DATE: Saturday, October 11, 1997            TAG: 9710110420

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   70 lines

LOCAL SCENE

NORFOLK

ROSEN NAMED ASSOCIATE: Knight, Clarke, Dolph & Rapaport named Dana Adler Rosen an associate with the firm. She will concentrate in the areas of litigation under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN BEGINS NEW TRIPLE CROWN SERVICE: Triple Crown Services Co., a joint venture of Norfolk Southern Corp. and Conrail Inc., began a new direct service between Detroit and Harrisburg, Pa. Running four days a week, the dedicated trains use RoadRailer trailers, truck trailers to which rail wheels can be attached for quick transfer between road and rail. It allows the railroads to offer door-to-door service. Triple Crown invested $13 million in 400 new RoadRailer units for the service. Norfolk Southern would take control of Triple Crown under its plan to divide Conrail with CSX Corp. in a $10.2 billion deal.

VIRGINIA BEACH

WEEKEND GARDENER STORE HAS GRAND OPENING: A grand opening for The Weekend Gardener, a home decor and garden accessory franchise, will be held today at 772 Hilltop North Shopping Center. Bernie and Gloriaann Putnam are the owners.

ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS RANKED 15TH LARGEST NETWORK INTEGRATOR: Electronic Systems has been ranked 15th among the ``Network 100,'' compiled by Network magazine. The list includes the top 100 integrators in North America, ranked by network-related sales revenue. The listing was published in the magazine's September issue.

NEWPORT NEWS

MILLER JOINS BTG/DELTA RESEARCH DIVISION: Keith E. Miller was named a senior electrical engineer with BTG/Delta Research Division. Prior to joining the company, he worked for several national/international firms including Newport News Shipbuilding as a nuclear test engineer.

NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING EXPANDS STOCK REPURCHASES: Newport News Shipbuilding announced Friday that it is expanding its share repurchase plan by $35 million. The expanded program will supplement a previously announced $10 million repurchase plan. The shares the Peninsula shipyard buys back will be used to fund its obligations under employee compensation and benefit plans. The shipyard also announced that it will pay stockholders a 4 cents per share dividend for the third quarter. It will be paid Oct. 31 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 20. In New York Stock Exchange trading on Friday, Newport News Shipbuilding stock rose 12.5 cents to $23.6875 a share.

VIRGINIA

COLUMBIA GAS REPORTS 3RD-QUARTER GAIN: Columbia Gas System, parent company of natural gas distributor Commonwealth Gas Services, reported third-quarter net income of $100,000, compared to a $6.1 million loss for the third quarter of 1996. The company said the improved results were due in part to internal restructuring. The Reston-based gas system, with $6 billion in assets, directly or indirectly serves 7 million natural gas customers in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Columbia's Commonwealth Gas subsidiary serves about 165,000 customers in Virginia, including parts of Portsmouth and Chesapeake.

FEDERAL REGULATORS ASK CSX TO CHANGE SAFETY PROCEDURES: The Federal Railroad Administration has asked CSX Corp. to amend some of its procedures following an Amtrak collision with a truck on a CSX track in Georgia. The administration has been reviewing the Richmond-based railroad's safety practices since July, following a fatal crash between two trains in Virginia. CSX has agreed to install new signs at railroad crossings, give safety talks to dispatchers and require trains approaching hazardous areas to reduce speeds. MEMO: To submit an item, send it to Local Scene, The Virginian-Pilot

Business News Department, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510.

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