory tools to better protect the country from economic and financial havoc if a major Wall Street firm were to fail.

Lynchburg’s Industrial Development Authority on Thursday agreed to spend up to $1 million supporting the local expansion of Areva.

NEW YORK (AP)—Steve & Barry’s LLC, once a growing force in low-priced fashion retailing, said Wednesday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest merchant to succumb to a harsh consumer spending climate.

NEW YORK (AP) _ U.S. stocks headed for a moderately higher open Thursday as investors awaited a weekly government report on unemployment claims and reports from retailers on their June sales.

Amid the hype around Apple Inc.’s new iPhone going on sale Friday, the company is launching an online software store.

One thing about NASCAR: It always delivers the unexpected.

NEW YORK (AP)—Stocks headed for a narrowly mixed open Wednesday as rebounding oil prices drained away the momentum from Wall Street’s big Tuesday rally.