ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250028
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
N-plant ordered to rehire engineer
MIAMI - U.S. Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich has ordered Florida Power & Light to rehire an engineer it fired in 1991 after he warned that a nuclear plant's warning systems were unsafe.
The company said it would appeal the decision through the courts, even though Regino R. Robainas said he was not interested in returning to the utility.
``This represents at least a symbolic victory,'' said Robainas, who now teaches electrical engineering part time at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton while studying for a doctorate.
Reich overturned the 1992 findings of an administrative judge and a Labor Department investigator. He also ordered the utility to reimburse Robainas about $500,000 in back pay, benefits and attorney's fees.
Robainas said he was fired because he filed complaints with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Labor that warning systems at the Turkey Point nuclear plant in southern Dade County were not precise enough to prevent nuclear disaster.
The utility said Robainas was fired for insubordination because he refused to undergo psychological testing.
- Associated Press
AT&T to close its retail stores
NEW YORK - AT&T Corp. said Wednesday it will close its 338 Phone Center retail stores around the nation, cutting about 2,500 jobs as part of its broad restructuring before it splits into three companies.
The company said earlier this month its store operations were under review. AT&T will rely on other retailers to sell its telephones, answering machines and related products.
- Associated Press
Micron rebounds after downgrading
NEW YORK - As Micron Technology Inc. lost more than half its value late last year, semiconductor analysts kept singing its praises and maintained their ``buy'' rating on the company.
Until the past 10 days. That's when Pacific Crest Securities, Montgomery Securities, Robertson Stephens & Co. and Gruntal & Co. told investors to hold off from buying the stock for the next few months.
The firms' analysts downgraded the stock, citing a botched shift in manufacturing wafers, falling chip prices and the departure of the company's president. The stock had plunged 67 percent from a high of 943/8 on Sept. 11.
After the analysts began making their downgrades, the stock rebounded 20 percent from its 11-month low of 307/8 on Jan. 15. Wednesday, it jumped 51/8 to 371/8.
- Bloomberg Business News
JPS licenses plant in Norway
JPS Elastomerics Corp., a Holyoke, Mass., maker of roofing materials with a plant in Stuart, said Wednesday it has agreed to license its technology to Protan A/S of Drammen, Norway, Scandinavia's largest maker of polymer-coated textiles and roofing membranes.
Bruce Wilby, president of JPS, said the proposed partnership could mean significant growth internationally for the company. The technology was introduced in 1993 and involves material made at the company's plant in Westfield, N.C.
- Staff report
Briefly ...
Thor Inc. of Roanoke has been awarded a $3.2 million contract to design and build a plant for Fleetwood Homes in Roxboro, N.C. Thor is general contractor-engineer and architect for the project, a 108,075-square-foot metal facility for the modular and mobile home manufacturer. The design work began this month. The field work will start in March, and the estimated completion date is December.
H&R Block has combined its executive service office, formerly on Williamson Road, with its red carpet tax service, previously on Hershberger Road. The combined offices will operate under the new name of H&R Block premium tax service inside Crossroads Mall.
Aerial Machine and Tool Corp., based at Vesta in Patrick County, said it has been named a certified supplier for Bell Helicopter components. Aerial, which makes military-specification life support, aircraft safety, aerial delivery, survival and search and rescue products, employs 95 people in Patrick County, where it has operated since 1988.
Harris Teeter Inc., Charlotte, N.C.-based supermarket chain with stores in the Roanoke Valley, said sales for its first quarter ended Jan. 2 were $462.6 million, up 9.1 percent from 1995 sales of $423.9 million. Same-store sales, measuring units open at least a year, were up 4.6 percent. Harris Teeter is a unit of Ruddick Corp. of Charlotte.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 linesby CNB