DATE: Saturday, April 12, 1997              TAG: 9704120283

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   55 lines

LOCAL SCENE

NORFOLK

TCC WINS INTRANET GRANT: Tidewater Community College's Norfolk campus was awarded a Microsoft Instructional Lab Grant which will eventually be valued at about $50,000 in site licensing, Windows server software and other Microsoft software. The award supports two new college credit courses: Professional Office and the Intranet, designed for the post-high school computer-literate community, and Introduction to Computer Technologies Through Microsoft Office Suite and the Intranet, designed for the specific needs for the noncomputer literate student. For more information on Professional Office and the Intranet, call 683-8550.

PORTSMOUTH

PORTCENTRE I BREAKS GROUND: PortCentre I broke ground Friday for a 100,000-square-foot office and light industrial warehouse space facility. Armada/Hoffler, a Chesapeake-based construction firm, will construct the building in PortCentre Commerce Park near downtown Portsmouth. Construction costs will be approximately $8 million and completion is scheduled for this fall. The new structure is the first speculative development project built in the city for many years.

NEWPORT NEWS

CANON EXPANDS: Canon Virginia Inc. is expanding its Newport News plant by 16,000 square feet and is adding 30,000 square feet to a production facility. When the projects are complete, Canon will have more than 890,000 square feet. The expansion has a value of $9 million including construction costs and equipment. The 1,800-worker company does not plan to hire more employees as a result of the expansion.

VIRGINIA

TREDEGAR EARNINGS UP: Driven by higher profits in aluminum extrusions and technology-related investment gains, Tredegar Industries' first-quarter earnings from ongoing operations were $10,954,000 or 83 cents a share, up from $8,288,000 or 64 cents a share last year. Excluding investment gains, net income from ongoing operations was $9,748,000 or 74 cents a share vs. $8,288,000 or 64 cents a share in 1996. Tredegar reported net income of $10,954,000 or 83 cents a share, compared with $16,347,000 or $1.27 a share in 1996.

TULTEX NOTES TO PAY OFF DEBTS: Tultex Corp. announced the pricing of a private placement of $75 million of 9 5/8 percent Senior Notes Due 2007. Proceeds from the sale of the notes will be used to repay existing indebtedness and to redeem preferred stock. Tultex, a Martinsville-based vertically integrated marketer and manufacturer of activewear and licensed sports apparel, sells many of its products under the Tultex, Discus Athletic, LogoAthletic, Logo 7 and Track Gear names. MEMO: To submit an item for the Local Scene, please fax it to 446-2531.

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